AJ Anderson - The Coca-Cola Marketer Betting on Pickle Juice

On this episode, we're joined by AJ Anderson, Founder and CEO of Fast Pickle, the 3 ounce pickle juice shot brand bringing real brine into electrolyte replacement. AJ spent five years at Coca-Cola before becoming a serial entrepenenur. AJ breaks down the formulation proces, copacker sourcing, and why the new label says "intentionally hypertonic" instead of calling itself hydration. We get into the packaging design journey too, from a first label he designed himself, through public critique on BevNET's Elevator Pitch, to the black and electric green look he has now. We also cover the tactical stuff. Packing pallets in his garage, cold emailing roughly a thousand specialty stores, using Amazon Market Basket data to find climbing gyms, and the Danny Wimmer Presents festival partnership he expects will drive 25 to 30 percent of revenue this year. --------------- Episode Highlights: 🏃 The family health scare that reset everything 🥒 Why pickle juice instead of another sweet powder 🧪 Formulating a 570mg sodium shot, no added sugar 📚 Hypertonic vs isotonic, and why "hydration" is wrong 📦 Packing pallets in a garage at the top of a hill ⚠️ Shelving the preservative free version on purpose 🥫 The Recovery Seltzer and its pickle margarita flavor 🎨 Three label iterations, flat green to street black 🛒 Cold emailing 1,000 specialty stores, and the reply math 🎸 Selling shots across 80+ bars at rock festivals 📊 Amazon Market Basket data leading to climbing gyms 🔮 Building a challenger brand in a challenger category --------------- Table of Contents: 00:00 – Intro 01:16 – Origin story 04:32 – Why pickle juice 05:35 – Launching January 2025 06:24 – Formulation and the 3 ounce format 06:58 – Co-packer selection and real brine 08:43 – Hypertonic vs hydration 10:44 – A polarizing taste 12:37 – Garage fulfillment and the first pallets 15:14 – The preservative decision and natural retail 17:02 – The Recovery Seltzer idea 18:23 – Specialty channels and Fleet Feet 19:23 – Packaging design iterations 23:55 – Advice on brand identity 26:00 – Go to market and profitable growth 29:27 – The Danny Wimmer Presents partnership 36:07 – Cold emailing 1,000 specialty stores 38:56 – Climbing gyms and Market Basket data --------------- Links: Fast Pickle – https://fastpickle.com/ Follow AJ on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/helloaj/ Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/ Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes. Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.