Conscious CPG voices: Function, mission and design meet in MUD/WTR

How are “Conscious CPG” companies positioning themselves in today’s fast-changing consumer market—and how are they turning to the Newtopia Now as a vital new resource to advance their brand among key buyers and decision makers?

For this series, we asked the founders and leaders of 10 emerging brands who are exhibiting their innovations—many of them for the very first time at Newtopia Now—what factors drive their decisions today. Coming from diverse backgrounds, these entrepreneurs share at least one thing in common: The belief that gathering with peers, contemporaries, buyers, influencers, mentors, business leaders and others in an intimate setting is critical to learning about the marketplace, building relationships and growing your business and brand.

Emma Nelson, Chief Operations Officer, MUD/WTR

MUD/WTR founder Shane Heath, an artist and entrepreneur, was working in the tech industry and finding that to cope with the “startup hustle culture,” he was developing a dependency on coffee and caffeine that he felt was contributing to burnout and affecting his physical and mental health. He started mixing organic cacao, masala chai, adaptogenic mushrooms and spices and found it gave him the energy he needed without the downsides of coffee. When colleagues asked what he was drinking, he told them “mud.” Realizing he could help support the creation of healthier habits for others, Heath launched MUD/WTR in 2018. COO Emma Nelson joined the Santa Monica, California-based business in 2019.

Related:10 Conscious CPG Voices: Emerging brands take a stand at Newtopia Now

Learn more from this interview with Emma Nelson.

MUD/WTR started as a direct-to-consumer brand, and it has been our predominant channel for the past few years. We realize that people looking to curb their coffee consumption and/or try functional mushrooms aren’t just shopping online—they’re shopping in brick-and-mortar-retail, too—and MUD\WTR wants to meet our consumers where they’re shopping. In retail, we offer our flagship product, MUD\WTR :rise Cacao and :rise Matcha in 12-serving pouches and distinctive 30-serving tins. MUD\WTR also offers :balance Turmeric and :rest Rooibos, both in 30-serving tins. 

MUD\WTR offers an alternate way for people to energize throughout the day. We like to encourage people to take a look at their relationship with coffee, energy drinks, mindless morning rituals and evening nightcaps. With MUD/WTR, we are introducing something that could potentially spark a change in habit by providing a functional alternative to the energy people are seeking. That’s important to us. By encouraging switching from coffee as one step, we hope to drive other change. We want our customers to say, “That was one step in the right direction; what’s next?”

MUD\WTR’s mission is to create healthy minds through healthy habits. We publish a newsletter that shares information about holistic wellness, exercise, mental health and the work being done with psychedelics and other modalities. MUD\WTR also donates to universities that support psychedelic research and education. As Shane would say, “We are driven by a desire to build a company that’s part of the solution.”

At Newtopia Now, we’ll bring a small team of people and exhibit our full retail lineup. We’ll be sampling our products and doing pre-work to ensure we are connecting with key buyers and distributors. While we were able to do a small popup display at Expo West this past March, Newtopia Now is kicking off MUD/WTR’s official trade show participation. We view it as a unique opportunity to talk about our products to an audience that is familiar with natural products and adaptogenic mushrooms, and is attuned to wellness.

Find MUD/WTR in Booth 1022 in Thrive.

Newtopia Now, New Hope Network's new trade show, is set for Aug. 25-28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. For more information and to register, click here.