A Healthier Indiana - Matt Whiteside
Matt Whiteside - Matthew is the Co-Founder and CEO of Circle Bev. Circle is a vertically-integrated, better-for-you beverage company. Circle targets the cross-section of functional, low sugar, clean label, and sparkling characteristics in its products. Circle is a growth-stage beverage industry disruptor that is primed with in-house manufacturing & co-manufacturing capabilities, deep distribution relationships in multiple verticals, and a multi-product portfolio.
There are a lot of beverages out there that are filled with added sugars and preservatives. One of Circle Bev’s main priorities is creating healthy drinks. Why is this so important to your company?
Matt: “When we started Circle, my business partner Skyler and I just had a vision to be able to bring healthier products to the Midwest. I am also a Type One Diabetic. Diet, health, and wellness has always been really paramount to who I am as a person. Our mission, since 2015, has been to see how we can make beverage products that people crave and enjoy, but also make them healthy-which is contrary to a lot of drinks on the market that are packed with sugar, chemicals, and other negative ingredients. The foundation of our company has always been about helping people find balance and feel good through beverages. We have a long way to go because there are still a lot of Coke and Pepsi trucks out on the road. Our goal is to hopefully provide people with a good alternative.
According to World Population View, Indiana is the 11th most obese state within the U.S.. What do you think Indiana, as a community, can do better to ensure we drink healthy, beneficial beverages and stay away from the highly processed drinks?
Matt: “Before I started Circle, I worked at IU Health. I vividly remember a speech that CEO Dennis Murphy gave. He talked about how Indiana was, exactly like you said, 11th on the overall health and wellness rating nationwide. He then went on to say how every one of us has a role to play in improving that because nobody wants to live in an unhealthy community. I really do believe that every one of us has a role to play. Beverages are a way we [Circle Bev] can help contribute to the solution. Generally speaking, by paying people a livable wage, providing benefits, creating a healthy work environment, and making space for people to go to the gym or do something active each day, we can help make this a healthier place. Indiana revolves around accessibility. That being said, a lot of people aren't aware that the unhealthy foods they're putting in their bodies are having such serious impacts. If you look at the cancer rates in America over the last 50 years, it is directly correlated to the increase in the consumption of processed foods. Indiana needs improvement in access to finances and resources for food education. Access, in general, is something that we all can improve on.”
Circle Bev Kombucha has very original and interesting flavors like Peach Blossom and Ginger lemon. How do you pick the flavors you produce? Also, how do you know that these flavors will be able to compete against more surgery, unhealthy drinks?
Matt: “As a company, our process has definitely matured through a lot of trial and error. In the early days, we would throw a bunch of ideas against the wall and see what stuck. It was easy back then because we were small enough where we could make a new product, maybe 10 gallons of it, and then take it to the farmers market and see how it does. As we get bigger, the stakes are higher so we can't exactly just throw stuff against the wall as often. Over time, we've refined our process to include things like using the Purdue Food & Science Laboratories to do some consumer panel testing on our products. Partnering with Purdue has helped us do R&D on products and determine what flavors work for different types of people and what doesn't work. Also, just listening to our consumers has really helped us refine things. I wish I could say there was a magic bullet as to how we got here, but it's a lot of trial and error. It is a lot of looking at the data and partnering up with great programs, like Purdue.”
Your company is just five years old and is already such a huge success. What piece of advice can you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs that truly want to make healthy, fresh products for their community?
Matt: “Surround yourself with a support system of people who have started and scaled a company before -- both those who have succeeded and those who have failed. If you are aspiring to start something new then you don’t need broad business or leadership advice. You need battlefield advice from those who have walked the path before. One of the aspects that I appreciate most about Indiana is the “Open Door” policy that so many of our battle-tested entrepreneurs follow. When it comes to mentorship and entrepreneurial support I cannot think of another state that has such a broad community of experts that is willing to take a cold call meeting just to help. You just have to ask.”
Within Circle Bev’s mission statement, it says one of yall’s core values is ensuring healthy drinks like these are accessible to everyone. With a drink that requires such a tedious and focused production, how do you manage to not only cater to the people that can afford it, but also the general population as well?
Matt: “One of the biggest challenges in health and wellness is the dichotomy between cost and benefit. Unfortunately, right now, making healthy products is more labor intensive and cost inefficient compared to processed foods. One of our major focuses is, “How do we make things affordable and still accomplish our objectives?” By no means is our product the same price as a bottle of Coca Cola, but we're doing our best. Every year we find ways to drive cost down to make our products more and more efficient - both from a cost and flavor standpoint. Every penny we take off is the chance for more people to enjoy it [Circle Kombucha] on a daily basis. We manufacture all of our own products in house, as opposed to a lot of companies that outsource, which gives us control of our own destiny. Each year, we look at our inputs, (labor, materials, rent, and everything that goes into running the production) to see what we can do to make things more affordable and accessible to all. We've made progress. We've been able to drive our prices down in most areas on a year to year basis, but our mission is certainly only just starting. We're working our tails off to continue in that positive direction.”