"Together Talks" feature # 91: 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea presented by KLS, freight company
Some Background on 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea
For today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the opportunity to chat with 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea and Founder, Reed Rush. They are not your average tea brand, and don’t want to be 😎. On a mission to provide a flavorful, exciting, and all-around healthy beverage that’s open-minded, refreshing, and a euphoric escape from the day-to-day. They believe in the power of ancient ingredients and are committed to using only the highest quality, sustainably-sourced organic herbs to create their unique and delicious tea flavors. So get your zen on with every swig, and savor each moment– even beyond the last drop 🧘 Join them on their journey and discover your wonder with 8th Wonder Tea.
Two life cycles
The story of how 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea began involves two stories. Reed founded the company in 2016, but it is not the company that is currently operating. Those early phases of the company included many hours of R&D trying to best understand which ingredients brought the best benefit while tasting great. After completing college, Reed started reading books about herbalism and self-educating through trial and error. With a crockpot he started mixing and matching ingredients, he jokes "It is a miracle I didn't poison myself!". After over 200 recipes he found something that wasn't only palpable enough but that tasted like Thanksgiving in a bottle.
He loved the product he created and wanted to test himself to see if he could sell it. He proceeded to drive to every single Whole Foods in Colorado offering to sample it for any employee who could potentially give him shelf space. Fort Collins, CO was the first store to welcome him on the shelves. He was hooked on the chase and continued to bootstrap his company as he added more and more Whole Foods within the state. However, Covid hit and during that time the company made a huge rebrand. On top of a refresh and repackage, they also rebranded converting from glass bottles to cans.
Consumer traction
Reed mentioned how recently there has been an uptick in consumer demands for better alternative products. He mentioned the sparkling category specifically. During his bootstrapping he truly felt that the category was stagnant, and he had a plan to get away from sugar. His product simply put was a hybrid between water and tea. But where it really shines is being a functional beverage. He alluded that so many brands can spread their reach by playing between different categories in the CPG space. While 8th Wonder got its start as a tea company it has morphed into other areas as well including being a functional beverage. What Reed believes is a strength for his company is that despite the category that attracts a consumer, they naturally resonate with the product because it tastes great.
Being a functional beverage with values on the ingredients being used is one way the company differentiates itself. He also mentioned the unique design which not only is captivating to consumers' attention but does a great job of producing brand recognition. The sleek, minimal, zen look the cans provide has contributed to building brand awareness. Reed shared, "We believe our brand communicates something fun and vibrant but stripped down simplistically, yet in a bold way. We are often able to introduce consumers to adaptogenic ingredients without knowing they are consuming them because our taste profile is so strong. Being able to accomplish that without requiring any fillers in our ingredients is so critical to us." Reed also mentioned how privileged he is to be part of this new conscious movement from brands to meet consumer demands. He credited the organic food and natural world becoming more mainstream is very cool to witness. Seeing the revolution of things that have been status quo for so long and watching the changes have been gratifying for him.
Partner with KLS
KLS offers LTL and FTL for both dry and reefer transportation.
Our nationwide coverage provides companies a reliable, consistent, and dependable logistics partner to handle your trucking needs.
For more information on how we can help call our office today 708-980-0920 or reach us via our email quote request here!
Passion to create
We were curious to know from Reed about the current product given how many attempts it took to perfect the original formula. He told us that he views the brand as being dynamic an always evolving to never get stagnant. While that includes not only things like packaging and messaging, but even the product itself. Especially operating with the functional benefit component, there is always an opportunity to get introduced to a new herb or super food that can be a better option for 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea. Having the mindset to always be willing to adapt and move in the direction of what is happening is part of the meaning behind the name of the company. Reed envisions to always seek out not only the new, but the best. Pursuing the latest and greatest to bring to consumers, in theory seeking out the 8th wonder.
With growing his company, we wondered if Reed ever allowed himself to dream into the future and predict where he sees his company going. For him he said it is more of a focus on his daily mission which is to create. Creating is his passion and the ability to constantly innovate is what drives him. Coming from a liberal arts background and not studying business in school forced Reed to learn on the fly in starting his business. Getting into the CPG space required him to not only learn but understand the sales oriented aspects of the company. But he would not be deterred, in his mind he always wanted to be an entrepreneur in some way, "having an idea and being able to create and then see it turn into a tangible thing is fascinating to me."
Various communication styles
Entering the CPG world Reed shared that the biggest challenge is communicating the purpose and benefits behind the product. Having different sales pitches is essential he told us, but through trial and error he has realized how difficult it is to communicate the level of passion he believes and have it adequately translate to the audience. He continues to have language refined to make it as accessible as possible to even larger groups to continue to build the reach of the brand recognition. Reed explained that there is a bit of a fine line they have to walk in not overwhelming consumers with the ingredients and benefits but finding the right tone to enlighten them on the added benefits to their great tasting tea.
Entering a new industry with no business experience came with plenty of concern for Reed, but he credited those early years for allowing him to fail, learn, and not have it be catastrophic. The early period he labels as the learning period of the company. Initially he said he got lost in trying to be everything to everyone but realized that can't be a winning formula for the brand. Understanding how challenging how distribution is, Reed decided to focus on growing in the regions that were staples for the brand and grow with the mushroom effect. Slowly bridging the gap to new markets after saturation of their strongest regions is now their current model with their second go round. He admitted that since the rebrand the vision is much clearer and the company is comfortable in its own skin knowing who their customer base and demographics are. "Without that first period and then Covid, I'm not sure we would be where we were today. Both of those times were so challenging, but influential in showing us ways we needed to adapt and grow to better our business and our brand."
Celebrations
Running a company is a never ending grind, but Reed tries to stay in the moment and appreciate when the company reaches various milestones. For him whether it is company wins, team member wins, or personal wins that lead to professional or personal growth, that is what brings him satisfaction. Tying back into their name and their culture, they are always seeking out the next big thing. And with that it is only fitting that throughout the process, Reed claims he has fallen in love with one thing, selling.
With the milestones, Reed also had to highlight the daily gratification of getting to do something he is so passionate about. He touched on how great obviously a win feels, especially out of the gate. But for him, he cherishes more the wins that followed some adversity or struggle. Those hard-fought wins that have helped create the culture of their company are the ones he reflects on as a sense of pride.
Piece of Advice
The conversation with Reed wrapped up with him sharing his piece of advice.
"Piece of advice: Anything you’ve learned specific to business, life, your role, etc.
Every time gone wrong its been night trusting own inner compass or intuition, On a gut level, followed other people’s vision. Hard to follow that if when not as strong. Trust inner voice."
Interested in being featured with "Together Talks"?
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Contact us as we would love to learn your story and share it amongst our audience.
Weekly we provide 2 companies our platform to expand their reach courtesy of our campaign. Let's collaborate!!!
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Reed Rush, Founder, of 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea for today's "Together Talks" feature. Keep up to date with 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea by following their blog on their website, check it out here. Follow along for the 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea journey with their social handles below!
Klimson Logistics Solutions - Together Talks with 8th Wonder Sparkling Tea feature # 91
*Klimson Logistics Solutions is an Industry Leading Customer Service 3PL. Our focus and commitment to our clients has us striving to be the BEST customer service 3PL for LTL, FTL, Reefer, and Drayage in the country. KLS, freight company, is a 3PL providing nationwide logistics solutions. KLS shipping services include: LTL freight, FTL freight, Reefer LTL freight, Reefer FTL freight, and Drayage. Klimson Logistics Solutions thanks you for viewing our marketing campaign, "Together Talks". If you have any interest in being featured or questions regarding your freight operations please contact us today!
Why KLS?
Our precise and reliable effort.
We handle every shipment with the exact same process. It does not matter if you move one shipment a year or ten per day, you will receive the same level of customer service from us. When we started this company, we had one goal in mind, treat every shipment like it was our own. With our vast knowledge of the industry, we understood what a customer would want from a communication standpoint. We applied that process to be the standard here at KLS. Our reliability and being able to depend on our consistency is why we have such long-standing relationships with our clients.
Our Process?
Every shipment in our industry starts with a quote. We are firm believers that time is money, thus we strive to have quotes back in a 5-10 minute reply time for LTL and FTL, any FCL quotes are at the mercy of the carriers getting back to us. For LTL we have the flexibility to quote both off of NMFC and also Density depending on the carrier. Utilizing our services, you’re allowing us to use our expertise to class your freight accordingly to ensure we are providing the best rate we possibly can.
Once a quote has been submitted and a client chooses to proceed with KLS handling the arrangement of the shipment our full process begins. We create the BOL that will be used for the shipment. If it is a new location for our system, we will obtain all the important/special details (reference numbers, contact details, shipping hours, closed for lunch, dock/doors, etc.). We meticulously build every detail into our software for all future shipments involving that location. After we have both locations built and necessary reference numbers have been applied we will tender the shipment to the carrier. We use this method because it provides us a real time pickup number from the carrier to obtain updates prior to pickup. Our staff will either email the BOL directly to you or to the shipper (at your request) the minute after the tender has been accepted by the carrier. LTL carriers require a 2 hour window prior to close time in order to schedule it for a same-day pickup attempt.
The following morning you’ll receive an email from us. It will either provide the reason the pickup was missed (driver’s trailer filled up, driver missed the close time, truck broke down, shipper said no freight, etc.) or if the pickup was successful you will receive the PRO (tracking) number from us, along with the eta for delivery. Our staff will track it throughout the duration of transit and advise if anything happens that will alter the estimated delivery date. The day the shipment delivers we will email you with confirmation and the POD (Proof of Delivery), should you require it.
Your shipment has been quoted, scheduled, picked up, and delivered. The next step is waiting for the carrier to invoice us and make sure the rate matches up. If it does, we close out the invoice from the carrier in our system and automatically your invoice is created and sent to the requested party at your company. In the event the carrier has an additional charge on their invoice “Variance”, we will never send you an invoice with an additional charge without first identifying you of the charge.
Let us repeat, NEVER WILL WE JUST BILL OUT AN EXTRA CHARGE WITHOUT YOU BEING NOTIFIED.
You are our customer, we represent you. Should the carrier provide an extra charge on an invoice, “Lift gate, additional weight, reclass, detention, etc.) We notify you of the charge via email first. Second, within that email we identify what is required should you choose to dispute the charge. Again our goal is to honor your request, if you want to dispute, we will dispute. During a dispute we will provide you updates every step along the way. Once a dispute is closed out, whether it is approved or rejected, then we will invoice you as the invoice has been resolved.
For reference, our company only had 6.2% of all shipments go to dispute in 2022 and we successfully won 91% of those disputes on behalf of our customers.
This is our process for every single shipment you move with us. We don’t cut corners, we don’t hide from difficult situations. We believe in being available, honest, and transparent. We don’t ever want to tell you that a shipment is lost, damaged, misrouted, but it is our duty to notify you the second we find out something has gone wrong. We hate to present bad news, but it is part of the job. What you can guarantee is that we will work a shipment all the way through and turn over every stone until we get a resolution for our clients.
Services offered?
Our core business is LTL and FTL. Within these options we have options for both dry and refrigerated/frozen. We also offer FCL/Drayage options. Our company as a 3PL has nationwide options and services clients across the US.
Let’s breakdown our services more in-depth
LTL:
Standard and Guaranteed
CFS (Imports & Exports)
Tradeshows
Hazmat
Anything that is on a pallet can be moved LTL. Typically LTL is up to 10 pallets, but the sweet spot for a carrier is 6-8 pallets at most for an individual shipment. LTL quotes are good between 5-30 days depending on the carrier. LTL can be quoted either via NMFC or density to determine the class (we do this for you).
Volume:
Anything over 10-12’ of space in the truck is the technical rule for a volume shipment. When we run a quote for you we will determine if it qualifies for volume and provide you a rate if available. Volume moves allow you to get a reduced rate for larger shipments. The caveat to volume shipments it the quotes are only valid for 3-7 days and they move on capacity between terminals. If a terminal is backed up they will move their LTL freight first before the volume freight, which can lead to longer transit times for volume moves.
FTL/Dedicated/Expedited: 53’ Dry and Reefer 26’ Box trucks with lift gate Sprinter Van The main difference for FTL vs LTL is space and transit time. For standard pallets you can fit either 26 or 30 pallets in a 53’ dry van. The other main difference is transit time, for FTL each day counts in the transit time, whereas LTL does not count the day of pickup, weekends, or holidays in their transit time.
Reefer/Frozen:
LTL and FTL
We specialize working in the CPG space with food manufacturers. We regularly deliver to
the following locations:
Kehe
UNFI
Core Mark
DPI
Wegmans
Cugini
H.T. Hackney
Netrition
HEB
ALDI
Chambers and Owens
EBY Brown
Nassau Candy
Harris Teeter
Wakefern
NU INC
Long Distribution
What makes KLS different?
There are thousands of freight brokers and 3PL in our industry. Barrier to entry is rather easy and agents or owners will often hire sales people without any intention of properly training them. It results in high turnover for many freight companies and a forgettable experience for the client. We choose to operate differently through our consistency. We truly care about doing right by our clients and prospects too. While we would love to help provide our services to every company we speak with, that just isn’t realistic. We won’t always be the right fit for every company that moves freight and that is ok. Our authenticity as a shipping company sets us apart from the competition and that is backed up by our testimonials. We also run a marketing campaign bi-weekly called “Together Talks”. We interview, highlight, and promote two businesses every week. Our goal is to grow our network, make new connections, and learn something new with each collaboration. Check it out on our website and if you’re interested in being featured reach out.
Our company also runs a year long charity promotion. Book your first shipment through KLS and we donate to the charity of your choice in your name. Our way of thanking you for giving us an opportunity to show you the KLS way and what makes us one of a kind. This entire package is what we offer to every prospect and every client. Our goal is to help provide answers that customers may have when it comes to shipping. We want to always be available as a resource and will always offer a lending hand whenever we can.
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