This week, Dave speaks with Daniel Kleinkopf, VP of Marketing & Technology at Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages.

Daniel shares how Waiākea is growing across ecommerce, retail, Amazon, international expansion, and brand marketing — while staying grounded in its core pillars of health, sustainability, and ethical impact.

The conversation covers how Waiākea thinks about content by channel, why the brand leans on authentic Hawaiian creators and athlete ambassadors, and how the team is using AI across the organization — from everyday productivity to supply chain and inventory decisions.

Topics covered:

Waiākea’s brand story and sustainability mission
Ecommerce, Amazon, and DTC strategy for beverage
Content creation across retail, ecommerce, and social channels
The Japan launch and adapting messaging for local markets
Athlete ambassadors and creator partnerships
Practical AI use cases across marketing, operations, and supply chain

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker