Coca Cola ripped off this Latina-run beverage brand and we’re mad, with Agua Bonita’s co-founder Kayla Castañeda

Today on the show we’re learning from Kayla, the founder of Agua Bonita.

Agua Bonita is a Latina-owned beverage company making the first better-for-you aguas frescas on the market. A modern take on a traditional Mexican fruit drink, their aguas frescas come in ready-to-drink 12oz cans, made with real fruit, low sugar, and fun flavors (like mango habanero). And this story is a wild one. I actually came across a post of Kayla’s on LinkedIn sharing a pretty crappy story for any small business owner to go through. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of takeaways in this episode because she’s just so insightful.

We talk through those initial 6 months of building the brand. Agua Bonita launched conceptually in July 2020, but those first months were really stealth mode. You conceptualize your brand, identify your values, and what makes you different from the whole market. A lot of thinking through that for the first 6 months. What do we want to do that’s different, how can we do this sustainably, and how do we communicate that?

And we can confidently say this initial stage was a success, with 10,000 units flying out the door in the first month. Kayla talks us through how exactly this came about, this complete wildfire response. Firstly, the people were ready for Agua Bonita. This product was just completely absent from the market, and people wanted it. On top of that, Agua Bonita was ready for the people: extensive research into where they can find their consumers, and then showing up in their life throughout the day. Kayla also shared some pretty key know-how around a concept called free-fill when it comes to giveaways in retail. Heard of it? Check out the full chat for the low-down.

You should stick around to the end of the episode, where Kayla shares the number one piece of advice she's ever received, and some of her own advice. When it comes to the first, everything takes way longer than you expect it to. Even when you allot a lot of extra time, add even more time onto that timeline. In business, time really does equal money. So you'll need money to make sure those things work out in your favor. When it comes to Kayla's own piece of advice, she's a strong advocate for leaning into your community. You will find so many other founders and resources, so many people that really want to help you. When you’re building a brand, that’s all your really trying to do as a brand. Lean into the community, there are people that want to help. 

If you love this episode and get something out of it please do share it on your Instagram stories with us @femalestartupclub. You can also find me in the DMs directly @dooneroisin where I love to chat and hear about what you’re working on. Let's get into it.

LINKS WE MENTION:

Kayla's Instagram

Agua Bonita's Instagram

Hello Alice Website

Female Startup Club's Instagram

Doone's Instagram

Doone's TikTok

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