Lily Geiger: Founder & CEO of Figlia

Episode 472

Lily Geiger, Founder and CEO of Figlia, a non-alcoholic aperitivo with a mission, shares all about what made her start this terrific company and how she is building a brand in one of the fastest growing categories within a very competitive space. We talk about what makes Figlia so unique, what she has learned along the way as well as what it takes to create a company that is as inspiring as hers. You are going to love this episode and I can’t wait for you to hear it. Now on the #TheKaraGoldinShow.

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be I want to be, you just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi, everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi, everyone. And welcome back to the Kara Goldin show. I am so excited to have my next guest. Here we have Lily Geiger, who is the founder and CEO of an amazing new brand called Figlia. And we’re going to talk all about her incredible, incredible company that she started in the non alcoholic apertivo. I’m not going to pronounce this right. It’s like, Oh, no. apertivo Did I get it? Right? You didn’t you got it. Right. Okay, perfect space. And they’re on a mission. I love this backstory. So incredible. She’s really got terrific company. Lots of interesting elements to it. But I’m excited to speak with her about how she is making headway in the non alcoholic spirits industry. As as many people know, I’ve been fascinated by this industry, because the non alcoholic industry, not just in spirits, but also in beer and other areas is just really, really taking off. And it’s really the rapid growth, I think is just a testament to sort of people getting healthier and wanting to try new things. And Figlia is definitely in the forefront of this. So I really am excited to hear from you, Lily. So welcome.

Lily Geiger 2:06
Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to talk. Yeah, super,

Kara Goldin 2:10
super excited. So let’s just dive right in your story and deciding to start Figlia is very personal. And Would would you mind just sharing kind of how you came up with this idea and why you decided to make the jump. Yeah,

Lily Geiger 2:27
of course, I actually grew up with a parent who battled with addiction with alcohol. So my dad was an alcoholic for kind of as long as I can remember. And that definitely, I think became something I was aware of, at a young age. And one thing that I was definitely super conscious of, or just like the lack of options for people who didn’t drink for that reason, especially at the time, you know, you walk into a bar and the only non alcoholic option back you know, 10 plus years ago was like soft drinks and all felt super juvenile to the non drinker. Especially if they are, you know, actively every day really trying not to drink and it’s really hard. So, yeah, that’s, that’s why I started it.

Kara Goldin 3:13
That’s so interesting. I’ve always said that, like, early on that having like a club soda or having a, you know, cranberry juice is, you know, it’s it’s almost like, it sort of speaks to you initially that like you’re you know, especially when you’re maybe in college, maybe you’re trying to you know, not stand out. I think that it’s really really tough. And so I think that this non alcoholic spirits industry and beer industry that is definitely growing unbelievably fast is that really speaks to kind of where people have seen this, this industry is as a whole. So how would you describe Figlia to anybody who has not tasted it yet?

Lily Geiger 4:06
Yeah, so Figlia as our first product is FJ era, which is a concentrate so it’s kind of like a compartment or an operon it definitely doesn’t have that artificial taste or that like you know, intense bitterness, but it’s very herbaceous kind of feel tastes like botanical, a little floral, a little bitter. It has a spice in it has clove, which is typically used as a baking spice but we wove it into this formula, which tastes really great. Can be sipped, obviously, at any season, but I think it kind of fits into both and then we came out with our can which is fury Frizzante. So the same flavor as our bottle but it’s spread so it’s just like the perfect ratio between fewer a sparkling water and lemon. So I think it’s it’s something that tastes adult but obviously it does not trigger the taste of alcohol as well. And

Kara Goldin 4:56
you have so many amazing recipes on your website too. Wood that are really, really fun that doing things even outside of drinking it, that you can use it for that as well. So, so you, you did not start out in this industry, you didn’t have any experience other than the fact that you were a consumer looking for this product. So I know where the backstory comes from, but where did you get the courage to actually go launch your own company? Yeah,

Lily Geiger 5:28
it’s interesting, because I think I, I always think I’m like, I wonder if I would have done this if COVID if the pandemic hadn’t hit. But I yeah, I basically right out of college worked in beauty. I worked for a company called beauty counter. And I really enjoyed working there and ended up leaving and working with a really great gal who started her own company who was working with a couple other smaller brands who are also very established brands like summer Fridays, skincare APL heyday, a bunch of cool brands beauty kind of result client of ours. So we would, you know, work with these small brands and kind of help them with events, brand marketing, even like, you know, seedings for influencer packages, that sort of thing. And we, I just kind of felt like I skipped a ton of grades and then experience and I’m very grateful to have had that. And then once COVID hit, I moved home back to New York, I was living in Los Angeles for about two years. And yeah, I just was like, if I don’t do it now, I don’t really know when I will. And I feel confident. And I have the courage now. And I always felt like I would end up wanting to do my own thing. But I knew I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t really care about it enough. Because I’m sure you know, this too, like this is really hard. And you really have to care about it to keep going. Because it’s especially at my age. I’m 27 When I started this 24 I guess now. And you’re young, and I think I’m the youngest person in this space. And so it’s really daunting. And like you said, I didn’t have any connections in the space, I would just google and youtube directions and like, basically just kind of get scrappy, and I figured it out. And luckily I now work with an awesome team, and know a lot more and always learning. But that was a really hard learning curve for me, but also felt very right. I trusted myself. And I’m glad I did because it ended up really working out and I’m very proud of what Figlia is now. So. So

Kara Goldin 7:26
what was kind of the first step when you said, Okay, it’s time I’ve got to get this started. You talked about COVID. But yeah, even before then, when you started kind of writing out a business plan and thinking, I’ve just got to go do this. Were you making your own recipe in your kitchen? Where are you? I mean, what what was it that you you know, we talked about courage we you had a great idea. You had a purpose and a mission behind you. But what was like the first step then when you just said, Okay, here’s what I need to do.

Lily Geiger 8:00
So I think we’re really stunned was I wasn’t drinking during COVID I really didn’t want to drink and I was talking to kind of like nutritionalist I guess I was talking to in LA and she was like, you should make this mocktail try like this. And I was doing it with my mom, we were trying to, you know, come up with different recipes. But I didn’t really feel adult in having those, it didn’t really feel like it was what I wanted, at the 5pm mark to kind of turn day to night, which just really was blending in, you know, it was hard to transition from day to night during COVID It just all felt like this big blur of a day. And it was just weird. And so I was ordering pretty much every option that I could find online of products in this, you know, non alcoholic spirits space. And I liked a lot of them. But I just didn’t feel like any of them I wanted to have every night just I didn’t like any of them enough, I guess I just to have them often. And so I was like I kind of think I should first and foremost create something that I would like. And hopefully in that way I can find this gap in the market and fill it. And I think I was able to do that with Figlia because a lot of the products that I found had adaptogens. And I didn’t want that because they can interfere with a lot of medications, especially antidepressants, which a lot of people in recovery are taking those. They have preservatives, and I’m just not a big fan of those. I’d like to drink something that doesn’t have a lot of those in them. And then some of them mimics the tastes of alcohol. And I I don’t find that very helpful for someone in recovery. They can’t really have those because they’re triggering. So if you taste a non alcoholic beer or a non alcoholic gin, it still kind of tastes like their original total and it just is a total setback. And I also didn’t want the taste of alcohol really I just wanted something that felt adult and so that’s how Figlia came to be. And so the first stages were just kind of tasting everything and then coming up with you know what I really wanted and what I wanted it to look like and you You came to life over time.

Kara Goldin 10:02
And so this launched as a DTC company initially,

Lily Geiger 10:06
what was there in COVID. So it was very hard to think about, even wholesale just was just daunting. People didn’t really want to go to stores to get things, they wanted to get them delivered to their doorstep. So in that way, it was it was interesting, it was kind of easier just because we could, as a, you know, young brand, we could just financially it was awesome. Shipping can get expensive, but it was just, it was an easier way to start. And then we were able to just kind of subtly work our way into wholesale. And that ended up being in beverage, as you know, kind of the market for us, and now is our biggest stream of sale. That’s just it’s awesome. So very grateful for our wholesale partners, but DTC was with a was an interesting start with kind of a bizarre time. That’s

Kara Goldin 10:52
interesting. So the majority of your sales are really the retailer’s at this point. Now,

Lily Geiger 10:58
yeah, that that was a, I think, something that we started to see, just as we continue to get more accounts over, you know, month over month, just starting to see that that’s clearly that’s on prem and off prem, you know, right, whether it’s a restaurant or bar, or you’re selling in a West Side market, like in New York, which is like a grocery store, you’re seeing just, you’re seeing it a lot more popular for beverage, people want to throw it into their shopping cart, people will see it on the shelf, and sometimes just buy our product because they liked the label, and they haven’t even tried it yet. And they have no idea who you are, but they you know, just like the look of us. And that just eliminates I think something you can’t get from DTC. And I think that a lot of DTC brands pump a lot of money into the Facebook and Instagram marketing and ads. And I think that that’s starting to die down a bit. So we still have, you know, we still have a strong DTC flow, but I think it’s still something we’ll probably continue to just wholesale will be king. Yeah,

Kara Goldin 11:56
it’ll be a lot more. Well, it’s such a great product, and the packaging is gorgeous, too. Especially, you know, I love the cans, but also the gorgeous glass bottle. I mean, it’s it’s really nice. And I can I sure that it’s, it’s something that really sets you apart from other products on the shelves. So where exactly do you find yourself? Are there spaces getting created? Obviously, for the non alcoholic products? Do you feel like you’re in with the typical mixers within stores? Or do you feel like you have to kind of educate some of these buyers to on where your products should actually be like what? Talk to me a little bit about those challenges.

Lily Geiger 12:41
It’s interesting, I think it’s a mix of both a lot of people know about this type of product now especially a lot of these retailers that are in key cities like New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, they know about this, right? They’re seeing the, the you know, non alcoholic options on the menu. Now they’re seeing that people are selling a lot of these products and that they’re doing well, they’re you know, there’s a lot of sell through on the on the products on the shelf like ours. And so I think that that’s been easy, I would say that a space that’s been created, our, I guess all retail space has been created, or just these like non alcoholic bottle shops, which is for us low hanging fruit, they’re like the first shops we ever got into. They understand our product, they’re championing our product, and they’re passionate about it. So that is, you know, something that’s definitely new to just the world. And it’s not just in the US that you’ve seen. We’ve seen a bunch just pop up in other countries also, which is great. But yeah, generally, I think that we, you know, still have some education to do and that on prem and off prem, especially being a non alcoholic Aperitivo. So, you know, if you think of selling non alcoholic wine and beer, it’s, there’s not much explanation to go into it. People know what wine and beer are. So there’s like, oh, okay, I’ll try it. But for non alcoholic aperitivo, they also have to understand even when an aperitivo is so I think that there’s still a lot of room for education, of course, always with a product like this.

Kara Goldin 14:14
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Lily Geiger 16:23
yeah, a few things. I mean, I think there’s just so much admin, you know, logistic type things that you have to nail down that you just can’t screw up your taxes, you know, your, your all LLC or incorporation documents and everything around hiring people, and making sure their needs are met, that sort of thing, is a lot to manage on top of just your day to day. So I think that was just kind of a learning curve for me. And also just, you know, dealing with a glass bottle, it’s heavy, you’re manufacturing a product that people are going to ingest, you want to make sure it’s like, perfect. You want to make sure that in transit, you know, obviously, glass bottles are broken pretty easily. So we’ve had to go over a bunch of reiterations of our bottles, and our packaging. And so a lot of that is just kind of the trials and tribulations of, you know, doing this sort of thing. But definitely it was I was overwhelmed, but feels better that we got that together now.

Kara Goldin 17:26
Yeah, definitely. So when you were allocating, trying to figure out exactly the strategies to actually deploy and build a strong and loyal community. I know, you definitely use social media. But how else did you feel like was the best way to get the word out about your product? I mean, you launched it during COVID. So it was probably kind of hard to actually sample the product, for example, that was probably pretty challenging. But how else did you get the word out about what you were doing and why it was important.

Lily Geiger 18:01
So I mean, I, truthfully, I wasn’t that connected with other founders or any type of public figure. So I think a lot of that I was really leaning on my own community, and just kind of getting the word out. We also, you know, put a lot into social media, making sure we were, you know, just talking about why we started it, I think the the story really had a lot of meaning to it, and just getting people connected to to us and wanting to have those conversations around alcohol consumption. And then one of the things that we did post launch because we couldn’t launch in person was we had a pop up store in New York City where people could come in, and they could try the product, and they could shop the product and meet us in person. And I was there the entire time. So that gave me I think, a unique opportunity to meet our customers in person to answer their questions to have them try it to just feel like they could, you know, relate to us and get to know us. And I think that was huge, because we, you know, hadn’t really been able to do that before then. And generally, we’re just, I guess, just super big on you know, demoing and having events and having people come meet us. We’re always trying to do that in any way we can. That’s awesome. Where where’s your pop up? It was on Rivington and Bowery between Bowery and I guess like, Christie? Yeah.

Kara Goldin 19:24
Yeah, I know exactly where that is. So that’s awesome. Yeah, I had a great idea. And did you feel like that also got you a lot of press to like people were coming in. Interested in what you were doing? Yeah,

Lily Geiger 19:37
I think it was, it was a funny time because we didn’t really know what we were doing yet. We knew we wanted people to come meet us and feel like they could walk into a space that was our brand to just feel like they can understand what we were doing. And, you know, for for a product like this. It’s good to taste it and that gets people talking and that gets people purchasing and so while we were there because we had this big space, we were hoping, you know, people would really want to come in. But we, luckily were able to get someone from CVS to come in and interview us, which was just awesome. And totally just a strike of luck, though, that ended up kind of working out for us. But other than that, it was just a lot of foot traffic and people just walking by and wanting to come in.

Kara Goldin 20:21
Give it a try. That’s awesome. So yeah, it Figlia allocates a portion of its proceeds to Partnership to End addiction, aiding individuals and families affected by addiction. Obviously, that was something that was very close to your heart. How important do you think it is for consumers to know that you have kind of a giveback strategy, especially when you’re an entrepreneur that you’re just getting going? I mean, do you feel like it’s something that that consumers are really looking for? Yeah,

Lily Geiger 20:56
I think it just, it holds more meaning. And I think people are excited by the thought of, you know, their purchase, going towards something much bigger than just the product and just this brand. And partnerships and addiction. They’re, they’re great. And they they’re working tirelessly with families of addicts, and also with addicts themselves. And so I think that for us, it was, it was really, something that was non negotiable was something we really cared about. And also we are members of 1% for the planet. And we’ve been able to volunteer for Harlem Grown, who are up in Harlem here in New York. And so I owe as often as I can, and really value being able to do that as well. And, you know, not just talking the talk, but being able to show up and actually give my time to some of these organizations. And I always, you know, ask people to come join me. And that’s something that I think will continue to always do. You know, that’s what sets us apart from our competitors and peers in space. Yeah. That’s

Kara Goldin 22:02
awesome. That’s really cool. So, stories, consumer stories, I always say that they’re, they’re so powerful, especially to founders as they’re getting started, when you run into those people who are saying, Oh, my gosh, like, thank you for doing this. Can you share any stories that have really hit you and had great impact on you personally, that you feel? Wow, okay, I have to keep going. Even when I get I’m getting blocked in some way, or I’m running into lots of nose, you know, typical founder things that happen along the way. But those consumer stories are really the ones that get you back up and say I’ve got to keep going. Any that have really impacted you.

Lily Geiger 22:48
It’s interesting, because I always say that that is the reason why I do it is just having people hear my story. And then in turn, feeling comfortable expressing maybe a feeling that they have around the parent or loved one or themselves. And just feeling like it’s supported them in some way. One of the things that we’ve done is we’ve actually partnered up with partnerships and addiction or monument, and we’ve actually provided resources. So ways to tell if a loved one is maybe struggling with alcoholism, or here’s a number you can call. So we’ve tried to not you know, do too much of it, where it’s like too negative for the people that follow us. We don’t want to be overbearing, but we want to let people know that we care and that we’re here. And so a lot of people have responded saying thank you, you know, this means so much to actually feel like we have almost like a guideline. And that there’s just hope, I guess, and and I’ve also shared my story countless times. And I think that whenever I do that, a lot of people who I’ve known over the years, but I just never knew that they had struggled or had a loved one struggle, come back and just say like, that’s so brave, that you share that I also have been dealing with this for the past six years. So like for me, and of course, that’s always confidential, I would never share that information. But for me, it’s just like, a wake up call that wow, this isn’t every, almost every home. I mean, someone knows someone, it’s just it’s just totally something that people don’t feel comfortable talking about yet. And that’s okay. And I don’t like to pry, but I really feel less alone myself when I want to hear those stories. And so it helps me and having this company and starting that and telling the story. I’ve never been so open about my own story. And so I’ve learned so much and it’s changed my life. So I’m very grateful for that too.

Kara Goldin 24:37
That’s awesome. Well, I think you telling your story, like you said, I mean, not just for consumers, but also for other founders. I think stories are really powerful and it’s what you know, makes you want to deal with those hard days. Right? And because you know that you’re doing this for a reason and you’re offering an alternative and how has fundraising been for you? Along the way? Have you raised capital?

Lily Geiger 25:04
I have, I will say we, you know, in comparison to a lot of our peers in the space, we’ve not raised a ton, which has been pretty awesome, I think just to kind of get to know our brand, before blowing it up. And so, up until June of this year, I bootstrapped the company. And we took on our first investment from friends and family round. And yeah, we’ve only raised about half a million today.

Kara Goldin 25:32
Oh, that’s great. Yeah, that’s awesome. Yeah, very cool. Cool. So what is kind of the the thing that you wish you knew, before you started, I mean, like you talked about, you’re, you’re just getting started. In terms of starting your career, I guess you’ve you’ve been in the work place for a few years, but you’re still pretty young, right? Which is great that you’re able to go and do this and, and get going. But what’s something that maybe you didn’t learn in school, you didn’t learn from working at these other businesses that, you know, piece of advice that you would tell a new founder coming into the space that you really, you know, wish somebody would have told you, I

Lily Geiger 26:20
think it would have maybe been helpful to work for a beverage company before. Just to fully understand the Logistics and Distribution, as a whole is just its own monster. And it’s awesome, but it’s also very intricate, the details and, and also fundraising, you know, like I, I had never done that before. And I’m not a co founder, I’m a founder. So ultimately, that’s up to me to do. And on top of everything else that I have to do, it’s a lot of work, it’s another full time job, it feels like so I would say just kind of, you know, and if you are me, who doesn’t have a ton of connections, that’s just you’re doing double the work. So I think that, in that regard, that’s something I just wish I learned more about in school and wish I maybe just brushed up on before diving into a new space, but I’m still happy I did it. So

Kara Goldin 27:16
yeah, and you’re learning and you’re growing. And, and so you’re doing it now, which is, which is amazing. I always tell people to look back, you know, on sort of what they’ve accomplished, too, because I think a lot of the stuff you’re gonna learn on the job, right? But you’re doing it. And, and that’s, that’s amazing. So last question. So what’s the best advice that you would give to founders or someone thinking about starting their own company? Whether it’s in the non alcoholic spirits industry? Or just in general? Like, I mean, what do you maybe what do you tell yourself on those hard days that maybe somebody gave you some advice about you? Or about your, your personality? Or it could be just in general about business? What what do you think is like the best advice to things. I

Lily Geiger 28:10
mean, this applies to just like everything in life, but I think, especially when you’re doing something like this, to just take care of yourself, and like, there are so many things that can get you so wound up and you feel like your head’s gonna explode, and you’re like, How will I ever do this. And if you can just not panic and take care of yourself, it’s actually just so helpful in getting those things done. And just protecting yourself because I think that often, especially with a brand like this, I see myself as the brand. And I’m like, wait, I also am a human being with feelings and with you know, boundaries. And so I think just trying to remember that and also to just I wouldn’t really start anything like this unless I really cared about it. And so I think you just should, should really be sure of that and really care enough to do it because it is so hard. And it totally changes your life. Nothing’s ever the same again, it feels like so, but it’s you know, in a lot of ways it’s so worth it. It’s awesome. I would do it again, but it’s it’s very hard. So I think in that regard, yeah, just be sure of it and and follow your gut.

Kara Goldin 29:16
Awesome. Well Lilly, thank you so much for coming on. And everyone definitely needs to find Figlia and give it a try for sure. It’s such a great product and and you can also ordered on your website if you don’t have it one of your local stores too, but your story is so inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing and again, it’s it’s a terrific product that I really really loved a lot and I wish you all the best so I know you guys are going to do great. Thank

Lily Geiger 29:48
you so much. That means the world. Appreciate it.

Kara Goldin 29:51
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen. Or pick up a copy of my book undaunted, which I share my journey, including founding and building hint. We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And thanks everyone for listening. Have a great rest of the week, and 2023 and good bye for now. Before we sign off, I want to talk to you about fear. People like to talk about fearless leaders. But achieving big goals isn’t about fearlessness. Successful leaders recognize their fears and decide to deal with them head on in order to move forward. This is where my new book undaunted comes in. This book is designed for anyone who wants to succeed in the face of fear, overcome doubts and live a little undaunted. Order your copy today at undaunted, the book.com and learn how to look your doubts and doubters in the eye and achieve your dreams. For a limited time. You’ll also receive a free case of hint water. Do you have a question for me or want to nominate an innovator to spotlight send me a tweet at Kara Goldin and let me know. And if you liked what you heard, please leave me a review on Apple podcasts. You can also follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at Kara Goldin. Thanks for listening

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