On a Friday in late January, ZICO Coconut Water CEO Chris Gallant made his way from LA-area firehouse to LA firehouse, handing out ZICO’s flagship hydration beverage. Amid a lot of opportunistic corporate “giving” in the wake of the devasting wildfires, ZICO’s action stood among the earnest and true. Giving out of gratitude, with nothing expected in return: no social media posts with pictures of thankful firefighters holding product, labels out. No LinkedIn virtue-signaling whose real purpose is to catalog all the good a company’s doing. “Look, any giving you do needs to be intrinsically important to you,” Gallant argues. “You can’t be doing it so that you can post it on Instagram. And it’s the same with sustainability. I would say to [any leader]
, make sure it’s core, right? Core to who you are and what your company is.”
A Thailand trip in every sip
So, what’s ZICO all about? Says Gallant, “I don’t think the mission is all that different than what it was when [founder and former CEO] Mark Rampolla started it twenty years ago.” The original idea was to compete with sugar-laden sports drinks, because coconut water, loaded with naturally occurring electrolytes, is the “ultimate hydration beverage,” especially when it’s 100 percent pure, premium, no sugar added—with only one ingredient.
ZICO had been one of the first brands to bring pure coconut water to the US. Rampolla had discovered coconut water during a stint in the Peace Corps in Central America.
“So, ZICO’s always been about creating a healthier hydration alternative,” says Gallant. “Helping the health and wellness of Americans is still where we are right now—and supporting the communities where we make it.”
Not to say that continuity didn’t face a massive challenge in the ZICO journey. In 2013, Rampolla sold ZICO to The Coca Cola Company. At the time, ZICO was a category leader, one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the country, pursued aggressively by the massive enterprise that is Coca-Cola. But, Coke discontinued ZICO to focus on more global brands. Under Coca-Cola, sales declined owing to strong competition, mostly from Vita Coco. Rampolla bought it back in 2020 through the growth and equity fund, PowerPlant Ventures, part of the portfolio at his conscious investment firm, GroundForce Capital. The company rebranded as ZICO Rising.
“I’ll give you my perspective,” says Gallant. “I was not here for the sale to Coke or the buyback from Coke, but you know, from my institutional learning, I think that Coke is an incredible company. They’ve built the biggest beverage company in the world. But I think a casualty of that is small brands. See, what is a big brand to me is a small brand to Coke.”
Rampolla brought in Gallant and a new team. “Now,” says Gallant, “everything just seems to be working and there are lots of things to do, lots of opportunities in front of us. Right now, the category is growing.”
Cuckoo for Coconut Water
- In 2023, the global coconut water market was valued at $7.67 B
- The market is expected to reach $22.91 B by 2029
- The coconut water market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.3% from 2025 to 2030
- The global coconut water market consumption is around 600 M liters annually
- ZICO Natural is ZICO’s flagship product:
- includes as much potassium as a banana
- Fat-Free, Gluten-Free, Cholesterol Free, Dairy-Free, NON-GMO & NO artificial ingredients or additives
- 45 calories
- ZICO also sells Chocolate coconut water, a dairy-free drink with 70 percent coconut water, real cocoa powder & NO artificial ingredients
- ZICO’s brand ambassadors include tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, NFL powerhouse DK Metcalf, & serial entrepreneur Jesse Itzler
Not all coconuts are created equal
“Our product is really strong,” says Gallant. “Outstanding. The taste and flavor profile are great. Consumers are responding very well to it. The category is on fire. It’s growing very fast. People are seeing the health benefits of natural hydration. And I don’t think it’s a trend that’s going to slow down. And I’ve got an incredibly competent, sharp, experienced team working for me. As soon as I met our leadership team and the investors, I knew I was really in a position where I’m surrounded by people that are much smarter than me—and that’s a great place to be.”
Gallant has 15+ years of leadership in the beverage industry. He formerly led Chamberlain Coffee, growing it from a small startup to 12,000+ retailers across NA, and he also held leadership positions at Red Bull and Heineken. At ZICO, he hit the ground running on a learning adventure. “The first step is to really understand [the company, its processes, and people].” ZICO’s coconuts, including the naturally sweet Nam Hom variety from Thailand, are hand-harvested in partnership with local farmers who, along with local employees, get fair wages, according to the company.
Gallant’s first fact-finding, relationship-building trip to Thailand was illuminating, he says. “What are the pain-points that our people feel? What are they really good at? Where do they need help and support? [The goal was] to actually spend a lot of time with those people and build a strong relationship. That means getting up early in the morning every day, leaving from Bangkok, going to a plantation, spending time having lunch with the farmers, going to a co-packer, and having dinner with them, and so on. It was really important for me to be there to meet all of our partners.”
“I think all that takes time. I think it’s about spending time with people. I think it’s having empathy for people, understanding what they’re doing. You can’t just ‘yes’ people and tell them you’ll solve all their problems. [You need to] at least understand what some of the challenges they face are, and do your best to support them, to either help them overcome it or help them find a path around it.”
Pressing problems
What are some of those challenges ZICO’s already addressing or plans to address? Farming practices, and whether local communities are adopting maximally sustainable ways, such as forest farming and other regenerative practices; the company’s carbon footprint, especially caused by transportation emissions from shipping and distribution. Also, it takes a lot of water to produce coconuts, but some methods ZICO’s exploring with its farmers can help reduce water waste. Finally, Gallant and his team are working on new packaging for 2026.
On the packaging front, Gallant says, “Changes take quite a while. But we are working on some things for next year. It’s interesting what consumer perception of sustainability is versus what a sustainable package really is. For example, PET can actually be quite sustainable because it’s easily recyclable. And so, for us, it’s understanding what the next thing is. Is it going to be some sort of more easily biodegradable plastic? Is it going to be cans for us? And so, I don’t know what the answer is yet, but we’re working on some things for 2026.”
Despite that uncertainty and considerable challenges in his industry, Gallant remains remarkably positive. “I don’t think we have a choice but to be optimistic,” he says. For every downturn, there’s an upward trend ahead, if you “stay one sip ahead,” to echo one of ZICO’s slogans. “Why am I optimistic about business [being able to solve some of our greatest challenges]? I think if businesses are focused on solutions, if they build the sustainability into their model like we do at ZICO, I think there’s a lot of positive things for us in the future.”
For that afternoon though, there are more firehouses to hydrate and a trunk full of coconut water to share.