MAFFEO DRINKS 107 | Making a Functional Category Cool: How Guillaume Lambrecht Turned Supasawa into a Lifestyle Brand
In this episode of MAFFEO DRINKS, Guillaume Lambrecht explains his approach to creating market demand for Supasawa, a shelf-stable sour mixer, focusing primarily on his category creation methodology.
We go through how he developed the product through 60-70 recipe iterations and managed customer validation through direct bar visits rather than traditional market research approaches.
This episode details his methods for educating customers about operational problems they may not recognize, including face-to-face conversations, hands-on demonstrations, and using customer discovery as cost-effective alternative to extensive market analysis.
Guillaume outlines how he leverages direct customer feedback to establish new product categories and build market awareness from zero recognition.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: Market Validation for Unknown Categories and Invisible Problems
05:37 Product Development Process: 60-70 Recipe Iterations and Customer Feedback Loops
11:35 Customer Discovery: Face-to-Face Bar Visits and Problem Identification Techniques
19:31 Market Segmentation: Skill-Based Bar Typologies and Operational Complexity Analysis
32:45 Workflow Innovation: Pre-Batching Systems and Extended Shelf-Life Benefits
38:04 Customer Education: Problem-Awareness Creation and Solution Positioning
45:12 Market Creation Strategy: Category Establishment and Demand Generation Tactics