Insider Ep. 79: The ‘Sole Advantage’ That Fuels This Fast-Growing Brand

This week, we’re joined by Ethan Hirshberg, the founder and CEO of Ethan’s, a brand of organic wellness shots formulated with functional ingredients, including apple cider vinegar, MCT oil and green tea. Launched in 2017, the brand debuted at Whole Foods locations nationwide and has since added distribution at chain retailers in a variety of channels, including Wegmans, Walmart and Sprouts.

In an interview included in this episode, Hirshberg, whose father is Stonyfield Farm co-founder Gary Hirshberg, spoke about why launching Ethan’s was about “solving a program,” the importance of “being nimble responsibly” and why the company is “maniacally obsessed with customer feedback.” He also discussed how core values are incorporated into the brand’s products and communicated to consumers and what he views as Ethan’s biggest advantage over larger and more established competitors.

Show notes: 

0:37: Ray Needs A Flowbee. Perhaps It Will Arrive In His Virtual Mailbag? -- The hosts riffed on Ray’s tousled hair and review and respond to questions posed by listeners over the past week, including ones about funding, CBD, ingredient suppliers and field marketing. They also reflected on an old AT&T ad, chatted about a few upstart brands, including a zaatar company and encouraged the audience to continue sending in questions and suggestions for content.

10:51: Ethan Hirshberg, Founder/CEO, Ethan’s -- Hirshberg spoke with Taste Radio editor Ray Latif about  growing up in the food and beverage industry, lessons learned from father and other mentors and his experience working at coconut-based food and beverage company Harmless Harvest. He also discussed the company’s relationship with Whole Foods, why the company decided to focus on shots and how the past two years have been primarily about frequent and fast iteration and tweaking. Later, he explained the importance and hierarchy of its core values of organic, glass and functionality, how Ethan’s educates consumers about usage and drinking occasions and how the company evaluates opportunities to innovate.

Brands in this episode: Ethan’s, G&Juice, Brewpub Jerky, Wake Up Water, Z&Z