Creating The Vitaminis Daily Wellness Shot With Leslie Danford

In this episode, I chat with Leslie Danford, founder of Vitaminis, a brand offering clean, nutritional juice shots without added sugars or artificial ingredients. Leslie shares her journey from her early influences and professional background in consumer products to launching her health-focused brand during the COVID-19 pandemic. She discusses the challenges of self-funding, product development, and overcoming initial rejections from retailers through persistence and personal connections. Leslie's story highlights the importance of balancing feedback with a strong vision, and her ongoing efforts in fundraising and expanding distribution showcase the resilience needed to succeed in the competitive food and beverage industry.   HIGHLIGHTS Inspiration and Background: Leslie Danford's childhood and career in consumer products inspired the creation of Vitaminis. The product is a clean, nutritional juice shot without added sugars or artificial ingredients. COVID-19 pandemic challenges led her to pursue this entrepreneurial venture. Initial Development: Self-funded the business and gradually increased investment based on feedback. Involved family, friends, and neighbors in testing and refining the product. Balanced negative feedback with belief in her vision to improve the product. Challenges and Persistence: Faced capital challenges in producing and expanding the product. Emphasized the importance of persistence and hope in the entrepreneurial journey. Leveraged personal connections and grassroots marketing to overcome initial rejections from retailers. Retail Distribution: Successfully got Vitaminis into local stores like Fresh Thyme through networking and persistence. Highlighted the importance of personal connections over expensive social media advertising. Currently focuses on fundraising, expanding distribution, and ensuring product movement in existing stores.   RESOURCES + LINKS Website-  vitaminisbrand.com 20% off- omniform1.com Collaboration offers- join.collabs.shopify.com Shop on Amazon- amazon.com/Vitaminis   FOLLOW LESLIE Instagram- instagram.com/vitaminisbrand Facebook- facebook.com/VitaminisBrand Tik Tok- tiktok.com/@vitaminisbrand    FOLLOW US @quotablemediaco @quotablemagazine If you have any other tips or ideas leave a comment or shoot me a DM on Instagram.    Quotable: A Female Entrepreneur Podcast is the podcast by and for female entrepreneurs and business owners. For any show ideas, to submit a guest to the podcast, or if you have any questions, please visit quotablemediaco.com/podcast.   Did you love this week’s episode? Leave us a review wherever you're listening right now! Or, comment on this week’s episode’s Instagram post with how this has inspired you!   

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Founder of Quotable Media Co, Alessandra Pollina, is amplifying the stories of women-owned businesses and bringing you authentic inspiration from her years of experience as the leader of her own boutique PR agency. How do I start a business? What are successful female entrepreneurs doing to stand out? How can I get my product in the news? Where are female entrepreneurs investing their time and money? What are the PR tips I need for my small businesses? Whether you’re just getting started with a new business idea, or if you’ve been running a company for years, consider this show your companion through it all. Quotable: A Female Entrepreneur Podcast is a conversation style business and marketing podcast, filled with practical tips to take your brand to the next level, and real life behind the scenes stories from other women in business to inspire you to see what’s possible, dream bigger, and never have to feel alone in business again. Host Alessandra Pollina brings you PR and marketing tips, business and networking hacks, goal setting tips and more to help you grow your brand and check off all of those business benchmarks. Alessandra shares authentic advice on life as a female entrepreneur and staying true to yourself along the way, and as part of the Quotable mission to amplify the stories of women-owned businesses, she’s interviewing female entrepreneurs who are doing it all too. Hear from others who have overcome their challenges and seen success in their own unique industries. From product based businesses, to e-commerce and digital marketing, to finance gurus and business coaches- there is a story here just for you. If you’re interested in more inspiration and stories of female entrepreneurship check out Quotable’s other platform for amplifying women’s voices, Quotable Magazine, online and in print at quotablemediaco.com/quotable-magazine. Because we’re quotable and so are you. Learn more at www.quotablemediaco.com/podcast and follow along at @quotablemediaco and at @quotablemagazine