What happens when you wire $25,000 of your life savings into a 20-foot container of coconut water… without a business plan?

In this episode of Always Business Class, Scott Mendelson, Founder of Raw C, shares the real story behind building one of Australia’s recognised coconut water brands from scratch and why he is now taking on the 350 million person US market.

We talk about selling one box on day one.
Driving nine hours around Sydney trying to convince stores to stock a product nobody understood.
Competing in a Coles and Woolworths dominated market.

And the compounding power of showing up in person.

Scott unpacks why naivety can be a competitive edge, how coconut water penetration jumped from 11 percent to over 26 percent, and why flying 15 hours for a two-hour meeting secured a US national retailer.

This is a conversation about long games.
About protecting factory relationships in Vietnam.
About category growth versus ego.
About not dying wondering.

If you are building a consumer brand, negotiating with major retailers, or thinking about expanding beyond Australia, this episode will sharpen your thinking.

Guest

Scott Mendelson
Founder, Raw C

Raw C: https://rawc.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raw_c/

Sponsors

Join Flights Club: https://iflyflat.com.au/membership/

Accor Plus Explorer Membership: https://www.accorplus.com/explorer-membership/

Chapters

00:00 The $25,000 Container
02:52 Why Start FMCG With No Experience
05:22 Selling One Box
10:24 Coconut Water’s Category Growth
16:30 The US Retail Breakthrough
34:19 Factories, Loyalty and Long-Term Thinking
49:59 Taking on America

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