Brewbound 2022 Rising Stars Interview: Jiant

Speaker 1 [00:06] Let's bring in our next rising star, Los Angeles Hard kombucha maker giant. Joining me now is Larry Hart Junior and Aaron Telch. Thanks for being here, guys. Thanks for having us.

Speaker 2 [00:19] Yeah, thanks, Justin.

Speaker 1 [00:20] I mentioned that Giant is a hard kombucha maker, but you guys are also making hard tea now. You've said you want Giant to evolve into a modern alcohol brand. What does that entail?

Speaker 2 [00:33] Yeah, great question. Um, when Aaron and I started this business, uh, we didn't see ourselves as a hard kombucha company. We saw ourselves as a modern alcohol brand. Uh, so that meant, uh, extending the scope of what we did beyond, uh, just kombucha. Uh, what we do really well is, uh, using tea and botanicals to make tasty, gluten-free, uh, alcoholic beverages. And so hard tea was A natural extension of what we were already doing in our core competency. Uh, and then since we've also added, uh, cocktail inspired, ready to drink beverages as well that are tea and botanical based. Well,

Speaker 1 [01:09] you mentioned the hard tea, and what have you learned from expanding into that space, because that's been an area that's been really dominated by one player, uh, really for the last 20 years or so.

Speaker 2 [01:22] Yeah, I mean, what we've learned in a short amount of time with, uh, with hard tea, which is only in a few markets right now, uh, is really what the, the hard tea consumer is looking for, and also what uh alcohol consumers are, are looking for right now. Um, I think a lot of this has kind of been somewhat of a reaction to hard seltzer, and consumers are shifting into uh products that deliver on, on flavor, on ingredients. Um, and so we put all of that into the product development for giant hard tea. Uh, it's flavor forward, it's bold, has really good uh tea taste, uh, for lack of a better term, um, and it's really resonating with, uh, with consumers.

Speaker 1 [02:00] You mentioned wanting to become a a modern alcohol brand, so what does that open up your portfolio to? Uh, what areas do you guys wanna play in that maybe you aren't playing in yet?

Speaker 2 [02:11] Great question. Um, I mean, we're super happy being in the, in the beer space. Um, and that's, uh, the wholesale network that we, we work with. Those are the retailers and the buyers that we work with. Um, and that's how we built our team. And we feel that we have enough to, to chew on right now with hard kombucha, uh, with hard tea, and now with the cocktail inspired, ready to drink beverages.

Speaker 1 [02:34] Giant made some big hires this year, including former Firestone Walker Chief sales Officer David Macon, and former New Belgium sales exec, Andrew Mac McLeod. By bringing those two beer industry vets in, what have they added to the business?

Speaker 2 [02:51] Uh, they've added a ton of, of leadership and just know-how. Um, you know, they say that, you know, every man should pull a boat over a mountain at least once in their life. Well, these guys have done it two or three times now, so it gives us and our, our distribution partners and our retailers and our team, uh, which is largely, um, kind of on the younger side, just a ton of confidence in, in the opportunity that we're chasing, and also just our, our ability to go out and, uh, you know, hit those goals.

Speaker 1 [03:19] Aaron, how many, uh, boats have you pulled over a mountain?

Speaker 3 [03:24] Uh, I would say a lot of, uh, mini boats every day, uh, but still working on the big boat.

Speaker 1 [03:32] So, Aaron, how are you measuring success, uh, this year?

Speaker 3 [03:36] Uh, well, this year, certainly in, in innovation and getting hardT, um, off to a great start, which, uh, we, I think we, we have certainly, uh, as Larry mentioned, focused on a few markets, SoCal specifically, and, and really excited about the success there and the blueprint and, uh, kind of just the product market fit, um, and Uh, you know, delivering a product that really consumers, I think, uh, uh, want. Uh, so, you know, that's gonna be a big focus for us, uh, next year in, in expanding, uh, the, the geographical footprint that HRT's, uh, been in, or will be in. Um, and then, uh, on our, uh, park kombucha line, we've really Uh, focused on demos and as things have opened up, uh, getting liquid to lips, and I think that's really helped our rate of sale, um, and our brand awareness, and we're seeing that in the numbers and the data and feel like we have a lot of momentum. Um, so, you know, we're, uh, have that, that story now to Uh, go to retailers, uh, and, you know, just show our performance, and we're really looking forward to the continued growth story, uh, off the back of that. Um, and, you know, we're just going to continue to demo, demo, demo, because we really believe in our liquid, and, uh, the more people taste, and, uh, particularly those that might, uh, not necessarily think that they would be a hard kombucha fan, uh, I think we, we have the liquid to convert them.

Speaker 1 [05:04] What stands out for you this past

Speaker 2 [05:06] year, Larry? We spent a lot of time, uh, really building out our, our team. Uh, we have an awesome team, we take a lot of pride in, um, uh, the makeup of our team. Uh, it's a diverse set of individuals, all from, you know, different backgrounds that bring different things to the table. And without a ton of, uh, you know, chain mandates going into this year, uh, we've really had to be super scrappy and You know, we've, we've definitely earned every case along with our distribution partners. And, um, you know, so big props to, to our team for everything that they've done. It hasn't been easy. Um, they've kind of just put the brand on their back and kind of carried us to the finish line here, and, uh, we're looking to finish out the year strong. And I, I think we've built a really strong, um, growth story and rate of sales story that we'll take into the spring resets, and we're already starting to Um, get some positive indications from, uh, some of our, our chain retailers. So I'm really excited for 2023. And again, it's all, you know, um, on the backs of our, our team.

Speaker 1 [06:04] I read that you guys recently completed a round of funding. Uh, can you tell us more about that funding round and what you plan to do with that money?

Speaker 2 [06:13] Sure thing. Um, so we're currently in a, a capital raise right now. We're about halfway through. Uh, super exciting. It's going to fuel the next 16 to 18 months of, of growth for the brand and all the great things that, um, we want to do. Um, right now, the round is, uh, coming together really nicely and just looking for the final few partners to, to pull it all together and, um, find, um, investors that really, uh, are aligned with our vision for how we want to run this company, how we want to grow this company, and the opportunity that we're, we're chasing.

Speaker 1 [06:44] How much are you hoping to raise?

Speaker 2 [06:46] Uh, 5.5 million.

Speaker 1 [06:48] Nice. That'll go a long way next year, hopefully for you guys.

Speaker 2 [06:53] It goes quickly. Yeah.

Speaker 1 [06:55] Well, uh, speaking of next year, uh, when you look ahead, when you zero in on one priority, what is it?

Speaker 2 [07:04] Uh, you know, we, I'd say we have, you know, several priorities for next year. Um, you know, one of our top priorities for, for 2023 is really, uh, sustainability. Uh, we've made a lot of progress in, in switching from, uh, sleeved cans to printed cans, um, which has been a, a long process, but a worthwhile one, better for the planet, also a lot better for our margins, especially as we're in, uh, an inflationary environment, and also And fundraising mode. So that's been great. Uh, we also are now a certified climate neutral. Uh, that's one of our top sustainability priorities for next year is, uh, offsetting our, our carbon emissions. Uh, so really excited with what we're doing there. Um, and then, um, you know, a few certifications and things like that that we've been working on for a while, USDA or USDA organic for our hard kombucha line. And for our RT line, um, non-GMO Project verified, you know, things that ingredients and, and practices that we've always followed, but now we can actually kind of market that and, um, have those seals. So, um, you know, super excited about that.

Speaker 1 [08:08] One last question for you both. What's one piece of advice that each of you would give the entrepreneurs out there? Something that you've learned over the last year?

Speaker 2 [08:18] Definitely, uh, read everything that Brewbound and Bevnet and Nash put out, listen to the podcast, attend the conferences. Um, you know, we're super big fans of what you guys do. I'm wearing my Brewbound 2019 t-shirt right now. Um, but seriously, when Aaron and I were, were starting this business, we didn't come from necessarily a, a, a CPG background, so, Um, you know, consuming the content that you guys, uh, you know, put out there was super helpful to us, listening to founders that had succeeded before and hearing their stories and the challenges that they went through, um, you know, super valuable to us, and, uh, we're still big, uh, big consumers of everything that you guys do. So thank

Speaker 1 [08:57] you. We didn't pay you to say that, so.

Speaker 3 [09:00] Yeah, uh, I would say in the, in the past year, we've, we've really, uh, built our sales team and, and you mentioned, uh, DMac and, and Mac McLeod as, as we call them, and, you know, they're, they're certainly, uh, really important hires, uh, but we've, you know, built a team around them, uh, this past year, and I think the learning there is, uh, really hire really good people that, um, And candidly have done the job before, uh, particularly, you know, working in an entrepreneurial startup environment, as Larry mentioned, we didn't have alcohol experience before. Uh, so, you know, hire people that you can learn from. Uh, and we've, we've certainly, uh, you know, uh, have had the, uh, the fortune of, of Doing just that from the, the team, uh, we've built. And I think, uh, you know, the, the skill sets of, uh, particularly distributor management, I think that's another big learning of Larry and I since we started, it's just how important, uh, you, the, your wholesaler network is and your partnerships and how you work with them. Uh, and, uh, it's certainly a huge value unlocked, and I think we've built a team that really knows how to work with our, uh, distributors and really looking forward, uh, you know, we just got through, uh, MVP season and had really good meetings, and I think, uh, you know, are, are starting to get in our groove, uh, with our distributor network and, uh, you know, looking forward to what that means next year.

Speaker 1 [10:27] Well, you definitely have two good ones in the, in both of them. So, congratulations on everything you guys have done in the last year, and we're looking to, we're looking forward to seeing what you guys can do in the next year and the coming years. So, congratulations on being a rising star.

Speaker 2 [10:42] Thanks so much. Thanks, Justin.