Just Go Grind #289: Sandro Roco, Founder and CEO of Sanzo, an Asian-Inspired Sparkling Water, on the Ins and Outs of Building a Successful CPG Company and How They're Making the Industry More Inclusive
Sandro Roco is the Founder and CEO of Sanzo, an Asian-inspired sparkling water company on a mission to bridge cultures by connecting people to authentic flavors. Sanzo uses real fruit, not "natural flavors," and has no added sugar. Sandro, a Queens-born Filipino American, was walking through a popular Asian supermarket in Manhattan’s Koreatown when he noticed a huge gap between the modern, clean labels of the new-age “American” beverage brands and the preservative- and sugar-laden labels of the legacy Asian brands. His goal was simple: celebrate high quality Asian flavors that for decades have been masked by added sugars, artificial flavors and preservatives.
Sandro started out as an engineer at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, worked for two years on a trading floor for J.P. Morgan, and then became head of growth and later chief-of-staff for an online personal styling service. This unconventional career path equipped Sandro with a unique skillset that ultimately led to the founding of Sanzo.
Some of the Topics Covered by Sandro Roco in this Episode
- What makes Sanzo sparkling water different and how Sandro came up with the idea
- Getting Sanzo started and moonlighting for a year
- Why Sandro is a solo founder
- How Sandro was scrappy while approaching manufacturing for his CPG
- Getting a "scheduled process," or food scientists' approval
- The importance of developing relationships with distributors and retailers and being prepared before starting those relationships
- How Sandro made the decision to leave his day job and go full time with Sanzo
- How Sandro got his first sales
- Deciding which retailers and distribution partners to work with
- How distribution has shifted as Sanzo has grown
- The impact being a child of immigrants had on how Sandro chose to finance his company
- How he raised 1.3M (from a $600,000 goal)
- The feedback Sandro was getting from early high profile investors
- How Sandro has approached building community and how this was reinforced during the pandemic
- Sandro's eye test rules for packaging design
- How their packaging design shifted over time
- Launching D2C during the pandemic
- How Sandro has gone about product development regarding flavors
- Sandro's hiring methodology and how the focus has shifted from pain to opportunity
- What has helped Sandro as a founder and how he steps away from work
- Why Sandro is passionate about what he does and what's next for Sanzo
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