On this episode, we’re joined by Jordan Wilson, Co-Founder & CEO of Sap’s, the clean, canned hydration brand built to deliver “powder-stick efficiency in an RTD can.”
Jordan opens up his R&D playbook (coconut-water powder, a small amount of natural sugar, shiitake/adaptogens, and acidity/mouthfeel), explains why Sap’s moved from sleeves to digitally printed cans, and breaks down the realities of scaling with regional DSDs.
We get tactical on EOS and core metrics, hiring, H-E-B’s flex-item authorization and how Jordan is working to solidify a permanent place on the shelf, c-stores, demos and the “experiential channel” Sap’s is building through run clubs, golf, and pickleball.
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Episode Highlights:
💧 Formulating a daily-use hydration RTD in a can
🧪 Iterating flavor at scale: acid profile, off-note fixes, “easier to chug” mouthfeel
🥫 Why the can matters: sustainability, shelf pop, and social cues vs. PET
🎨 Visual identity that signals “pre-sugar Gatorade” trust
🧵 Sleeves vs. digitally printed cans: COGS, line speed, and operational complexity
🚚 Distributors: when small DSDs beat big houses, and how to make both win
🏪 H-E-B flex authorization
🛒 C-store strategy
🎟️ Building an “experiential channel” (run clubs, golf, pickleball)
📊 Operating cadence: EOS rocks and scorecards
👥 Why Sap’s hired a Chief Sales Officer
🔭 Brands & trends Jordan is watching across hydration, better-for-you, and athleisure
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Table of Contents:
00:41:28 - Intro and origin story
03:20:22 - Formulation and R&D
07:28:15 - The impact of the can packaging form factor
10:48:21 - Visual identity and packaging design
12:15:17 - Sleeves vs digital printed cans
14:45:00 - Recs for the brand identity and vis id development process
15:49:06 - Distributors, big vs small, how to optimize for success
19:41:01 - Retail, flex auth at H-E-B, pushing velocity, demos
23:28:20 - C-stores
26:27:06 - Sap’s “experiential channel”
27:55:20 - Metrics, EOS
29:10:12 - Hiring, the new Chief Sales Officer
31:30:00 - Brands and trends Jordan is following
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Links:
Sap’s - https://www.sapsoriginal.com
Follow Jordan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-wilson-13209159/
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 KitPrint.
