BIOLYTE - How Theater Skills Built a Top CPG Brand

Ramon Vela (00:01.998)
Welcome back everyone. This is Ramon Vela and this is just a wonderful episode we have today. I have a founder or a brand, a CEO and a, let me do that again. I have a CEO and a brand that I am going to feature on today's show that I can't wait to dive into and learn all about their story and why they do what they do and why you should look into it. So why don't we welcome Jesslyn Rawlins, who is the CEO of BioLite. Welcome to the show.

Jesslyn Rollins (00:48.474)
Thank you for having me.

Ramon Vela (00:50.798)
Well, I appreciate you and making time for us and I can't wait to dive into the brand, like I said. But one thing that I always like to start with is a question of gratitude, which is sort of my signature question. I've asked it of, I don't know, maybe 500 or 600 executives on this show. And I always love to hear people's answers. And just for those who are new and who might be listening to this,

Jesslyn Rollins (01:01.936)
you

Ramon Vela (01:19.406)
episode for the first time and hearing me for the first time, I just want you to know that I asked this question for a couple of reasons. One is we're all a little stressed out. A lot of crazy stuff going on, whether it's economics or geopolitical wars or politics or whatever, it's just really sort of stressing people out. And gratitude is a great way to relieve that stress and anxiety. As a matter of fact, it is almost neurologically impossible to have anxiety and stress

and gratitude all at the same time. And that's how powerful gratitude is. So I highly recommend it, whether you meditate, which I do, or pray, or journal, whatever, it's really, really an amazing tool. But I also want you, the listeners, to know that there are real people behind the brands that we do business with here or that we feature on the show. It's really easy for us to kind of be at the market and see on a retail shelf a product or online and see a product.

You just think it's just some faceless corporation. But I want you to know that there are real stories behind these brands. They're real people who care deeply about the product, about the service, about their community, and about the quality of their product. And one way of getting to know someone and getting to know who it is behind the scenes is by understanding what they're grateful for. So, Justlyn, if you don't mind, can you share a moment or memory when someone did something for you that just made you feel grateful?

because it meant that they believed in you, your vision, or your potential.

Jesslyn Rollins (02:54.34)
Whenever somebody asks me about what I'm grateful for, I have to say it's my parents. There is not one specific point in time or memory that I have because their entire worlds have revolved around pouring in to me and my sisters.

We went to a phenomenal private school here in Atlanta. I was there for 14 years, so you know that wasn't cheap. They have given me this opportunity of a lifetime to lead BioLite, and they gave me that when I was not even 30. So huge shout out to Janine and Trey Rollins for making me the woman that I am today and for...

Ramon Vela (03:24.142)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (03:44.59)
giving me the confidence and the love that I have today. I wouldn't be here without them.

Ramon Vela (03:52.546)
Well, I appreciate that. And what you mentioned about giving you an opportunity to run the company, that's huge, right? Because that is a belief in you and what you're, you know, in that you're going to execute the dream and keep the vision. evidently they not just, and this is something I think that's not just, it's more than just being a parent to a child.

Jesslyn Rollins (04:03.619)
enormous.

Jesslyn Rollins (04:11.748)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (04:19.574)
It's really having faith and seeing something in you. Sometimes things that we don't see ourselves, but other people believe in us and see that we are able to handle this huge responsibility because that's a big deal. mean, I'm assuming that's...

their baby, their, you know, I believe your father will go over the story, but your father created this and did this for a reason. And we'll go over that story in a second, but this is really important to him. And I, and the fact that he believed in you is pretty, is pretty huge. So that's, that's an amazing, you know, these type of things can be an amazing confidence booster.

but also an amazing sort of sense of responsibility that, so like they're expecting this of me and I really need to do it.

Jesslyn Rollins (05:11.088)
Totally. To whom much is given much is expected.

Ramon Vela (05:14.99)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. So why don't we walk a little bit and we'll take a little step back and get to know a little bit about the story. I know you've probably told it a million times. I have so much more I want to get to you, but I think it's important that people understand a little bit about how this began. So if you don't mind, kind of give us that shorter version of how it started and then catch us up until today. So.

And then I'll mention just really quick to everyone out there. If you want to take a look at what we're going to be talking about today, you can go to drinkbiolite.com. Drinkbiolite.com. Biolite is spelled B-I-O-L-Y-T-E in case you were wondering. Drinkbiolite.com. I'm sorry, Jesslyn, go right ahead.

Jesslyn Rollins (06:05.104)
Okay, so if you're new to BioLite, what you need to know is that BioLite is a medical grade sports drink. So a few years ago, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. And when she was going through her chemo treatments, she was so sick and so dehydrated to the point where...

she had to get IVs for her chemo treatments, but they couldn't even give her IVs because they couldn't find her veins. So the good news there is that mama got through and beat cancer, but that experience with my family trying to give her sports drinks, children's rehydration products, water, and her not being able to stay hydrated for treatment really inspired Biolite.

So my dad is a board certified anesthesiologist.

he's got years of experience tailoring his patients IV bags with nutritional supplementation to help them feel better. So when IVs weren't working, when sports drinks weren't working, when children's rehydration products weren't working, my dad took his experience and wanted to combine the science of an IV bag with the convenience of a sports drink. And that's where BioLite, the very first medical grade sports drink comes in handy.

where our tagline, the IV in a bottle, comes from.

Ramon Vela (07:32.739)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (07:37.326)
Yeah, I love that. Yeah, it's so I love the story and and and I'm sorry that your mother had to go through this. So I wish her I wish her the best. But I love these stories that are. Oh, thank you. And and but I'm so happy, you know, that.

Jesslyn Rollins (07:51.696)
Thank you. I'll tell her you said so.

Ramon Vela (08:00.802)
I love when these stories, people tell me these stories because they're born out of necessity and out of love. And even more than that is that there are other people who like your mother suffer from this issue. So it's incredibly honoring to your mother and also to others for that. Now your father just created this thing that not only is helping your mother, but I'm assuming can help others as well.

and their hydration. And for some of us, this is not just like a nice to have, for some of us it's critical, like for your mother. And I just feel like, you know, I love when products are born that way, that they're born out of love for one particular person, but in the end, they can be so helpful to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. So for your father, I mean, it's just, it must be an incredible feeling.

to have created something like this. And then of course you and your team are promoting this and taking this out to the world. So I love those stories. It's almost as if, it's like, it's the best of both worlds. You can create a business and make a living, but you can also create it using a product that really is so helpful to so many.

Jesslyn Rollins (09:20.048)
It feels like a calling at that point, doesn't it? That you like have to get this thing off the ground. And you have to get it into the hands of more people because your family not only was blessed to have mom make it through cancer, but blessed to have dad with the experience that he had. So, and then maybe blessed to have me as a theater major willing to talk to anybody and everybody about it. So yeah, it's been...

Ramon Vela (09:27.267)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (09:39.406)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (09:49.552)
I feel incredibly grateful for what we've got going on here.

Ramon Vela (09:53.922)
Well, and I want to dig into, want to, in a little bit, I want to ask you obviously about the product and I want to get into some of the the hydration because I kind of feel like hydration, we kind of think, yeah, we know hydration, drink some water, okay, you're not hydrated, but there's more to it. And there's more to, into the product. And I want to get into that in a second, but I also want to ask you a couple of questions before we get there because.

As I started reading about BioLite and you just mentioned about how honored and grateful you feel for your parents giving you the, you know, giving you this opportunity to build a company and get it out there. I noticed that I saw articles about awards you were given for, as a CEO. And I thought, that's really great. I mean, here's this almost like hesitant person or not hesitant, but just sort of like, you know, someone who goes into this.

puts our heart and soul into this endeavor and is then recognized for this. And I was just wondering, one is, how do you feel about that? Like, I kind of feel like, you you were given this opportunity, but you've turned out to be, I guess, really an amazing CEO in building this company and being recognized for that. And then I want to know how that feels. And then I also want to know what insights, what...

What would you share to other young CEOs who are starting out, who may be a little bit earlier in their stages than you are, and what can you share with them and the lessons you've learned thus far?

Jesslyn Rollins (11:33.562)
Well, I appreciate you saying that. I really do. don't feel like I've even skimmed the surface of what I'm capable of and what this company's capable of. So really how those awards make me feel is, I mean, just kind of in awe of just like, what the heck?

Ramon Vela (11:55.062)
you

Jesslyn Rollins (12:00.192)
Me? Like, that's kind of crazy. But in general, just once again, incredibly grateful, but also very grounded on the fact that I did not, like, yes, they might be awarding me for being a top CEO and this, that, and the other, but.

The award really goes to my team. I I said that, I say that all the time. My team makes me look so good. Like they are so talented, so gifted at their individual parts of BioLite and really all of us together make it work as a whole. And I'm just honored that the talents and the skillset that I have.

have kind of found their niche with BioLite. So I feel very grateful for that. I feel very grateful to be a fish that has found water and that is not trying to climb a tree. Because there were many years where I felt like a fish out of water doing multiple different odd jobs. Now to your question in regards to what would I tell a young, a new budding CEO, leader, maybe entrepreneur is

freaking go for it. is such a whatever weakness or hesitancy or negative that you can see is holding you back. There is also an equal positive and strength that could propel you forward. And for me,

I got started with Violite when I was 25. I knew absolutely nothing about beverage. People can look at that and go, you should not go into beverage. That is not a good idea. But what?

Ramon Vela (13:55.657)
Thank

Jesslyn Rollins (14:00.408)
What was such a blessing about that was I had no idea how hard it was. I had no idea where you should start, what was quote unquote normal. And a lot of times what's normal can hold you back from just even getting started. So whatever's holding you back, potentially change your frame of reference and think about what is the strength in

Ramon Vela (14:04.898)
Hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (14:27.98)
right standing right next to that weakness and then go for it.

Ramon Vela (14:31.552)
Yeah.

Well, I love that. And I'm sure we're going to uncover some more as we discuss that. you're right. I've had that conversation with others where there was...

You people saying that if they had known if they had known what they know now They may have stopped himself So that naivete that innocence in the beginning is so helpful because if you knew all the trouble you you might you know back off so

Jesslyn Rollins (15:07.768)
To be honest, I don't think anything could have backed me off of By-A-Lite.

Like there was not, I mean you could have had the president of Coca-Cola come knocking at my door going, don't do it, take my advice. But I was so hell bent on, we have a product that is needed by so many people. And like I said before, I do feel like it's a calling, like I'm meant to be here. And so I'm just trying to make the most of it. And so hell or high water, this girls won't do it.

Ramon Vela (15:35.992)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (15:43.438)
I love that attitude. how did you go about like, for instance, I've talked to some beverage folks and some other people in CPG and you know, there's a lot of challenges when it comes to like beverages. Like I talked to Rosa Lee from Wild Wonder and you know, she talked about, know, going from a bottle to a can to, you know, there's, shipping thing issues in terms of the supply chain. There's

format, there's packaging, there's all sorts of different things you have to think about. There's obviously the design, you know, that can make a big sometimes the brand or, people's awareness of the brand. There's all these like little things, especially in the beverage world, because it's not just about creating the product and, hopefully having someone taste it. It's all in between, right? It's all the supply chain. It's getting into the pro. If you're doing retail, it's getting into the retailer.

or wholesale or whatever. There's just so many pieces to the puzzle. What did you do to build that sort of like back end, that infrastructure? I guess all the stuff that maybe you didn't know. What was it that, did you find someone to lead you through this? Did you ask a lot of questions? What was that like?

Jesslyn Rollins (17:03.536)
So how I like to describe the definitely the early years at BioLite was you know that game when you're little of don't step on the lava? There was a lot of lava because there's so much that you don't know and there are...

Ramon Vela (17:13.314)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (17:20.624)
partners out there, manufacturing partners with the best intentions, but something goes wrong when you actually go to manufacture the product. a lot of those beginning partners, they're not with us anymore.

because there were instances where they would put ingredients in the formula that we didn't anticipate and go, what the heck is this? Or the product wouldn't be manufactured necessarily up to our standard. So to be honest with you, it makes sense to me why you say that beverage brands need so much capital.

Ramon Vela (18:02.978)
Hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (18:03.342)
because so, Bylight is very fortunate where when we got Bylight off the ground, my dad was the sole investor. And he, if we did not have, so he plugged in close to a million dollars into the company to get it off the ground. And he engaged a beverage expert in packaging, manufacturing,

all the things and that guidance really helped us in the early days but it probably only got us six they probably only got a 60 there and then from there it was okay this manufacturer isn't working we have to switch and find another one so you've heard the term you're building you're flying the plane as you're building it that's like an overdrive in the early days and then because by a light

Ramon Vela (18:44.728)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (18:57.304)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (19:02.418)
doesn't have any outside capital to this day. We had to get sales very quickly and so there was no like resting on like sitting on our hands. There was really no resting. It was we've got this product.

to keep it in to keep our plane in flight we have to sell it and we've got to get into the hands of the most people and that process what like

Ramon Vela (19:30.094)
Hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (19:37.954)
We're eight years in and it's still not perfect. You're still trying to find those right partners, especially when you launch new formats. But as you keep going and you keep selling and you keep looking and you keep kissing frogs, you're going to find your prints. But you have to have the capital to be able to find your prints because so many brands, that's the reason why 95 % of beverage brands fail is they don't have the capital.

Ramon Vela (19:46.594)
Mm-mm.

Ramon Vela (19:56.706)
Hmm.

Ramon Vela (20:09.47)
And in terms of the sales aspect, that's kind of where your theatrical background helps, right? You mentioned, yeah, I mean, because it could be tougher folks. talked to, what was it? Quinn Snacks. I don't remember. think it was Quinn Snacks. And she said that, okay, great. We interviewed her and she said that she would sit in the car.

Jesslyn Rollins (20:16.047)
Yes.

Jesslyn Rollins (20:24.336)
Mmm.

I know, Quinn.

Yeah.

Ramon Vela (20:38.798)
I guess like what we did before the interview, she would breathe in, breathe out. She'd like psych herself out before she went in and talked to some people and so forth. that's what happens because as an entrepreneur, sometimes you're not in sales. Sometimes you don't have a business background, but you're passionate. like you, sometimes you feel like you have a calling, like you got to get this product out to the market and you got to do what you got to do. Even though everything in your body is telling you,

Jesslyn Rollins (20:47.237)
Yeah.

Jesslyn Rollins (20:52.772)
Yes.

Ramon Vela (21:05.89)
Like don't do this. it's, you know, you're nervous and so forth. So I would imagine like that sales component side of it. you know, your ability to talk to people probably came in handy. but also, you know, building your internal team, probably you can utilize those communications and building your own, you know, sales team or, or, or people internally for your, for, for doing what they're going to do. what was that like going out there and, and brand new and, and talking to people.

Jesslyn Rollins (21:36.656)
So I loved it. So like I said, I I took to buy like a fish to water. so dad, what he gave me was a product. Here is this product that I have created. Here is four and a half pallets of it. We have no business plan. We have.

no sales strategy, have nobody in the company, just go and figure out a way to sell it. And so that theater background came in massive handy because I'm going, okay, I'm now a sales rep for a sports drink company. What would I wear? Cooler backpack.

Little polo shirt, little khaki shorts, like trying to sell it into high school football teams. Okay, like how do I figure out who my scene partners are gonna be? Okay, it's the athletic trainer. Okay, it's Randy Waters at Kroger when we started to think about retail, like figuring out the who, what, where, when, and why.

and kind of creating a script that had not been written before for this company was such a joy because it mixed improv and performance and sales and marketing and creativity all in this one little nice package. And the good thing and maybe good thing and the bad thing was that no like

Yes, I had to go to my dad and tell him how it was performing, but I was pretty much my own boss. And so I was holding myself accountable. And that gave me so much room to tweak the script, to tweak the outfit, to see how people responded to certain things I said in the sales pitch.

Jesslyn Rollins (23:32.304)
so that was super fun for me. It was just performance after performance after performance. And as you know, as anybody knows, before you get on any type of stage, whether it's a podcast, whether it's a meeting a new person for the first time, you do have to talk yourself into showing up. Like just today I had the conversation about even making a call to a distributor that I was like nervous about calling. And I was like, lady,

Ramon Vela (23:53.367)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (24:00.11)
Thank

Jesslyn Rollins (24:02.958)
You like you don't get like I'm gonna cuss just a little bit like you don't get to be chicken shit Like that is not who you are. That's not the leader you are. So don't act like it Give them a call and so I did

Ramon Vela (24:21.038)
I love that. it, I really, I have to tell you that I don't think anyone's ever described the whole entrepreneurial experience the way you just did in terms of theater and improv and so forth. This is the first out of 1,275 episodes. This is the first time. So, and I loved it. I really, I felt like it was like, wow, that really is right on. You know, everything you use, like, you know, who are your scene partners, you know, with

the script that is written. I love that. That is fantastic. I've never heard that before on the show. And it's a great way to describe it. And it's also really a great way to, for someone who is not, you who is starting a brand and who is not necessarily like have the fast business background or whatnot, it's really a great way to kind of like frame the experience in a way that you would know and that would make you feel comfortable because

I think a lot of people are trying to like force themselves into sometimes like, okay, I need to be a business person. I need to do this. need, know, like I need to try to change the way I think instead. It's almost as if it's like take what you already know, apply it to the situation. and, make, and make yourself feel a little comfortable, more comfortable in that role versus, you know, just trying something completely new. And, and I think I've heard sports references, you know, obviously because there's

There's a lot of relationship explored, yeah. But I've never heard of theatrical and I love that. I have to admit that I really love that. So as you're growing this company, where did you feel like there was the milestone? Where did you find yourself one day thinking like, wow, this company can be huge or like there's so much potential.

Jesslyn Rollins (25:48.602)
Very similar, yeah.

Ramon Vela (26:15.586)
Was it when you made a huge sale? Was it when you made your first retailer? Was it when you crossed a particular line on online sales? What was that milestone that it finally hit you and think like, my God, this is a real legit business and this could be really big. Did you have that moment?

Jesslyn Rollins (26:39.398)
I did and it happened early. So I went to, when dad introduced me to BioLite, I automatically, your mind goes to, okay, we got to sell this thing to hospitals.

but that was so overwhelming to me to even approach the idea of how to sell into hospitals. So I focused on low hanging fruit and what I focused on was high school athletic programs. So I walked in with my backpack cooler and my little polo and my little khakis and I met with my head athletic trainer from my high school, Lovett School.

I gave him the best sales pitch I had at the time, not really knowing what I had. And he was like, thank you for the samples. We'll test them out. I left him those samples on a Thursday and he called me that Saturday asking for more. He said that he gave BioLite to his typical muscle crampers on the team. And he said he's got 10 of them that typically cramp out of their football game.

And when he gave them one bottle of BioLite before the game and one at halftime, nine of them did not cramp at all. And so that gave me like...

Ramon Vela (27:58.093)
Wow.

Jesslyn Rollins (28:02.138)
the confidence that I needed to go to every single high school in the state of Georgia, in Florida, in Alabama, selling them on BioLite. Because I was very wary of, of course I wanted BioLite to be successful. I mean, I was at the time working at the Laughing Skull Comedy Lounge and that was going nowhere. And...

Ramon Vela (28:26.402)
Hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (28:27.312)
I wanted to work for my family product and I wanted it to be a thing, but I needed somebody to tell me that this was actually a good product. It wasn't just me imagining it. that was that. And that happened literally the first, in the first week that I got introduced to the product.

Ramon Vela (28:50.7)
Wow. And yeah, I love that story. And obviously in an entrepreneur's life, in a CEO's life, there's multiple milestones that you're going to hit. There's a retail milestone, there's multiple retailers, there's all sorts of stuff. By the way, do you have a business to business side as well?

Jesslyn Rollins (29:13.348)
Yes. Yes we do. So.

Ramon Vela (29:16.059)
Because it didn't occur to me when you mentioned hospital, like I thought, yeah, that's right, hospitals were probably, this is like a great product for hospitals too.

Jesslyn Rollins (29:25.292)
Mm-hmm. So the way that we think about our customer is sick, sweat, and sport. So sick are individuals with acute or chronic illnesses. So yes, we sell BioLite to a lot of health clinics and hospitals. And then you've got the...

sweat portion, which is what we call sweaty occupations. And those are your electricians, your construction workers, your manufacturers that potentially don't have air conditioning back in the warehouse. Like we sell a lot of product through that. And then sports, we sell to still that high school, that beginning thread has maintained throughout the entire company. Like I thought that was going to be, you know, we'll do this for like

a year and then we'll move on to retail and it has maintained very constant throughout the entire time we've been at BioLite which is super cool.

Ramon Vela (30:28.302)
Well, and then it's not just, mean, I would imagine that the same things that apply at high schools apply to colleges, right? And then you have all those different layers within the colleges themselves. So yeah, that's pretty cool. You know, as I mentioned earlier, I've talked to other folks like in the beverage world and the CPG world. And one of the things they always tell me is,

Jesslyn Rollins (30:37.232)
you

Ramon Vela (30:56.308)
what a difference sometimes packaging can do, right? Whether it was with Ollipop or the Rosalie and Wild Wonder or whoever, it's always, you know, there's slight tweaks that you can make, differences in the design that you can make that sometimes can really be a big deal and or can bring awareness or under communicate the message even better than before.

Like I don't remember who I interviewed, but somebody interviewed, they use real fruit in their packaging and they decided to put this like big old fruit in their packaging because they were using it in there and they wanted to highlight the fact and it was just amazing, just the difference between the previous package and the new package and it just looked like night and day. You guys are going through a rebranding right now and a repackaging.

Walk us through that. What was the goal of the repackaging or the redesign and walk us through a little bit of what that looks like.

Jesslyn Rollins (32:06.864)
So we had multiple different packaging iterations, but there are two major ones that we've had. So the first one, if you don't mind, I'd love to talk about that one and then talk about this second one just very briefly on the first one. So the first one that we had, it was once again,

Ramon Vela (32:23.053)
Sure.

Jesslyn Rollins (32:32.662)
that I got from my scene partners. So I was in different Kroger's and different Publix's sampling BioLite and I would notice what people would respond to in my sales pitch and in regards to what was on the packaging. And so at the time BioLite was a very medical looking, very medical. Like it looked like if scrubs came to life and was a drink. That's the way that it looked. And what I noticed that when I said,

Ramon Vela (32:56.817)
Yeah.

Jesslyn Rollins (33:02.596)
said would you like to try BioLite versus when you like to would you like to try the IV in a bottle people were so much more open to this concept of the IV in a bottle so first packaging iteration was sticking that right front and center on the packaging and our sales more than doubled from year over year which was super cool and then this

this rebrand has been a joy. where this one got, what inspired this one was a conversation that we were having with the buyer at QT.

So the buyer at QT was saying, listen, I love your product. I think it's amazing. But you do not command your premium price point. Like typically in sports drinks, people think they're very cheap. know, 199, 250 for a bottle. BioLite's 350, 399 in a C store. And he was like, you don't command that difference in price. You don't command your premium.

Ramon Vela (34:02.968)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (34:17.656)
And so what I wanted to do, was like, okay, you know, my skills have gotten us only this far. Now I need to engage experts in helping me craft the next round of the rebrand. And so we engaged with this group called Ultra. And what was so neat about Ultra was as a creative, when somebody just gets it,

You feel heard, you feel seen. It's the best feeling ever. And Ultra just got it. And what I was trying to come across was we need to command premium. We need to command, we need to visually explain that we are a true IV in a bottle with visual imagery because people don't read, they recognize. And so when it came to the rebrand,

And if I hope you don't mind, I'm gonna fan a white here for a minute. Like this is this IV line visually calls in that IV in a bottle. The IV in a bottle is still we had built brand equity around this drop. And so having this front and center was very important to me. And then also highlighting what our actual name was. So like

Ramon Vela (35:18.136)
Sure, yeah, it's fine.

Jesslyn Rollins (35:43.588)
BioLite comes from biology and electrolyte.

Ramon Vela (35:48.504)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (35:49.112)
My dad came up with the name, which is amazing because it's very doctory. So we wanted to put that front and center and we wanted to give it visual elements. And then there's another piece of, you know, just flavor call-outs. So on our current bottle, there's not a ton of flavor suggestion. You mentioned the fruit and I went back and forth with them on like, you know, should we put fruit on it? And they were like, BioLite is not about the...

Ramon Vela (35:51.054)
Thank

Jesslyn Rollins (36:17.294)
the fruit. Like it's not about like this, you know, earthy brand that you can get from the ground. Like it is about real functionality and, but you need to let people know what the flavor is. So that's why we did top and bottom. I could go on and on about that forever and you know, bore probably everyone to tears. So I won't do that, but getting the visual imagery right was very critical and we'll see how it performs. I have high hopes.

Ramon Vela (36:27.17)
Hmm.

Ramon Vela (36:46.156)
Yeah. Well, I think it's a, it's a beautiful packaging and I think you're right. mean, I think you have to, it feels like the whole, the whole idea or the phrase IV in a bottle really encapsulates, you know, in a very, in a very short piffy way, what, what BioLite is. And, and I think it's smart to kind of like focus on that and to build upon that because that line not only is just catchy, but it

It also serves to describe the functionality of the beverage. And it's it's just immediately, it's just like, I have you in a bottle. Okay, I get it. I understand what it is. I know what it does for me. it also feels like you are, it also feels like, it is just my initial reaction right now, just thinking about this. It also indicates that what I'm drinking is higher quality and or

Jesslyn Rollins (37:22.0)
100%.

Ramon Vela (37:46.22)
more science-based than other drinks I can drink.

Jesslyn Rollins (37:50.032)
correct. We definitely, well I'm glad because that's what we want to get across.

Ramon Vela (37:51.214)
That's what it's telling me.

Yeah, because you think IV, you think, okay, well, it's like a medical grade kind of concoction and it's going to really be helpful to me versus maybe a sugary hydration drink that I can have or whatnot. You know, if I'm serious about my body or I'm serious about, you know, how I'm feeling or if I'm sick or if I'm sweaty because I'm a professional or because I'm in sports, then this is like something that's really going to be like

Jesslyn Rollins (38:01.295)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (38:25.344)
It's going to be it. Like this is what you need to have. So yeah, I think it's great.

Jesslyn Rollins (38:31.188)
share a funny story that has been a that's been a tightrope that we've had to walk since the beginning of like

We are medical grade, but don't be scared of us. Actually, we're just a sports drink. But we're like a way more premium medical sports drink, but you can drink this whenever, wherever. so getting that imagery, that language just right.

has been a journey and I feel like this year we've never been able to communicate that better than we are now.

Ramon Vela (39:13.098)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, I think it takes some time to really understand it, but I still feel like it's a... You're right. I mean, I guess someone could feel a little intimidated, but I still think that it's just like the IV in the bottle is pretty... It's a pretty cool description and...

If you're a serious performance athlete or you're on the sun constantly and you realize how important hydration is, or if you're ill or sick, then the hydration becomes even more important for you. So yeah, I I still, I think it works. I think it definitely works. And while we're on the subject of hydration, let me just make sure that people know you can go to drink biolite.

Jesslyn Rollins (39:37.797)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (40:02.914)
dot com, drinkbiolite.com. I'm actually gonna go on the website. And for those who are listening, you can go to drinkbiolite.com. we had just, Jesslyn had been holding up the bottle. So for those listening, that's what she was doing for a second. And for those who eventually will see us on video, I mean, let us know what you think about the packaging. Send some feedback, put some comments in there.

Jesslyn Rollins (40:30.706)
my gosh, please.

Ramon Vela (40:32.556)
Yeah, send us some feedback. But I think it looks great. Like I said, I think it's wonderful. So go to drinkbiolite.com. let's tell them a little bit about what they're going to find on the website. But let's also talk a little bit more specifically about the products. I'd love to just understand a little bit of what the ingredients are. But one of the things I really found interesting when I was here is

Jesslyn Rollins (40:53.264)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (40:58.114)
you scroll down just a little bit from the homepage and you look to see about all the different things and all the different ways that hydration can solve for or caused by dehydration. So you obviously it's dehydration, but it also there's fatigue, there's cramps, there's upset stomachs, there's indulgence. Some of these I know, but things like fatigue, cramps and upset stomach, I didn't realize that dehydration causes things.

Fatigue, for instance, I didn't realize that being dehydrated would cause fatigue as well. Can you walk us through a little bit of some of that component, those issues, fatigue, cramps, and upset stomach, for instance?

Jesslyn Rollins (41:42.768)
Totally. So back in middle school science class, we learned that the body is 60 % water. So there's a little asterisk to that, that the body is 60 % salt water. And depending on what organ you're talking about in your body, depends on what percentage of water that organ is. So like your...

Ramon Vela (41:54.254)
water.

Jesslyn Rollins (42:10.992)
your brain and your heart are actually 73 % saltwater. Your lungs are 83 % saltwater. And that's where every single organ in your body, what we're made up of, is predominantly saltwater.

And so if your brain is 73 % saltwater, that makes sense why you would feel fatigue or why you would be sluggish or have brain fog or memory loss because of dehydration. It's because your brain needs more saltwater. And the key thing or like your lungs with like labored breathing or something like that, you need more saltwater. So

Ramon Vela (42:35.928)
Mm-hmm.

Jesslyn Rollins (42:59.79)
really what dad got right was the exact ratio of salts that we need in our body. So in comparison to a standard sports drink, you would have to drink close to seven sports drinks to equal the amount of electrolytes in BioLite. BioLite literally matches the sodium and chloride ratios that you would find in a standard IV bag.

Ramon Vela (43:06.67)
Thanks

Jesslyn Rollins (43:29.36)
And then dad has added potassium into biolite because the relationship between sodium to potassium helps our nerves work. Like they're called electrolytes for a reason. Like they create energy. They have action potential. They make everything work in our body. I think of them like a light switch, but

That's what really drives the, we are the most premium, the best, the fastest rehydration solution you can possibly get is, are those electrolytes and the percentage of those electrolytes. The other things that make BioLite the best solution for when you are dehydrated are the other ingredients that Dad has added. So,

Ramon Vela (44:10.094)
you

Jesslyn Rollins (44:26.422)
He added ingredients that help your liver function, help with an upset stomach, and help give you a boost of energy. Common side effects of dehydration. Ramon, you might not have realized you like, when you feel sluggish, you have an upset stomach, you might be dehydrated. But if you ever had like an intense workout where you feel super nauseous, that's a perfect example.

Ramon Vela (44:52.397)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (44:55.906)
Mm, wow.

Jesslyn Rollins (44:57.84)
And a lot of times, mean, with the diets that we have, you know, we think we need coffee, we think we need an energy drink, we think we need these, you know, caffeine-heavy drinks where really a lot of times your body's just running low on salt water. And the annoying thing about dehydration is that it's constantly in flux throughout the day.

And so making sure that you are drinking a BioLite, you are drinking water throughout the day, making sure that you're staying where you need to because you want to avoid the symptoms of dehydration like we discussed.

Ramon Vela (45:40.886)
Mm-hmm. And can you be drinking, like, let's say you're, I don't know what the term, the amount of cups are, but eight cups, guess, seven, eight cups of water a day. If you are drinking just regular water, tap water, or, you know, something similar, are you not getting the sufficient ingredients or minerals or whatever it is in your body?

to be really sufficiently hydrated? Like it feels like your body, I mean, that explanation you just gave, I've never, that's amazing. Thank you so much for shedding light on that. Cause I didn't realize that your body, well, I knew about our body being mostly water, but I didn't realize about the salt water. And I didn't realize that different parts of our body have different levels of salt water in them. And so I didn't know that. And so I'm wondering,

It almost feels like, and maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but it feels like hydration is actually really, really important and not just drinking water, but making sure that you have these electrolytes and everything else that you're getting to these other things too.

Jesslyn Rollins (46:53.2)
No, 100%. And I mean, I'm totally guilty of not drinking enough water. Like I remember back in college, I had a white board that like, drink your water, which just, and people still do that today. But the piece is, that like, I just don't wanna overcomplicate this whole hydration thing. Like.

Ramon Vela (47:08.942)
you

Jesslyn Rollins (47:19.376)
Yeah, from what you're saying, yes, like eat your fruits and vegetables, drink your water, know, drink your biolite. But because our bodies are literally 60 % saltwater, you're gonna have a big gap in electrolytes and...

Just from the foods that you eat and the drinks that you drink and then throughout the day you're also Sweating and going to the bathroom and this that the other like We can and we should have more electrolytes more sodium more chloride more potassium than we ever thought For years. I mean we thought that the standard of hydration was a Gatorade was a Pedialyte and We are now learning

And especially with what mom went through, I mean, we learned that especially in extreme circumstances, that ain't gonna cut it. And so, yes, from...

We're very excited to have the opportunity to break down and educate what hydration looks like, but not overcomplicate it. The key takeaway for anybody trying to stay on top of their hydration is my dad always says that if you are going to the bathroom more than eight times a day, you're overdoing it. And I love that because it is very freeing because...

Ramon Vela (48:30.158)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (48:43.118)
Thank

Jesslyn Rollins (48:46.926)
According to our society these days, unless you are like sitting on the toilet all the time peeing, you're never hydrated enough. And that is so awful and annoying when you're in meetings back to back. so biolite is an easy way for you to stay on top of your hydration and make sure that you've got the electrolytes to water ratio in your body.

Ramon Vela (48:51.544)
the

Ramon Vela (48:58.978)
Thank

Ramon Vela (49:04.44)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (49:09.326)
Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's an easy solution to an obvious problem. And I'm glad that you brought all those other things up because I didn't realize fatigue was like, it was one of them. And to be honest with you, I never realized what really were the problems of dehydration, but we're all told that we need to drink and IBM has told my doctor I need to drink more water and so forth. Yeah, so.

Jesslyn Rollins (49:31.418)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (49:34.19)
It really, I think it's great. And I love the website and walk us through now. So someone's listening to this. They love everything you've talked about. They love the story about the, you describe entrepreneurship and from a theatrical standpoint, they love the idea of the IV in the bottle. They love everything that the stories you've told so far. Now they're on the website, which is drinkbiolite.com.

Where do they start in their journey with the brand? is there a place that you suggest that they start in terms of like, is there a drink? Is there a particular drink that they should try? Is there a sample pack? I also noticed that you have powder as well as the beverages themselves.

Jesslyn Rollins (50:22.436)
Yes. So it depends on if you're a powder person or a drink person. They're literally one for one. pick, you know, dealer's choice, whatever you'd like. But we have five flavors and depending on your personal palette, I can tell you which one you're gonna like. So we have a thing called a salty scale, which all of our bio-

drinks and powders have the same amount of electrolytes but it's just the way that the flavor enhances or pulls back that salty flavor.

So if you are a salty person, if you're a salty dude and you like margaritas and you like salt on your french fries and you like dirty martinis, I would stick with the lemon lime or the tropical. Now if you're a sweet person like me, you want to stick with your fruit punch or your watermelon.

Ramon Vela (51:05.838)
you

Jesslyn Rollins (51:22.872)
And then if you're like, listen, I'm both. I'm a sweet, I'm a salty, depending on the day, I'd go with a mixed berry. And I would start there. depending on your sweet to salty preference, I'd work your way through the flavors and see which one's your favorite.

Ramon Vela (51:37.895)
Well, and then in terms of the powder and the liquid, they're the same, correct?

Jesslyn Rollins (51:43.92)
They're the exact same. powder, what's neat about the powder is you can, like let's say you've got your bottle and it's totally empty, fill it up with water because it's 16 ounces, pour your powder in. That's the right ratio of water to powder.

Ramon Vela (52:00.386)
Hmm. Yeah. I like that the powder aspect because, you know, I like to go hiking or I like to go on walks and I always carry my own water. So I have like a metal, metal sort of jug that I carry around and, and something like that, I think would be helpful for those folks who are staying active and like to use their own bottles and can then fill them up and then pour a little, pour a package into there. It makes it very convenient. and in terms of.

Jesslyn Rollins (52:09.312)
huh.

Ramon Vela (52:30.092)
the flavors, we talked about the rebranding and the new packaging. Are there gonna be any new flavors or any new products or any new formats that we can look forward to in the near future?

Jesslyn Rollins (52:47.108)
We might have our first limited time offer this summer and everybody might be really excited about it.

Ramon Vela (53:02.222)
and that's all we're gonna get. Okay, no, I get it. don't understand. I was waiting for you to... No, no, no, that's... No, no, I understand completely. No, I mean, it looks fantastic. And so right now, where can people find it? Is it online, on stores, on retails? I do notice that on your website, you have...

Jesslyn Rollins (53:04.324)
That's it.

Jesslyn Rollins (53:09.648)
you

Ramon Vela (53:25.044)
Subscribe and save which you can describe in a second and then you have the learn aspect there which tells you the story the FAQs what's inside and then of course to find find the store in general Where you where can people find by a light?

Jesslyn Rollins (53:41.614)
So if you're looking for BioLite at retail, you can get us at a ton of different convenience stores, including QuickTrip, Racetrack, Circle K, and then if you're looking for grocery, we've got Publix, HEB, Ingalls, Kroger.

Hy-Vee out in the Midwest. Our footprint from a retail perspective is, if you're looking at grocery and convenience, is really in the southeast and the Midwest and Great Lakes. Now if you're looking for national coverage, you can find us in CVS and Walgreens. And then of course Amazon.com or our website. Any of those choices are great.

Ramon Vela (54:25.154)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (54:33.058)
Yeah, well, I just looked on, I looked on the find in store button for myself and I see that you are at a CVS near me. You are at a Rite Aid near me. You're at another CVS, which in my area feels like there's CVS is everywhere. And it just keeps going and going and going. So there's plenty of places in the Southern California area.

And I'm in the Los Angeles County area that you can go to Yeah, you guys are you guys are everywhere? and then you have a subscribe and save so this is obviously for your website, but Walk us through that is it's a subscription they get it every month and they get a discount

Jesslyn Rollins (55:13.124)
Yes.

Jesslyn Rollins (55:20.912)
So the deal with this subscribe and save is really for people that absolutely love the product and they want it on a monthly basis and they want a discount on it and they want free stuff and they want to be loved on and they want to get some surprise and delight stuff.

Typically, you are a lighter, who we call our biggest fans, if you wanted to subscribe and save. But we would absolutely love to work with you on subscribe and save. And we promise you will not be disappointed.

Ramon Vela (55:44.707)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (55:57.112)
Wow, I love that. And I can see where this comes in really handy, especially for those who are, I mean, those three S's that you mentioned, if you're in need, if you fall into any of those categories, a subscription probably makes a whole lot of sense. so this has been fantastic. I want to be respectful every time.

Jesslyn Rollins (56:07.438)
Yes.

Ramon Vela (56:23.554)
I wanna be able, if you don't mind sharing what the social media handle is. And if you have any last words for our audience, because I started this conversation with us talking about how this almost feels like it's such a great way that you described it in the sense that.

It's great to have a business, but it's also great to have a product that can really impact and help a lot of people. then, of course, you mentioned it could feel like a calling. And that's what I really love about BioLite. And I think it meets our criteria, which I love to find companies like this, which are products worth buying, brands worth supporting. And I think you guys fall in that category because I feel like

Jesslyn Rollins (57:12.272)
Mmm.

Ramon Vela (57:15.182)
This is not just a business because it's easy. mean, you know, it's nice to have just a business, but I really love businesses that have a product that really can impact people on various different levels. You know, I just had my mother had been ill for a long time. She passed away already, but she was ill for a long time. So I was in hospital rooms and clinics and I would see, you know, these.

Pedialytes and these hydration drinks and so forth. I realize how important it is for people, especially in that area. So for me, it's like, wow, I love that you have this product and it's not just, it's born out of love, your father to your mother, and now it can help so many people. anyhow, it's more of a comment than a question, but anyhow, I just wanted to share that with you.

Jesslyn Rollins (58:05.84)
No, you made my day with that, so thank you.

Ramon Vela (58:09.774)
So social media handle and any last words that you want to leave with the audience?

Jesslyn Rollins (58:12.549)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so if you want to connect with BioLite, it's at drinkBioLite. And then if you want to connect with me, I'm at Jesslyn underscore BioLite. Would absolutely love to hear from you. kind of parting, drop some knowledge. I will come back to a quote that I mentioned earlier in to whom much is given, much is expected. And so whatever you're given,

expect a lot out of yourself and so many blessings are going to come your way. So put those talents to use and get out there and have fun doing it. That's it.

Ramon Vela (59:01.006)
Great. I love that. Thank you so much. It has been a real pleasure to have you on the show and I've had other hydration companies on and you've shared some things with me that I've never heard before. So thank you for educating me and teaching me. And then also, I want to just again mention that your description of the entrepreneurial and the whole startup scene in theatrical terms.

First time on the show, never heard that before. Love that example. I think I'm going to borrow that next time. I haste to keep using the sports analogy. So I've never seen it from a theatrical standpoint, but I love that. Thank you. But this has been fantastic. Thank you so much. And everyone out there, we have just had Jesslyn Rollins, who is the CEO of BioLite. You can find that at drinkbiolite.com.

Jesslyn Rollins (59:35.034)
Thank you.

Jesslyn Rollins (59:46.478)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (59:58.274)
We're going to have that link as well as the social media link on our podcast description, which you'll be able to find on Apple and Spotify and pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, you can simply type in the story of a brand show and you should be able to find it. And I always say at the end of these, stay safe, stay sane, stay healthy. Well, please in that last one, being healthy, take a look at BioLite at drinkbiolite.com because I think you're going to be

pleasantly surprised. I learned some things about dehydration that I didn't know about today and I learned a lot about we learned a lot about the product today. So I'm I'm Kent White to try it myself. So drink biolite.com is the website. Go try it. Especially if you're feeling some of those things that they mentioned, fatigue and cramps and other things. I didn't realize some of those things. And so I I think I'm going to look at this in a whole new way. So

Go check it out. Beyond that, everyone, one last thing. We've all been going through a lot of stuff lately, know, last five years, the pandemic and then financial things and economics and the economy, whatnot, geopolitical wars. We're all going through something. We're all stressed out about something. It could be something's really bad, something's really not so bad. Either way, we're all a little stressed out. So let's just do ourselves a favor and just be kinder to each other.

Because I know if we can do that, we can make this human experience a better one. Beyond that, thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to another episode of the story of a brand.