Halfday Ice Tea (Part 2) - From Gut Issues to Grocery Shelves

Ramon Vela (00:02.114)
Hey everyone, this is Ramon Vela and this is another episode of the story of a brand. Now, without further ado, let me introduce you to Kay Von Jahanbosch who is co-founder at Half Day Ice Tea. Welcome to the show.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (00:26.594)
Thank you so much for having me Ramon. I really appreciate it and I'm looking forward to sharing some thoughts with you.

Ramon Vela (00:32.012)
Yeah. And I just, so everyone knows we actually had this scheduled and Kayvon wasn't able to make our interview. So I interviewed Mike, his co-founder, and we had this wonderful interview. This interview, if you're listening to this or watching this is actually already integrated into the previous interview. And it's just FYI in case it looks a little like two different scenes. So Kayvon.

One of my big beliefs is that, especially right now, especially in the time of AI where so many people are using different things, and it's a great tool, no doubt about it, but I also feel that it's so easy for audiences, consumers to see a product, to see a brand and just kind of think, know, it's just some faithless corporation.

You know, it's AI driven, whatever it is, you know, it's not real or it's kind of fake or, know, you know, it's just entertaining. But I like to make sure that our audience knows that there's real people behind these brands that we feature on the show and that these people bleed sweat and tear over their product. It's a hard thing to bring a product to market. It's not easy. And so I kind of like to bring it down to a human level. And I want to make sure that people know who.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (01:46.83)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (01:57.332)
you are as much as who the brand is. And when I say you, I want them to know why you do what you do and why it's important to you and why you think this brand is something that consumers should look at. well, with all that said, I want to make sure one way of doing that, obviously, is by answering my next question, which is my big sort of opening question. And that's a gratitude question. So if you don't mind,

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (02:12.577)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (02:26.424)
Can you share a moment or a 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?

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (02:35.342)
Absolutely. Yeah, there's a lot of moments that initially come to mind, but one in particular that I'd like to highlight is when we first launched Half Day back in 2021. And at that point we had been struggling for so long prior to that. You know, we weren't paying ourselves. We were driving Half Day around in the back of our cars and coolers delivering it. We were doing everything from A to Z.

And at that point we were, we were trying to relaunch the brand and we didn't have any sales data or anything behind it, just our story, our passion and resilience. So, we had pitched it to a local regional chain grocery store and lo and behold, the buyer and I got connected. had a great conversation and I was actually talking to her post one of my surgeries in the hospital and it came up in conversation and we learned that she has a family member.

that went through and is going through the same thing as me. So it really made this like connection that I, that I've not had prior to that. And she ended up bringing us in even before we had product on hand to even send her to sample. She just said, this is something that's needed in the world. I really, really like you and Mike, and I will give you guys a shot. And I feel like in my mind, that was the most pivotal.

gratitude moment and everything changed thereafter. And I go back and I think about that and I'm like, you know, not a lot of people would take the chance on someone that they, you know, really didn't have much history on, they didn't know the product, but that human connection and ability to share our story really, really highlighted my gratitude to that situation. So I think that's one that comes to mind immediately.

Ramon Vela (04:32.875)
Yeah, it goes to the heart of the question, and there's probably a lot of examples that you can give, because what I find is that when you start thinking about it, which is kind of one of the reasons why I ask this too, is that I think it's good to kind of sit back sometimes and think about all these things and these times, people who do things for us, sometimes it's a kind word to kind of motivate us or keep us going, and sometimes it's...

more, it's advice, sometimes it's investment, whatever it is, or simply just take it a chance on you when maybe logically they shouldn't take a chance, but there's something in your voice and how you, and your vibe and everything else that just makes them feel like, I believe in these people. And so I appreciate you sharing that. like I said, that's a great example.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (05:04.301)
you

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (05:12.418)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (05:29.198)
Going along with that, you mentioned a little bit about the early days, how difficult those were. I want from your perspective, I'd love to get your side of the story on a little bit of how you started because I believe that you had the initial concept or had the initial idea and were kind of doing those things in your, I think your kitchen or something or whatnot. But why don't you clarify for us, tell us how you got started and

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (05:51.736)
Mm-hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (05:56.13)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (05:56.972)
And then why was it so important for you to actually start a business around it?

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (06:01.198)
Absolutely. That's a great question. The whole story and genesis of the brands came from my hospitalization and journey with digestive disease. And back in 2015, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was just 18 years old and it hospitalized me for months. I lost like 80 pounds. It was, was brutal. And throughout all of that, I was trying to rebuild my gut health. So I was incorporating

more digestive supporting ingredients in my diet. And I was also trying to reduce sugar, which therefore reduces inflammation. And I was making these teas at home. I love drinking iced tea. You my dad always gave it to me growing up as well. And I had to, you know, obviously reduce the sugar and what you could get on the shelves, right? It's 50, 60, 70 grams, whatever. So I was making these at home. I was putting the prebiotic fiber in there. I was getting a little better and Mike and I had been friends for a very long time prior to that.

So he would come over and he'd try these teas and he was like, wow, this is really cool. And it was adding a fiber element to it that really wasn't even a thing at the time. And 95 % of Americans don't even get enough prebiotic fiber in their diet every day. So we saw this need around it where it started from an actual diagnosis and it started from literally in the hospital. It wasn't a brand that...

You know, we looked at data and we saw that there's this gap in the market or anything like that. We saw that there was an actual need to solve this fiber gap and give someone that classic nostalgic iced tea flavor that they grew up with and may have forgotten or put aside because of the sugar content. And we were like, man, this is, yeah, this is a really cool idea. But being so young, we didn't really know how to start a business. had no connections.

So we started to use the idea in college classes. and I had a few classes together and we would basically do the business plan. We did all like the financial statements and we laid the groundwork. All the professors helped us and that was a really pivotal moment because it kind of gave us this boost and it felt like we weren't doing it totally on our own. So we essentially did everything at the school, launched that early concept and that's how we got started.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (08:20.136)
and kept iterating from there, standing in stores for hours and hours. I mean, we probably collected a hundred something hours, minimum hundreds, just trying to share half day with the consumers and shoppers, see what they think, what they like, what they don't like, iterate. So that was essentially how we got started and saw this need for something in the world.

Ramon Vela (08:28.578)
Thank

Ramon Vela (08:43.726)
And at what point during that time did you have that epiphany or the milestone where you realized like, wow, you know, maybe like we're onto something. This could be, this could be a good business. know, like there's, there's probably lots of those milestones at different phases, but in the early days, when did that, when was that happening? Was it when you first got into retail or I don't know, or maybe someone said something like, don't know.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (09:11.526)
Yeah, yeah, that's a great question. I can't think of one moment in particular. I think it was, it was the culmination of multiple small wins that got us the headwinds. But I mean, there was more things wrong with starting a business than there were signs to do it. So I think about, you know, when Mike came over and tried it that first time, I think about when we use the

the idea for class projects and professors loved it. I think about when we made the first production run and sold it in this local store to us in Blackwood, think it was, actually Glassboro, New Jersey. And I think about the first time that we actually got into retail. So there was a lot of moments where I was like, this is going in the right direction. This is really cool. But I don't think there was one pivotal moment in my mind.

that was the go no go. I think there was a lot of feedback to not do it because of it was a category. You guys are really young, it's cost intensive. You can think of 50 reasons off the top of your head to not start a business. Everyone tells you to don't do it, go get a job. Basically go follow other people's footsteps, things like that, which are great, but it was funny. Mike may have mentioned this. We didn't have

Ramon Vela (10:10.136)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (10:13.965)
Thank

Ramon Vela (10:22.039)
Hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (10:37.556)
any jobs lined up after college. We were all in on this project. And I think maybe that was another reason as to why we kept going. I see a lot of people, or we saw at the time, a lot of individuals start their business while they were in college. And there was an offer that came along that was immediate return. They got a yearly salary. They got the ability to move and do different things. And Mike and I

We didn't line anything up. were, we were going to continue doing half day and those people that had, you know, graduated, went and did their jobs. They folded the business. so I think through, wow, that's actually, there was a lot more times to stop, than actually continue in my mind.

Ramon Vela (11:25.902)
So it feels like there was smaller validation points along the way, like with your teacher and your class and so forth, there was little moments of validation along the way. But really, was that enough? And you just gave us one reason, like you're not having a job lined up, but really, were those things enough to keep you going? What were...

What do you feel was the core why? Because you know as well as I do that even today there's always things, right? There's the economy, there's tariffs, there's COVID, there's all sorts of stuff that goes on, things that you don't plan for that occur. And the only way to keep going is to have a strong why. So what, you know,

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (12:17.774)
Absolutely.

Ramon Vela (12:20.98)
What is your why that you would want people to know that keeps you going and waking up early, going to bed late, you know, taking time from your friends and family and everyone else? What is that why?

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (12:31.405)
Yeah.

Yeah, that's a great question as well. But first, going back to the point you originally made of there are so many reasons not to like the economy. I laugh because you hear all the time, whether you watch Shark Tank, you've probably heard it a million times like, it's a competitive category. it's not a good time to raise money. What is in a competitive category? Show me anything that's not competitive and I will go start a business there because it just doesn't exist. Right. Everything is competitive.

And same thing with raising money and, trying to, know, investors will tell you it's not a good time. I don't think I've ever heard, this is a great time to raise money. It just doesn't exist. They say these things to, you know, either dilute the value or, or try to, you know, put roadblocks in the way or whatever, but we kept going because we saw that there was an actual need for this, right? I was using this during my.

I was using the prebiotic formula and the way that these ice teas were made. I used this during my recovery and flare ups to actually support gut health. And even today we get so many messages from people that say, I'm dealing with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's, know, IBS, any type of digestive disease, colon cancer, anything like that. We get so many people reaching out to us and saying, I am so grateful to hear your story.

It makes me feel seen and heard because this is a silent disease. No one really likes to talk about anything digestive, mental health, things like that. So it kind of goes unnoticed. when we put the story out there to say, Kevan dealt with these things, he was in the hospital, he had multiple surgeries, he's using these prebiotics in his day to day life to help boost gut health and get it back to spot where.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (14:28.992)
It's actually healthy and there's enough of the microbiome to be, you know, obviously good. So I think about that and how many people reach out and it really gets me up every day. I love sharing it with the team. I love sharing those messages and it, every single one I answer and he's anytime someone messaged me Instagram, you know, sends me an email letter, whatever it is. I always make sure to get back to them, give them some words of encouragement. If they're going through a tough time.

their own journey in their disease. And that I think is the outstanding reason why I continue to do this and why we endured so much during those, you know, those early years where there aren't really a lot of signs of positivity. There's more negative things than there are positives. So thank you for asking that.

Ramon Vela (15:09.676)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. And you know, and I think I, when you were, when you were answering the question, it occurred to me that, wow, I think I really do understand what you're saying because it's almost as if you use this to help you through a difficult time and to help you heal. and, and you found comfort in it. You found, you know, a functionality into it and you just feel.

Like you want to share that with others because you know that other people, whether they have certain diseases, where they have gut problems, you know that this is, that this can help them, that you know that this is, that this could be a game changer for them. And, and so you want to share it. You want to, you want to have, you know, you want to make sure that everybody knows about it. And so when you have that kind of almost zealous mission like feel, like you, you.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (16:00.942)
Absolutely.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (16:08.321)
Exactly.

Ramon Vela (16:15.874)
You just want to share it. I know exactly how that feels. I think I might have mentioned to you guys that I had some business failures back in 2008 and it was a real rough time for me. I wasn't sick or anything, but it was really difficult. It took a couple of years for me to kind of shake everything off because I was emotionally and physically just...

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (16:18.35)
Absolutely.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (16:29.678)
crushing.

Absolutely.

Ramon Vela (16:45.612)
just down, like I was just depressed and it was a really difficult time for me. But I found my way out of it. And then afterwards I felt like, man, I feel like I want to help other founders, like avoid the mistakes that I did. I want them not to go through. And so that's one of the reasons why the podcast exists was because I wanted to help other founders, you know, by hearing other stories, other founder stories, but also helping you build awareness for the brand and for the product. you know,

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (16:58.315)
Absolutely, yeah.

Ramon Vela (17:15.252)
I felt I understand what you're saying. I mean, you, probably find it, find it more intense, but I understand what you're, what you're, what you're saying. And I think people can appreciate that because that's a real, that's a real desire that people can relate to and understand. and, then of course the science is there and I've seen the statistics that you've talked about, which, which are, know, and this is funny for me because I have nothing against protein. Obviously we need it and it's great.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (17:43.202)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (17:44.302)
But most people don't have protein deficiencies. Most people have fiber deficiencies. Yeah.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (17:49.981)
Fiber deficiencies. Yeah, yeah, exactly. They're putting protein in everything nowadays. It's very funny. The amount of products that come out, know, protein chips, everything, which is a need. And it's interesting that fiber has been put in so many products, or sorry, protein has been put in so many products, but prebiotic fiber and fiber, even though 95 % of Americans are deficient in it, really doesn't come up in a lot of things. So it's very interesting, like you said.

Ramon Vela (17:54.082)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (18:15.662)
Yeah, I get it. I have that same opinion. So let's talk a little bit about lessons learned. So you guys have been through a lot. You guys have been through different, obviously different things that go on in the economy. There's your own micro economy where you guys trying to build your business.

and you're facing headwinds and you're facing challenges and all of that, what are some of the lessons? mean, if someone came to you, let's relate it to you as much as possible. So if someone came to you and they're college student like you guys were, or maybe right out of college and they have an idea.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (19:02.808)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (19:07.158)
and they look to you and are just so impressed and were like, I want to be Kayvon. I want to be, you you guys. What would you tell them? Is there anything that you would share with them to maybe help their journey?

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (19:13.983)
Yeah.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (19:20.684)
Yeah, absolutely. I see a lot of that happening and it's actually funny you mentioned that we put a lot of time and energy into giving students at our university that we went to mentoring and resources like that. So I always tell them that there really isn't a special moment or one pivotal thing that will make the business become successful.

A lot of, a lot of people have it in their mind that they need to create the product and then launch it and it'll just blow up from there. And they try so hard to hit arbitrary launch dates or do these things until it's not ready. And I always tell them like, there isn't one single moment. There's no single retailer, investor, TikTok, anything like that. That's going to make the business successful overnight.

you know, virality happens and that's, that's, actually, you know, a, a situation different entirely. That doesn't happen to everyone. Right. So it's more of that like unsexy late nights, going to the co packer. I think of the time where Mike was literally there during COVID, they had a shortage of staff and they said either you come in and help us or we're not going to make it you're going to miss your deadlines.

So those are the moments where it actually moves the business forward and, step by step. And Mike and I have a different outlook on this, where when we get into a new retailer, yes, it's a celebratory moment and we like to take a second and pat ourselves on the back, but that's the start. That's, that's zero. And you have to do all of the work after to make it successful. We can celebrate when we're number one in the category. and I tell that to a lot of people is like,

When you get into a retailer, that's fantastic, but that's, that's beginning of your work. and I like to share that feedback as a, addition to, like I said, it's a whole lot of unsexy work. You have to learn to adapt. You have to learn how to manage with most multiple different personalities and share the mission, as to why you're doing this. And that is one of the most important things. So I think resilience and just knowing that.

Ramon Vela (21:37.197)
Hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (21:40.61)
you have to keep pushing forward when you still have those wins or losses for sure.

Ramon Vela (21:45.358)
Is there any particular advice in any of the sort of areas of business that you would emphasize more? Like for instance, in the fundraising component or maybe even if it's like a CPG product, maybe you might think, you know, understanding the, I don't know, the intricacies of CPG.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (22:11.381)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ramon Vela (22:15.244)
Or maybe it's sales, I don't know. What did you find to be the most important area? I mean, they're all important, right? Like you have to wear a lot of hats.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (22:22.048)
No, you're exactly right. Yeah. I think they all have their different importance and focus at different parts of the different times of the business. So, for example, like I think about when I mentor a lot of these students and even going back to half days beginning, why are you marketing before you even have your product operational around shelves? So I think a lot about that, like the importance of those specific sections of the business all reveal themselves at different times. So when we were

trying to launch the brand and we needed product, operations became the most important thing and we needed to pour a lot of focus into that. We couldn't do all of the sections of the business 100%. We just didn't have the time or resources. So after we had made the product and set the supply chain, then I think about, okay, now we have to get the product off of the shelves. So then marketing becomes the most important aspect of it. And then...

After that, you know, we have a little bit of success. We have our operations set. We have our retailer and sales set. Now we need to essentially grow the business. now finance and investing those, those fundraising conversations become of utmost importance. So I can't pinpoint one exact time where we were able to say all three of them were a hundred percent.

They obviously are like you were saying, they're all important, but they all seem to have their fire drills and focuses at different times of the evolution of the business. And I think about, yeah, like operations, finance, sales and marketing, those all happen at different times, I think. So that's the challenging part. We don't have enough resources to put 100 % into every single one of those sections. So we need to divide and conquer.

Ramon Vela (23:56.494)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (24:05.346)
Mm-hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (24:14.156)
And that's what I've learned. And that's the challenging part for sure. I'm still learning that. Yeah.

Ramon Vela (24:17.294)
Yeah, I mean, I, you know, you have to wear different hats and sometimes you have to do things that you have to learn things. I always think it's best for founders to understand a little bit of everything. mean, usually the founder has some sort of skillset that they're already really good at, but, but I often find that it's good to understand a little bit about everything because even if you outsource it eventually, you have to know.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (24:36.664)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (24:46.638)
a little bit about it to know whether it's working or not or what's good or not. But I remember I interviewed the Chomps people, this is like back in 2000, early 2000s. And they told me that they were creating their own websites and their WordPress sites and things like that, back in the days. And they didn't know anything about design or anything, but they just like figured it out after, as best they could.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (24:51.98)
Yeah.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (25:08.408)
Mm-hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (25:15.47)
100%. Yeah, trial by fire, right? Yeah.

Ramon Vela (25:17.59)
Yeah, yeah, you got to, you got to sometimes just figure things out. and it may not be the best and prettiest, but just to kind of keep things going. especially if you don't have funds to like, you know, outsource and whatnot.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (25:26.914)
Yeah.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (25:32.13)
Absolutely. And I was going to mention that as well. I think we were doing that same thing. Every single aspect of the business, when Mike and I were first starting, we learned. And it was a shocking realization that there are so many fragmentations in the market. We didn't know when we first started that the person that you buy the bottles from are different from the person that you buy the bottle caps from, or the person that makes the product, the Co-Packer.

Ramon Vela (25:56.792)
Mm-hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (26:00.738)
doesn't also sell you the bottles. So there's so many different things that we learned on the fly, how to make a website, the different financial statements, know, getting your bank set up, like all of these things that seem very like what type of different LLC or C Corp or whatever. There's a lot of questions that come up and you definitely do need a skillset to be, to understand that. And when you pass that along to the next person, when you hire them,

It is helpful to know for sure.

Ramon Vela (26:33.222)
Yeah, I agree. And let me just remind people, if you want to take a look at what we've been talking about, you can go to drinkhalfday.com. actually forgot to bring me, I still have one can. You sent me quite a bit and I have to tell you, I know that I mentioned this to Mike, but it was very difficult to keep in the house. Like you guys sent me, I don't know, like a case or something, you guys sent me quite a bit.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (26:57.558)
That's good to hear.

Ramon Vela (27:02.522)
and by the time I did the interview with Mike, originally, I was already running out. Like I had to hide some and I still have some. put one like really deep into the refrigerator so people can find it. Yeah. And, and I, cause I wanted it to have during the interview and I, and I apologize. I forgot today, but, but yeah, it was really difficult. and what I mentioned, that I'll mention what I mentioned back then, and I'll mention it today is that for me, I.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (27:13.09)
We're a little way for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

Ramon Vela (27:30.422)
I've covered so many brands and people are gracious enough to send me products and I appreciate that because it's helpful when I do the interviews. And then I can also talk about it from my perspective, but not every, like I share a lot of them with my teen daughter. She's sort of like my co-tester with me. She tests a lot of products with me and she's very healthy and she likes to eat good and she likes to eat real whole foods. and so she has a really good perspective, but

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (27:48.43)
Mm.

Ramon Vela (27:59.372)
You know, she's also a teen, so she doesn't hold back her opinions when it comes to unfiltered. And also, I could tell, like, there are certain products that I think are really good for you, but, like, I will buy them and or try them because I know how good they are functionality-wise. And so I will, whether they taste good or not, I'll think, okay, well, I'm going to do this because I know that the ingredients are good and so forth.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (28:04.14)
Yeah, unfiltered in there. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (28:21.442)
Mm.

Ramon Vela (28:28.002)
She's not that way. It's like her, if the taste isn't good, no matter how healthy it is, she's not going to compare. But I will say that your brand was difficult to keep in the house because not only her, my other, rest of my family were drinking it. So I know that it tasted good. Like a lot of times I have stuff that stayed, like I have to give it away because I don't have enough.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (28:31.764)
not going to consume it. Yeah, that habit will not stick for sure. Yeah.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (28:56.46)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (28:56.942)
But their therm products that just like fly off the shelf, mean, pun intended. It does fly off our pantry shelf. My kids are using it. They love it. So just FYI. mean, to me, like that's a really good compliment that my teen daughter likes it.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (29:06.956)
love to hear that. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, that is a huge compliment and definitely something that we wanted to keep first and foremost. Like why else would you drink drinks if they don't taste good? And that was one of the forefront things that we wanted to make sure was set first and foremost was that the flavor has to be something that's indistinguishable from the classic ones that everyone grew up drinking and know.

because otherwise it doesn't stick. It doesn't become a routine. It becomes more of a chore. And when it's a chore, you put it off and trying to build gut health, it's a muscle. You got to work at it. It's a daily thing, monthly thing, yearly thing. So if we can create these habits of someone cracking open a can every day at lunch or enjoying a few throughout the day where it's not a chore, that makes it so much better and so much easier on your gut health journey for sure.

Ramon Vela (30:05.486)
Yeah, no, I agree And so I want to kind of put you on the spot because I know we're we're limited on time today So I want to put you on the spot. I'm just letting you know I'm putting in a spot but I I like to get to the core of of of the brand in a way because As I mentioned earlier when we're talking about like why I asked a gratitude question and so forth

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (30:16.108)
Yeah, for sure.

Ramon Vela (30:34.454)
You know, people see products on the shelf or online and one they think, it's just some faceless corporation. So one is I like to talk about your challenges and I want people to hear these things because I want them to know that you care about what you're doing. Right. And they also, I also want them to know who you are cave on as a person, because, know, I think that's part of the story and I think people really should know that those kinds of things. But the other thing is that when people do see things on the shelf,

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (30:43.266)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (31:04.728)
they look at products and think, you know, and this is not their fault, but they look at products and think, okay, this product has this ingredient, like let's say fiber, this beverage has this ingredient, and let's say it's also fiber, or they say that it's filled with this and they filled with that, and you know, very similar things. And as consumers, we just don't know. We don't know the difference, because people use the same words and people use the same packaging styles and everything, so we're just,

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (31:28.216)
Mm-hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (31:32.206)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (31:34.662)
as consumers, we're just bombarded and we just don't know what is a good product and why should we try it. And so in these interviews, I always want to make sure that the listener walks away with a clear understanding as to why they should try the product. So if you don't mind, what's something that's really important to you or makes you proud?

about the product that's not found in the labels, not found on the website, not found on social media, but you know that if someone knew about it, it would make a difference in their buying decision.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (32:11.822)
Absolutely. That's a great question as well. I think about what most people don't see is the care and the amount of time and trial that went into creating this product and getting it just right. And not only the flavor, but the ingredients and the genuine gut healthy nature of it. Every can is literally something, and I have one here and I'm sipping in during the interview, is something that

I can enjoy and I know that I can drink it in either a flare or recovery. And so while the brand looks fun and inviting and, and approachable on the outside, there's so much intention and trial that went into creating this. And I think a lot more people knew that they, wouldn't see it as just like another, you know, better for you product or something like you said in the beginning of the interview, like AI generated.

It comes from a real moment in someone's life where they created something to essentially help them through a dark time in their lives. And that's essentially where Half Day came from. And I said it before, I'm so incredibly grateful and proud of the amount of people that reach out and share their stories with us because they feel more seen and heard that someone is coming out and talking about gut health.

that it's an open conversation. And I love that. And that's essentially the why and continues to be something that I'm very proud of. So I think that's a great question. And I hope that I answered it thoroughly enough here.

Ramon Vela (33:46.966)
Yeah, no, I think so. And like I said earlier, I think the key to a world filled with AI is just more authenticity and just really just, you know, sharing the emotion of why you do what you do. And I think you did a great and you have a personal story too that is engaging because it's just it's relatable, right? We all have, you know, maybe if we don't have extreme illness, but we have issues with

with gut health, right? We have issues with, you know, IBS or whatever it is. Yeah. And I think, you know, I think, this is not only just a great product in terms of taste and whatnot, but it's also has some functionality in it. And so it serves a purpose. and I, I, it's important to have that purpose along with your story, because I think people, the

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (34:16.674)
Yeah, absolutely. Everyone has come across that, whether it's themselves or family members. Exactly. Yeah.

Ramon Vela (34:42.542)
it connects them stronger with it. know, like there's an emotional connection to that. So, now this has been great, man. I want to be respectful of your time. I wanted to make sure that we kind of got a little bit of your perspective on some of these and I can't wait to share this with folks. So, thank you, K-Von for spending a little time with us.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (34:45.774)
Mm-hmm.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (34:59.79)
Thank you. Thank you for the fantastic questions. Getting to learn a little bit more about my background and everything in half day. sincerely appreciate it.

Ramon Vela (35:09.708)
Yeah, no, you. Everyone out there, have just had K.Bahn Jahanbash, who is co-founder of Half Day Ice Tea. You can go to HalfDayIceTea.com. I'm sorry, DrinkHalfDay.com to visit the website, take a look, sign up for the newsletter, all of that. And I definitely recommend it. I think this product is...

Well, it fits our tagline, which is products worth buying, brands worth supporting. I really feel like this is a great brand to support. I relate to it from a gut health perspective, but also the story, I think, is one that's compelling to me. And I really feel like I wanna support the brand, but you're supporting it by having a really great product and a product that is very functional, especially if you want to strengthen your gut health.

So go take a look. What I recommend is going to the website, signing up for the newsletter. That way you stay up to date on all the things going on. And then beyond that, we're gonna make sure that we have those links on our podcast description, which you could find on Apple, Spotify, Google, pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, simply type in the story of a brand show and you should be able to find it. Beyond that, everyone, let's thanks again to Kayvon Jehanbash, who is co-founder of Half The IST. Thanks again for being on the show.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (36:30.19)
Thank you. I appreciate it, Raymond.

Ramon Vela (36:32.012)
Now you're welcome. then everyone else stay safe, stay sane, stay healthy. And in this case, if you want to stay healthy, go visit the website. I'm telling you, this is something that's really going to help you. There's a reason why all the samples he sent us were gone in days and I had to actually hide them in order to save some. But go check that out because if you care about your health, I think this is a great product. Beyond that.

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh (36:48.845)
Hahaha

Ramon Vela (37:00.056)
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to another episode of the story of a brand.