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Speaker 1: What’s been really good is the consistency in which we’re

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Speaker 1: clear about where we’re going.

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Speaker 2: And for me, it’s about.

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Speaker 1: Communication, regular communication, ensuring that we’re bringing the team along

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Speaker 1: with us. So as decisions are being made, being really

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Speaker 1: clear about why you’re making the decisions and what the

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Speaker 1: end goal is, how you want this to perform. What

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Speaker 1: I have found throughout my career, whether it was myself

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Speaker 1: managing change for myself or leading people through change, It’s

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Speaker 1: making sure that the communication as to why that change

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Speaker 1: is being made is really clear.

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Speaker 2: But then also being behind them, having people’s backs is real.

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Speaker 3: Welcome to today’s episode of Brave Commerce.

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Speaker 4: I’m Rachel Typograph, the founder and CEO of Micmac.

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Speaker 3: I’m Sarah Hofstetter, president of Profitero.

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Speaker 4: And this is a show that talks about what’s relevant

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Speaker 4: in e-commerce for the world’s biggest brands.

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Speaker 5: Welcome to Brave Commerce.

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Speaker 4: Sarah, how big do you think the bottled water business is?

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Speaker 3: I feel like you’re setting me up for failure because

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Speaker 3: I don’t have time to Google while I’m podcasting. So

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Speaker 3: why don’t you just freaking tell me the answer?

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Speaker 4: So according to sources that I’m looking at right now,

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Speaker 4: in 2022, the global water, bottled water market was around

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Speaker 4: 304 billion. And it’s essentially been growing at a compounded

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Speaker 4: growth rate of 6% year over year. It’s just funny

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Speaker 4: that like the water business is still growing. You think

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Speaker 4: we would have all discovered water by now.

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Speaker 3: I am practically speechless, although that’s not something that I

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Speaker 3: can actually do. It’s interesting in a number of ways.

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Speaker 3: One is obviously CPG doesn’t.

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Speaker 4: Grow that fast in general.

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Speaker 3: And then you look at it beyond that and you

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Speaker 3: say water really like with all of the headwinds that exist.

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Speaker 3: Number one, the ability to get water. And let’s talk

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Speaker 3: about developed countries. In developed countries, you can get water.

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Speaker 3: with relative ease, you can filter your water with relative ease.

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Speaker 3: So now you’re sitting here and saying, these are people

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Speaker 3: that don’t want to either drink from whatever the tap is,

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Speaker 3: or B, don’t want to deal with a refillable previously filtered.

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Speaker 3: You think about the massive amounts of distribution, particularly in

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Speaker 3: the States, available and accessible filtered water, and yet this

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Speaker 3: is still growing. Somebody’s going to say like, well, why

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Speaker 3: is it? Is it all like, to quote Spaceballs, merchandising?

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Speaker 3: Or is there something else behind it?

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Speaker 4: Well, it’s interesting, like the developed part of the world,

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Speaker 4: we have more choices in how to consume our water

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Speaker 4: than ever before. And if you just look at the

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Speaker 4: consumer bottled water business and think about the last few years,

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Speaker 4: we now got water in beer cans, water in refillable

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Speaker 4: aluminum cans. We have the flavored water craze. We got

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Speaker 4: private label products. I’m sure I’m missing something here.

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Speaker 2: Well, it is water.

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Speaker 3: It’s kind of everywhere. It kind of goes to the

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Speaker 3: importance of audience segmentation, brand segmentation, and kind of knowing

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Speaker 3: what brand is going to resonate and what pack size

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Speaker 3: is going to resonate and what product size is going

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Speaker 3: to resonate. It goes back to the basic tenets of CPG,

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Speaker 3: but instead of marketing, you know, something with some unique

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Speaker 3: value proposition, the brand really has to be at the

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Speaker 3: essence of it all.

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Speaker 4: So what better way to examine the potential of the

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Speaker 4: water business than to look at Blue Trident Brands? So

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Speaker 4: for those of you who don’t know, Blue Trident is

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Speaker 4: essentially the PE spinoff of what once was the Nestle

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Speaker 4: water business. And since this P entity has taken it over,

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Speaker 4: they’ve also done additional acquisitions. On that note, let’s bring Harry,

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Speaker 4: their chief marketing officer, onto the show. Today, we are

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Speaker 4: very excited to have Keri Tillman, the EVP and Chief

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Speaker 4: Marketing Officer of Blue Trident Brands, onto the show. Hey, Keri.

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Speaker 2: Hello, hello. How are you?

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Speaker 4: We’re doing well. I imagine this is a busy week

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Speaker 4: for you because it’s hot, at least on the East Coast,

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Speaker 4: where I know you sell a lot of products. So

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Speaker 4: I’m sure they’re flying off the shelf.

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Speaker 2: Yes, it’s a very busy week as we get into

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Speaker 2: the summer holidays.

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Speaker 1: That is where our peak season is, but we are

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Speaker 1: ready to roll.

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Speaker 2: For all that people want to drink.

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Speaker 4: Well, maybe to kick it off, Blue Trident might be

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Speaker 4: a new name to some, but you actually have some

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Speaker 4: really well-known names underneath that umbrella. So can you tell

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Speaker 4: us what encompasses Blue Trident brands?

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So we have several different brands. We have six regional

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Speaker 1: spring waters, which range across the country.

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Speaker 2: We have Poland Spring in the Northeast. We have Deer

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Speaker 2: Park in the Mid-South.

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Speaker 1: Zephyr Hills in Florida, Ice Mountain in the Midwest, Ozarka

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Speaker 1: in Texas, and out in the West is Arrowhead. And

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Speaker 1: each one of them, what makes them very unique is

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Speaker 1: that they’re local spring waters. So they are sourced from

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Speaker 1: local springs.

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Speaker 2: In those regions.

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Speaker 1: So it allows us to be truly local in how

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Speaker 1: we’re sourcing our water, where we’re shipping, we’re not going

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Speaker 1: across oceans to get there. And so that’s our regional

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Speaker 1: spring waters. We also have Pure Life, which is a

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Speaker 1: purified water, as well as Saratoga, which which is our

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Speaker 1: sort of the newest addition to our spring water portfolio,

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Speaker 1: which is a bit of a higher-end.

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Speaker 2: Water that sits in it. It’s in a gorgeous blue.

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Speaker 1: Bottle, really good for fine dining and also for that

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Speaker 1: evening occasion with spring water and still.

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Speaker 2: It comes in a glass bottle. And then we round out.

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Speaker 1: The portfolio with several smaller brands like Action, which is

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Speaker 1: an ionized water, from T-Tus.

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Speaker 2: Which just launched in Texas.

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Speaker 1: And so really, if we think about the company, it

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Speaker 1: was really about healthy hydration products for everyone everywhere in

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Speaker 1: the format that they want.

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Speaker 2: And so really, when we think about our portfolio, it

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Speaker 2: has all of those things.

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Speaker 4: Blue Triton is PE backed, and you have a great

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Speaker 4: resume of working at some of these huge publicly traded companies.

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Speaker 4: So what was sort of your thesis of joining this

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Speaker 4: PE backed portfolio?

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Speaker 1: Blue Triton had such amazing brands with a lot of

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Speaker 1: upside opportunity.

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Speaker 2: There hadn’t been a lot of spend in the recent years.

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Speaker 2: Growth was a bit stagnant.

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Speaker 1: But when you think about a Poland Spring, which is

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Speaker 1: the number one water in the Northeast, and in fact,

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Speaker 1: in New York City, it’s the number one SKU, I think,

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Speaker 1: outside of cigarettes.

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Speaker 2: So these brands.

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Speaker 1: Had such power, but you also knew that the story hasn’t.

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Speaker 2: Really been told.

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Speaker 1: And I thought what was really compelling about the role

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Speaker 1: was the opportunity not only to grow great brands, but

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Speaker 1: also launch new ones into new spaces. And then make

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Speaker 1: sure that we’re also telling our story around ESG and

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Speaker 1: the work that we’re doing around sustainability. Those three pieces

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Speaker 1: together just made it so compelling to see what the

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Speaker 1: future was going to be at Blue Tribe.

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Speaker 4: What does that say about New York that it’s all

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Speaker 4: about cigarettes and water?

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Speaker 2: Well, you know, I mean, there was some baby stuff

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Speaker 2: in there too, but then, you know.

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Speaker 3: I have a little fun fact about myself and your brands.

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Speaker 3: My first name, shockingly, is Sarah. But what my father

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Speaker 3: wanted to name me as my middle name was Toga.

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Speaker 3: And I did not understand this as a child. And

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Speaker 3: eventually I got hands on a map and I was like, oh,

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Speaker 3: that might be funny. But also that’s my human person

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Speaker 3: that you can’t.

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Speaker 2: Do that to me.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, that’s just a little window into my childhood.

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Speaker 3: But back to you, really.

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Speaker 2: Your group of brands.

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Speaker 3: And the people that have been stewarding them and will

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Speaker 3: continue to steward them have been through a lot of change,

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Speaker 3: especially given everything that happened in terms of your ownership.

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Speaker 3: But also over the past few years, there has been

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Speaker 3: a tremendous amount of change in the world of food

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Speaker 3: and beverage. So how do you keep everybody kind of

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Speaker 3: motivated and focused as a leader when this change can

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Speaker 3: be quite exhausting?

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Speaker 1: It’s funny, though, after being in business for a while,

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Speaker 1: you realize that the one thing that is constant is change.

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Speaker 2: And how you can think through.

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Speaker 1: Change yourself, but then also manage the change really does

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Speaker 1: make a big difference. There has been a lot of

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Speaker 1: change within the organization, but what’s been really good is

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Speaker 1: the consistency.

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Speaker 2: In which we’re clear about where we’re going.

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Speaker 1: And for me, it’s about communication, regular communication, ensuring that

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Speaker 1: we’re bringing the team along with us.

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Speaker 2: So as decisions are being made.

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Speaker 1: Being really clear about why you’re making the decisions and

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Speaker 1: what the end goal is, how you want this to perform.

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Speaker 1: So what I have found throughout my career, whether it

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Speaker 1: was myself managing change for myself or leading people through change,

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Speaker 1: it’s making sure that the communication as to why that

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Speaker 1: change is being made is really clear. But then also

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Speaker 1: being behind them, having people’s backs is real, right? So

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Speaker 1: you’re asking people to make decisions in times of uncertainty

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Speaker 1: and And knowing that and showing them that when they

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Speaker 1: make that decision, that you’re going to be there to

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Speaker 1: support them.

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Speaker 2: Even if the decision in the end was a bad decision, right?

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Speaker 1: But sometimes moving forward, even if that forward step is

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Speaker 1: maybe a little bit to the left and it should

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Speaker 1: have been to the right, is still progress. And I

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Speaker 1: think that’s the key is making sure that we’re still

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Speaker 1: making progress as we’re trying to navigate through.

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Speaker 2: Things that are changing. But I do think the other

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Speaker 2: thing is celebrating the successes.

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Speaker 1: It’s really easy to have, like if the total volume is.

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Speaker 2: Down, Right. And you’re like, oh, but you have one

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Speaker 2: brand that’s actually crushing it. Right.

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Speaker 1: You got to celebrate those wins. And we really have

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Speaker 1: found the places to celebrate those wins. I mean, luckily, though,

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Speaker 1: our brands are working really hard. Our sales team and

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Speaker 1: our marketing team are working miraculously together in putting out

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Speaker 1: some really good results. We’re up in volume. We’re up

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Speaker 1: 10 weeks in share. So the company overall is doing

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Speaker 1: really well. And so making sure that we’re celebrating the

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Speaker 1: people that make that happen all the way through the

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Speaker 1: organization is really important.

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Speaker 4: You said something that we don’t hear often these days

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Speaker 4: on the show. You’re up in volume. That’s a really

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Speaker 4: big deal and worth celebrating.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: For the folks who are listening, who are probably struggling

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Speaker 4: right now with volume.

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Speaker 5: Yep.

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Speaker 4: Is there any insight that you can share on what

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Speaker 4: you think is causing that for Blue Trident?

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Speaker 1: You know, there are a lot of things that I

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Speaker 1: think are just aligning. We are finding our stride in

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Speaker 1: our marketing message, right? So when you have a portfolio

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Speaker 1: of 10 plus brands, they’re all in the water space.

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Speaker 2: How are we segmenting our brands?

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Speaker 1: How are we making sure that the message is not

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Speaker 1: only to the consumer, but also the customer is really

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Speaker 1: clear to why they need to carry multiple brands and

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Speaker 1: what the occasions those brands are hitting. So one is

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Speaker 1: just making sure you understand where your brands are and

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Speaker 1: how they work together and being able to articulate that

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Speaker 1: to the retailer. But I also think it’s how we’ve

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Speaker 1: been able to step back, put together sprint teams, focus teams,

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Speaker 1: where we say, hey, where is there a problem we

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Speaker 1: need to go solve? We’ll put a task force together,

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Speaker 1: but it is a short, I need something back in

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Speaker 1: four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks to say, what are

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Speaker 1: we going to go differently in market X? And then

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Speaker 1: we deploy it. And it is all the way through

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Speaker 1: the line. And what are our tactics on sales and pricing?

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Speaker 1: What are our tactics in the marketplace around the true

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Speaker 1: marketing that’s going to consumer? And then how are we

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Speaker 1: bringing shopper to life within the trade? So we have

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Speaker 1: picked places to show growth and that has been working.

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Speaker 1: Another thing that we’ve done, though, in the last year

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Speaker 1: was be very specific about our brands and their purpose

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Speaker 1: and their messaging and finding a way to not try

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Speaker 1: to talk nationally about our regional spring waters, but really

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Speaker 1: talk locally because that is a true power. It’s a

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Speaker 1: superpower that we have to be able to talk really,

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Speaker 1: truly locally and be real to the market that we’re in,

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Speaker 1: as opposed to trying to be you know, sort of

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Speaker 1: everything to everyone.

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Speaker 4: That’s definitely a competitive advantage is being able to do

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Speaker 4: it that way.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely.

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Speaker 4: You talked about segmenting the market, and there’s been some

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Speaker 4: really interesting things that have happened in the water market,

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Speaker 4: just as a regular consumer observing it. We now have

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Speaker 4: water in a can, in essentially a beer can, thanks

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Speaker 4: to folks like Liquid Death. We then have the continued

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Speaker 4: rise of flavored seltzer, thanks to folks like Spindrift. And

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Speaker 4: then This other evolution that you see, which is water

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Speaker 4: in a reusable aluminum container. Maybe there was a company

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Speaker 4: that came before it, but I know some folks who

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Speaker 4: are investors in Path. And so you see the market

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Speaker 4: kind of segmenting in these new, unique ways. And then

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Speaker 4: I imagine you also have this other big element in

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Speaker 4: your business, which is private label. So how does Blue

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Speaker 4: Trident make sure that it’s on the offense and not

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Speaker 4: the defense within all these changes?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it has been a phenomenal time within the beverage industry, right?

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Speaker 2: Just in beverage in total and then water specifically.

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Speaker 1: For us, it was about ensuring that our core was solid, right?

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Speaker 1: It’s sort of like Pilates. You have to make sure

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Speaker 1: that core is solid in order to make sure you

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Speaker 1: can do everything else. So making sure our regional spring

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Speaker 1: waters were appropriately funded and supported and had the right

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Speaker 1: messaging going out into the marketplace, really important.

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Speaker 2: Making sure Pure Life, which is.

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Speaker 1: A national brand, has the arms and legs that it

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Speaker 1: needs to have and creating the space for those to

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Speaker 1: play because one is a less expensive purified water.

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Speaker 2: It’s where it’s supposed to play.

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Speaker 1: So I think it’s important to know where your own

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Speaker 1: brands are and then identify spaces that you need to

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Speaker 1: go into. So Saratoga was purchased a year and a

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Speaker 1: half ago.

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Speaker 2: Because we really needed a premium offering.

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Speaker 1: And so we’ve been going back and looking at our

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Speaker 1: portfolio and finding the opportunities to launch things or relaunch

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Speaker 1: things in a way that fits what’s happening in the marketplace.

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Speaker 1: So Splash, for example, was a brand that we’ve had

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Speaker 1: for years. It was repositioned two years ago, slightly off target.

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Speaker 1: We took the time to get it right. We’ve relaunched

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Speaker 1: it back into the marketplace this year. And we’ve seen

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Speaker 1: some phenomenal results, changing the consumer target, changing the way

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Speaker 1: we talk about a little bit more of an irreverent

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Speaker 1: tone that we’re taking this year. So identifying where the

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Speaker 1: opportunities are, where our portfolio currently doesn’t have the opportunities,

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Speaker 1: and then making sure that we’re looking at the consumer

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Speaker 1: and what the consumer wants either in their consumption or

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Speaker 1: their use occasion, and finding those opportunities to launch where

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Speaker 1: we think the space is right.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned aluminum. We’ve just launched our aluminum bottles this year. One,

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Speaker 2: they look amazing. And two, they are really allowing people

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Speaker 2: who know our brand.

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Speaker 1: Most of our brands have 95% awareness. Now we’re just

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Speaker 1: bringing it to them in a different format. So we

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Speaker 1: have a very strong place to launch off of and

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Speaker 1: move up from. Oh, and then you did, sorry, you

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Speaker 1: asked a question. Sorry, Rachel, you asked a question about

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Speaker 1: private label. So not to leave that one off. If

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Speaker 1: you see the success of brands in the water space today,

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Speaker 1: you named some of them in this intro, brands matter.

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Speaker 1: because they’re talking to consumers where they want to be

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Speaker 1: talked to. They’re bringing them messaging that they find compelling

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Speaker 1: and they’re bringing them flavors and other additives that consumers

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Speaker 1: are looking for. So whether it’s collagen or a flavor

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Speaker 1: or sparkling or a mocktail, finding those opportunities are going

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Speaker 1: to be critically important. Private label’s always going to be there,

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Speaker 1: but giving a consumer a reason to believe in your

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Speaker 1: brand And having a unique positioning is really important to that.

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Speaker 1: So our spring water and the fact that we manage

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Speaker 1: 20,000 acres and we have the second biggest, largest reuse

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Speaker 1: with our kegs, our five gallon kegs. Those are things

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Speaker 1: that other companies don’t have and making sure that we’re

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Speaker 1: telling that story so consumers can see that.

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Speaker 3: The name of this podcast is Brave Commerce. And I

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Speaker 3: love your bravery in saying, hey, you know, we tried this.

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Speaker 3: It wasn’t the right consumer. So we pivoted. Because bravery

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Speaker 3: is a willingness to take risk, but stupidity is a

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Speaker 3: willingness to take risk and not adapt. And we don’t

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Speaker 3: call this stupid commerce. So we talked about the bravery part.

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Speaker 3: Let’s talk about the commerce, especially you just talked about

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Speaker 3: a five gallon jug. So water is not surprisingly quite

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Speaker 3: heavy to ship. So how do you think about online

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Speaker 3: versus offline commerce? as well as the role that commerce plays,

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Speaker 3: both to capture demand and drive profit. And I kind

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Speaker 3: of want to give a nod to Ready Refresh in

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Speaker 3: that that was one of the first almost e-commerce brands,

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Speaker 3: if you will, the ability to have that immediate ship

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Speaker 3: to home, the immediate one peer relationship. But how do

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Speaker 3: you evolve that in light of the categorical headwinds, if

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Speaker 3: you will?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the role that COVID played on how consumers consume

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Speaker 1: their goods is going to be a case study for

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Speaker 1: the ages, The ability and the willingness to now accept

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Speaker 1: shipments at home for things that you could go pick

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Speaker 1: up in the store. And then you realize the benefit

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Speaker 1: of not having to go do that.

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Speaker 5: Right.

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Speaker 1: What it frees you up to potentially go do. Think

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Speaker 1: about living in. We talk about New York City. If

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Speaker 1: you live in New York City, you don’t necessarily want

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Speaker 1: to carry the 24 pack or the 34, 48 pack

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Speaker 1: of water. And you realize I actually can get that delivered.

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Speaker 1: And if I add enough groceries into that, I can

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Speaker 1: get it delivered for free or for really low cost.

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Speaker 1: So what I think consumers are realizing is there are

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Speaker 1: ways to fit the e-commerce and home delivery into their day-to-day,

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Speaker 1: but it doesn’t have to replace their day-to-day completely.

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Speaker 2: So ReadyRefresh is a shining star for us in our

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Speaker 2: ability to reach consumers, right?

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Speaker 1: So we are able to take a first-party data, understand

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Speaker 1: that consumer, what they’re looking for, And then go back

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Speaker 1: to them on a regular basis with other opportunities, with

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Speaker 1: other options. We have a loyalty program that we use

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Speaker 1: through retail and also through Ready Refresh. So it allows

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Speaker 1: us to reach a consumer that you can’t normally reach,

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Speaker 1: and it gives them a different way of getting their product, right?

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Speaker 1: It is shipped, but it’s going from our warehouse into

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Speaker 1: their home, which is also very efficient when you think

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Speaker 1: about it from a footprint standpoint.

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Speaker 2: We think of it altogether.

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Speaker 1: We do have a retail sales group within that is

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Speaker 1: our e-commerce group, but they work hand in hand with

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Speaker 1: our in-store shopper team to make sure that as we’re

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Speaker 1: having these conversations, that the consumers are seeing us consistently,

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Speaker 1: no matter where they’re seeing the brand and giving consumers

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Speaker 1: the opportunity to easily switch between the two, I think.

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Speaker 2: Is really important. You know, Walmart also has a pick

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Speaker 2: and pack, right?

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Speaker 1: So you order it from Walmart online, they get it

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Speaker 1: all ready for you. And then you drive up and

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Speaker 1: you can pick it up It’s still considered sort of

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Speaker 1: shipping because you don’t have to go into the store

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Speaker 1: to get it.

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Speaker 2: But it is evolving to a way consumers are.

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Speaker 1: Looking to receive their products in potentially an easier way

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Speaker 1: and giving them the options to do that.

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Speaker 3: Do you think about it differently? Like when you look

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Speaker 3: at the whole idea of click and collect versus ship

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Speaker 3: to home? I mean, click and collect would seem to

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Speaker 3: be the last mile. So the whole idea of purchase

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Speaker 3: being initiated online but fulfilled online. offline. I mean, fulfilled offline,

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Speaker 3: meaning not shipped to home. The margins on that have

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Speaker 3: got to be a hell of a lot easier in

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Speaker 3: order to be able to think about that. Does that

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Speaker 3: skew the way you think about both your comps planning

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Speaker 3: as well as where and how you make those investments

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Speaker 3: on assortment and things like that?

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Speaker 2: So a couple of questions that are in there. One,

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Speaker 2: assortment is really important, right?

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Speaker 1: We have to make sure we have the right packs

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Speaker 1: shipping through Amazon making sure you have the pack that

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Speaker 1: doesn’t have to be packed and then repacked.

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Speaker 2: So having the right SKU assortment is really important.

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Speaker 1: You want to be where consumers want to purchase you.

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Speaker 1: And so, yes, adding that shipping in, having to ship

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Speaker 1: it there is going to add a bit of cost

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Speaker 1: But it is a consumer that’s loyal to you. And

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Speaker 1: I’d rather have that loyalty than force them to go

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Speaker 1: pick it up in grocery, for example, or have that

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Speaker 1: flexibility and say, oh, today I’m having a party. I

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Speaker 1: need three cases. Let me just have that.

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Speaker 2: Delivered as opposed to going to the store and pick

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Speaker 2: it up. So I think it’s.

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Speaker 1: Having the variety of solutions for consumers and not just

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Speaker 1: one and making sure you’re where they want you to be.

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Speaker 3: Modality plays a very important role in that. Just thinking

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Speaker 3: about the massive influx of adoption on DoorDash for grocery,

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Speaker 3: for example, right? So, oh, I’m feeling a little bit

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Speaker 3: under the weather. I don’t need 48 bottles. I just

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Speaker 3: need a liter.

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Speaker 5: Can.

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Speaker 3: Can somebody bring a liter to my door because it’s

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Speaker 3: just so goddamn hot? Whatever that is, like having the

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Speaker 3: combination of the assortment and the modalities.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is, it’s critical, I think, to success, right?

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Speaker 1: If you’re not offering the consumer what they want and

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Speaker 1: in the variety that they want it, whether that’s flavor,

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Speaker 1: pack size, I want aluminum, I want a can, making

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Speaker 1: sure that you’re thinking about those varieties. That’s a lot

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Speaker 1: of our innovation ends up being pack innovation, right? as

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Speaker 1: well as flavor innovation as we look forward.

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Speaker 4: It’s pretty amazing the breadth of disruption right now happening

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Speaker 4: within water. Well, Kerry, we got to ask you our

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Speaker 4: famous last question, which is what’s the bravest thing you’ve

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00:21:28,440 –> 00:21:28,800
Speaker 4: ever done?

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Speaker 1: As I was thinking about it, you’d like to think like, oh,

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00:21:33,550 –> 00:21:36,770
Speaker 1: there’s all these brave things that I’ve done. The personal

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00:21:36,869 –> 00:21:41,169
Speaker 1: one was I started off school at Skidmore in upstate

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00:21:41,210 –> 00:21:44,390
Speaker 1: New York in Saratoga Springs, actually, following in my mother’s footsteps.

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00:21:45,480 –> 00:21:49,119
Speaker 1: And I went as a freshman, walked onto the soccer team,

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00:21:49,340 –> 00:21:54,520
Speaker 1: started on varsity, center mid, had an amazing soccer season.

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00:21:55,080 –> 00:22:01,660
Speaker 1: And then there were several incidents of racism that made.

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00:22:01,480 –> 00:22:03,060
Speaker 2: Me think differently about my choice.

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00:22:03,640 –> 00:22:06,460
Speaker 1: And I was always raised, my dad was in business,

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00:22:06,540 –> 00:22:11,879
Speaker 1: I was always raised to finish what you started, persevere,

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00:22:11,900 –> 00:22:18,160
Speaker 1: go forward. I, after a Halloween party where someone came

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00:22:18,200 –> 00:22:20,720
Speaker 1: dressed as a Black person with Blackface, decided that I

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00:22:20,760 –> 00:22:22,560
Speaker 1: didn’t want to stay at the school.

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00:22:22,359 –> 00:22:25,340
Speaker 2: Anymore and called my parents and said, hey, I need

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00:22:25,359 –> 00:22:25,939
Speaker 2: to make a change.

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00:22:26,500 –> 00:22:29,480
Speaker 1: And can you pick me up Christmas time and leave?

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00:22:30,290 –> 00:22:36,330
Speaker 1: But the idea of surrendering felt wrong. So for me,

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00:22:36,390 –> 00:22:38,050
Speaker 1: it was brave because it was counter to what I

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00:22:38,070 –> 00:22:42,869
Speaker 1: had learned success was, but what it did for me

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00:22:42,930 –> 00:22:47,379
Speaker 1: was open up doors to one, realize that your path.

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00:22:47,119 –> 00:22:49,679
Speaker 2: Doesn’t have to be straight. Your path doesn’t have to

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00:22:49,720 –> 00:22:50,800
Speaker 2: be what somebody else.

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00:22:50,700 –> 00:22:53,580
Speaker 1: Expects it to be, but your path needs to be

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00:22:53,660 –> 00:22:56,320
Speaker 1: what you need it to be to get where you

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00:22:56,380 –> 00:22:56,900
Speaker 1: need to go.

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00:22:57,840 –> 00:23:00,940
Speaker 2: And I learned that I ended up at Spelman College.

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00:23:01,240 –> 00:23:04,480
Speaker 2: So opposite ends of the earth, historically black, all female school,

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00:23:05,020 –> 00:23:08,479
Speaker 2: and very quickly realized that it was a change that

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00:23:08,500 –> 00:23:13,199
Speaker 2: was really needed to build a confidence in myself. I

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00:23:13,240 –> 00:23:15,699
Speaker 2: called my mother from a pay phone. Yes, I am

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00:23:15,720 –> 00:23:18,119
Speaker 2: that old from a pay phone. And she said, how

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00:23:18,140 –> 00:23:19,060
Speaker 2: are you? I said, it’s great.

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00:23:19,080 –> 00:23:21,800
Speaker 1: I was like, everybody’s using an umbrella. And she was

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00:23:21,840 –> 00:23:24,100
Speaker 1: very confused by that. And I didn’t really know what

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00:23:24,140 –> 00:23:27,110
Speaker 1: it meant until later. But for Black women, you don’t

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00:23:27,119 –> 00:23:29,110
Speaker 1: want to run through the rain because your hair gets

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00:23:29,150 –> 00:23:31,810
Speaker 1: all frizzy. And at Skidmore, it was like no one

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00:23:31,890 –> 00:23:32,470
Speaker 1: used an umbrella.

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00:23:32,530 –> 00:23:34,050
Speaker 2: I felt like I was the only one walking across

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00:23:34,070 –> 00:23:34,970
Speaker 2: campus with an umbrella.

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00:23:35,680 –> 00:23:37,879
Speaker 1: But it was a bit of a metaphor of I

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00:23:37,900 –> 00:23:40,160
Speaker 1: was really comfortable with who I was. I was comfortable

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00:23:40,180 –> 00:23:42,359
Speaker 1: with where I was. And it really allowed me to

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00:23:42,400 –> 00:23:46,300
Speaker 1: be myself. And that put me on a really amazing path.

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00:23:46,740 –> 00:23:50,359
Speaker 4: It’s an incredible story. It’s so upsetting that you had

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00:23:50,380 –> 00:23:53,580
Speaker 4: to experience that in your freshman year. But standing up

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00:23:53,600 –> 00:23:57,400
Speaker 4: for yourself and paving this new path is what makes

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00:23:57,440 –> 00:23:58,340
Speaker 4: the story all the better.

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00:23:58,680 –> 00:24:01,760
Speaker 2: But it’s learning, right? As you go into anything, it’s

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00:24:01,800 –> 00:24:04,220
Speaker 2: what you learn first. How do you put arrows in

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00:24:04,240 –> 00:24:05,260
Speaker 2: your quiver along the.

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00:24:05,220 –> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 1: Way that builds you into who you are and allows

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00:24:09,119 –> 00:24:11,680
Speaker 1: you to be the best you can be? Because you’ve

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00:24:11,740 –> 00:24:14,080
Speaker 1: now had all these experiences that just build you to

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00:24:14,140 –> 00:24:16,740
Speaker 1: newer places. So I would not have changed it for

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00:24:16,760 –> 00:24:18,399
Speaker 1: the world because I think I ended up.

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00:24:18,380 –> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 2: In a really good spot.

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00:24:19,260 –> 00:24:20,320
Speaker 4: Do you still play soccer?

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00:24:20,460 –> 00:24:21,830
Speaker 2: Up until COVID.

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00:24:22,450 –> 00:24:26,730
Speaker 1: I played soccer on a competitive women’s team in Westchester.

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00:24:26,840 –> 00:24:30,399
Speaker 2: So up until the knee surgery, I actually did play.

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00:24:30,619 –> 00:24:32,680
Speaker 4: That’s impressive. It’s a very physical sport.

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00:24:32,700 –> 00:24:34,980
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun. Competition.

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00:24:35,340 –> 00:24:36,639
Speaker 2: You know, can’t give it up.

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00:24:36,869 –> 00:24:39,430
Speaker 4: I know. The water industry seems ripe for you.

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00:24:39,650 –> 00:24:41,310
Speaker 2: There you go. A lot of competition.

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00:24:41,950 –> 00:24:44,450
Speaker 4: Well, Carrie, we’re so appreciative for your time. I’m sure

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00:24:44,630 –> 00:24:46,960
Speaker 4: after people listening to this episode, they will be following

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00:24:47,000 –> 00:24:50,359
Speaker 4: your journey on LinkedIn. And thank you again.

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00:24:50,660 –> 00:24:52,970
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Sarah, Rachel, this was great. Thank you so much.

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00:24:55,550 –> 00:24:57,590
Speaker 4: If you want to think more about water and the

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00:24:57,710 –> 00:25:01,740
Speaker 4: overall hydration industry, we’ve had quite a few guests on

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00:25:01,780 –> 00:25:04,240
Speaker 4: the show. You can go listen to an episode from

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00:25:04,260 –> 00:25:08,640
Speaker 4: last year where the SVP of Digital of Liquid Death, Hamid,

505
00:25:08,680 –> 00:25:11,780
Speaker 4: was on the show. We’ve had executives over the years

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00:25:11,840 –> 00:25:17,730
Speaker 4: from PepsiCo. from Coca-Cola. We’ve also had noon hydration. So

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00:25:18,070 –> 00:25:21,050
Speaker 4: many ways for you to continue your learning and hopefully

508
00:25:21,150 –> 00:25:24,510
Speaker 4: quench your thirst. If you’re enjoying what you’re hearing, give

509
00:25:24,609 –> 00:25:28,109
Speaker 4: us a like, write a review, share on LinkedIn. Thanks

510
00:25:28,150 –> 00:25:28,670
Speaker 4: for listening.

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00:25:39,320 –> 00:25:41,660
Speaker 3: Thank you.

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00:25:55,830 –> 00:25:59,800
Speaker 5: Hi, I’m Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman

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00:25:59,820 –> 00:26:02,580
Speaker 5: and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast

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00:26:02,640 –> 00:26:06,100
Speaker 5: launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me

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00:26:06,119 –> 00:26:09,830
Speaker 5: this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As

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00:26:09,869 –> 00:26:12,169
Speaker 5: a result, I’ve met some of the most fascinating and

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00:26:12,230 –> 00:26:15,359
Speaker 5: inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth,

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00:26:15,560 –> 00:26:18,820
Speaker 5: we’re coming centre stage and sharing the mic to experience

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00:26:18,859 –> 00:26:21,730
Speaker 5: stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that

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00:26:21,750 –> 00:26:24,210
Speaker 5: will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is

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00:26:24,270 –> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 5: available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out

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00:26:28,000 –> 00:26:30,070
Speaker 5: every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.