Taste Radio

In this episode, we sat down with Dave Colina, the founder and CEO of O2, a brand of natural sports recovery drinks formulated with oxygenated water and electrolytes. Launched in 2014, O2 took a patient growth strategy during its first few years on the market. In recent months, however, O2 has generated record revenue via direct-to-consumer sales along with those at retail partners, including Kroger, Sprouts and Publix. Those sales have helped fuel the brand’s philanthropic initiative to donate 50% of profits to independent gym owners affected by COVID-19. As part of our conversation, Colina explained how O2’s strategic decisions over the past five years have helped the company to meet the challenges and opportunities of the last five months, including how he overcame formulation issues while continuing to incubate the brand and why he was adamant in his support of gym owners despite a steep cut into the brand’s profits. He also explained why he is supremely confident in the ability of his team to plan and ex