Iris Nova founder Zak Normandin reveals how his beverage brand achieved massive success with a text-to-buy model, inspired by Asian markets. He explains the strategic thinking behind securing a $15 million investment from Coca-Cola and discusses the challenges DTC brands face today, including the evolving role of influencers and the defensive necessity of platforms like Amazon. This episode is crucial for DTC operators looking to innovate beyond traditional e-commerce funnels and understand strategic market positioning.
Key takeaways
Implement a 'text-to-buy' or conversational commerce strategy to streamline purchasing and boost sales, especially for repeat orders.
Consider how partnerships and potential acquisitions with larger corporations can accelerate growth and provide an exit strategy for DTC businesses.
Leverage platforms like Amazon strategically, viewing them as a 'defense strategy' for market reach and visibility rather than solely a competitive channel.
Stay agile and adapt to global retail trends, drawing inspiration from fast-evolving markets like Asia for innovative customer engagement and sales models.
Recognize the diminishing returns of traditional influencer marketing and explore alternative, more effective customer acquisition and brand-building strategies.
Iris Nova founder Zak Normandin is betting on a suite of "no or low" sugar drinks -- sparkling teas, seltzers and lemon juices -- and on a new way to sell them.
"Every brand has a phone number," Normandin explained on the Modern Retail Podcast. "When you want to place an order for a product you just pull out your phone, you text the brand directly."
His lemonade brand, Dirty Lemon, has sold more than 2 million bottles since its founding in 2015, and per Forbes, 90% of those sales happened via text. And Iris Nova now is growing more, thanks to a cash injection of $15 million from Coca-Cola -- to whom, he said, he's open to selling to. "I think that that's probably the best path forward for us unless we can get to a place where, very quickly, where the company is profitable," Normandin said.
Normandin called his research into the Asian market "inspiration" for the text message payment system. "I found that in Asia it was probably the most exciting, just the speed at which the market is moving is much different than here in the States," Normandin said.
He talked about the fading clout of influencers, the tough path forward for direct-to-consumer companies and the value of text robots (even if none has passed the Turing test) on this week's episode.
Implement a 'text-to-buy' or conversational commerce strategy to streamline purchasing and boost sales, especially for repeat orders.
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Consider how partnerships and potential acquisitions with larger corporations can accelerate growth and provide an exit strategy for DTC businesses.
What does this episode say about customer retention?
Leverage platforms like Amazon strategically, viewing them as a 'defense strategy' for market reach and visibility rather than solely a competitive channel.
What does this episode say about finance & fundraising?
Stay agile and adapt to global retail trends, drawing inspiration from fast-evolving markets like Asia for innovative customer engagement and sales models.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Recognize the diminishing returns of traditional influencer marketing and explore alternative, more effective customer acquisition and brand-building strategies.
