How do you build a top-selling brand on Amazon? For Bizzy Coffee, the answer is with a simple and consistent formula: adapt, evolve and repeat.

Launched in 2015, the cold brew coffee brand, which markets bottled cold brew concentrates, bagged coffee and multiserve ready-to-drink beverages, has followed a strategy of constant modification and improvement throughout its development. That focus has supported the growth of Bizzy’s bagged coffee, which has been the top-selling cold brew product on Amazon for two years running, as well as the creation of its recently launched multiserve drinks, which are sold at Target and Hy-Vee and expanding into a range of other retail chains later this year.

In an interview included in this episode, Bizzy co-founder and CEO Alex French spoke about how his experience at 301INC, the venture arm of General Mills, impacted the creation of the brand and learnings from the failure of its shots line. He also explained why buyer presentations are as important as the product itself and the dangers of being underfunded, as well as shared valuable tips about how to stand out on Amazon.

Show notes:

0:37: “Competing” Agendas, Stress Relief and #BNVL -- The episode’s hosts chatted about the semifinal rounds of BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown 19 and NOSH’s Pitch Slam 8 and how brands in the competitions applied timely trends and functional ingredients to their innovative concepts. They also spoke about growing interest in stress relief as a functional benefit, “blockbuster” launches of 2019 and shared an update on the upcoming BevNET and NOSH Virtually Live show, which will include more than 30 sessions over the two days of the event.

11:43: Interview: Alex French, Co-Founder & CEO, Bizzy Coffee -- French spoke with Taste Radio editor Ray Latif about why he saw himself as a “rogue” at 301INC, how researching online data sparked the launch of Bizzy and how the company has identified its core consumer. He also discussed how Bizzy sourced data from its retail partners and customers via its packaging, how a lack of funding led to humbling experiences in his personal life, as well as why the company got into the shots business and why, despite significant retailer and investor interest, the products were discontinued. Later, he explained how Bizzy identified white space for a multi-serve cold brew product and how he sold the concept to retailers, and why he’s cautious about revenue derived from Amazon.

Brands in this episode: Bizzy Coffee, 5-hour Energy

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