Episode 52

052 | How a Crystal-Clear Target Occasion Helps you Stand Out in the Busiest Market for Your Category | Part 1/2 with Justin Medcraft, Founder of Mate Maker (Los Angeles, CA, USA)

In Episode 52, I enjoyed chatting with Justin Medcraft, the Founder of Mate Maker Hard Kombucha.

He brings a wealth of previous experience in Spirits and Beer. We discussed how to build demand for a start-up drinks brand, stand out amongst a sea of products, and focus on building momentum.

I hope you will enjoy our chat.


One last thing: If you enjoy this podcast, you will also like the MAFFEO DRINKS Guides. You can subscribe free or paid on maffeodrinks.com


Time Stamps

0:00 Introduction

2:04 Building Demand

3:49 Building Community: Brand Or Liquid?

6:15 Mate Maker Elevator Pitch

11:26 The Consumer Pitch

13:07 The Ring Road

19:39 Determining Direction

26:05 Home Turf Advantage

35:09 Growing Beyond Your Hometown

38:01 Outro


About The Host: Chris Maffeo

About The Guest: Justin Medcraft


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About the Podcast

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The MAFFEO DRINKS Podcast
Brands Are Built Bottom-up.

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About your host

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Chris Maffeo

With 20 years of experience working for some of the biggest drinks brands across 30+ markets, I've developed a unique understanding of how brands grow in today's market.
Now, I help drinks brands build sustainable growth through bottom-up demand creation.
My methodology focuses on how brand demand spreads - from initial venue adoption to international expansion.
I teach brands how to create, convert, and sustain demand across the three critical stages of growth: from one bottle to one case to one pallet.
My expertise lies in understanding how brands grow through genuine advocacy, from bar to bar, city to city, and building foundations that enable natural scaling.
Through consulting, training, and speaking engagements, I help brands:
• Build sustainable demand from the ground up
• Systematize their approach to building brands city by city
• Navigate the path from local success to international growth
• Develop strategies based on occasions rather than demographics