Gutsy Drinks

Are we about to lose $125,000 this weekend? I really hope not. Our main chiller's compressor looked at its workload and said, "I'm out." 😅 The challenge is that we currently have $125,000 worth of product sitting in our fermentation tanks that depends on it. So I'm reaching out to my LinkedIn network. We're looking for any of the following available NOW: ➡️ A Copeland ZPD91KCE-TF5-250 compressor (or a compatible replacement) available immediately ➡️ A company that can provide a 10-ton rental industrial chiller starting Friday and through the weekend ➡️ A new or used 10-ton chiller for sale and available NOW I'd be forever grateful. (About $125,000 worth of grateful.) Building a manufacturing company isn't always about launching new products or celebrating wins. Sometimes it's about solving problems you never saw coming. And learning not to curl up in a ball and cry. (Still working on that one.) 😅 If you know someone who might be able to help, a tag, an introduction, or even a share could make all the difference. And if we're already connected, please don't hesitate to share my personal cell number with anyone who may be able to help. We may need to make a decision within minutes, so the fastest way to reach me is by phone. Thank you in advance. I truly appreciate any help or connection you can make.

My 5 Biggest Takeaways From Training With Alex Hormozi founder of Aquisition.com After 30% growth in 2025, I knew I needed to think bigger. Gutsy had a strong year. But if we want real growth — 2x or 3x — I had to challenge how I think, operate, and lead. That’s why I did a training with Alex Hormozi and Acquisition.com. Honestly, I was excited. Alex impresses me because of his business knowledge, his process thinking, and the way he breaks down growth. It doesn’t feel like theory. It doesn’t feel like bullshit. You can tell he’s been through it. Here are my 5 biggest takeaways. 1-Businesses grow to their constraints A company doesn’t grow because everyone “does more.” It grows when the CEO identifies the biggest constraint — and allocates resources to solve it. At this stage, my role is less about adding projects… And more about finding the real bottleneck. Then attacking it with focus. 2-Strategy is what you say no to This one hit hard. Between $1M and $3M+ in revenue, the danger is not lack of opportunity. It’s too much opportunity. New ideas. New products. New partnerships. New markets. New distractions. Everything looks exciting. But focus is strategy. What we say no to may matter just as much as what we say yes to. 3-The problem becomes people At the next stage, growth is no longer just about the product. It’s about leadership, systems, recruiting, autonomy, playbooks, and ownership. The next version of Gutsy won’t be built by me doing more. It will be built by creating the right environment for great people to thrive and take ownership. That’s a big shift. And probably the most important one for me. 4-Branding is association Branding is not just a logo. It’s not just packaging. It’s what people instantly associate with your company. For Gutsy, that means asking: What do people think of when they hear our name? Gut health? Fermentation? Real ingredients? No preservatives? Clean ingredients? Authentic? Committed? Bold? Trustworthy? Branding attracts customers, employees, partners, influencers, distributors, retailers, and believers. 5-Proof beats persuasion Modern marketing doesn’t just convince. It demonstrates. It documents. It shows. It proves. The best brands show what they believe through their products, process, people, customers, results, and culture. Less persuasion. More proof. This training gave me a clearer picture of my role as CEO: Find the constraint. Stay focused. Build leaders. Shape the right associations. Prove the mission every day. I’m excited for the next chapter of Gutsy. If this resonates with you — and you want to help change the food industry with cleaner ingredients, real products, and a more honest approach to health — hit me up. P.S. This picture is AI. I didn’t meet Alex in person, but his team delivered the knowledge, experience, and clarity I was expecting. That’s the standard I want to build with my own team at Gutsy.

Our gutsiest move in the last 10 years ! Something’s been on my mind lately. We’re seeing an important conversation finally reach the mainstream: consumers and retailers are asking better questions about what’s really inside the products they trust. Transparency should never be optional. It should be the baseline. “Natural flavours” may meet regulatory definitions, but when even brands can’t confidently explain what they actually contain, we believe the industry has a responsibility to do better. At us, this has never been a reaction to market pressure. It’s been our everyday since day one. We’ve never used flavours, additives or preservatives. Neither natural nor artificial. Never. We don't do it because it became trendy or consumers demanded it. Nor because buyers started asking questions. But because we never believed real food should need mystery ingredients to taste amazing. And this matters not only for consumers, but also for the retailers who choose to put products on their shelves. They’re putting their trust, their reputation, and their relationship with their customers behind every product they carry. That’s why transparency isn’t a marketing angle for us. It’s a responsibility. A responsibility to consumers, who deserve to know what they’re drinking. A responsibility to retailers, who deserve products they can proudly stand behind. And a responsibility to people’s digestive health, because it all starts with real ingredients. We make THE world’s best living ginger beer. Made only with real organic ingredients. Nothing else! It costs more to produce. But it’s what we believe is best for you, for your microbiome, and for the integrity of what we put into the world. One thing I will never do is cheap out on our products. Our decisions will never be influenced by shortcuts or profit margins. Last year, that commitment was rewarded when we won the award for the world’s best ginger beer. And that’s just the beginning. There’s a difference between reacting to pressure and building something with genuine conviction. The real question isn’t who is changing their label now. The question is why. Is it because it’s trending? Because consumers are demanding more? Or because the brand was built on that conviction from the beginning? At Gutsy, we're building something that won’t bend. You can be 100% confident that when you take a sip of Gutsy Drinks, there will NEVER be anything other than real, natural ingredients. Because that’s who we are. Not what we’re becoming. To all the entrepreneurs and industry folks, we know it’s not always easy to build a brand that’s perfectly aligned with your values when you see competitors taking shortcuts and choosing the easier road. But producing something you’re truly proud of? That’s worth its weight in gold. If you’re a retailer and this speaks to you, we will be at the UNFI Canada show Tomorrow. Come see us! Taste what it’s like when you don’t take shortcuts. Gutsy Drinks