Notes from Chris

Episode 2054

When Vivian Burcescu's Mom immigrated to America from the Netherlands, she took the scenic route, traveling around the world before settling. During her travels, she encountered some unique coffee flavors, including cardamom, a popular addition to coffee in Israel and elsewhere. 

Like mother, like daughter, Vivian enjoyed the exotic flavor of cardamom in coffee—but wasn't as excited about the delivery method. Sipping around cardamom seeds while trying not to choke on them wasn't exactly her ideal cup of coffee. So one day, she went online, purchased a few disposable tea bags, placed the cardamom in them, and voila! Problem solved. She and her Mom were hooked!

For Vivian, this single experience perked an enduring idea. Being health-conscious, she wasn't a big fan of artificial flavor syrups. So maybe, she hypothesized, this was a new way to flavor coffee.

But would Americans like it? Cardamom and coffee tasted great to her and her Mom, but would it be popular to a different audience? After all, it’s not on any Starbucks menu and not widely available in most grocery stores.  

So she started to get crafty, turning her kitchen into a spice flavor lab, hoping to discover flavor combinations that would entice an American audience. This part of the development Vivian enjoyed the most. Testing and tasting: a process she shared with her sisters. 

Their experiments yielded some surprising results. For example, some flavors that she assumed would work didn’t. Peppermint mocha, for example. It sounded like a good idea—but it tasted bitter and awful. But before long, Vivian landed on some delicious combinations, like cinnamon and clove, a spicy flavoring concept.

Next she had to source ingredients. She had to package those ingredients. She had to design the labels and find the right boxes for shipping. All of this cost an investment of $4,000. A price she admits was a bit steep for her, but worth it. Vivian was motivated by the regret of not trying.

Finally, she had to pick a price. She started with the market standard for flavoring syrups, recognizing that her product might be unapproachable if she went above this. She settled on $12 for a box of 20 spice baggies and adjusted slightly based on the ingredient cost.  

Now: how would she get the word out?  Vivian thought that if this product were to be a success, it would take the help of some influencers. So before bringing the product to market, she researched its potential through Instagram. She poked around, getting inspiration and carefully studying the market. Before long, Vivian started to see a path to market.

With a marketing strategy in mind and a proof of concept, Vivian decided to take the plunge. 

She called it Shade in reference to the hint of flavoring—"just a shade of flavor," not overpowering or in your face. She wanted to emphasize her product's subtlety, not its potency.

For her first customers, Vivian started with friends and family. She also connected to a customer base through affiliate Instagram influencers. Influencers with 5,000 to 8,000 followers were willing to help her out for free and were fun to work with.

One of these influencers yielded a surprise market for Vivian. They were similar to Vivian because they were health-conscious and needed to avoid sugary drinks, but for different reasons. Who did she tap into? People with diabetes. They found her flavorings a welcome change to what was available on the market—a win for them and a surprise win for Vivian. 

From this relationship, Vivian made her first big sale. Since she packed the products herself while working a full-time job, it was a daunting task. But she rallied, packaged them up, and shipped them out within the week. 

Little by little, Shade continues to grow. Her website serves as the face of the company and drives some traffic her way. The clear winner is still Instagram. It’s driven her sales the most consistently.  Occasionally, Vivian experiments with different forms of marketing, including paid ads, but the ads have underperformed compared to organic content, so she backed off.

For now, Vivian enjoys the process of selling in farmer's markets, on shelves in coffee shops, and through Instagram reels. She's looking forward to an upcoming cake pop popup and enjoys the creative process of crafting new recipes. 

 

---

  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Shade Coffee Flavor from Vivian's website, shadecoffeeflavor.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Mom-Founded Startup Rents Infant Gear to Tourists: Busy mom in Chicago uses a peer-to-peer sharing platform to earn extra money for her family and help visiting parents get all the baby gear they need for their trip.
• Clothing Store Salesman Invents Baby Harness, Earns $100k Per Year: An innovative salesman creates a baby harness that benefits both parent and child, all the while creating a six-figure side income for himself.
• Paralegal Starts Side Hustle During Maternity Leave: After starting her hustle with a friend, this new mom buys out her co-owner and begins earning $10,000/month selling baby items.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

---

Download Episodes By Months:

Season 8 (2024): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 7 (2023): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |