When You Start, Scale, Sell...AND THEN Buy Back Your Brand // Jon Sebastiani & Mark Rampolla: The Stories of KRAVE Jerky and Zico Coconut Water

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Hey Friends,

I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Ben Jang, for helping to make this episode happen. Our guests today are Jon Sebastiani and Mark Rampolla. Jon founded KRAVE Jerky, one of the first premium jerky brands, and Mark founded Zico, one of the first coconut water brands in the U.S. It’s very rare for an entrepreneur to sell their business, get a good outcome, AND THEN buy back the business. Jon and Mark each did it.

We discuss:

• The origin stories of KRAVE Jerky & Zico Coconut Water

• The market position of each brand before they were sold

• What happened to the brands when they were acquired by Hershey & Coca-Cola

• Why they each started their own PE firm

• Why Hershey & Coca-Cola wanted to sell KRAVE Jerky and Zico Coconut Water, respectfully

• Their evaluation processes when deciding if they should buy back the brands they founded

• How they determined if there was still brand equity

• The future plans for the two brands & more

Thank you for listening.

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