Industry insider Vipe Desai has launched a new company that offers a different twist for the action sports market and beyond.
Vipe, well known for his philanthropy work in the industry, founded youth culture consultancy Propaganda Headquarters, and also held marketing positions at Monster Energy and TransWorld.
Here, he tells us about his startup.
I hear you started a new company. What is the product?
True story! I started a beverage company, and it’s called HDX Hydration Mix. It’s based on offering a healthy beverage experience through powder. We use natural ingredients to deliver electrolytes and other beneficial minerals for those that are on the go and want to add something to their water.
Where did you get the idea?
I’ve worked with a few beverage brands, so I understand the business. Over the last few years, I got to experience the business internally at Monster Energy and became much more interested in the category as a whole.
I also had some health problems a few years back and was eventually diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. As I became more familiar with the disease, I came to understand the magnitude of this problem as a nationwide epidemic. I learned that major contributors to diabetes are our choices in what we eat and drink, especially beverages overloaded with sugar.
My involvement as a Surfrider Foundation Board Member also brought to my attention the growing problem of single-use plastic water bottles. Some experts put the number at 2.5 million plastic water bottles discarded every hour just here in the U.S. Now take the amount of other beverages like sodas, sports drinks and vitamin enhanced products that are also packaged in plastic bottles and that 2.5 million number pales in comparison.
I discovered that a powdered beverage product would be a great solution in providing a healthy and environmentally friendlier beverage choice that is low in sugar, suitable for diabetics, has a reduced carbon footprint from transportation due to a lighter packaged good (as opposed to shipping and refrigeration of liquid beverages), and when used with a reusable water bottle, will lead to a shift in society and reduce the overall environmental impact.
Do you have investors? How did you get the funding?
I funded the groundwork, which included trademarks, product development, design, initial inventory, etc. – pretty much getting HDX in proof of concept stage and, more importantly, to the starting line. I knew I would need additional funding and turned to family and friends to raise seed capital. I’m excited to say that we reached our fundraising goal in less than 45 days with the support of some amazing people.
Do you have employees?
No official employees at this time, but we have 4-6 independent contractors that will move into full-time positions as sales ramp up. As an early stage business, keeping our burn rate low and inline is critical to our longevity. We want to be smart, nimble and fiscally disciplined with every dollar we spend.
When will it hit the market?
Our products have already started getting placed. We launched with our first beverage product. It’s part of our Performance category that provides a proprietary blend of electrolytes, amino acids and minerals. It’s perfect for people looking for something that will hydrate them throughout the day and great for athletes that need extra nutrients. Our other product is our stainless steel reusable water bottle.
We’re in a few retail stores already such as Surf Concepts, Spyder Surfboards, Seed Peoples Market, Surfride (Solana Beach and Oceanside), Swell.com, StillWater Café and Wahoo’s Fish Taco. We’re adding more stores regularly.
An opportunity I’m most excited about is with Second Reef in Laguna Beach. We’re currently working with Billabong to install a free public filtered water system. The system will promote the importance of clean water, the use of reusable water bottles and HDX Hydration Mix. It’s a phenomenal installation and brings to light the single use plastic issue and that a solution is easy with a reusable water bottle and HDX. It will be operational by April 22 – Earth Day.
See Page 2 for more about HDX
What is your target distribution?
We’re going to be working closely with action sports retailers. I feel the Health/Wellness/Fitness category is prime for retailers to consider, especially if they have committed some space and dollars to environmentally friendly products. This trend of health and fitness is being embraced and celebrated in other retail sectors. If you look at traditional sporting goods stores, you can find healthy snacks, drinks, etc for outdoor enthusiasts. I feel we have a brand and product that can jumpstart the category in our industry and will hopefully attract retailer support and interest from other sectors promoting similar values of health and environment. We’ll be servicing this account base through reps in the action sports industry.
There are other traditional channels that we’re working on as well, but our industry will be the catalyst for expansion. We’re also looking at international expansion through operations that are either wholly owned by HDX or through Licensing or Distribution arrangements with other action sports brands.
Are you happy to be working in your own company again?
Yes. It was great working for other companies, but I feel more comfortable and productive in an environment where I can be creative and build a team around a product that I can believe in. I’m looking forward to applying both my experience, and that of my colleagues, investors and all those who are excited to see our product succeed. Plus, my brother Dipan Desai, who is a sub-rep for Reef and Xcel, is part owner of this company. Working with him has been very fun.
Why do you think this product will be successful?
People have been looking for a new choice of beverage. The trends in healthier products that also take into account the environmental impact of their choices, makes HDX Hydration Mix a great alternative solution. Other benefits of our product include mobility, convenience and price. We also saw an opportunity with many more people turning to reusable water bottles for their water instead of single-use plastic bottles.
Leading brands such as Billabong, Quiksilver, Hurley, Volcom and Sole Tech have already discouraged the use of single use plastic water bottles in their buildings and have installed water fountains and provided reusable bottles to their employees. Water gets boring after awhile. HDX not only adds flavor, but also other beneficial ingredients. Here’s a link to what BevNet, the leading authority on the beverage industry had to say about our product.
You are the master marketer. Are you using any out-of-the-box marketing ideas?
Haha. Thank you, but I don’t know about being a master at marketing. I do have a passion for understanding consumer behavior and believe that products with purpose, service with a smile and meaningful experiences through shared values will be good for building a sustainable business.
In talking to people in the beverage world, they definitely see us as something new, different and fresh. We’ve received quite a bit of interest from that world. In our industry, we’re getting the same great response, and what I like to call the “above and beyond the call of duty” level of support.
We do have some creative marketing initiatives in the works that have to be experienced and seen first hand. I don’t know if I would call them “out-of-the-box” but more against the grain. I think some of our ideas go completely against what it means to market a brand in this day and age when it seems it’s more about getting as much exposure and visibility as possible than actually allowing consumers to be part of the brand story.
We’re going to create experiences that share the bigger story of how our every day choices affect our health and environment. Buckle up, it’s going to be amazing!
