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Sandro Roco is the founder and CEO of Asian-inspired sparkling water brand Sanzo, sold in retailers like Albertsons, Whole Foods, and Target.
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? In my experience, building a beverage brand is as much about building with our retail and distribution partners as it is about the end consumer. Most folks, especially those with a heavy leaning in direct-to-consumer, see a brand’s Instagram or TikTok as a proxy of its success. And certainly, it can be directionally correct and creating a community can differentiate a brand from others in a competitive category, but that digital presence can be less meaningful if your retail execution doesn’t back it up.
One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Four and a half years in, the journey is admittedly still a grind that in many ways requires me to operate both in the very tactical day-to-day as well as be thinking one, three, five and even 10 years down the line, all at the same time. I think most people would imagine that at this point my role would be mainly strategic, but at the end of the day, we are still a small business.
What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I've been so fortunate that we've gotten to work on projects that coincide with major cultural moments at the intersection of the Asian-American experience and overall pop culture. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be our partnership with Marvel Studios for the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The film featured the first-ever Asian-American Marvel superhero in Simu Liu with a cast that was almost exclusively Asian and Asian-American, and so this was about as big of a moment for our community as the release of Crazy Rich Asians. We felt the impact of the moment on our community and broader pop culture, as well as the pressure internally of wanting to do it right.
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Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? After years of building the case that grocery shelves across America needed to better reflect its ethnographics, we’re finally seeing the tide turn. For the first three years of incubating and fundraising for Sanzo and being called “too niche” by a lot of people, global flavors (in particular Asian and Hispanic flavors) have become one of the largest sources of growth across aisles. It’s important to me because the grocery store as we know it is a uniquely American experience, and it’s exciting to see our shelves become increasingly diversified to represent an America that’s been redefined by immigrants and first-generation cultures.
What’s your go-to coffee order? I love a good black coffee in the morning. I’m either making a cup of Nguyen Coffee Supply or heading to Devocion right around my office.
Worst piece of advice you’ve received? “Stay in banking.” An executive director on my team at the time couldn’t understand why I was leaving a very comfortable job to go work at a startup. It was just inconceivable to him that I would do something so “risky” with my career. But his definition of risk and mine were wildly different. I knew at the time that that life wasn’t for me and every minute I stayed risked keeping those “golden handcuffs” on me that on my deathbed, I knew I’d regret not shedding.
What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? [At age 15,] I had a gray Sony Discman that accompanied me everywhere and is still one of my favorite designed products I’ve ever owned. Now, I’d say my Zojirushi rice maker is the appliance/product that gives me the most delight.