Building a Clean-Label Tart Cherry Beverage with No Natural Flavors and No Added Sugar in the Midst of a Booming Ingredient Trend

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1:20I think a really big trend is people wanting to know exactly what's in what they're eating. And there's a lot of new products coming out that don't have the transparency that everyone's wanting. And I think that that will make or break a business. We're super transparent in exactly the minerals we add, exactly what we're using in our beverage, and there's nothing we're leaving out. And I think that that has set us apart and will continue to as we grow. Hey, everybody. This is Caitlin Bricker, Managing Editor at Startup CPG. We are back with another founder feature. Today, I'm sitting down with Lindsay Frederick, founder of Tart, a healthy lifestyle beverage focused on tart, cherry, and mineral water with just five organic ingredients and zero natural flavors or added sugar.

2:08Lindsay has a marketing degree from Michigan State with a minor in entrepreneurship, and her CPG journey started in her college kitchen where she was dealing with 35 allergies and trying to figure out how to eat nutritious foods. She launched on January 1st of this year. Within two weeks, she was at Winter Fancy Fair in the startup CPG section, creating a lot of buzz. And Tart Cherry is now the trending flavor of 2026. Coincidence? I think not. We're diving into why she makes her own mineral water in-house, how the organic certification became her unexpected competitive advantage in retail, her strategy of minimal booth setup that lets the product speak for itself, why transparency and fewer ingredients is the next phase of functional beverages, and what it feels like to be a solo founder activating at fitness studios, beaches, and all across the country while simultaneously preparing for a launch in California and Texas this year.

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3:27Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Caitlin. And today I'm here with Lindsay Frederick, founder of Tart. Lindsay, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. It is great to have you here. I must say, the first time I saw Tarte in writing was when we were recruiting brands for our winter fancy fair section. And you got me. I didn't even see the ingredients yet, but I read the description. I said, I need to know more. I don't know if you remember this, but I reached out and I said, do you mind sharing the ingredient deck with me? And I think you were probably like, who the hell is this and why?

4:03Why are you asking me this question? I was delighted with the ingredient deck. So before we go any further, can you tell us what Tarte is? Tarte is a healthy lifestyle beverage focused around tart, cherry, and mineral water. So we're all organic, only five ingredients, make our own mineral water, and love to base everything around the superfood tart, cherry. Beautiful. And I do have a can here with me right now. I want as well. I'm going to crack one. Here we go.

4:36Cheers. Cheers. It's so good. Thank you. It sounded great in writing. And then when you sent the ingredient deck, I was just like, this is as good as I thought it was going to be. And then I tasted it. It's one of my favorite beverages on the market right now. Thank you. Thank you. Run us through the beverage. Run us through the ingredient deck. What can somebody experience when they taste tart? So I really loved all the benefits of tart cherry, but didn't like the taste. So that's where everything really stemmed from. I started making this in my college kitchen and I'd mix it with mineral water and then add a couple extra things.

5:14So we make our own mineral water in-house and then we add tart cherry, cranberry, lemon, and lime, and that's it. How does somebody go about making mineral water? Probably might be so obvious to some people, but to me it's not. So what's the deal? So I didn't know either. I was given the recommendation to make our own mineral water because it's cheaper to just buy minerals than to ship in like hundreds of gallons of water. So we just take normal reverse osmosis water that's been filtered and then we add three types of salt and then one other mineral. They're basic minerals that you'd find in like every San Pellegrino and all of those other sparkling mineral waters.

5:56Those are the ones that I used in my college kitchen. So that's what we referenced when we started making our own. And why would somebody want to drink tart or have tart cherry juice in their life? Tart cherry is a superfood. So you can do a ton of research on what are all the different benefits. My favorites to highlight are anti-inflammation, muscle recovery. It's really good for sleep. If you remember the Sleepy Time mocktail that was trending a while ago. And it just has a lot of other benefits like high in antioxidants, lots of vitamins. It's good for all ages. So I think there's like really no place to go wrong.

6:32And I think you are the only brand that comes to mind for me that's using tart cherry as a star ingredient. That's not a concentrated beverage. That's not just straight up tart cherry juice. which for me is really unique because when you introduce yourself, I started seeing Tart Cherry, what seemed like everywhere in gummies and powder form in all different forms, but you still are holding strong in the RTD category. I just mentioned this with another brand. I feel like once you started talking about Tart Cherry, I started seeing it a lot and it takes one person for those floodgates to just open.

7:11And I feel like you did that with Tart Cherry. It's really funny to watch. Thank you. Yeah. There was a report recently that someone sent to me that Tart Cherry is like the trending flavor of 2026, which is so amazing because we launched on January 1st. So I think it really is like all encapsulating, which is amazing. That is so funny. I think my introduction to Tart Cherry or seeing it in a CPG product, aside from just the juices on the shelf is this brand called Vital Fit Nutrition. Have you ever heard of them? This was about a decade ago. They launched just a tart cherry powder in capsule form, and they ended up selling to Tom Brady's TV 12 company.

7:52And then I feel like I did not hear about tart cherry again until TikTok and the Sleepy Time mocktails. And now the RTD. I mean, this is just so convenient so delicious and it looks really good too thank you red is a color I feel like we don't see I have my new packaging here too so we just said production again we have new packaging with like a couple added things looks nice so we'll have to get you some yeah red is a color that I feel like I don't see much on the shelves for CPG I wonder if there's a reason for that. I mean, it's clear why a tar cherry brand would choose red as their color, but I think that that's just something I'm just admiring the can, but I think that that is something that helps you stand out even more.

8:41Do you ever look at the beverage sets and see yourself just pop out? Yeah, I think one of the big things I was concerned about when figuring out the packaging, and I asked a lot of people's advice when we were going through different ideas, I originally wanted the can to be burgundy or ivory. I was really against the red because I thought we would look like Coca-Cola. And we kept getting all these renditions from my designer and I got a gut feeling that it wasn't as good as it could be. So we hopped on the phone and I was like, I'm sorry you've done like five iterations. Do you have anything else in your pocket?

9:15And she's like, well, these are all the ones that I didn't show you because I thought you wouldn't like them. So like send them to me. I printed them out like the same size as with the can would be and I put them in my fridge and I took photos of them in the fridge, photos of them on the counter and like everywhere in my house to see what they would look like. And then we all came to the conclusion that the red was the best. Wow. So you basically did a lifestyle photo shoot to see what it would look like in the wild. That is so smart. I honestly have not talked to a brand who's done that before or at least a brand who shared that with me.

9:46That's a pretty cool approach. Thank you. Yeah. I mean, I wanted it to be perfect and even though we have been really bootstrapped I wanted to have it not look that way to the consumer's eye at first impression. Yes well you nailed it looks really really good and I don't know if anybody can see this without me spilling it on my laptop but the color if anybody can see that on the rim is just gorgeous and it's perfectly matches the can too. Yes. So you know you're getting those quality ingredients. Yes, yes. So you mentioned a January 1st, 2026 launch. You were in our section at Winter Fancy Fair and that was what, like two weeks after you launched?

10:29Yeah. What compelled you to make that decision? So I think I didn't realize what I was applying for when I signed up for Winter Fancy Fair. I had been in this slack for startup CPG for a while, but I hadn't been utilizing it much because I hadn't launched and like we didn't have production and everything going. So when I knew production was coming, I started going through the channel and saw all these opportunities. I'm like, well, I might as well just supply. Like, no, I probably won't get it because I'm such a young brand, but it's worth it to go try. And then one night we were eating dinner and you messaged me about the ingredients and I was like oh my gosh does this we don't get it did it like she's actually looking and taking the time to do her due diligence and so then like a couple days later I think it was I got the email that I was accepted and I was like okay we don't have production yet like I didn't have products when I got accepted and there was potential that we would have to not produce until into January so my manufacturer love them they're like so nice and helpful they like pulled production forward for me so that we could launch on January 1st and be at Winter Fancy Fair with you guys.

11:42So I definitely went into the expo with like no expectations. And I think that was honestly the best thing I could have done for myself because I didn't have time to think of expectations, but I also didn't know what to expect because I had never done anything like that. And I do not come from this industry. So it was definitely a big risk, but so happy I was able to make it work. And how did the show go for you? What was the reception from retailers and consumers alike? It was incredible. I think we gave out like a thousand samples, which is insane. And I met buyers from every single place you can think of, even just like opening doors, which is really exciting.

12:25So the big guys and the smaller people, like everyone was super receptive to it. And when I was at the show. I had never heard the word gout more in my life. I guess tart share is really popular if you have gout. And I learned that at the show because a lot of people kept coming back because it was helping them. I guess nobody at the show will have gout now. Exactly. Thanks to Tart. Were you going home like, okay, are there any like gout clinics near me that I can stock tarts? On the last day, this guy came back like the fourth time and I'm like, do you want a couple cans. Like, I don't want to ship these home with me.

13:04Let me just give you some cans. Then he loved them. He came back before the end of the show and had already drank them both. I hope he left you a review. Gout be gone. Yes. Thanks, Juttart. That is so funny. I'm glad you had such a great experience. And I do like the approach of going in kind of blind. It kind of reminds me of like being in a boardroom and having to present and not practicing the presentation ahead of time because you just know your product. You know what you're talking about. So like why psych yourself out? Yeah. And I think even with our booth setup, a lot of people like to put a ton of like thought into it in terms of all these different signage and extra things.

13:44I ordered everything from Amazon and shipped it to my hotel I was staying at in San Diego. So when I got there, I hadn't even seen anything I wanted to do for my setup. This is how last minute like unprepared we were. but I just had like two photo frames that I got stuff printed at the printer store nearby and then I had a table runner and then I let my product speak for itself we stacked it up on the tables and it's kind of like all we needed and I think it's nice to have your product stand out and like the packaging really does matter because I know that I'm not going to be the one selling it to every single person who buys it at the store so again like why we wanted the branding to be so strong is that it needs to sell itself.

14:23And I think we did that. I love that approach. I have this conversation with brands all the time too, who are kind of psyching themselves out for this opportunity that's ahead of them. And I always say, nobody's taking the booth home with them. They want to take the product home. So you nailed it with your approach, even though you may not have realized that at the time. But you did a great job. And I know buyers were talking about it after the show. And obviously, our team loved it, too. Thank you. And thanks for mentioning that we were doing our due diligence for the application for Winter Fancy.

15:00We do get emails a lot asking for updates on applications for sections or shows or opportunities that we're running. We truly do go line by line for every brand that applies. We go to their website. We look at the images that are uploaded. We go to socials. We are looking at ingredient lists. We look at everything. There's not a single brand that applies for an opportunity that does not get eyes on them. So thank you. We are doing our due diligence and it does take time. It's a good problem to have to be overwhelmed with so many applications. Yes, that is great. And I think it's so cool at the show, I was able to meet so many people who I'd been talking to online or had heard about their product.

15:40Or even if I hadn't, I made a lot of friends that now I'm going to the summer fancy food with you guys. And I think half of the section is people that I'm friends with. And the people next to me, I like talk to daily. So I'm really excited. It always feels like a reunion going to the trade shows. It's really cool. Yes, I'm so excited. So I got to ask, what is your background and why CPG? I know you were making this beverage in your dorm room and then you decided to turn it into a canned RTD drink. But why? I don't come from any type of CPG background. I have a degree in marketing from Michigan State, and I have a minor in entrepreneurship and innovation.

16:22So I always knew that I really wanted to do something that was like building or owning something that was my own, but I never really knew what it was. And growing up, I had a lot of gut health problems and allergies. At my peak, I had about 35 allergies, but they were all random things. It wasn't like dairy or gluten. It was like carrots and seafood and soy. So I grew up eating a lot of things that were from scratch and we did focus on like organic foods and everything, but my diet was just super limited. And I was okay with that until I got to college and saw other people like learning to cook and eating all these like fun meals and I would eat the most boring things.

17:05So I set on a journey to figure out more nutritious, like dense foods for myself that could bring strong nutritional benefits. For example, tart cherry is what I stumbled upon and loved all of the ideas of drinking it, but did not like the taste. So that's kind of where everything started. And I was making it for myself in my kitchen for about a year before the idea to like make it in a business ever really came about. My friends would ask for it. We'd mix it with tequila. We'd drink at the morning after. Like now the truth comes out. Yes. And it was great, right? Like everyone liked it. And I had a couple of friends in college who also were building businesses.

17:47And so they were like, just search a manufacturer. And things went from there. Wow. I have talked to so many founders and still I have never put myself in your shoes to think, hey, what if I decided I wanted to make a CPG brand today. I know the startup CPG Slack would be a good place to go, but I have no idea what it's like to approach a manufacturer, to approach a co-man, to approach a designer about a product. So props to you for putting this to life and making it happen. Thank you. Yeah. I talk to a lot of people every week. A lot of people want to hear like my experience and get advice on how to start their own thing.

18:26And I think it is really hard to know what to do first. And I love being able to share that with people. I think that my path is a little bit unconventional because I already had a recipe that I really liked. And although I was eyeballing it, I at least had some type of measurement to go off of. And it's not like I was just telling some formulator that I wanted a drink that had tart cherry and they were like off to the races. So I think that that's a lot of times when people do, which is totally okay. But in the unconventional sense, I love that I was able to create it myself first. And tell me why you opted to not use natural flavors, not use added sugar.

19:07Walk me through the thought process with that. And I'm especially curious if in any R &D and working with manufacturers, if they tried to steer you in a direction to go down that route instead of sticking to these ingredients. I have yet to meet anyone who tried to stew me in a different direction. So I think it's really cool that we were able to create something that's so clean. I've always been someone who reads the ingredient list and I always look for things like natural flavors or additives and preservatives that I don't really want in my foods. so when I was trying to create the actual recipe that could be scalable and like put in a can for more than a week I was researching pasteurization and realized that that is an easy way to have no additives and you don't need natural flavors if you're using like juices and things that are already strong in taste so also if you use a natural flavor you don't have the rich color and all the antioxidants that are coming from the actual product or the fruit that you're using.

20:10So I think it was kind of a no-brainer. Like I read the ingredient list and want it to be everything that's in my house already. And I want it to be that way for everyone else as well. You raise a really good point about the color because so often we get these flavor-rich beverages that you would think would have a lot of color in them. And then you pour it out of the can and it's completely clear. With this, it's not. It's very vibrant. It looks great in a glass, which I think is another really good selling point. Yes, bright red for cherry. So I'm curious, I am not somebody who would be picking up tart for recovery necessarily, but I would pick up tart because it tastes really good.

20:53What is your strategy for retail rollout or for getting to new target customers? Where are you looking? Where are you headed? I jumped all around the country pretty quickly because we're unfair in air goods. So a lot of people did find us in social media and that was helpful to get new stores and things like that. But I think that the markets really lie in the places that love their health and wellness. California, Texas, Florida, places, even like busy cities, places that people are out and about wanting to have something healthy. They're okay with paying for an$8 latte. So they're okay buying a$4 canned beverage.

21:31And I think that the retail rollout we have coming is so insane for 2026 already. We are launching in a couple weeks in a place in California and then Texas in the coming months as well. So stay tuned. Very exciting. What are you doing to prepare for these retail rollouts? I love to plan in-person activations and tastings around the retailers that we're in. So even the small retailers that were in a Michigan that's like a single mom and pop shop, I try and do retail activations like everywhere that I can to really drive sales. And maybe that's not a demo in the store, but it's a fitness studio down the street that I pop up after their classes and they get to try it and taste it and buy it.

22:18And then if they want more, they can go to the store down the street. and same thing with California like heading to the beaches handing them out just getting the word of mouth and brand awareness in the areas that I can't be in all the time and also social media is like the best tool ever free marketing or even if you do paid ads I think it's just so helpful to get the word out to everyone that way I see you on my social feed all the time and it really does seem like you are everywhere for such a small brand starting out like it seems like you are all over the country right now. Is it just you on your team or do you have other people too?

22:53It's just me. I do have people that help me in certain areas. We have a fulfillment team and I have a consultant and things like that. But everything day to day is just myself. And it's been insane, but really exciting. I love all the travel that it's bringing me and things like that. What's the reception been like from these retailers that are going to onboard you? We've had a lot of stores come to us because they know the tart cherry is trending and they see a lot of tart cherry products in their store selling really well. And I think that a huge thing that helped pull us into a lot of places also is our organic certification.

23:29And people really value that we are certified organic. And that's a huge thing that people care about right now. And when you're buying a product at the store and that's helped pull us past a lot of our other competitors or people in the industry that don't have that. What did getting the certification look like? On the outside looking in, somebody who's never been through this process, it seems like it would be very rigorous, is it? It's a lot of paperwork and due diligence, and it's pretty much like an audit that you have to check all of your ingredients based back to where they're made from and how they're sourced.

24:04So I find my suppliers have to go and get paperwork that way, making sure that the minerals are not made in a lab and things like that, and they're actually dug up from the ground. But then it's like yearly audits, and it does take some time, so that's why we had a delay. We delayed our production, I think, four times in 2025. So that was like one of the big delays that we had. But I think it was so worth it going into our launch with being certified organic already. And it's something that I value and like all the food that I buy. And I know the other people do, too. You have mentioned this to me before, and I'm really curious to know more about how you think consumers are de-influencing themselves.

24:43How does that feel as a beverage founder? And what do you think you're seeing right now in the market? I think a really big trend is people wanting to know exactly what's in what they're eating. And there's a lot of new products coming out that don't have the transparency that everyone's wanting. And I think that that will make or break a business. We're super transparent in exactly the minerals we add, exactly what we're using in our beverage, and there's nothing we're leaving out. And I think that that has set us apart and will continue to as we grow. I think you're absolutely right. I have to say it again, because when I saw that ingredient list from you, it was hitting on everything that seems to be trending right now.

25:27The no added sugars, which is huge for people, or sweetening with honey, maple syrup, or dates, and the no natural flavors. The No Natural Flavors, I think, is going to be continuing to be a very large conversation. And we even see retailers like Sprouts who are hitting on it and hinting at wanting that more transparency from brands that they're onboarding. So you really have set yourself up for success in the future. And I think it's starting to show, too, with these retail rollouts that you have coming. If you were to go and tell yourself some advice, if you could go back in the past, I know it hasn't been a year since we've launched, but if you could go back a year and give yourself some advice from your position now, what would you tell yourself?

26:12I would say to always go with my gut and know that even if there's a bump in the road, there's more good than bad coming. I need that reminder myself. I think we all do. And this is another thing. I read this recently and I think about it all the time, but nothing changes if nothing changes. Damn straight. Yes. That's absolutely right. If you want something to change, you have to make the change. Yes. Yes. All right. We need more people on the Tart train. So can you tell us your website, your socials, where can we find you? Yes. We're on all social platforms at drink.tart, T-A-R-T. and then you can find our website drinktart.com and yeah head over we have a store locator we add new stores pretty much daily so go see where you can find us and then you can order us straight to your doorstep as well you can find Lindsay there and you can also find me chilling and sipping on some tart this summer cheers to you thank you for joining me today and I'm so excited to see what the next year holds for you thank you so much for having me and I'll see you in a couple weeks in New York yes you will you know where to find me I'll see you soon.

27:24Thanks, Lindsay. Bye.