Soul & Science: Fast Forward Your Marketing Mind
#23: Olipop Co-Founder & President David Lester | Breaking Your Way to Better Outcomes
October 24, 2022 · 29 min
Why listen
The co-founder of OLIPOP explains how nostalgia, gut health, and rule-breaking built a soda brand that earns 50% of revenue online.
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In this episode
- Why soda cravings are rooted in childhood memory and how to market to that
- How humility accelerates the path from knowing nothing to real expertise
- Why a stupid-seeming idea is often a signal to find a smarter solution
- How to balance data science with instinct when making marketing decisions
About this episode
There’s an alchemy to relationships, including the ones between co-founders. David Lester, co-founder at good-for-you-soda company, OLIPOP, first heard about his future business partner, Ben Goodwin, while he was quitting his 10-year job at global beverage giant Diageo. His then boss thought they’d work well together. The first meeting between entrepreneurs was memorable as Ben showed up with a bag of home-made soda. The pair went on to run a kefir beverage startup, followed by OLIPOP. Packed with healthy prebiotics and a tenth the sugar of regular, OLIPOP brilliantly markets taste, health and nostalgia while drawing 50% of revenues through online channels, just a few of Lester’s marketing feats.In this episode you’ll learn:
- Soda psychology is grounded in our earliest memories.
- Three-quarters of the population is trying to make healthy adjustments.
- When something seems stupid, that’s your cue to figure out a better way.
- That humility will take you from knowing nothing to expertise.
- Data science surrounds us, but your soul processes the insights
About Soul & Science: Fast Forward Your Marketing Mind
Soul & Science is an award-winning podcast where marketing’s brightest minds reveal what it takes to build breakthrough brands. Hosted by Jason Harris, each episode explores the balance between brand building (Soul) and business performance (Science).
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