How One Man Got Rich Selling Junk Food
One Houston man has made a fortune selling limited-edition junk food items via his business Exotic Pop.
This article is more than 2 years old
Enticing customers is an art form and one that most major product manufacturers have down pat. After establishing strong brand loyalty, they need to keep people coming back for more. Bored customers are more apt to wander off to greener pastures. One trick they employ to prevent this is to release limited edition flavors and unique collaborations. The only problem is, once those limited tasty treats are gone, they’re gone. And that leaves hooked consumers wanting more. Thankfully, one man saw this void, which led him to establish Exotic Pop. The one-of-a-kind company is your source for limited edition food and drink items. So you may still be able to find your favorite treats if the news of their discontinuance comes as a blow.
The genius behind Exotic Pop is a man from Houston named Charleston Wilson. He took a small trunk of his car idea and turned it into a multi-million dollar company within a few short years. Business Insider recently did a profile of Wilson to discover his secret to success.
Back in 2016, Wilson took a road trip out to Baton Rouge. He found some exotic and difficult-to-find soda flavors, which he brought back for friends. Since Wilson ended up with some extra, he began selling them out of the trunk of his car. Word got around that Wilson could source exotic soda flavors, and he started gaining traction for his business. What really made his limited-edition soda business take off, however, was his unique marketing. Later in the same year, he had custom vending machines installed in local grocery stores and named his company Exotic Pop.
He dedicated the unique vending machines to local rap artists and adorned with images of them and their albums. Limited-addition sodas graced the inside. And even though they cost significantly more than regular soda, news about Exotic Pop spread. They soon became a local favorite.
News of Exotic Pop went mainstream after a local rapper, Paul Wall, posted a vending machine photo on his social media. Word about the stylish machines and their unique contents spread like wildfire. Pretty soon, Wilson was attracting attention from major rap artists.
Now Exotic Pop is the go-to source for hard-to-find sodas, limited-edition cereals, and fun flavors from overseas. His high-end clients include big names such as Offset, Cardi B, Drake, and Lil Wayne. Each of them has a specific brand or flavor that they love. And they rely on Wilson to source it for them.
With his company growing in popularity, Wilson even struck a deal with Pepsi-Co to bottle his own custom flavors. The fun concept behind Exotic Pop, combined with his inventive artwork adorned vending machines helped Wilson grow his start-up. Now, his limited-edition finds and eclectic branding are a mainstay in the rap and hip-hop communities.
Owning items sourced by Exotic Pop is considered a pretty significant status symbol. And one that comes at a steep price. However, that is not slowing down his customers, and it is not slowing down Wilson. He has major plans to expand and collaborate with big-name rap artists for new offerings down the line.
