Ep165 - Launch a record breaking kickstarter campaign and a solid marketing strategy - John “Sonic” Ban and Mark Yu of Grass Fed Coffee

The Food Startups Podcast

John “Sonic” Ban has worn many hats, is a serial entrepreneur and shares valuable lessons from his experience, in this episode. Also known as DJ Sonic, due to 10+ years in a hip hop radio station, his first brush with starting his own business was with the Indianapolis food truck scene and becoming one of the first successful food truck business owners.

Grass Fed Coffee began in 2014 when John “Sonic” Ban experienced incredible gains in mental clarity, energy, and fat burning, from just one daily cup of butter coffee. After recommending butter coffee to all his friends and family, he was dismayed that many couldn’t experience it because they were too busy to brew it every morning themselves or didn’t know where to purchase the ingredients and equipment.

John talks about his faith in the ketogenic diet, and how he, along with Mark You, who is a principal at Grass Fed Coffee, raised $86K on a Kickstarter Campaign in December 2015 and broke the record for “Highest Funded Non-Alcoholic Project on Kickstarter, ever.”

Episode index:

5:15 - the journey from food truck into food

8:29 - bio hacking as a trend

9:48 - the kickstarter project for Grass Fed Coffee - lessons learned

1. always have a well produced video one minute or less
2. what makes videos viral, compared to other kickstarter video
3. raised $86K in 2 months without anyone tasting the product
4. keep it simple, down to 1-2 takeaways for your target audience

15: 45 - the challenges of taking a concept to production

18:00 - go-to-market strategy, channel strategy

21:00 - marketing approach and focus on education, and content

A few pointers:

• https://grassfedcoffee.com
• https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1431509519/introducing-the-worlds-first-ready-to-drink-butter
• Book recommendation: Contagious: Why Things Catch On - Jonah Berger

A message to this podcast listeners from Hema Reddy, the new host of the show:

“Thank you all for listening. Please share your feedback on the show and help us get better! We want to bring you value and content that’s helpful to you. I am so excited to continue this journey with you!”