Noah Sanborn Friedman’s Post

I recently found this thing that almost convinced me to shut down my Tenzo, just so I could start it up again. It’s called Supliful and I’m almost kind of mad it exists. Back when we were first growing Tenzo, one of our biggest challenges was finding a reliable private-label manufacturer to produce our matcha products. We were small and bootstrapped. We didn’t have the team or the resources to place big PO’s. So we had to slowly drip-feed our inventory—ordering small quantities, selling out, and gradually increasing our scale as demand grew.  But Supliful is a new cheat code for next-gen CPG founders. They take care of product, packaging, and shipping. It's all done for you through their platform. No more searching for suppliers, negotiating your quantities, and having to figure out logistics. Instead of dreaming about it, Supliful can help turn a vision into a new product TODAY. That’s crazy and feels a little unfair to someone like me who had to do everything the hard way. Like I said, I’m kind of jealous. But if I woke up tomorrow and had to start all over again, I’d skip the headaches and partner with Supliful right out of the gate.

Foxtrot, a speciality retailer, just shut down. This retailer was a focus for many emerging brands, brokers, and some of our competitors. This was a complete waste of time for brands and founders. If you're an emerging brand, it takes the same amount of time to get into a Foxtrot as it does a Kohl's or any other national retailer. "But Ben, it helps my brand get sales data for those national retailers!" Wrong. National retailers do not care about your sales in a small retailer. Similar to building a startup, it takes roughly the same amount of energy to build a $10m biz as a $1b biz. You might as well try to build a $1b biz, and focus on national retailers.

Beating the Big Brands at ₹55! 🥥 While Blinkit and Zepto charge ₹80, and BigBasket sets it at ₹70, this clever coconut seller flips the game with a ₹55 deal! By boldly comparing his prices to the big names, he's not just selling coconuts—he’s making a statement about value, strategy, and street smarts. 💡 A true inspiration for how small businesses can stand tall in the face of corporate giants. What’s your favorite street-smart pricing strategy? #CoconutWars #PricingGenius #StreetSmartBusiness #SmallBusinessWins

So proud to be a part of this round and make Liquid Death a core part of the portfolio in the Gasima Growth Fund I! Liquid Death is the next great growth story in the specialty beverage space and congratulations to the entire management team for the incredible job they have done, with so much more to come! Liquid Death Is Valued at $1.4 Billion in New Financing Round 2024-03-11 15:00:00.2 GMT By Katie Roof (Bloomberg) -- A water brand with a popular social media following is now a billion-dollar company. Los Angeles-based Liquid Death has raised new capital that values the startup at $1.4 billion, double its $700 million valuation in 2022. The business has seen its momentum continue with newer categories such as iced tea and flavored waters, Chief Executive Officer Mike Cessario said in an interview. Liquid Death raised $67 million in capital from strategic investors such as distribution partners, as well as from actor Josh Brolin, National Football League player DeAndre Hopkins and Live Nation Entertainment Inc., which sells the products at its concert venues. SuRo Capital, Science Inc. and Gray’s Creek Capital Partners also participated.  The funding will go toward product development, including new flavors for its product lines. Liquid Death, which launched its iced tea last year, has already climbed to the top spot for bottled iced tea sales on Amazon.com, according to the company’s website. Cessario said that the flavored waters have also gained significant early traction and the group recently introduced flavored drinking powders under the Death Dust name.  The company attributes much of its sales growth to its marketing, counting 7.9 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. “If you have a valuable brand, it means that people have a reason to care about you beyond the small functional difference,” Cessario said. He said the company initially was inspired by beer brands. “There’s no reason that only beer is allowed to look cool and do funny things,” he said. When it comes to a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering or a sale of the company, Cessario said, “We want optionality.” At the moment, the company is “not focused on any specific outcome,” Cessario said.  Liquid Death is “laser focused on profitability and profitable growth,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Katie Roof in Los Angeles at kroof1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew Monks at mmonks1@bloomberg.net Michael Hytha, Phil Serafino To view this story in Bloomberg click here: https://lnkd.in/e8kHnQpE

This is a telling post and Jarret deserves a lot of credit for telling it straight. Last spring we were designing a functional drink and I was visiting South Carolina. I went to 3 grocery stores and bought one sample of 13 distinct functional drink brands. I didn't bother with the 1st generation sugar and caffeine energy drinks. These were all what I refer to as 2nd generation drinks. I put them in the fridge and tried them the next morning. I let them warm and tried them again and after 12 hrs when the carbonated ones were flat, I tried them again. Oh my, as a group they were horrible and got worse with age. One really horrible one actually did improve in both secondary tastings. Meaning it would have been better produced without carbonation and I imagine the company didn't even test that use case. We have a long way to go. The market wants a better tasting kombucka with clearer health benefits. There are some companies kicking it. The biotic companies in Canada like COVE now in Costco US and the US company Olipop which is now in Canada, those are great products. And non-alcoholic beer producer Partake, another Canaidan company taking names in US grocers has an incredible product. Don't forget, that beer protien is one of the easier and fastest protiens for the body to absorb. There are lots of ways to get functional. But the consumer market is a flavor and mouth feel buyer value. Aim Higher! Design like a wine maker is what I tell people. Bench trial, bench trial, bench trial!

Watching all the CPG founders lament the loss of one of their first customers, VC fueled Foxtrot. The irony is that Foxtrot was a place to sell overpriced or subsidized VC products for data and case study, through a trendy brand for target demos. The collapse of the VC food model naturally brought Foxtrot down. Spending millions on marketing and slotting, hoping to gain loyalty was never a good strategy. A store dedicated to entry into that model was going to hit challenges. It works if your product is insanely cheap to produce, and only if. Think Prime beverages. You can buy sales, shelf space, Endorsements, or even stores; but, you can't buy customers.

**This Candy Will Change Your Sales Forever: MiniCrush Freeze-Dried Revolution! 🚀🍭** Discover the ultimate game-changer in the sweets market – MiniCrush Freeze-Dried Candy. Tailored for wholesalers, online entrepreneurs, and retail visionaries, MiniCrush is set to catapult your offerings into a new era.  With its unique texture and unparalleled taste, MiniCrush not only satisfies candy lovers but also intrigues the modern consumer looking for the next big thing. Stand out in a crowded marketplace by adding MiniCrush to your lineup and watch your sales soar. Get ready to crush the competition and delight customers in one fell swoop. #CandyInnovation #MarketTrendsetters #SalesBooster

Achieving product market fit can take various routes. Here are two winning examples.

So it turns out... the real business isn’t happening on BookMyShow. It’s happening in social media! 🎟️😅 Coldplay tickets: Sold out in minutes? No problem. Social media is full with sellers, they got you covered! If only we could IPO these ‘ticket markets,’ we’d have the next unicorn on our hands! 🦄 But seriously, this hustle is a reminder of how demand-driven markets work. Wherever there's scarcity, a new 'marketplace' emerges. Maybe there’s a lesson here for all of us in building products that customers can't wait to get their hands on. P.S. To everyone looking for tickets... may the odds be ever in your favor! 🙏🏽 #ProductManagement #Marketplace #ColdplayIndia #Ticketing

Have you seen this inspiring Whistl UK Ltd article featuring our own, Simon Leonard? As one of our co-founders, his journey to becoming a successful business owner started at the age of just 7 years old! In this piece, Whistl UK Ltd dives deep into the importance of innovation, as well as Simon's lessons learned along the way, offering valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders alike. Check out the article below and join us in celebrating this milestone! #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Innovation #grüum