Cactus Is the New Coconut, and These Founders Are Going All In: 'We Decided to Drop Our Lab Coats, Put on Our Cactus Suits and Chase the American Dream' The Boston-based friends behind Pricklee Cactus Water found success with a clever marketing strategy, and now they're leaving their day jobs as pharmacists to become full-time BIZ Experiencess.

About 15 years ago, coconut water hit the U.S. market and exploded in popularity with its purported health benefits. Though the craze has slowed somewhat in recent years, the drink still takes up its fair share of space on shelves nationwide. But many who've given the beverage a chance share a less-than-glowing take: It doesn't really taste good. Would most people drink coconut water if it weren't a lower-calorie, less sugary alternative to sports drinks and sodas? Probably not.

Five Boston-based, first-generation American friends in their twenties and thirties were also united in their dislike of coconut water, and they wanted to do something about it. Last year, Kun Yang (CEO), Mohammed Hassoun (COO), Jaanai Babb (CMO), Sarwang Shah (CSO) and Aakash Dheri (CFO) were all working as pharmacists when they decided to bring a healthier, tastier beverage to market: Pricklee Cactus Water. As the brand's name suggests, the secret lies in a delicious fruit many U.S. consumers may be unfamiliar with: the prickly pear.

It all started when Hassoun spotted the fruit in a local Boston market and was immediately reminded of a favorite childhood treat. "Growing up in Lebanon, one of my favorite drinks during the summertime was something that my grandma used to make for us from the fruit of the cactus called the prickly pear," Hassoun says. "And it tasted like a combination of watermelon and bubblegum. So every time she'd make it, my siblings and I would be fighting for the last cup."

Hassoun bought out the store's supply of prickly pears and decided to make the drink for his friends, who were a bit skeptical at first, having never before laid eyes on the vibrant pink fruit. Once they tried it, though, there was no going back. "We took one sip, and that really was our cactus moment because that one sip showed us just how special this drink was," Yang says. "We decided to drop our lab coats, put on our cactus suits and chase the American dream."

"We didn't necessarily have the experience, but we had the skills and the confidence to figure it out"

Cactus suits? Yes — chasing their American dream involved donning cactus suits, a clever marketing tactic that would help Pricklee stand out in the crowded consumer packaged goods (CPG) beverage space. In addition to traditional DTC strategies like email, influencer and SMS marketing, the creative move has contributed to the brand's quick success.

Pricklee sold out within weeks of launching and did more business last quarter than it expected for the full year. Moreover, Pricklee's national footprint continues to expand; Pricklee is available online and in Boston- and New York-based independent retailers, and conversations with chains across the country are ongoing. The brand was also featured on the TODAY show last month.

Despite so much early success, the founders admit that they didn't know what to expect when they were first starting — or how competitive the CPG market was.

"Funnily enough, we had no idea what CPG was, how to start a drink company, how complicated and complex the entire retail and consumer packaged goods industry was," Yang says. "Thankfully we didn't because that ignorance really allowed us to get to where we are. We realized that this was something that we could do together. We didn't necessarily have the experience, but we had the skills and the confidence to figure it out, and then we just started to answer one question after the next, and each question led to another question."

"We really felt that our job is to educate the consumer, and what's a better way to do it than wearing a cactus suit"

One initial challenge was how to best explain to consumers exactly what cactus water is. Naturally, the comparison to coconut water kept coming up, but Pricklee's deliciously unique flavor (it really does taste like watermelon and bubblegum) and superior health benefits (natural antioxidants with half the sugar and calories of coconut water), must be experienced to be fully understood. That's where the attention-grabbing cactus suits and free samples come in.

"We made the decision that we wanted to reach our customers where they're at, so let's go engage with our customers," Hassoun says. "And we looked at it as having multiple layers. So, the first is just New York: We wanted to launch in New York. We wanted to win in New York. So we went, dressed up in cactus suits, our coolers and everything branded with us, and we were just out there giving people free samples and asking, "Hey, how's this versus coconut water?' And we had a lot of awesome, real interactions with people.

"And then the next layer of wearing these cactus suits is just us being us and having a good time. It's like our alter ego, the more fun alter ego versus our regular boring selves," Hassoun continues. "We also wanted to take that to the store level because we really felt that our job is to educate the consumer, and what's a better way to do it than wearing a cactus suit and letting them know, "Hey, this is cactus water, try it out.'"

The cactus costumes have successfully moved product off the shelves, so much so that stores often ask the founders when they plan to have their next in-person cactus event. A lot of that success can be attributed to the real connections Pricklee's founders forge with their customers.

"Most importantly, [the cactus events] gave us a voice," Yang says. "It just heightens the best parts of who anybody is because there's nothing more disarming than a bunch of guys with cactuses and flowers on their heads trying to spread happiness and hydration. And it's given us a lot of direction in terms of how we want to communicate with our community."

Related: The 3Cs Driving Change in the CPG Industry in Recent Times

"Everyone's a cactus and our brand really isn't contained in the can — it's the spirit of the cactus"

Now, Pricklee's founders are looking towards the future. By the end of this year, all five of the pharmacists will retire their lab coats and become full-time BIZ Experiencess. Hassoun and Yang will be the first two to make the leap. "Our real milestone to make that transition is this upcoming seed investment round that we're going to start raising for, likely starting at the beginning of October," Yang says. "That will position us to be able to go full time, take a small salary to pay our bills and then really build out a really incredible team to grow Pricklee on a national level, starting obviously to continue to build our presence in the Northeast, but also starting to look at California as the next market that we'll be launching into."

The founders also see an opportunity to build on their success and grow a platform brand, one that centers on the cactus and introduces other tangential consumer packaged goods (or "cactus-packaged goods") that "can celebrate the ingredient in all its glory."

"When we first started our company, we viewed ourselves as a cactus-water company," Yang says. "And that is absolutely going to be the bread and butter of how we build our brand. But when we donned those cactus suits, it did more than just give us a sense of what our brand represented: It made us realize that everyone's a cactus and our brand really isn't contained in the can — it's the spirit of the cactus and all the benefits that the cactus provides and the different vehicles in which you can express that."

And Pricklee is inviting consumers to express that spirit themselves: Until September 24, you can submit a video of yourself drinking Pricklee in the most fun and creative way possible for a chance to win a year's supply of the cactus water, two T-shirts and four koozies. You can send your video via email or DM the brand on Instagram. One thing is for sure: Pricklee's founders have an abundance of passion — and fun.

"We're very blessed to have the opportunity to even be able to pursue something like this full time," Yang says. "It's something that, being first-generation Americans, we only have because our parents sacrificed everything to allow us to have this opportunity. So we want to make sure that all those who believe in us and continue to support us know that they're in good hands."

Related: 10 Forces That Have Caused the Packaged-Food Startup Explosion