In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Maria Velasquez, founder of Purple Drop — a Peruvian super drink made from purple corn grown high in the Andes. Maria is bringing chicha morada, a staple in every Peruvian household, to the US market for the first time as a better-for-you RTD. And she is doing it with her mother-in-law's recipe, organic agave, and zero compromise on the integrity of the original.
Caitlin opens with a passage from her personal library on ancient fermentation that captures just how deep the history of chicha actually goes. Maria meets that with her own origin story: a Moroccan woman who married into a Peruvian family, fell in love with the culture and the cuisine, and had a lightbulb moment in Lima over Christmas that turned into a brand. She also explains why the one RTD version already on the market — packed with sugar, additives, and coloring — was exactly what she did not want to make.
From there the conversation covers the functional story behind purple corn (studies show it has 10 times more antioxidants than blackberries), the co-packer journey that eventually landed at a brewery, a rebrand that brought llamas and vibrant color to life, and a launch strategy built around winning Peruvian Americans first before casting a wider net. Maria spent a decade in B2B cybersecurity marketing and it shows — in the community-first approach, the food service play she is already running with Peruvian restaurants in the NYC tri-state area, and the PR box she is designing to transport people straight to Peru.
Listen in as they cover:
- How a Christmas trip to Lima and a mother-in-law's recipe became the foundation of Purple Drop
- The functional benefits of purple corn and why anthocyanins make this more than just a great-tasting drink
- The co-packer challenge of commercializing a product that American manufacturers had never made before
- How Maria is building community by winning Peruvian Americans first
- The rebrand that brought the brand's personality to life
- What's next: lucuma flavors, concentrated antioxidant shots, energy ideas, and a spring launch on Shopify
Whether you are a founder navigating the beverage aisle with something truly new, a buyer looking for the global flavor story your customers are asking for, or someone who has always wanted to try chicha without booking a flight to Lima, this episode is for you.
Episode Links:
Purple Drop Website: https://www.thepurpledrop.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heypurpledrop/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-purple-drop/
Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
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- Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
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