'Free' Advice: Empower Consumers With Optionality

0:10Hello friends and thanks for tuning into taste radio the number one podcast for anyone building a business in food or beverage. I'm Ray Lateef, the editor and producer of Taste Radio, and with my co-host for this episode, John Craven, Melissa Traverse, and Mike Schneider. This episode features a conversation with Mylon Martin, the founder and CEO of non-alcoholic spirit brand, the aptly named The Free Spirits Company. Melissa, welcome back. How are you? Thank you so much. I'm great, and I'm very happy to be here with all of you. Yeah, I'm happy to see you, even though you're in the office in the next room over.

0:50You're not with the three of us here. That is Mike, John and I. I'm surprised I didn't get kicked out. Yeah, we just don't have enough space in the studio, I guess at this point, but we will the next time, I promise. I sort of look at it like my ego's gotten too big to fit in the same room. There's like my name's on the front of the door with a star on it. Like now I need my own room. I like it. Uh-oh. Fighting words with Ray. We do have your, I mean, you do have a very special setup over there. It looks great. Yeah, I love it. It's a, it's a nice, and it's kind of warm in here too, which I really appreciate.

1:23Yeah. Well, these offices, you know how they get whenever the summertime or close to the summertime hits, it becomes an iceberg in offices here in the Boston area. It's just this, it never ends, does it? It's too hot in the winter when you're inside, It's too cold in the summer. How does this, I mean, this never doesn't make any sense. Oy vey. We got all this gear just nuking us in here. I hope it's not nuking us. Well, I have really. You sound like old man yells at cloud. I have really enjoyed the BevNet Nosh Slack channel. It really keeps me up to date on everything that's going on with BevNet and Nosh.

1:58And it sounds strange to say that, but we produce so much content and we are doing so many things all at once that the Slack channel, it feels like it keeps me organized and I guess in tune with what we're doing on a regular basis. Have you, have you been enjoying the new feature where the editors go in and give you like a sneak preview of what they're working on? No, I haven't. Is that new? Yeah, that's new. Okay. It's brand new. It's in the channel. You've got Marty Caballero and Monica Watrous in there every day. And sometimes Adrian's in there as well. Just talking about what they're, what they're going to cover this week.

2:30There you go. Oh, I like that a lot. You can go in there, comment. They're looking for tips from all of you. So it's a great way to interact with our entire team. And Ray, you're in there as well. So it's just so nice to have the whole team in one place, even if it's virtual. It would have been weird if I asked Ray, hey, Ray, are you enjoying your new segment? Are you enjoying yourself in your new segment? I guess I did notice it, but I haven't looked as deeply into it. And Marty actually just posted something this morning about some of the things that they're working on this week and some of the content that they'll be posting on BevNet.com, which is really cool.

3:07And yes, if you have a tip to share or you have any news of your own, it's a great place to share that news. Did you know you can do this for free? I did not know that either. Slack.BevNet.com. Just go in there. You can get all this for free. Slack.BevNet.com. Love it. Love it. Slack.BevNet.com. And we just finished a Range Me giveaway. the Reign2B team were generous enough to donate a premium subscription and we'll be doing more of those for sure. So plenty of fun stuff going on slack.bevnet.com. Great resources. You get a sneak peek of what's being covered. You have a chance to participate, interact with the team.

3:46And if you have questions about building your business, ask them there. We'll find the answers for you. There you go. I have to say we've gotten a number of community calls from the questions that folks post in that Slack community. So don't be shy. That's how we did the angel investing. That's right. Community call. That's right. Ruth from Arity had a question about angel investors. And next thing you know, we had a community call. There you go. That was a great episode of Community Call. You always produce great episodes, Melissa. So, but what's on the docket? What are you guys working on now and for the next couple of weeks?

4:22We just wrapped up some great shows. So Scott Romano and Elliot Began came on to talk about what Sprouts is looking for. Kathy Yu from VMG talked about what they're looking for and what they're taking into consideration. And then coming up, we're going to talk to the fine folks over at Mabel to figure out how to use that platform successfully, the ins and outs, tips and tricks, that kind of thing. And then we're also going to be talking to Cedars on how to use DSDs for your food business. So I feel like, you know, so many of us think of DSDs for beverage, but you can effectively use them for food.

5:00So we're going to be digging into that. And I also want to remind everybody that they can listen to Community Call as a podcast. So on Spotify, Apple, your listening platform of choice, BevNet and Nash's Community Call. Yeah, if you can't get enough of Melissa and Jackie's and my banter, along with some actual helpful things. There you go. There you go, indeed. Yeah. Melissa, you mentioned Sprouts and I got to mention our most recent episode of Taste Radio that was published on Tuesday. It's titled Talking Shop with Insiders from Walmart, Sprouts, and Gelson's. If I don't mind saying, it is an excellent episode.

5:42If you've ever wanted to get inside the mind of a retail buyer or a merchandiser, this episode is required listening. Will McDonald from Walmart, Kristen Alice from Gelson's, and Brian Albert from Sprouts all give a behind-the-scenes insider look as to what it takes to be successful in their respective retail chains. Take a listen. Who wouldn't want to get inside the minds of those folks, huh? Seriously, seriously. And who wouldn't want to get inside the minds of more angel investors? Everyone's looking for investment. At the very early stage, you're looking for folks who are willing to give you smaller checks.

6:18Smaller checks are like still kind of big checks, like 50 grand, at least to people like me. You know, that 50 grand is still a lot of money. John Craven's like, eh, you know. Pocket chain. Thanks, Frank. Peanuts. that's not true yeah just blow my nose with fifty thousand dollar bills i mean i mean how like you should see like the back of your car is so low to the ground because it's just loaded with kruger ants i don't even know what that is do you know where you can interact right yes do you know where you can interact with angel investors where can you interact with investors at bevnet live at bevnet live which is being held on june 12th and 13th in new york city Kicking off the event on Wednesday, June 12th is our Beverage School session, which does feature a conversation with three angel investors.

7:05Dace Graham from 1731 MGMT. Rachel Mansfield of Great Shit Ventures. That's what it's called. It's GRTSH, right? Great Shit. Okay. I see what you did there. And Greer Tesler of Simple Food Ventures. This is the place to meet those folks, to hear from them what it takes to raise money from angel investors, what they're looking for in brands, from founders, from disruptive, quote unquote, disruptive concepts, how they evaluate innovation, all important information for early stage founders and brands. This is definitely, I mean, for a lot of people, beverage school is like a huge part of coming to BevNet Live.

7:44And I mean, if you're someone who's new to the beverage industry, it might be the most important session you're attending. It's a great drink from the industry fire hose. Like the reason that we started to do beverage school in the first place was that we realized, you know, a lot of people were new to the industry and that some of the stuff on stage wasn't going to feel super relevant to them because they didn't have the background. So you just, we just give you this amazing crash course on the industry, the things you need to know, get you up to speed. So if you're new, come to beverage school.

8:18If you're not new, still come to beverage school. There's a lot you can learn. And some of the stuff, it just helps to review as well. You know, it just helps to have this be reinforced or you also get a chance to interact with the experts too, who may have given you this advice at a previous beverage school, you know, and you get a chance to say, okay, well, maybe I didn't understand that the first time. Now I get it. Now I have questions. You know, So it's an ongoing journey as an entrepreneur. You're always learning something. And we've just, we realized that. And we've got this course for you before BevNet Live.

8:51Absolutely. I've heard so many folks say that it gave them an opportunity not to make expensive mistakes right out of the gate. So that's hugely valuable. You just make all new ones. Yeah. In addition to a conversation with the angel investors I mentioned, there'll be crash courses or at least lessons on finding and managing suppliers and service providers, navigating regulatory pathways and marketing strategies, and protecting your brand's intellectual property. All extremely valuable information that you will be getting if you register or are planning to attend BevNet Live. We're running out of time.

9:29As of the publication date, as of today's publication date, there are 13 days left. Is that right? My math right? 12 days? Sure. We'll call it 12 days. Yeah, whatever. 12 days. You don't have less than two weeks? The point is, get on it. Get on it. Do it. Put it on your to-do list. Check it off. Right. All the cool people are going to be there. That's what the kids say today. All the cool kids are doing it. Definitely. Yes. Yeah. I'm hip. I'm modern. Totally. Everyone knows this. Oh, yeah. We know it. Yeah. I brought some cookies. I already shared one with Melissa. Yeah. It smells amazing. Yeah.

10:01These are cookies. Cookie? I mean, the irony of what is going on right now. Yeah, I know, right? You are serving us from a Tupperware. Yeah. I didn't touch these. What exactly is it? These are cookies from a brand called Dopamine, and it's spelled D-O-U-G-H-P-A-M-I-N-E. Okay. And Dopamine is a brand that was created by a pastry chef who worked in Michelin-starred restaurants. They sell, I believe, four varieties. The one I'm holding in my hand is their blueberry corn variety. the one you're eating right now is a chocolate chunk and sea salt cookie which is quite delicious they're sold in these 15 ounce pouches i believe there's six cookies per bag well this one says 12 servings so eat a half a cookie by the way a half a cookie is one serving right i ate about a third i mean these are dope really they are they're dopamine so yeah i mean these are dope Yeah.

11:00Okay. So John wants to look at the bag. Oh, shoot. I'm so sorry, Melissa. Oh, are you chewing on yours? I am. I'm eating it. Were we not supposed to eat it yet? No, no. I thought you'd do intermittent fasting and I totally forgot about that. No, you know, I just broke my fast with this cookie, which is, you know, how people with the glucose monitors, they like show, I'm sure it'll go off the charts, but it was worth it. It's so good. Oh my goodness. Okay. Again, I'm glad. I hope you're enjoying it. Twist my arm. No, it's, it's, did you sprinkle the salt on top or did it come like that? There's a, there's a bag of sea salt inside the bag and you have to sprinkle it.

11:34I did use gloves. So I'm going to give this my highest rating. Did you have a beard mask on or beard net? No, I'm sure some of my, my beard. That's why it tastes so good. I'm sure some of my beard actually got in there. I'm still going to give this my highest rating of does not suck. Yeah, it does not suck. It is a, it is a very high rating. So yeah, you can get these by mail. they're in some local grocery stores right now. And I misspoke. The founder is not a Michelin or worked at a Michelin star chef. She was a former Michelin star inspector. So she would go to all these restaurants. That's even better.

12:08Taste her products, taste her food, and then decide whether or not they deserve the stars. So she could blackmail some people is what you're saying. Yes. So there's... She knows where the bodies are hidden. Yeah. As I mentioned, there's four varieties. There's a miso peanut butter. What? Blueberry corn, a salty chocolate chunk, and a Rhapsody Road. Did you just say miso peanut butter? Miso peanut butter. I think that's what he said. Yeah. Miso is like a big cookie ingredient these days. We had some folks over for dinner and they brought over miso chocolate chip cookies. Everyone wants to put miso in cookies and I'm here for it.

12:40Put in everything. There you go. Yeah. Now, Jessica Nolan, who is the founder of Dopamine, was on a recent episode of Elevator Talk. And one of the first questions that we asked, my co-host and I, was about the name. Dopamine sounds like it has a functional tilt to it. It sounds like it's a functionally, that's a functional cookie. Is that it? Can I say that? Yeah, sure. But clearly it's not. She just loved the name and she just thinks that a great tasting cookie is going to elevate your dopamine levels. And I would agree in this case. Although if she were to add a functional ingredient to her cookies.

13:16Oh, I've got a good one. I think that an immune-boosting ingredient would be a good idea. And I have an idea for exactly what kind of immune-boosting ingredient. It's called Immuse. Immuse. Immuse. I-M-M-U-S-E. Now more than ever, consumers are looking for ways to boost your immune systems, and Immuse gives them that edge. Just to let you know, Immuse is the presenting sponsor of this episode of Taste Radio. It's also a dietary and food ingredient clinically shown to stimulate immune function at the cellular level. Incorporate Amuse into your innovation strategy and help your consumers optimize their health throughout the year.

13:51Learn more at amusehealth.com. That's I-M-M-U-S-E health.com. Thank you to the good folks who make Amuse for partnering with Taste Radio and consider making them your next partner. That segue was like straight out of the Truman Show. I like that. Kiwohaku. So, welcome. Thank you. I appreciate that. We got more cookies. More cookies. Oh yeah, I have a whole box. Oh my God. I have some in here too. of the same ones. Yeah, we gave Melissa like two cookies in her little room up there. I look cool when you're tossing them. This is like the tastiest episode in a long time. So these are fancy pants which come in a variety of different flavors.

14:28Bite-sized cookies in a pouch. Looks like there's 12-ounce pouches. There's a whole pile here. I'm just taking some good ones here. I got the I don't know, my personal favorite. They have s'mores. Personal favorites, chocolate chip and the mint chocolate. But they're very, you know, nice, crispy. There's a certain brand they remind me of that's now owned by Mondelez and the product is kind of not the same. But anyway, Fancy Pants. These are, I don't know, some of the best packaged cookies I've ever had. Agreed. I'll go that far. Agreed. I think they're so delicious. I have the mint chocolate here.

15:01They're made locally here in New England in Walpole. And Maura Duggan, one of the founders, is such a lovely woman. And she was actually at the Pitch Slam that we hosted here last week. And when I worked over at Whole Foods Market, she was always such a great partner and would always come to new store openings and do giveaways and participate in everything that we had going on there. And I just couldn't love their cookies or that team over there more than I do. Was that the Naturally New England Pitch Slam? That was the Naturally New England Pitch Slam. And she was there with cookies. These are super tasty.

15:37And as John said, like crispy could be bigger on this package because they are extremely crispy. The salted caramel might be my favorite. And I guess I'm intrigued by the birthday cake because technically I hate birthday cake everything, but I bet Fancy Pants makes good birthday cake cookies. Damn it. Is it the fake vanilla that you hate? I mean, if I want something that tastes like birthday cake, I just want to eat birthday cake. Fair enough. That's kind of how I feel about it. I don't know why. birthday cake. Whenever I think about birthday cake flavored products, I think of Bang. Yeah, that was it.

16:12Bang did a bad one. And so did, I don't like birthday cake Oreos. Those are terrible, but I've had good birthday cake stuff too, like birthday cake Oathouse. And oh my God, of course, birthday cake Honey Mamas is insanely good. Oh yes. So good. Been a while since we had Honey Mamas mention reference. I know. I try to control myself.

16:35i recently received a nice sampling of products from a brand called cloud water cloud water i want to say they're what this is in their sixth year when were they on the new beverage showdown been around a while yeah that might be accurate showdown that might be accurate yeah yeah it was well i want to say it was 2018 but it could have been 2019 and i was so happy when mark seiden who's the founder and CEO of Cloudwater Brands reached out. So the varieties that are here on the table include four of their CBD varieties. These are ones that include 25 milligrams of CBD, and then two of their energy drinks.

17:15These are called Peace, Love, and Energy, or at least, or more specifically, Cloudwater Plus Peace, Love, and Energy. These were revamped, I want to say recently, within the last few months, to include this whole, not just of energy, but peace, love, and energy. They're made with organic coconut water and caffeine. These are delicious products. In particular, the pineapple and passion fruit variety, or passion fruit and pineapple variety are really delicious. No CBD? These do not contain any CBD, and they're sweetened with wildflower honey. Wildflower honey? Good stuff. Carbonated? They are carbonated.

17:53These are made with sparkling water as a base. Yeah, I noticed instantly that the can is different. It's a silver can and the cloud water cans are typically white. So I was just wondering, I mean, I think that's a really good way to call out that this is different than our CBD skew. Yeah, you don't see too many silver cans on the market. There's another energy drink. I think it's called Joie or Joy. That's silver energy. Joy, that Vroon product too. Oh yeah, Vroon also. Maybe that's a new trend. There's also the Silver Bullet, which won't slow you down. Of course that's an energy drink, duh. The Silver Bullet.

18:31Wow. Melissa knows a lot about that, apparently. Silver Bullet. Is that a banquet beer? No. Silver Bullet's the light variety. Just kidding. Yeah, so 80 milligrams of organic caffeine. Again, these are just great tasting products. You don't taste the caffeine in them. and I'm just really happy for Mark because it's a grind. It's a grind to build a business, especially a beverage business and continue to do it for a number of years. And he's making waves. He's making headway and I'm really happy for him and happy for Cloudwater. These cans look to be refreshed. He's actually got CBD on the label.

19:08I thought there was hemp on the label before, but I could be mistaken. But these are nice and clean and great flavors. I'm holding the CBD cans right now. Grapefruit, mint and basil. Half tea and half lemonade, which obviously can't call an Arnold Palmer. And then blood, orange, and coconut. Yeah. So, yeah, the call out of CBD is much more prominent than it had been in the past, which is great. And I did talk to him about, you know, this sort of, I don't know, it's not hating, but the, it's poo-pooing of CBD as an ingredient. And there was that New York Times article that came out a few weeks back.

19:50And there's a lot of brands that are pulling back on the call-outs for CBD. But he's like, no, people want these products. People, we have an established community of people. It's not a niche market. It's a growing market. And there are people who are demanding bioavailable CBD and the kind of information you'll have about where it's sourced and how it's produced. I mean, CBD was one of those gold rush ingredients. And there were brands that wanted to build a CBD brand. There were brands that wanted to get rich on CBD. So, yeah, I mean, I think it's the classic, like, you know, only as good as the weakest link.

20:23And I think there were a lot of, I don't know, maybe I'll just nicely call them weird things that were done in that category with that ingredient. So obviously that New York Times article that came out a little while ago, you know, it sort of showed that there are brands that are still doing well that are just staying the course. And, you know, I think it's maybe a little bit of a setback, but good to see brands moving forward too. So for sure. for sure. I like this one. You can have it. Thanks. I was hoping you'd say that. Well, since I'm in my own room over here, I can't sample any cloud water.

21:00So I brought my own. I have the new Cirilla Skew, which is a hoppy hibiscus with citra hops. And it is so tasty and refreshing. Sarah Stender Delaney is one of our favorites, of course, you know, a strong member of our community. She was on a community call actually about how to call out regenerative ingredients on your packaging. And I just love this new SKU so much. I think it's perfect for summer. It's refreshing and it gives you the feel of drinking something special. You know, if you want to trade out alcohol for something else, it's absolutely delicious. Well done, Sarah and Cirilla. Fantastic, Brad.

21:42And well done, Cloudwater for the blood orange and coconut. So good. They make really good products. Both brands. Ray Sherrod. Finally. Thank you, Ray. There are six cans here. You're welcome to all six. I appreciate that. I might take them all. And he baked his cookies. I know. And he baked his cookies. And he's going to send Marcus Rashford to Arsenal. I don't know about that. Ray's much more chill when the Premier League season's over. Actually, there could be something to that. I think so. Congrats on the FA Cup, Ray. You know, it was a good game for us. It's a great trophy. It's a good trophy.

22:11Two more trophies than Arsenal has had in the last two years. Hopefully your team is headed in the right direction. It'll be fun to beat you guys down again when it matters. All right, let's get to our featured interview for this episode. Mylon Martin is the founder and CEO of The Free Spirits Company, which markets handcrafted, non-alcoholic spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails. Founded in 2020, the brand sells zero-proof bourbon, gin, tequila, Amaro, and vermouth that are produced using a process it describes as distillate reconstruction. Free Spirits sources natural ingredients including American white oak, European juniper, and Mexican blue agave, and distills their essences while reconstructing the nose, flavor notes, and mouthfeel of traditional spirits.

23:00The company also adds vitamins B3 and B6 to the products. The goal is to provide consumers with optionality, and the ability to create no or low-proof cocktails depending on their mood and setting. In our interview, Mylan talks about the aha moment that led him to create the Free Spirits Company, his belief that, quote, there's no such thing as a non-elk cocktail menu anymore, why flavor improvement is a process, how to convince someone who didn't like a product the first time to give it a second try, and why he's bullish on the brand's ready-to-drink cocktails.

23:41Hey, folks, it's Ray with Taste Radio. Right now, I'm honored to be sitting down with Mylon Martin, who is the founder and CEO of the Free Spirits Company. Mylon, great to see you. Great to see you, Ray. Thanks for having me, man. This is exciting. Isn't it exciting? It really is, man. Like the energy in the room. I mean, everybody here is just excited to be here, which just kind of bubbles up to something rad. Totally, totally. We're here in L.A. You told me before we hopped in the mics you're from the Bay Area. Well, you live in the Bay Area now. from the, well, living in the Bay Area up in Marin County, where I founded the company.

24:13Originally from Philadelphia, spent my formative years in New York and moved out here about a decade ago. Nice. Did you drive down? No, I flew down. You flew down? Flew down via Philadelphia, again, of all places. My daughter had a volleyball tournament in Philadelphia over the weekend, so I took her there for that and then dropped her off back in San Francisco, heading down here for this. Did you get to, you know, visit some of the old shopping grounds? I did. I had a cheesesteak or two from some of my favorite places. What's the favorite place? I'm a Gino's guy. Okay. I'm a Gino's guy. There's a big debate between Gino's and Pat's and all of that.