Joni

0:00Claire Matern:Welcome to the Emerging Brands Podcast with Kelly Bennett. This is the podcast to discover stories behind your new favorite CPG brands. Each episode brings you behind the scenes of the brand and founder story, learn what sets them apart in the marketplace, and their strategy going to market. We talk about plans for growth, practical advice for an emerging brand founder, and where to shop products that are making waves in food, beverage, wellness, beauty, and beyond. You'll also hear from industry experts, brand builders, investors, and operators you should absolutely have on your radar if you're building a CPG brand today.

0:44Claire Matern:I'm your host, Kelly Bennett, a Brooklyn-based brand strategist with a front row seat of what makes an emerging CPG brand stand out. Whether you're building a brand of your own or love supporting what's next, you're in the right place. This podcast is brought to you by Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds is the go-to platform built for creator-powered retail activations. They are connecting everyday creators with CPG brands to generate shelf-level awareness, drive in-store momentum, and generate authentic content in markets that matter the most. Go to hummingbirds.com for all the details and let them know I sent you.

1:29Claire Matern:Now, let's dive into the new episode. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Emerging Brands Podcast with Kelly Bennett. Today, I have Claire Matern, who is the founder of Joni, and her brand got on my radar because I saw her pitch live at the Enthuse Foundation pitch competition, and I genuinely, paused, started following her on Instagram, was following along so closely to her pitch, her concept, what her product was doing. And I had one of those moments where I'm like, oh, this, this founder, this product, this brand has something special. So Claire, I'm so happy that you're now on the podcast so we can nerd out about your brand.

2:20Yes, thank you so much for having me. I love talking all things and introducing more people to Joni and also Verjoux, our basic ingredients. So thank you so much for having me.

2:29Claire Matern:Okay, so let's jump right into it because you're doing something different in the beverage space. You're also using an ingredient where most people wouldn't even know what exactly it is. And that's what I also love about what you're doing. So can you start from like the very early beginning of what is Joni and like what is that ingredient that you're using in a different way? Yeah, exactly. So Joni is a verijoux based drink and we are proud to be one of the only drinks on the market that use verijoux and then the only drink on the market that proudly labels ourselves a verijoux based drink because I grew up knowing what verijoux is and really believe that more people should know what verijoux is as an ingredient.

3:18it translates to green juice from french and it's the pressing of pre-harvest wine grapes so when they're still green hard unripened and it's been around since grapes have been cultivated so i always joke with people it's like give or take around 9 000 years but not a lot of people know about it it's kind of stayed within these tight culinary circles or used by bartenders and kind of within the wine industry got it it's one of these products that should be used more because then you're actually able to save a lot more grapes that are just culled from the vines and often wasted.

3:51Claire Matern:So can you go back a little bit to how this ingredient got on your radar and then why you decided to say like, Hey, no one's doing this. Let me be that one. Yeah, totally. So I grew up in the food industry. I grew up in Brooklyn as well. So my family owned a cheese shop in Park Slope Brooklyn for 20 years. My dad, his whole career was in specialty food retail. And so I grew up in the family shop. And then during COVID was working in the family shop. And that's when I really started interacting, not only with our customers more, but also the ingredients on a real day to day basis and started fielding questions from people and also just getting to have really fun and exciting conversations with people about ideas and ingredients but we sold verajout on our shelves next to the vinegars because it can be used in place of vinegar or wine and a lot of cooking applications so having so many conversations with people kind of day in day out of like what should i do with this or how do you use this or i have this to use for one recipe but then what do i do with the rest of the bottle it started clicking where i'm like okay this tastes really great this is there's an abundance of it.

5:05It can be used in so many ways that people don't think about. It can be a drink and has been a drink. There are records dating back to the Middle Ages of it being a drink. So I was like, hmm, let me start, let me start experimenting with this. Because also it was the height of COVID when we weren't going out. So I was also having fun just making drinks for myself at home to wind down with the evening. I was making it, you know, adding a splash of gin. You can use it in cocktails or, you know, keep it low and no. So it's just this really great handy ingredient. And I just thought, you know what, let's, let's get it out there for more people.

5:41Claire Matern:What a cool background too. What is the name of your family's cheese shop? Yeah. So it was, it was, we've closed now it was called Hiller and Moon, which was also a really wonderful homage to my dad's two grandmothers. Those were their maiden names and they were the ones that first got him into food. And, you know, he talks about like pulling stools up to their kitchen counters and climbing up to be able to help them in the kitchen. So it kind of just shows this generational celebration of food and cooking. And so loved that we could pay an homage to them with the store name. I mean, an incredible run, 25 years, that's unheard of.

6:21Claire Matern:So congratulations to your family. So now being on your own and creating your thing, what helped you land on moving forward of like, okay, people don't know what this ingredient is, but I've been experimenting with it. Can you take us behind the scenes of like that pre-launch, you making a product that actually, this is something. Totally. So even before, so before COVID. I also had worked as a recipe writer, tester, and developer. I had done a lot of working on different cookbook sets and have just always been surrounded by food in different iterations. So, and I have a degree in supply chain management.

7:05So all of these things kind of started aligning perfectly. I was like, oh, I think I could actually do this. Like, I think I know what steps I need to take, or I can figure out the steps that need to be taken. So developing the recipes in my home kitchen, then with some research, figuring out how to get it to a formulator and immediately start working with them to just reverse engineer what I created to scale it up for commercial ability. and then you know just one thing led to another where it's like okay these are the stepping stones you have to do the nutritional testing and and you know just getting one foot in front of the other to where it needs to be made and and started getting out to people and you know just also talking to a lot of people test running it with people even just on my home recipe side of things you know making big batches and bringing it to friends and at that point too we could start having like picnics and outdoor meetings with people.

8:00So, you know, I would just kind of pass off and be like, tell me what you think. I know I can't come near you, but I'm six feet away. Exactly. Give me your thoughts, give me your ideas, go home, you know, here's a bottle. I'll wave to you from your stoop and, you know, go and have fun with it and tell me what you, how you mixed it. Or, you know, did he, I always say, do you, you can enjoy your journey naked or spirited. So I say, you know, just have it as is or level it up and give me your feedback. so it was it definitely became a covid project as well you know and yeah it was so yeah now we're five years in yeah five years from like first idea it was summer of 2020 when i started percolating about it and then it took about yeah and then it took well it took two and a half years to get our first wholesale order so from idea through all the planning i mean even the the formulator timeline was about four months and then you know packaging ideas was happening kind of simultaneously testing had to then happen and you know supply chain things and then in September of 2022 I did a kickstarter to be able to fund our first production run so then the first Kickstarter yeah that was a whole other story it was it was it was successful obviously I was very happy to have that but it was definitely stressful it was a you know it's a one month all or nothing and it it was it was a it was a fun challenge but it also was a bit of an eye-opener there you have to kind of deal with some personal things you think maybe there are people that would kick in who didn't it it sort of it's really amazing who kind of shows up and a lot of times it's more of the periphery people in your life who show up and so that's a lot of lessons

9:52Claire Matern:So that could also be like a whole other podcast episode. Happy to talk about it. Something really important for founders of maybe it's level setting expectation or being open to who's going to come in to support. It may not be who you expect. And I think that that's an important thing to just put on someone's radar as they're getting ready to launch that it may come to you in a totally different way than what you expected. And so happy to get back on here and chat. But yeah, it's even it's it's the balancing those expectations and then the like shock and surprise of who steps up and like where the big things will come from.

10:39because often where you never think it will come from.

10:42Claire Matern:So cool. I love that. So how did you then get your first wholesale order to really kickstart the business after? Yeah, so we did do the production run before I really kind of hit the ground running just because I knew like I didn't even have any like samples. Like I had to have can in hand to be able to go in. I think that's also what's so interesting having been on the store side of things for so many years. And, you know, my dad definitely has, you know, his 45 to 50 year career was on the store side. But, you know, me dabbling and being, you know, at least five years in it. It's all about walking in.

11:18I'm really hitting the ground running, having samples in hand, having information, showing up, having those face to face, you know, moments with a store owner. So I waited till we had product. And then that dry January of 2023 was like, literally, I was out on the street for like eight hours a day. I had, you know, I had a tote bag of all my sample bags and it was just get in, have sale sheets in the bag. I mean, it really comes down to so many stores were even like, oh, this is great. Like, do you have the info? I'm like, it's all there. It's all right. They're like, oh, so your contact info is in there.

11:54I'm like, yep. They're like, that's amazing. Like some people don't do that. And it's, I think too, just having been on the receiving end, just remembering to be like, your contact info, have all the pricing info, make it easy for a store to get in touch with you. That's, you know, that's often the last thing on their to-do list on a very busy day for them in their store. Don't make it a long process to get your product.

12:21Claire Matern:That is such a great piece of advice. and I didn't even ask for your take on advice yet, but this is just such an organic segue. When you are talking about getting in front of people, sampling, so you already had it in a cute tote bag, I'm sure. You had the sales sheet, you had the contact, you had a sample. Were you working with a distributor at that time? or was it? No, and we're still self-distributing. So we are still me, me. And, you know, it's an eventuality to be with a distributor 100%. And, you know, I hope that's something that will happen in the next three, six months, just to be able to scale really.

13:11But starting local was such a, like, just seems so obvious to me as well. And, and having, having so many local stores, first of in Brooklyn and then New York City and, you know, regionally, like places where I can physically get to. And yeah, and then having been a local business, it's like, I know how that operates, I know how I can walk in. And, and, you know, even if it is just dropping samples off, getting a name of the person that you're leaving them with, then, you know, doing a follow up email or follow up walk in to the, you know, talk to the manager or the owner or the buyer. It's it, that is just how it's always been.

13:53And so I think actually, you know, for better or for worse, I haven't gone the more, you know, the larger way yet. We've only just been on fare for the last like three or four months. And that hasn't even really been a major thing for me quite yet. Because for me, it's just about this organic reach out.

14:11Claire Matern:So people are literally placing orders directly with you. Yeah, yeah. That is so cool though, because you're getting one, the contact information, you know how they order, you're building personal relationships so that you can really understand what moves the needle for your customer. And then when you're ready to ramp up, you have flushed out a lot of that guesswork. Yep. Thank you for sharing that because we haven't really touched upon that on the podcast. So I'm really glad that you did. Yeah. Because it's sometimes the things that could be, I know it's not simple, but some of those like low hanging fruit that is literally in your own backyard that we tend to overlook because we think it has to be super complicated or technical or whatever the case may be.

15:01Claire Matern:But that's really good practical advice. Totally. Yeah. And again, it's that idea of don't overcomplicate something. And if there is a store that you frequent or love or think it would be a great fit, walk in with a sample you know everyone's human everyone you just have to you know it can be a little nerve-wracking but you know walk in say hello say you know i'm a local brand i'd love to leave some samples the info's in the bag i'll follow up in a few days you know and also allow what i know too from being on the store side allow for some time to pass i know like all of us want that it's you know the abc always be closing did it again you are low down on some of these stores daily to-do lists.

15:44They are, they've got a lot on their plates. So allow a week, allow some time, don't go back the next day. They have not tried it and you don't want to come off looking pushy.

15:55Claire Matern:That's such a great point too, which can be really hard, but give it some time and a little breath. Because like you said, people actually need to try it and they have so much going on. so give them a minute give them a minute and then on i mean it is astounding too when things come up because again to you like you don't know where they are in their cash flow you don't know where they are in their buying i had a store come out a year later and say listen we didn't forget about you we love joanie you know now we're ready to take it on and it's like wonderful thank you that's that's fantastic. Great.

16:35Claire Matern:I love it. You never know. Like that's the thing too. It's like, no's aren't always no, like no's aren't forever. You know, maybe it's not right now, but you have to get used to taking a no and knowing that it's not set in stone. I love that. Yes. What are you working on currently? I know you have like a pre-order in the works. Yeah. So we're doing a new production run you know also starting starting to scale things up has been really fun you know we've been in market now for two and a half years and you know ramping up productions and and also getting that timing with the harvest of these pre-harvest grapes so the we use grapes that are removed from the vine about eight weeks before traditional wine harvest which means you know they're only available everyone you know they get picked once a year and timing and planning has been really interesting and we've had to ramp things up so we actually are currently out of rouge because we had to wait for the august harvest and we're doing our production run in the next few weeks so we're going to be doing a pre-order i know that rouge has been sold out on the website for about a month now which is something i didn't love but it also shows that it's it's growing in popularity and and it's really getting loved by people so yeah we're going to open pre-orders production is going to be in october and then we'll get that out ASAP to people.

17:59So cool.

18:01Claire Matern:What are some other lessons learned as far as getting a new product in people's hands, using an ingredient that maybe people aren't super familiar with? Also in the non-alk space. I mean, I get pitches all the time for a new non-alk beverage, just like navigating in a somewhat crowded space too. I would just love to hear your take of how you're building and how you're navigating it all. Yeah, for me, it's always just going back to their shoe as a product, and the education side of things. So I know we're building more slowly and methodically than maybe other people see or can do. I think for me, it comes down to so much of a getting liquid to lips doing demos, having people taste it, and then really focusing on introducing their shoe as a concept.

18:56I'm really like, I've changed the way that I'm looking at this recently too. It's like, you know, I feel like me, Joni, the brand, the ingredient is like, we're on the cusp of something that kombucha or cider was on like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, where it's like, you know, now they're like a staple, you know, people will know what kombucha is or cider is. You don't have to explain it to people. I think there's, you will get there and can get there. And I feel like we're like just like trying to crest that hill, which is really exciting. Because again, too, like it doesn't have to specifically be for the non-alc crowd.

19:36It doesn't have to specifically be for like it can be kind of for anyone in anything. But it's also like I don't want to get too broad because of that, too.

19:47Claire Matern:Right. Because that's like the no go rule. Then you're for nobody. So yeah, you know, it's really honing in on the idea that verjus is naturally non-alcoholic. So it really lends itself to being perfect for whatever reason, if you're not having an alcoholic drink at that moment in time for yourself. But it's also this really historical culinary ingredient that lends itself to being paired with things. So if, and that's what I've always said about Joni is, you know, if you're with a group friends and one person isn't drinking because they don't drink one person is pregnant one person wants to add a little splash of something to their journey you can all have journey as a base and do something with it for yourself that's a cool point do you use that a lot in your content and social and stuff like that yeah and i think that's something that i even want to work on more but yeah going back to even when i said like you know we like to say you can have journey naked or spirited and we have the qr code on the back of every can that sends you to a recipe page it's really the idea of you know Joni is there for you to have the way that you want it um I'm again I grew up you know with the idea of you know food is there to be used for your senses and not to feel overwhelming or it's like you are in control of this you're the driver and you can add something as simple as just a dash of bitters and a basil leaf or you can add a splash of gin or make it into a spritz or, you know, find a cool Amaro and really like ham out and experiment.

21:18I love Amaro. It's fun. It's for you to have fun with.

21:22Claire Matern:Okay. Now I have to experiment on my next journey Paul. I didn't even, honestly, I didn't even realize that it could be used for cocktails. So I'm really glad that we're talking about this because just like spritzes in general, I feel like are really starting to ramp up in popularity, aperitifs. And personally, I love that space too, because it tends to be a lower alcohol. And after turning 40, I'm like, I need to find things that won't give me a headache in the morning. I agree. And like mixing it up. But I love that Joni could do both. Yeah. Yeah, easily. Easily. And that's what's fun. And be able to go in so many different directions because the blanc being tarragon, basil, celery, really bright, herbaceous, can go one way with an amara or a spirit.

22:12But then the rouge is equally refreshing because of the tartness, but you have that warmth of the rosemary and the cardamom and the allspice. So it's like a Joni for every season and reason.

22:23Claire Matern:Love this. I love this. Okay, last question, most importantly, where can people shop or pre-order Joni? Yeah, so Joni is available on drinkjoni.com and we will get things out to you when the next production run happens very soon. But we are in stores. So in Brooklyn and the Manhattan areas, minus Moonshine, we love them to death. They have their two stores in Prospect Heights and in Greenpoint. Also in Greenpoint, we're at Big Night and in the West Village. Also in the West Village, the local variety store, which is so wonderful. and then you know outside we're in in boston at vinyl general andre at semolina and medford outside of boston we're down in philly at wallace dry goods and river wards we're in alaska if you're if you're listening in anchorage you can get us at la bodega so that's our furthest flung um but yeah we're just dotted around and hopefully getting into more and more regions as well Well, congratulations.

23:23Claire Matern:I mean, two and a half years in, you've done an incredible job. You're doing it yourself and you're building it piece by piece. And I just genuinely love stories like yours. And I could just feel your passion and your insight and how you've taken all your different lived experiences and knowledge and have been pouring it into this brand. So just congratulations on it all. thank you so much it's been it's been so much fun and that's really where the passion lies is that more people should know verju and and enjoy joanie and and make it for themselves that way and you know just have fun amazing well thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing can't wait to get even more creative with some cocktails and joanie sounds perfect and thank you everyone for listening.

24:17Claire Matern:Go check out Joni and I'll see you all in the next episode. Bye. This podcast is brought to you by Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds is the go-to platform built for creator-powered retail activations. They're connecting everyday creators with CPG brands to generate shelf-level awareness, drive in-store momentum, and generate authentic content in markets that matter the most. Go to hummingbirds.com for all the details and let them know I sent you. If you're new here, hi, I'm Kelly Bennett, a Brooklyn-based brand strategist working with first-time CPG food and beverage founders. I have a front row seat of what makes an emerging CPG brand stand out because you're not just building a product, you are building a brand.

25:11Claire Matern:And you want to make sure that is one that consumers love and retailers remember. That's where I come in. I've recently advised brands like Frankly Good Coffee, She's the Sauce, a new non-alcoholic cocktail line that's coming to market soon, and a hormone-conscious deodorant because food-adjacent brands count too. If you are bringing a new product to market, please reach out at withkellybennett.com. Thank you so much for listening and sharing. You can follow me on Instagram at withkellybennett and you can follow the show at Emerging Brands Podcast. Thank you again and I'll see you on the next episode.