Executive Summary
A Shopify Masters interview, hosted by Serena Smith, with Scout Brisson, CEO of the non-alcoholic aperitif brand De Soi (spelled Dwis in the captions), co-founded with Katy Perry and master distiller Morgan McLachlan. According to the description she became CEO at 26 and led the brand to over 8 million products sold and 8,000 plus retail doors. She covers flavour development, a liquid-to-lips sampling approach, getting on shelf in new non-alcoholic sets, raising the first-purchase subscriber rate from 15 to over 40 percent, using celebrity partnership, and stepping into the CEO role with coaching and personas. Sponsor: Shopify, which presents the show and links a free trial in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the flavour discussion, a middle section on CEO growth, the closing and the description, and does not cover every part of the roughly 49 minute conversation. Names and spellings follow the video description. All business claims and figures are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.
Key Takeaways
Subscriber jump
She says the first-purchase subscriber rate jumped from 15 percent to over 40 percent and churn went down.
Liquid to lips
She says every marketing activation has a liquid-to-lips or cans-in-hands component.
Flywheel with talent
She says talent involvement works as a flywheel for the brand.
First on shelf
She says there is an opportunity to be first on shelf when a major national retailer builds a non-alcoholic set.
The flavour cliff
She says the team talks about a flavour cliff, the line where a drink starts to taste like juice, and uses a toolkit of juices, teas and botanicals.
Small levers
She says chamomile in a non-alcoholic rose showed her how small ingredients change a whole drink.
Stepping into the role
She says she uses personas, books like The Alter Ego Effect, and executive coaching to trust her own intuition as CEO.
The Conversation Breakdown
Subscriber jump
⏱ Untimed topicShe says the first-purchase subscriber rate jumped from 15 percent to over 40 percent and churn went down.
Liquid to lips
⏱ Untimed topicShe says every marketing activation has a liquid-to-lips or cans-in-hands component.
Flywheel with talent
⏱ Untimed topicShe says talent involvement works as a flywheel for the brand.
First on shelf
⏱ Untimed topicShe says there is an opportunity to be first on shelf when a major national retailer builds a non-alcoholic set.
The flavour cliff
⏱ Untimed topicShe says the team talks about a flavour cliff, the line where a drink starts to taste like juice, and uses a toolkit of juices, teas and botanicals.
Small levers
⏱ Untimed topicShe says chamomile in a non-alcoholic rose showed her how small ingredients change a whole drink.
Stepping into the role
⏱ Untimed topicShe says she uses personas, books like The Alter Ego Effect, and executive coaching to trust her own intuition as CEO.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Flavour cliff - her test
Check whether a drink tastes like sophisticated flavour or just juice.
Liquid to lips - her activation rule
Make sure every campaign gets the product in people's hands and mouths.
No-brainer subscription - her conversion approach
Make subscribing the obvious choice, then educate customers afterward.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Run a side-by-side taste test of your product with and without one key ingredient.
- ✓Add a sampling step to your next marketing activation.
- ✓Write the one change that would make subscribing a no-brainer for your customers.
- ✓Treat the sales and subscriber figures as the speakers' own and verify them before repeating them.
Notable Quotes
“Our subscriber rate has jumped 15% to over 40% and our churn has actually gone down.”
“We try to make it a no-brainer for people to subscribe”
“It's truly a flywheel effect when you think about talent involvement.”
The One Thing to Remember
Scout Brisson says De Soi grew by making the flavour sophisticated, putting product in people's hands, and making subscribing a no-brainer, while she grew into the CEO role with coaching.