Alex Bayer, Genius Juice: Having enough up front capital is crucial

Then we spoke to Alex Bayer, co-founder and CEO of coconut smoothie brand Genius Juice.

What keeps you awake at night?​

Having proper cash flow to continue manufacturing and meeting demand.  It’s very common in our business that we put up a lot of money in advance to finance raw materials and may not see it returned for several weeks, so having enough up front capital is crucial.​

Also, supplying the stores and making sure our distributors are performing at a high level to keep the stores stocked and keep product flowing for customers, and not having out of stocks, which makes our accounts unhappy.​

What trends are you tracking?​

High protein, functional beverages, including for increased brain function.  Also, any coconut related product that is being HPP’d.​

Any other thoughts?​              

I observe from my experience thus far that if you don’t innovate and disrupt, your brand will ultimately fail. You need to bring a product to the market that has not been executed at all or executed well by other competitors. Taste profile and the customer experience is also so crucial, and having an excellent product, translates to excellent sell-through and repeat customers.​