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Creator-backed brands are old hat by now. But why do some break out while others never break through? Happy Dad brothers and co-founders Sam (ceo) and John Shahidi (president) shared "Secrets Behind the Business" on the Full Send Podcast this week, detailing the 4-yr journey of the brand built in partnership with YouTubers the Nelk Boys, who also run Full Send. (Nelk has 8.4 mil YouTube subscribers; Full Send has 2.2 mil.) One of "the biggest things" Happy Dad did was bring "a new profile" into the seltzer segment, said John. Namely "males in their mid 20s," and not just drinking seltzers but "flexing seltzers. Like, I used to drink White Claw back then. But like you would never see a picture of me with a White Claw." So they set out to "fix that problem." They decided to go for "a beer vibe on seltzer" and "attack the male market," as Nelk frontman and co-founder Kyle Forgeard put it.224 Mil Cans in 4 Yrs and 120 Employees; On Pace to Be #3 Hard Seltzer in US, Sez Sam Thus far it's worked out well. "We've sold 224 million cans in the last 4 years" and "we're the #4 seltzer in the USA" behind "3 massive big dogs," Kyle commented. On pace to be #3, said Sam, who added that they're already top 3 in BevMo and top 2 in other stores. The brand's now nationwide in Canada and up to ~120 employees in total, including 88 in the US and 30 in Canada. They've also cracked major sports arenas such as the new Intuit Dome in LA, where they're the official hard seltzer and tea, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Allegiant Stadium in Vegas, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, as well as MLB stadiums for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Plus "we&#39;re independent. I mean we have some investors, but the whole company is run by us and it&#39;s always been&hellip; so it&#39;s very different, right?"Happy Dad's Biz "a Whole Different Beast" with 238 Mostly Beer Distribs; Aim to Reach 90% Dist Happy Dad's success wasn't without its headaches. "Alcohol is hard, man," Sam acknowledged, pointing to "very strict guidelines" that were a bit of a "culture shock" coming from social media. Now it's a "no brainer," said John. (While Kyle commented that he does wish you could publicly "sh*t on other brands," John added that they often "end up sh*tting on themselves.") But the biggest challenge for any alc bev brand is distribution, said Sam, highlighting Happy Dad's headlong move into beer houses earlier this yr. A yr ago Happy Dad had 76 distribs. These days they're at 238 and "gonna go from being in 21% of America to about 70 and eventually about 90%," as Sam sees it, aiming to reach "every corner and county in America." Happy Dad's biz "is a whole different beast now," he declared. John predicted that "these stats are gonna be nothing compared to what those stats are gonna be in 2 years." Going forward, Happy Dad has plans to launch a lemonade, among other new products. But distribution and sales will be their primary focus, they said.What if We Treated a Brand Like an Influencer? "Rona Season" Backstory How'd the Shahidi bros get tied in with the Nelk Boys? John and Sam got into the YouTube biz way back in 2009, working with celebs ranging from Mike Tyson to Christiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt and Justin Bieber. But when Nelk came onto Sam's radar right before Covid, John and him got to thinking: what if they put all that effort they put into creators behind a brand and "treated a brand like an influencer?" Yrs ago the Nelk Boys would drink Corona in their videos and started calling it "Rona season." When they sold over 20K "Rona season" shirts in under 24 hours, "that's when I realized: we have a real influence here," said Kyle. They approached Corona about a deal but Constellation turned 'em down because "we were obviously way too crazy," he added. "Now I know why they could never touch us, but that was a blessing." They decided to start their own brand but determined from the get-go: "This is not a Nelk Boys [product]. This isn't a Full Send seltzer. Let's make a name bigger than that," Sam recounted.Snoop Dogg Partnership: "What the F**k is a Hard Seltzer?" Among Happy Dad's most successful products is its Grape flavored seltzer in partnership with Snoop Dogg's Death Row Records. A "close friend" of the Shahidi's for 16+ yrs, Snoop called John one day with the idea to partner on Happy Dad, which he thought was a beer. John said: "That's not a beer, Snoop. That's a hard seltzer." To which Snoop replied: "What the f**k is a hard seltzer?" John called it "White Claw but for men." Snoop's rebuttal? "What the f**k is White Claw?" It "hit me right there: there's a world out there that doesn't know seltzer," said John. Snoop's sponsorship deal with Corona was up and he'd just bought Death Row Records; the rest fell into place from there.

Happy Dad Founders Go Behind the Curtain on Full Send Podcast: "Attack the Male Market," Flexing Seltzers

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