Zak Normandin

Last updated
Zak Normandin
Born (1984-01-29) January 29, 1984 (age 40)
Leominster, MA
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Franklin Pierce University (BS)
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • Product designer
Known forIris Nova, DIRTY LEMON, Little Duck Organics
Children3
Website www.irisnova.com

Zak Normandin (born January 29, 1984) is an American entrepreneur and product designer who served as Founder and CEO of Iris Nova until the company ceased operations in 2022. Iris Nova was the parent company of NYC-based beverage brand DIRTY LEMON. [1] [2] He had previously founded Little Duck Organics, [3] a privately held New York City based company focused on organic children's snacks. [4] Normandin is best known for innovative consumer product package designs, advocacy of organic food products and development of the text-message based conversational commerce platform used by DIRTY LEMON, and the portfolio of Iris Nova beverage brands. [5] [6]

Contents

Early life and career

Normandin was born in Leominster, MA. He began his career as a Marine Engineer in the United States Coast Guard. The idea for the food company developed from the observation that there was a lack of healthy, sugar-free food options available for children. [3] [7] He started Little Duck Organics in his basement in 2009. [8] [9]

Shortly after its launch, the brand received funding from angel investors and venture capitalists, including Chris Burch and Tom First. [10]

In 2011, at Natural Products Expo East, he was awarded Best Packaging for a design Normandin created for the Tiny Fruits product line. [11] In 2012, Little Duck Organics was featured in a roundup of prominent trade-show exhibits alongside Nintendo, Nike, and Red Bull. [12] In 2011, Little Duck Organics received the "Best Packaging" award at Expo East for their new packaging designs for organic children snacks. [6] [13]

Normandin developed Plantable packaging for their product, which contains seeds that can grow into vegetables when planted. As of 2014, under his leadership, Little Duck Organics achieved a retail presence in more than 30 countries. [14] In 2014, Normandin sold majority control of Little Duck Organics, and left the company to start a creative agency and product development house. [15]

In 2015, Normandin co-founded DIRTY LEMON, which received notable attention from celebrities such as KKate Hudson, Karlie Kloss, Mindy Kaling, and Cardi B. [16]

DIRTY LEMON is an omni-channel functional beverage brand [17] with products which utilizes Iris Nova's SMS-based e-commerce platform, a technology ideated by Normandin. [18]

In 2018, Normandin raised a $15M SEED round for Iris Nova, the parent company of DIRTY LEMON. The round of funding was led by Coca-Cola North America’s Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) unit with additional support from Greycroft, GGV Capital, Imaginary Ventures, CASSIUS Family, PLUS Capital, Nebari Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, Betaworks Ventures, and Lakehouse Ventures. [19] [20]

In 2020, Iris Nova reduced its workforce by half due to severe disruptions in retail and wholesale operations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately shutting down operations in 2022. [21]

Awards and recognition

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola</span> Cola soft drink

Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Coca-Cola Company</span> American multinational beverage corporation

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nestea</span> Iced tea brand

Nestea is a Swiss brand of iced tea and pop beverages owned by Nestlé, manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company and distributed by Nestlé's beverage department in the United States and by Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW), a joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and Nestlé, in the rest of the world. It competes with Unilever/PepsiCo's Lipton Iced Tea and Fuze Tea. Nestea provides a variety of tea products, including liquid and powdered tea concentrates, refrigeratable teas, and ready-to-drink bottles dispensed by vendor or vending machine. The beverage comes in several flavors, depending on the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slice (drink)</span> Fruit flavored soft drink

Slice was a line of fruit-flavored soft drinks originally manufactured by PepsiCo and introduced in 1984 but discontinued by PepsiCo in North America in the late 2000s. Slice was reintroduced in the United States and Canada as a brand of organic food by "New Slice Ventures LLC", which acquired the trademark rights in those countries.

Energy Brands, also doing business as Glacéau, is a privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company based in Whitestone, Queens, New York, that manufactures and distributes various lines of drinks marketed as enhanced water. Founded in May 1996 by J. Darius Bikoff with an electrolyte enhanced line of water called Smartwater, Energy Brands initially distributed its products to health food stores and independent retailers in the New York area. Adding Fruitwater and Vitaminwater to its line in 1998 and 2000, respectively, the company expanded to nationwide distribution in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campa Cola</span> Soft drink brand in India

Campa Cola is a soft drink brand in India. It was a market leader in the Indian soft drink market in the 1970s and 1980s in most regions of India until the advent of the foreign players Pepsi and Coca-Cola after the liberalisation policy of the P. V. Narasimha Rao government in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster Beverage</span> American beverage company

Monster Beverage Corporation is an American beverage company that manufactures energy drinks including Monster Energy, Relentless and Burn. The company was originally founded as Hansen's in 1935 in Southern California, originally selling juice products. The company renamed itself as Monster Beverage in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Sky Beverage Company</span> Beverage company

Blue Sky Beverage Company was a beverage company that produced soft drinks and energy drinks. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Monster Beverage Corporation. The company was established in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1980, where it remained until it was purchased by Monster in 2000. Coca-Cola North America took ownership of Blue Sky Sodas, Hansen’s Juice Products, Hansen’s Natural Sodas, Hubert’s Lemonade, Peace Tea and other non-energy drink brands as part of Coke’s partnership with Monster Beverage Corp on Jun 12, 2015. Blue Sky Beverage Company now operates out of Corona, California. The southwestern look and feel of the artwork on the soda cans is reminiscent of the company's roots in New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honest Tea</span> Discontinued bottled organic tea company

Honest Tea (U.S.) was a bottled organic tea company based in Bethesda, Maryland. It was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, and ultimately sold to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. The tea brand originated by the company was discontinued by Coca-Cola on December 31, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprite (drink)</span> Lemon-lime soft drink

Sprite is a clear, lemon-lime flavored soft drink created by the Coca-Cola Company. Sprite comes in multiple flavors, including cranberry, cherry, grape, orange, tropical, ginger, and vanilla. Ice, peach, Berryclear remix, and newer versions of the drinks are artificially sweetened. Sprite was created to compete primarily against 7-Up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace Iced Tea</span> Iced tea brand

Peace Iced Tea is a brand of assorted iced tea beverages produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was originally produced by the Monster Beverage Company. The product launched on December 21, 2007. Peace Tea contains no artificial flavors or coloring, although it does contain an artificial sweetener, sucralose. The only flavor not to include sucralose was the Unsweetened Tea, but it was discontinued in early 2012. Peace tea is served in 23 oz cans in the United States, and 695 mL cans in Canada.

Zevia is a Los Angeles based company that produces soft drinks, organic tea, energy drinks, and mixers sweetened with stevia. All Zevia products are zero-calorie, sugar-free, gluten free, vegan, certified kosher, and certified by The Non-GMO Project. In June 2021, Zevia filed to go public with an IPO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodyarmor SuperDrink</span> American sports drink owned by The Coca-Cola Company

Bodyarmor SuperDrink is an American sports drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company. Products launched under the brand include: Sports, "Lyte" Sports, "Edge Sports," and "SportWater".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Duck Organics</span>

Little Duck Organics is a US based privately held company, that produces certified baby and toddler organic food, sold in 10,000 groceries and retail stores. Founded in 2009 by Zak Normandin, Little Duck Organics has manufacturing location facilities in the United States and sales in more than 30 countries. The company is focused on speciality baby food and won the Most Innovative Award from Natural Products Expo West 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaceau Smartwater</span> Bottled water company

Glaceau Smartwater is a brand of bottled water owned by Energy Brands, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. Introduced in 1996 as Ice Mountain Spring Water and Glaceau Mineral Water in the United States, it became known as Smart Water in 1998. By 2016, it was one of the top five most sold brands of bottled water in that country with sales worth nearly $830 million in 2017.

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V., doing business as FEMSA, is a Mexican multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It operates the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling group in the world and the largest convenience store chain in Mexico. It is also a shareholder of Heineken N.V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topo Chico</span> Mexican mineral water brand

Topo-Chico is a brand of sparkling mineral water from Mexico. Topo-Chico is both naturally carbonated at the source and artificially carbonated.

References

  1. ↑ "Charcoal on Call: Dirty Lemon Launches on Instagram". 30 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Erin Magner (7 March 2016). "Detox drink sensation Dirty Lemon is cleaning up your hair and skin next".
  3. 1 2 Kolodny, Lora (5 December 2013). "Fatherhood Inspires Little Duck's Healthy Snacks for Kids". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Little Duck Organics Founder On Being A Dad And An Entrepreneur – with Zak Normandin". Mixergy. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Hendrickson, Dyke (March 22, 2012). "'Little Duck' a strong swimmer". Daily News of Newburyport . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 Spinner, Jenni (October 20, 2011). "Little Duck Organics wins best packaging honors at Expo East" . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Blum, Brian (April 28, 2013). "Abe's Market: natural, organic, and founded in Israel". Israel21c. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Little Ducks Organics Baby Food". Babble.com . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Goldberg, Max (April 26, 2012). "Little Duck Organics is a Real Winner for Kids…. and Parents" . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Jane Wakefield, Kylie (4 June 2014). "Little Duck Organics' Natural Road to Success". Greenpoint Gazette. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Kuchler, Hannah (14 May 2014). "Tech start-ups to look out for". Financial Times . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "If you want big rewards, you have to take risks". Think Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Wimberly, Rachel (September 27, 2011). "Natural Products Expo East Grows After Return to Baltimore" . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Little Duck Organics is Moving Forward with Organic Baby Foods". Under30ceo.com. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "The National Parenting Publications Awards" . Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Taylor Boozan (20 December 2017). "Wellness Beverage Brand Dirty Lemon Announces Collaboration with VOGUE". Forbes .
  17. ↑ Abby Reisner (3 February 2016). "The dirty lemon water cleanse".
  18. ↑ Marina Kennedy (10 November 2015). "Zak Normandin Founder of DIRTY LEMON DETOX".
  19. ↑ "Coca-Cola Leads $15M Investment in Dirty Lemon Parent Co. Iris Nova". BevNET.com. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  20. ↑ "Coca-Cola buys stake in company behind New York's cashierless drinks store". The National. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  21. ↑ Dua, Tanya. "Iris Nova, the buzzy direct-to-consumer startup backed by Coca-Cola, has laid off half its staff as the coronavirus pandemic hits its retail business". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  22. ↑ Peter Breen & Nicole Gillo (12 June 2018). "Visionaries 2018".
  23. ↑ Melissa Campanelli (11 September 2018). "2018 Total Retail Game Changers".
  24. ↑ Irina Kremin (3 March 2019). "2019 INNOCOS LEADERSHIP AWARDS".
  25. ↑ Goldman Sachs (17 October 2019). "2019 Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovators".
  26. ↑ Goldman Sachs (14 October 2020). "2020 Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovators".
  27. ↑ Boutique Leaders Lifestyle Association (22 February 2021). "2021 Pioneers of the Boutique Lifestyle".
  28. ↑ Retail TouchPoints (26 May 2021). "2021 design:retail 40 Under 40 Awards - Retail TouchPoints".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.