Soul & Science: Fast Forward Your Marketing Mind
#83: Innovative Partnership | Dustin Baker & Maya French, Co-founders of HappyPop
January 6, 2025 · 37 min
Why listen
Two co-founders share a decade of lessons on building brands that sell wellness, not just products.
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In this episode
- What makes a long-term entrepreneurial partnership actually work
- How personal challenges shaped two real beverage brands
- Why community is built through earning trust, not demanding attention
- How to stay relevant as the CPG landscape keeps shifting
About this episode
This week, Jason explores The Soul & Science of Entrepreneur Partnerships with Dustin Baker and Maya French, co-founders of HappyPop. As the driving forces behind Koia and now HappyPop, Dustin and Maya have redefined what it means to create purposeful products in the competitive beverage industry.Discover how their unique partnership has evolved over a decade, how they turned personal challenges into groundbreaking products, and why community is at the heart of their mission to deliver happiness and wellness to all.What’s Inside:- How Dustin and Maya’s entrepreneurial chemistry fuels their success.
- Lessons from launching Koia, a plant-based protein drink, and HappyPop, a mood-boosting energy beverage.
- Strategies for building community and creating culturally relevant brands.
- Insights into navigating the ever-changing CPG landscape.
- "Great partnerships are built on trust, adaptability, and a shared mission."
- "Happiness isn’t just a product—it’s a commitment to making lives better."
- "Community is earned, not demanded, and it’s essential for brand success."
Brought to you by Mekanism.
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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