S4 Ep22: What Does “Natural” Really Mean? with Genius Juice founder, Alex Bayer
“Just because it’s the easy way does not make it the right way.” — Alex Bayer
The recent surge of big-name food companies touting their products as “natural” has consumers everywhere asking, what exactly is natural food? The Food and Drug Administration does not set stringent guidelines for the use of the term “natural”, leaving it up to individual companies to decide what makes a product natural. This results in manufacturers adding chemicals onto the list of ingredients so long as they are categorized as “natural.”
Genius Juice founder, Alex Bayer has long been baffled by the lack of genuine natural ingredients in beverages. So he made his own… Later, he discovered the irresistible coconut smoothie from his vegan friend, made from only 2 ingredients- coconut water and coconut meat. And he thought that this is too good to not be shared with other people! So the birth of Genius Juice. To date, there are 5 yummy flavors that help support brain function, promote gut health, and provide no-crash energy. Genius Juice is certified natural by the USDA, Vegan.org, and Kosher.
This week, Justine and Alex discuss what “natural” really means and how to create a product that stays true to its name. Alex also shares lessons and business tips to help listeners find their entrepreneurial drive, overcome failures, develop partnerships and turn a profit- even in the early stages of your business!
Success is a journey, not a destination. You are born with the drive for success; it’s just waiting to be nurtured and developed.
Connect with Alex:
Alex Bayer, founder of Genius Juice, first discovered the coconut smoothie through a friend, who was a vegan chef. She was raving about a new creation using 'the whole coconut and nothing but the coconut.'
Alex decided to go back home and chop open a coconut (quite a dangerous task!). He then poured the coconut water into a blender, and scraped the coconut meat out as well.
He blended the two ingredients together. The taste and texture was like nothing he’d ever experienced.
The first words out of his mouth were, "This is GENIUS!"
Episode Highlights:
00:59 The Genius Juice
06:51 Where the Entrepreneur’s Drive Come From
10:53 Entrepreneurship Needs a Roadmap
14:31 Genius Juice in 5 Yummy Flavors
18:21 Options and Equity
22:50 The Primary Component of Success
25:57 Many People Do Not Know About This Big Discount!
Resources
Get $5 off when you shop at Genius Juice
Coupon Code: WELCOME5
Inspirational Quotes:
01:59 “A term that people use a lot is ‘natural flavors’. Many people think [when they hear] natural flavors, it must be natural.” -Justine Reichman
03:03 “Just because it's the easy way does not make it the right way.” -Alex Bayer
10:28 “You can't just power your way through it. You’ve got to be really strategic, you’ve got to know how to talk with people, how to listen, and also how to read the room.” -Alex Bayer
11:14 “When you set out to create a company and a brand, you have to have a strong roadmap on where you're going” -Alex Bayer
12:42 “A lot of companies make the mistake where they fall in love with a product or a concept and they come out with it not getting margin…. It's better to start from a place of sustainability.” -Alex Bayer
17:44 “We can't be everything to everyone.” -Justine Reichman
19:21 “I'm a big believer in options and equity because then the employees will have a lot more motivation to grow the company.” -Alex Bayer
19:57 “Letting them do it… and learn on their own and have full ownership of that project inspires people where they're not being micromanaged too much.” -Alex Bayer
20:40 “They feel like they're more appreciated when you're asking them questions versus making orders. That doesn't work.” -Alex Bayer
21:52 “You have to have a strong relationship and connect with each other because you're in it for the long haul.” -Alex Bayer
22:27 “A partnership can make or break your business…. You're only three hires away from having a successful business. If you get the right team on your back supporting you, you can go all the way.” -Alex Bayer
23:01 “If I felt like crap the entire time and I was suffering to go through this, then it's not worth doing. Your happiness and your health are number one.” -Alex Bayer
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: Good evening, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine Reichman. Today with me is Alex Bayer, Co-Founder and CEO of Genius Juice. Welcome, Alex.
Alex Bayer: Thank you Justine, and thanks for having me on the show.
Justine Reichman: I'm so pleased to have you. I've just finished the array of juices you sent, and I'm excited for our guests to learn a little bit more about Genius Juice if you want to just share with them before we get started, what Genius Juice is.
Alex Bayer: Absolutely. In really simple terms without going on and on about it, it's an organic plant based smoothie that has whole coconut as the base. So we use coconut water and also coconut meat. We get the coconuts from Thailand, we scoop out the meat and the water, we blend the two together into this really really creamy filling coconut smoothie. So we pride ourselves on not using any dumb stuff. We call it Genius Juice, no dumb stuff. We don't use any gums, emulsifiers, things that are really commonly found on other competing drinks that are on the shelf. We don't use any natural flavors which are really not that natural. There are a lot of different weird ingredients in those. We don't use any concentrated sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit. So it's just really clean, simple plant based organic smoothies made from whole coconut. That's Genius Juice.
“A term that people use a lot is ‘natural flavors’. Many people think [when they hear] natural flavors, it must be natural.” -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: I love that. I'm curious, for our listeners that are unfamiliar because you used a term that people use a lot, natural flavors, just for our listeners that may be unfamiliar because many people think natural flavors must be natural--
Alex Bayer: Right.
Justine Reichman: --when they say that?
“Just because it's the easy way does not make it the right way.” -Alex Bayer
Alex Bayer: Yeah. Natural flavors are really, basically, when you're making a product, sometimes companies use a natural flavor to really enhance that flavor, like vanilla, strawberry or whatever, and they pass it off as natural flavors. But what I've actually, at least read on Google, which is pretty much my extended, my academic career, that's where I learned everything is that natural flavors contain a lot more than just one ingredient. There's many flavors, many ingredients that are in there to give that simulation of that taste of strawberry, or banana, or whatever it is, but it's a cheaper way to do it. It's cheaper, it's easier and really widely available. So to me, it's like the easy way out to make something tastes better. But just because it's the easy way does not make it the right way. So we just want to use simple real ingredients. We use extracts or we use real actual ingredients like chocolate or coffee that go into the product, and that's where we're really we're different. So unfortunately, a lot of people think natural flavors are good because it says natural. But we're hoping that as the trend continues for better and better health and making better decisions, that consumers will realize that that ingredient, natural flavors is really not great.
Justine Reichman: Well, thanks for just taking a moment to explain that for some people that may not be familiar with actually what natural flavors, what they mean when they say that because I think it can be confusing for people. Naturals in it, right? So many of our natural, we think good. I want to go back to the beginning and just hear a little bit about your story, and sort of what got you into developing this business.
Alex Bayer: Yeah. I started as an insurance agent. Fresh out of college, I worked--
Justine Reichman: This would go from insurance to juice, straightaway.
Alex Bayer: Yeah, it's logical. I worked at Aflac, so I call it from ducks to coconut. I basically picked up the habit of working at Aflac, a good habit where I would be out all day knocking on doors. So every morning, I make a smoothie, and I would make like a real smoothie. I wasn't using whole coconut. I wasn't actually crazy about coconuts for a long time, like I didn't really like coconut for a long time since I was a kid. So I would use almond, almond milk, or soy milk, or rice milk, and I make smoothies, and it would really power me through the day, it would give me four or five hours of energy for a low cost, and it was on the go. I would be in my car just drinking it. And so from there, that kind of stuck in my mind. So after doing seven year with Aflac, I felt, man, I should create something that really resonates with who I am as a person, and what I believe in, and what I really want, how I live, like my lifestyle. And so I felt there still was not a great authentic organic smoothie. As simple as that, you would think it is to make that and put it on the shelf. No one was doing it. It was literally like a naked juice, or Odwalla which have like 60 grams of sugar in it and a lot of the natural flavors bringing that back in. A lot of just not great ingredients, but they pawned it off as something that was actually healthy. When you see the label, oh, my god, that looks healthy. There's fruits and veggies on the front, it has to be good. And it really wasn't good. So I set out to make a special, like a clean smoothie.
I actually got the idea from a friend of mine. She's a vegan chef, her name is Cindy. Great friend. I still talk to her a lot to this day. So she and her husband invited me over and they have a made me dinner. And then for dessert, they're like, have you ever had a whole coconut smoothie before? I'm like, what is that? Like, oh, we take young Thai coconuts, we crack them open, and then we take everything out and blend it. So I remember that they took out the meat, they scraped it with an ice cream scooper, they took the water out, they blended it. It was like this vibrant white, like this creamy white. I'm like, this is all just from whole coconut? This is freaking crazy. Like, it looks really good. It's just whole coconut, and then I tried it. And I'm like, this is genius like this. This is genius. This is amazing. I got to come out with this product. This is exactly what I was looking for, a clean smoothie with minimal ingredients, healthy, makes you feel good. And that was how it came up with the idea.
Justine Reichman: That was the beginning of the Genius Juice. So were you always an entrepreneur?
Alex Bayer: Since I was literally like 9 or 10 years old, I would buy and sell like Star Wars figures. You heard me right. I know I don't look like a nerd. For those that are listening, believe me, I am a nerd. I look like a nerd. I was just kidding around. And so I used to buy and sell Star Wars figures. I used to buy and sell, mostly sell Playstations, like PlayStation 2's back when they were big. This is like the mid 90's and late 90's when I was like 13 years old. So yeah, I started doing that. And I was always an entrepreneur. Even in college, I sold pagers, which you think would be impossible, but I still sold them. I just learned how to have that drive and that fire to do it on my own. I just had a lot of bad ideas, selling pagers is a terrible idea. But I did a lot of things that kind of prepared me to answer the entrepreneurial world and create something really great that people want. And after a lot of failures, five or six failures on eBay, and Craigslist, or whatever I decided, let me make something that I can give to the world, and yeah, that's where I got a lot of my experience from just from being a kid wanted to go out, create a brand, create a product and sell it.
Justine Reichman: Wow. So you've always had this entrepreneurial bug. I mean, even working in Aflac, aren't you kind of an entrepreneur there?
Alex Bayer: Yeah. Basically, after or when I was hired, they said, by the way, there's no salary, just you know. Shouldn't be a make or break, right? There's no salary. You're 100% on commission. With Aflac, there's other bonuses when you hit certain levels, but you start literally with nothing. And so there's a 95% failure rate at Aflac. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's less now. But when I was there, it was really high. I don't want to make the company seem like they're bad. They're good. It was very hard to survive in Aflac, we didn't get a steady paycheck. So I knew from day one, I had to like sell my ass off, I had to go out and sell a lot, build relationships, knock on a lot of doors, business to business. I went to a lot of different corporations in LA, San Pedro and San Diego. And you have to be very driven. They have that fire inside to survive at Aflac. So that's where that, I have that spirit, and that's why I was able to do well there.
Justine Reichman: I was gonna say, do you think that there was that spirit and that drive that really helped you, that helped you in launching your business and being successful as you are today?
“You can't just power your way through it. You’ve got to be really strategic, you’ve got to know how to talk with people, how to listen, and also how to read the room.” -Alex Bayer
Alex Bayer: I would say it was a definite help. Obviously, I have a lot of mentors around me that have also helped, and other business owners that have done really well for themselves. And we have some great advisory boards that help us every day. But yeah, I would say that under the threat of not earning anything unless you work, you start with nothing, and you have to invest money, some kind of money, it really did prepare me. But also, I learned how to work with others. I think that was a big part of it too because you have to, I sat down with thousands of people because I would enroll companies with like a thousand employees, 2000 employees, 500 employees, 100 employees, and I would need just like, what we're doing here in this conversation face to face, somewhat face to face over virtual, I sat down with people, and I learned how to read people's body language. I learned how to speak with people, how to listen and not talk too much. I'm talking too much. So all these skills are really necessary in running a business where you can't just power your way through it. You got to be really strategic, you got to know how to talk with people, how to listen, and also how to read the room.
Justine Reichman: Oh, I can't agree with you more. I mean, I think those things are so important. So we have probably a lot of founders here and new entrepreneurs, what would you say is the biggest, your best piece of advice that you would give to them from your journey?
“When you set out to create a company and a brand, you have to have a strong roadmap on where you're going” -Alex Bayer
Alex Bayer: Yeah. It's interesting, I just did a LinkedIn posts that got one of the highest, usually on LinkedIn, they got like really great engagement on there. It was all about my past failures, including with Genius Juice. Making mistakes, hitting landmines and not making the right decision. So I think when you set out to, like create a company and create a brand, you have to have a really strong roadmap on where you're going, what's going to be the strategy, how much money do I need, what market do I do, I want to go into. Making sure your product has really good margins, you can be profitable from a very early stage, these are some things that I did well. Other areas I made mistakes, and I learned from those mistakes and was able to survive and rise above. But I would say to entrepreneurs that are listening or watching, just really have a detailed plan of where you're going, and what the roadmap is, and how you're going to get there. And also, make sure to raise enough capital or have enough in the bank. Because if you're creating a products, it's probably going to cost two to three times the amount that you think it's going to cost. Go from idea to making the products, to bringing it to the market and then marketing it. So it's good to be prepared on that side as well.
Justine Reichman: I think those are great recommendations. And if you could go back, you're at the beginning of this journey, again, is there anything you'd do differently given your experience now?
“A lot of companies make the mistake where they fall in love with a product or a concept and they come out with it not getting margin…. It's better to start from a place of sustainability.” -Alex Bayer
Alex Bayer: I think the biggest thing I would do differently is I would have really set us up to be more financially to basically just make better margins on the product to set it up to be more financially successful from an early stage of the company. A lot of companies make the mistake where they fall in love with a product or a concept they come out with it. And they're like, oh, I'm not getting margin now, I'm not getting profit now. But it will come when we grow, it will come and you get in that trap where you're like backpedalling to try to get to that margin, to get to that profit and you're kind of working your way out of a hole. Basically, you're digging yourself out of a hole. I think it's better to start from a place of sustainability, start being profitable, start with a great margin. And in that way, you don't have to continue raising all this cash. You can like use the money from your profit to keep the company going and reinvest in the company. So I think that, to me, is probably one of the biggest learning lessons. The other one is create a product that people need, like that's filling a void. You want something that people really need, they want that's going to improve their lives, something that's not being done right now that's filling a void. These are like the top three or four things you want to look for when coming out with a product. So just really do your research, do your research and make sure that what you're coming out with is something that is needed in the marketplace. Because if you watch shows like Shark Tank, there's a lot of terrible products out there. Why did they freakin come out with our product like it doesn't make sense? So a big one is marketplace adaption and market fit.
Justine Reichman: I'd love to just circle back and specifically talk about Genius Juice because that's what you built and that's what you're here. I'd love everybody to just know a little bit more about your products. So you guys sent me a pack of different juices. So for those people that are listening or watching, can you talk to them a little bit about that variety pack,and a little bit about the ones that you put together, and maybe why you put those specific blends together.
Alex Bayer: Sure. So to kind of zoom out a little more, that makes sense. So we came out with five flavors. We have the original which is just pure, now, all five flavors have whole coconut, the water and the meat of the coconut blended together as a base which makes it really creamy, and like filling, and almost addictive, the texture. So we have the original which is just coconut. We have the mocha which is like my favorite as we talked about before we went on air. Just decadent, delicious, kind of guilt free dessert that you can have that fills you up, gives you energy. And we have the vanilla cinnamon, which is like an archata, has vanilla, cinnamon and coconut. And then we have the protein blend, which has vanilla protein and chocolate protein with adaptogens in it for better mind and body function. So the variety pack you're talking about, Justine, we just included our top three flavors, original mocha and vanilla cinnamon. So we just wanted to get people the three best, just a good kind of gateway. And so the other flavors, they're also the simplest. They have five or less ingredients. When you start getting into proteins, not everyone likes protein drinks, right? Because it's a little bit grainy, it has protein in it, has a lot more ingredients in it, and so we don't start with those for people, unless they love protein. But yeah, I would say that the protein is great if you're working out, need a boost in the morning, like kind of a meal replacement shake. But my personal go to is like the mocha or the original.
Justine Reichman: And I'm curious, I heard you mentioned adaptogens as well. And one big topic that people are talking about is functional food. Where do you feel you fit in that space?
Alex Bayer: Yeah. We don't want to be like everything to everyone. That's kind of a marketing thing that everyone falls into is, I want to be everything to everyone and market that we're 15 different things. We're non GMO, we're vegan, we're organic, we're fair trade, we're regenerative soil. We travel halfway across the world just to harvest whatever we're harvesting. We like to make it easy to understand, and something that's very mainstreamable that can go into many different retailers, Albertsons, or Target, or Costco, but also add value to that drink. So that's what we're doing with the protein smoothies. We're adding lion's mane, the vanilla, we're adding lion's mane, and reishi, and the chocolate. And essentially, we're not trying to market around being an adaptogen drink, but it adds to the value of the drink. So people want to drink a smoothie because they're hungry and they want to be filled up. But it's also nice when you can drink it to not only be filled up, but get mental and physical benefits from that, thinking more clearly, having more energy. So that's really what our goal is. We're not trying to be everything to everyone, we just want to be the best smoothie, like the best smoothie on the market with added benefits to it.
“We can't be everything to everyone.” -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: I think that that's a great way to look at it because I think that we can't be everything to everyone. But I do want to also just highlight and have you just speak about the values of your company. Because when we spoke about that in our previous conversation, I was taken aback by it. I was really also numbed by it because I think that you've had such great values around how you guys built your company. So I'd love for you to just talk about that a little bit, because I think it's inspiring for those entrepreneurs that are building their business today. I know as a B Corp, it's really meaningful to me to hear what others are doing in their business when they're trying to give back and build better for you businesses.
Alex Bayer: Exactly. Well, I think the first thing is you want to give ownership to the people that are working with you. You want them to be, number one, you want to offer options. Like literal ownership for those that add immense value. I mean, we've already, we just gave out options to three different people that are part of our company. And of course, as people hit their goals, they are earning more options. So I think having not like an ESOP, like Employee Stock Option Plan or anything like that, but just having something that you have an option pool, and you can give out options for people that are on your team that are staying a long time, and also adding a lot of value to the company. And I think like, it honestly pisses me off when there's companies that have someone on their payroll for like five years and they build a company right off their back, like millions of dollars in revenue. Or they revolutionize the company, and then they leave the company and they get nothing. Like there's no options, there's no equity, nothing.
“I'm a big believer in options and equity because then the employees will have a lot more motivation to grow the company.” -Alex Bayer
So I'm a big believer in options and equity, because then the employees, or contractors, employees advisors, they'll have a lot more motivation to grow the company. On the other side, I like to also give account like, let the employee, or contractor, or whoever's working with us really have accountability. So like when you give them a projects, not to micromanage them unless they need help. If they want someone by their side where they have the ownership in the project and they feel like this is their own franchise to run, and you let them do it, and then they come to us, the ownership team or management team, if they have questions or need help. So I think inspiring people to like do projects and learn on their own and just have full ownership of that project really inspires people where they're not being micromanaged too much. Besides that, it's also having a really open mind with people, where instead of being, you do this, you do that. Like, yes, yes, like a yes man type of person, or yes woman type of person, it's like asking questions, what do you think is good? What should we do? What do you recommend? What is the best pathway here? What's the best strategy that we can do? And that way, they feel like they're more appreciated when you're asking them questions versus just talking at them or making orders from the ivory tower like that. That just doesn't work, in my opinion.
“Letting them do it… and learn on their own and have full ownership of that project inspires people where they're not being micromanaged too much.” -Alex Bayer
Justine Reichman: And how does this also come through in the partnerships that you make in Thailand and with some of the partners that you make with the coconuts when you're buying the coconuts?
Alex Bayer: Yeah. It's huge. Because partnerships, at the end of the day, if you can't trust each other, have a conversation with each other, and if it's literally only transactional, that's not a long term relationship, that's not going to be built for success, that's going to be a short term transactional. So all the partners that we have, we really double down on building the relationship. I will text the owners and the managers on holidays, like Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, hope you're doing well. I might screw up and forget their birthday, but I'll say, oh, is your birthday, like happy belated. I do whatever it takes to really build a relationship with our supply partners, because it's people buying from people, or people selling to people. And you got to have a strong relationship and really connect with each other, because you're in it for the long haul. So when I'm on calls, I don't like to be too serious. Obviously, you're serious subjects, but I like to lighten it up, let's make some jokes, let's have fun, let's laugh together. If you're in town, let's go to lunch together, let's go to dinner outside and socially distance.
“They feel like they're more appreciated when you're asking them questions versus making orders. That doesn't work.” -Alex Bayer
Justine Reichman: Right, of course.
Alex Bayer: Let's get together. Let's be friends, let's go out golfing. These are all things that I want to go a lot further than most people do in our relationships and partnerships. Because honestly, a partnership can make or break your business. And I look at it where you're only about three hires away from having a successful business. If you get the right team on your back supporting you, like you can go all the way.
“A partnership can make or break your business…. You're only three hires away from having a successful business. If you get the right team on your back supporting you, you can go all the way.” -Alex Bayer
Justine Reichman: So how do you define success?
Alex Bayer: That's a really great, very open question. I have a lot of ways to answer that, but I think the number one way is you have to have your health. You have to have your health. So if you're doing like, what if I was doing this and I didn't feel good, or I felt stressed. But if I felt like crap the entire time and I was like suffering to go through this, then it's not worth doing. Your happiness, your health is number one. I don't really cut any corners. They're like, I eat really healthy. I want to enjoy what I'm doing. Sure, I get stressed out. Do I get headaches sometimes from working too hard? Yes, by losing sleep. Yes. But at the end of the day, I feel great for what I'm doing. Because while I'm doing it, I'm taking care of myself along the way. So health and wellness to me is like number zero, not even number one, it's like a precursor to number one. And then number two, you want to have a great team where everyone is succeeding together. I can't be the only person succeeding, we all have to share in that success.
“You have to have a strong relationship and connect with each other because you're in it for the long haul.” -Alex Bayer
So by people having options, by people getting paid more, if we start doing more sales, these are all ways to really everyone to be successful together. And I think like number three, it's not about the money. Like success. At the end of the day, you want to hit your goals, you want to get revenue, but I am not wholly doing this. There's a part of it for my future and family. But at the end of the day, you want to do it because you love what you do. And if you love what you do, everything else follows. Money Follows. People adopting your product follows. They feel the passion from you. They want to buy your product and support you. But if it comes from love, and you love what you're doing, and you love people that you're working with, everything else. Everything else falls into place and you got to love yourself too, right?
Justine Reichman: Yes, I couldn't agree more. Alex, thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast. If anyone wanted to buy Genius Juice, where's the best place for them to get it?
“If I felt like crap the entire time and I was suffering to go through this, then it's not worth doing. Your happiness and your health are number one.” -Alex Bayer
Alex Bayer: Well, the most immediate places online, so you can go to geniusjuice.com. that's G-E-N-I-U-S-J-U-I-C-E, Genius Juice [inaudible]. And so you can go online or Google, Genius Juice, you can find us there. Make sure to buy from our website, not Amazon. We're on Amazon, but I would rather have you buy from our website. And then you can also find us in stores. So depending on where you are, just go to our store locator, put in your zip code and you can find a store near you. Whole Foods is a good bet, or Sprouts, or Albertsons.
Justine Reichman: And if they wanted to get in touch with you because they wanted to create a partnership and make an investment, I don't know if you're looking for money, or to just connect, what's the best way to connect with you?
Alex Bayer: And we're actually in the capital round. So we're in a bridge round right now before our larger round. So yeah, if you want to connect for anything, just like what Justine said, you can reach me on my email Alex@geniusjuice.com.
Justine Reichman: Alex, is there a discount we can offer our listeners or viewers today that are listening to the podcast?
Alex Bayer: Definitely. I can point them actually to one of our existing coupon codes, but a lot of people don't know it unless you are on the site and see a little tag or something on the site, but it's $5 off. So it's welcome five, that's the coupon code. And you put that in when you're checking out. If you do an entry level, box, six pack variety like Justine was talking about, it will take roughly about 15, 10, 15% off your purchase.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. Thank you so much, Alex, and thanks again for joining us here at Essential Ingredients.
Alex Bayer: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
