Happy embraces ‘modern sensibility’ and champions mental health to differentiate itself in coffee
“There seemed to be this opportunity to strike a different emotional chord, and looking at a lot of the other offerings that are out there, the storytelling around the brand seemed a little bit, in some cases tired, in some cases aggressive, in some cases. .. traditional, and we thought there was a modern sensibility that wasn’t really taken into account. And the other thing is coffee makes people happy,” Dubitsky told FoodNavigator-USA.
“Slow and gentle” roasting
After launching oral care brand Hello Products and co-founding personal care brand eos, Dubitsky wanted to disrupt a highly commodified category using design and purpose.
“We wanted to play to a large audience of coffee drinkers, while still providing a really great experience. And the challenge for us was to do it on a repeatable scale,” Dubitksy said. “How do we create something really good and make it really consistent, and make sure we can price it in a way that as many people as possible can get it?” It was really important to us. It can’t just be a pretty package and a cool name. (It) has to taste amazing and be consistent.
The happy team designed its packaging to be modern – a white cube with text and no images – and more “thoughtful,” he explained. Unlike many coffee bags that cannot be recycled, Happy’s packaging and label are 100% recyclable, he added.
Happy coffee is roasted “low and slow,” meaning at “a lower temperature and for a longer time,” to produce “a special quality coffee, but with commercially available beans.” , said Dubitksy. Currently, happy is available in light, medium and dark roast, ground, whole bean, instant or pod format compatible with K-Cup coffee makers.
Happy offered equity stake in NAMI to support mental health
Dubitsky and Downey Jr. also wanted to take advantage of the happiness that comes from drinking coffee and help those who might be struggling with mental health issues.
“Few people seem to be as happy as we all want them to be these days. So it seemed like there was an interesting set of parameters that we could play with and then create an awesome brand. Yes, we’re having a great experience, but I hope we do it in a little different way with a different type of goal or set of goals behind it.
To promote better mental health, Happy gave the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) an equity stake in the brand and is using its packaging to raise awareness for the organization, Dubitsky said.
“(NAMI) said the No. 1 thing they heard from a lot of people was that what you are doing is amazing if only we had known about it sooner. … We said, “Well, it seems like it’s an awareness issue.” What if we put NAMI information on all of our products because they will be in many stores? That’s what we did. So on every package there is a QR code that takes you directly to NAMI.
“Build (happy) to go the distance”
Having already launched and sold brands, Dubitsky also explained how he’s “building himself (happy) to go the distance.”
While Happy’s initial financing was “significantly oversubscribed,” Dubitsky and Downey Jr. implemented the “required financial engineering” from the outset, investing in its supply chain and committing to managing the brand responsibly. While passion and ideas are essential to building a brand, “there’s a lot to like when it comes to margin and operating profit,” Dubitsky added.
“We are businessmen. … We are very careful to ensure that this is not a hobby. This is not a secondary activity. (Downey Jr.) is not in this business by accident. He’s been to a lot of major retailer meetings with us, has flown and come to retailer meetings. He is not a spokesperson, he is my co-founder and partner.
In a bid to make a difference, Dubitsky also rejected the concept of building brands just to sell, saying: “We’re building this thing to be… as durable and enduring as it is in theory .”
“The plan is to make the most beautiful, delicious, thoughtful products possible and make them accessible to as many people as possible – that’s the plan. The plan is not your exit strategy. The plan is to make people really happy – that’s the plan. And if we do this correctly, the other things will take care of themselves. And you can’t do that, you can’t make people happy, providing a great product, beautifully designed, thoughtfully sourced and responsibly harvested and all the rest, if you don’t care about business.
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