Welcome to Dtcpod, where we take you behind the wheel with the best founders and operators of consumer brands. You'll learn the ins and outs of business from setting up shop, hitting your first million, scaling past eight figures, and even navigating an exit. As founders ourselves, our goal is to help you learn from the best as you built. Visit us@dtcpod.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Join our founder community and find additional resources from every episode. DTC Pod is brought to you by trend, the creative solution for your brand. Go to trend. IO to access thousands of creators for content needs such as product photography, unboxing videos, or even TikTok and Igorganic creative use the code DTC Pod. Ten for 10% off your next content purchase. What's up, Dtcpod? Today we're joined by Julia Perez, who's the CMO at Owen. So, Julia, I'll let you kick us off. Why don't you tell us a little bit about Owen, what's the brand all about?

Yes, Blaine. Thanks for having me today. So the brand Owen it's Owen stands for only what you need. We're a plant based nutrition company, and we are best known for our ready to drink protein shakes. I know this is a d to see pod, but you might have Cnefts at Whole Foods, target, Walmart, Kroger, Sprouts. I mean, we're everywhere. And the interesting thing about our brand, besides that we're plant based and we have super clean ingredients, we're also top eight allergy free. And I think this is something that people might not know about us, but we actually have a very strong medical roots. So the brand was founded with this passion to fill a gap in the space for safe and delicious allergy friendly products. I think in the past, when you think of like, allergy friendly alternatives, they're kind of crunchy, maybe alienating for someone with a different food allergy. So our products are all third party tested for the top eight allergens. So, nuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, wheat, gluten, dairy. I'm thinking, what I forgot fish, shellfish. And it really matters because if you don't have a food allergy, we all know someone that has a food allergy, whether it's a sensitivity or something that's life threatening, it's very serious. And even if you're buying something like, let's say, like an oat milk and you have maybe a peanut allergy and the lines are not tested. So if it's made in the same facility, it can be very dangerous to someone who has a serious condition or even someone who's sensitive to one of the ingredients. So that's a big part of what we do here at Owen. And really, we're on a mission to take over the protein space at large. So while we are allergy free and while we are vegan, we don't see just vegan brands. With our competition, we really want to clean up the space. The category at large is just we can get more into it later about how it's very confusing for consumers. And it's been that way for a reason, because brands have been able to get away with it. They can make things cheap. They can mass produce. We're all about transparency. We're all about cleaning up the market. And our mission is really to empower our consumers and to understand the difference between a healthier for you product rather than one that just kind of says so.

Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things that I'd really like to kind of get into is I like how you kind of are able to talk about what the general product is, but what the broader market is and where things can kind of go from there. So the question that I have is, starting out, like, when the brand started out, was the target specifically, like, allergy sensitive people who were looking for a plant based sort of nutrition or solution or what was it, and how does that branding and positioning kind of evolve?

Yeah, so in the beginning, I think we have a bullseye target, and then we have a wider market. So we definitely didn't want to create something that was just speaking to a customer that has. Another thing I should mention is that we don't contain artificial sweeteners. We don't contain sugar, alcohol. So we also work for people with health conditions, such as different GI disorders or IBD crohn's, IBS different autoimmune conditions. So while we didn't create the product, I would say specifically for one specific consumer, that's where our roots are. One of our founding members has a son with severe food allergies, and he was frustrated after, like, countless tests and countless trips to the grocery store to find something that was delicious, looked cool, and also was safe for his son to consume. So that's kind of how it was birthed here. But when we think about the market at large, there's just a huge opportunity to innovate in this space and to really attack this space. And I think protein powders and sports nutrition is a whole different category. It's another part of what we do, because we do offer protein powders. But to keep it simple for now, I think we can talk about protein shakes. So when you think about protein shakes, there's a few of our competitors that are really well known and have done quite well in the medical space, and they're known as being like, a medical brand. Like, this is something that someone in my family takes because they can't get their nutrition in another way. Right. It's like a very medical focused brand. It's not cool. You don't want to walk into yoga or a gym with that brand because that's not what the brand is serving. And then there are the brands that have done a really great job in the cultural space. You see them at sports games. You see their logos everywhere. Your favorite athletes might be carrying them. Right. But there hasn't been a brand that has addressed both and why not, right? So I think Owen has been the first brand that has done that well and will continue to do that well. We resonate with math. We work in the medical channel, and we're addressing this medical need, but we're still a badge brand. We're still cool. We have delicious flavors. We work with celebrities. Supermodels are caught. Kendall Jenner is out buying us at a gas station, and Paparazzi took photos of her. Lizzo bought the product organically on TikTok and was filming herself doing a taste test. So we have the cool factor, but we also speak to this medical needs. We're not leaving that consumer out that has a medical challenge. We're bringing them in to the cold.

Yeah, I definitely know about the cool factor because I've seen you guys pop up, and I think you guys have done a really good job as you scale getting the product in the hands of the right people. And that's something I definitely want to get into. But before we go there, why don't we talk a little bit about your background? What is some of the work that you've done, and why don't you talk to us a little bit about your career trajectory before ending up in the CMO position at Owen?

Yes, absolutely. I mean, we can take it way back to when I was a Red Bull girl in college, and I think that was my first entrance into beverage marketing and CPG and really understanding how field marketing and promotional marketing works into a larger channel. Learned a lot. There, like, the different I mean, rentals, like, the best to do it when it comes to field marketing. So that was a great foundation. And then when I got far along in my career, moved to New York City, I was working at a boutique digital agency, and we were definitely the pioneers in that blogger space. Right. That's when they were called bloggers. They weren't even called influencers. We were launching instagram campaigns. Snapchat Tumblr. There was something called Power Pinners, and I was working with Hein Celestial and a number of their Healthier For You brands and aligning them with different bloggers and influencers at the time. And I really realized, like, wow, I love working in wellness. Like, we had beauty and fashion clients, too. That's what I originally thought I wanted to do. But I was really doing a great job with these gluten free moms that were making money through power pinning, and I was like, this is crazy. But then I wanted to go in house and eventually found myself getting certified in holistic nutrition because I wanted to stand out. And I was like, maybe I'll work for a healthy brand and be able to network at SoulCycle instead of being out at events. I just knew that staying out late in New York City and networking that way, it wasn't going to work for me. I was fighting against what I wanted to do, like my true interest and then my work interest. So got certified in holistic nutrition land, did a job at Core Water. Now this is back. I mean, Core Water is very well known now. They had a very successful exit to cure Dr. Pepper in late 2018, so a lot of people know about them now. But when I started, I was the first digital hire there and there was barely an instagram at the time. And the challenge there for me was create a brand out of water. When it comes to water, it's all about marketing because the taste, it differs, but really it relies heavily on really great marketing. So create a brand and a personality out of this beautiful water bottle and tell a story. So started there, really just kind of aligned the strategy. I mean, we had a big celebrity background with Demi Lovato, Ellie Goulding, a number of different celebrity investors. We had a bicoastal story. So I aligned our content with this is way before TikTok, of course, and we weren't a DC brand. Again, it's water. It's all about distribution. But what I did there is aligned the brand with different micro influencer trainers and people in the fitness industry in New York and La. We had a great field marketing team. We were at every single relevant event in a number of hot cities across the US. And yeah, we had a successful exit. And that's when I caught the startup bug and I was like, wow, this is really fun, like building something amazing and whatever becomes the day, watch it go on its way, stay with it, but just building something when you don't know what it's going to be, it's just like, it's so interesting. And so after that, I consulted for a few brands, took a break from, wanted to make sure I made the right move going in house, consulted for a few food and beverage brands and eventually went to a sports nutrition brand, like a fully ecommerce brand. I mean, they're in retail now, but that's another story. Learned a lot about sports nutrition there and a lot about ecom. And then I went to Owen, which is where I'm at now, pretty much a lot in fitness and health. It's just like my absolute passion.

Yeah, you've done it all and seen it all, so I'm really excited to kind of get into some of those themes that have been recurring throughout your career. And the one thing that's really interesting is having seen it all the way from being like a Red Bull girl and doing that all the way through running digital at Core when they were scaling up to now, being in the CMO seat at Owen. I feel like you've been able to have perspective on this kind of segment over the course of a couple of years now. So one thing I'd kind of love to unpack is if we put our hat on, you're giving advice to someone who's starting a beverage brand in the health or wellness, coffee, whatever, they've come up with a beverage. And now today, it's not like a couple of years ago where it seems like there's a lot more beverage brands popping up today more than ever. Right. So what are some of those lessons that you could take and apply from whether it's Red Bull, Court, Owen, et cetera, about if you were in the early innings of launching a brand in the beverage space, how would you think about that? What would some of the first and most important things be in terms of building a strategy?

Right. I mean, right away I'm thinking about the team. There's a common thread in all of the brands that I've been at and that have been successful. Is it's really all about the team and understanding? I think it's really important to have someone in the content position, especially because they're speaking to the consumer digitally. You really have to have someone that understands the brand. I think that and I'm not the only one to say this there's so much buzz about how there's all these content creator positions going in house, and I'm not necessarily saying to do that, but I'm saying the content, like your content to the consumer, it has to be perfect. So I think finding someone who deeply understands the brand, deeply understands the lifetime, the lifestyle that you're trying to convey is is paramount, as well as just like the larger team. And I think know your strengths as a CMO. I don't know everything. That's not the point. The point is to know your strengths and to know how can I build a team that can fill the things that I'm maybe not so good at and how can I play to my strengths? So that's less about the brand and launching a brand, but it's more about, like, the foundation, I guess. So I'd say those two things would be like the first thing I think about. And then number three is focus. I think Owen is a great example. I wasn't with Owen from the beginning, but they had a very strong start in the Natural Channel before trying to scale up. So, again, I know this is a D to see Pod, and we do have a very successful D to C business, which we can get into later. But the brand was born in the Natural Channel. So think like Sprouts Markets, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, get really playing to our medical and our clean nutrition routes before trying to scale up. I mean, now we're in Walmart, we're in select BJ's locations, we're in Target, we're in Kroger, we're in public, we're in Mass. But we didn't just try to go that way after being on DTC for a few months or a year. It takes time. You have to stay focused. And before you try to scale out. And then another thing I would say, I guess really understand. Don't try to fit a square into is it like a peg into a square into a peg? You know what I'm saying? Don't try to force things. I think, again, this is like a very deep to see thing, you might agree, but there's some brands that are trying to like, let's say as an example for subscriptions, not everyone needs to do that. Stop looking at your competitors and seeing what they're doing all the time because you need to really just stay focused on your brand and how your customers use it. I think there's a few brands out there that just in general, like not pulling anyone out. But for example, Owen works on subscription because it's part of a daily routine. And going back to our medical routes, there's thousands of customers we have that Owen is the only protein shake they can consume because of the different health challenges they have. So really, again, understand your consumer and understand what's the best way that we can push a strategy. Don't just work on a strategy because you see other incredible brands doing something. I don't adapt to everything that I see. It's like shiny colors. You have to stay focused. I don't adapt everything that's amazing just because it's working for another brand. So know your strengths.

Yes. And I think one thing that you mentioned there that's really important is understanding what your business is, understanding what your product is, where your distribution is, and where your competitive advantages are. Because the example you just gave, like you said, Owen is perfect as a subscription product. But also there's something about it in the way that people are consuming it that actually really lends itself to subscription as a consumer. Right. I can have a couple of my favorite, most, like, favorite products in the world, but I'm not going to subscribe to them because of factors that are maybe outside of the brand's control. Like maybe I'm traveling every other month, so I don't want to have to even deal with managing a subscription. And from the brand's point of view, they want me subscribed because that means like predictable revenue, et cetera, et cetera. But if it's a beverage product and I'm going to be in a different city next week, I have no interest in getting a notification saying, oh, your package has been delivered for your beverage. And I'm like, not there to get it. And that's no knock against the brand. I'm going to order that package as soon as I'm back because I have a relationship with that brand and when I need it, I'm going to order it. But I think, like to what you're saying, a lot of brands just think of it in terms of black and white and are just like, we need subscription, not thinking about like, oh, how does this product fit into the person's life? How does subscription become an accelerant to that customer's relationship with our brand as opposed to a hindrance or something like that.

Right. As marketers, sometimes we complicate it and all it really takes is going back into the customer's shoes. And that's something that I'm continuously learning. It's like we have to get out of our marketing bubble sometimes and put ourselves back into the customer's shoes. And that's really what a CMO's role really is, being that voice for the customer. It's being that you're the number one voice to drive their needs forward for the brand. So constantly thinking about it from their perspective is key. Get out of the marketing bubble and go back to really what the simple foundation of what marketing is.

Absolutely. And kind of piggybacking off that I'd love to kind of get into as a CMO, what some of those functions and responsibilities are that you oversee and how you kind of tie all of them together. Right? So for Owen, like you said, you guys are distributed nationally, you have a whole bunch of different channels, you have a whole bunch of different products and ways that you're marketing and things that you're overseeing. So why don't you just give us a breakdown of what some of those functions are that you oversee and then kind of how they roll up into the bigger picture.

Yes, absolutely. I mean, any Omnichannel high growth startup, it's super busy. I'm personally super hands on because we really love getting in the weeds. Like the whole management team at Owen, we really treat it like it's our own. So I'll tell you how it works at Owen, but I manage a team that every marketing vertical rolls up to me. So everything from retail marketing, so think about the shopper marketing, the point of sale and then the field marketing, the demos we're doing in store. And then we got digital. So social media content influencers performance marketing because we are Omni. So we have a great BBC business, thriving Amazon business, so performance marketing as well. So we work with two different agencies to drive that, so driving them retention, email, SMS, I mean, you name it.

Yeah. And one of the other really fascinating things about the CMO position in CPG is like the company scales up, is that it starts to become kind of it's almost like more fun. Because if you're just D to C, then you have one way of selling to the customer. But when the customer can go down to their Whole Foods and know you're going to be there, all of a sudden that relationship starts to have so much more depth and different levers that you can pull. Right? So I'd kind of love to just at a high level, we don't have to go too far into the weeds, into any of them. But I'd love to even just talk about how you're able to stitch that together and maybe talk about some of the ways that that brand messaging and voice is able to stay consistent across all of those channels. Right. So one you just mentioned that would be, I think, a lot of fun to get into is, like you were saying, even the messaging and the marketing and how you're training your field reps or your sales when you're dealing with the actual point of sale. So what goes into that? And how do you guys think about bringing Owen into your retail location?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, this is what makes it so fun, but also very challenging. And again, going back to staying focused on what your brand is delivering and what your brand's mission and purpose is, because it's really easy to see what other peers are doing in the space that might be more D to C or might be more Amazon, and you might want to try things and test things out. But again, going back to the customer's position is that we are not a deed to C exclusive brand, and nor is that where the majority of our growth is coming from. So while it might be fun to do all these fun D to See tech implementations all the time, it's not necessarily what Owen needs to be doing. So, again, like, staying focused on what's driving your business and not getting distracted with what competitors are doing is key. So, yeah, going back to retail, I mean, we have the most amazing sales team, and they have done such a tremendous job of growing this brand. Just in 2022, the brand has exploded at retail. So it's really important to keep up with that. And I really think of D to See as our opportunity to get to know the customer on a deeper level, because you're not going to get those insights, really, from Amazon, as you know. So D to See is kind of like where we get to know our customers more personally from a customer experience, from retention, understanding what drives them and what their needs are, what they're asking for on the innovation side, and just their habits, like, how often do they buy Owen, how many of them are subscribing? What's the reason for their subscription? So D to See, to me, is like our data for the customer. It's like a sample size of customers. And then for retail, yeah, again, it's very important when you have a field marketing rep out in the field. Again, coming from Red Bull, where we were trained so specifically on how to speak to the product, you're not allowed to stay free. You have to say gift. You have to hand a pamphlet with every single bottle that you give out, bottles in hand. As we say, it's a huge goal for us this year because, again, because of our D to See metrics, we know that we have an incredibly high return rate. So we know that once we get them in, we can justify that ROI. We can justify certain events at certain locations where there might be, like, a great retail presence, because we know once we get them in, there's a great chance they're going to return. We know what that LCV looks like. So investing there, for me, it's a simple decision. Yeah. You have to train them. You have to quiz them whether it's over zoom or over the phone, even when we have different event partners that are working, because not every retail store or every event is going to allow you to bring your own team in, that's just like that's a retail thing. They might have like a retailer might have a team that they work with. So it's really on you to make sure. And same thing with sales associates. We do this too, for sales associates sometimes. Send them a care package of your products. Send them a one sheet about what each of them do, what type of customers resonate with what type of product. Really, again, like, treating it like your own. Every single detail counts because otherwise it's a waste of money. I don't want a sales associate or like, a field marketing rep in the field not able to sell the product. So just do whatever you can to make sure that they understand the mission, the product. And we have three different products that are out there, three different ready to drink shakes that are out there. So which customer is going to select with shake and why?

Yeah, that's really cool. I think being able to really make sure that you have unified messaging is, of course, so important. And I'd love to kind of even unpack what you were talking about, about the Red Bull stuff. That's super interesting. So they gave you really strict guidelines for how you were supposed to give out the Red Bull and where you were supposed to be. What were some of the details of that? Because one thing that sticks out to me about the whole Red Bull campaign is like, we know, everyone knows where Red Bull is today. They're literally everywhere. And it's like an absolutely iconic brand. And it's so funny because I feel like there was an era where people were trying to replicate stuff that Red Bull was doing. But even now, when I really think about it, like, Red Bull is so unique in the way that they were able to really be everywhere and hand out the Red Bulls and be in the right places at the right time. So, like, yeah. What was it like working on that team? And what are some of the lessons from there that you've continued to apply throughout your career?

Yes. I mean, oh my gosh, so many it's so iconic, and I think so many brands have tried to replicate it and haven't done it. The attention to detail there is just unmatched. So I'll give you a few examples. They might sound random, but I'm going to remember as they come. So, number one, no one was allowed to have Red Bull gear unless you were a Wings team member. So the Red Bull are all the wings? Team Member So I was a member. I went to school in Philadelphia, so we had different jackets. We had different hats and vests and things. Like, you could get fired for giving them to someone else. I think someone might have gotten fired for giving it to someone for, like, a Halloween costume. So, like, your backpack, you have to work for Red Bull. The only time they do merch is when it's like, events. So it'll be like a Red Bull Flu TOGG event was one that I worked, for example, and it would say Red Bull Flu TOGG 2013, whatever it was. And that was something that was allowed to be sold or gifted. But like, the Red Bull gear, not allowed. We were only allowed to wear, I believe it was one Red Bull item at a time. So we couldn't have, like, a hat and a parka. It would only have to be I think it might have been two, because we went to a lot of ski resorts, and I feel like we had to have a matching hat. We had to give a pamphlet with every can because it was all about the education of the product, which to this day, we can't just be giving out cans or bottles, line fleet, especially with, like, I don't want to say a complicated product, but our product requires education, and so does Red Bull. So you need to be giving that pamphlet out. What else? I mean, you had to be with a Wings team member, so it had to be two of you on a mission. That was our job that we called pull It Out of the Backpack. You couldn't pull it from the car. I mean, we did sometimes, but it was frowned upon. Pull it out of the backpack, gift it with one hand in the pamphlet, one hand in the bottle. And then lastly, we had to say that it was a gift. We were never allowed to say that it's free, ever. And we would have people test this, too. We wouldn't know it, but someone would be following us on, like, a mission and send a friend to ask for a Red Bull. And that's kind of how we were quizzed. So fun times.

That's awesome. But it just goes to show that, I guess on the consumer side, I remember I've been, like, handed out Red Bulls. I remember when I was on college campus, I think it was like our freshman year at Harvard, they came and Red Bull dropped a pallet of cases in the middle of the yard or something, and we all ran and everyone tried to grab them. And we had, like, Red Bull all semester. It was awesome. And then other times, they drive through and hand out, and everyone. Would obviously be trying to get the Red Bull. But I think what's really interesting in terms of what you said is that from my perspective, I didn't know there was something about it where everything was very uniform and very well executed and everything like that. So it becomes it's obvious to the customer, but it's not like I had no idea that, like, that's what you were told. Right? Like, I just felt like that's what it was. And I think that the really important lesson there for a lot of brands is to do things right. There needs to be very solid processes in place and it can't just be random. It really needs to be well thought out and really well executed. And where you see that is in is in the results.

Right, right. Exactly. And I think Rental is a larger brand, so I understand that smaller brands maybe don't have the resources to produce such a specific handbook for their field marketing team. I get it, especially with how fast growing everything is these days. But I think, yes, it's important to really some of these details sound silly, but they're extremely important and you have to explain. A big thing that I'm working on and that I'm very passionate about is explaining to your team why certain parameters are in place so they can see the larger vision of really understanding no, this small detail ladders up to a very big macro lens of how your brand is perceived and really just walking them through that. I think that's hugely important. But yeah, there's a lot to learn from brands like that. And I think even at an early point in my career, is something that I've been able to take with me to this day. And I have a great passion for field marketing. It's something that we're growing this year, but I have a great passion for it because it's oftentimes a customer's first touch point with the brand. And if you have a good product, you should not be afraid to just sample it and get those bottles in hand.

Yeah. And one thing that you just mentioned that I think is so, so important, and it's probably something that you really see at the CMO level because your job is by nature so cross functional. You're working with so many different people and there's so many parts of the businesses that roll up into that. But what you said about how important it is for people to understand the why behind different things is like it's so important when you're in that cross functional role. Because if a detail is important and you're just like, oh, and do this and you expect everyone to remember everything sometimes by them understanding the oh, that's why that little detail is important. That makes all the difference in the world. Because if you think it's something's important in your head and someone else just thinks it's something that they can gloss over and totally miss it, then you're going to be on two totally different pages. Right? So that communication layer, especially when you're working cross functionally into projects that roll up into the Core functionality and brand of the business, are super important to be able to get, right?

Yes, absolutely. And I've been very lucky with the two well, a few bosses that I've had that have been great leaders. One, being at Core and my current supervisor at Owen is just like explaining constantly, this is why we do this, this is why this is important. This small detail letters up to this larger plan. And it's something that it's just communication. It's great communication. And as a manager and as a leader, especially when you're leading the entire marketing team to carry out and to be responsible for their results and to own their verticals, it's key. You got to show up with a lot of energy every day and there's a lot going on, but if you don't have every conversation matters. At least that's how I try to really I take it really serious.

Okay, so moving on from there, you also mentioned field marketing, right. So given that you have so much personal experience, like doing stuff in the field and then overseeing this sort of activation at Core and at Owen, why don't you just tell us a little bit about field marketing? How do you do it? What's important when you're thinking about it, when you're getting your product, whether it's Owen, whether you're doing these in person activations, how are you thinking about it, how do you prepare for it and what goes into the strategy behind field IRL marketing?

Yeah, absolutely. Well, Owen, I wouldn't say we're dipping our toes in and I wouldn't say we're growing it super fast. I would say we're in the middle. Right now, we don't have a full field marketing team, which I think is really surprising to different brands that I talk to. So it's not a huge part of what we're doing, but it's something that, again, working for a brand like we have to prioritize. We're a very lean brand. We do things in a very smart way, and we're all about testing. So right now we're in the testing phase of a few different field marketing programs and we're focusing on we have a great presence in New York, so we do a number of influential fitness events in New York. And then, of course, like the retail demos where you might see someone sampling the product at like a retail location or a gym. So we do a number of that in New York because New York is a huge market for us. And then in South Florida. So I'm based in Miami and we have an incredible partnership with public and they've been great partners. And the brand is just, you know, on fire at Publix. And we have two SKUs there right now, our complete nutrition, which is like an adult nutrition with, you know, supplemental vitamins and minerals. And then we have our 20 grams tetra, four packs. And then we'll have stay tuned for more because we're going to expand there. But they've been a really important partner for us. And naturally there's a huge fitness community in South Florida. So we've been focusing on, I would say New York and South Florida. And for me, this is super fun for me because as we talked about before, I'm very involved in the wellness and fitness team. So it comes a bit natural but really developing our teams there. Again, getting bottles in hand. But also we're doing some tests. Again, we want to be smart about it. We are a lean brand. We're still a startup. So we're not just going to build out a whole field marketing team and go from there. We have a DTC business, we have an Amazon business. We have so many other focuses we need to focus on. So we're going to be doing testing over time. So there's ways to test the velocity in different retail locations over time to see, okay, if we invest in field over X amount of time, what's the influence in the different retail locations? So again, we're not throwing it like wildfire right now because we're still in the testing phase and that's something that we do a lot at Owen. We're very data driven. And then in the past at Core, Water, so poor is a little bit different because there was no need to see. I mean, we had it and we had Amazon, but not until the end, right before we acquired but we really built the brand through field marketing. And I can't really take credit for all of that. I have an amazing field marketing team and a great VP of marketing there. But Core, I don't want to say our entire strategy, but a very big part of our strategy. We had field marketing in La. Miami, New York, Philadelphia. I'm forgetting a few. But again, like I said, we were in every single relevant fitness event. We were with different news stations and anything local and cool that was going on. If there was a Water brand there, it was Core. It was not Fiji, it was not Essential, it was Core. And it was a lot of fun to do that. But yeah, and I'd say we're really still in the testing phase and if the velocity comes, great, we'll keep doing it.

Awesome. And the next thing I want to talk about that I guess kind of folds into that same not that same umbrella, but like an adjacent umbrella would be creator and influencer sort of strategy. So have you worked with creators and influencers to be able to tell the story of Owen digitally? Or how do you think about that and how does that make part of the storytelling and the go to market for Owen?

Yes, absolutely. So when I first came on to Owen, the first thing I did was look at the budget and look at where we were investing in influencers. And it was the time where TikTok was starting to have its moment and people were starting to pay attention that TikTok wasn't just for dancing. It was actually like a great platform for education, community, so much fun. And we decided, well, I looked at it. I said, let's just switch all of our influencer budget to TikTok, everything, and let's just spend there and we can get a lot more for our money. And we can work with Nano influencers and have you know, for an example, instead of having three influencers talk about you for the month of February, you could have 30 for the same price and you still have the same number of impressions. Make more impressions. And the one thing you might have been missing at the time, because it was before TikTok had, like, its stars, you're missing that star appeal, which is what the instagram influencers, I would say they still have that. It's definitely a choice. But yeah, we brought everything over to TikTok and it's been great. Again, we're constantly testing, we're constantly reiterating and changing things up and pushing the status quo. Like, can we do this better? Can we change it? But right now, we're really taking advantage of TikTok's incredible algorithm where it's like it reads your mind and it knows. So we're actually focusing not our entire strategy, but I'd say 50% of our strategy is focused on medical, different medical and health challenges. So what we're doing is we have, like, our influencer marketing manager has a list of all of the different medical concerns. She has it in her brain, too, but she has it on top of mind right there from our in house registered dietician. She has all of the different health challenges that Owen can work with, whether it's, again, IBD, Crohn's colitis, PCOS, autoimmune, a nut allergy, kidney disease, bariatric surgery, recovery, and she has a full list and then the products that will work with whatever the challenge is. And then she's reaching out to creators that are speaking on their platforms about the specific concern. Because we all know, like, for example, if you're trying to renovate a house, all of a sudden your entire TikTok feed is about renovating a house. You're trying to get better at Excel. Your whole TikTok is how to get better at Excel investing. So anything we've really leaned into that. And again, like, definition of marketing, right message, right customer, right time. The TikTok algorithm does a great job with that. And one thing that you're getting these great videos, you're getting people that are genuinely helping other people by saying, hey, I have this concern. If you're getting this video, you probably do too. Here's a solution. So it's been great for us, and I will say the one thing that you could potentially lose. And again, depending on your budget, you can do both. And there's many facets to marketing, but the one thing that you could potentially lose is you might lose that flashy appeal, where if you work with the biggest and the hottest and the coolest instagram creator right now, that's flashy. And everyone thinks it's amazing and TikTok is a little more you're reaching the right customer, but you might not be getting that star power. So again, it's either a choice if you have limited budget or it's do both. And both of them do different things. So it's really just you need to decide how they play together or which one you're going to prioritize. If you don't have the budget to.

Do both, what does your process look like for creative briefing? Because I know one thing you said was the medical component and what you guys do and the problems that you guys solve for are so important to the brand. So when it comes to, like and earlier in our conversation, you said how important it was to make sure you have unified messaging to your stores and your points of retail, et cetera. So in a way, creators, you want to make sure that you're giving them the right ingredients to succeed as well. Obviously, they know their audience best. They know how to create the content. But as it pertains to, like, creative briefs and making sure that they have the right information to create great content, do you guys have a strategy in place or how do you guys think about that?

Yes, absolutely. And because we're dealing with serious medical challenges, our briefs are all approved by our in house registered dietitian. So we will never recommend a product to a creator that you know isn't right for them. And that's all been approved by someone who's not a nutritionist. It's not a health coach. It's someone who, you know, went to has a has a degree in, you know, as a registered dietitian and can look over those briefs and ensure that our information is correct. And then, yes, of course, we have a brief like we talked earlier about the name. So, Owen, a lot of creators, if you don't tell them how it's pronounced, they'll pronounce it wrong, which it's not a big deal. Like, if someone wants to call it, it's not the end of the world, but it is Owen. That's what we call it as our brand. So that's part of the brief, for example, making sure that it's mirrored. So right now, it's backwards. So making sure the logo shows up correctly. Again, like, small details going back to the Red Bull example, small details are huge because we're not Pepsi, we're not Hulk. People don't know our logo, that we haven't been around for so long. So little details like that about making sure your camera is mirroring the product is key, and then how we should film the video. I've seen some influencer briefs from different companies and right down to the color shirt that the creator should be wearing, it's like, so prescriptive. There's a list of words you cannot say. So I think there's some brands like don't ever say, I can't remember the example, but we don't quite have that. Perhaps that goes back to what I was saying earlier about empowering our consumer. Our goal is to make our consumer feel like the heroic goal of an interaction when a customer picks up the brand or the shake for the first time is to feel proud that they found this product and to say, wow, I'm so proud of myself. Like, look how cool this brand is. Look how clean it is. Look at has? No. And I think I do the same thing when I'm shopping, when I only buy certain products without certain additives or certain foods that are raised a certain way or it's like a proud moment and it's making the customer feel like a hero. It's not like we are the celebrity brand and we're preaching onto them. Same thing with our email marketing. When we go back to unified messaging, our influencer briefs are similar to that, where we're not acting like this celebrity, that's kind of preaching onto you. And I think that's rare in our space. Again, if we're sending it to a creator that's speaking about a medical challenge, we want them we want to hear it from them. We want them to say, this is a challenge that I've had with like, kidney disease or IBS, whatever, my nut allergy. And we want it to come from them, empowering them, rather than just like, preaching and making people feel bad, preying on insecurities, which is like, if you look at other supplement brands, it's kind of what they do.

Absolutely. And I think the way that you guys think about unifying across all these different channels, but in each way that respects the channel's integrity and the brand's integrity is super, super important. And I know that's a lot of things that you've been able to see through experience and bring that to this brand, and a lot of founders may have to learn that the hard way. So for anyone listening, this is like a great way to think about it, that everything really is connected, but at the same time staying true to the channel. So kind of as we wrap up here, I just wanted to kind of get a check on what you're most excited about in the upcoming year for Owen. You guys are clearly growing. You're in a ton of different retail locations. You've got your first party data coming in through DTC, and you're using that to inform a lot of your decisions as well. You guys are on Amazon. You guys are looking at different ways of engaging with creators, with different ways of doing in person activation. There's a lot, obviously, when it comes to growth. What are some of the big things that you're excited about coming up in the next year.

Yes. I wish I could share with you the innovations we're working on right now. It is an exciting week. We are testing out maybe some new, maybe a new line, maybe a new product line, maybe some new flavors. If anyone's going to Expo West, you will see it there. Hopefully this will air before then so people can check it out. But, yeah, we're going to be releasing some new innovations next year. I mean, that's like a marketing dream. That's the most fun thing to do, especially when you're obsessed with the category. But then outside of that, going back to our medical roots, we're growing our medical marketing this year, so we have great relationships with different doctors and medical professionals at prestigious institutions. And we're going to be growing that this year, making a key investment in our medical marketing. Retail. We talked about it, super jazz about what we can do this year in retail. I'm going to be leaning into the more quote unquote traditional retail marketing and maybe spitting it on its head and seeing how we can add some flair to that. But that'll be big. Can't underestimate the simple things. Good merchandising, good point of sale. And then growing our subscriptions. We didn't talk too much about that, but about half of our business, Amazon and DTC combined, is subscription based. And who doesn't love a subscription customer as a marketer? There's so many opportunities there. And, yeah, growing that is a lot of fun. Really leaning into that data. It's something we're going to be doing a lot of this year. So, yeah, busy year, exciting times.

Absolutely. And for anyone who's listening that is interested in learning more about Owen or connecting with you, why don't you give a shout out to your socials if you have any, as well as where we can find you and Owen.

Sure, you can find Owen at Livoin. L-I-V-E-O-W-Y-N instagram, Twitter, TikTok and then for my personal channels, I am Julia Perez with three ZS on Instagram and Twitter.

Awesome. Well, thanks so much for joining us, Julia. We learned a ton and can't wait to see how Owen continues to grow and all the initiatives that you guys are leading in the next year. So congrats on that and thanks for coming on the Pod.

Thank you. This is so much fun.

Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed this episode of DTC Pod. If you enjoyed the show, we'd love your support. A rating and review would go a long way as we continue to host the best builders in DTC and beyond. Follow and subscribe to the show and make sure to check out our show notes where you can find our socials and weekly newsletter. Visit us on Dtcpod.com to join our founder community and access resources from every episode we'll see you on the next pod.