Founder Feature: Stephanie McGregor of RINGA

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Stephanie McGregor, founder of Ringa—a moringa and apple cider vinegar infused beverage with no added sugar, no sugar substitutes, and no natural flavors. After 20 years as an operator in food and beverage working on brands like Red Bull, Glacéau Vitaminwater, and others, Stephanie was ready to leave the industry until an Airbnb host in Baja, Mexico wouldn't stop talking about the moringa tree growing on her property.

Stephanie shares her journey from winding down a previous company in 2022 to launching Ringa as a mission-driven brand committed to radical ingredient transparency. The conversation explores the decision-making behind formulating with only real, pronounceable ingredients—from organic moringa tea and raw apple cider vinegar to real cucumber juice and ginger—and why "unapologetically tart" is both a product philosophy and a long-game strategy in a market addicted to sugar.

Throughout the episode, Stephanie discusses the challenges of educating consumers about what "natural flavors" really means (and what manufacturers aren't telling you), why microdosing moringa in a delicious format beats the "plug your nose and gulp it down" supplement approach, and how Ringa landed a feature in Whole Foods' 2026 trend report predicting vinegar as the next big functional ingredient. She also shares her experience as a self-proclaimed "Startup CPG groupie," attending nearly every Grocery Run and trade show opportunity to accelerate retailer discovery at a fraction of traditional costs.

Whether you're launching a better-for-you beverage, navigating ingredient sourcing for functional foods, or building a self-funded brand with operator experience, this conversation offers honest lessons on playing the long game, learning to say no, staying patient while trends catch up, and building extreme loyalty over viral growth.

Listen in as they discuss:

• Stephanie's 20-year operator background: Red Bull, Vitaminwater, and winding down a business in 2022
• The Baja, Mexico Airbnb moment that introduced Stephanie to moringa and inspired Ringa
• What moringa is: a complete plant protein with all nine essential amino acids, drought-tolerant, and nutrient-dense
• The decision to formulate with no added sugar, no sugar substitutes, and no natural flavors
• Why "natural flavors" aren't always natural—and how proprietary blends hide ingredient transparency
• The philosophy of being "unapologetically tart" and playing the long game on consumer taste education
• How real cucumber juice creates a completely different flavor experience than cucumber "natural flavor"
• Microdosing moringa: making functional ingredients delicious and palatable for daily consumption
• Landing in Whole Foods' 2026 trend report: vinegar as the "OG functional food"
• Why fiber is the macro people actually need (90% of us don't get enough)
• Attending every Startup CPG Grocery Run event: accelerating retailer discovery at a fraction of trade show costs
• Operator advice: learning to say no, staying nimble, and building a good business over chasing hockey stick growth
• Why going slow and building loyalty beats viral growth for long-term brand success
  
  

Episode Links:

Website: https://www.drinkringa.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkringa/ 

Stephanie McGregor - Founder, Ringa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieleemcgregor/

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

• Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (30K+ members and growing!)
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• Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin 
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [e-mail]
• Episode music by Super Fantastics

Creators and Guests

Host

Caitlin Bricker

Editor @ Startup CPG

What is The Startup CPG Podcast?

The top CPG podcast in the world, highlighting stories from founders, buyer spotlights, highly practical industry insights - all to give you a better chance at success.

Stephanie Mcregor
You know, one of my biggest pet peeves is when you see something that's cucumber flavored or watermelon flavored, and you turn around the can or the bag and that ingredient is nowhere to be found because it's listed under natural flavor. And I think they just taste better. Real ingredients taste better. I think a good example of that is our cucumber mint, where we do use real cucumber juice. My favorite thing at demos is when people tell me they don't like cucumber flavored things and they try our cucumber and they're like, oh, wow, that is incredible.

00:41
Caitlin Bricker
Hey, everybody, this is Caitlin Bricker, editor at Startup cpg. We are back with another founder future. Today we're Talking with Stephanie McGregor, founder of Ringa, a moringa and apple cider vinegar infused beverage with no added sugar and no natural flavors. After 20 years as an operator in food and beverage, Stephanie was ready to leave the industry until her Airbnb host wouldn't stop talking about the moringa tree growing on her property. Now she's building a brand that's unapologetically tart, featured in Whole Foods 2026 trend report, and proving that real ingredients just taste better. From winning a 2025 Shelfie Award to becoming what she calls a startup CPG groupie, Stephanie is playing the long game with a product that's on trend without being trendy. And with that, it's time for me to sip Ringa. Enjoy. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast.

01:38
Caitlin Bricker
This is Caitlin and today I'm here with Stephanie McGregor, founder of Ringa. Stephanie, welcome to the show. Hi.

01:44
Stephanie Mcregor
Thanks, thanks for having me.

01:46
Caitlin Bricker
So excited to have you here. 2025 shelfie award winner. I'm staring at the can and I'm. I never do this. I never drink beverages while I'm recording, but I'm going to do it today. So here we go.

02:00
Stephanie Mcregor
I love it. And beverage founder loves the sound of that can popping, especially when it's your own beverage.

02:05
Caitlin Bricker
And it's so good. It definitely deserved to be an award winning beverage. So for anybody that's listening and is not familiar with Ringa, can you tell us very succinctly what Ringa is?

02:20
Stephanie Mcregor
Yes. So we are a Moringa, an apple cider vinegar infused beverage. So Ringa is inspired by the plant Moringa, which is. Which is one of the most nutrient dense plants on the planet. Gram for gram, it is a complete plant protein. So it has all nine essential amino acids. Fast growing, drought tolerant, 100% viable, has been Shown to help support healthy blood sugar balance. And then, of course, apple cider vinegar. We like to say we're unapologetically tart because we don't sweeten with any added sugars. We don't do any sugar substitutes like stevia and then no natural flavors. So whenever I do demos or kind of, the quick recap is that we're kind of like a tart seltzer. The benefits of a kombucha maybe mixed with like the benefits of a modern soda or even like a fruit flavored sparkling water, like a spindrift.

03:11
Stephanie Mcregor
So kind of all of the benefits without any of the negatives in there.

03:15
Caitlin Bricker
I'm a big fan. I love the fact that you're doing the no added sweeteners. I'm just gonna go ahead and read the ingredient label. So we've got organic moringa tea. We've got organic raw apple cider vinegar, organic ginger juice, organic lemon juice, organic agave inulin, and organic apple juice concentrate and sea salt. I feel like I say this a lot because when founders are doing this, I think it makes them very stand out, which is why I get attracted to the brands. But the no added sugar and the no added flavoring that is a rarity in a beverage.

03:53
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah.

03:53
Caitlin Bricker
Can you talk to me about the decision making that you went through when you decided to formulate? Was this something that you started off with from the very beginning? Was this like a value that you always held, or has this evolved over time?

04:07
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, I would definitely say it evolved over time. My background is that I actually do have 20 years experience as an operator in startup food and beverage. Got my start way back in the day when there were no energy drinks. Actually, I was one of the first teams that worked on bringing Red Bull to market in the Colorado market, and then moved on to glass O vitamin water, and then kind of took a couple different paths with some different categories, snacks, confection. But what that gave me was a real opportunity to see what's in our food. Looking at manufacturing and ingredient sourcing, you know, not that there's like natural flavors. There's nothing inherently wrong with natural flavors. Some of them truly are natural.

04:54
Stephanie Mcregor
And from a labeling standpoint, labeling something like a natural flavor gives you the opportunity to swap out that natural flavor, which can certainly be good if you think about sourcing or like during the pandemic when there was an ingredient shortage. But the negative side of that is that I do think manufacturers can swap in and out ingredients and not necessarily be transparent to consumers about what that natural flavoring is or even the source of that natural flavor. A lot of those blends are proprietary, and you couldn't even figure it out if you asked. And so seeing that through the course of my career and becoming more educated myself as a consumer, when we did decide to launch Ringa, and we wanted it to stand for something more than just a product in a can, was really about that transparency of labeling.

05:45
Stephanie Mcregor
You know, one of my biggest pet peeves is when you see something that's cucumber flavored or watermelon flavored, and you turn around the can or the bag and that ingredient is nowhere to be found because it's listed under natural flavor. And I think they just taste better. Real ingredients taste better. I think a good example of that is our cucumber mint, where we do use real cucumber juice. My favorite thing at demos is when people tell me they don't like cucumber flavored things, and they try our cucumber and they're like, oh, wow, that is incredible.

06:15
Caitlin Bricker
A real cucumber. Imagine that.

06:18
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, and that cucumber's so good. But it really does highlight the use of real ingredients. Our philosophy and commitment of trying to be as transparent as we can, and we could label things differently if we wanted, but we choose to actually state the name of the ingredient so people know exactly what they're putting in their body when they choose to drink.

06:37
Caitlin Bricker
Ringa, it's interesting what you're saying about these flavor houses and the manufacturers of flavors and the proprietary blends, because I have heard from some founders that when they go and they're talking to these flavor houses, they can't actually find out what the ingredients are in those flavors. So they are proprietary even to the manufacturer of the product. So if Ringo was to say, hey, I want to put ginger flavor in my can, you might not ever find out what's actually in that flavor that's then in your product. So this piece of transparency that you're talking about is so ultra important. And I think we're going to start seeing a push for more transparency in food, in beverage, in supplements. And you're kind of hitting on all of those things with your product, if I do say so myself.

07:30
Stephanie Mcregor
Thank you. Yeah, I mean, we're playing a little bit of a long game on a couple different facets with Ringa. I think one is that we have chosen to intentionally be tart. If you look at all the data, it says that people want to remove sugar for all sorts of reasons. One of the biggest ones being that added sugar and sugar is, you know, a main culprit for a lot of chronic health conditions that people suffer from. But, you know, what people say and what people do are two different things. When we are out sampling, I think people like the idea of no added sugar, but when they taste what no added sugar tastes like, it's a little bit of a departure, sadly, because sugar has just become so prevalent in everything that we consume that we are addicted to it.

08:14
Stephanie Mcregor
And so it's people warming up to what that flavor profile looks like. I think it's people being more educated on what is a natural flavor. Sometimes it means natural, sometimes it doesn't. I think a lot of consumers are confused just from being in the trenches and hearing a lot of that feedback, you know, and I think that's by design. I think a lot of the manufacturers are trying to put claims or assert things on their packaging which may or may not be true, and consumers are somewhat left trying to figure out what that means. And so we just have tried to get out in front of that by having a super simple ingredient deck, truly ingredients people can see and pronounce, and then having that conversation around the tartness.

08:59
Stephanie Mcregor
And I think people have gravitated towards the low, no sugar space, but then they find out they don't really like the taste of stevia. The jury's out on the actual efficacy and true health benefits of things like erythritol or other sugar alcohols. And the more and more conversations we have with people is just that they actually appreciate having something that's ready to consume, that they can read every single ingredient, they know what it is, and then kind of getting back to tasting real food in the food that they're consuming.

09:30
Caitlin Bricker
So I have a big question for you. The star ingredient in your product, moringa, how did you first get introduced to it? Because it's kind of become your whole personality.

09:40
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, I'm like, who knew five years ago that I was going to essentially dedicate my life to this plant that I had no idea even existed? But as I mentioned, I have been in the space for 20 years. The last company that I was working for, I unfortunately had to help wind down that business in 2022. And after being in the space for so long, you know, and I like to say having some real positive experiences, you know, some of the brands I worked on did exit and do continue to be probably items that people still purchase today. And then I had some great learning experiences. So maybe brands that were still great brands, but for one reason or another, Just weren't able to make it for the long term, kind of in this brutal world of CPG that we find ourselves.

10:28
Stephanie Mcregor
So in 2022, and I had to help wind that business down, I was pretty emotionally devastated, was pretty burnt out, and honestly was thinking of leaving the industry altogether. Decided to let the dust settle a little bit and decompress. Told myself I was going to take six months off and just kind of be open to whatever was going to be next. Part of that journey was my husband and I went to Baja, Mexico, and we rented an Airbnb. And the Airbnb property that we rented, the host had a moringa tree growing on her property. And because it's drought tolerant, you know, it survives and thrives in the desert. And for two weeks straight, we just got the nonstop pitch about how incredible moringa was and how kind of the pitch that I use at Ringa.

11:13
Stephanie Mcregor
And it was like, at that moment, I turned to my husband. I was like, I think the universe is trying to tell me something. Like, I'd never really been inspired enough to start a company, a brand of my own. I've seen firsthand the blood, sweat and tears that go into building brands, good brands that don't necessarily always, you know, make it for the long term. And so I just didn't know if I ever had that in me. But, you know, once moringa kind of came into my life, I decided that this was going to be my next step. And we got back from that trip in Baja and started working on the formulation, and here we are.

11:48
Caitlin Bricker
I have questions. First question that comes to mind for me is, does your Airbnb host know what you're up to now?

11:56
Stephanie Mcregor
I don't think so, but we've talked about sharing our story with them, and honestly, like, had no idea if it was even going to work, if people were going to respond. We've talked about going back down to Baja and bringing some Ringa and sharing it with them, and again, kind of honoring that inspiration, kind of like an origins trip or something. So stay tuned. Maybe that will happen.

12:19
Caitlin Bricker
Please do keep me updated. I would be like, I want to be a fly on the wall when that happens. My next question for you is, it sounds like you weren't familiar with moringa prior to that trip. Am I right?

12:33
Stephanie Mcregor
Correct.

12:34
Caitlin Bricker
So where did you begin to source moringa and then make this product? How did this come about?

12:41
Stephanie Mcregor
Again, kind of having the experience that I've had. You know, was lucky enough to work with our production team, sourcing team, operations team at Previous businesses. When we started formulating in 2022, it was kind of this functional. Foods were just starting to hit the radar, you know, in a big way. You had ashwagandhas, you had a lot of supplements kind of making their way from the true supplement space over into grocery, you know, had functional as the buzzword, really finding its way into practically everything that we are consuming. And so it was just a function of reaching out to ingredient suppliers and telling them what I was looking for. Certainly not the first moringa focused brand out. There's.

13:29
Stephanie Mcregor
There's been Lisa Curtis of Kuli Couly and our good friends over at True Moringa, who, you know, have also seen the power of this plant from a human nutritional standpoint, but also, you know, really helping developing countries where moringa grows kind of commercialize it and get it out there. And so I feel like we caught the tip of what I still think is a building crest of moringa and functional ingredients. And everything that we do at Ringa will obviously be inspired by moringa. We have visions and hope at some time to be vertically integrated. As the world, sadly, is becoming warmer and drier due to climate change, moringa is growing in more places than where it's typically indigenous to domestically. You can actually grow it in parts of Texas, Florida. It's growing in Hawaii.

14:22
Stephanie Mcregor
It's helping to revitalize the ecosystem of Maui, even after the fire. So, yeah, I mean, it's definitely out there. It's, I think, a new and rising ingredient. And I think, you know, more and more people are finding out about it, so it's becoming a little bit easier to source. But what's so very cool, you know, if you go to any of these trade shows, supplier shows, you can learn so much about ingredients that have been used.

14:47
Caitlin Bricker
I love that you mentioned true moringa because that is where I first got introduced to moringa. I actually helped bring true moringa onto the shelves at Cambridge Naturals when I was a buyer. So. Hi, Emily, if you're listening. But it's funny because I don't think I have had a food or beverage experience with moringa other than moringa. You mentioned another brand, but it's just not something I feel like I see. Do you have any guesses as to why that might be? Because it is. I mean, you're saying it has all the amino acids. It's a superfood, even though I kind of hate to say that, but it is. It is what it is. Do you have a feeling as to why that's happening? And why we might not be seeing moringa as much as we probably should.

15:37
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, if you've ever taken moringa in large doses, it can be an acquired taste, quite bitter, quite earthy. And it was one of the reasons also why we decided to use apple cider vinegar, which we know can be an acquired taste as well. But we felt that it really paired nicely with the moringa, kind of. On a side note, what's very interesting is when you actually eat raw moringa leaves, they're quite nutty, and then once you dry them and use them in a powder form, they become pretty bitter. So were challenged with formulating and just trying to find that balance of something that was delicious because we're playing in the grocery space, not necessarily supplement. What we wanted to avoid was the I'm drinking this or consuming this because I know it's healthy for me, but I don't really like the experience.

16:29
Stephanie Mcregor
We kind of talk about that being the plug your nose and gulp it down and off you go. So our whole philosophy is this idea of microdosing moringa. Just like you don't eat all of the food in one day that you need to get your nutrients, you don't have to consume supplements unless you're going for a specific dose or for specific reason at one time. So we dialed it back a little bit, and what we really wanted to do is focus on nailing the taste, nailing something delicious, nailing something refreshing that people could consume multiple times throughout the day whenever they're thirsty or want something delicious. And on the side is the fact that you're getting something, you know that is healthy, it's better for you, better for the planet.

17:11
Stephanie Mcregor
And then as we continue to grow the ringa product mix, if you're like me, I drink at least three ringas a day. That's already putting me over a gram of moringa. And I enjoyed consuming it versus having to take it at that higher, maybe unpleasant dose and not necessarily enjoy what I'm consuming. So we have whole idea and vision of creating not just beverages, even beverage extensions, and then line extensions, brand extensions across the entire CPG platform. That again, heroes and incorporates moringa, but uses it at a more palatable level for people so that you're getting those benefits, but don't necessarily have to consume something that doesn't taste good.

17:51
Caitlin Bricker
It's funny because I feel like there's this sentiment, at least in the herbalism world, where if something is very bitter, it's either poisonous and not good for you, or it's very Good for you and for your system. So even though I can agree with the gulp it down and go on your way, there is something, I mean, dare I say, medicinal about this. When you take these herbs and eat these plants that do have that bitterness, that astringent kind of feeling to it. Yeah. That'S so funny. I did see, even though there's this talk about vinegar, maybe it being too tart. You did get featured by Whole Foods Market. They're predicting that a trend for 2026 will be vinegars. How did you feel about seeing Ringa gracing the pages of this feature?

18:41
Stephanie Mcregor
It was pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie. And totally out of the blue. We did know that were launching with Whole Foods in the Northwest as a forager brand, but to be included, you know, in their Next Big Things kind of global trend report was awesome. And certainly this isn't the first time vinegar's been a trend. I loved that they called it the OG Functional food because vinegar has been around forever. We use apple cider vinegar, but acetic acid is the compound found in all vinegars, no matter what they're derived from. You know, again, which has been used for centuries due to all of the compounds, the amino acids that are in the acetic acid, and how helpful it can be for overall gut health and immunity. I was actually pretty excited that vinegar is what they chose, because obviously our inspiration is moringa.

19:34
Stephanie Mcregor
So that means we have a ton of upside on moringa as the awareness of moringa continues to grow as well. And our product actually hit on a couple trends in that report. Fiber. Everyone's going for protein right now, but really, fibers, the macro people don't get enough of, like, 90% of us don't get enough fiber in our diets. And so I do like that there's this move back to more holistic ingredients. I mean, it doesn't honestly get more basic than vinegar. And I think it just goes to show, like, what were talking about earlier in the segment, that people, I think, are reaching for real. They're reaching for ingredients they understand. Highly processed doesn't just mean things you see in a bag. Like, isolated ingredients are extremely highly processed as well.

20:18
Stephanie Mcregor
And I think people are starting to realize that just because it gives you the macros you're looking for doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy. Those can also be extremely highly processed products that don't necessarily benefit you. Like eating something whole foods derivative would totally.

20:35
Caitlin Bricker
I feel like our bodies are probably like, okay, this tastes good. And then once it Goes down into our stomach like, okay, what do I do with this now? And then enters gut health and all of the things inflammation. I mean I'm not an expert, I'm just like making an intuitive assumption on what's going on.

20:55
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, I don't think you have to be an expert these days to be like the rise of these ultra processed foods in all formats. Right. And then kind of the current health epidemic we find ourselves in. And again, if you just got back to eating real food produced by nature or as close to it as you can, I think we would probably find ourselves in a different situation.

21:16
Caitlin Bricker
I would have to agree with you. So I have some questions for you about your participation in some Startup CPG events. I feel like I see you everywhere I go. You're flying in for events. You are everywhere. Can you talk to me about your strategy and what is enticing you to attend Startup CPG events, Grocery runs, et cetera.

21:42
Stephanie Mcregor
All of the things I'll have to say again. Being in this space for so long, it's been so cool to see the emergence of an organization like Startup cpg. I tell everyone, it's literally the first thing I say when people ask me a question like, have you signed up? Are you part of Startup cpg? Because it really is leveling the playing field being a small, independent emerging brand, but then also being for a lot of us in the community, self funded, doing it yourself. And you need help. You need help. And the resources that the Startup CPG community has put together, literally a second to none. And for us, 2025 was the year to go for it. So we committed to trying to be at as many trade shows as many opportunities that we could.

22:35
Stephanie Mcregor
Because if you're going to do a trade show, even flying, getting a badge, even if you walk the show, very expensive and there's no guarantee that you're, you know, going to get share of mind with the buyers that you're looking for at the grocery runs. It's a much more intimate space, extremely affordable, especially if they're happening in your own market. And then you're really getting that FaceTime, you're getting that discoverability that you might not get otherwise and at a fraction of cost. I think where a lot of people, a lot of founders I meet need to realize is it's a long game. A lot of times a lot of these retailers have published reviews. It takes a year of hitting the pavement and writing emails and doing sample and doing all the things.

23:18
Stephanie Mcregor
But I think you can certainly accelerate that Timeline and in some instances get immediate either distribution or feedback that previously used to take so long and was honestly maybe only attainable if you had the big booth at Expo, if you had the broker. I have a little bit of knowledge in this space, but for people coming in who don't know where to start, it's really providing an accelerated path for discovery. At all the events in the community that startup CPG has put together.

23:49
Caitlin Bricker
Wow. Music to my ears. You send people to startup CPG when they're starting a brand. Now if anybody has questions about grocery runs, I'm sending them to you.

23:58
Stephanie Mcregor
Perfect.

24:00
Caitlin Bricker
I could not have said it better myself. It's amazing. I mean you basically been our, like, I was gonna say groupie, but that is so inappropriate.

24:13
Stephanie Mcregor
I mean, if there was a startup CPG groupie, I'm the poster child for it. And happy say so.

24:19
Caitlin Bricker
We love it. Before we wrap things up, I would love to just touch a little bit more on your operator's experience 20 plus years in the CPG industry. Do you have any pieces of advice going from winding a business down to now starting your brand, Anything that you would take from those two experiences and share with other founders?

24:41
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, I mean I think my first piece of just insight is that there's no one way that these brands have success. I think there is a playbook out there, but I think the ones that break through are always the brands that take that playbook and do something different. The whole zig when others are zagging mentality. And then I think that it's important to be patient. I think one of. And I'm not a patient person so I have to remind myself of this all the time. You have to learn how to say no. You have to learn how to set boundaries. And it's hard not to chase every opportunity because you have to show growth. And CPG is expensive and economies of scale and all of the things that everyone's balancing all the time with building a brand.

25:35
Stephanie Mcregor
But I've seen it time and time again where people make the wrong decision or they're not educated enough in the decision that they're making and you dig yourself a hole that is hard to get out of. I think there's 100% a lot of pros for staying small and growing slow, mainly in kind of economic times that are very chaotic like we found ourselves in really since COVID up until today. And I'm sure beyond being nimble, being flexible, not carrying a ton of inventory, not finding yourself in a situation where don't have an ingredient Supply or whatever it might be. And I know it's frustrating and everybody wants that hockey stick growth and they want to be the story.

26:22
Stephanie Mcregor
But I think the pendulum is swinging back to those people who not only have great brands and great products, but that are truly building good businesses. And I think some of that just takes time. You know, I mean, with AI and technology, everything can happen instantaneously, but like humans and consumption, it is a little bit more analog. It moves at a slower speed. And I think sometimes there's a benefit to slowing down and listening to consumers and understanding what's gonna be truly a trend and what's gonna be, you know, here to stay. And so I always try to caution people that, like, you can go at your own pace. Nobody knows your business more than you do, and literally it's okay to say no. And sometimes you have to.

27:05
Stephanie Mcregor
And I think that's a lot of founders aren't comfortable saying no because there's always that FOMO not to say. We've taken some risks and said yes to some things that I'm like, oh, I don't know if that was the right decision, but we try to balance those as long as we can to. We want to be around in five years, we want to be around in 10 years. We want to be a brand that consumers see on the shelves for years to come. And I think you got to play the long game to do that.

27:30
Caitlin Bricker
I think you're playing the game very well. I feel like for me, getting the products for the Shelfie Awards, then you winning the Shelfie Awards, then seeing Whole Foods Market come out with the trend report focusing on vinegar, I just feel like I'm going to echo the things that you're saying. Maybe you don't want to say it about your brand on your own, but I do feel like you are doing it right. Like, this is a perfect product in my opinion. The ingredient list speaks for itself. I feel good when I drink the product, and to me, it's delicious. Other people might say it's too tart. I love the flavor. I also love the fact that it's caffeine free. I feel like not a lot of times do I see products on the shelves that are caffeine free. No sugar added, no natural flavors.

28:16
Caitlin Bricker
So winner in my book.

28:18
Stephanie Mcregor
Thank you so much. And it makes me so happy when we do the demos. We do a lot of demos as well, and we meet those consumers who like, we're truly for them and we're not lighting the world on fire. From a velocity standpoint, but what we hear consistently is that we have extreme loyalty. And as any, you know, retailer will tell you know, you can get anyone to buy a product once, but you're looking for repeat purchase, you're looking for loyalty, you're looking for your tribe. Even though I hate saying that word, but. And I think that's part of what going slow is waiting for the trends to catch back up with us. I like to say we're on trend without being trendy and, you know, you're just building.

29:01
Stephanie Mcregor
We're building in that kind of simple place that not a lot of other people are building. A lot of other people are all building in the same category, using the same ingred, you know, with the same positioning. And there's only so much room for that. So I appreciate your sentiment. We love people that love our product and we are committed to sticking true to what we do. Sourcing with real fruit, even though it's harder and it's variable from season to season. Being transparent about everything we put on the can, even if it means we have to do smaller production runs and those ingredients cost more and just truly trying to create something that's better for both people and planet. So we appreciate that you like what we're doing. It means a lot to us.

29:44
Caitlin Bricker
I love what you're doing. So let's get more people on the ring of train. Can you tell people where they can find you online? Give us your handle, give us your website, Give us everything.

29:54
Stephanie Mcregor
Yep. So we are drink ringa. So on all social platforms. Instagram, we're just getting going on TikTok and then drinkeringa. Com you can find our store locator. We are getting ready to launch more E Com business but locally you can find us on the west coast. Here in the Northwest, we just launched Mother's market down in SoCal. Fresh time if you're in the Midwest Earth Fair in the Southeast and then more locations soon.

30:21
Caitlin Bricker
Amazing. It's been so cool talking to you. I love hearing more about your story and more about the product. So thank you for being here.

30:29
Stephanie Mcregor
Yeah, of course. Thank you for having us. And thank you again to everyone@startUp CPG. You guys are doing great things for small, you know, brands and emerging founders. So thank you.

30:38
Caitlin Bricker
Thanks, Stephanie. I'll see you in a few weeks. No surprise.

30:41
Stephanie Mcregor
Sounds good. See you at a startup CPG event soon.

30:46
Caitlin Bricker
Totally talk to you soon.

30:47
Stephanie Mcregor
Okay, bye. Thank you.

30:51
Caitlin Bricker
All right, everyone, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, do us a solid and leave us a five star review on ratethispodcast.com startupcpg I'm Kaitlyn Bricker, the host of the Founder Feature Series and editor at Startup CPG. Feel free to find me on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Slack and get on my radar. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for new and emerging brands to spotlight. If you're a potential sponsor who would like to appear on the podcast, please email partnershipsartupcpg.com and finally, as a reminder for anyone listening, if you haven't already, we would love for you to join our free CPG community on Slack. You can sign up via our [e-mail] see you around.