How This 32-Year-Old Built a $1B Water Company Without Plastic | Shadi Bakour DSH #976

Summary

Digital Social Hour Podcast Summary: "How This 32-Year-Old Built a $1B Water Company Without Plastic | Shadi Bakour DSH #976"

Release Date: December 13, 2024 | Host: Shadi Bakour | Guest: Shadi Bakour, CEO of Path Water

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Introduction

In episode #976 of the Digital Social Hour Newsletter, host Shadi Bakour engages in a compelling conversation with Shadi Bakour, the visionary CEO of Path Water. The discussion delves deep into the journey of building a billion-dollar water company centered on sustainability, innovation, and combating the pervasive issue of microplastics.

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1. The Alarming Rise of Microplastics

[01:01] Shadi Bakour (Host): "All this stuff with the microplastics is really concerning."

[01:34] Path Water CEO: "We eat a credit card worth of plastic every single week in the US through microplastics. It's like 0.5% of our brain matter is microplastics now."

The conversation kicks off with a stark revelation about the microplastic crisis, highlighting that the average American consumes a substantial amount of plastic weekly. The CEO emphasizes the severe health implications, noting the presence of microplastics in critical organs, including the brain.

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2. Founding of Path Water: A Sustainable Vision

[01:30] Shadi Bakour (Guest): "I'm sure you guys have seen them around. Thanks for coming on, man."

[01:34] Path Water CEO: "We were definitely the pioneers in the space and we're still continuing to lead the pack in terms of sustainability in the entire beverage industry."

Founded at the young age of 22, Path Water emerged as a trailblazer in the sustainable beverage sector. The company's mission revolves around eliminating single-use plastics by introducing reusable aluminum bottles, positioning themselves at the forefront of environmental stewardship within the industry.

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3. Overcoming Initial Challenges: From Concept to Market

[03:00] Path Water CEO: "Probably pandemic. Helped out a lot with like Amazon and the stuff economy of just like pumping as many..."

[11:14] Path Water CEO: "I was driving Uber and working at an Italian restaurant on the weekends... loading up 60 cases of water in the back of my beat-up Prius."

The path to success was fraught with challenges, especially during the pandemic, which saw a surge in single-use plastic consumption. The CEO recounts humble beginnings—juggling multiple jobs to fund the venture and personally delivering products to retail outlets like 7/11s. This grassroots approach was essential in securing shelf space and building initial consumer trust.

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4. Strategic Retail Placement: Choosing Impulse Over Intent

[14:09] Shadi Bakour (Host): "I always assume 7 11s were so corporate that they had to get product approval and everything."

[14:13] Path Water CEO: "80% of their products are corporate approval, 20% they can choose what they want."

A pivotal decision was made to focus on convenience stores rather than traditional health-focused grocery stores. The CEO explains that impulse buying at places like 7/11 proved more effective for their product, aligning with consumer behavior patterns focused on convenience and immediate needs.

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5. Capital Raising and Scaling the Business

[10:52] Shadi Bakour (Host): "Were you raising capital back then or did you self fund everything?"

[10:55] Path Water CEO: "No, I've been raising capital since day one."

From day one, Path Water has been proactive in raising capital, essential for scaling operations, manufacturing, and distribution. The CEO highlights the importance of continuous fundraising to support inventory and expand retail presence, underscoring the necessity of financial backing in building a billion-dollar enterprise.

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6. Authentic Sustainability: Beyond Marketing Gimmicks

[20:01] Path Water CEO: "There's very few examples of brands that have leveraged, like Kylie Cosmetics... So there's, it's just like an adrenaline shot for their business."

The CEO stresses the significance of authentic sustainability over superficial marketing tactics. Unlike brands that rely heavily on celebrity endorsements without a solid environmental foundation, Path Water focuses on genuine sustainability practices, ensuring long-term credibility and consumer loyalty.

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7. Collaborations and Celebrity Partnerships

[17:03] Shadi Bakour (Host): "When did you see those celebrities and athletes start coming in to the company?"

[17:08] Path Water CEO: "... Vernon Davis was the first athlete investor that came on board."

Path Water has attracted investments from prominent celebrities and athletes such as Vernon Davis, Guy Fieri, Kevin Hart, Travis Scott, and even brands like SpaceX and Adidas. These partnerships are not merely transactional but stem from a shared commitment to sustainability and ethical business practices.

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8. Navigating Competition and Market Dynamics

[10:24] Path Water CEO: "But generally, you know, at that time, 2019, like there weren't, there wasn't really much competition at all."

As the sustainability trend gained momentum, competition in the aluminum bottle market intensified. The CEO observes that while many new entrants initially emerge, sustaining growth in the beverage industry remains challenging due to high operational costs and the need for continuous innovation.

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9. Future Vision: Expanding Impact and Advocacy

[21:38] Shadi Bakour (Host): "So, what’s your vision for the future?"

[21:08] Path Water CEO: "We're just having a lot of fun with it right now... reusable container."

Path Water's future vision encompasses not only expanding their market presence but also advocating for broader environmental and social causes. Initiatives include supporting autism awareness, COVID relief, and veteran support, reinforcing their commitment to social responsibility alongside business growth.

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10. Actionable Takeaways for Listeners

[33:25] Path Water CEO: "Just instead of throwing things away, trying to find ways to repurpose them."

The episode concludes with practical advice for listeners to contribute to environmental sustainability. The CEO encourages repurposing items, reducing waste, and adopting reusable products to make a meaningful impact on the planet.

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11. Conclusion

Shadi Bakour’s insightful interview with the CEO of Path Water offers a comprehensive look into building a successful, sustainable business from the ground up. Emphasizing authenticity, strategic market placement, and unwavering commitment to sustainability, Path Water serves as a model for aspiring entrepreneurs aiming to make a positive environmental impact while achieving substantial business success.

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Notable Quotes

• Path Water CEO at [01:34]: "We eat a credit card worth of plastic every single week in the US through microplastics. It's like 0.5% of our brain matter is microplastics now."

• Path Water CEO at [04:24]: "It's 8 to 10 times more to make that bottle."

• Path Water CEO at [10:24]: "At that time, 2019, like there weren't, there wasn't really much competition at all."

• Path Water CEO at [20:01]: "There are very few examples of brands that have leveraged... it's just not going to work for us if you actually believe in us."

• Path Water CEO at [33:23]: "Instead of throwing things away, trying to find ways to repurpose them."

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Learn More

To explore Path Water’s innovative approach to sustainable hydration, visit their website at drinkpathwater.com or follow them on Instagram for the latest updates and initiatives.

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This summary captures the essence of the podcast episode, highlighting the main discussions, insights, and actionable advice shared by Shadi Bakour and the CEO of Path Water. For a more immersive experience, listening to the full episode is highly recommended.

Transcript

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[Shadi Bakur]

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[Path Water CEO]

Unlimited more than 40 gigabytes per month. Slows full terms@mintmobile.

[Shadi Bakur]

All this stuff with the microplastics is really concerning.

[Path Water CEO]

It's crazy. Honestly, it's. I didn't even realize how bad it was until. Until more and more research started coming out. We eat a credit card worth of plastic every single week in the US through microplastics. It's like 0.5% of our brain matter is microplastics now.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh my gosh. All right, guys, Shadi Bakur here today, CEO of Path Water. I'm sure you guys have seen them around. Thanks for coming on, man.

[Path Water CEO]

Thank you. Great to be here.

[Shadi Bakur]

Absolutely, man. You were probably one of the first companies to use that material in your water, right?

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, yeah. We were definitely the pioneers in the space and we're still continuing to lead the pack in terms of sustainability in the, in the entire beverage industry.

[Shadi Bakur]

Right. Cuz it probably costs way more, I'd assume, than plastic to use.

[Path Water CEO]

That definitely costs like 8 to 10 times more to make that bottle.

[Shadi Bakur]

Wow.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's crazy. Yeah, I mean the plastic, I mean all this stuff with the microplastics is really concerning.

[Path Water CEO]

So it's crazy. Honestly, it's. I didn't even realize how bad it was until, until more and more research started coming out.

[Shadi Bakur]

Right.

[Path Water CEO]

Like we eat a credit card worth of plastic every single week in the US through microplastics. It's crazy.

[Shadi Bakur]

And that stays in your body for a while, right? Yeah, like the body doesn't know how.

[Path Water CEO]

To it's like 0.5% of our brain matter is microplastics.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I saw they just found it in brain.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, it's.

[Shadi Bakur]

They're finding it in heart, they're finding it in lungs, everything. Testicles.

[Path Water CEO]

Scary. Honestly. So hopefully we can do something about it, but it's gonna. The. The crazy thing is that most of the plastic that that's been created in the world has been created over the past three years.

[Shadi Bakur]

Wow.

[Path Water CEO]

So in the history of plastic, you know, it's. It's been around for maybe six, seven decades. Three. The past three years, like, it's only ramping up. You know, it's not. It's not like we're like slowing down.

[Shadi Bakur]

What caused that massive spike three years ago, you think?

[Path Water CEO]

Probably pandemic. Helped out a lot with like Amazon and the stuff economy of just like pumping as many, you know, and then you have fast fashion. You have different things like that that are just. Technology allows manufacturing to scale up at a much more rapid pace today.

[Shadi Bakur]

Right.

[Path Water CEO]

Than it did even 10, five, 10 years ago.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. And these companies are just trying to make money, but now all these health effects are kind of a side effect of that.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. Yeah. So hopefully, I mean, I think consumers are starting to become more aware. Like you said, you literally walk to the end of the terminal.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh, yeah.

[Path Water CEO]

To get an aluminum bottle of water instead of a plastic bottle of water.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. Because there's only one store in the Vegas airport that sells the Pathway.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

Every other store is like, you know.

[Path Water CEO]

Plastic.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, plastic pretty much.

[Path Water CEO]

For now.

[Shadi Bakur]

For now. L. A has a glass one, which is great. But yeah, most airports and stadiums are just plastic.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. Yeah. We have a big presence at LAX as well.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh, you do? Nice.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. So they banned single use plastic bottles, like officially beginning of this year.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh, wow.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

Shout out to la. That's one of the good things they're doing over there.

[Path Water CEO]

Totally, totally.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. I remember when. Cause I grew up in Jersey, they banned, like, plastic shopping bags. I was really pissed. I was annoyed at first, to be honest, but now that I'm seeing all this stuff, I'm like, oh, that's probably a good thing.

[Path Water CEO]

It makes sense, you know, but at.

[Shadi Bakur]

The time, it was so convenient to just not have to bring your own bag.

[Path Water CEO]

Well, that's the thing is, like, plastic might be one of the greatest inventions of all time. It's not. It's not a bad thing. But we as human beings have misused plastic. To think that you can just take a plastic bottle of water, drink it for seven minutes. You toss it, it lasts for 700 years.

[Shadi Bakur]

Wow.

[Path Water CEO]

Just doesn't make sense.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, that's way too long.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. So.

[Shadi Bakur]

What was I going to say? So with your. Yours are out of aluminum or what's inside your bottles?

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, so it's aluminum. It's a durable aluminum bottle. It's similar. It's pretty much the same bottle that you'll find that, you know, rei, big five, all these sporting goods stores empty for, you know, 20, 25 bucks, something like that. We sell it filled with water for around three, three dollars or so.

[Shadi Bakur]

Nice.

[Path Water CEO]

On the shelf.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's good.

[Path Water CEO]

So we're in about 70, 000 retail stores today across the US and internationally. But we also partner with a lot of really cool organizations like the Sphere here in Vegas, SpaceX, you know, Adidas, a bunch of others.

[Shadi Bakur]

It's badass, man. Yeah, you grew this thing to a 10 figure business and you're still really young.

[Path Water CEO]

So 32. Turned 33 in November.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's impressive, man. And you started this at 22, right? Yeah, so about 10 years now.

[Path Water CEO]

Correct.

[Shadi Bakur]

Super young. And was this one of your first endeavors?

[Path Water CEO]

It was. I mean, I've had very.

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[Path Water CEO]

It'S projects in the past, some with mild success, but nothing to the scale of what we're building with path. And yeah, I studied finance. I was trying to go into Wall street. That was my thing. Just trying to make a bunch of money as quickly as possible, to be honest and create something massive, create something scalable. And when we kind of were brainstorming something simple, something scalable, we walked into a local convenience store in Northern California where I'm born and raised, and we just looked at the water aisle and started ideating on it and we're like, hey, what if we just put it in a metal container instead of single use plastic and started doing more research. Similar to what you said about how Jersey banned plastic bags. We realized San Francisco banned plastic bags, you know, six years ago, prior at the time, and that California banned plastic bags, you know, five years after San Francisco did. So we saw like a trend coming. A lot of trends come out of San Francisco. San Francisco is a very progressive, forward thinking epicenter. It's like the Silicon Valley, right? You see all these startups, Facebook, et cetera, et cetera coming out of the Silicon Valley. So once we saw that trend happen, we saw the same thing happening with plastic bottled water. And lo and behold, 2014, San Francisco banned the sale of plastic bottled water on public property. And then 2019, San Francisco International Airport was the first major airport to ban all single use plastic bottles. And at that time we took over the entire airport. We just went in, booked a flight on Expedia to get through security, got through security, canceled the flight because there's 24 hour free cancellation every day for six months. Going up to that band, we were just in there talking to everyone and replaced about 4 or 5 million bottles a year, going through, you know, one of the largest international hubs in the world. And that was a huge catalyst for us.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's incredible. 2019, so they were way ahead of the time because I feel like now people are like waking up to the plastic stuff, right?

[Path Water CEO]

Now you see so many different aluminum bottled waters out there. Right. Still we're the only ones that are doing it in a reusable container. So it still makes us unique. And the collabs that we do and no one's doing that. But generally, you know, at that time, 2019, like there weren't, there wasn't really much competition at all.

[Shadi Bakur]

Right. For us.

[Path Water CEO]

And now it's becoming more and more crowded. But you know, I think you'll see like brands pop up for a short period, relatively short period of time and then die off just because like beverage industry is a tough industry.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah.

[Path Water CEO]

It requires a lot to get to a certain place where you're actually sustaining yourself without having to raise capital and just like survive basically.

[Shadi Bakur]

Right. Were you raising capital back then or did you self fund everything?

[Path Water CEO]

No, I've been, I've been raising capital since day one.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh yeah?

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

Nice.

[Path Water CEO]

Always raising capital. Like there's, there's always a conversation being had.

[Shadi Bakur]

You know, it probably wouldn't have been possible without raising money. Right. Because all the inventory and everything.

[Path Water CEO]

Oh yeah. I mean we raised a lot of money.

[Shadi Bakur]

Oh yeah. So you raised money pre revenue or was it.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, pre, I mean pre revenue. I mean I didn't come from money. So like I was driving Uber and working at an Italian restaurant on the weekends, living at home with the parents, you know, loading up 60 cases of water in the back of my beat up Prius with literally the bumper was hanging off the back, scraping the ground. And when we started, I mean we, after it took us like over a year to actually just raise a little bit of money. Design the product, manufacture it, find the manufacturers, make the website, all that stuff. And then we started going door to door to seven elevens and we would just literally show up. Like we drew a map, we just went on Google, got every 711 in Northern California, 220 stores drew a route between all of them. We had three guys, two cars and we would just disperse, you know, 5am, show up in the parking lot of these seven 11s and just sit there with like a Red Bull and some sunflower seeds, literally stake out, you know, like in a cop movie and wait for the store owner to show up. Once they show up, you just go in and you just make a deal at all costs, you know, and if they absolutely did not take the product, then we would just be like, okay, I'm going to give you a case of water for free and you're going to give me the best shelving and I'm going To come back in a week and it's going to sell. And when it sells, you're going to buy more. I'm going to give you a deal.

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[Path Water CEO]

Because everyone wants guys.

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[Path Water CEO]

First it's a deal, but it's going to sell. And from there we'll. We'll continue our relationship. And that's how we built, you know, in 30 days, we're in every 711 in Northern California. And that was like kind of the, the nemesis that's so legendary.

[Shadi Bakur]

I always assume 7 11s were so corporate that they had to get product approval and everything.

[Path Water CEO]

80% of their products are corporate approval, 20% they can, they can choose what they want.

[Shadi Bakur]

Wow. So the individual store owner has some discretion.

[Path Water CEO]

Yes. So once we figured that out, we actually pivoted away from like the whole Foods type stores to 7/11. And yeah, we thought our consumer was at Whole Foods because sustainability and, you know, all those good things that our brand is about. But when you think about. So, like, what we didn't realize is that in a, in a grocery store, the water aisle is like a football field and you just get lost on the shelf easily. People are not going to Whole Foods to buy, you know, just sustainable bottled water. They're going to buy broccoli and, you know, food for their kids, lunches for, for school, and all the other things that they need to get. So yeah, like versus a 7 11. Like, you're going in, you're thirsty, it's a hot day, you just go to the fridge, grab a bottle. It's more of an impulse buy. And. And so that's why it just worked out early on for us. Much better. But again, like everyone tells you, go after your target core consumer early on and figure out who that is. Like, we thought we knew who that was. We thought it was very obvious, but it turned out to be very different than what we thought.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, I would have thought the same. I would have thought to go to all the healthiest grocery stores and get product placement there.

[Path Water CEO]

Right. Yeah, that's what we did. And the product just collected dust for weeks.

[Shadi Bakur]

That sucks. Does it. Does it expire ever? Water?

[Path Water CEO]

No. I mean, that's the good thing about water is that it doesn't. It has a best buy date technically of two years, but it doesn't really expire. But still, like, in. In consumer packaged goods, half the battle is getting on the shelf, and then the other half is getting off the shelf. Right. So it's. Those are the two parts of the game.

[Shadi Bakur]

Right. Because you got to pay for the shipping and stuff.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. So, I mean, at the time, we were just shipping it ourselves. Essentially, we were delivering ourselves. But. But like I'm saying, you gotta get it. You gotta sell it into the store. You gotta convince the buyer that this is gonna sell, and then you gotta convince the consumer to actually go in the store and buy it, pick it up off the shelf to show the buyers of that store that this product is actually gonna move and make them money so that they'll buy more. And.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. I'd be curious the average length a product survives in, like, a Whole Foods or sprouts.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, I think it really depends. Right. On what category. If you look at poppy and Olipop and these probiotic prebiotic drinks, it's a relatively lower shelf life versus, obviously, water kind of lasts forever and doesn't require refrigeration. And so there's different layers to it depending on the product type.

[Shadi Bakur]

Absolutely. When did you see those celebrities and athletes start coming in to the company?

[Path Water CEO]

I mean, 2018. Guy Fieri was actually. No. Vernon Davis was the first athlete investor that came on board. He's like one of the most humble guys ever, you know. Multi Super Bowl.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. One of the best tight ends of all time.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. And so he invested, and then right after that, Guy Fieri invested. And. But it was always just like, you know, I never thought I would be working with, like, all of these. You know, we have like, Kevin Hart, Travis Scott, you know, Becky G, like Michael Jordan, you know, Ninja Fortnite.

[Shadi Bakur]

A lot of.

[Path Water CEO]

A lot of cool People that have invested and which I never, you know, I had no access to these, these people. But it was just through someone that knew someone that knew someone. It's actually pretty crazy how, you know, they say like that everyone is only a few layers away from everyone in the world. Like we're all connected. Yeah, I never really realized how, how real that was until, you know, started getting that type of traction. But we've also talked to a lot of celebs and athletes that were just not the right people to work with. So we were, we always looked for like that alignment in like the let's go mentality. And like, honestly a lot of celebs and athletes, like they try to, you know, maybe rightfully so, but they try to take flesh when they're, when they're doing a deal with a brand. And we just said that's not going to work for us. If you actually believe in us, then you invest. And that's, that's the model that we went by.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, that makes sense because they have a following so they expect free equity. But you guys have already done so much revenue at this point, it's, it's not really there.

[Path Water CEO]

Even early on, like I just always believed that path is a brand that stands on its own. So it's like, because look, if you look at, there's very few examples of brands that have leveraged, you know, like Kylie Cosmetics, things like that that have done very well with a, with a big push from celebrity. But there's so many examples of brands that have gone out with celebs or paid them, you know, so much money and so much equity and it just like, it's like an adrenaline shot for their business. Like it might give them like a quick boost. But over the long run, if you don't have a brand and a product that's actually good, then you can put all the celebrity in the world behind it. It's just, in my opinion, it's just not going to work.

[Shadi Bakur]

Agreed. Very few of those, yes, celebrity liquor brands work out long term or drink brands. I mean Prime's doing well, but we'll see over time if it can go the distance.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, prime, prime has had had a huge up and then I think it's gone up and down and up and down. You know, it's, it's hard to tell honestly like what's happening under the hood. Like, you know, sometimes things just look really great on the outside and then when you actually try to see what's happening, it's not as good as people may Think, Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

So I could see that. I mean, when I go to the stores I see them fully stocked, but they seem to be killing it on social media. So. Yeah, you never really know. Yeah, you know.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, no, I know they've done, they've done very well so far. But yeah, they actually use one of our manufacturers and every business growing fast growing business has its challenges. Yeah, just leave it at that.

[Shadi Bakur]

Absolutely. You guys have to be one of the biggest water beverages in the world at this point. So I'm assuming people are trying to buy you out. Like what's, what's your vision for the future?

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, I mean we're just having a lot of fun with it right now. There's just so much demand for our brand and our product in the market because everyone's looking for, everyone's looking for that sustainable option. And like when it comes to sustainability, like we're, you know, we have the highest quality of product. It's why like Madison Square Garden with the sphere, they have a 20 year relationship with Pepsi, which owns Aquafina. And Aquafina has a can, an aluminum can that they, they put their water in.

[Shadi Bakur]

But I saw that actually that's a newer thing, right?

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, but it's when Pepsi went to MSG and said, why, you know, we can give you a sustainable option that's non plastic. They're like, this is not a good solution. You guys are just trying to like kind of make it work, but it's not, it doesn't work for us. So I think that's why like we're in all, all Chanel stores in the United States. You know, Chanel reached out to us. Why SpaceX reached out to us, all these big organizations because like we've always just really believed in the having like a quality product that's actually solving a problem, not just riding a trend. And we think all of these other single use aluminum brands are kind of trying to ride the trend. But at the end of the day, from a sustainability standpoint, reusability is like the pinnacle of, you know, sustainability.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, I try to reuse my bottles. I have a 5 gallon water dispenser at home.

[Path Water CEO]

There you go.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, so I'll fill that up.

[Path Water CEO]

There you go.

[Shadi Bakur]

I mean, I just don't like the plastics. Dude.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, man.

[Shadi Bakur]

Now there's so I'd love to find out if this is true. I'm hearing there's plastics in cans too. Certain cans use a layer of plastic inside.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, so. Well, any aluminum product has a liner. It's a plastic liner. But it doesn't leach microplastics in the same way as, like a pet plastic bottle. So it's literally a thin layer that's sprayed onto the inside to keep the separation. But, like, a recyclability standpoint doesn't affect it. Aluminum is still the most recyclable material in the world. And even the ink on the outside of any product is not technically not recyclable. So in the recycling process, it'll go to the top of the heap and it'll get scraped off. But you don't have the same microplastics issues with these cans or products, and you don't have the same recyclability issues because actually, plastic is not recycled. It's actually down cycled. So it loses quality every time it goes through the recycling process. So, like, a bottle will not make another bottle interesting. A bottle will make, like, a toy and then maybe a plastic bag, and then it'll end up as microplastics, inevitably, versus an aluminum bottle or an aluminum can will end up on the shelf as another product within 60 days of it hitting the recycling bin. So it's like super recyclable. Actually, recycling centers don't make money from recycling paper, glass, or plastic. They make all of their money from recycling aluminum and other metals.

[Shadi Bakur]

Wow.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's fascinating.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

So, and you said plastic lasts 700 years. So how are they getting rid of it right now?

[Path Water CEO]

It's in your belly right now. They're not getting rid of it.

[Shadi Bakur]

It's in the ocean.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, it's like something crazy. Like, 92% of the surface layer of the ocean is covered in plastic white. Yeah. So obviously, like, the ocean is very deep, but, like, if you think about seagulls and all of the animals that live on the top surface, like, that's what they're eating.

[Shadi Bakur]

Terrible. And I've actually cut back on sushi and seafood, to be honest, because I used to eat it all the time.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

I used to go to sushi buffets for, like, 25 bucks.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. Yeah, totally. It's scary. You pretty much can't avoid it at this point. I mean, it's just everywhere.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. I wonder if there's a test to see how much is in you.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, I'm sure those will come out eventually.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. That's gonna be a big company.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. Right?

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah. I mean, it's scary times. I feel like you caught the timing really well with this company.

[Path Water CEO]

And I think I was just with the CEO of Unilever at Oxford last week, and Unilever right now is like moving a lot of their products towards reusable products. So I think, you know, like, definitely there are brands, even major corporations that have seen us and seen our business model and said like, maybe we should try this. Because like, I know for a fact that Pepsi executives early on saw our product and our brand and saw that it was reusable and they were like, no, this is not, this is a horrible idea.

[Shadi Bakur]

The margins aren't good enough.

[Path Water CEO]

Well, not only the margins, but it's, it's because we're selling a reusable bottle. It like, it's very counterintuitive. It's like we're the water company that doesn't want to sell you any more water, you know? Yeah, yeah, like buy this and never buy another bottle again. Right. But we believe that consumers are smarter today than they've ever been before and they see through all of that bullshit of brands that are trying to again ride a trend and just make money off of the sustainability movement versus, you know, if you think of Patagonia like, you know, Patagonia is doing everything they can to be sustainable.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah.

[Path Water CEO]

You don't have to like do more research on them because they've built that trust with the consumer, they've built that loyalty. Like, I think Yvonne Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, donated all of his shares to like climate change.

[Shadi Bakur]

I saw that.

[Path Water CEO]

It was huge. Right?

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah.

[Path Water CEO]

And so, you know, they're, they're real, you know, they're genuine, they're authentic. And I think authenticity today in any company is what's going to win in the market.

[Shadi Bakur]

I agree. Yeah. Because you could have faked it before social media, but now everything's out there.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah. And, but it's more long term. Like you gotta withstand the short term ups and downs because like you have brands like, you know, not to throw shade or anything with the liquid deaths of the world and things like that that have raised a ton of capital, pumped a lot of marketing dollars in and like liquid death is genius marketers. But you know, for us it's more about like educating the consumer about what we're doing, why we're doing it, how we can contribute to social good overall. And it's not just through like being sustainable. For example, we launched a bottle with Rite Aid nationwide for the past two years and launching again next year that's based all around autism awareness. Like, you know, that may not have anything to do directly with Path as a brand, but like, we see that as an opportunity to raise awareness about A cause that, you know, a lot of people are really passionate about. And so the idea of doing like different causes behind our bottle, we're doing a Made in USA bottle that's going, you know, that's traditionally just given back to different organizations that, you know, are important to our nation or to Covid Relief or, you know, to, to veterans, things like that. So just always looking for ways to kind of give back and just be. Leave the planet and humanity better than how we found it.

[Shadi Bakur]

I love that. Yeah, it's hard to do that at scale. I feel like these bigger companies are all about margin and sometimes the ethics is out the window.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, I think in the short term that strategy might win, but in the long term, Unilever, for example, to go back to them, they, they did a campaign in Ethiopia where they actually like cared about the Ethiopian people before they cared about their own profits. And they hold more market share in that country than all of their competitors combined because of the strategy that they took. Because, you know, people want to work with brands and support brands that are actually that they, you know, want to support. Yeah, just, you know, so I think in the short term, like the marketing stuff can, can win, but like, it's kind of like. Heard of the Pet Rock?

[Shadi Bakur]

Pet Rock?

[Path Water CEO]

I don't know.

[Shadi Bakur]

Spongebob?

[Path Water CEO]

No, like, like in the late 90s, the story goes, there are these two marketing executives and one of them is like, I guarantee you I could sell anything. And then the other one was like, all right, sell me that rock. And he went and put googly eyes on it and a smiley face. And the pet rock became like a phenomenon nationwide. It was like one of the hottest selling items.

[Shadi Bakur]

Wow.

[Path Water CEO]

The frickin rock.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's crazy.

[Path Water CEO]

So, you know, but like, you don't really see anyone with a pet rock today. So it's not something that's going to stand the test of time, I would say, you know, but. But these kind of like gimmicky things can create a lot of buzz in a short term kind of place. So.

[Shadi Bakur]

Yeah, yeah, it's a crazy time, man. You got guys like RFK speaking out against this. I've never seen politics this involved with the health space ever.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's the health. The whole health epidemic is getting really heated right now.

[Shadi Bakur]

Really.

[Path Water CEO]

Like there's a lot of debate and a lot of people stepping up and standing, standing up against, you know, large corporations that have misinformed consumers and like. Yeah, I mean, I saw a statistic yesterday that said we. This is kind of tangent but like kids today, the average kid in the US spends less time outside in sunlight than a maximum security prisoner.

[Shadi Bakur]

Whoa.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

That's only an hour a week, right, prisoners?

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, I think so.

[Shadi Bakur]

Holy crap, it's wild. They're not even spending 10 minutes a day on average.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah, I know. It just makes me want to like, go outside and just like work out there all day. Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

When I was a kid, I was out there six hours a day.

[Path Water CEO]

Totally. Yeah. I was like skateboarding. I was, you know, going out, like. But it's just, it's just a different world that we live in.

[Shadi Bakur]

That, that connection with nature is important. I feel like we're getting disconnected from.

[Path Water CEO]

That, you know, 100, 100. It's becoming easier and easier to just like get stuck behind the screen and just get lost. Yeah, you know, it's tough.

[Shadi Bakur]

Do you see any regulations coming to the plastics anytime soon, you think?

[Path Water CEO]

I mean, I think they are coming slowly yet surely to different communities, different cities, globally. As I mentioned, what happened at San Francisco Airport, then Los Angeles airport. So you're seeing different airports ban single use plastic. There's a city in Massachusetts that ban single use plastic. So it's happening, but I wish it would happen much faster. Yeah. And the group I was actually with last week, a lot of them are the guys that created the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And it's a very like, idealistic, like it's not just about plastic, it's about health, it's about education, it's about everything. 17 Sustainable development goals you can Google. But yeah, I mean, the things that we need to do as a global community to push ourselves forward, I think needs to accelerate and it'll happen, but it's like, it requires leaders to step up and like speak about it. And I think a lot of those conversations are happening right now, which is great.

[Shadi Bakur]

I love it. Let's end off with something actionable people watching this can do.

[Path Water CEO]

In terms of what?

[Shadi Bakur]

Helping the environment.

[Path Water CEO]

Yeah.

[Shadi Bakur]

Be sustainable.

[Path Water CEO]

I would say, geez, there's so many things you could do, but just instead of throwing things away, trying to find ways to repurpose them. Like if you have an empty container, you know, turn it into a planter box, or if you have a piece of clothing, turn it into a rag to wipe down, you know, to wipe stuff down. Just like, instead of throwing stuff away, you know, things can have multiple uses and last for much longer. And I think in this like, easy to access stuff economy, we're so used to just like getting 10 boxes from Amazon, using them throwing them, and, like, it just doesn't make sense, you know? So if we all do that just a little bit, it can make a massive impact.

[Shadi Bakur]

Boom. Thanks for coming on, man. We'll link Pathwater below. People buy it online, too.

[Path Water CEO]

Yep, yep. Drinkpathwater.com and Instagram all the things.

[Shadi Bakur]

Awesome. Yeah, we'll link all that below. Thanks for coming on.

[Path Water CEO]

Cool, man. Thanks for having me.

[Shadi Bakur]

Thanks for watching, guys. See you next time.