Carving a Different Path in Hemp Beverages | Sierra Thomas, Tropink

On this episode, we’re joined by Sierra Thomas, Founder and CEO of Tropink - the Hawaiian-inspired, functional beverage brand made with real tropical fruit, vitamin D, broad spectrum hemp (no THC), and a little bit of carbonation.Sierra spent a decade in media and music before going alcohol-free in 2010. She’s bootstrapped Tropink thus far, scaling into premier retail locations across her home state of Oregon. We dive into Sierra’s formulation journey, why she chose broad-spectrum hemp over isolate, and how she navigates compliance and food safety. She unpacks packaging choices (and a sustainability miss she fixed), go-to-market strategy, and retail tactics that actually move cases. We also get into upcoming SKUs, fundraising strategy, and the trends she’s watching.—---------------Episode Highlights:🧪 From bench-top trials to co-packed, tunnel-pasteurized runs🌿 Broad-spectrum hemp vs. isolate and how dosing/COAs build trust🧂Alternative sweeteners🎨 Brand identity that “feels like a sunset” and why it matters on shelf♻️ Shrink sleeves vs. digitally printed cans: a sustainability pivot📣 Turning the Super Bowl into a rebrand launchpad🛒 Oregon-first saturation, menus, and placements that fit the audience📈 Velocity levers & independent retailers🧭 New SKUs, no-THC stance, bootstrapping, and the NA wave ahead—---------------Table of Contents:00:30:03 – Origin story05:38:11 – R&D, formulation11:48:19 – Hemp extract: broad spectrum vs isolate15:36:14 – Sweeteners17:27:07 – Brand identity and packaging design23:03:18 – A packaging learning lesson25:48:06 – Leveraging the Super Bowl for a rebrand launch27:42:25 – Go-to-market30:44:06 – Retail tactics36:25:20 – New SKUs around the corner40:01:01 – Hemp THC?41:01:04 – Fundraising (or not)42:07:10 – Trends Sierra is watching—---------------Links:Tropink - https://tropinkdrink.com/ Follow Sierra Thomas on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-collins-4a200216/ Follow me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/ For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.