The Exchanges

Q How did you make that, how did you make that much tea?

A That was the other, so the scary part. So, so we got this commitment from the buyer, and the next thing we did is we basically went up and down the East Coast, um, looking at Bottling plants. And we went to beer plants and soda plants, apple juice plants. Um, so we ended up at a plant in, uh, Buffalo, New York that was making apple juice. Maybe it was a little down on its luck. It had some, had some line time available, and they said, well, how are you going to brew the tea leaves? And so, um, we brought in these mesh bags, these large mesh bags that are actually, you can be used to, like, clean a pool, like a filter.

AI assessment note: “we brought in these mesh bags, these large mesh bags that are actually”

Q So once you had all the bottles, I mean, how did it sell? Like, did it do well right away?

A So what happened was, you know, obviously we went to the shelf, nobody knew what it was, and so all that first summer, this was 1998 now, all we did was give out. Like, our marketing effort was me and two interns giving out samples in Whole Foods stores, and we gave out more, um, samples than we sold. But by the end of that summer, we were the best-selling tea in the 17 Freshfields Whole Foods stores in the Mid-Atlantic. Wow. And so what was then happening was that the, the consumers were starting to ask for the tea, which was really neat. And, and it was so different. And, and so what was nice is we have low switching. You know, some brands, maybe in the cereal category, if one, you know, if Raisin Brand's on sale, someone will go buy Post or whatever, you know, they switch back and forth. But with Honest Tea, if it's not there, you don't go back and buy Snappler, Arizona, because it, the taste is so different.

AI assessment note: “by the end of that summer, we were the best-selling tea”

Q This is a question I've asked everybody who's been on the show. How much of what happened with you and Barry in Honest Tea was because you guys are just really good at what you do? And how much of it was just luck?

A I really don't believe in luck. I believe that the reason we're still here is the perseverance. And I, to the extent there's luck, you know, that it's the timing, the way the consumer has evolved. But, you know, I've heard someone say, oh, you know, you were in the right place at the right time. I said, well, you know, It took 10 years to get to that right place, so this was not a, this wasn't, um, you know, something that just happened overnight. Um, a friend of mine likened it to water, you know, eventually water finds its way to, you know, going downhill, and it gets to where it needs to go, and I think, um, we finally got to a place where we could connect with consumers and do it in a way that was still meaningful.

AI assessment note: “I really don't believe in luck. I believe that the reason we're still here is the perseverance.”

Q So I'm curious, Seth, as you kind of, like, look back on all this, is there, like, one trait that Like one really important trick that you either developed or just had or have that, that you think all entrepreneurs need to have?

A Well, you have to be resilient, and this is, this is something that's so important, you know, I, to put this on the bigger picture, just for our, for like our, our economy, we, people have to be resilient. So one of my, one of the best ways I developed resilience growing up was I wrestled in high school. I was the worst wrestler on the team. My first year, I was one in 10, and that was only because somebody didn't show up, and I got the forfeit. So I, I had, um, learned how to fight off my back, you know, and, and I experienced rejection, and, and it's so important to be able to bounce back from something like, not just, I mean, all the time, but in, in life, and, and especially when you believe in it, it makes it that much easier.

AI assessment note: “Well, you have to be resilient”

Q How did you make that happen? How did you make that much tea?

A That was the other, so the scary part. So, so we got this commitment from the buyer, and the next thing we did is we basically went up and down the East Coast, um, looking at bottling plants, and we went to beer plants and soda plants, apple juice plants. Um, so we ended up at a plant in, uh, Buffalo, New York that was making apple juice. Maybe it was a little down on its luck. It had some, had some line time available, and they said, well, how are you gonna brew the tea leaves? And so, um, we, Brought in these mesh bags, these large mesh bags that are actually, can be used to, like, clean a pool, like a filter.

AI assessment note: “we ended up at a plant in, uh, Buffalo, New York that was making apple juice”

Q Like you had investors come in and say, you know, you should follow our advice and do this. What were some of the things they told you to do?

A Oh, it was everything. You know, so we, yeah, we had these, um, Fancy investors from Boston, they said, you know, well, you know, you could, you, you should be an energy drink because that's really growing, or you should be a dot com. Um, you, you know, if you made the product a cheaper, you could make better margins on it. I said, it sounds like you're interested in the opportunity, except everything that we do. It's sort of like, but we also knew to, to really succeed in the longterm, we had to be different than all the other big companies out there. And if we, you know, to create a sweet tea, there were tons of companies already doing that.

AI assessment note: “you should be an energy drink because that's really growing, or you should be a dot com”

Q So I'm curious, Seth, as you kind of, like, look back on all this, is there, like, one trait that Like one really important trick that you either developed or just had or have that, that you think all entrepreneurs need to have?

A Well, you have to be resilient. And this is, this is something that's so important, you know, I, to put this on the bigger picture, just for our, for like our, our economy, we, people have to be resilient. So one of my, one of the best ways I developed resilience growing up was I wrestled in high school. I was the worst wrestler on the team. My first year I was one in 10 and that was only because somebody didn't show up and I got the forfeit. So I, I had, um, learned how to fight off my back, you know, and, and I experienced rejection, and, and it's so important to be able to bounce back from something like, not just, I mean, all the time, but in, in life, and, and especially when you believe in it, it makes it that much easier.

AI assessment note: “Well, you have to be resilient.”

Q Like you had investors come in and say, you know, you should follow our advice and do this. What were some of the things they told you to do?

A Oh, it was everything. You know, so we, yeah, we had these, um, Fancy investors from Boston, they said, you know, well, you know, you could, you, you should be an energy drink, because that's really growing, or you should be a dot com, um, you, you know, if you made the product, uh, cheaper, you could make better margins on it. I said, it sounds like you're interested in the opportunity, except everything that we do, sort of like, but we also knew to, to really succeed in the long term, we had to be different than all the other big companies out there, and if we, you know, to create a sweet tea, there were tons of companies already doing that.

AI assessment note: “you should be an energy drink, because that's really growing, or you should be a dot com”