It's the final episode... for now! Let's end with an Incrediball update.

So you may have seen my social media posts, or figured things out from the title of this episode, but ‘Now, That’s What I Call Business’ is ending…or at least going on indefinite hiatus.

There has been a lot of things going on behind the scenes, and it’s taken me a while but I have made this decision after much thought.

BUT! We’re going to go out with one last episode and there is a lot of stuff to know before we wrap this podcast up.

Find us online:
www.briannewest.com
https://www.instagram.com/briannemwest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@briannemwest
https://www.youtube.com/@briannemwest

Wanna know more about Incrediballs?
www.incrediballs.com
https://www.instagram.com/incrediballsdrinks/
https://www.tiktok.com/@incrediballsdrinks
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Business, but Better (the FREE education hub for founders & entrepreneurs):
www.businessbutbetter.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessbutbetter
https://www.tiktok.com/@businessbutbetter
https://www.instagram.com/businessbutbetter

Transcript:

Brianne (intro): Kia ora and welcome to Now That's What I Call Business. I'm your host, Brianne West, and you may know me as the founder and former CEO of Ethique, or That Soap Company, as some of you may know it, or hopefully my newest startup, Incrediballs. I absolutely believe that business done right, done ethically, is the way to change the world. So if you are looking to build your world-changing biz, or you just want to find out how Incredibles is going, then you have come to the right place.

Kia ora, welcome back to the last ever pod of the season. Yes, I'm sorry, Now That's What I Call Business. We're putting on hiatus at the moment because honestly, I have too much to do and I think it's about time I took my own advice and did fewer things better, right? Now, I started this podcast to not only bring you along the journey of building Incrediballs, but also to give you an insight into what it's like to build an ethical business and hopefully give you insights and also talk to other people who are doing something similar. So I hope you've taken a lot away from it. There's about, I think, 25 something episodes across the last two seasons that cover everything from personal branding to finance to investment. And all of that information is still super helpful and super relevant. So go back and listen to them as you need to.

The Green pod will still be around because if I'm honest, my whole life is business, right? And sometimes I want to focus on something else and sustainability is the whole reason I do anything. Being an environmentalist and protecting our planet is what I am here for and I just use business to do that at scale.

So Now That's What I Call Green, which is, I think, probably more fun and relevant to everybody because we should all be thinking about how we can live a little bit lighter. That will continue. I will be making that a weekly series. It's going to be, I think it's very exciting. We've got some cool guests coming up too. So if you've ever heard of Cristina Mittermeier, really glad I'm saying that right. She is quite literally the greatest conservation photographer of all time. She is a National Geographic regular contributor. She is, I think they call them Nat Geo Explorers. She's amazing. And I know that I'm going to get sage fright and act like a total idiot when she's on, but she'll be on.

Also trying to get people to introduce me to David Attenborough. And I know that that sounds ridiculous, but I know people who know him. Of course, I don't know if I can convince those people to convince him to come and talk on a pod in a tiny country like Aotearoa, but you know what? If you don't ask, you don't get. But if you do have someone who you think I should talk to you over on the Green Pod, please let me know. If you do want to revisit some of the older episodes from this one, go head over to nowthatswhaticall.com because it has the transcripts, the information, show notes, everything else, including all the episodes, obviously. And look, it's not goodbye forever, right? It's just goodbye for now.

Who knows, I might pick this up again. Unfortunately, the downside of my slightly scatty personality is that, if I'm being perfectly honest, I do pick things up and then put them back down again and then pick them up later. So I do expect there will be a season three. I just think that on top of launching Incredibles in the next couple of months and focusing more on the environmental side of things and everything else going on, it's just a bit much.

The other thing, of course, is Business But Better is still going to be there. We are doubling down on making our lessons and worksheets over on Business But Better a little bit more accessible. We've got a new website being built as we speak. The community on Facebook is active. There's lots of questions being asked and lots of really helpful advice. So again, if you're looking for more business help and content, that exists too. And there's a YouTube channel with a few videos on there. So you're not being abandoned, I promise. Please stop crying. It's just not a big deal. Okay, I'm being slightly dramatic.

But I thought I'd end this with how I started with an Incrediballs update, because there's been a few things going on since I last updated you. Okay, so picture it. About three years ago, I came up with the idea from, actually that's probably not true, I thought about it years and years ago, but about three years ago when Ethique started becoming a little bit more established, we'd done the big deal with the private equity firm, and I was thinking, what do I want to do next? Because I don't want to do this forever. I was thinking about how I could make a similar impact in a different industry, and the idea of a tablet drink kept popping up.

But I wanted it to be fun, right, because tablet drinks already exist. Barocca is totally a thing. It's not a particularly tasty thing and it serves a different purpose, but the idea of a tablet drink is already out there. So I thought about instead of a tablet, maybe multiple tablets or little balls or cascading, you know, fun powders or glitter or something that would make it visually exciting, but also delicious and healthy and better for the environment, blah, blah, blah. Now, when I started work with our manufacturer, unfortunately, this was not an option.

We were going to have to go with one big tablet and everything else I wanted to do was possible, but the sort of the fun element was kind of missing. I envisaged, you know, a mix of blue and green little tiny balls that you pour from a sachet into a glass and it makes a different colour. You know, I envisage really cool Willy Wonka style stuff because I'm kind of creative that way. But also I believe we need a bit of magic, right? Saving the environment doesn't have to be boring. And they said at this stage, with this technology, this is not doable. And I thought, right, well, you know what, step one, that's okay, because we'll improve as you go.

But a week after our taste test party, we had a breakthrough, which is typical, because all of that information I got from my taste test party is kind of irrelevant now. I'm so grateful we did it. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of our supporters. And actually, what you guys trialed is sort of no longer what we're working with, which I know is going to disappoint some of you because you loved them.

I mean, they're going to taste even better, but they're going to be so much more fun because now we can do those mini balls. We can do the colours and the shapes and everything that will take it from a boring bog-standard tablet and a glass and like an aspirin to the more fun way to drink without the plastic. You know what? Obviously, we're still working on the branding and the packaging and everything else because it can be a little bit tricky to describe to people because people will still come to me and say, oh, it's like a Barocca. Well, yeah, but I don't want people to associate it with a Barocca because I don't know many people who actually like the taste of them. No shade to Barocca. They fulfill a great niche, but we are not a Barocca.

The other big change has been our flavours. As you know, we are using certified natural flavours and colours. That's certainly not going to change, but we have found a new source. Not only does this new source have an amazing supply chain, but they are better flavours. They're more oomph, but in less product. They are much more true to life, I suppose.

I've tried a couple of them already. I'm very excited, but we're also having our own special ones made benched against flavors that I know you guys already love. So we're talking about the cola, we're talking about the orange, we're talking about the blackcurrant, they're going to be really, really sort of punch you in the nose. Which also means, of course, with the mini balls that you can tailor your flavour to how strong you want it. So if you want it really strong, whole sachet, done deal. If you want it half as strong or you want it for your child who maybe you want to water it down, but again, there's no sugars, there's no real need to. You can put half a sachet in. It's kind of a DIY science experiment-y thing, as well, at the same time. So I'm bringing out the Willy Wonka in all of us.

So I'm pretty fricking excited. We are looking now at launching September, October. I will bring it out this year, if it kills me. Phew, it has been a long road. We are a year and a half delayed, but that's okay. That's how R&D goes.

And look, I was gonna say there's no rush, but there is, because the amount of plastic that the likes of Coca-Cola and Pepsi are producing as we speak is maddening. So there is a rush. I know I appreciate you guys have been waiting really patiently and I've been talking about this for ages but it's coming. September, October, mark your calendars. The other thing I'm thinking of is how are we going to launch this? I reckon we should have an Incredi-ball, right? Get it? Like a masquerade ball but maybe without the masks because I don't want to encourage people to make masks, they only wear once. But I'm thinking a ball, you know, rented gowns or if you've got your own, have, you know, just a real old-fashioned school ball vibe. Maybe without the bitchiness and the cattiness from being a teenager. I don't know.

It's a work in progress. I'm excited about it. So on top of launching a product, I have to plan a ball. Thank God I have a good team. And then finally, of course, we're working on that packaging design. It's a love-hate relationship with packaging. It's always fun and it's great to see concepts, but then there's so much to consider, particularly as now instead of going exclusively to online, like was the plan, we've got retailers banging down the door, which is obviously a wonderful problem to have, but we want to make sure the packaging is retail ready. So not only do you see it on shelf, but you see it, you also get it because this is an unusual product. How on earth are we going to get across to people on a very small box that this is a drink, this will save you plastic bottles. This tastes fricking delicious and what a flavor it is.

She's a challenge. Luckily, we're working with some fabulous designers and they get it and that really makes all the difference. So it's a nightmare but it's, you know, fun. And hopefully, if my PR lady, who I might not tell, if she's looking the other way, we might do some polls on Instagram and see what people think. So that's the goss. This is the very last biz pod, well, the very last Biz pod for now. I appreciate you being with me on the journey.

I know that some of you run and listen to this and I mean, I think that you're mad for running because honestly, running is up there with some kind of level of torture personally, but hopefully, you will enjoy the Green pod just as much. Trust me, it's way more fun. I'm way more fun over there. Have a wonderful week.

Good luck with building your businesses. I look forward to seeing what you do. Keep in touch and business for better. You know where I am. I'm easy to find. And I will see you over on the Green pod. Kia ora.

Brianne (outro): Short and sweet, like all the best podcasts, right? Thank you for learning with me. It is always an absolute blast to put these together and share these stories, some of them which are a little ridiculous, and they all come from building a business that will hopefully change the world. If you enjoyed this episode, don't keep it to yourself and feel free to drop me a rating and hit that subscribe button. Kia ora and see you next week where I will and hit that subscribe button. Kia ora and see you next week where I will have another incredible episode for you.

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