Product-first: formulation and retention

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What's up Rock Nation! Today we're joined by Greg La Vecchia, co-founder of Bloom, the bootstrapped creator brand that scaled to $180M before taking on their first strategic partnership and is now moving over 170 million cans of energy drink with distribution in 70,000 doors nationwide. In this episode, we break down how Bloom went from a niche greens powder brand to a nine-figure CPG powerhouse, the marketing psychology behind selling out products and using "restocked" as your most powerful word, why product will always beat branding, how they used Amazon dominance as a launchpad into major retail, and what it really takes to compete with the monsters of the beverage world.

Check out Greg here:

https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@GregLaVecchia⁩ 

https://www.instagram.com/greglavslife/

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

00:01:08 - Bloom's Origin Story

00:01:56 - Bootstrapping to $180M and the NutriBullet Partnership

00:02:23 - Keurig Dr Pepper Deal and 70,000 Doors

00:03:09 - Performance Marketing vs. Brand Building

00:03:39 - Growing Mari's Personal Brand Through Meta Ads

00:04:16 - Booty Bands, Pre-Workout, and How Bloom Was Born

00:04:52 - Why You Need to Launch to a Hyper Specific Niche

00:05:39 - Scared Money Doesn't Make Money

00:06:57 - The Meme Page Strategy That Unlocked Everything

00:08:05 - Finding Customers When They're Not Looking for You

00:08:39 - How the Influencer Marketing Playbook Changed

00:10:02 - Building the Largest In-House Influencer Network

00:11:20 - Stan Store

00:12:27 - Scaling TikTok and the Creator Brand Stigma

00:13:47 - Using Amazon and Target as Validity Markers

00:14:26 - How They Redirected Their Entire Community to Amazon

00:15:41 - Becoming the #1 Health Product on Amazon

00:16:12 - Competing against Amazon supplements

00:22:16 - The Flavor Formulation Process

00:23:08 - Getting Better Terms From Manufacturers

00:24:10 - Why Small Goals Take the Same Effort as Massive Ones

00:25:31 - Thinking Month to Month and Staying Nimble

00:26:52 - Hiring Mistakes and Copying the Wrong Org Chart

00:28:23 - Why Hiring From Red Bull and Monster Backfired

00:29:30 - How Many People Are at Bloom

00:30:09 - The Business Mishap That Led to the NutriBullet Partnership

00:30:47 - The McLaren Moment That Changed Everything

00:31:47 - Why VCs Wouldn't Touch an Energy Drink Company

00:32:42 - Meeting Dos Cunningham and Selling 30% of the Business

00:34:07 - Why High Barrier Categories Are Actually Easier

00:34:46 - Getting Frustrated With the Nutrition Space

00:35:26 - How Much Capital You Need to Launch a Beverage Brand

00:36:14 - How Each Bloom Business Funded the Next

00:37:45 - The $1.3M Black Friday and Selling Out Overnight

00:41:05 - "Restocked" Is the Most Powerful Word in Marketing

00:42:15 - Greg's Relationship With Money

00:44:21 - How Becoming a Father Changed the Way He Operates

00:45:06 - Delayed Gratification

00:47:09 - Longevity Mindset and Protecting Yourself

00:48:45 - ADHD as a Superpower

00:49:03 - Brutal Mistakes Brands Make Going Into Energy

00:51:41 - Organic Marketing and Founder Content

00:53:22 - Building the Right Team for Social

00:55:18 - Why Greg Waited to Build His Personal Brand

00:57:00 - The Valley of Despair in Building a Business

00:59:06 - Getting Your Testosterone Checked

01:03:46 - Selling Candy in School

01:05:26 - What Greg Has Learned From Billionaires

01:06:55 - Greg's Superpower: Consistency and Routine

01:08:27 - Designing Your Life Around Your ADHD

01:10:46 - Why Greg Doesn't Touch Spreadsheets

01:14:36 - Using Data vs. Gut Feeling for Product Decisions

01:15:54 - Why Greg Hates Being the First Mover

01:17:42 - What Bloom Learned From Being in Target and Walmart

01:19:34 - Getting Robbed by the Cartel

01:22:34 - What a Full Bloom Marketing Campaign Looks Like Today

01:23:42 - Staggering Your Launch Moments

01:31:15 - The After Party

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