Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Richard Harrington, founder, and CEO of Adapt Brands, located in Hermosa Beach, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Adapt's goal with our SuperWater is to offer an alternative to synthetic beverages, supplements, and opioids by combining natural, organic superfoods with the beneficial qualities of hemp. What I want people to realize with Adapt products is that there are better alternatives out there for what ails them, alternatives for products that we are told we should take but that are actually more harmful than helpful. My goal is to help combat the opioid epidemic, especially in the world of sports and athletics. I have lost friends to opioid overdoses – if I can help change one's life with an alternative product, that would be amazing. Because of my background in sports, I have a lot of experience. I have seen firsthand the damage pain medication for muscle, and joint pain relief can do to a person.

Natural hydration is another aspect of a healthy lifestyle that's important. Our product is 100% pure coconut water as our base. We add functional ingredients to build functional stacks that help the body recover. We tie functionality to each of our products – our mango beverage with l-theanine and chamomile is for recovery, and the pomegranate hibiscus beverage is for immunity. There is no added sugar or preservatives in the drinks; they are sweetened with monk fruit. Adapt's beverages are not just for athletes; they are for anyone who is looking for a healthy and natural way to protect and restore their mind and body.

Tell us about yourself

The journey into this space began when I played college football at Oregon State as a quarterback. In 2013, during my junior year, I tore my shoulder badly after getting hit in practice. After surgery, I was dealing with a lot of pain and inflammation management, and subsequently, I started using CBD and hemp products as part of my recovery. What I noticed quickly was that when I stopped using opioids and switched to natural remedies like cannabinoids, I healed a lot faster. I was back throwing in 2 ½ months as opposed to 3-4 months.

My surgeon asked me how I was recovering so fast, so I told him about my CBD regimen – and he agreed that it was making a positive difference. During this time, I was beginning to realize that there were natural alternatives to synthetic supplements, synthetic beverages, and protein powders that the body doesn't necessarily process well. I was also concerned about the addictive quality of opioids, which we now know is a huge epidemic. That's another reason why I started using hemp products throughout the healing process. Also, once I started taking CBD for ADHD, I didn't need to take Adderall any longer. My experience with hemp products has been nothing but positive.

After college, I moved back to California to work for the family business – Maui and Sons. It's a California lifestyle brand that promotes clean living, eating well, and being active. After working in marketing and e-commerce for the company, one of my friends who had retired from the NFL was interested in getting into the cannabis space. We looked at grow-op opportunities but realized that it would be very difficult to raise capital for a venture like that. Even though that idea went by the wayside, I was still enthralled with the cannabis space and wanted to figure out how to get involved.

After talking to some of my mentors and advisors, they suggested that I create a product for athletes. I had been taking a superfoods powder and started looking more into the combination of superfoods and hemp. The first products I made were two CBD-infused superfoods powders in single-serve stick packs. At the same time, my dad, being the entrepreneur that he was, had a coconut water business as part of the Maui and Sons portfolio. I pitched him the idea of doing hemp-infused coconut water, but he insisted that I do it myself since he didn't know much about the hemp space.

In 2019, when I was looking for an emulsion supplier, I found SōRSE through one of my investors and mentors. The SōRSE team then connected me to Power Brands for formulation help. At the end of 2019, we came up with the formulation for Adapt Super Water, a superfood-infused coconut water. Our formulation was finished in November 2019, right before BevNET. At BevNET, the SōRSE team let me offer samples of my beverage at their booth, in a space where I knew no one. It was a great event, though, because I met people who gave me advice on how to improve my beverage and build a brand.

We launched the first Adapt beverage in January of 2020, and we were selling them in some Gold's Gyms and some yoga studios – but then COVID shut that down – which gave me time to reformulate my beverage and reassess my approach to the market.

During COVID, I had the opportunity to work at Power Brands beginning in June 2020. I started as a project manager, then became a marketing and e-commerce manager, and quickly worked my way up to Operations Manager for the distribution center. It was an amazing learning experience – I touched every aspect of the beverage space, including formulation, production, and sales. Last summer, I decided to relaunch Adapt, and tested the beverage in the LA market. Our SuperWater performed really well, selling out of product in seven weeks. I went back to running Adapt full-time in November. Since then, I've been working on raising capital to scale, market, and fully launch Adapt back into retail.
Adapt SuperWater will be the first NSF: Certified for Sport Hemp beverage, opening up a new market of products for professional and collegiate athletes to safely take.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Taking the leap of faith to start my own company with just an idea. Stepping into such an unknown can be scary, but you just have to believe in yourself and what you are doing and be consistent at it every day. As long as the boat is moving an inch or a mile in the right direction, I know that what I'm doing is worth it.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The best lesson has been learning how to adapt and be open to what is around me. You have to adapt to be able to compete and move on. During COVID, we saw a lot of businesses not make it because they couldn't adjust or pivot to what was going on around them. You not only have to be able to change your organizational structure and your procedures, but you might have to change your products as well. I believe that any movement forward, whether it's an inch or a mile, shows progress.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Be consistent, be transparent, and create something that truly betters the user's life in a positive way.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Adapt is a word that has been very fitting in my life. When one door closes, you must figure out what the next opportunity is. Since launching at the beginning of COVID, I had to figure out how to adapt to the situation and come up with a new product that would fit the needs of consumers today while sticking to Adapt's core mission. The word "adapt" just kept coming up in my life, and it made sense for what I wanted to accomplish. Of course, adapt is also part of adaptogens, which play a prominent role in our product as well. The logo is a leaf in a water drop, in the shape of an A, representing the combination of superfoods and hemp.

The fun thing about being an entrepreneur is that every day there is a new challenge or a fire to put out. I like working hard. My dad always told me that if you take care of your business, it will take care of you. This is a time when I can afford to put in all my time and effort into Adapt and go after what I have wanted this company to be for the last few years. I'm very excited about what's ahead.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://adaptbrands.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adaptbrands/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-harrington/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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