Ross MacKaymodern co-founder of plant-based chicken company Daring and founding father of performance-enhancing beverage brand Rhythmrecently gave a live keynote to Entrepreneur readers, sharing his knowledge and experience in launching products into over 40,000 stores nationwide. Ross’s pioneering vision for Daring led to him raising $125 million in funding from leading investors and celebrities corresponding to D1 Capital, Peter Thiel, and Drake, in addition to Rhythmwants to mix his personal passion for fitness with a scientifically formulated drink to help athletes and business leaders thrive.
During this inspiring 30-minute session, he addressed several key questions that many startup founders have on their minds, including:
- What are the best strategies for introducing your brand to multiple retail locations?
- Should a recent brand partner with retailers or focus on building an audience first?
- How can a brand select the right retail partners to work with?
- What are effective ways to increase brand recognition and demand without becoming heavily dependent on external financing?
- How essential will the direct-to-consumer sales model be in 2024?
Watch the video above to hear Ross’ advice, and read the highlights below, which have been edited for length and clarity.
His story as CEO
“I’m originally from Scotland in the UK and currently live in Los Angeles. My first company, Daring, started in 2018 when I came home and worked on our plant-based chicken for a few years. We were fortunate enough to be able to move to the United States in the second half of 2019 where I was able to have my first meeting with an investor. He believed in the company and the brand, and over the last four years we’ve grown and found distribution across the country through relationships with Starbucks, Walmart, Whole Foods — you name it, we’re there and doing really well. For the past three months, I’ve stepped down as CEO of that company. I’m now the CEO of Daring and I recently launched my new performance hydration company, Cadence, with my co-founder George Heaton.”
Find where your customer shops
“Is it better to choose online or stationary sales? That’s a great question. When it comes to my plant-based chicken product, I’ve always compared it to the chicken market. That was my biggest competitor. And if you look at chicken consumption, it’s rarely purchased directly from a store. I don’t know about you, but I don’t buy a lot of protein or even food directly from a website. I buy it from grocery stores: Walmart, Target, even Instacart, which is from a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer. So I think the question at the beginning is, Where are your customers shopping today? And understanding that if they’re traditionally buying online, then a DTC strategy might make more sense. But when it comes to something like milk or almond milk, or food products, or beverages, retail channels might be a decision to make.
Numbers that really matter
“Success in retail is not measured by the variety of stores. It’s not measured by the total variety of points of distribution. It’s measured by the variety of units per store per week. And you are going to get the shopper to compare your product to other products in the category. So it is important to understand the way you’re selling relative to your closest competitors. If you are selling a little more, you are in the top percentile. If you are selling less, you are in the bottom percentile. And retailers are going to evaluate once or twice a yr and say, ‘Do we would like to keep this product or do we would like to replace it with something that potentially has higher velocity?’ It’s higher to sell five units a week in 500 stores than one unit a week in 2,500 stores.”
Getting your foot in the door for customers
“I used LinkedIn to connect with Jack Sinclair from Sprouts. I wrote to him and just said, “Hey, I’m Scottish, there’s only a few million of us! I’ve got a product that’s going to change your retail business.” And he said, “That sounds good, we met, and the rest is history. Jack gave me my first chance to land in America and he was my first retailer, so I’ll always be grateful. I think LinkedIn is a great platform. You’d be surprised how many people come back to you if you have a good message and you’re trying to offer them a great opportunity. Their job is to find the best products in the world, so don’t do something they don’t want to see. Put yourself out there.”
Selling your brand to buyers
“Having a strong brand identity and a strong value proposition is really important. You have to understand the white space that you’re filling in the category because that’s the number one question that buyers ask me: ‘We already have this product and this product, what makes you stand out?’ Is it the price? Is it your brand? Are you partnering with a celebrity? Are you using an ingredient that’s really unique and a trend in the market? You have to understand your brand’s unique value proposition and its positioning in the market and then make sure that your brand message is really clear, consistent and resonates with the audience of that store.”
Packaging is key
“You need to optimize your packaging for retail. Many brands succeed online with minimal packaging. But that doesn’t always translate to retail. Shoppers are faced with a shelf that has 50, 100—sometimes 200—brands. You only have three to five seconds to get a consumer to reach for your product. So you need packaging that stands out on the shelf. Communicate your brand story and benefits clearly.”
Entrepreneurship is a marathon
“Being an entrepreneur is a stressful experience. You’re always on the go. There are years and years where you feel like you’re just burning this candle. One of the reasons I started Cadence was for my personal health. I spend a lot of time taking care of my physical and mental health. Starting and running a business is a marathon, not to sound cliché. It’s not a sprint. You have to make sure you can do it for the long term, not just for a few years. Entrepreneurship is amazing, but there’s a lot of uncertainty. There’s risk, and then there’s this concept of work-life balance that I’m still trying to figure out with my second company. The isolation and the time commitment are unmatched. So I applaud anyone who’s on their journey.”
The role of influencers
“At Daring, we were fortunate to have some celebrity interest. We’ve raised capital from people like Drake, Cam Newton, and Naomi Osaka, as well as a lot of musicians, actors, athletes, and celebrities. We’ve also done a few campaigns with people like the Kardashians and so on. But I think it’s very rare that that’s transformative for a retail brand. One thing I’ll always say is that no one is going to change your business for you. No one is going to spend 12 hours a day on your business, 80 hours a week working hard. No one is thinking about your business every second of the day except you, so don’t rely on a partnership to change your business. It comes from you.”