Laurel's Coffee
TopicsRetail Distribution
Terms in this episodeAngel investor, Co-packer, COGS, Demo, Free fill, Moat, Promo calendar, SKU, Slotting fees, TAM, Trade spend, Velocity
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About
On today’s episode, I sit down with Isabel Washington, Founder & CEO of Laurel's Coffee, a canned ready-to-drink latte brand built around A2 dairy.
In this conversation, we talk about what led Isabel to bet on A2 milk as a core ingredient, why she saw a gap between what people are actually ordering in coffee shops and what exists on shelf, and how she went from idea to launching in Erewhon in a matter of months.
We also get into the realities of building a beverage business from scratch, including early production decisions, slotting fees, demo strategy, pricing and promo mechanics, and the operational tradeoffs behind scaling quickly into retailers like Whole Foods.
I learned so much during my conversation with Isabel, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.