Behind the Brand: Sacred Seasonal

1. What is the name of your company?

Sacred Seasonal

2. What is your title?

Founder

3. Where is your company located?

Fort Collins, Colorado

4. How did you hear about Naturally Colorado? What made you become a member? Has Naturally Colorado helped you in any way?

We discovered Naturally Colorado through the CSU Spur team! We were connected to the Colorado State Spur campus through the previous year’s Newtopia Now event, and through spending enough time on the campus, we got to know the team through that avenue. Naturally Colorado has given us the opportunity to see the spectrum of entrepreneurship in this state, and certainly the network has given us ideas for creativity within how we position our product.

5. What size is your company?

Currently, four of us are working at Sacred Seasonal.

6. What inspired you to start your company?

I grew up as the son of a fair-trade, organic coffee importer, which meant my childhood was spent on farms in Brazil, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. After immersing myself in the coffee world and taking origin trips, I learned that a cafe and specialty foods bring out the best in everyone and introduced me to fascinating people. People visit cafes to go on dates, see friends, and have a good overall experience. Spending my days visiting these places teaches me a lot about a culture, a neighborhood, and the people I am trying to reach, often at one of the best moments of their day. I never tire of discovering new cafes.

7. Why did you choose to focus on the natural and organic industry?

It represents social innovators and interesting journeys that bring people together. From childhood, kids want to grow up and be many things. Many people don’t know that their journey is going to lead them into this space, but it makes all the more interesting for someone to find their calling in the natural and organic products.

8. Can you describe the biggest challenge you faced during the early stages of your company, and how you overcame it?

Figuring our way to tell our story of the upcycled coffee cherry, where it can be positioned as a refresher but also a super fruit, and finding our brand voice on that.

9. What keeps you up at night regarding your business?

Too much caffeine is the main culprit! But also, conveying the right messages to consumers to create a market for this new flavor is a big challenge. The first barrier is always someone trying a new beverage walking into a cafe where they’ve ordered the same item for years.

10. What strategies can you share that have been effective?

11. How important is networking, and what strategies do you use to build and maintain professional relationships?

Massively important, and not just with other companies but with colleges, universities, and general stakeholders that are sometimes underutilized. Our work with both the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado and Colorado State’s Impact MBA program have been vital to creating our strategy and design.

12. What is one piece of advice or knowledge that has changed your life and why?

Although there are several ways to express the same idea, I consistently prefer “be curious, not judgmental.” Whether it’s about exploring new opportunities, flavors, or ingredients, I observe that genuinely interested individuals, including myself, tend to be in a mindset open to discovering great opportunities. I make a conscious effort to cultivate this attitude daily.

Connect with Gavin.

Learn more about Sacred Seasonal.

More about Behind the Brand:

Everyone has a unique founding journey and we want to hear yours and share it with the community! Whether it’s how you started, your mission or the challenges you’ve overcome, we want to spotlight you and celebrate your success and journey. 

We will feature one brand a month on our website, on social media, and in our newsletter. In addition to connecting with the Naturally Colorado community, this is an opportunity to provide support and guidance to others! 

We’re excited to hear your story, for a chance to be featured fill out this survey or submit a video!

The Naturally Colorado team will follow up with more information if your submission is chosen to be featured in the Behind the Brand series.