The Startup CPG Podcast


In this Founder Feature, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Isabella Hoag, founder and CEO of OSIA, a caffeine-free energy drink made with real fruit, no natural flavors, and a functional blend of ingredients, to talk about building a brand through feedback, bold pivots, and heart.


Isabella came from the design world and fell into beverages after a health journey in 2022 sent her reading labels and searching for products without fillers or natural flavors. She started making drinks in her kitchen, then launched OSIA before manufacturing, selling at around 500 pop-up events in eight months and reinvesting what she made after starting with just $50. Her first line was a set of four “mood” beverages, and customer, retailer, and distributor feedback has now led her to a single caffeine-free energy drink and a full rebrand.


Caitlin and Isabella dig into why finding a manufacturer for a no-natural-flavors product hasn’t been the obstacle many expect, why OSIA uses juice concentrate, how the functional blend works, what she learned from early pricing and flavor missteps, and how her design background shaped the new can. They also cover the story behind the name OSIA, her pitch to retailers, and why she believes the best advice for any founder is to just put it out there.


Listen in as they discuss:
  • How a design background and a 2022 health journey led Isabella to start making drinks in her kitchen
  • How OSIA launched before manufacturing, with around 500 events in eight months and a $50 start
  • Why OSIA is moving from four mood beverages to a single caffeine-free energy drink
  • Why Isabella says finding a manufacturer for a product with no natural flavors hasn’t been an issue
  • Why OSIA uses juice concentrate, and how to formulate a drink that tastes real without being overly sweet
  • The functional blend of rhodiola, L-theanine, magnesium malate, vitamin B6, and taurine, and how Isabella explains the difference between stimulating energy and blocking tiredness
  • What retailer, distributor, and customer feedback taught her about pricing, sweetness, and flavor balance
  • How the can design drew inspiration from perfume, skincare, and fashion, and why she added callouts and a warm metallic palette
  • The story behind the name OSIA and its connection to ambrosia, the nectar of the gods
  • Why Isabella is raising her first round, and what she tells retailers about in-store tastings



Join the OSIA waitlist: Sign up at drinkosia.com for a special gift and perks at launch.


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Creators and Guests

Host
Caitlin Bricker
Managing Editor @ Startup CPG

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Isabella Hoag
On the brand side, I'm not trying to necessarily turn all these people like, stop drinking your coffee, stop drinking your energy drinks. It's just like if you're already feeling these ways, which so many people are, they're like moving into the low calf space or some people are completely cutting out caffeine like altogether. And so this product's definitely like, for those people that are just looking to either reduce their caffeine intake, try something new. Obviously functional beverages are so huge now, so it's kind of like the perfect time to put this into the market because no one's really dominating this space, but functional beverages are obviously exploding. And so just really like focusing in on that is. I feel like it's going to be a game changer.

00:51
Caitlin Bricker
Hey everybody, this is Caitlin Bricker, Managing Editor at Startup CPG. We are back with another founder feature. Today I'm sitting down with Isabella Hoag, founder of OSIA. Isabella is building a caffeine free energy drink brand made with no natural flavors. If you ask me, this is immediately making her an outlier in a space that is so heavily reliant on caffeine as an energy source. If you're a founder who's tuning into this episode, consider this your motivational speech to just get out there and build. Start from scratch, start from your kitchen, but make sure you start with heart. Isabella will dig into synchronicity she experienced while building her brand, which honestly, if you believe in this sort of thing, I do. It might give you the chills.

01:35
Caitlin Bricker
And I have to tell you, as soon as we hit the stop button on our recording, her light died. Timing, people. Timing is everything. I really enjoyed my discussion with Isabella because it's all about authenticity, listening to your audience and building on that. And if you're looking to connect with buyers, investors and industry experts in real time, you need to be in our community. Join our Free Slack community with over 40,000 members. Get access to exclusive events and trade shows where you can meet those buyers and investors in real life. Tap into free resources and more. Text CPG to 833-605-7002. That's 833-6056, 7002 and we'll get you hooked up. As always, enjoy. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Kaitlin and today I'm here with Isabella Hoag, founder of OSIA. Isabella, welcome to the show.

02:36
Isabella Hoag
Hey, thanks for having me.

02:38
Caitlin Bricker
I am so excited to have you here. I know I tell all founders that I'm excited, but this is really cool when I get to sit down and have a conversation and share your brand with the world. A brand that I am very excited about. So before we get into all things OSIA, can you tell everybody what OSIA is?

02:57
Isabella Hoag
Yeah. So OSIA is a caffeine free energy drink made with real fruits and obviously no caffeine. But we have a great functional blend that we'll get into later.

03:05
Caitlin Bricker
I love that. I feel like there is a new wave that's happening when it comes to caffeine and decaf and exploring what it means to be caffeine free. And you are definitely on the top of the list when it comes to beverages that are doing that. This is pretty cool.

03:22
Isabella Hoag
Thank you. Yeah, we're so excited. It's definitely just something that I personally was searching for and I didn't really find like this specific thing in the market. So I'm really excited to be building it. And yeah, it's just so crazy. I wish I had it right now. I wish were both holding it, but in a couple, very soon.

03:38
Caitlin Bricker
While you've launched already and now you're rebranding and relaunching. So can you first tell us what your background is and what got you to building? O?

03:48
Isabella Hoag
Yeah, for sure. So I actually came from the design world and kind of fell into this in a super organic and weird way. I kind of had these like health issues in 2022 and I just found myself reading more labels, kind of seeing what was on the market, looking for organic natural ingredients. And I noticed there were a lot of fillers and natural flavors in a lot of these products, which frustrated me because the more digging I did, I realized what those things were. And so I really was searching for products that didn't have those additives or those natural flavors and just trying to figure out what was going on with me. And so that's kind of how I fell into it. And so I actually launched before manufacturing.

04:30
Isabella Hoag
Like we did all these different pop up events, just got a lot of market research, tested it just in different markets and then after about eight months into doing that, went into manufacturing the product. And so originally Osio was a mood beverage, which is similar but different to the caffeine free energy drink. So it was really great to just test that in the market and see out of these four different moods, because they're all different moods and they had different flavors. Which one did people like the most?

04:59
Isabella Hoag
And then also just putting it out there, like you just have to start somewhere, you know, and so really just Putting it out there and getting all the feedback, whether it was like the function or the flavor or the packaging, how to really scale it, what call outs to put on it and really just like listening to buyer, distributor and customer feedback. So that's kind of where we're at right now into transitioning from the mood beverages into the caffeine free energy drink. We just really found that people want energy, but they don't always want caffeine. And so we figured out the solution to that.

05:30
Caitlin Bricker
For me, you feel like an outlier in the space when it comes to beverages because you are hitting on so many points. Obviously the big one, there is no natural flavors. These kinds of beverages are hard to come by. And also you're hitting on caffeine free energy. This is a conversation that I feel like you are just tapping into. There are a few other brands on my radar that are doing it, but it's not something that people are really talking about. In my opinion. I could be living under a rock, who knows?

05:58
Isabella Hoag
But I feel like you're the last person to be living under a rock in this area. You're like the beverage queen. Well, I think you're doing things in.

06:07
Caitlin Bricker
A really thoughtful, slow moving way that I think is going to help you win. So the big question for you here is you're doing this without natural flavors. From what I hear, it is pretty hard to find a manufacturer who will work with a brand who's not using natural flavors. Can you tell me about your experience and maybe validate or invalidate that?

06:28
Isabella Hoag
Yeah, I have not run into that issue. We actually work with an amazing manufacturer, one of the largest in like the west of the Mississippi. So our capacity for scaling is pretty extreme. And really it's like the brand can either, you know, source out their formulations, which majority do, and that's totally fine. How I found myself in formulating was I actually do everything, like at home, like in our kitchen. Like that's where it started because I was just making these drinks for myself in my kitchen. And so I had my different ingredients and my different herbs and I was just making my little concoctions. And then we progressed and scaled from there and were doing larger quantities and doing 500 events in eight months. So obviously I can't make it in my kitchen.

07:11
Isabella Hoag
So went to commissary kitchens and you kind of just scale from there. And then went to manufacturing, you know, a pilot batch which then you need to source all the ingredients. And now, you know, as we progress, it's really Just making sure your supply chain is super secure. And so I think, you know, over the past couple of years, that's really what I've been focusing on, is trying to find like the best suppliers that have great ingredients, but also can scale for where heading and what are you.

07:36
Caitlin Bricker
Looking for in a good supplier? Because when you're not using natural flavors, you are relying on natural ingredients like fruits, which obviously can be finicky because it's not one size fits all. They're not these perfect products that are being spit out by a tree or grown from the ground. So how do you navigate that for sure?

07:54
Isabella Hoag
Well, so there's a lot of different. So we use juice concentrate, which for scaling purposes, that is the best option. If you use juice, you have to use so much, and then your product is going to cost so much money. And it also, like, on the brand side, it just doesn't end up working out like in a scalable way like that. And so we use juice concentrate and yeah, it changes, you know, I mean, we don't want it to be this perfectly constructed strawberry, you know, or whatever it is. But that's kind of like the beauty in it is you just. The way that at least we formulated was just trying to find this balance that felt real but didn't taste, like, overly natural.

08:32
Isabella Hoag
Like, I still want it to be this, like, delicious punchy, which is different from our last skew, which I know you've had, that was more like on the lighter side, this one is like really just like. It's like an energy drink, just real fruits.

08:43
Caitlin Bricker
The V1 that I was introduced to, the white can with the colorful font on it, that was a great product. So I'm excited to taste V2. And I do have to say, like, your point on using juice concentrates versus juices, you're not creating a juice beverage. So it makes a ton of sense to me. And it is a really good way to sweeten your products too. If you don't want to go heavy on added sugar or added sweeteners to.

09:09
Isabella Hoag
100%, Which that I feel like that's a whole other conversation that maybe we can get into because from our previous line, again, all of the feedback, that's what we want. We just, we want to get the product out there and we want all the feedback to figure out, like, what is the future and the evolution of OSIA. And so the biggest thing was people liked that it wasn't super sweet, and we're still carrying that on. But the fruit juices give, like this body that you know, the flavored products just. It doesn't give the same body. You drink a flavored product, it has all these different things in it. You can tell, and you can immediately tell when something is real. You know, that was our biggest feedback was that people loved that.

09:49
Isabella Hoag
It felt almost nostalgic because that's how things used to be made, you know? Yes.

09:55
Caitlin Bricker
I was just like, wow. Nostalgia for real fruit. Oh, my God.

10:01
Isabella Hoag
Who knew?

10:03
Caitlin Bricker
Whoa.

10:04
Isabella Hoag
Okay, I'm so big on. Let's go back to the basics. You know, like, everyone is playing into nostalgia and like visuals or in, you know, bringing back these bodies of cars or whatever it may be. But like, let's start with the basics of what we consume. Whether that's the food we consume, water, like the air that we're surrounded by, whatever it may be, you know, we're cutting out microplastics from, you know, our clothes that are made of polyester or whatever. But like, our food is the most important thing because it's what we're consuming. And of course, it's like when you, from a brand side, when you're making a product, there's so much that goes into it and we can't be perfect and we can't please everyone.

10:43
Isabella Hoag
But my main mission and goal is to do my absolute best and try and make a super clean product that again, feels nostalgic. It has that body, it has that excitement around it. And so that's kind of everything that I'm working on.

10:56
Caitlin Bricker
The children yearn for real fruit. This is cool. I do think that there is a lot to be said and a lot to be appreciated for going back to the basics. And I also want to hit on this caffeine free energy topic too because there might be some people being like, what do you mean? So, what do you mean?

11:17
Isabella Hoag
Yeah, so, okay, I'm going to just kind of go over this in like a super simple way. Yeah, Caffeine really, like it disrupts your sleep.

11:26
Caitlin Bricker
Okay.

11:26
Isabella Hoag
Like, it makes you not feel tired.

11:28
Caitlin Bricker
Okay.

11:29
Isabella Hoag
Like, that's literally all it does. When you consume caffeine, which I still consume caffeine sometimes, I'll definitely consuming it a lot less when I have my product in my hand. But, you know, it's like we all want energy. Like, caffeine just like blocks your sleep receptors versus our blend, which is like a functional blend. We use five different functional ingredients that really help, like stimulate your energy receptor. You know, like actually stimulates energy in you, doesn't block your sleep receptors. So like switching to this or like incorporating this more into, you know, like your energy routine. Over time you'll start to like have your sleep cycle like back to normal. You'll start to like actually feel this more like natural energy in your body.

12:08
Isabella Hoag
Like we create energy, our energy sleep cycle, like it's there, you know, but all the caffeine we consume, it disrupts it. And so kind of again, going back to the basics, like, let's try to be good to our bodies.

12:20
Caitlin Bricker
What ingredients are you leaning on to help back that caffeine free energy label that you're slapping on your products?

12:29
Isabella Hoag
So the main one's rhodiola, which we used in our previous line, but we're upping the dosage a little bit. And then we also are using L theanine, which obviously, like, that's so hot right now. But a lot of that just comes from again, like regulating your body. Because we're focusing on providing energy but also regulating our bodies. And we don't want to like, be so like crazy and hyper. We just want to like focus and like get work done. You know, we're all busy and like, that's what we really want at the end of the day. So we're using magnesium, malate, vitamin B6, and then we're going to be using taurine as well. So a lot of things that you find in like classic energy drinks or like workout supplements, but then just like adding in a couple things as well.

13:08
Isabella Hoag
And we've really found like this really balances out. And we use four or five months just like at home and you know, our friends and family and it's great. I love it. I can't wait to share it with everyone.

13:16
Caitlin Bricker
I'm excited for you. I can relate to what you're saying about cutting caffeine out or lessening the caffeine intake because I personally am a better person without caffeine in my system. I've been caffeine free for, oh my God, I think it's almost seven years now. I quit caffeine in 2020 because we're all on lockdown. I was stuck in a cage, basically a 535 square foot apartment in Arlington, Massachusetts. And I'm like, why can't I sleep at night? Why do I feel angry? Is it the pandemic or is it the caffeine? Or maybe is it a mix of both? And I just kind of started like looking at what I was eating, what I was drink. It was the caffeine. So also having some anxiety and panic attacks, you know, great cocktail things together. But the caffeine was the cherry on top.

14:04
Caitlin Bricker
That was really just like, throwing me off track. And since I've cut caffeine out, I don't have to worry about my sleep cycle. I'm just solely reliant on making sure I'm getting into bed in time, setting my alarm for the morning, and I'm good to go. Wow.

14:17
Isabella Hoag
I mean, it really is about one either moderation or if you've realized and pinpoint, like, what the problem is, whatever your problem is, then, yeah, cut it out. And you're going to see a crazy difference. But a lot of people do survive on caffeine. You know, it feels like it's the only way to get through the day. And so I guess also it's so interesting on the brand side. I'm not trying to necessarily turn all these people, like, stop drinking your coffee, stop drinking your energy drinks. It's just like if you're already feeling these ways, which so many people are, they're like, moving into the low calf space or some people are completely cutting out caffeine, like, all together. And so this product's definitely like, for those people, they're just looking to either reduce their caffeine intake, try something new.

15:03
Isabella Hoag
Obviously, functional beverages are so huge now. So it's kind of like the perfect time to put this into the market because no one's really dominating this space, but functional beverages are obviously exploding. And so just really, like, focusing in on that is. I feel like it's going to be a game changer.

15:18
Caitlin Bricker
I think it is too. I think that this definitely is a wave that we're going to see. I wrote about it a little over a year ago that I thought decaf was going to be the next wave of coffee. But we're seeing it beyond coffee now. We're seeing it in the energy drink space. We're seeing it in beverage in general. So many beverages that take up space in those coolers in a retail store do have added caffeine into them. And there's definitely a market for people who just, like you're saying, are looking to cut it out or cut it down. So I think you're on the right path. I'm excited to see what the reception is from retailers, distributors, and your customers.

15:54
Caitlin Bricker
Can you give us some insight into your experience with getting feedback from retailers, distributors and customers with your V1 and what led you to V2?

16:05
Isabella Hoag
Yeah, I mean, so many, like, so many good and constructive feedback, and that's what I really like. I'd much rather someone tell me their honest thoughts than not say anything, you know? And so really just over time, you start to see patterns, or you're like, okay, like, we didn't get into this retailer because of this reason, you know, okay, like, mentally mark that or physically market and kind of just this progress of over time. I'm really. I didn't come from the CBG space. I had literally no idea what I was doing, like, at all. I think when we first launched, we priced our product wholesale for, like, 650. So that says a lot if you're, like, in this. You know, that's.

16:46
Caitlin Bricker
That's a little steep.

16:47
Isabella Hoag
It's steep. I just, like, I didn't know because before were doing the events, and, you know, it's normal. We sell a drink for $13, and that's super normal. We're in, like, clubs and bars and restaurants and things of that nature.

16:59
Caitlin Bricker
That's what I was thinking. I was like, that's concert ticket pricing right there.

17:02
Isabella Hoag
Yes, 100%. And so I know I'm getting a little off the question, but please, we love that here. It was really just over time, Even from, like, VVV1, like, the events, I was getting feedback. And so then I was changing it, and I was, like, always trying to figure out, like, how can we make it better? How can we make it better? And as we actually had, like, the physical product hitching, like, I'm walking into these stores, like, these liquor stores, and they're like, who's this girl? I'm like, hey, guys, you want my product?

17:33
Caitlin Bricker
And did they?

17:34
Isabella Hoag
Yeah, guess. And so I'm like, okay, cool. Now what? You know, like, I really was, like, figuring everything out from scratch. So first it was the pricing, like, when you get the pricing down. So I'm like, okay. And I figured out, you know, let's get the pricing down. And then it wasn't, like, sweet enough. Like, it was too sparkling water, in a sense. Like, it didn't have enough juice in it. And so were like, okay, like, let's keep that in mind. And then we had, like, a manufacturing malfunction and on, like, one of our batches, and were, like, trying to sell that a little bit. It was just, like, a little bit more sage than we wanted. And some people loved it. And, like, people still are like, do you have it? Like, we want it. And I'm like, I don't. I'm sorry.

18:13
Isabella Hoag
And you won't ever have it. That was so random that happened. And so it was just, like, all These things that happened over time. You know, distributors that really liked some of our products, but they didn't like one skew. And so we couldn't work with them. And so then were like, well, we have all this product. Like, how are we going to pivot? It was just like, a lot of pivoting. I feel like every brand can relate to that. It's like, okay, this doesn't work. Next. Like, I'm not going to cry about, like, let's move on. You know, just. That's kind of the name of the game. And so really, when it came down to it, things were moving again. Like, we're a small team. It's not super easy to get into retail, like, super fast unless you have, like, this perfect product.

18:53
Isabella Hoag
And I don't think the product was perfect. It was just. I just needed to get it out there again. And so really just taking that feedback and realizing that people want energy drinks. Like, they love their energy drink. They like something that's sweet, but the products on the market are too sweet. So, like, let's dial that down and, like, let's use actual, like, clean ingredients. And also, like, people are, you know, saying that they don't want caffeine, so, like, let's give them no caffeine. You know, just like, listening to the people and like, listening to what people don't love about your product or what they do love about your product.

19:24
Caitlin Bricker
And the aesthetic of Monster doesn't really fit everyone.

19:28
Isabella Hoag
It doesn't. And honestly, OC is not going to fit everyone either. But, like, there's so many people out there that they like. And aesthetics are huge. Like, whether we want to admit it or not, we want something that resonates with us, that we can feel really good holding and drinking and sharing with our friends and family. And I would say that obviously there's so many drinks on the market, but I would say that there needs to be more, like, simple, like, sexy, chic drinks for girls and guys, you know?

19:56
Caitlin Bricker
Totally. It's. Something's popping into my head right now. There is a creator out there. She touts herself as being consumer obsessed. Her name is Morgan. Her Instagram handle is the Consumer Comper or Comphr. Apologies, Morgan, if I'm pronouncing your last name wrong, but it's C O M P H E R. What you're saying about having that product in your hand is resonating with something I just saw from her because she was Looking at the 2026 Whole Foods Trends predictions and rating them and she was talking about how I think it was Coca Cola now has, like, a Coke Zero prebiotic beverage. And she was like, I can't think of something more embarrassing to hold. It's the truth. We have this thing of, like, the pride of the purchase. Right.

20:44
Caitlin Bricker
This is something that I would notice a lot seeing baskets when I was working in retail. People have an esthetic or a color that they gravitate towards when they go and they look in that basket. And it usually all looks the same. So. But we also don't want the sea of sameness when we look at a shelf, so you really have to find those sweet spots. So with your design background, you have done a huge pivot with the look of oca. Can you walk us through what was going through your mind when you did that pivot? The branding, too?

21:14
Isabella Hoag
Yeah. Well, I'll start with why I chose the original design. So I took a lot of inspiration from, like, more perfume, skincare, that world, more like fashion world, apparel, all of that. Because when I would look at the shelf, I just wanted something, like, even if it didn't have the call outs, I just wanted something that people would be like, what is that? They could either love it or hate it. It's just something that's different. And so, again, like, I didn't come from the beverage space. I didn't realize, like, call outs were so huge. So that's, like, a big pivot that we're making is just making sure that it pops more on the shelf. But again, the beverage space is so saturated, and we want to make sure that, you know, the customer sees something and they're like, what is this?

21:57
Isabella Hoag
Because most of the time, they're going into that store once a week, and they're looking at the shelf. And so I was like, okay, how can we grab their attention and be colorful? I wanted all of the color palette to be, like, more in the warm tones, since that's, like, all the fruits that we're using, which also from our previous line, we had, like, two warm tones, two cool tones, but the cool tones were more relaxing, and the warm tones were energizing. And so that also plays into why choosing the warm tone palette but then also doing, like, a metallic, which has been really hard.

22:27
Isabella Hoag
We're still, like, going back and forth with our can manufacturer because it's so hard to get a metallic can that the words pop because it's digitally printed, and we're not going to be using sleeves or anything like that. And so, yeah, just. It's just been a crazy Transition from pretty much white with, like, these silver, you know, like, tops and bottoms to, like, colored metallic.

22:51
Caitlin Bricker
And I got to see some iterations when you were working towards your final. That was fun because I'm like, oh, she's thinking of me. And I get to see, like, behind the scenes. That was really cool for me to be able to, like, give you my opinion on that and see where your head was at too. It's exciting because you get to see what the brain of the designer is thinking. And, yeah, it's nice to peek behind the curtain sometimes and not just see the final product in hand.

23:19
Isabella Hoag
For sure. Maybe I'm going to share that, like, on socials, like, because before we just were going to redo the mood beverages, which you saw. Yeah, colored cans and all of that. And I feel like the biggest thing that I always do is, like, listen to my gut and my intuition. We all have such crazy strong intuitions, and it's just about tapping into it. And so for me, I just, like, felt so much in that moment. Like, there's something more. I don't know what it is, but it's like, what? Just what is it? And then it's really hard, too, because, you know, owning this brand's like, it's your baby.

23:49
Isabella Hoag
You've, like, created this, you know, and especially, like, for us, like, I did the formulations, the designs, you know, like, just like, all of the things have been so hands on, like, making sure that everything isn't necessarily perfect, but just, like, choosing every little detail. And so it was definitely a super huge shift for me to go away from my mood babies. Just focus one, I bet. But it's the right call. And like, now I'm like, oh, my God, this is perfect. Like, this makes so much more sense because it was too complicated to explain. Four different moods. They're all different flavors. They all have, like, not just one functional ingredient. Have their own functional blends. And so with, you know, the CBG space, it's so important to get your point across. You only have 3 seconds to sell it. So, like, how.

24:36
Isabella Hoag
You just need to make sure that you can. And so that was another big reason was, like, how do we simplify and, like, what's missing in the market? Because when I started, there weren't any of these. But again, I was starting in events, completely bootstrapped. I put $50 into it and, you know, made a good amount and then reinvested that. And so really, again, just, like, figuring it out along the way, just, like, putting it out there.

24:59
Caitlin Bricker
I Think that's the biggest takeaway for me from our conversation is just putting it out there. And now that you've drawn the comparison to these products being your babies, I know so many people talk about this. I have only ever made products for, like, people who have been following me on Instagram or, like, friends. I've made herbal products and honeys before, but I've never launched a CPG product out into the world, but I have created an actual human child. And what you are doing with your CPG products and with just becoming a mom, you're never going to be ready for this.

25:34
Isabella Hoag
So you drop.

25:35
Caitlin Bricker
You are making a great point. You just have to do it. You're never going to be ready. Just do it. See what happens.

25:41
Isabella Hoag
Yeah.

25:41
Caitlin Bricker
Because your product is growing up just like my daughter is growing up. Hopefully, she's going to learn and hear things from people and absorb that and take it in and become a better person for it as she grows up. And I hope the same thing for your products, too. I feel like I see so many.

25:57
Isabella Hoag
She's a great mom.

25:58
Caitlin Bricker
I hope. Oh, thank you. I really hope that other founders who are listening to you, who are just like, I don't know if I'm ready. Just put it out there. Just put it out there. The more that you talk about yourself and talk about your product, it's never going to be perfect. Just like you're saying, just take a risk. If you're feeling like, I'm just going to make this in my kitchen, see if people like it. Cool people like it. You can scale it one day. And if they don't like it, we'll take that feedback in and see if it's worth a shot. Scaling it.

26:26
Isabella Hoag
Yeah. Because a lot of it, too, it's not about the product. Like, yeah, it is. Like, maybe that's your inspiration, but it's yourself. When people are like, take the bat on yourself. That is literally what it is. It could be in anything. It's just believing in yourself and honestly being, like, so delusional because you need to be the future you. You know, you can't be where you are, and then you're just stuck in this little circle. Like, you need to be, like, 20 steps ahead and be like, you know what? Whatever. I'm gonna do it. Whatever it is. Just, like, take a chance. When I started, I was like, I had a friend and I was like, I'm, like, thinking about starting this brand. She had a business, too. And I was like, how do I.

27:01
Isabella Hoag
Like, what's the first step you know, I'm, like, expecting her to solve all my problems. And she's like, just start. I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, you'll figure it out. I'm like, okay, I'll figure it out. And that's what I'm doing. Just. I'm figuring it out. Honestly, we all are. Like, that's part of life is growing, learning, evolving as a human. And I would say starting a business is the. Honestly, it's like this accelerated. I've said this so many times. It's like an accelerated life course. Just, like, you get pushed so much, and it's so emotional, Way more than you would expect. And it's just honestly, the best thing ever.

27:35
Caitlin Bricker
Wow. I'm not gonna go making a CPG product anytime soon, but if I was thinking about it, this would be my motivational speech. Oh, my God. So I have to ask you. We're coming up on time. I have a big question. I know the answer to it, but I think it's fun for other people to know. What does OC mean? Where did you come up with the name?

27:55
Isabella Hoag
Yeah, so from the events, it was called something else, but I was really taking, again, the customer feedback, listening to what people were saying. And I just really remember it was, like, maybe five or six people. And I would just ask them during these events, like, oh, how would you explain this? You know, like. Cause I'm like. Is an elixir. Would you say, like, I don't know, and mocktail? Like, how would you explain. Explain it. And I had a couple people say it's like nectar. Like, it just tastes like. It's just so good and, like, yummy, and it's like nectar. And so that was just stuck in my head. And as I was coming up with a brand name, which, if you started a brand, you know, that's like, the hardest part. In the beginning, it's like, what is it called?

28:35
Isabella Hoag
I know what it's going to be, but I don't even know what it's going to be called. And that's the most important thing. And so, you know, like, as a designer, too, I'm, like, very visual, and I'm, like, pulling all these inspiration photos, and I'm drawing and I'm trying to, like, figure out what it is. And I come up with a bunch of these names. I want to be short and punchy. I ideally wanted it to be four letters just because there were four different moods and just, like, all these, like, synchronicities and stuff. And so I'M doing research. And I was like, okay, like, nectar. Let me like, do some research on nectar and. Cause I didn't want to call it nectar also. And I came across this word called. That's like this nectar of the gods.

29:11
Isabella Hoag
This like, immortality elixir, which again, like elixir and like all these different things that I was also thinking about. And I looked at it and it was just the last four letters were O S, I, A. And I swear to God, I had this insane spiritual moment where I was like, I. No, I'm so serious.

29:28
Caitlin Bricker
I believe you.

29:29
Isabella Hoag
It's the most insane story. I immediately, like, get into my car and like, drive to my boyfriend's house. I figured it out. I know what it's going to be called. And I was like, it's this word for. That's like nectar of the gods. I forgot like the whole thing. It was like ambrosia. And I was like, how do you know that word? And he was like, he pulled up his phone and he was like. It was literally like beverage company ideas from like 2022.

29:53
Caitlin Bricker
Wow.

29:54
Isabella Hoag
Like, it literally said the day and it was ambrosia.

29:56
Caitlin Bricker
Wow.

29:57
Isabella Hoag
Isn't that crazy?

29:59
Caitlin Bricker
It's so cool. It seems like the stars are aligning and you are on the right path, especially when you have a moment like that. I've had moments like that in my life. And it's like, where's the camera? I know,.

30:12
Isabella Hoag
Exactly.

30:13
Caitlin Bricker
I gotta ask you another question before we go. What do you want to say to retailers who might have a packed fridge right now, who could make some space for OSIA? What's your pitch to them?

30:24
Isabella Hoag
That's a great question. I would just say there's so many consumers that are looking for low calf or no caf options that also give you energy. And that's exactly what we're creating at OSIA. Having, again, no natural flavors. There's so many health consciousness and, you know, people that are wanting, like natural ingredients into the shelves. And so that's exactly what OSIA is. And I mean, our biggest thing is also, like, making sure that we fly off the shelf. We don't just sit there so doing in store tastings, making sure that like, we're there with you guys. And yeah, we just, we want to give the people what they want.

30:56
Caitlin Bricker
So. Perfect.

30:57
Isabella Hoag
Let's do it together.

30:58
Caitlin Bricker
Perfect. And where can everybody find more information and buy your product? What's your Instagram handle? What's your website? Tell us all the deets.

31:07
Isabella Hoag
So our Instagram and Tick Tock and honestly, everything is at drink OSIA and OCS spelled O S I A. And then Our website is drinkocia.com and right now we. You can sign up for a wait list. So we're trying to, you know, we're launching in a couple months and so we're just trying to get as many of you guys that want to sign up and you know, you'll get a special gift when we launch and like, perks and just all the fun things that you want.

31:31
Caitlin Bricker
I am so excited for you. It's been great chatting with you, learning more about you jumping from the V1 that I had. I know it wasn't the very first version into what OCU is going to become in the next couple months. So I'm excited to see where you go and I'd love to check back in with you in a year and see how everything's going.

31:48
Isabella Hoag
Yeah. And can I also just add one thing?

31:50
Caitlin Bricker
Of course.

31:51
Isabella Hoag
So we're raising our first round. So we've been bootstrapped this whole time. And so we're raising our first round. So any investors that are watching, reach out. You know, Caitlin can give you my email for sure. I'd love to chat and have you be a part of oseo.

32:05
Caitlin Bricker
Let's do it. All right. Isabella, it's been so great chatting with you. I'm so glad we finally got to meet in person back in Denver at the grocery run. It felt like we knew each other for years, but it's great to continue the conversation always. And I'm so excited to see where this goes for you.

32:21
Isabella Hoag
You too. You're actually the best. Like, I wish you could hang all the time.

32:27
Caitlin Bricker
You're so. I'll call you when I'm in Denver. Okay.

32:31
Isabella Hoag
Well, thank you so much for having me. And thank you for listening.

32:34
Caitlin Bricker
Of course. Thank you. I'll catch you later. Bye. Bye. CPG BFFs. We've now arrived together at the end of another episode of the Startup CPG podcast. As you may know, we're not just the top globally ranked CPG podcast. We're a community of tens of thousands of CPG founders and experts. And you should join us. If you haven't already, head to startupcpg.com to sign up. You'll get an invite to our Slack community, hear about events near you, and get access to opportunities that connect you with buyers, investors and other brands. It's free. So what are you waiting for? I'll see you in Slack and in real life. Thanks for listening,.