Today we’d like to introduce you to Victor Guardiola.
Hi Victor, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story with Bawi started at UT Austin. I was working in growth and marketing for a local CPG startup when I realized the Hispanic beverage category had massive, untapped mass market potential. The nostalgic drinks I grew up with did little to prioritize clean ingredients, and the industry had confined Hispanic CPG strictly to chips, salsas, and tortillas. It was obvious to me that socioeconomic barriers, not a lack of consumer demand, were preventing a culture forward brand from scaling. That realization created the exact whitespace for Bawi to sprint.
Because I started with zero network and friends and family funding was not an option, I had to build my cap table from scratch. I formulated a clean label sparkling agua fresca, proved the concept by pouring agua fresca on tap at local farmers markets, and spent a year relentlessly pitching for our initial $150K. That period was incredibly revealing. I had early investors flat out tell me “Mexicans cannot afford this” and corporate gatekeepers assume that Spanish on our packaging meant a limited niche ceiling. I ignored the noise and kept pitching until established Austin operators, including Patrick Terry of P. Terry’s, the founder of Torchy’s Tacos, and early Siete Foods executives, understood the vision and wrote our first checks.
Today, we have grown from $370K in top line sales in 2024 to $1.2M in 2025, and we are currently on track for a $4M year in 2026. We are strategically saturating Texas and California before expanding nationally, finding massive success in food service where Bawi shines as both a meal pairing and a premium mixer. But getting here was not just about moving product; it was about proving a core thesis. We survived the brutal reality of the CPG supply chain and shifted the industry narrative by proving that you do not have to sand down your identity to appeal to the masses. We proved that authentic cultural representation is not a niche, it is true innovation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Building a beverage brand is brutal by default, but doing it with zero network and no safety net means you feel every single bump.
One of the biggest early struggles was navigating sheer industry bias. I spent a year pitching just to raise our first $150K, constantly battling gatekeepers who falsely assumed that cultural branding meant a low ceiling. I had to absorb a lot of prejudice and keep moving forward until I found operators who understood the vision.
Then there were the internal hard lessons. I had to learn quickly that having the wrong foundational partners is an absolute existential threat to your business. Keeping ineffective people involved out of a misplaced sense of loyalty or fear of ruining personal relationships is a fatal mistake that will bleed your cap table and stall your entire momentum.
Finally, surviving the actual retail machine is a constant struggle. The consumer packaged goods industry is simply not built for small businesses, and large corporations ultimately do not care if your brand lives or dies. Many love using startups as marketing fodder to signal innovation, but the second those corporate initiatives go out of vogue, you are left entirely out to dry. You are operating in an unforgiving environment where one complex supply chain mistake with a massive retailer can tank your entire business, meaning your margin for error is effectively zero. You only learn lessons through trial and error!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
What We Do and What We Are Known For
Bawi is a sparkling agua fresca company that is bringing health innovation to the Hispanic beverage market. We specialize in taking a deeply nostalgic cultural staple and elevating it into a clean label, low sugar, and fruit juice forward soda alternative. We are known for bridging the gap between authentic Mexican flavors and modern consumer demands, proving that a better for you beverage does not have to sacrifice its cultural soul.
What Sets Us Apart
What sets us apart is our absolute refusal to be put in a box. Legacy brands in the Hispanic aisle have historically ignored clean ingredients, while modern wellness brands often lack genuine cultural roots. Bawi sits perfectly in the middle. We are a sparkling fruit juice that functions just as well as a standalone meal pairing as it does a premium alcoholic mixer. We do not just sit in the international aisle (or sit in the international aisle at all); we compete head on with mainstream big soda.
What We Are Most Proud Of Brand Wise
I am most proud of our unapologetic branding. Every gatekeeper in the early days told us that putting Spanish on our packaging and leaning into our Mexican heritage would limit our ceiling. We proved them completely wrong. We never sanded down our identity to make corporate buyers comfortable, and as a result, we built a brand with a fiercely loyal following that genuinely resonates with the masses. We can be both culturally representative, and also innovate on health in tandem.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memories consist of riding my bike through the streets of Portland, Texas. Growing up in a small suburb of Corpus Christi meant spending the vast majority of my time outside. I loved being out in nature, whether that meant cruising the neighborhood with my friends or fishing with my dad. I crave a phone-free existence and try my best to spend time off screens, and in nature, when I can.
Pricing:
- 7.98 Bawi HEB 4-Packs
- $2.79 Whole Foods, Central Market
- $12.99 Amazon 4-Packs
Contact Info:
- Website: https://drinkbawi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkbawi/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/drinkbawi/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: https://x.com/drinkbawiaf
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@drinkbawi
