Under The Hood: Claudia From Kloo

Where Did The Idea For Kloo Originate? What Made You Feel So Passionate About It That You Decided To Build a Business?

Claudia: The story of Kloo began through my mother's extensive 15-year journey in the coffee industry as a roaster, barista, and Q Grader. During COVID, while I was working on a response project at McKinsey and lamenting about the lack of access to good coffee, my mother had been quietly experimenting with what would become our proprietary brewing process.

When she shared her prototype concentrate with me, I was instantly struck by its exceptional flavor profile, smoothness, and the distinct origin notes that shone through – all without requiring any special equipment or technique to prepare. While that first taste convinced me this was something that needed to be shared with the world, it took another year or two before we decided to turn this passion into a business together. 

You Have Awesome Experience at Glamnetic And Ruggable. What Learnings From Those Two Brands Did You Bring To Kloo?

Claudia: During COVID while I was at McKinsey, I reflected deeply on my career path and realized I wanted to forge my own entrepreneurial path in the consumer space, where I could build something meaningful and impactful. This led me to deliberately seek out opportunities at consumer brands, starting with Ruggable as their Strategy & Product Marketing Manager, where I gained fundamental knowledge of consumer metrics like ROAS and LTV.

Less than a year later, I was poached by Glamnetic to be their Head of Product, which provided invaluable insights into operating a fast-growing startup - from supplier negotiations and product launches to gathering customer feedback and leading teams. When I decided to go full-time for Kloo, I felt uniquely equipped with experiences ranging from dealing with Fortune 500 companies to early-stage startups. Today, Kloo combines the best of both worlds - the structured processes I learned at McKinsey and Ruggable, along with the entrepreneurial agility and hustle I gained at Glamnetic. This outsider perspective, moving from consulting to rugs to beauty and now coffee, has given me a distinctive approach to building and growing consumer brands.

What Is It Like Operating a Business With Your Mom? What Would You Say Is The Biggest Advantage You Get From Doing So?

Claudia: Working with my mom as a business partner has been an incredibly rewarding experience, though it definitely required some adjustment as we navigated the transition from our family dynamic to a professional partnership. The greatest advantage of our collaboration lies in our complementary strengths. My mom brings over 15 years of deep coffee expertise as a roaster, barista, and Q Grader. Her perfectionism and unwavering commitment to quality means I never have to worry about our product - I know with absolute certainty that our coffee concentrate is exceptional in both flavor and quality.

Meanwhile, I contribute the business acumen I've developed through my experiences at McKinsey, Ruggable, and Glamnetic. She gives me complete autonomy when it comes to business decisions, just as I trust her expertise in coffee. This clear delineation of our areas of expertise, combined with our mutual respect and support for each other's domains, has created a powerful foundation for Kloo's success.

What Has Been The Most Challenging Aspect of Scaling Your D2C Channel?

Claudia: The biggest challenge in scaling our D2C channel has been managing our unexpectedly high demand against our current production capacity. As a vertically integrated company handling everything from sourcing to roasting to brewing in our LA facility, we've actually had to limit our marketing efforts and be highly selective with partnerships to ensure we can fulfill orders while maintaining quality.

While we explored working with co-packers like many food and beverage companies do, we found the quality and taste didn't meet our standards. The good news is that we have a clear path to scale most aspects of our production through equipment upgrades, while keeping our proprietary brewing process our unique advantage - similar to how Coca-Cola maintains control of their secret syrup formula while partnering with authorized bottlers for distribution.