This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.   Everything at Hiyo is based on creating a happy, calming customer experience - including the reaction to just seeing the beverage's can, says George Youmans, chief revenue officer and co-founder of Hiyo.   Of course, part of that experience is the beverage itself, which features light, fruit-forward flavors, and a bubbly drink.   "We wanted it to be just delightful and flavorful where we kind of like sneakily put in all this healthy stuff so that you didn't know," George says. That includes organic adaptogens like ashwagandha and cordyceps, natural nootropics like lion’s mane and l-theanine, and functional botanicals like ginger and turmeric.   "We're sneaking health and wellness into the social setting," George says. "Don't tell anybody, but that's what we're trying to do."   Plans for the next year include rolling out a retail presence, though California and Texas will be the first markets, for now, George says. The success there will determine when a national rollout could happen.   The product's ingredients and price point are also constantly under examination.   "We want to be a drink that makes it easier for people to drink less," George says. "If we go hyper uber premium all the time, we're going to price out a lot of people. And that's not in line with what I want to do."   George says entrepreneurship is about solving problems like this, which excites him each morning.   "How lucky am I, right?" George says.   In Part 2, George talks about:   * The brand's strategy of mixing fruity flavors with healthy ingredients. * Why the beverage includes cordyceps instead of caffeine. * The brand's mission is to bring health and wellness into the social setting. * Why the company's target consumer is anyone trying to drink less. * Hilo's retail market plan for the following year. * Why the brand's price point makes it a premium drink at this time, but why the ultimate goal is to create a drink that everyone can enjoy.   Join Ramon Vela and George Youmans as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.   For more on Hiyo, visit: https://drinkhiyo.com/    Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.   *   This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.   If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?   They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.   Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.   Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.   Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.   Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story