Julius Makarewicz - Founder & CEO at Nude Beverages

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Thank you, Casey. Thank you for having me.

So, Nude beverages, man, from a high level, I'd love for you to just talk about and give the audience some insight on what Nude beverages is and when you initially started it.

Yeah, 100%, man. So I started working on Newt in 2013. At the time, I was a university dropout. I had a few jobs. I had a few random jobs, like working at startups and learning what I can. But I was looking for a concept. I was looking for something that I could really sink my teeth into. And I knew I wanted to start a company, so I was constantly looking for things. And one day I was out at the bar and I was drinking a vodka soda, and I just kind of. It kind of occurred to me, I was like, why hasn't anyone put a vodka soda or a vodka soda, like, beverage in a can? They're so good, they're so easy to drink, they're so refreshing, and you don't get as much of a hangover the next day. And at the time, everything on the shelf was super sweet and super sugary or beer. And I can't drink a lot of beer, so I have mild celiac, so I can't. There was nothing for me on this liquor store shelf. So I started looking into it and started kind of learning about how the liquor industry works and how the beer industry works. And then I thought of the name Nude and I was like, oh, okay. As soon as I thought of the name, I was like, this is it. We got to do this. This is it. And I had this vision of a white can in my head. So I started working on it kind of on the side of my desk in my full time job and got the formulation together and got the branding together and got the team together and in 2017, so like three and a half years later, finally launched and we kind of became an overnight success up here. So we were the market. Yeah, we were the first ones to really move in western Canada on it. Since then, we've become the market leader, like not only in the, you know, sugar free category, but just overall, like in the, in the mixed beverages, canned cocktails category. Yeah, it's been, it's been really good. And we got several products. We have our hard seltzer, which is our flagship product. We have our hard iced tea. We have our hard tequila soda. And anything we make, no matter what it is, is sugar free and sweetener free, so. So strip down the things that you don't want.

I love it, man. You guys are crushing it. I believe I read you guys have sold more than 85 million cans. Is that right?

Yeah, I think we're getting closer to 100 million now. It's great.

Congratulations, man. That's incredible. Where like when you first started it, what were some of the first moments that you had when it comes to distribution and just getting the product out there? Like, what was that initial process from having the product, having everything ready to go, to actually forming partnerships and selling the product to now almost 100 million cans later?

Yeah, it all starts with doing it yourself and going into stores. Like, I think a major thing for people in the, in the CPG space is to like live in stores, like go in the stores yourself, because you can hire on an agency, you can hire on salespeople, all that stuff, but nobody's gonna have as much passion as you. So going into the store and actually making those sales calls was a major part of the company's early success for sure.

So what that means is like you would personally walk into the store with a product on hand or like walk us through the process of what that means. Like we're just walking into the store. Like, what do you ask, who do you talk to and what's the process there?

Yeah, so at the time, the product wasn't even made. This was doing pre sales. Right.

Okay.

So what you do is you have like, literally it was just a sell sheet. I didn't even have a sample of it. So you'd walk into a store, you ask for the manager. Usually you're nervous because you're not used to doing liquor store and grocery store sales, right? And then, yeah, you see if you can get a hold of somebody and you tell them what you're about and you kind of whip up the courage to approach them and pitch them the best you can. And a lot of times, you know, whether you're nervous or not or whether your sales pitch is good or not, they'll appreciate the fact that you walked up to them. And some of the times, you know, I'd make a pre sale.

Yeah, I love it, man. Very cool. How has the team scaled from walking in, doing those pre sales to where you guys are today? Like, what does the team look like? How have you guys been able to build culture and what's really exciting and what's the most exciting thing that the team is working on right now?

So the team, right now we're just over 30 people all across North America. So, you know, several here in Vancouver, but we got people all across the US and all across Canada. And like, our culture really is similar to our name. It's like we're very. Just nude. Like, we do business very simple and we don't. There's no bullshit, there's no politics, there's no drama. We like to keep things, you know, very simple. And yeah, just like everybody in the company, on top of being good at what they do, has to be fundamentally a good person. So you have a really good crew. And I'm very grateful for the culture that we have here. It's pretty amazing.

I love it. What do you think makes, what do you think creates that simple, efficient team? Because I think any founder would love for that to be the case when it comes to non political, straight to the point, simple. Like, what creates that culture internally?

You have to lead by example. So I try not to get too caught up in the drama. Like, and I try to just. And also, like, if there's an issue, the best way to solve it is just to, you know, face it head on and just. Or if two people are fighting, they're talking, talking to you about it, like, just have them talk it out. Just bring it all to the surface. Like, don't get me wrong. Like, we like every company has their issues, but yeah, we like to try to stay away from the drama.

I love that, man. So when you were coming up with this business idea, did you have any other ideas that stuck out to you or was it literally you came up with Nude. And then you went headfirst in that. I think a lot of entrepreneurs, it comes down to picking and choosing what business you want to start. So for you, was it ever a decision between two different things? Was the alcohol business something you wanted to get into? Or kind of walk us through the stories, story about why the alcohol business and what made you really pick that.

Well, actually I had already had a failure at that point. So back, back in my, like early 20s, I hadn't. I had a concept for an app company and I won't get into the details of what it was, but long story short, it was just, it was a colossal failure. It was an absolute mess. But from that mess, I, I learned just a lot of. I learned a lot of things from it. And I. And then I knew what, whatever I was looking for next, I wanted to be really passionate about it. Because I wasn't passionate about it. That was the main thing. Like, I just, I was doing it more to start a company, not because I actually cared about the product or loved the product. So when the, so when the idea for Nude came along, it was like it was something that I was actually really passionate about. And really like, I, I wanted to see this on shelves. And I think that's the main thing is like, don't think of making money or don't think of trying to please somebody or trying to create something that consumers will like. Try to create something that you'll like because if you like it, there's probably going to be other people that like it as well. And that was kind of my thinking with Newt. I was like, I want to see this on shelves. I don't care about the money right now. Obviously this has big money potential, but like, primarily and first and foremost, I want to have this product. So yeah, yeah.

What was the hardest part about creating the actual product? Going through flavor samples, like, walk us through that process. I'm sure that was a journey in and of itself.

Yeah, I mean, I was lucky. I met a formulator early on that was really good. His name's Andre. He's out of New York. And I actually flew out to New York on a weekend because I had a full time job and kind of worked with him on the formulation and told him what I needed. And yeah, he came back with something just tasted amazing. So we worked together for a while. And yeah, it's all about finding the right person. Like when coming up with a new beverage or a new concept or a food concept, it really comes down to the formulator or the food Scientists that you work with? For sure.

What would you recommend for people out there that are getting into the beverage business? Like what are the things to look out for when working with different food samplers or food scientists?

There's a lot of. Okay, so I got duped by a lot of people like early on because you don't know anything about the industry. People are always trying to, trying to mess with you and trying to like upcharge you. Like for example, like I had some issues with like a co manufacturer at first. That was like just charging way too much.

Yeah.

And it was just, it was just like I look back at the amount of money that we were being charged and I'm like, that's just robbery. Right. So there's a lot of people that try to. So all I would say to that is, you know, get different price quotes early on. Like talk to multiple people. Don't just take the first person that promises you the world.

For sure. I love that. When you first got the product in stores, how were you able to build all their different relationships to just build it into a very sustainable, high level business? Because I'm sure like that there was a tipping point. What was the tipping point for you when it comes to scale and actually getting the product out there to the masses?

I honestly don't know because it really, it really just like as far as like what was the tipping point? It's the same thing over and over. Like you just like that first going to stores, that continued and that continues to this day. Like I personally don't go to stores anymore. Like we have an entire sales team. But it's the same thing. It's just being on the street and going into stores and talking to buyers and talking to key accounts managers just over and over and over again and never stopping that sales process. But to kind of answer your question, like the time when I knew that we were at a tipping point that this was bigger than just a startup was when I saw people dress up as nudes for Halloween. That was the bad. Yeah. The first year, I think it was the second year or something, there was like more than a dozen people dressing up as cans of nude. And that's when I knew I was like, okay, this is, it was the coolest, coolest.

That's incredible, man. Like speaking on like for example, the whole spiked seltzer white claw movement. Right. Like me, I've seen this movement really explode the last five years or so. And as a consumer, what were the biggest differentiators for you when starting. I know that you talked about sugar free and low calorie. What were some of the early things that you needed to do to really stand out from these other companies that were looking to do the same thing?

Well, okay. To be honest, at the time, it was so sparse that there wasn't really any competition. Like, like, and especially in 2013, like, when I first thought of it, there's nothing. Like, nothing at all. By the time I launched it in 2017, there was a. There was an Eastern Canadian company out that was doing a little bit of volume there. White Claw was launched at the time, but I never even heard of them because they were state. They were stateside. Like, Spiked Seltzer was. Was in the. On the east coast as well. But we didn't really have to differentiate too much because there was like, just the fact that we didn't have sugar sweetener. Like, we were different than anything that was ever, like, people ever saw before. So.

Got it. Well, I want to sort of pivot the conversation from this point. Like, early childhood, like, what were some of the early days? And I want to go back into your story as an individual, Julius. Like, where did you grow up? Where did you go to school? What was that process like? And who were you as a kid?

Yeah, I. So two things kind of shaped me as a kid. One, my parents are immigrants from Poland, so they. They moved to Canada. I was born in Canada, and then I was. So I have a little bit of an international background just by my parents. And, you know, instead of going to Disneyland in the summers, we go back to, like, Warsaw in Poland. Right. So, yeah, that was definitely shaping. And then the second thing that shaped me was I grew up in a small town that you've never heard of called Powell river, which is a town of 20,000 people in Canada. So I had a really, like, small town Canada upbringing, which I think shaped me in the way that, like, it's like small town Canada is just nice people. Like, it's just good, good people. And that's what I always try to bring to the culture at nude is like, at the end of the day, like, you know, we want to sell some volume and we just want to do some good and be good people. So, yeah, I think that that shaped me a lot. For sure.

I love that, man. And I know that you originally touched on this, but growing up in Canada, like, were you nowadays, like, coming to the U.S. often, or when it comes to nude in the U.S. how has that scaled after starting the company and being a Canadian first focused company and what did that transition look like when it comes to the US Market?

At first it was really tough. Like, so the Canadian marketplace and the US Marketplace are two completely different beasts. The US Is a three tiered system, which for anyone that doesn't know what that means, it means it's absolutely complicating. Fuck. They're complicated as fuck. So it's very tough to break into. But now we figured it out. I have an amazing team stateside. We've really figured out what we're doing. We're working with distributors, we're working with retailers, and we're slowly but surely rolling out. Got it.

When it comes to marketing strategies, social media, how have you guys approached that when it comes to being an alcohol brand? And what, what are the limitations and things to look out for when advertising on social media?

Yeah, like, I look at marketing, very simple. Like, of course you have to, you have to follow the rules. There's like some very fundamental rules in the liquor business. Like, don't market to anyone under 21. Like, you know, and then there's a lot of intricacies with that. But when it comes to our overall marketing strategy, it's just do cool shit. It's really simple. Like things that we think, things that we think are cool. We have an amazing team and they just, they put out things and do campaigns that they would want to see. Yeah, it's kind of, it's kind of the same thing as like, you know, my thoughts for starting the company. It's like, I'm not in this to like make money or get consumers. Like, I just want to make something that I enjoy. Same with our marketing. Like, we just do stuff that we want to see. You know, do we do things that we think are cool? So, yeah, very cool.

When you, if you look at yourself as the founder, like, where do you spend majority of your time and energy looking into the future?

A lot. It's a lot of sleepless nights, man.

Yeah.

But yeah, like, I spent, I'm spending a lot of my time right now on the US Especially. Cause that's where the most growth is happening and that's where we need to, you know, we need to succeed right now. So I'm spending a lot of time working with our US team for sure, but also working with the marketing team and coming up with some cool stuff.

Yeah, very cool. What would you say has been the most challenging part about scaling this company and what advice would you have for any entrepreneur getting into not only the beverage business, but just the liquor business overall?

Yeah, you know, What? Early on, the biggest challenge was money, because, you know. You know how, like, it's. You know how it is. Like, I was. I was pretty young. Like, I was in my early 20s. Like, not as long as you. When you started, but, like, you know, when you're in your mid-20s and don't have a, you know, any track record of success, it's really tough to raise money. It's really hard to get people to write a check to back you. So that's really what took me so long to launch it. Like, from inception to launch, it was about three and a half years. And most of that time was just trying to find money and try to get people to write checks. But when they finally did, it was amazing. Now it's easy to find money, but at the time, it was, like, it was the toughest thing I've ever done. So, yeah, I'd say my biggest challenge date for anything has been raising money, for sure.

Got it. Are you allowed to share the public, like, amount raised initially or what did that look like when it comes to raising money? Like, how much did you raise and how long? Not how long did that take anyone over that. But when it comes to us raising capital on this idea, how much were you raising and who ended up being that one person that bet on you?

Yeah, it was $300,000. So. So it was, like, just enough to get it started. And it was two people that put in the first. First money together. And it was. The one thing about both of them was, you know, we were talking to them for a little bit at that point. So it was like, it wasn't just like an overnight thing. It was kind of like over several months, and then. And then the money finally came in. So it's never right away. Like, you have to, like, really? Yeah, really, like, you have to build the relationship. And I remember getting feedback and then, you know, came back with the feedback, like, whatever the feedback was, like, you know, coming back and fixing that problem.

I love that, man. Yeah.

So, for example, one of them had an issue with the branding. He's like, I don't think we're ready to launch this. I don't think you're ready to launch this with the branding the way it looks. So I came back with new branding and came back with a bunch of other stuff that was requested.

So how many, like, for context, how many pitch meetings do you think you had before you got those two people that said yes? I think that's something that every entrepreneur likes to know and loves to hear.

Yeah. I'm not making this number up. Over a hundred. Over 100. Like for. It was brutal. It was like a hundred no's to that point. Like over a hundred, like probably 150 times that I was turned down.

And were these people, I'm curious, were these people that you already had relationships with, you were cold emailing and pitching or like what was the pitch process like for you?

It was anyone and everyone. It was through contact. So it was just through like asking people to like introduce me to other people with money. It was just like that over and over and over again. It was, yeah, it was non stop and it, and it really sucked. Like when you get turned down that many times, you start thinking that you're a little bit of a loser. So it's, it's brutal. But, but yeah, like, it's just, that's kind of what I've seen. Separate people that succeed and people that don't succeed is not like the brains, not the sales skills, but it's just that driving force to just keep going and going no matter how many times you get punched in the face. Like, you just keep going. Yeah. And don't give up.

What was it that drove you through that process? Like where did you find the mentality or what created that inside you to just keep on going? Like, do you have any mentors? Was that just an innate quality of yours or what would you say created that consistency and that habit when raising capital?

Well, number one, like, I knew I, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur so like I just had to do it. But number two, and like most importantly was the product. Like, I knew that the product was so good. I knew it was going to be a success. Yeah, I had, I had this vision in my head. Like I thought about it all day, every day. This, like this, this white can beverage, right?

Yeah.

And it was, I was, I was obsessed with it. I was like, this has to go on shelves. Like I can't not put this on shelves. So.

Yeah, I love that, man. So when you say like, I know like the white can beverage and for everyone that hasn't seen it, I'll make sure to link it down below so they can, they can check it out. But what was it about the white can that stood out to you and like, why so much emphasis on it that created the obsession for the product?

Like, so I already knew what it tasted like because it was formulated so that like the formulation, I just knew it tasted good. But then just the look of it and just, just like it's so plain and minimal. Like, like, and just the way that everything worked together. Like a very like nude, minimal type branding with a very minimal type beverage and in something that's never been done before. Yeah, it's just, it just drove me.

And I think too, like, even just like looking at the website and seeing the brand that you created, like, it stands out and it's a statement. And that leads me to like, what do you think creates a great brand and what are some of the key characteristics that you guys try to stay consistent on when building this brand from this point on?

Yeah, I think just consistency. Like we have our brand guidelines and like how we want to appear everywhere and what we're about and who we are. And I think just maintaining that consistency in everything we do, whether it's like a social media post or any product that we launch or anything at all. I think great brands are just, they're simple, you know, like, they stick to a set of rules and it's just, they are what they are and it is what it is. And that's kind of how I look at it. Like, you know, if people want to drink us, great. If not, no worries. But like, we're gonna keep putting out the best product every single time. We're gonna put everything into it. And if people want to try, like, you know, great. We appreciate that.

So I love that. How have you guys stayed on that, just like on that mission since day one or has the branding changed at all? I know that you said some of the early pitches, you had some feedback, but how many times have you had to really pivot when it comes to the branding or has it really been something that you started it and it's staying consistent?

Honestly, it stayed pretty consistent. Like, that's amazing. The first. So back in 2000, I found this in my computer recently, like the first branding. Like, for anyone listening, you won't see it, but it was this, like I made it on like a city little program. So it just says like nude and shitty handwriting. But it's black. The black writing on a white background. Yeah, and just like it started with this and ended obviously way nicer. Like my sweatshirt right here. But yeah, actually that's what's back here. I got it. Shitty logo that I made into like a neon sign.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's incredible, man.

Yeah, so it hasn't changed much. It was always like, it was always kind of back in my mind, like, you know, black writing on a white can and it's a, you know, sugar free vodka soda or hard Seltzer type beverage.

Love that, man. Where do you spend most of your time day to day? I know that you talked about U.S. operations and team, but like on a day to day basis, what keeps you motivated and where do you spend your time?

Yeah, so US Sales. Like anytime I can get a sales win or help out the US sales team in that, that definitely gets me fired up. Because right now in the US it's kind of like the early days in Canada. Like every single, every single win we get is the greatest thing ever.

That's amazing.

But then a lot of boring shit too. Like a lot of finance right now, a lot of cash flow, a lot of forecasting, a lot of planning. There's a lot of not fun stuff on top of like. But sales. Sales and marketing is where I love it. Like that's. Yeah.

Are you guys all remote?

So we have a about a half crew at head office here, but most of most of our team is remote right now. So we're at the office, we're super safe. It's super spaced out and we kind of like swap people out to come into the office. But most of our team is remote. Yeah.

Got it. Very cool. Was that a transition for you guys? Like, do you guys plan on staying with the remote type of lifestyle or do you prefer the in person office environment?

You know what, for me, like, definitely in person. Cause like, I don't know, like, I just feel like sometimes something really simple, like in when you're remote, you have to like set up a zoom meeting for it and like go through the motion and check schedules with people where like when everyone's kind of in one place, you just walk across the hall and you just go, hey, like what do you think of this? And then you go, oh, like let's ask what Steve thinks. And you bring Steve over and you're like, hey, what do you guys think? It's way easier in person. But it hasn't been that bad. It's been pretty good. We've adjusted pretty good to the. Yeah, I love that.

Do you ever. I'm curious, like, as a founder, do you ever go to different stores and you see your product and like, what is that feeling like when you now have sold over 100 million cans, you guys are in stores all over Canada and now the US what is that feeling like as the founder when you see your brand in stores?

It's awesome. Every single time. And when I see somebody buy. When I see somebody buy our product in stores, it's still the greatest thing I get. So Happy. Every single time.

If you see someone pick it up, like, do you as, like the founder go up to them or you just sort of watch and see what happens? Like, oh, that's amazing.

Oh, I know. I buy. I buy it from every. Like, almost every single time I see someone buying product, I'll just buy it. I'll buy it for them. I'll be like, hey, thank you for supporting. That's awesome. You made this choice on your own. So I usually just end up getting it for them and our staff. And yeah, I tell the staff, like, all the time too. Like, anytime you see somebody picking up a six pack or 12 pack, like, buy it for them. Yeah, that's a fan and, you know, they should be taken care of.

That's actually. That's really cool, man. Like, that small gesture, like, if that happened to me in store, I would not only be a bigger fan, but an evangelist for the product.

Right.

If the founder comes up to me or someone from the team buys the, you know, the cans for me, like, that's incredible. And I'm super glad you pointed that out, man. That's super unique.

Yeah. Happy? Do it.

Yeah, totally. Taking a step back, what were some of your early ambitions? I know that you said you always wanted to be an entrepreneur and you wanted to build something on your own. Like, did you have any other ambitions or trajectories or goals early on that maybe that you're not focused on right now, but have always been top of mind?

Yeah. Like, alcohol was always a weird. Like, something I was weirdly interested in. Like, I. I remember being a kid and I would make cocktails for my parents. Like, I was like. I was like, I don't know, 12 or something.

Okay.

And we had this cocktail book at home, and I'll just make them like, like random drinks. Like, yeah, gin and tonics and blue lagoons and like all this.

That's cool.

Random stuff. And I just always, like, I was always in the liquor cabinet, like, not drinking. Like, I wasn't. I wasn't drinking when I was a kid, but I was always just looking at the bottles and looking at the brands and was very. I was just weirdly interested in it.

Yeah.

And I. So I think. And I'm Polish, so Polish people love drinking, for sure.

What is. What does your family think about everything that you've built? Like, what are. Like, what were their first impressions when you were getting the product? And then now what do they think after getting to this point?

Well, they're really happy now, but you got it you got to remember, like, dropping out of school at a university for immigrant parents is like the worst thing you could do on the planet. Like, for people that come from a different country looking for safety and looking for like, like just a safe lifestyle. For me to drop out of university was like, it was pretty brutal when I did it, but. And, like, they had no faith in me. They're like, oh, he's, he's screwed. Like, he's gonna be a. He's going to be a failure. And then I work these random jobs and they're like, what is he doing? But. But, yeah, like, they always, even though they were like, this is crazy what you're doing, they always kind of believed in it. They always kind of just gave. Like, at the end of the day, we're like, okay, well, hope you know what you're doing.

Yeah.

And now they're like, how did that happen?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's incredible. So what was the decision that made you drop out?

I was sitting there in the classroom, like, I was just having a really bad day. Like, I took the bus to. It was like a 45 minute bus ride to the university. And I went to this class and it was a statistics class, and there's 200 people in and around me. And I was like, I just looked around. I didn't know anybody. I was learning stuff that I had already learned. And I was just like. And also stuff that you're never going to use. And I was. I was like, fuck this. And I just. That was it. I was like, I'm not doing this anymore. Like, I can't do this.

I hate it.

I just. I hate it. I hate it so much that I just had to have to leave.

So that's incredible. Well, Julius, this has been an amazing conversation. Last thing that I want to say is just looking into the future, like, what most excites you and what can the people listening today look forward to when it comes to new beverages?

For sure. Yeah. Like, I mean, I'm just very excited about getting our hard seltzer across the states. Anybody listening? You know, when you see it on shelves, please give us a try. But I'm also really excited about our iced tea. Our hard iced tea. It doesn't have any sugar sweetener whatsoever. And it's probably one of the most crushable, easy to drink things I've ever had. And then last but not least, in a few months, we're going to be launching our Tequila soda stateside. So when we launched our Tequila soda over a year ago, it was the world's first tequila soda in a can. And it's. It's amazing. Like, basically everything that we do. Super crushable and super excited to roll it out across the US So. Yeah.

That's incredible. Well, Julius, thank you so much for coming on the show today. Is there a. Where's the best place where people can follow you and follow nude.

You know what? Nude beverages on Instagram. That's where our brand really lives. That's where we put the most effort behind. We have an amazing marketing team that puts their heart and soul into it. So definitely at Nude beverages on Instagram. Yeah.

Awesome. Well, Julius, again, thank you so much for coming on today. I had such a great time, and I'm looking forward to continuing to watch you guys crush it over here. Yeah.

Thank you, Casey. Really appreciate your time, man, and much respect. Legacy of Monsters. An Apple original series.

The world is on fire.

I decided to do something about it on November 17th. This place, it's not ours. Believe me. The most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything.

I promise. Oh, my God. Go, go, go.

Monarch. Legacy of Monsters, streaming November 17th only on Apple TV. Plus.