Everyone knows someone full of infectious energy, and Jordan Campbell is one of those people. Since our days at Franklin High School (Panther shout out!), life has taken us our separate ways but we’ve always made an effort to stay in touch. One thing we’d never done though is sit down and talk business. Hers is a story of taking risks & reaping rewards in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the food & beverage industry: plant-based dairy alternatives.
P.S. If you’re saying “what!?,” my favorite news source, The Hustle, helps ground us:
- The $16B plant-milk industry rose 6% last year
- Plant-based milks now account for 13% of the entire milk market
This interview was conducted in Boston & was condensed and edited for clarity.
Catching Up
Jordan, you’re the first interview in response to a direct request.
No way! What do you mean?
When I launched The Great Between, an acquaintance reached out and said “If you’re taking requests, I’d love to hear from someone who made a risky move, especially later in his/her career.”
And I was the first person you thought of. Love it. Yes, it’s been quite a journey the past few years and a tale I love telling.
Tell us about Mooala.
Mooala’s mission is pretty simple: to make outstanding, dairy-free beverages.
We launched in 2016 with 1 employee and 3 SKUs; today we’re at 5 employees and 4 product lines (banana, almond and oat milk, plus plant-based creamers). The growth has been astronomical – we’re in 2k locations, including Whole Foods, Kroger and Costco, and sales grew +900% last year. We expect to be in 3k stores by the end of the year.
Congratulations! Share your background & how you were introduced to Mooala.
I spent the early part of my career in traditional marketing roles: digital marketing for Pizza Hut (agency side) and la Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe. While at la Madeleine, a friend from my alma mater, Baylor, was raising the initial debt round for his start-up and looking for investors. That friend is Mooala’s founder, Jeff Richards. I believed in him and his first hire Sean Sundby, our VP of Sales, as people first and as business people second. So when they quit their jobs in investment banking & real estate to pursue Mooala full-time, my husband and I decided to invest.
The company was very early-stage – Jeff was riding around in an old, refrigerated milk truck, personally delivering orders – but we were in a position to take some financial risk.
Okay, that was your first exposure. What about coming on board?
I was at an investor event where some marketing needs came up so I offered some advice and that was that. About three months later, I got a text from Jeff and Sean saying, “We just came up with an idea over margaritas. What do you think about coming over to Mooala to run marketing?”
What was your gut reaction?
Honestly, as I read it, I said out loud, “What? RUN marketing?” I’d only been at la Madeleine a year and it was a really exciting time – we just launched a loyalty program & were gearing up for delivery. I wasn’t looking to leave but also knew it was an opportunity I had to consider.
Making the Move
Most women evaluate jobs differently than men, only considering when they have 100% of the needed skills compared to 60% for men. How did you assess and did you have to battle imposter syndrome?
100%. I asked Jeff to put together a job description for me. In reviewing it, it was easy to say, ‘okay, I’m qualified for that’ or ‘haven’t done that, but can do it.’ When I got to PR, it was ‘ummm, no clue.’ So I called my friend Erin Finegold who was running communications for the Dallas Mavericks and asked her if I could pick it up. She didn’t hesitate and that was enough confidence for me to check the box.
I then hit the phone to educate myself on the industry. I got my hands on all the free resources I could – Mintel reports, IRI data, etc. The trends were solid.
At the end of the day, I was comfortable with the job description and had always wanted to build a brand from the ground up, so it was a go. But most importantly, and something I couldn’t measure, was that I believed in Jeff’s vision and the initial branding work. I mean, he made that cute Mooala koala logo in PowerPoint with an investment banking background. You can’t do that without vision.
Give us two examples of how you tackled knowledge gaps once on-board.
Ironically, both are in areas of your expertise, Jess.
Product development – I’d never done but it was in the ‘I can learn it’ bucket. Soon after I came on board, we developed a line of plant-based creamers. Early on, I’d watch dairy aisle shoppers and ask them probing questions. Eventually, we held focus groups and I learned from and alongside the consumer about the product attributes they were looking for. Ultimately, we positioned the product around those learnings.
Public relations – We needed an agency so I laid out the basic brand work, what we stand for and our consumer demographic, and then outlined what we were looking for in an RFP: a connected agency who could build & execute a seasonal PR plan. Havas Formula reached out on LinkedIn when we were in the middle of the RFP and ended up winning the business. They represent industry leaders like Wholly Guacamole, Justin’s Peanut Butter and Kashi so we were so grateful to land them.
Take us through your responsibilities as VP, Marketing.
My team (me + a stellar marketing manager Elena Christiansen) oversees primary research and focus groups for new product launches, packaging design, on-site experiential marketing [through sampling programs & trade shows], consumer engagement, customer service, press and social media, influencer partnerships, CRM and paid media. We’ve made some key agency hires to make it possible, because I couldn’t do this on my own.
A note on start-up hiring: I’d advise to hire not just for capabilities, but also the employee’s interest level. This was key in finding Elena. We all have those things we’re good at but hate doing so we sat down and hashed through all of that. For example, Facebook ads – can you do them? Do you enjoy doing them? Can you do them and enjoy them until we can outsource them next year? We set clear expectations.
With a small team, how have you tapped into your network for added support?
Quite a few former bosses have been huge helps. My former boss at TracyLocke, Emily Frye, is now at Kroger. Early on, I asked Emily for packaging feedback and she asked me questions back to help guide me to the answer. My former boss at Slingshot, Danielle Johnson, is now at Facebook and was pivotal in getting Mooala into their high-growth CPG program. That extended network as been huge in terms of peers to bounce ideas off of.
Looking Ahead
As you map the future, how is Mooala uniquely positioned to win in the marketplace?
We make premium, plant-based beverages at family-friendly prices and given our size, speed to market is fast. We’re able to adjust offerings & recipes to meet consumers’ needs in a way corporate giants can’t.
We also pop on the shelf – the dairy aisle is packed with mundane packaging, which allows our warm, bright personality to shine.
From your perspective, what trends are impacting the food industry as we know it today?
Label transparency: Consumers are calling for honesty about what’s in their products. Labels like “organic” help certify quality, knowing harmful pesticides aren’t used.
Real: Consumers are seeking simplicity – ingredients that can be pronounced and understood. Manufacturers like RXbar have altered packaging to capitalize on this trend.
CBD: Three of the six finalists at a recent Bevnet competition were CBD brands, with CANN + Botl ultimately taking home the prize. There are still a lot of regulatory issues to sort out, but the demand is there for consumers looking to get a buzz without the hangover regret.
I’ve been keeping tabs on CBD and companies like Beam as well. For folks thinking about leaving corporate America for a start-up, what advice can you offer?
Do it, you can always go back to ‘corporate.’ What Fortune 500 company doesn’t want to take a chance on a non-conformist, a risk-taker, a thought leader? If they don’t, it’s probably not a company you want to work for. Breaking it down a bit more, I would say:
Success is not guaranteed, and failure is to be expected. There’s so many things in a small business environment that, despite your best efforts, you can’t impact. For that reason, we make it a point to celebrate even the smallest wins and learn from our mistakes.
Turn downsides into positives. You’re not going into a gig that has LTV or program ROI data; there’s no set framework. Use that to your advantage and develop your own reporting, conduct proprietary research studies and garner insights from the ground up.
Culture is everything. It sounds obvious but make sure you jive with the team – and jive well – because you spend a lot of time together. Additionally, don’t forget about leveraging strategic partners. Be sure to find expertise outside of the core team, filling in the gaps with experts in that particular field.
What are the top 3 skills you need to be successful at a start-up?
Flexibility – you never know what’s going to happen; the business and the industry shift almost daily. Having a flexible attitude allows you to identify new areas of opportunity, adjust and pivot just as quickly as the industry changes.
Drive – no one is going to be on your back; you will likely have a boss who only understands at a high-level what you’re working on. It’s up to you to evaluate success, adjust and drive the business forward.
Entrepreneurial spirit – think like an owner in every sense of the word. People often get complacent and do their jobs vs. thinking about the business as a whole. They like to be safe, but there’s nothing safe about a start-up and that’s exciting.
Lastly, you’re expecting. What does your coverage plan look like for maternity leave in such a lean environment?
Funny enough, I haven’t chatted with Jeff about this yet – probably should look into it!
Being at a start-up, I want to work. It’s my business too. Then again, this is also my child but I’ve never had a child so I don’t know what that feels like! Like everything in the start-up world, we’ll be flexible and work towards what’s best for our family and our business.
