Episode Description
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What's up Rock Nation! Today we're joined by Greg La Vecchia, co-founder of Bloom, the bootstrapped creator brand that scaled to $180M before taking on their first strategic partnership and is now moving over 170 million cans of energy drink with distribution in 70,000 doors nationwide. In this episode, we break down how Bloom went from a niche greens powder brand to a nine-figure CPG powerhouse, the marketing psychology behind selling out products and using "restocked" as your most powerful word, why product will always beat branding, how they used Amazon dominance as a launchpad into major retail, and what it really takes to compete with the monsters of the beverage world.
Check out Greg here:
https://www.youtube.com/ @GregLaVecchia
https://www.instagram.com/greglavslife/
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:01:08 - Bloom's Origin Story
00:01:56 - Bootstrapping to $180M and the NutriBullet Partnership
00:02:23 - Keurig Dr Pepper Deal and 70,000 Doors
00:03:09 - Performance Marketing vs. Brand Building
00:03:39 - Growing Mari's Personal Brand Through Meta Ads
00:04:16 - Booty Bands, Pre-Workout, and How Bloom Was Born
00:04:52 - Why You Need to Launch to a Hyper Specific Niche
00:05:39 - Scared Money Doesn't Make Money
00:06:57 - The Meme Page Strategy That Unlocked Everything
00:08:05 - Finding Customers When They're Not Looking for You
00:08:39 - How the Influencer Marketing Playbook Changed
00:10:02 - Building the Largest In-House Influencer Network
00:11:20 - Stan Store
00:12:27 - Scaling TikTok and the Creator Brand Stigma
00:13:47 - Using Amazon and Target as Validity Markers
00:14:26 - How They Redirected Their Entire Community to Amazon
00:15:41 - Becoming the #1 Health Product on Amazon
00:16:12 - Competing against Amazon supplements
00:22:16 - The Flavor Formulation Process
00:23:08 - Getting Better Terms From Manufacturers
00:24:10 - Why Small Goals Take the Same Effort as Massive Ones
00:25:31 - Thinking Month to Month and Staying Nimble
00:26:52 - Hiring Mistakes and Copying the Wrong Org Chart
00:28:23 - Why Hiring From Red Bull and Monster Backfired
00:29:30 - How Many People Are at Bloom
00:30:09 - The Business Mishap That Led to the NutriBullet Partnership
00:30:47 - The McLaren Moment That Changed Everything
00:31:47 - Why VCs Wouldn't Touch an Energy Drink Company
00:32:42 - Meeting Dos Cunningham and Selling 30% of the Business
00:34:07 - Why High Barrier Categories Are Actually Easier
00:34:46 - Getting Frustrated With the Nutrition Space
00:35:26 - How Much Capital You Need to Launch a Beverage Brand
00:36:14 - How Each Bloom Business Funded the Next
00:37:45 - The $1.3M Black Friday and Selling Out Overnight
00:41:05 - "Restocked" Is the Most Powerful Word in Marketing
00:42:15 - Greg's Relationship With Money
00:44:21 - How Becoming a Father Changed the Way He Operates
00:45:06 - Delayed Gratification
00:47:09 - Longevity Mindset and Protecting Yourself
00:48:45 - ADHD as a Superpower
00:49:03 - Brutal Mistakes Brands Make Going Into Energy
00:51:41 - Organic Marketing and Founder Content
00:53:22 - Building the Right Team for Social
00:55:18 - Why Greg Waited to Build His Personal Brand
00:57:00 - The Valley of Despair in Building a Business
00:59:06 - Getting Your Testosterone Checked
01:03:46 - Selling Candy in School
01:05:26 - What Greg Has Learned From Billionaires
01:06:55 - Greg's Superpower: Consistency and Routine
01:08:27 - Designing Your Life Around Your ADHD
01:10:46 - Why Greg Doesn't Touch Spreadsheets
01:14:36 - Using Data vs. Gut Feeling for Product Decisions
01:15:54 - Why Greg Hates Being the First Mover
01:17:42 - What Bloom Learned From Being in Target and Walmart
01:19:34 - Getting Robbed by the Cartel
01:22:34 - What a Full Bloom Marketing Campaign Looks Like Today
01:23:42 - Staggering Your Launch Moments
01:31:15 - The After Party
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