GHP #17 - From The Kitchen to Shelves Across Canada - The Story of SoCIAL Lite Vodka with Dan & Neetu!

Daniel Beach and Neetu Godara Rai are the CEO and CGO of SoCIAL Lite Vodka, the best vodka soda in Canada (in our opinion)! They are two of three co-founders, along with COO Kevin Folk, of the wildly popular brand.

Sounding something like a campfire tale, the idea for the company was born while mixing drinks in Kevin’s home kitchen. After spending countless summer nights mixing drinks with different fruits and flavours to accommodate the tastes of their friends, the trio realized that they were onto something special.

With 80 calories per can and simple ingredients, SoCIAL Lite drinks were the first pre-mixed vodka sodas in North America to contain no sugar! It was an instant hit!

We talk to Dan and Neetu about their motivations behind creating their own business, how a new product goes from an idea to the shelf, and their core strategies to scale the company.

This was a truly inspirational conversation with two genuine individuals. So crack open a cold can and enjoy the show! As a tip, we recommend the Pineapple Mango flavour and if you’re a fan of the podcast you understand why.

Timestamps:     2:30 - The story behind SoCIAL Lite Vodka     6:55 - How the name “SoCIAL Lite” was chosen    10:40 - How to take a product from idea to store shelves    16:45 - How the LCBO chooses its products    22:35 - Being a minority female founder in the alcohol industry    29:57 - Entrepreneurship is overly glorified    33:15 - Setbacks in the early days of the company    36:15 - Competition in the industry    39:57 - The future of hard seltzers    51:50 - Dan and Neetu on choosing the entrepreneurial path 1:00:20 - Lightning Round