Beverage Startups
Interview: Bart Silvestro Joins ROAR Organic as COO & President
Almost two years ago I wrote an interview article for Roar electrolyte infused sports drink. At the time, Roly Nesi, the CEO at ROAR Organic told me an inspiring story of how successful beverage brand is built. Recently, ROAR Organic introduced Bart Silvestro as COO and President at the company. Today, I have a chance to speak with Bart Silvestro regarding his plans for the brand.
1. First of all, congratulations on joining ROAR Organic! What are the main reasons you have decided to join the company?
First and foremost, the main reason I joined the ROAR Organic team is the product. The product, in my opinion, tastes great and most definitely fills a void in today’s market. Electrolyte beverages and sports drinks have done a great job of alienating the female consumer and focusing on the male user (athlete and weekend warriors). ROAR is taking the approach of embracing the female consumer with clean, organic ingredients that is low-calorie and low-sugar.
With all that said, meeting Roly made my decision even easier, as we clicked immediately. This is poised to be a lot of work but an extremely fun ride and look forward to seeing what we can build together.
2. You have an impressive experience in food and beverage industry. In your opinion, what are the biggest mistake industry’s startups should avoid?
I think the biggest mistake startups make out of the gate is thinking that revenue and growth cures all ills. As important as rapid growth is to a newborn company, it’s much more effective when the growth is strategic and sustainable.
Another big mistake startups make is trying to have an exit plan that they are working towards. You should never try to build a company to sell it within a definitive timeline, as you will likely make poor decisions along the way. If you build your company for sustainability, there will be many strategic companies that will want to purchase your business when the time is right.
3. Roar Organic has changed a lot since the last time I spoke with Roly Nesi. It seems that the brand has what it takes to become a success story. What are your plans for the company?
To keep it as simple as possible, our immediate plans are to build out our internal team and work on growing our distribution nationally. There is obviously much more to that plan, but I could write a book on what’s next.
4. ROAR Organic is available in the U.S. Are you planning to enter new countries any time soon?
Today we are focusing on the US and Canada but are always listening to opportunities that are presented to help us build a global brand.
5. Milestones are one way to measure the success. What are the milestones planned for 2019?
One key milestone for ROAR in 2019 is to secure national distribution in every channel of business. We want to make sure we have distribution in a national grocery chain, a national convenience store chain, as well as a national club/mass retailer.
I would also like to see us potentially combine forces with multiple strong distribution partners nationally.
Lastly, we would want to establish ROAR as an everyday beverage option on Amazon.
For more information visit ROAR Organic website.
