Exploring Life & Business with Christina Paganelli of Drinkme Beverage Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Paganelli.

Hi Christina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story began two decades ago when I was diagnosed with two life-threatening diseases, only six months apart from each other. First, my sight became blurry and within three days my eyes were pointing ‘wall-eyed’, meaning my left eye faced the left and my right eye faced the right. After taking high-dose steroids and paying a few visits to a neurologist came the news that I had the neurological disease called Multiple Sclerosis. Just while I was preparing for the lifelong struggles of this debilitating disease, I was told I would require an emergency thyroidectomy to remove an aggressively spreading tumor in my thyroid. I was 5 months pregnant when I had a surgery to remove my thyroid and several lymph nodes in my neck. During this extremely invasive procedure, it was discovered that the cancer was extensive, calling it stage IV, and already spread to my lungs. When I emerged from that prolonged surgery, I had no voice nor the use of my right arm. If this wasn’t already enough, I required radiation and would not be able to be near or care for my newborn. After a year of radioactive iodine treatments, it was determined that I had exhausted the available medical treatments, and I would need to prepare for a “maintenance plan” for my future.

Maybe because I had no other choice or maybe because I wanted a break from all the medicine, I saw my situation as basic as it was – a body Chemistry problem of a highly acidic body. While my formal education is in Chemistry, I turned to researching alkalinity and the power of enzymes & ultimately raw vegan options. After only consuming raw fruits and vegetables for many months, it was very clear to me this was important nutrition and detox for my health and wellness. I watched my body heal, first at the operation site to my eyes, my complexion, and then I noticed more important changes to physical and emotional state of mind.

After much research and following the wild chimpanzee diet, I created a product for myself in order to satisfy my extreme health needs in a convenient ready-to-drink, grab and go bottle. I was a busy mother, and given my raw diet, I simply couldn’t make myself the necessary meals every 2 hours. My creation contained a minimum of 1 head of leafy greens, blended & left whole, in combination with fruit juices and other whole food nutrition. To my surprise, I accidentally created something people really wanted and needed, a health Elixir. I was happy to take on the important experiment. It didn’t matter if people were already sick or healthy, seeking convenient proactive health, they wanted that delicious creation for themselves or their family and friends.

I sold my creation at a farmers’ market, won a commercialization contest and prepared my products for retail sale in Canada, where I lived at that time. A few years later, I got an invitation to retail my products at Whole Foods Markets in Southern California, which required me to relocate. I quickly realized that “Dorothy wasn’t in Kansas anymore”!

This is where the live or die entrepeneur story started.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being an early innovator and first to market won the race, but maintaining this position at the top was a new struggle. Competition was fierce, so was the natural and organic industry, long known for its ‘hippy-dippy’ peace and love culture that as a Canadian – I thought I would see.

My reality check was filled with big brands and their deep pockets winning over the target market. I kept focused on selling the unique value of my products and single-handedly grew my brand ‘drinkme’ to all corners of the USA and Canada. Despite how hard I worked, my destiny had another plan for me. In 2016 a supplier’s bankruptcy halted my ability to produce my products and service my fast-paced market.

BUT this story has a happy ending!

I waited out Amazon’s purchase and re-organization of Whole Foods Markets, and in 2021, nearly ten years after my initial launch, the time was right to re-launch my products in 64 Whole Foods Markets in Southern California. Over the past 18 months, I have continued to thrive while many of the same competitors who had deep pockets struggle to navigate their supply chains and inflation and ultimately folded.

I continue to keep a positive outlook. My initial “fight or flight” probably gave me the tenacity to navigate the deep waters and the ebb and flow of what comes next.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We envision a world where nutrition is made simple, and everyone has access to simple nutrition that can deliver life-changing benefits. Every ingredient breathes light and positive energy into our delicious creations.

Drinkme is a Kale Smoothie made with whole food ingredients that are blended and remain in our products. We are very different than a Cold Pressed Juice because we keep the fiber and harness the high nutritional value trapped in the fiber. Drinkme is a delicious line of ready-to-drink bottled beverage that are easy and convenient. Each bottle delivers between4-6 serving sizes of fruit and vegetables, which is about 1/2 the daily requirement for the average adult. Our products can transform individuals’ diets and lifestyles in a positive way, enact change on the Standard American Diet (SAD) towards a more balanced state, and provide a path to planetary health.

Our authentic brand, Drinkme, has grown organically over the past decade, rich in our founder’s story and our true entrepreneur journey. Drinkme is minority woman-owned and operated, self-funded, and a small business. We have grown up within the natural and organic industry, and true to our industry-we give back within our community.

We are dedicated to personal and planetary health wellness and prosperity.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think it is important to stay focused on a brand culture that will clearly define a unique value proposition and brand position. In our very fast-paced, every present changing world, if we do not have a clearly defined “what do you stand for mission, it will be hard to win over the end users.

It took me a very long time to define our brand identity and our true niche as a small business leading a category in a competitive market.

I met John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods Markets, in 2013 when I was just launching products in the USA. He was promoting his book, Conscious Capitalism, and there were a select group of companies chosen to demo products and meet him at his book signing event. I, of course enjoyed meeting him, but I didn’t understand all of the points he was making in his book at the time. After going through a downturn with my supplier’s bankruptcy, I understood what he was talking about very clearly.

In Conscious Capitalism, he tells the story of how he nearly lost the chain a few times and as part of these experiences re-defined how he did business. His advice is to create partnerships within the supply chain for solutions and value add growth. If I think about my relationships that hurt me- they were out of convenience only, unauthentic and doomed to fail.

Advice of the century: If a partnership doesn’t serve both parties – it is the wrong relationship.

Having this knowledge, plus a collection of my own experiences has helped me to make better choices and kept me focused on authenticity both within the company and within the industry.

Pricing:

• Our individual bottles $6.49 from retailers
• Our case purchases $52 from our website

Contact Info:

• Website: www.drinkmebeverages.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkmebevco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drinkmebevco/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drinkmeBevCo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpgMnv9hpT5Gj5Qq90zh2Fw/videos