DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

Mélanie chats with Blaine & Ramon about building Ghia. Some topics include how to create a new beverage category, production considerations for a new beverage type, early-stage funding advice and key supporters along the way, customer-led product iteration, building a culinary first brand, design and branding insight, leveraging restaurants and retail as a distribution strategy, Ghia’s focus on retail channels, and much more.2:35 - 7:11 Melanie’s career before Ghia9:39 - 11:56 Selling the idea of Ghia12:57 - 14:09 Adapting to COVID18:12 - 21:42 Formulating Ghia22:52 - 24:35 Fundraising27:04 - 32:47 Creating the branding35:23 - 37:47 Developing new products38:15 - 40:44 Fostering relationships while scalingThis episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours.Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Mélanie Masarin- CEO & Co-founder of GhiaRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Growing up, Darrin Willingham dreamed of playing in the NFL. But then he discovered his love for creating content. Darrin discusses how he found himself in the world of YouTube, making videos, monetizing his passion for sneakers, and coming full circle by working with pro-athletes off the field. Darrin also gives some tips on building a strong social media foundation and personal brand.3:59 - 8:14 Discovering ways to make money8:30 - 10:18 Getting banned from YouTube10:39 - 11:57 Building a solid YouTube foundation for brand partnerships14:03 - 22:57 Monetizing your passion24:27 - 26:01 Importance of branding yourself29:57 - 32:46 Creating your own luck & seeking opportunities34:07 -39:44 Diversifying your income stream42:11 - 45:28 Creating authentic content52:18 - 54:00 Goals for the future This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours.Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Darrin Willingham - Creator & Host of DNA SHOWRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Blaine & Ramon are thrilled to have Kevin Wong as a guest on DTC Pod and dive into building the first Asian American craft hard seltzer alcohol brand - Lunar.  Kevin talks about the early days of home brewing, perfecting the formula, and learning from failed batches and supply chain. He also gets into the business side and talks about selling to restaurants and becoming one of the most in-demand items at Trader Joe's. 2:14 - 5:42 Life before Lunar9:56 - 13:52 Creating Lunar14:56 - 17:57 Early days of Lunar18:21 - 20:22 Navigating regulation in the alcohol industry20:48 - 30:06 Learning to make hard seltzer30:57 - 32:37 The first failed batch34:42 - 42:00 Got to market strategy47:36 - 50:01  Getting into Trader Joe’s This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours.Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Kevin Wong - Co-Founder of LunarRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Terry Lee stopped by the DTC POD studio to talk to Blaine & Ramon about building Rosaluna and specifically how he’s established Rosaluna’s culture and values (ex: moving with intention versus just moving fast). Terry also discusses visiting Oaxaca, Mexico,  learning about how mezcal is made, and meeting the multi-generational family of farmers who make it. 2:41 - 6:21 Terry’s background8:42 - 19:13 Working at MeUndies19:47 - 25:33 Building a team culture & values25:34 - 34:56 Why build fast and break things is the opposite of Rosaluna’s culture36:40 - 44:13 Hiring and finding talent45:42 - 1:06:18 Building Rosaluna1:07:10 - 1:14:25 Future plans for RosalunaThis episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours.Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Terry Lee - Co-Founder of RosalunaRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

On this episode of DTC Pod, Blaine & Ramon chat with Chaz Zayed and Emmit Flynn about how they started Awful Cloth in their dorm room and grew it into a viral brand, collaborating with Barstool on a hoodie, why they’ve seen so much success with influencers (side note: they’ve never paid any influencer to wear their hoodie!), and their plans to grow the brand. 2:06 - 7:59 The Start of Awful Cloth 15:30 - 18:46 Entrepreneurial Mindset from Day 1 19:34 - 23:38 Going Viral 24:32 - 26:19 Influencer Marketing 27:15 - 30:22 Barstool Collab 31:19 - 36:16 Reaching out to Influencers 37:07 - 41:15 The Challenges of Entrepreneurship 42:19 - 46:39 Working on Awful Cloth’s Website 47:01 - 54:49   Future Collabs This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokEmmit Flynn - Co-Founder of Awful ClothChaz Zayed - Co-Founder of Awful ClothRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Tono Mandly stopped by DTC Pod's Miami studio to discuss the current consumer landscape in Latin America and how Riogrande is filling a gap in the consumer market, the startup scene in LatAm, the challenges of building DTC Brands in Latin America, and the incredible potential for this $100 billion e-commerce market.3:47 - 10:22 Tono's background10:36 - 14:22 Ecommerce landscape in LatAm14:28 - 16:47 Challenges in LatAm Ecommerce17:03 - 21:18 What is Riogrande21:21 - 23:46 Consumer landscape in LatAm26:22 - 29:12 Operating in different countries 30:07 - 33:59 Startup scene in LatAm34:17 - 36:12 Fixing the lack of trust between consumers and businesses38:12 - 40:10 Opportunity in LatAm40:12 - 41:53 VCs in LatAM 41:55 - 43:07 Who should join YC This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokTono Mandly- CEO of RiograndeRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Zach Abbott maker of the world's 1st genetically engineered probiotics. Purpose-built to help our bodies handle the diets and environments of modern life joins Ramon & Blaine to discuss the science behind ZBiotics, the challenges of educating consumers on a genetically engineered probiotic, and how to lean it to being genetically engineered registered with customers. 2:02 - 8:24 Idea for ZBiotics14:57 - 20:09 The science of a hangover23:37 - 27:19 Genetically engineerings is easier than you think28:11 - 33:30 Making sure ZBiotics works35:24 - 39:19 How do you sell a genetically engineered prebiotic40:36 - 45:18 Leaning into being GMO 46:24 - 47:26 Working with a marketing and branding agency 47:57 - 49:55 Getting customer feedback49:48 - 51:14 Figuring out manufacturing52:17 - 53:48 Growing since 2021 54:12 - 56:09 The future of ZBiotics57:37 - 58:35  Where to find ZBiotics and Zach This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Zach Abbott - CEO of ZBioticsRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

While Aspen is still in its early days, we’re excited to have Keta Burke-Williams on the pod to discuss the logistics of building a fragrance company. In this episode of DTC pod, you’ll hear Blaine & Ramon talk with Keta about creating a scent, finding a manufacturer,  finding her voice when pitching to VCs, optimizing for online and offline sales, being smart with your resources, and tapping into your network. 8:20 - 9:20 The inspiration behind Aspen15:43 - 16:06 Consumer trust is fragile 32:34 - 33:24 Why being cheap is smart19:06 - 19:43 How to sell a scent online26:03 - 26:47 Combatting imposter syndrome 40:10 - 40:49 Don’t underestimate your network! This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Keta Burke-Williams - Founder of Aspen ApothecaryRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

We’re thrilled to have Kristin Toth join Blaine & Ramon on DTC Pod where she walks us through her career trajectory and how she narrowed in on supply chain & ops, being an advisor to multiple startups, why building a circular furniture company is challenging, how Fernish strategically launched in two cities to test product-market, and how Fernish has evolved over time. 1:51 - 5:49 What is Fernish?6:22 - 8:38 The story behind Fernish12:04 - 18:07 Kristin’s career trajectory18:39 - 22:15 Working at Amazon24:07 - 26:53 The role of an advisor26:54 - 31:00 Working at Fernish32:31 - 37:59 The early days of Fernish40:05 - 43:00 Data & Logistics50:48 - 52:48 What Fernish is focusing on now This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Kristin Toth - President & COO of  FernishRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel

Paul Voge speaks with Blaine & Ramon about how creating DIY flavors with his soda stream led to a full-fledge sparkling water business.Paul discusses the challenges of building a CPG brand, being on Sharktank during the height of COVID, Aura Bora’s path into retail stores, why he prefers retail over DTC orders, and more.4:17- 6:06 Starting a CPG brand9:08 - 15:34 Co-packers and distributor15:50 - 17:04 Family & friend investors17:12 - 23:04 Filming Sharktank in COVID24:57 - 29:26 Creating new flavors29:48 - 35:29 Retail over DTC35:37 - 38:29 Watchout for chargebacks43:55 - 49:19 Retail stores that carry Aura Bora This episode is brought to you by OpenStore:Visit https://open.store to get a free, no-obligation offer for your e-commerce business from OpenStore in 24 hours. Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Paul Voge - Co-Founder of Aura BoraRamon Berrios - CEO of Trend.ioBlaine Bolus - COO of OmniPanel