Vivi Mullen - Creating Space for Women in the Male-Dominated Energy Drink Industry
This week on the Gooder Podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Vivi Mullen, the co-founder and Co-CEO of GO BIG, a natural energy and wellness shot. In this episode we talk about how Vivi’s career as a female executive in male-dominated corporate cultures stoked and shaped her ambition to make a difference in the lives of women. Join us as we discuss how Vivi has staked a claim in the energy drink industry and used her self-described outsider title to prove there is more than one way to do things.
In this episode we learn:
- A little background about her company GO BIG and why it exists especially outside of the idea of the business.
- The intricacies of the energy drink industry from a personal perspective as well as who the major players in this industry are.
- That gender inclusivity and branding are an integral part of understanding how the energy drink industry markets their products.
- The way culture affects how she does her business now, how she builds relationships today, and her leadership.
- Vivi’s advice to women who focus on what others say and lowers their self-esteem leading to wasted mental space. How to refocus self-esteem draining inputs and stop spending time in wasted mental space.
- What Vivi is doing through her leadership and brand to be a champion for women and women of color.
About Vivi Mullen:
Vivi Mullen is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of GO BIG, and the only female CEO in the energy drink industry. Born and raised in Brazil, Mullen’s career as a female executive in the largely male-dominated corporate culture, both stoked, and shaped her ambition to make a difference. Mullen started GO BIG as a brand based on the values of empowerment and inclusivity and holds to her commitment to showcase women and minorities in an industry that would prefer to leave them out.
Guests Social Media Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivi-araripe-mullen-555a0623/
Website: https://gobigenergy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivimullen/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivi.araripe
Show Resources:
- Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Red Bull GmbH, an Austrian company created in 1987. Red Bull has the highest market share of any energy drink in the world, with 7.5 billion cans sold in a year.
- Monster Energy is an energy drink that was introduced by Hansen Natural Company in April of 2002. Monster Energy has a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull.
- Rockstar is an energy drink created in 2001, which, as of 2009, had 14% of the US energy drink market. Rockstar is based in Las Vegas. As of January 2013, Rockstar Energy Drink was available in more than 20 flavors and in more than 30 countries.
- Bang is an American brand of energy drinks. It is made by Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a corporation located in Florida.
5-hour Energy is an American-made "energy shot" manufactured by Living Essentials LLC. The company was founded by CEO Manoj Bhargava and launched in 2004.
- Guarana is a Brazilian plant native to the Amazon basin. Also known as Paullinia cupana, it's a climbing plant prized for its fruit. A mature guarana fruit is about the size of a coffee berry. It resembles the human eye, with a red shell encasing a black seed covered by a white aril.
Key Takeaways:
0:00 Intro
2:48 Vivi share a little background about her company Go Big and why it exists especially outside of the idea of the business
4:24 Vivi talks about the energy drinks industry from a personal perspective and also who the major players in this industry are
6:07 Vivi also talks about the energy drinks industry from a branding perspective and the inclusivity part of both genders
7:45 Vivi talks about the difference in culture between Brazil and USA on the whole concept of professional women and women in business
9:49 Vivi also talks about how culture affects how she does her business now, how she builds relationships today and her leadership
14:32 Vivi talks about being an outsider person and not fitting in both the Brazilian and the USA culture and how that has become her superpower in doing business
16:15 Vivi talks about what she has learned and is learning running a business as a mum and especially in this time of the pandemic
18:33 Vivi shares her thoughts on the concept of wasted mental space, what it means and also shares some examples regarding it
24:43 Vivi shares advice to women who focus on what other people will say about her which lowers their self-esteem leading to wasted mental space and how to avoid that
28:34 Vivi talks about what she’s doing with herself right now and through her brand to be the champion for women and women of color
30:00 Vivi talks about Female Founder Collective, what it is and what it does to help women and women of color
33:49 Vivi shares her thoughts and perspective on how she thought about developing her product and how it's evolving considering a wider audience
39:03 Vivi talks about the type of market that her company Go Big is here to serve and why they decided to go that route
41:09 Vivi talks about other women leaders that she admires and have her eyes on and why and who she’d want to elevate
44:01 Vivi shares what she thinks is an interesting tidbit or fun fact about her industry
44:52 Vivi also talks about other brands and products that she has her eyes on and why
45:35 Vivi shares some of the things that she does that helps her keep herself sane and centered
In this episode we learn:
- A little background about her company GO BIG and why it exists especially outside of the idea of the business.
- The intricacies of the energy drink industry from a personal perspective as well as who the major players in this industry are.
- That gender inclusivity and branding are an integral part of understanding how the energy drink industry markets their products.
- The way culture affects how she does her business now, how she builds relationships today, and her leadership.
- Vivi’s advice to women who focus on what others say and lowers their self-esteem leading to wasted mental space. How to refocus self-esteem draining inputs and stop spending time in wasted mental space.
- What Vivi is doing through her leadership and brand to be a champion for women and women of color.
About Vivi Mullen:
Vivi Mullen is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of GO BIG, and the only female CEO in the energy drink industry. Born and raised in Brazil, Mullen’s career as a female executive in the largely male-dominated corporate culture, both stoked, and shaped her ambition to make a difference. Mullen started GO BIG as a brand based on the values of empowerment and inclusivity and holds to her commitment to showcase women and minorities in an industry that would prefer to leave them out.
Guests Social Media Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivi-araripe-mullen-555a0623/
Website: https://gobigenergy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivimullen/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivi.araripe
Show Resources:
- Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Red Bull GmbH, an Austrian company created in 1987. Red Bull has the highest market share of any energy drink in the world, with 7.5 billion cans sold in a year.
- Monster Energy is an energy drink that was introduced by Hansen Natural Company in April of 2002. Monster Energy has a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull.
- Rockstar is an energy drink created in 2001, which, as of 2009, had 14% of the US energy drink market. Rockstar is based in Las Vegas. As of January 2013, Rockstar Energy Drink was available in more than 20 flavors and in more than 30 countries.
- Bang is an American brand of energy drinks. It is made by Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a corporation located in Florida.
5-hour Energy is an American-made "energy shot" manufactured by Living Essentials LLC. The company was founded by CEO Manoj Bhargava and launched in 2004.
- Guarana is a Brazilian plant native to the Amazon basin. Also known as Paullinia cupana, it's a climbing plant prized for its fruit. A mature guarana fruit is about the size of a coffee berry. It resembles the human eye, with a red shell encasing a black seed covered by a white aril.
Key Takeaways:
0:00 Intro
2:48 Vivi share a little background about her company Go Big and why it exists especially outside of the idea of the business
4:24 Vivi talks about the energy drinks industry from a personal perspective and also who the major players in this industry are
6:07 Vivi also talks about the energy drinks industry from a branding perspective and the inclusivity part of both genders
7:45 Vivi talks about the difference in culture between Brazil and USA on the whole concept of professional women and women in business
9:49 Vivi also talks about how culture affects how she does her business now, how she builds relationships today and her leadership
14:32 Vivi talks about being an outsider person and not fitting in both the Brazilian and the USA culture and how that has become her superpower in doing business
16:15 Vivi talks about what she has learned and is learning running a business as a mum and especially in this time of the pandemic
18:33 Vivi shares her thoughts on the concept of wasted mental space, what it means and also shares some examples regarding it
24:43 Vivi shares advice to women who focus on what other people will say about her which lowers their self-esteem leading to wasted mental space and how to avoid that
28:34 Vivi talks about what she’s doing with herself right now and through her brand to be the champion for women and women of color
30:00 Vivi talks about Female Founder Collective, what it is and what it does to help women and women of color
33:49 Vivi shares her thoughts and perspective on how she thought about developing her product and how it's evolving considering a wider audience
39:03 Vivi talks about the type of market that her company Go Big is here to serve and why they decided to go that route
41:09 Vivi talks about other women leaders that she admires and have her eyes on and why and who she’d want to elevate
44:01 Vivi shares what she thinks is an interesting tidbit or fun fact about her industry
44:52 Vivi also talks about other brands and products that she has her eyes on and why
45:35 Vivi shares some of the things that she does that helps her keep herself sane and centered
You Might Like
