Allison Ellsworth; Dr. Shino Bay; John Chiorando; Anna Devere

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
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our YouTube channel. We upload everySunday at two pm Eastern Up. Next

(01:03):
in our Trailblazer segment brought to youby your Home TV and our friends over
at Kathy Ireland Worldwide, we're featuringthe incredible Allison Elsworth, co founder and
chief brand officer of Poppy. Iknow you've heard of them. Poppy is
a delicious, better for you sodamade with clean ingredients. She struggled with
a variety of health issues, soshe created Poppy after discovering the health benefits

(01:26):
of apple cider vinegar. She joinsme today to chat about the inspiration behind
Poppy, the importance of choosing healthieralternatives, and how to stand out in
a crowded market. In our Experton the Microphone series brought to you by
Co two Lift. In our GoingDeep segment, we are featuring doctor Shinoba
aguilera founder of Shinobayderm dot com andShinobaytraining dot Com. He is a highly

(01:52):
acclaimed cosmetic dermatologist and surgeon and alaser expert with over twenty years of experience.
Today, he joins me to chatskin care trends, combination treatments,
and why pre treating the skin priorto a procedure matters. We're also going
to get his take on carboxy therapyfor skin Rejuvenation and the Hydration with Heart

(02:12):
segment brought to you by Once Upona Coconut. Today, we're featuring co
founder of Once Upon a Coconut,John Chirando. He joins me to chat
about his beverage company, Once Upona Coconut's rise to fame, how they're
revolutionizing coconut water and the beverage industry, but more importantly, how they're leveraging
their position and power to give back. In the Discover your Potential Express segment

(02:35):
contributor and a de vere Pace tributeto National Dog Mom Day, why we
celebrate the kids who give us amental break every day. Stay tuned for
the incredible Alison Ellsworth, co founderand Chief brand officer of Poppy. You're
listening to a Moment of Zen righthere on seven to ten, wore the
voice of New York iHeartRadio. We'llbe right back after this. A Moment

(02:55):
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ten PM on seven to ten worthe Voice of New York. Welcome back,

(03:35):
beautiful Tri State Area. You're listeningto a Moment of Zen right here
on seven to ten. Woar theVoice of New York iHeartRadio. I'm your
host, Zen. Sam's up nextin our Trailblazer segment, brought to you
by your Home TV and our friendsover at Kathy Ireland Worldwide. Today we're
featuring the incredible Allison Ellsworth, cofounder and Chief brand officer of Poppy.

(03:57):
Now I know you've heard of them. Poppy is a delicious, better for
you soda made with clean ingredients.Struggling with a variety of health issues,
she created Poppy after discovering the healthbenefits of apple cider vinegar and experimenting in
her kitchen to make it taste greatFrom the farmer's market to a Shark Tank
deal, and now in retailers nationwide. Poppy quickly became one of the fastest

(04:20):
growing non alcoholic beverages in the UnitedStates. Allison leads the Austin based beverage
company's overall brand strategy and innovation,and pioneered the brand's cultural cachet and digital
first approach, attracting a loyal communityof over four hundred thousand followers and celebrity
brand fans including Noah Beck, RussellWestbrook, and j Lo and within twenty

(04:44):
four months, Poppy was awarded Bevnet'sCampaign of the Year. He went viral
on TikTok with over one billion pageviews and ranked number one on Amazon when
you search for quote unquote soda.Interestingly enough, she joins today to chat
about the inspiration behind Poppy, theimportance of choosing healthier alternatives, and how

(05:05):
to stand out in a crowded market. Welcome to the show, Stunner,
Hi, thanks for having me,Allison. I'm so excited to chat with
you. Let's go Congratulations on allyour success. You've made quite the name
for yourself and your brand, Poppyis everywhere now. You've co founded the
company with your husband, So let'speel it back a little bit. Your

(05:28):
husband Stefan, right, Yes,and the creation of the drink really,
to my understanding, started as asolution to a personal health issue, but
quickly became just so much more thanthat, with now several flavors and stalking
the shelves of every big distributor.I'm in awe and I'd love to learn
more about your journey, particularly yourjourney in creating and founding Poppy and what

(05:50):
were some of the biggest challenges youface because I know it wasn't easy when
starting your company. How did youovercome them? Yeah? So I love
Look, I made this my kitchenand now we're in every major retailer in
the nation. But I think oneof the biggest challenges that we had is
we launched Poppy in March of twentytwenty, right when COVID hit. But
what I love about that is wehad to find a different way to talk

(06:14):
to our consumer through a digital firstapproach. So, you know, like
the traditional ways of marketing were offthe table, so from day one we
had to go online. We hadto think differently and throw the playbook that
every marketer done in the past outthe window to get Poppy out there.
That's a very unconventional approach, especiallyespecially when you're starting off in such a

(06:36):
volatile time. You know, COVIDwas not easy for anybody. Nobody knew
how people were going to react,let alone what the purchasing power of households
was going to be after taking sucha huge blow health wise and economically.
But Poppy is known for its uniqueapproach to what I call soda and what
the world called soda right, butwith health benefits other sodas can't off,

(07:00):
which clearly sets it apart from othersin that market. And to be clear,
a twelve ounce can of Coca Colais one hundred and forty calories with
thirty nine grams of sugar. Nowcompare this to Poppy's twelve ounce can of
Classicola, which stands at twenty fivecalories with just five grams of sugar.
That's pretty impressive, Alison, Andnot to mention, I've done my research

(07:23):
here. It's infused with appleside orvinegar, prebiotics for your gut, and
crafted with clean ingredients. As amom, this made me so happy.
So the choice is a no brainer, and you've positioned yourself brilliantly in the
market. Now, when it comesto developing your flavors, can you walk
me through what process and how doyou balance your creativity and your health consciousness.

(07:44):
Yeah? So, since I startedthis because I had some health problems,
nothing major, some tummy problems sergigginapplesider vinegar, didn't like the way
that tasted, so I created Poppy. But what was important for me is
to create something that was healthy andtasted good. But more important, like,
I love soda. I grew updrinking soda. We all know,
you know it's it's not something youreally should do, and I don't want

(08:07):
to give it to my kids.So I love that we can just have
a better option for our kids withthis better for you soda. But more
importantly, I with pizza with burgerslike I want fizzy bubbles and so I
don't even tell my kids that it'sgood for them or that it has all
clean ingredients. The can jumps outat them. They see it's five grams
of sugar. So as a mom, I'm sure you can relate to this.

(08:30):
It's like if they don't know,they will drink it NonStop and it
tastes amazing, without a doubt.It's it. You would have fooled me.
I did a double take. Iactually had to turn the can over,
not once, but twice, thinkingdid I see five or fifteen?
Right? And that's the consumer journeythat we want. Like our cans are
really bright. We on the frontsays it's time to love soda again,

(08:52):
and basically is what that means islike love soda at it's best. You
get all the full flavor without allthe baggage. And so that was intentional.
We don't want to be like screaminghealth claims or anything like that,
because let's be real, people sayone thing and do another when it comes
to healthy things. Always, Ilove that you keep there's integrity behind your
company, and I think that that'sextremely important. It's the mom promise.

(09:15):
Now, I would be remiss tonot mention your branding and marketing. We
all know the drink market is incrediblycrowded, and while your healthy soda options
certainly stands out amongst its competitors ona taste and wellness level, you first
need people to notice it and wantto drink it. And in addition to
co founding the company, You're thechief brand officer, so I know this

(09:39):
is your landscape. So how doyou approach Poppy's branding and marketing to reach
your target audience effectively? And I'dalso be curious to hear your thoughts on
how you feel social media has changedthe marketing landscape. Yeah, one night
back in twenty twenty, I satdown and I told my story and how
I started Poppy, and it wentabsolutely viral. That video has over one

(10:00):
hundred and three million views and todate Poppy has over two billion views on
TikTok. But what it did isit really opened our eyes. Look,
we were forced to be digital firstfrom day one. It opened our eyes
into this new wild wild West totalk to our consumer on authentic and real
level. Right, previous social mediawas high gloss and everything was perfect and

(10:22):
you kind of didn't let anyone backor behind the scenes. And really it's
allowed us to talk to consumer.As a mom of thirty seven years old,
I have three boys and we've connectedto gen Z on the platform,
which is the next generation of sodadrinkers. So we always keep our minds
really open and we lean in andwe are real and authentic and our community

(10:46):
has rewarded us. For us,we have a really fierce and amazing community.
We speak the same language, andthe ethos and the narrative is very
much aligned with the way I liketo research brands and choose the brands that
I bring into my home, andyour brand is one of them. Now.
In recent years, companies are placinga stronger emphasis on sustainability. Okay.

(11:07):
In fact, according to a recentDeloitte survey of C level executives about
their sustainability priorities, seventy five percentof business leaders said their organizations had already
increased their investments towards the sustainable futurein the past year, and eighty four
percent of chief experience officers agreed orstrongly agreed that it was possible to achieve

(11:28):
global economic growth while also reaching sustainabilitygoals, which makes sense as sustainability is
not only important to businesses but theconsumers themselves. Brain in Companies twenty twenty
three survey reported that fifty percent ofconsumers rank sustainability as one of their top
four key purchase criteria when shopping,which was kind of interesting, but looking

(11:52):
at poppy, what role does sustainabilityin fact play in your company's mission and
what steps are you taking to promotesustainability. Look, it's always been at
the forefront of Poppy. Previous tolaunching in March of twenty twenty, we
were a different brand before that,before getting on Shark Tank, and we
were in glass bottles and through therebrand and deciding when we're going to launch,

(12:13):
a thing that was really important wasto switch over to aluminum cans,
which is way more sustainable and wayeasier to recycle. After that, while
scaling through the pandemic, we wentfrom sleeved cans to printed cans, which
once again makes it even better tobe more recyclable. On top of it,
what I think a lot of peoplebeverage is heavy. It's heavy to

(12:35):
ship, right. So something thatwe've really worked really closely with over the
last two years is really cutting downon freight and where things are going.
You don't want to produce something NewYork and ship at LA right, So
we've been really strategic with our manufacturingand our shipping to cut down freight times
and emissions and costs that way.But Look, it's always at the forefront

(12:58):
and a conversation I think brands andbusinesses nowadays, if you're not having that
conversation, you're not going to besuccessful and make it honestly, because your
community will see right through that talkabout entrepreneurship. You got your hands full,
from marketing to shipping costs to justthe costs to manufacturing and warehousing.
Girl, what don't you do?Hey, that's a woman. We can

(13:20):
do anything, truly, we cando it, truly, truly, truly,
I am in awe of everything youdo. And I'm I'm actually so
proud of women. I'm so proudof you, and I don't even know
you that well, but I'm justso darn proud. Now looking back on
this journey, what advice do youhave for aspiring entrepreneurs trying to break through

(13:43):
a crowded market and we know it'ssuch a crowded market, but more importantly,
not just break through the crowded market, but stay true to their core
values and mission. Yeah. So, I think this is my biggest piece
of advice that I can give anyentrepreneur out there, and even one that's
maybe been in business for twenty years. Right, you can always take advice
at any time, and it's toget online and start telling and building your

(14:05):
community now, so start telling yourstory, get people involved. It's free
marketing, it's free consumer research.You can say, hey, what color
can should this be? Or whatshould my logo look like? And you
might only get two hundred people thatrespond you now, but Poppy has over
two billion as of today. Butcommunity, and in return with community,
reach out to other entrepreneurs, youknow, give advice, get advice.

(14:28):
And I think if you know you'renot in it alone, that's half the
battle. Well said. Now,looking forward, how do you see the
future of the health and wellness industryevolving? And is there anything especially exciting
on the horizon for Poppy that weshould keep an eye out for. So
I think in that world it's expectedright nowadays with creating anything new, it's

(14:52):
how do you just do better?Right, Like just a little bit better.
You don't have to go to oneextreme or the other. But that's
how we are. It's just betterat the end of the day. It's
not screaming all these things that it'sgoing to cure all of the you know,
we stay away from all of thatstuff. It's just like, just
be a little bit better. Fivegrams, just sugar clean ingredients and it
tastes great, right, and Ithink I think that that's going to continue

(15:13):
to see that in the future ofall CpG just just be a little bit
better, right. And then Ithink for the future of Poppy, we're
always continuing to innovate and launching newflavors. We are literally launching a brand
new flavor Lemon Lime as we speak, and continuing to lean into what are
those traditional soda flavors that people grewup with and we can just give them

(15:37):
a little bit better of an option. Thank you so much, Alison,
it was such a pleasure chatting withyou today. Awesome. Thank you so
much. That was our trailblazer segmentbrought to you by your Home TV.
That was Alison Ellsworth, co founderand chief brand officer of Poppy. Definitely
be sure to check them out ifyou have not already, Drink Poppy dot
com and to learn more and shopall their flavors and on the ground and

(16:00):
TikTok. You can follow them atDrink Poppy and check Alison out on the
ground at Alison Ellsworth. You're listeningto a moment of Zen right here on
seven ten WR the voice of Newyork iHeartRadio We'll be right back after this.
A Moment of Zen is brought toyou by your Home TV with Kathy
Ireland and their channel partners. Headto your Home TV dot com for free

(16:21):
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of New York. Ament of Zenis brought to you by CO two Lift.

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(17:22):
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Co two Lift, go to Cotwo lift dot com. Welcome back,
beautiful Tri State area. You're listeningto a moment of Zen right here on
seven ten WR the voice of NewYork iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Zen.
Sam's up in just a few minutesin our Going Deep segment in our
Expert on the Microphone series brought toyou by Co two Lift. Today we're

(17:47):
featuring doctor Shinobai Abuelera, founder ofSinobayderm dot com and Shinobaytraining dot Com.
He's a highly acclaimed cosmetic dermatologist,surgeon, and laser expert with over twenty
years of experience. He's renowned forhis pioneering techniques and has been a sought
after speaker at major international conferences.As a top international trainer, published author,

(18:10):
and keynote speaker for leading brands andaesthetics, his expertise is widely recognized
in the field today he joins meto chat skincare trends, combination treatments,
and why pre treating the skin priorto a procedure matters. We're also going
to get his take on carboxy therapyfor skin rejuvenation. Now, a one
size fits all approach, whether it'sfor anti aging treatments or body conjuring treatments,

(18:36):
is no longer the norm. Mostclients often want to correct a combination
of concerns, ranging from wrinkles,sagging skin, and unwonted fat to sun
spots, veins and hollows from lostcollagen. No one treatment can provide a
client with a solution for multiple concerns. For example, a dermal filler is
an excellent solution for treating volume loss, but it's not going to improve the

(18:59):
appearance sunspots. Kaibella will reduce somewant to chin fat, but it's not
going to improve sagging skin. Sowhat is there to do? Since utilizing
only one mode of treatment may notaddress all signs of aging, the solution
is combination therapy, and this approachmakes the possibilities endless and the results dramatic,
and the combination of treatment can becustomized to address your specific concerns.

(19:23):
Today, doctor Sheino Bey is gonnajoin me to chat coombo therapy. Why
no single solo method is an effectiveapproach to skincare and the newest trend of
carbon dioxide therapy for the skin.Welcoming now to the show is my expert
at hand, doctor sheeno'bay. Welcomesuperstar, Thank you, thank you for
having me. You look beautiful.Was always always like to do this segments

(19:45):
with you, and thank you forthe opportunity. Well, you are a
trailblazer in your field, a pioneerin cosmetic dermatology and surgery. What inspired
you to pursue this field and howhas your journey evolved over the past two
decades. So I think since Iwas little, I always wanted to be
a physician. And I grew upin Panama City, Panama, and you

(20:07):
know, poor and because of hygiene. I grew up getting carboy go for
unclecious boils on my face and Iknew how that made me feel, how
he affected me. Now you goto your teenagers, the days and breaking
out with acne, and at leastfor me, it would ruin my day,
and just early enough in my career, I knew that I wanted to

(20:33):
get into a field in medicine thathelped people feel better physically and emotionally.
So the connection between the primitive brainthat is always sorting people's skin to get
messages of youth health and fertility.It is the perfect feel for me because

(20:56):
if your skin look is good,you are going to feel great about yourself.
Well, you have your work cutout for you. We're going to
add spiritual healer to your journey aswell, because you seem to balance it
all very nicely and it always tiesback to how you feel within. Now
with your extensive experience, what keyadvancements have you witnessed in skincare and cosmetic

(21:21):
procedures and how have these innovations transformedpatient outcomes. Well, now we have
really smart skin care products out there. It's not like the S and C
pound screen that my grandma used toto use that they're just mainly hydrailers or
they stopped from the water to scalethe skid, but there was not a

(21:45):
lot of nutritional value to it.And now we even talking about how certain
type of skin care products can workat a gene level, modulate the way
your genes work, also have thelanguage of the cells the way they communicate
with each other, so it's nolonger water loss or hydration we really need

(22:11):
skincare. Protost do really made yourskin rejuvenate instead of just preventing the hydration
per se. This brings me toa top trending search CO two. So
when CO two is used the loanor in conjunction with other procedures, specifically
COO two Lift increased skin hydration bymore than one hundred and seventeen percent compared

(22:34):
to baseline, with these improvements lastingup to three weeks. And the physiological
effects also include increases in tissue oxygenationand flow rate and basodilation as well as
you know this better than anyone elseneo angiogenesis. Now, your emphasis on
pre treating the skin prior to proceduresis quite intriguing. Could you elaborate on

(22:56):
the importance of pre procedure skin careand how it contributes to obtaining optimal results.
Yeah, it's kind of like technology, Like if you're gonna run a
marathon, you need to train forit, right, So we ask too
much from all sales. We askway too much from all sales to give

(23:18):
collagen, to produce elastic fiber,to heal a wound that we create.
There are a living entity, sothey're all They require nutrition, they require
protection in order to thrive. Butwhat do we do in esthetic medicine.
We boil them, we electrocute them, we stop them, we start,

(23:45):
they electrocute them, and we askthem make collagen, make elastic fiber heal
this wound, or for fifty yearold, sixty year old fiber blasts.
That's what we do. The ideais that with something like the CEO too
Lived, for example, something assimple as we all understand that bringing circulation

(24:11):
to a tissue brings oxygens, nutritions, takes away toxins and waste products.
But this is a really no brainer, easy way to understand that this carbosy
therapy that we're talking about is actuallya good way to prepare skin that is

(24:34):
about to be electrocuted or burned orborn electrocute at the same time. So
I'm big proponsing this year to helpmy colleagues understand that this all sales.
They need nourishment, they need theyneed deals c And nobody's thinking that way.

(24:56):
You said it, Wow, thatwas that was a great analogy.
I love how you tied two togetherand you're one hundred percent right. We
know from studies that CO two increasesthe presence of wound repair factors and growth
factors. And you made such agood point, which helps cells turn over
faster, reducing the appearance of whetherit's aging or scars or stretch marks.
And when you go back to stimulatingcollagen, I've been using this particular product

(25:21):
after a breast X plant surgery onmy anchor lift, and I found dramatic,
incredible results. I stimulate collagen andelastin production that promoted a lot of
elasticility and helped retain a lot ofhydration even in the areola area, which
is crazy to me. And Iwas quite the studious patient to continue to

(25:45):
document my progress with my scars,and I found it phenomenal. So I
echo what you're saying now. Combinationtreatments have gained a lot of popularity,
doctor Chino in recent years. Whatare the benefits of combining different skincare modalities
or procedures, if you will,And how do you approach tailoring these combinations
to individuals individual patient needs. BecauseI'm sure it's not a one size fits

(26:08):
all model. No. No,aging is multi factorial so you need multiple
modalities. It's like there's no onesingle thing that we can call it the
holy trail. For example, ifI'm going to do an energy device that
I know I'm going to hurt theskin create a wound, wouldn't be smart

(26:32):
to prepare the skin with a rightamount of nutrition so they can survive this
injury. Also, make sure thatthe proper circulation for oxygenation and removal of
all the waste material and reactive oxygenspecies that are formed after you create inflammation.

(26:55):
So having the nutrition with all theseproducts that we have at the market
to add local nutrition to the skinskin care, having something like the carbos
you know therapy, the CEO twolift to enhance the circulation the angiogenesis,

(27:15):
and then bring the nutritio that wetry to add. Then you understand that
your resources are going to be superiorthat you just burn the skin and put
vacilin on top of it or aquafor there's no nutrition in ecofor well said,
Well, when you put it likethat that you go to these procedures
and they're going to burn you andpoke you and do all of that,

(27:37):
you make it sound like this productis very much critical and crucial in the
process. Now we know that thepositive effects of non invasive carboxing therapy.
Carboxing therapy are scientifically explained, andit's a simple, you know, common
Google search that people can do ontheir own to see that this is non

(27:57):
invasive and almost universally accepted. Butcarboxy therapy is a topic of interest for
many seeking skin rejuvenation. That's onething, But can you explain how carboxy
therapy works and its role in enhancingthe results both from surgical and non surgical
procedures. Yeah, and you knowthat car like you never reinvent the wheel,

(28:22):
you just make it better. Socarbosis therapy is a therapy that's been
around for a long time, maybenew for the United States. For a
lot of people, they may nothave heard it, but it's a really
good way to increase the level ofoxygen, improve the microcirculation on every tissue.

(28:42):
When you have ideogenesis, it meansthat you are for the new vessels
to feed a tissue, especially atissue that you're trying to create from genesis,
right, because as we get older, were just losing tissue. With
this brother, you're actually creating theyou know, the right properties. You're

(29:06):
setting the basis for success in bioregeneration, which is a big topic now.
In instead, right, you're reallycreating the right environment for yoursels to
thrive, and this is a noninflammatory way to boost your collagy production.

(29:27):
But you can use it to prepareyourselves before getting any of these aggressive treatments
and only prepare them. You canuse it right after to actually suppore the
results right, because it's important before, but I believe that is much more
important after you sick because you gotburnt or electrocuted. Well, don't you

(29:52):
want to be nurtured and give oxygensand more hydration because you're just being rest
to them has So I think thebeauty with the COO to lift detect I
can't use it to prepare the schemefor the injury, but I can also
use it to heal from the injury. So does a wing with there you

(30:15):
said it all, my dear friend. Thank you so much for that incredible
explanation and answer. We are officiallyout of time. It was such a
pleasure having you on today. Youare a great speaker, filled with knowledge,
and I can't wait to meet youagain in person. Me too.
You're beautiful. I'll see your son. That was our Going Deep segment brought
to you by CEO two Lift.That was the incredible doctor she No Bay.

(30:37):
You can check him out on thegram at shein No Bay or she
no Bayed Dorm and you can headdirectly to their website at Sheinobayderm dot com
or Shebaytraining dot Com. You're listeningto a Moment of Zen right here on
seven ten WR, the voice ofNew york iHeartRadio. We'll be right back
after this. A Moment of Zenis brought to you by your Home TV
with Kathy Ireland and their channel partners. To your Home TV dot com for

(31:00):
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Meet Carrie Portal, a cattle rancherand professional speaker who has overcome partially
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nights from nine to ten pm onseven to ten WOR the Voice of New
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(32:04):
taste, what's a favor and pickup some today at once upon Acoconut dot
Com. Welcome back, beautiful TriState area. You're listening to a Moment
of Zen right here on seven toten WR the Voice of New York iHeartRadio.
I'm your host, Zen. Sam'sup next in our Hydration with Heart
segment brought to you by Once Upona Coconut. We're featuring a co founder
of Once Upon a Coconut and CEOof Quality One Wireless, John Chirando.

(32:28):
He's a seasoned entrepreneur who ignited hisbusiness journey at the tender age of eleven
with a newspaper route right here inNew York. Since then, he's propelled
himself into diverse industries with unwavering determination. John's dynamic portfolio encompasses ventures spanning real
estate, telecommunications, hospitality, andmore, collectively employing over seven hundred employees

(32:52):
in boasting revenues nearing one billion dollarsthis year alone. Beyond business, John
is a devoted father, an avidsports and three enthusiast, and a dedicated
philanthropist. Today, he joins meto chat about what's upont of Coconuts rise
to fame, how they're revolutionizing coconutwater and the beverage industry, but more
importantly, how they're leveraging the positionand power to give back to the communities

(33:15):
now. Once Spot of Coconut believesthat people should create their own narrative around
the brands they consume, not theother way around. Their goal is quite
simple. They want to tell astory that we can all be part of
while hydrating the world with next level, legendary tasting, premium coconut water.
Welcoming now to the show is myamazing friend, co founder of One Spot

(33:37):
of Coconut John Chiranda. Welcome,superstar. How are you so excited to
have you on? So let's diveright in. The coconut water market is
poised to experience explosive growth in thecoming years. By the end of this
year alone, it's expected to reachover two and a half billion dollars in
sales in the United States alone.So, first off, congrats on an

(33:58):
incredible brand, great tasting beverage foundedby simply good people. But I must
ask, what on earth could havemotivated you to enter such a competitive and
crowded space. We're in a lotof diverse industries. This is our first
CpG category. We were brought inand we get a lot of deals presented
to us. The beverage industry ishit or miss, and when you hit,

(34:21):
it's an unbelievable success story. Asprevious brands and brands we all know
of that seeing sales and success on, we saw a Cocaona Water as an
opportunity to be different. If youlook at the industry, it's plain it's
boring. There is not a lotthat's going on. I think some of

(34:44):
the legacy leaders in the space havetaken it easy and rested on their laurels
and their success. We felt thatwe can come in and innovate, we
can be different. We definitely tastedifferent. I mean, I'll let that
stand on its own. But wealso wanted to have a community and build
a movement around a brand. It'snot transactional. We don't want to take

(35:07):
your money and give you a beverage. We want to take your money and
do something whether that impacts your community, and then when we do it,
we want you to be part ofit. So that's the nexus of once
upart of Coconut. It's a communitymovement and it's definitely showing itself today in
over the last four or is tosix months of what we've been doing without
community. This is such a beautifuljourney already. Now you and your team

(35:27):
scored the earth for a very specifictype of coconut, and it landed you
in Vietnam, the world's sixth largestproducer of coconuts. There, the coconut
is a form of religion, andthis dates back to the nineteen sixties where
people worshiped and consumed nothing but coconuts. Specifically, this region has insanely delicious
tasting coconuts, but zero additives,low en calories, absolutely no artificial flavors.

(35:52):
This does not feel like a mindblowing taste palate, yet it totally
is. I can personally vouch.So what is the secret, John,
How do you harvest them coconuts?And why Bentre Vietnam. It's so like
coffee or wine or any other geographicresource, they're all different. So stuff

(36:12):
that you're going to find along abeach is watered at its root, which
set with water. So there's asalinity factor to the coconut. How is
this grown in a rainforest? It'snatural water. It's a very steamy,
HumanID climate. We picked them whenthey're young. We add nothing to them.
There is nothing added to it.Personally, probably once one of coconut

(36:32):
and exploring, you know, coconutorter and trying coconut products, I didn't
like coconut at all. It wasa least favorite thing probably in the world
for me. I actually liked thecoconut water. And we did the taste
testing in factories going around the worldthat was in Vietnam. The team loved
it. We did some taste testingswith consumers, and I will put out

(36:53):
a coconut order up against any coconutorder in the marketplace today. It tastes
fantastic, It's good for you.It truly is nature's gatory. I agree,
and as the mom, I lovecoconut water not only because it tastes
great, but it's truly proprietary inits health benefits. Right. I mean
we have potassium and calcium and magnesium. Those are all the electrolytes. They

(37:14):
play important roles in maintaining heart healthand liver and kidney health and digestive functions
and healthy blood sugar levels, Imean muscle and nerve function. The list
goes on and on. But Ispecifically started drinking it after my radiation therapy
when I was battling thyroid disease,and now I typically use it as a
cure all for everything, including hangovers. Now, what does the once Upon

(37:36):
a Coconut product lineup consist of johnAnd what is the company's product roadmap?
Yeah, so we have a purewhich nothing is added. We have a
pineapple and coconut which is just pineapplejuice and coconut. We have an energy
which we call clean Energy. Itis some vitamins added one hundred twenty milligrams
of caffeine. It is caulbonated.We're making a big push for that for

(37:58):
the rest of this year to getinto the energy because we believe if you
look at the back of our labeland you look at the back of the
label of our competitors, you canpronounce all of our ingredients. I think
that's very important to consumers, especiallyin the health conscious world, where you
know the new currency is health istruly well, and we're going to stay
in that lane. We have achocolate which is kind of the guilty pleasure.
I think that's becoming everyone's number onefavorite, and it is you Who.

(38:22):
It's been described as you Who orcold hot chocolate, and it has
no dairry in it, so it'sdefinitely appealing to a large mass of the
consumers. We have a watermelon whichis just watermelon juice. We have a
blueberry which is blueberry and coconut,and we have a one Leader and we
have ten point eight OUs cans forall the others. The one Leader is
pure. We are working to moveto an all aluminum product line and get

(38:45):
the one leader out of plastic andfor every case we sell, we plant
a tree. So we want tobe earth friendly, We want to have
a carbon neutral footprint. All ofour stuff will be recycled by the end
of this year, so we're excitedabout that. And for the future lineup,
I think a larger probably screw topsixteen outs aluminum can and then moving

(39:06):
out flavord products to go culbinated withfull energy, so now we'll offer a
vast array of flavors with the samenatural core and then be in the energy
space as well. I love thatyou're conscious about your packaging. I know
that you started with these BPA freecans, and for those of you listening,
BPA can seep into food or beveragesfrom containers that are made with BPA,

(39:29):
and exposure of this is a majorconcern because of the health effects on
the brain and prostate gland, specificallyof fetuses, infants, and children,
so it can also affect the childrenchild's behavior. Now, it's one thing
to introduce a premium coconut water thattastes better than anything you've ever tried before,
which you did, but it's trulysomething else to give back to the

(39:50):
communities and to the people that trulyneed it, and John, that's what
you're all about. And so forevery case of once upon a Coconut sold,
you donate ten percent to a charitythat you select each month. Why
is this so important to you?Which charities do you support and how do
you go about selecting the charities?So we celebrate our success with the community.
For me, personally, I wouldnot have it any other way.

(40:14):
All of our companies give back tosome extent, the Down Syndrome Foundation,
the Kansas Society, the Dreamer Foundation. With Charlie Rockett, we had just
rebuilt a field in Inner City,Queens for a high school that could not
field its baseball team because the fieldwas in bad shape. So it's not
just individual organizations, it's individuals aswell. We did an event for a

(40:34):
young man with Down syndrome who hada dream of being a professional wrestler and
wanted to raise money to build abathroom for his sister who was being bathed
outside in the backyard for six years. So these things resonate for me because
quite honestly, I was on Igrew up in that world. My oldest
son was born on welfare. Ishopped at night at the local Key food
in Queens using food stamps. Theydidn't even have a called back then.

(40:55):
I didn't want my neighbors to seeme. I was on food stamps.
I was on welfare. I knowwhat that's like. And I think along
the path of being blessed and havingsome opportunity and working really hard, I've
been able to change that. Thatdoes economics from my family and hopefully future
generations, and I just want tobe able to give back to other people

(41:16):
who may feel there's no hope andlet them know that the world is a
lot nicer place, in a light, brighter place than what we may see
on TV. And going into someone'shouse and putting a bathroom in for a
family so that their daughter can bebathed who is drugged on a date,
or building a field. By theway, the field was a tough one
for me because I went to highschool in Queens and it's our rival,

(41:36):
one of our rivals we built thefield for. But you know what,
there are fifteen kids today that aregoing to be playing baseball then, and
really you know, building teamwork andlearning how to win and learning how to
lose and we're learning how to workhard. That that's absorbing their time,
not being out on the street,not getting into trouble, not doing other
things that you know, there areother opportunities out there besides a baseball field,

(41:59):
So those things mean a lot tous. We don't have a charity
of choice. We want to workwith the community and our consumers and even
our retail customers to support the community. When you buy something from us,
we want to see something on socialmedia or something in our email that says,
hey, you are part of this, thank you for making this happen,
and we mean that you're a goodman. Now, it seems like

(42:21):
your entire world revolves around talent expertsand VIPs, and connecting your brand with
the universe of dynamic talent has trulybeen the case. Why do you think
once pont a coconut has taken offas quickly and successfully as it has,
and why are all these VIPs andcelebrities major endorsers? You know, I
think if you look at the celebrityquote unquote the celebrity space, the one

(42:45):
common denominator is they all focus onhealth. The ferraris and lambos and yachts
aren't the big flex anymore. It'sthe six pack and who's healthy and longevity.
So if you look at some ofthe guys that we have on our
team, Ben Greenfield, Gary Brecat, they have exploded with the results that
they've given the quote unquote celebrity marketin terms of health and wellness. You

(43:06):
guys can look at the case thathe said, Gary has done with some
celebrities and he's change people's lives.We're doing the same thing. We're providing
natural hydration that's good for you.It's good to you, and it's good
for the community that you exist andreside it. So it's a win win.
The marketing is great, the productlooks great, but if it doesn't
taste good, nobody's going to getbehind it long term. We have a

(43:28):
fantastic tasting product. I may bebiased in saying that, and we hear
it everywhere. You know, Igo into stores and do tasting. I
look for the person who says Ihate coconut, and I said, you
know what I was, you justgive it a shot. We have viral
videos of out some of our peopleout on the streets paying people who hate
coconut wanted to taste because no matterwhat you have, it has to be

(43:49):
a great product. They are commondenominators in business. If you don't have
a great product, you're not goingto get very far for very long.
We here for the long lull.You said it. Now, you built
everything you have with hard work,dedication, and humility, started from nothing
and built yourself an empire. Whatadvice do you have to your younger self
and what would you say to thenext generation of entrepreneurs. Uh, well,

(44:13):
I'll address the first question. It'sgoing to be tough, and I
think one of the things that tookme probably twenty years to realize is twofold
one, you need to hire greatpeople. If I go on vacation and
I want to find a tour guideto take me to a place I've never
been before, I have to hiresomeone with experience in going to that place.
So hire people that have been whereyou want to go. And the
second one is learn to enjoy thetough times, because through the tough times,

(44:37):
through the discomfort, you're going tocome out of the other side but
a lot better off, a lotsmaller, a lot wiser, a lot
better intuition, a lot stronger.And I've learned to enjoy the tough times.
People think that's sadistic, but trulythat's where I grow most as a
leader during the tough times. WhatI would say to people today is as
hard as you think it's going tobe, there's an infinite multiple of home

(45:00):
how hard it's going to be tobe an entrepreneur and build something. Just
don't give up. I know it'scliche, but you cannot fail if you
don't give up. Now we couldadd motivational speaker and key tech and ted
X to your resume. That wasa great piece of advice and I echo
everything that you said, and Isee how hard you work and how much

(45:20):
you give back, and I thinkat the core of it all, it
begins with good people, right andgood You are salt of the earth.
John, I could personally vouch forthat. Well, thank you so much
for coming on. It was apleasure chatting with you today. Getting to
know you, even on on afourteen minute interview and in deeper ways was
extremely rewarding. Thank you so muchfor being transparent. Thank you for being

(45:43):
so gentle with me on my firstever interview. Well, thank you so
much for coming on. Imagine adrink that's nutrient rich, powerfully refreshing,
naturally sweet, with no added sugars, not from concentrate, zero additives,
lowen calories, absolutely no artificial flavors, and it's so tasty that it's going
to become your favorite beverage. Enteronce Upon a Coconut the absolute best tasting

(46:06):
coconut water you'll ever try. It'savailable in four refreshing flavors, pure chocolate,
pineapple, and sparkling with energy.They've also just added watermelon and blueberry
to the product line. Do yourtaste buds of favor and pick them up
today at once Upon a Coconut dotcom. You can also check them out
directly on the grand at once Upona Coconut, and you can also check

(46:27):
out John's profile at John dot Chirirando. You're listening to a Moment of Zen
right here on seven ten WR,the voice of New york iHeartRadio. We'll
be right back after this. AMoment of Zen is brought to you by
your Home TV with Kathy Ireland andtheir channel partners. Head to your Home
TV dot com for free family friendlyprogramming streaming twenty four to seven. Gretchenfhilia

(46:50):
is a proponent of American industry.Join her on the ultimate road trip across
America, where she highlights the people, places and experiences that show them American
dream and the spirit of its people. Check out Fabric of America on your
home TV dot com. Tune intoa Moment of Zen Saturday nights from nine
to ten pm on seven ten WOR, The Voice of New York. A

(47:12):
Moment of Zen is brought to youby The Wellness Way, your trusted partner
in health restoration. Now you canfeel amazing at any age. With their
foundational testing and mind body approach,The Wellness Way offers in clinic and telehealth
support when you are ready to test, not guess what your body needs.
Discover your best health by visiting theirwebsite, The Wellnessway dot com and selecting

(47:35):
a clinic near you. Do healthDifferently at the Wellnessway dot com. Welcome
back to this week's Discover Your PotentialExpress segment, brought to you by Smart
Pet Talk on a Moment of Zenright here on seven ten WR, the
Voice of New York iHeartRadio. I'mAnna Devere, co host of Discover Your
Potential, and today we're celebrating thoseunsung hero our mothers and if your kids

(48:01):
are the four legged kind. Theymay even wake you up early on Mother's
Day, because, let's face it, pets don't even know what day of
the week it is. That's whyI'm dedicating these next few minutes to a
lesser known holiday, National Dog Mom'sDay. After all, not only will
your kids never grow up and moveout of the house, you're putting up

(48:22):
with a lot of poop. Literally. For dog mom Becky Star, only
one breed can truly win her heart, the Boston Terrier. When she visited
the animal shelter one day, Littledid she know that the black and white
pup with the big, pleading eyeswas next in line for euthanasia. All
at once, her mother's instinct kickedin and Maximilian was adopted. For the

(48:45):
next two years, Max greeted Beckyat the door every day with his grateful
wiggly bum dance that signaled to herhe thought every day was dog Mom's Day.
For dog parents, this kind oflove is truly the gift that keeps
on giving. Then one day,when she opened the door, Max was
not there to greet her. Findingher kiddo slumped against the washing machine,

(49:08):
Becky raced Max to the emergency room, only to discover he had ruptured a
spinal disc, and even with aten thousand dollars surgery, the outlook was
uncertain. Most pet parents face costlyVET bills at some point, but Max
was so young to live life asa paralyzed pup. Still, Becky understood
one thing. Every child deserves todiscover their potential and her Max would have

(49:32):
the very best care she could afford. Post operation, She stayed all day
and night with him. Max requireda new level of care, as he
couldn't even go to the bathroom onhis own. Undaunted, Becky looked for
alternative therapies, the kind she knewabout for humans. She found devices for
suspending his back legs, she tapedhis paws to keep them from bleeding,

(49:55):
and she even did swim therapy ina jacuzzi. Max enjoyed his walks in
the little Red Wagon, but Beckyknew there had to be more. That's
when she discovered the only animal chiropractorin Hollywood, a seventy year old man
who went to work on Max's backlegs. It would take a two to
three hour drive twice a week thatMax regained the use of all but one

(50:20):
leg He would eventually be able towalk up and downstairs and even got a
part in a movie with a newnickname, Pokey. The paralyzed pup,
Max remained the star in Becky's heartfor the next fourteen years. Today,
Becky is the producer of Smart PetTalk, a show that features hope and
options for all kinds of furry kids. Inspired by the legacy of her own

(50:45):
dogs needs, this mom has assembleda panel of experts and guests that offers
the very best advice in the fieldof integrated health and wellness for animals.
You can watch Smart Pet Talk forfree on the streaming channel your Home TV
dot com, or head to thewebsite smartpeed talk dot com for more episodes
and ps. Twin Boston terriers Connorand Chelsea, with their acute wiggly bottoms,

(51:08):
are wishing their mom, Becky,a very happy dog mom's day.
From iHeart to your Heart, thisDiscover Your Potential Express segment was brought to
you by Smartpet Talk. You're listeningto a Moment of Zen right here on
seven ten WR, the voice ofNew York iHeartRadio. We'll be right back
after this. A Moment of Zenis sponsored by Fintech TV. Fintech TV,

(51:31):
the newest streaming channel focused exclusively onthe business of blockchain, digital assets
and sustainability, broadcasting from our studioon the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, with daily reports from NasdaqGlobal Expansion and twenty four to seven coverage.
Become part of the launch. Headtofintech dot tv slash invest Fintech dot
tv slash invest. Tune into aMoment of Zen Saturday nights from nine to

(51:53):
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Or you could head to seven tenwr dot iHeart dot com Forward slash
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(52:15):
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You could head directly to mox dotyour hometv dot com. Thank you
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(52:37):
possible, and remember that happiness isthe only thing that multiplies when you share
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