Shows
Bísness SchoolKayla Castañeda: This woman left her job at Coca-Cola to launch her own 'aguas frescas' companyWhen Kayla Casteñeda was a child, she spent several days at her grandparent's house in Central California — where she learned how to prepare “aguas frescas” with the ripe fruit that her grandfather, a farmworker, collected from the fields. “Agua fresca,” which literally translates to “fresh water,” is a popular type of beverage in Mexico and Latin America. The drink is made from an array of fruits, flowers or seeds blended with water and sugar. In the middle of the pandemic, Castañeda decided to honor her family’s heritage and created Agua Bonita, a brand of canned aguas frescas that conta...2025-04-3026 min
Dale Sabor A Tu Salud by Tadin Herb & Tea Co.Episode 48: Seasons of Struggle, VC Funding & Imperfect Fruit with Kayla Castañeda of Agua BonitaToday, host Chef Carla Contreras is joined by Kayla Castañeda, the founder of Agua Bonita, about her business journey, the challenges of securing funding as a woman, and her success in pitch competitions. Kayla discusses her journey from working at a large beverage corporation to launching her business during the pandemic. Her company, Agua Bonita, is rooted in her family’s traditions. She shares how they translated household recipes into mass production. As the first Latina to receive over one million dollars in VC funding, Kayla discusses how crazy it is that she was the first, the...2024-11-1420 min
This Is Small BusinessA Taste of Tradition: Infusing Heritage in Every SipKayla Castañeda, founder of Agua Bonita, brings a refreshing twist to the traditional Mexican drink, aguas frescas, blending heritage and innovation in every sip. With a rich personal story rooted in her family's heritage, Kayla's mission is to share an elevated version of this beloved beverage. After navigating challenges like job loss during the pandemic and financial struggles, she successfully funded her startup through pitch competitions, culminating in a victory on Amazon Prime Video's Buy It Now series, where she secured a $20,000 cash prize. Her winning recipe? A powerful blend of authenticity, determination, and connecting with the right a...2024-11-1417 min
Brands for a Better World (formerly Evolve CPG)145 - Be Willing to Lose Everything with Adam Hiner of PachaSetting out and starting a business takes courage, determination, and the ability to learn as you go. It also requires a certain commitment to the foundational causes of the work. For Adam Hiner, our guest on today's show, combining his passion for food and regenerative agriculture with his work ethic and growing knowledge of the entrepreneurial landscape has enabled him to build two really inspiring and conscientious brands. Adam is the CEO and Founder of Pacha, a gluten-free, grain-free, sprouted, fermented, paleo, and plant-based bread company, as well as the Co-Founder of Boochcraft, through which he and his team...2024-04-051h 00
CBS Mornings on the GoChelsea Peretti Talks Directorial Debut | Bringing Traditional Agua Frescas to the Mass MarketPresident Joe Biden passionately outlined his vision for a second term, tackling critical issues such as Roe v. Wade, immigration and the economy.With daylight saving time on the horizon, some parents are already worried their children don't get enough sleep. Research shows that more than 18% of children aged 5 to 9 are given melatonin to sleep, and 19% of adolescents take it as well. Dr. Celine Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor at large for Public Health at KFF, has more.On International Women's Day, a groundbreaking movie in China is capturing attention by showcasing the...2024-03-0833 min
Content MagazineEpisode #108 - Content Year ReviewEpisode #108 - Content Year Review
The Cultivator and Developer of Content Magazine review a year of publications. Daniel Garcia founded Content Magazine in 2012 and has cultivated the longest-running South Bay Arts magazine ever. David Valdespino Jr. Joined the Content team full-time in January 2023 as a production manager and writer.
In this conversation, we discuss highlights from the year, some magazine design and layout details, hidden aspects of the production process, and contributions from some writers, editors, and photographers that make Content possible.
Episode #108 is the first time our team has...2023-12-201h 09
Latinas From The Block To The BoardroomKayla Castañeda CEO of Agua Bonita and Forbes 30 under 30Kayla Castenada, of Agua Bonita who has broken into the Beverage industry with her Agua Bonita drinks, a non-alcoholic beverage, saw an opportunity in the Non-Alcoholic Drinks market with Agua Frescas being something viable within a large industry, but wasn't recognized as an option by global brands. The market opportunity for 2023 amounts to US$496.50bn! That’s a lot of BEBIAS! The market's largest segment is the segment Soft Drinks with a market volume of US$328.10bn. Kayla, being from the heart of the Central Valley, Hanford California, where most of America receives its food, saw the opportunity and took her...2023-10-1342 min
Latina Leadership PodcastKayla Castañeda: Navigating Motherhood while Growing a Culture-Driven Product Kayla Castañeda is the Founder and CEO of Agua Bonita, a line of aguas frescas that come in fun and bold flavors that are true to tradition. Kayla shares with cohost Carolina Arenas that she created this line of beverages with migrant farmworkers in mind. Tune in as Kayla goes in depth about creating this cuturally-inspired brand, navigating motherhood and entrepreneurship, and sharing her top insights for other Latina entrepreneurs. This conversation will surely inspire you! To learn more, visit us at latinaleadershippodcast.com2023-09-2842 min
PlurawlAgua Bonita with Kayla CastañedaWelcome to a brand new episode of the ¿Quién Tú Eres? podcast, where we explore the conflict we often face between "professionalism" & being our authentic selves. This week's guest is Kayla Castañeda, who is the founder of Agua Bonita. Here's a quick bio...in Kayla's own words...
Much like the aguas frescas we make, my family history starts in Mexico and settles in the fruit fields of the Central Valley of California. My ancestors immigrated to the states pursuing the opportunity for a better life and following the migrant farm work as fiel...2023-05-0939 min
Latin WealthFirst Latina Owned Company in Food & Beverage to Raise Over $1,000,000 w/ Kayla CastañedaKayla Castañeda (@so.fresca.so.clean) is the guest of the week on the Latin Wealth podcast. Kayla Castañeda is the CEO and founder of Agua Bonita. Which is a Latina owned company that makes 100% real fruit aguas frescas out of rescued produce.
Kayla Castañeda is the first Latina owned company in Food & Beverage to raise over 1 million dollars! To put that in perspective, there’s only been 90 Latinas to do ever raise over 1 million dollars ever in history. With $0 in marketing, Agua Bonita has reached over 1,000 doors across America.
Guest information
-Instagram
-Website
Follow us on IG: @l...2023-03-1033 min
Women on the Move PodcastAgua Bonita CEO and co-founder on her vision to be a leader in better-for-you beveragesKayla Castañeda turned a favorite childhood treat into a successful and fast-growing good-for-you beverage company. In this episode of Women on the Move, the CEO and co-founder of Agua Bonita sits down with host Sam Saperstein to talk about her family, company, thoughts on ambition, and advice for other founders.
Journey from California’s Central Valley
Kayla tells Sam that she grew up in a family of migrant farm workers in California’s Central Valley. Her grandfather would bring home fruit from the fields and make aguas frescas for the family...2023-03-0227 min
Embracing My MarkingsAgua Bonita: Taking Fresh Mexican Juice Drinks to the Next LevelThis week I had the pleasure of speaking with Kayla Castañeda, co-founder of Agua Bonita. An agua fresca company based in California, Kayla has found success in a booming space largely dominated by soda and juice. She's also a fellow millennial who can tell you about her journey from humble beginnings to entrepreneurship. drinkaguabonita.com To be on the next episode of The Embracing My Markings Podcast visit: EmbracingMyMarkings.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/embracingmymarkings/message2023-02-0929 min
Female Startup ClubBest of ‘22 - 6 Questions with Kayla Castańeda, Founder of Agua Bonita (Part 2)Today on the show we’re learning from Kayla, the founder of Agua Bonita.Agua Bonita is a Latina-owned beverage company making the first better-for-you aguas frescas on the market. A modern take on a traditional Mexican fruit drink, their aguas frescas come in ready-to-drink 12oz cans, made with real fruit, low sugar, and fun flavors (like mango habanero). And this story is a wild one. I actually came across a post of Kayla’s on LinkedIn sharing a pretty crappy story for any small business owner to go through. I’m sure you’ll find plenty o...2023-01-1907 min
Female Startup ClubBest of ‘22 - How to sell 10,000 units in your first month, with Agua Bonita’s co-founder Kayla Castañeda (Part 1)Today on the show we’re learning from Kayla, the founder of Agua Bonita.Agua Bonita is a Latina-owned beverage company making the first better-for-you aguas frescas on the market. A modern take on a traditional Mexican fruit drink, their aguas frescas come in ready-to-drink 12oz cans, made with real fruit, low sugar, and fun flavors (like mango habanero). And this story is a wild one. I actually came across a post of Kayla’s on LinkedIn sharing a pretty crappy story for any small business owner to go through. I’m sure you’ll find plenty o...2023-01-1841 min
PEERS#226. The Co-Founder of Agua Bonita on Why There’s Never Going to Be a “Perfect” TimeWhen do you know that it’s time to step out on your own, peers? For today’s guest, Kayla Castañeda, it was losing her job mid-pandemic that made her think, “When life gives you lemons, make aguas frescas.” Now, Kayla is the CEO and Co-Founder of Agua Bonita, a drinks company that sells a take on a delicious Mexican drink.In this episode of Peers2Peers, powered by Shopify, Kayla shares why there’s never a “perfect” time for anything in life, how her heritage shaped her business, and why everyone can have an opinion but you...2022-11-0621 min
Amiga, Handle Your ShitThe Latina Entrepreneur Behind Agua Bonita with Kayla CastañedaHow has your background as a Latina inspired your dreams today?Our cultural history is something that should be celebrated and there are so many ways we can share it with the world. There are some incredible amigas that we can all look up to who have intertwined their passions, their background as a Latina, and their creativity to the projects that they share with the world. In this episode, I am excited to be joined by Kayla Castañeda. Kayla is an inspiring amiga, as the CEO of Agua Bonita and a pla...2022-10-1824 min
Student Entrepreneur 101Episode #15: Agua Bonita with Kayla CastañedaHello rising entrepreneurs! Tune into this episode to hear the story behind Agua Bonita: a ready to drink aguas frescas beverage company that is on a mission to share better-for-you drinks inspired by traditional and bold new flavors! Co-Founder and CEO Kayla Castañeda shares the inspiration behind Agua Bonita, the qualities behind a successful marketing campaign, the importance of pitch competitions to gain funding and raise awareness for your business, the importance of your network, and more!
You can learn more about Agua Bonita by visiting their website and following them on social media!
I...2022-08-2837 min
Brands for a Better World (formerly Evolve CPG)084 - Be Willing to Lose Everything with Adam Hiner of PachaSetting out and starting a business takes courage, determination, and the ability to learn as you go. It also requires a certain commitment to the foundational causes of the work. For Adam Hiner, our guest on today's show, combining his passion for food and regenerative agriculture with his work ethic and growing knowledge of the entrepreneurial landscape has enabled him to build two really inspiring and conscientious brands. Adam is the CEO and Founder of Pacha, a gluten-free, grain-free, sprouted, fermented, paleo, and plant-based bread company, as well as the Co-Founder of Boochcraft, through which he and his team...2022-08-2459 min
Real QuickMixing modern flavors with age-old cultural traditionsIn this episode, we go behind the scenes with Kayla Castañeda and Erin PonTell, co-founders of Agua Bonita, about the founding story of their rapidly growing agua fresca brand. The founders chat with Kristen about:
The origin story of Agua Bonita, which began in the early days of the pandemic
Finding the right balance between honoring cultural recipes and traditions with creating something that would resonate with modern consumers
Fundraising and growth challenges, as well as the pressures associated with being the *first* Latinx-owned beverage brand to raise more than $2M in funding
2022-08-0315 min
Female Founder WorldSelling 10k Units at Launch With Kayla Castañeda, Cofounder of Agua BonitaWe have Kayla Castañeda on Female Founder World! She’s the founder of Agua Bonita, a better-for-you agua fresca business that launched in 2020 and sold 10,000 units in the first month. Kayla has never lost a pitch competition. In fact, she’s raised nearly half a million dollars for her business this way. We get into her approach and why it works so well in this episode of the Female Founder World podcast. This episode is brought to you by Gorgias, the ecommerce helpdesk that turns your customer service into a profit...2022-07-2025 min
Female Founder WorldSelling 10k Units at Launch With Kayla Castañeda, Cofounder of Agua BonitaWe have Kayla Castañeda on Female Founder World! She’s the founder of Agua Bonita, a better-for-you agua fresca business that launched in 2020 and sold 10,000 units in the first month. Kayla has never lost a pitch competition. In fact, she’s raised nearly half a million dollars for her business this way. We get into her approach and why it works so well in this episode of the Female Founder World podcast. This episode is brought to you by Gorgias, the ecommerce helpdesk that turns your customer service into a profit...2022-07-2025 min
Let's Eat with Mark SamuelLet's Eat, ep. 138 with Kayla Castañeda from Agua Bonita and Kristi McGill from Rooted Food SalesWe talk beverages, working on a small budget and being scrappy, testing DTC before any retail launch and working with good food brokers. 2022-06-2516 min
The Merch DropAgua Frescas Duel, Pepsi & Pogba, Miller Lite BeercoalEp 115 05-26-2022Pepsi has a fun new smartphone game featuring Pogba, no download required! Miller Lite is getting you ready for summer grilling with Beercoal. Minute Maid Agua Frescas steal a campaign from a small business. It's all here on the Big Promo Cast!Every week join Rich Graham and Amber Jewell as they discuss marketing with swag, merch, apparel, and custom branded promotional products. Join us LIVE on Thursdays at noon eastern time.https://bigpromo.live/youtubehttps://fb.com/BigPromotions/live#bigpromotions #biggerfish #mybigpromo...2022-05-2616 min
Female Startup Club6 Quick Questions with Kayla Castañeda, Founder of Agua Bonita(part 2)Today on the show we’re learning from Kayla, the founder of Agua Bonita.Agua Bonita is a Latina-owned beverage company making the first better-for-you aguas frescas on the market. A modern take on a traditional Mexican fruit drink, their aguas frescas come in ready-to-drink 12oz cans, made with real fruit, low sugar, and fun flavors (like mango habanero). And this story is a wild one. I actually came across a post of Kayla’s on LinkedIn sharing a pretty crappy story for any small business owner to go through. I’m sure you’ll find plenty o...2022-05-2206 min
Female Startup ClubCoca Cola ripped off this Latina-run beverage brand and we’re mad, with Agua Bonita’s co-founder Kayla CastañedaToday on the show we’re learning from Kayla, the founder of Agua Bonita.Agua Bonita is a Latina-owned beverage company making the first better-for-you aguas frescas on the market. A modern take on a traditional Mexican fruit drink, their aguas frescas come in ready-to-drink 12oz cans, made with real fruit, low sugar, and fun flavors (like mango habanero). And this story is a wild one. I actually came across a post of Kayla’s on LinkedIn sharing a pretty crappy story for any small business owner to go through. I’m sure you’ll find plenty o...2022-05-2039 min
Moneda MovesThe Journey Beyond Raising One Million Dollars | Agua Bonita CEO Kayla CastañedaBienvenidos, Moneda Moves listeners! Lately, we’ve been thinking a lot about fundraising for companies. Because as we discuss the rise of new Latinx entrepreneurs, this kind of capital you can secure as a founder is just as important. It’s what helps a company scale and grow. But attaining this kind of capital and raising more than $1 million has not historically been a straightforward journey for entrepreneurs of color, and even less so for Latinas.
So today, we are sharing a story to help shed some light on the process and how the pandemic thrust former star...2022-02-0227 min
Amigas Get Money6: Starting a Beverage Company and Raising Venture Capital with Kayla CastañedaThis week we have Kayla Castañeda, founder of Agua Bonita, joining us to share her story. For some of us, the decision about quitting our jobs to pursue our business full-time takes years or many attempts before actually doing so. For Kayla, the decision was made for her when her company went under in the early pandemic days and left her unemployed. When that happened, Kayla decided it was time to take a chance on herself and decided to start Agua Bonita with co-founder Erin PonTell. As of today, Agua Bonita has raised over 2 m...2022-01-0729 min
Brands for a Better World (formerly Evolve CPG)047 - Nailing The Pitch with Kayla Castañeda of Agua Bonita“When life gives you lemons, make aguas frescas!” As was the case for many people, 2020 started off on a difficult note for Kayla Castañeda, with a young child and no job. Instead of letting this knock her down, Kayla kicked into gear and put the skills she acquired after many years of working in the food and beverage industry to good use; the co-founding of Agua Bonita. Agua Bonita boasts the first line of better-for-you, ready-to-drink aguas frescas, which come in eco-friendly cans that are branded by Kayla’s co-founder, Erin. The quality of the product combined with the aut...2021-12-0833 min
The Switch by Nonprofit HRSocial Enterprise Leadership Spotlight: Kayla Castañeda from Agua Bonita Interviewed by Patty Hampton and Lisa Wright PonceAs Kayla Castañeda puts it, “When life hands you lemons, make aguas frescas.” Kayla is Co-Founder and CEO of Agua Bonita, a growing social enterprise producing the first line of healthy alternatives to the traditional Mexican drink, aguas frescas. Made with no added sugar, no chemical sweeteners and rescued produce, the refreshing product fuels their mission and dedication to reinvesting profits back into their community. Stream this episode now to learn more about Kayla, how innovation has helped Agua Bonita grow to where it is today and further insight on the social enterprise’s people management practices, including: -H...2021-08-1820 min
The Physical Product MovementBreaking into the Beverage Space with Kayla Castañeda, Co-Founder & CEO at Agua BonitaIn this episode, we're joined by Kayla Castañeda, Co-Founder, and CEO of Agua Bonita, a beverage brand made with 100 percent real fruit Aguas Frescas which gives the end-product a delicious flavor profile. Kayla discusses launching her company during the pandemic and only meeting her Co-Founder in person once before launch. She walks us through Agua Bonita’s timeline, from the genesis of her idea to this month when her company won the BEVNET and Coca-Cola best new beverage award. Kayla had some great advice for people looking to break into the beverage industry, including how to work closely with you...2021-08-0550 min
Black on ShelfEp 3: Kayla Castañeda, Agua Bonita - Accelerating through the power of partnershipIn this episode of Black on Shelf, I welcome my new friend, Kayla, CEO and Co-Founder of Agua Bonita, a women-owned beverage brand, producing authentic Mexican agua frescas. Kayla and her Co-Founder Erin PonTell are inspired by perfectly delicious, fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste, and fueled by a passion to create something culturally authentic, unique, better for the planet, and beautiful, hence Agua Bonita was born.Agua Bonita has recorded a lot of accomplishments and received a number of awards; Including Winner of New Beverage Showdown 2021 - Best New Beverage award presented by BevNET...2021-07-141h 01
Freed StoriesInterview with Kayla Castañeda of Agua Bonita - Part 2Returning from the last episode is Kayla Castañeda, C.E.O. and co-owner of agua fresca company Agua Bonita. She is here to elaborate more on her journey and discuss some topics such as what it was like to launch a company amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year and how the pandemic has impacted her business currently, and she also gives some advice on what the first step should be for someone who wants to launch their own business.
Kayla also agrees to a business breakdown round with Andy in which she presents a current challenge t...2021-07-0625 min
Axios Re:CapAmerica's Business Comeback: Startup creation in the pandemicMost small business stories from the pandemic are about about pivoting or perishing, but there's also been an unexpected surge in new small business creation. One example is Agua Bonita, a canned beverage company that launched last year after both of its co-founders were laid off.Dan talks with Agua Bonita co-founder Kayla Castañeda and Techstars founder David Cohen about what it was like for startups over the past 14 months and what recovery means for businesses that didn't even exist before COVID-19. Plus, a conversation with Wall Drug proprietor Rick Hustead.Note: This episode fi...2021-06-2918 minFreed StoriesInterview with Kayla Castañeda of Agua Bonita - Part 1Andy and Maggie take the reins in this episode of Freed Stories to interview our Freed fellow of April, Kayla Castañeda! Kayla is the C.E.O. and co-owner of Agua Bonita, a company that makes healthy and ready-to-drink agua frescas (a traditional Mexican drink). Kayla is here to share her Freed story and share some background information about herself and Agua Bonita!
Kayla got her foot in the beverage industry working for Coca-Cola as a market developer. This led to her consulting for beverage startups where she met her would-be Agua Bonita partner, Erin PonTell. S...2021-06-2934 min
Shelf-Made PodcastLaunching a Brand During the PandemicWe chat with Erin PonTell and Kayla Castañeda from Agua Bonita about how they launched their brand during covid, the pivots they had to make, and how they have positioned themselves as the drink of Summer 2021.
https://www.drinkaguabonita.com/
https://www.instagram.com/drinkaguabonita/
https://www.westock.io/2021-06-0318 minAxios Re:CapAmerica's Business Comeback: Startup creation in the pandemicMost small business stories from the pandemic are about about pivoting or perishing, but there's also been an unexpected surge in new small business creation. One example is Agua Bonita, a canned beverage company that launched last year after both of its co-founders were laid off.Dan talks with Agua Bonita co-founder Kayla Castañeda and Techstars founder David Cohen about what it was like for startups over the past 14 months and what recovery means for businesses that didn't even exist before COVID-19. Plus, a conversation with Wall Drug proprietor Rick Hustead. Learn mo...2021-05-2818 min
ContenderCast with Justin HonamanAGUA BONITA :: REAL FRUIT AGUAS FRESCASAgua Bonita makes the first 100% real fruit, ready-to-drink aguas frescas. Inspired by perfectly delicious, fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste, and fueled by a passion to create something culturally authentic, unique, better for the planet, and beautiful, Kayla Castañeda co-founded Agua Bonita. Kayla joins Justin to discuss this fresh beverage concept.2021-05-2616 min
The Savvy CreativeTurn Your Novel into a Film by Doing Your Own Adaptation with Author Kayla PerrinA movie deal as part of our publishing deal? Sounds like a next-level writing career move, but what’s the journey like? Meet Author Kayla Perrin, who has been featured in multiple publications and by top publishers with over 40 books translated in several languages. In this episode, we talk about: The effectiveness of making book trailers Balancing writing and being a single mother Starting in Romance and changing genres Writing for Harlequin and their formulaic approach to books Expectation of Romance Writers Chick Lit vs Women’s Lit Pros and Cons of Traditional and Indie Publish...2021-05-1449 min
Let’s Talk TRIOKayla Tejada - TRIO Talent Search AlumIn this episode:
Program updates
Kayla Tejada - TRIO Talent Search Alum (Interview)
Acknowledgements: Juan Rivas (Host and Executive Producer), Amelia Castaneda (Producer), John Russell (Audio Specialist), Scott Kendall (advisor), and Rodrick Chambers (advisor)
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2019-02-0750 minLet’s Talk TRIOFirst Generation Event @ Colorado State University's Lory Student Center PlazaFirst Generation Event at Colorado State University – LIVE Broadcast from the Lory Student Center Plaza
In order of appearance:
-Dr. Oscar Felix (Associate VP for the Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Emcee)
-Saul (CSU Student)
-Jose Olivo (CSU Staff for TRIO Upward Bound 2017)
-Fiona (CSU Student)
-Shivon Pontious (CSU Staff for the Honors Program)
-Nyalette (CSU Student)
-Yulissa (CSU Student)
-Karen (CSU Student)
-Karina (CSU Student)
-Jennifer (CSU Student)
-Rosa (CSU staff for INTO Programs)
-Claudia (CSU Grad Student)
-Joseph “JoJo...2018-11-102h 05