Kim.cc

Kim.cc Full-Cycle AE: Olipop

Harshit Singh ·

1. Why This Account?

Olipop passed $500M in sales last year, sells on Shopify and has run support on Gorgias, the helpdesk Kim works inside at TRIP, another retail and DTC drinks brand. My read: much of Olipop’s support starts in stores.

• New CEO. Christian Patiño Webb, ex-CEO of Electrolit, took over in August. His stated focus: “investing in our people and capabilities, strengthening execution.” New CEOs usually review costs early.
• Two formulas, one name. Since May, the shelf-stable 6g line has new cans in the soda aisle, while the refrigerated 9g line keeps its original cans “for now” and uses different fibers. Olipop’s FAQ tells shoppers to check the nutrition panel to tell them apart. Every shopper who asks is a ticket.
• Recent hiring: a VP of FP&A, a pricing and portfolio manager and a consumer insights manager, and a posted Director of eRetail role for Walmart.com, Target.com and Instacart. More packs and channels mean more questions, and under the guarantee, anyone who can’t return a can to the store comes to Olipop with a receipt.

Why now: the CEO’s first 100 days end around late November, and the 9g line hasn’t moved to the new cans yet.

2. Who Would You Contact?

Janelle and Nicole mirror the two roles quoted in Kim’s TRIP story, the Operations Manager and the Head of Ecommerce. The CEO comes in as sponsor.

Who first: Janelle. A CX lead can confirm or kill the hypothesis in one reply and point me to the budget owner. Starting with Nicole means guessing at numbers her team already has. Once Janelle replies, the email to Nicole carries real ticket numbers, and the note to Christian carries both. The full eight-thread plan is below.

3. Create the Outreach

Email #1 · to Janelle

Subject: is this the same olipop

Janelle,

your FAQ now tells shoppers to check the nutrition panel to tell 6g from 9g.

hmm

pages like that usually get written after the inbox has asked it enough times.

we run support inside gorgias for TRIP, another drinks brand in retail and DTC. AI clears the repeat questions, a trained person takes anything sensitive. 40k+ tickets in under six months, CSAT 4.68.

opposed to me sending how we’d split your top five ticket types?

harshit

ps, saw the new community manager role routes social questions to your team. one more inbox.

Cold call opening · to Nicole

Harshit: Hi Nicole, Harshit from Kim. This is a cold call. Can I take 30 seconds to say why I called, and you decide if it’s worth a minute more?

Nicole: Go on.{ optimistic ik :) }

Harshit: Your guarantee covers cans from any authorized store, so anyone who can’t take one back ends up in Olipop’s inbox with a receipt.

Add two fiber lines in two aisles, with new cans on one since May, and I’d bet a good share of your tickets are “which can am I holding?”

Nicole: It’s a thing. We already have AI on the basics, though.

Harshit: Makes sense, we work inside the helpdesk you already use. The gap is what a bot shouldn’t answer alone, like a refund on a store receipt, or someone saying the new can feels different.

That’s where our people step in. TRIP, the CBD drinks brand in Target and Whole Foods, halved their first response time with us.

Who handles store claims today, your team or a partner?

4. Show Us How You Think

The challenge: one brand name, two formulas, and the reliable way to tell them apart is the back of the can.

The 6g line (acacia, guar and cassava fiber, soda aisle, new cans) and the 9g line (chicory, Jerusalem artichoke and cassava, fridge, original cans for now) share flavor names across 67,000+ stores. Olipop’s FAQ tells shoppers to read the nutrition panel.

Over the next 12 months I’d expect three kinds of tickets: “is this the same Olipop?”, “this one feels different”, and refund requests from people who bought the one they didn’t mean to. If the 9g line moves to new cans too, the first kind comes back.

The first kind is AI work. The other two need judgment: health context, a receipt check and a refund call. That split is how Kim works, AI on the repeat questions and a person on the rest.

Outbound Plan

Eight threads, 56 touches over four weeks, with Looms, voice notes and calls in the mix. Day 1 is Monday 28 September. Champion first, budget owner second, the CEO last.

Buying committee

The offer

Every ask is free work first: a top five ticket split built from their public pages, then a two-week, read-only look at their support tickets tagged by what AI closes and what needs a person, then a 30-day pilot on one lane (store guarantee claims plus fiber-line questions). Kim starts within 48 hours and needs 30 days’ notice to exit.

On size: Kim bills on ticket volume. At the prices shown on kim.cc ($0.60 per ticket, $0.70 per resolved ticket), 25,000 tickets a month is $180K to $210K a year. The two-week look gives the real number.

Cadence

* Only once Janelle or Nicole has engaged.

Sequences

Janelle Justesen · CX Lead

<She lives in the queue. Every message is about her day, and every ask is an opinion or free work.>

Day 1 · Email

Email #1 above.

Day 1 · LinkedIn connection note

Janelle, the berry sipport center back in may was a smart one. support as a campaign is rare. would be good to connect.

Day 2 · LinkedIn

curious about one thing since you’re closest to it.

after the may pack change, did “is this the same olipop” actually spike, or did the FAQ catch most of it?

Day 3 · Email, same thread

one more thing i noticed.

your FAQ refund is first try, online only, no limited flavors. your guarantee page covers any authorized store, replace or refund.

both say 45 days. they don’t say the same thing.

that gap is where a macro turns into a judgment call. on our side those go to a person, never the bot.

Day 5 · Email, same thread

janelle, the bit of your FAQ i’d bet gets used most:

bigger orders ship in two boxes and the second is due within 24 hours. “marked delivered” gets a 48 hour wait before a claim.

that’s most of “where’s the rest of my order” right there.

want the three macros we’d run for it? free either way.

Day 8 · Voice note, 25 seconds

hey janelle, harshit from kim. voice note because you probably get enough text. i’ve read your FAQ and guarantee pages more closely than is normal. i think a trained AI could close about five of your ticket types on its own, and two should always stay with a person. happy to send the split, no call needed. and if i’ve got it wrong, tell me. genuinely curious.

Day 9 · Email with Loom, new thread

Subject: made you a loom

90 seconds, no slides.

your fiber FAQ, your two 45 day rules, and which tickets our AI would close alone versus the ones a person should own.

[loom link]

cheers

Loom: fiber FAQ, the two 45-day rules, the shipping FAQ, then the AI versus person split. Ends on “reply yes and I’ll send your top five.”

Day 11 · LinkedIn

sent you a 90 second loom by email in case it’s buried. your pages, not our deck.

Day 15 · Call

Harshit: Hi Janelle, Harshit from Kim. You’ve had a couple of emails from me about 6g and 9g questions. Thirty seconds, and you can hang up after?

Janelle: Sure.

Harshit: I think a trained AI could close about five of your ticket types, and two should always stay with a person: store guarantee claims and anything health-related. Would the split help, or am I off?

Day 15 · LinkedIn

different question. if you could hand off one ticket type tomorrow, which would it be?

Day 16 · Email, same thread as the Loom

the worry i hear most from CX leads is voice. fair.

TRIP’s ops manager said that worry went away pretty fast.

want me to write three of your FAQ answers in your voice, so you can judge for yourself?

Day 19 · Email

is the 9g line getting the new cans soon?

the FAQ still says “for now”, and a second pack change usually brings a second round of “is this the same drink”.

happy to have those answers ready before it lands.

Day 22 · LinkedIn

the top five split still stands. no call needed to get it.

Day 24 · Email

should i close the loop, or is this a wrong quarter thing?

After Day 24: one line every two weeks in the same thread, each with a new angle. Stop on a no.

Nicole Konatsotis · VP, eCommerce

<Her team covers eRetail and most likely the site and subscriptions. The angle is cost to serve and the new CEO’s push on execution, never features.>

Day 2 · LinkedIn connection note

Nicole, saw the director of eretail role on your team. walmart.com, target.com and instacart is a big shelf to own. would be good to connect.

Day 3 · Email

Subject: 67,000 stores, one inbox

Nicole,

your guarantee covers cans bought at any authorized store, not just drinkolipop.com. when someone can’t take one back to the store, they contact olipop with a receipt.

so a store sale can turn into an olipop support ticket.

we run support for TRIP, another drinks brand in target and whole foods, inside their gorgias. first response 50% faster, CSAT 4.68.

worth seeing what share of yours AI could close?

Harshit

ps, saw the universal women’s network award last year. congrats.

Day 4 · LinkedIn

question from someone who reads support pages too closely. when a walmart.com shopper has a problem with a pack, does it end up with your team or stay with walmart?

Day 8 · Email, same thread

saw the director of eretail role. walmart.com, target.com, instacart, costco, doordash, gopuff.

your guarantee covers authorized sellers, and anyone who can’t return a pack to one of them comes to olipop.

more eretail, more of those. good problem, still a growing one.

Day 10 · Email, same thread

small thing i found while digging.

walmart.com still lists a ridge rush 4 pack, a flavor you’ve renamed citrus rush. and one vintage cola page says pantry packs in the URL and 9g refrigerated in the title.

each of those can turn into a “which one did i buy” email to olipop, not walmart.

Day 11 · Call

Cold call opening above. Voicemail if she doesn’t pick up:

hi nicole, harshit from kim. your guarantee covers every authorized store, so a lot of your support can start in retail. we run that setup for TRIP inside gorgias. i’ll follow up by email, subject 67,000 stores, one inbox.

Day 15 · Email with Loom, new thread

Subject: your queue, not our deck

recorded a 2 minute loom on olipop specifically.

your guarantee page, the two walmart listings, and how TRIP’s setup would route each ticket type. no slides.

[loom link]

Loom: the guarantee page, the Walmart.com listings, where the queue grows, TRIP’s numbers, then the ask.

Day 17 · Voice note, 25 seconds

hi nicole, harshit from kim. voice note instead of another email. your guarantee covers every authorized store, so your support can grow with retail, not just the website. we run that exact setup for TRIP inside their gorgias. if it’s useful, i’ll go through two weeks of your tickets for free and you keep what we find. if the timing’s off, just tell me.

Day 18 · Email, same thread as the Loom

with christian in the seat since august, i’d guess every team is being asked where execution tightens before 2027.

support is one of the few places that can show a number inside 30 days.

we start within 48 hours, and it’s 30 days’ notice to leave.

Day 22 · Email

simplest version of this: read only access to two weeks of your support tickets.

we tag every one. what AI closes, what needs a person, what’s driving volume. you keep it either way.

yes or no?

Day 22 · Call

Harshit: Hi Nicole, Harshit from Kim. I sent you a yes or no this morning on a free ticket review. Felt fairer to call than send a fourth email. Is it a yes, a no, or a not now?

Day 23 · LinkedIn

the free two week ticket review still stands, whenever it’s useful.

Day 24 · Email

still worth a look, or wrong quarter?

After Day 24: one line every two weeks, rotating between an eRetail signal, the 9g repack and holiday promos.

Melissa Garvy · Director, Consumer Insights

<She’s hiring someone to lead the voice of the consumer. The angle is data Olipop already has and doesn’t read. She can pull Janelle or Nicole in.>

Day 3 · LinkedIn connection note

Melissa, saw your IIEX speaker profile. naked juice to olipop is a fun run of categories. would be glad to connect.

Day 5 · LinkedIn

curious how you use support tickets today, if at all. your new manager role is meant to lead the voice of the consumer, and a loud version of it usually sits in the CX inbox, untagged.

Day 9 · Email

Subject: voice of the consumer

Melissa,

your consumer insights manager post says the role will lead the voice of the consumer.

a lot of that voice is already in your support inbox. which line people bought, what felt different, what they want back.

kim categorizes every ticket and pulls voice of customer insights for the brands we support.

want me to mock up a week of it, built from your public FAQ?

Day 12 · Email with Loom, same thread

made the mock up anyway. 60 seconds, what a week of your tickets could look like, tagged by line and reason. [loom link]

Day 16 · LinkedIn

if this is janelle’s or nicole’s call more than yours, happy to be pointed there. figured insights would want the data either way.

Day 23 · Email

the mock up’s there whenever it’s useful. no call needed.

Ben Goodwin · Executive Chairman, Head of Innovation

<Two threads at once: his How I Built This episode, and support tickets as feedback on his two formulas. Nothing about the CEO change.>

Day 1 · LinkedIn

One real comment on his latest post. No DM.

Day 5 · LinkedIn connection note

Ben, caught your advice line episode on how i built this. the part about protecting product integrity stuck with me. would be glad to connect.

Day 9 · LinkedIn

on that episode, the advice to the gheelish founder was to lead with taste and nutrient comparisons, not ingredient lessons. your 6g vs 9g FAQ does exactly that, a nutrition panel doing the teaching. curious whether you hear what shoppers say about the switch directly, or only once it’s been summarized a few times.

Day 12 · Email

Subject: the formula feedback loop

Ben,

any “this one feels different” email is a data point on the 6g line.

right now those probably sit in a helpdesk as free text.

we categorize them and pull the patterns, so a founder reads the trend instead of the anecdotes.

opposed to me sending what that view looks like?

Day 16 · Voice note, 20 seconds

ben, harshit here. voice note because this is more an idea than a pitch. your support inbox is probably the most honest feedback you get on the 6g line, and it’s rarely read as a dataset. if that’s interesting, i’ll show you what it looks like. if not, no worries at all.

After Day 16: comments on his innovation posts only, unless he engages.

Mel Landis · President

<He ran retail at Coca-Cola and BodyArmor. The angle is store claims that land with the support team.>

Day 8 · LinkedIn connection note

Mel, caught your bevnet live talk on building for scale. coca-cola retail to olipop is a great run. would be good to connect.

Day 10 · Email

Subject: the store side of support

Mel,

your guarantee covers cans from 67,000+ stores. when a shopper can’t take one back, they contact olipop with a receipt.

hmm

retail makes the sale, and Olipop’s support team handles the claim.

we run that setup for TRIP, a drinks brand in target and whole foods, inside their gorgias. first response 50% faster.

worth a look at how much of yours AI could close?

Day 12 · LinkedIn

question since you’ve run retail at scale. do store guarantee claims ever show up in the retail numbers, or do they live only in CX?

Day 17 · Voice note, 20 seconds

hi mel, harshit from kim. one idea. your guarantee means shoppers who can’t return a can to a store come to your support team. we handle that retail and DTC mix for TRIP. if it’s worth ten minutes, great. if it’s nicole’s call, happy to go there.

Day 22 · Email

who owns the store side of guarantee claims, you or nicole? happy to go to whoever it is.

Tracy Hart · CFO

<Numbers only: a per ticket cost against headcount. She opens after the operators, so the idea reaches her twice.>

Day 9 · LinkedIn connection note

Tracy, method, true botanicals, now olipop. three mission brands in a row is a pattern. would be good to connect.

Day 11 · Email

Subject: support, per ticket

Tracy,

saw the VP of FP&A role. whoever takes it will likely look at cost to serve for support.

ours is priced per ticket, $0.60 a ticket and $0.70 a resolved ticket on our site, so it moves with volume instead of headcount.

worth running your numbers against it?

Day 18 · Email, same thread

TRIP moved 40k+ tickets through us in under six months, and their team got its time back.

happy to size olipop’s version from two weeks of real tickets.

Day 23 · LinkedIn

if it’s useful, the per ticket math for olipop fits on one page. no call needed.

Christian Patiño Webb · CEO

<Last to open. No pitch until a champion exists, and anything he sees carries Olipop’s own numbers.>

Day 10 · LinkedIn connection note

christian, congrats on the olipop seat. electrolit to functional soda is a strong next chapter. glad to connect.

Day 17 · Email, once Janelle or Nicole has engaged

Subject: first 100 days

Christian,

you said your focus is investing in capabilities and strengthening execution.

support is one place that can show a number inside 30 days, and i think a lot of olipop’s tickets start in stores.

your CX team is looking at two weeks of tickets with us. i’ll send you the one page result.

Day 24 · LinkedIn, with a result

one page summary is ready whenever you want it. three numbers, no deck.

Consumer Experience team · three specialists

<No budget, so the only ask is an opinion. Three names pulled in Sales Navigator by title.>

Day 9 · LinkedIn

hi [name], you’re on the consumer experience team at olipop, right? curious what eats more of your day, order questions or product questions?

Day 16 · LinkedIn

asking because the repeat kind is what we take off teams’ plates at other drinks brands. happy to show you and let you decide if it’s worth mentioning to janelle. no pitch, nothing to sit through.

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