Tyler McCann (Taste Salud) - 500 Units Sold on Day One, Then Winning Walmart and Target
On this episode, Taste Salud CEO and co-founder Tyler McCann joins us to unpack:
- Meeting his co-founder Josh Leyva at the gym, and realizing an influencer with an audience plus an operator with supply chain experience was a stronger formula than either alone
- Eight years at MusclePharm, watching it grow into a $180 million Costco staple with Tiger Woods as a spokesperson, then watching it collapse after new ownership tried to do too many things at once
- Bringing that lesson into Salud by staying disciplined about one hydration line instead of chasing every trending category
- Starting with just 500 units of one flavor, selling out completely on launch day, and fulfilling those first orders by hand out of their own houses before finding ShipBob
- Building the brand around three pillars: authentic Latino flavors rooted in Josh's heritage, only one gram of sugar, and 2-in-1 benefits in every product
- Getting a DM from a Walmart buyer with no profile picture that turned into their first retail deal, and why starting with 500 stores instead of going chain-wide was the right call
- Why nailing one retailer before chasing the next gave them a stronger story that eventually led Target to reach out directly
- Watching their horchata flavor go nowhere for months, then become a top-3 seller almost overnight once TikTok Shop discovered it
- Sponsoring the Mexico national soccer team, activating at Coachella, and experiencing Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca as part of building the brand
- Staying bootstrapped for five years by choice, why that discipline forced better decisions, and where they stand now on raising venture capital
Learn more about Taste Salud: https://tastesalud.com/
