Beverage Startups
8 Things To Know About Good Day Beverage Line
Recently, CBD-infused beverage brands are getting more and more attention in the U.S. market. With a long list of benefits, cannabis provides, the beverage industry is quickly adopting new ingredients. Good Day drink is one of the great examples. Today, I have the pleasure of talking with Warner Siebert, Co-Founder & CEO at Good Day.
1. Good Day is a beverage line infused with CBD. How did you come up with the idea of it?
Good Day was born out of a desire to build a company and a product line that is truly healthy in all aspects of the word – both good for the body and good for the mind. The founding team at Good Day – myself, Nick Miller, and Andy Gabriel – worked CBD into our own personal routines over the past few years. The interesting part is that we all turned to CBD for different reasons: I was searching for something to help overcome my general hyperactivity and stress levels associated with my former role as an executive leader at a Fortune 100 company, Nick was looking to combat inflammation and sore muscles while running ultra-marathons, and Andy was seeking a treatment to help regulate anxiety and mood.
The idea came from our collective, but individual living experiences on the West Coast. All three of the founders spent time living in California, so we were exposed to every type of cannabinoid consumption option available. However, most cannabinoid-infused products on the market are unhealthy, sugar-filled items, ranging from beverages that use an apple juice base to every type of candy imaginable – like chocolates, gummies, cookies, and mints. We quickly identified a giant opportunity that aligned with current consumer trends, which was developing a natural, “clean label” beverage made from real, organic ingredients without preservatives, added sugar, or “natural flavors,” that still tastes delicious. That’s Good Day.
2. Good Day line has 3 different flavors. Can you tell us more about each? Which one is your favorite?
Rather than flavors, these are three different, yet complementary beverages in different categories, all of which are tied together by the inclusion of CBD. They all use minimal ingredients without preservatives or artificial additives, but each is unique in that they help a person reach their desired energy output: Cold brew coffee is meant to increase energy, while our Chamomile herbal tea is meant to gently lower energy levels, and our Citrus sparkling water is meant to keep you balanced any time, any day. My personal favorite is the Cold brew coffee, but that’s mainly because I practice daily intermittent fasting and want something that doesn’t break my fast in the morning but gives me the balanced energy I need to start my day.
3. The creation of a good-tasting beverage isn’t easy. What difficulties did you face during the development process?
This is especially true when using CBD sourced from hemp extract, which has a very unique and naturally bitter flavor. When you combine that with the fact that we set out to create a very “clean” beverage with low sugar and calories, it made the process very difficult. We see a lot of beverages flooding the market that took the easier path, which involves using a CBD Isolate (word on the street is that this will not be approved by the FDA), plus the addition of zero-calorie “natural flavors” (which our formula development partners had a hard time even explaining). All we will say is that it took a lot of experimentation and tweaks to land on our ultimate formulas. We know we’re biased, but the taste and ingredients speak for themselves… we have the healthiest and tastiest CBD-infused beverages on the market.
4. What is the biggest achievement Good Day has reached so far?
I would say the biggest achievement so far is more like a series of achievements that the founding team – myself, Nick Miller (COO), and Andy Gabriel (CFO) were able to achieve in such a short amount of time. Nick and I left our jobs at Facebook and Sysco respectively back in April. Since then, we were able to raise an initial seed round of capital, develop a super-strong brand with beautiful and unique packaging, source all of our premium ingredients, finish formulation and manufacture all three beverage SKUs in our initial product portfolio. We went live with eCommerce sales in late July and now we are getting shelf space in retailers across the country. Again, all of this was accomplished in about a seven-month span of time. I think that speaks to the differentiation and velocity that Nick and I bring to this industry.
5. There is still a strong stigma regarding cannabis. What are the main benefits it has?
Let’s just focus on the ingredient we use: CBD, which is an acronym for cannabidiol – a natural compound derived from the cannabis plant, which is just one of over one hundred different cannabinoids found in the hemp plant (not to be confused with THC, which is found in high concentrations in the marijuana plant). CBD is known to support your body’s powerful endocannabinoid system (ECS).
It’s important to first understand homeostasis, which is your body’s effort to keep all of your internal systems running at optimal levels, no matter what’s happening around you. When one of those systems, such as mood or stress levels, isn’t working at peak performance, your body turns to the ECS to bring it back to the optimal level. CBD reacts with the ECS by stimulating endocannabinoid receptors, promoting homeostasis, and assisting in the restoration of your body’s natural balance.
6. It is crucial to know your target market. Who is Good Day’s ideal customer?
Good Day’s target customer falls into a primary category of the modern-day Millennial consumer and then a secondary category of GenX followed by Baby Boomers, considering those latter groups are some of the fastest-growing users of CBD. We wanted to approach our products and brand as something that would be highly appealing to a 28 year old, but also natural in the hands of that 28 year old’s mother or father.
7. In your opinion, what are the biggest trends in the beverage market every startup should notice for 2020?
Consumers are becoming more educated and socially aware of the negative impact of single-use materials. They are also honing in on the importance of healthy ingredients. Therefore, we believe that more brands will begin exclusively using quality ingredients to achieve a “clean label.” We also think there will be growth in the ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage category using sustainable materials, such as aluminum. Aluminum is one of the few materials that can be recycled directly back into itself over and over again. Definitely not the use of plastic. Did you know that only 9% of plastic ends up being recycled? The remaining 90%+ just ends up in landfills or our oceans. We are huge advocates of real, healthy ingredients and using highly recyclable materials at Good Day.
8. What advice would you have given yourself before you started out in the beverage business?
The advice that I still give myself everyday: expect bumps along the way, but never stop driving forward. Starting a company is like a puzzle – all of the pieces are always right in front of you, sometimes they are hidden, so it’s just a matter of organizing, prioritizing, and making progress toward your most important Key Performance Indicators. As Nick, Andy, and I always say, every action that we do should be contributing toward making or improving our product or selling more of our product. Full stop.
For more information visit Good Day website.
