AfroPop: Crafting Culture, Soda, and Success with Jamel Stephens

Discover how Jamel Stephens, the visionary CEO of AfroPop, is transforming Oklahoma's craft soda landscape by celebrating BIPOC artistry and cultural diversity. Through this engaging conversation, Jamel shares his journey from a rural Oklahoma native to an influential entrepreneur using his all-natural soda brand as a platform for cultural expression and empowerment. Learn about the unique flavors like 'Black of the Berry', "Grandma's House', 'Summer Nights,' and how each bottle tells a story through artful packaging designed by emerging artists. By connecting deeply with the Black community, Jamel highlights the powerful role of cultural expression in business.

Prepare to gain valuable insights as we explore the foundational elements that drive Jamel's success at AfroPop. From building authentic relationships that secure vital support during peak times to understanding market trends and consumer demands, Jamel offers a wealth of knowledge for entrepreneurs. He emphasizes the importance of holistic business acumen, from mission clarity to financial literacy, underscoring his experience in a Founders Accelerator program as a pivotal moment in mastering value propositions. Whether you're an aspiring business owner or a supporter of the arts, join us in uncovering strategies for creating impactful and culturally resonant enterprises.

Thank you for listening! YouTube - @3KeysforYourJourney -Tune in for a new episode every Sunday. Connect with us at www.ocfo.info

Chapters

• 0:04 Empowering BIPOC Artistry and Advocacy
• 8:36 Building Strong Business Foundations

Transcript

Greg Jones: 0:04

Jamel Stevens is a proud rural Oklahoma native artist and advocate for change. He serves as a board member of the Oklahoma City Black Chamber of Commerce, CEO and founder of Afropop, he's dedicated to amplifying BIPOP artistry and celebrating the rich diversity of Oklahoma's craft soda scene. Join me as we explore stories of inspiration, innovation and impact designed to empower and uplift our communities. Get ready to be inspired together.

Speaker 2: 0:48

Are you ready to unlock your potential? Tune in to Three Keys for your Journey podcast, where business owners share invaluable insights and empowering strategies to guide you toward success. Based in Oklahoma City, our host, greg T Jones, will inspire and motivate you every week. Get ready to join our conversation as we build community together.

Greg Jones: 1:15

All right. Hello, mr Stevens. How are you today? I'm doing well. How are you, greg? I am in the orbit of Afropop man. I'm feeling excited today. I have had the opportunity over the last year to try your craft sodas.

Jamel Stephens: 1:40

And I'm telling you, man, you're on to something. Thank you so much and thank you for having me on your show. I really do appreciate it. Um, this is a really good opportunity and, uh, let's just tell people about what we're doing man, I tell you what it is.

Greg Jones: 1:54

Uh, it's my pleasure. Uh, so for our listening audience, some might not know who you are. Tell us who you are, introduce yourself, Um, and and then tell us about, about your company Afropop.

Jamel Stephens: 2:09

Absolutely. Um. Um, my name is Jamel Stevens. Um, you know, I grew up in rural Oklahoma and I, you know, I found myself, um, in my artistry. So I I spent a lot of time finding my cultural identity through doing my work and what I do, and I think that translates to adulthood and just like what I do now. You know, serving my community as a board member and also the mission behind Afro Pop. You know, afro Pop is an all natural soda company, but we are more than a soda company. We're a celebration of Black people. We do partner with emerging BIPOC artists who design our packaging, and this allows us to be able to explore the unique Black diaspora. What we do is we connect our products to, you know, the Black community and the Black culture, and so, you know, my goal is just to amplify that Black voices.

Greg Jones: 3:09

Man, thank you. And what I think is interesting as well, when you talk about artists, talk a little bit about you know, you've got this craft soda and you've got artists that actually design the labels. Is that right?

Jamel Stephens: 3:22

Yes, so what we do is, you know, we research and recruit artists to design the packaging for our products. We come up with a product and we kind of come up with a story and a narrative that we're trying to tell through that product, and then we give the opportunity to the artist to actually design that and you know, and then to be able to express themselves creatively.

Greg Jones: 3:46

Well, I think that's wonderful. It's okay, Briefly, because somebody out there is like man, this guy's got, he's making soda. What are the flavors that you have right now?

Jamel Stephens: 3:56

Oh, absolutely. So we have three flavors. We have black of the berries, that's a blackberry vanilla soda.

Greg Jones: 4:09

We have summer nights, which is a blueberry lemonade soda, and then we have grandma of the berries, that's a blackberry vanilla soda, um, we have summer nights, which is a blueberry lemonade soda, and then we have grandma's house, which is a butterscotch cream soda, um, yeah, well, I, I have to say this, jamil, I have tried all three. The last one, my favorite, happens to be summer nights, but but the last one was, was the butterscotch man, grandma's house, I, I didn't, I, I, I wasn't, I've never been a cream soda guy.

Greg Jones: 4:28

But man, that butterscotch, oh, that's good, man, it's good, and I just didn't, I, you know so do I yeah, man, it's, it's good anyway okay, you got me thinking about so all right, right now you are expanding your business. Growing your business. How are you distributing your products? What are some of the ways you're distributing your soda products right now?

Jamel Stephens: 5:04

is through a partnership with Midwest Distribution, based out of Norman. They focus on small local business startups to distribute our products. You know, I focus mainly on local restaurant scenes, small markets, things like that to be. You know where we sell our products. You know, I think that's where you know where our people are at and people are interested in trying Afropop.

Greg Jones: 5:35

I think it's wonderful and I have seen you also out on weekends and various community events. I've seen you some farmers markets, so you really are out there trying to make sure that people know about Afropop.

Jamel Stephens: 5:55

Absolutely. You know I've definitely done a lot within the community, like I said, through events and through the farmer's market and stuff, to you know, just to try and get the name out there of what we're doing and you know getting.

Greg Jones: 6:09

You know, getting people to be able to just try our products and hear our story no-transcript, and it always the keys aren't always positive things, but they are keys and I'm glad that we have you on today because I'm looking forward. What are some things that you have learned along your journey?

Jamel Stephens: 6:49

Absolutely so. The big things that I've learned, you know, is relationship is really important. You know, is relationship is really important. You know, and that's one of the really big things is relationships. The second key that I've learned is to understand the industry that you're going into. You know it's so important to know your industry. You know what is your market cap. You know what is your market cap. You know all these things. It's very, very important, um. And I think the third thing is to know to know your business right. Um, what are you know? What does your business look like? Um, who are you trying to sell to? Those are, those are probably the three most important um things to to me as a founder, and it is something that I would like to share it to you know, to the world.

Greg Jones: 7:47

Well, thank you for that. Let's let's start with the first one. You talked about relationships. When you think about, uh, building relationships, um, why is that your number one key and what are some nuggets around, why relationships are so important.

Jamel Stephens: 8:05

Well, you know, a lot of people always say that your net, you know, your network, is your network. Right, we hear that all the time. But I think you know, your relationship, you know, takes that a little bit step further. Right, we can, you know, we can add people on social media all day. But really, you know, if we're not, you know, nurturing that relationship with people, then you know, you know, we're not going to see a lot of movement within our, you know, within our business.

Jamel Stephens: 8:36

You know, a quick example of that is that we recently scaled up to producing 12 pallets of soda and we needed a logistics company to help pick up that product. Well, you know, around Christmas time, that was really hard to do, but there was a relationship that I was nurturing, and so I was able to just pick up the phone and call a friend and say, hey, you know, do you have a truck to come and pick up our products? And so, you know, he said yes, and and it was a great opportunity for me to support his business while also him supporting us. And so that's really what I mean by that is, you know, is there someone that you can pick up the phone call that can help you in your journey and what you're doing, and you can also help them. It's supposed to be a mutual benefit there.

Greg Jones: 9:26

Man, I appreciate that and I think you are absolutely right Building key relationships, authentic relationships and relationships that can build trust over time and I love your example that can build trust over time, and I love your example. So when you get into a situation, you can now go to that list of relationships that you have. And then I love what you said as well. In our community, being able to support another business also means a lot as well. Most times when we think about our community like, man, can you give me a discount, can you give me a hookup? It's not about that. It's about building relationships and it's about doing whatever is fair to make sure that you actually support the business. And so, man, I really appreciate that. Your second one you talked about was really understanding your industry. What do you mean by that?

Jamel Stephens: 10:17

Absolutely industry. What do you mean by that? Absolutely? You know. So for me, I, you know, I believe that you know. Anything that you know that you do has to be done with quality, and so you know that you know.

Jamel Stephens: 10:30

For the beverage industry, you know. That's understanding what you know. What are our critical points? You know what's going. You know how can we make the best product that we possibly can right. Also, to you know what's going, you know how can we make the best product that we possibly can right. But also to you know, to add to that is to understand the market. What are the trends within the market right now? So you know, in soda, we're seeing a lot of health-conscious sodas. So you know that tells me. You know I need to make sure that my product is meeting what the you know what the market wants, as well as just understanding what your market cap is. If I came here and said I want to be a trillion-dollar soda company but the market cap is $450 billion, that doesn't really make sense. And so I think, understanding your industry in and out, understanding how can you make the best products, how can you sell that product and what is the market cap for how much you can make. That is understanding your industry.

Greg Jones: 11:26

I think that's great and you know I want to point out to our listening audiences wherever you're at, wherever state you're in, wherever you're listening from, you know that's doing research and there are tons of tools now that are online that can help you, but most times your local chamber of commerce is that have research development departments. We now are in this AI world. You still have to trust and verify what you learn on AI, but there are tools out there to help you understand and research your products and I know for you, jamel, part of your learning last year is you were able to participate in a Founders Accelerator program. Did that program help you kind of in this area about making sure that you understand your market and industry? Absolutely.

Jamel Stephens: 12:14

Absolutely. I was a part of the Northeast Oklahoma City Renaissance Oklahoma Minority Founders Accelerator and I learned so much through that organization, as well as being able to expand my network, and I learned a lot about value proposition what are we actually bringing to the market? I think it's probably one of the biggest things I learned, you know, really was able to kind of do some self-reflection of like who we are as a company and I really enjoyed, you know enjoyed that opportunity.

Greg Jones: 12:56

And then, lastly, one of your last keys that you mentioned was making sure that you know your business. Tell us what you mean by that.

Jamel Stephens: 13:05

Absolutely, you know. I think you know we kind of have to you know, to do that, we have to know the fundamentals of business, right? You know what is our mission, right, what are we doing? Um, what are we selling?

Jamel Stephens: 13:20

I think you know, a lot of times people are like, well, I sell merch, I sell. You know, I sell this and I sell that and I'm selling myself. And it's like, yeah, but when you, you know, when you get down to the core of what you know your business is what are you selling? You know, uh, is it the service, is it a product? You know like, that's that's really important, right, and once you have that, you know, you need to know.

Jamel Stephens: 13:45

You know your finances, know what are your avenues to secure funding? Is it going to be through non-delivered funding, such as like loans and different opportunities like that, or is it going to be through you know whatever you know as well as you know, and then, knowing you know who are you trying to sell to your ideal consumer? There are so many different aspects of your business and so I think, knowing every single aspect of your business, understanding the fundamentals of business like you said earlier, ai is such a great tool. I use it all the time you know as well as just kind of going back to, like you know, it is important to fact check what you're, what you're learning, but I think it's a great basis, a great foundation for understanding what it is you're doing.

Greg Jones: 14:42

Well, thank you for that. I absolutely agree with you that you know knowing your business steps keys, having a plan, having a strategy. You mentioned before relationships. I know that you know you. Recently you have an advisory team that really steps in to help you along with business, finding organizations and people that you can trust, that you can talk to. You can explore the highs and the lows. I'm going to ask you this question, and I know most entrepreneurs. You know they sleep and they breathe and they drink their business.

Greg Jones: 15:23

What do you do for fun.

Jamel Stephens: 15:28

Oh, that's a great question. I, you know, I think that one I do love, I love movies. I love film In my free time. Like I said, I am an artist. I like to make music. I don't publish anything, but I do like thinking music it's something that I'm very passionate about, and then I just love life, cooking and the craft of that. So I think I'm just an artist. I think that's really what I do at the end of the day. I just, you know, I like anything that's stretching my creative muscles.

Greg Jones: 16:10

Well, I appreciate that. I mean most of us. You know people sometimes think about. You know personality types. You know, or your A type or this type. I just love having the opportunity to talk to you as so much of a creative that has taken kind of what you're passionate about and having to be able to incorporate that, but also using that as leverage to help other artists to be able to express themselves as well, and so I continue to wish you success with Afropop, you know. Is there anything else that you want to share with our listening audience before we begin to wrap up?

Jamel Stephens: 16:53

Oh, absolutely no. I just I want to say to all of you you know all of your listeners and you know, and keep them in our orbit. You can follow us on social media at Afropop CEO. Our website is AfropopCEOcom. And so you know, if you want to just like try our products, if you want to know more about us, or if you want to get in touch with me, that I think that's the best way to, um, you know, to to find us and um, I just you know, like I said, I want to just stay in touch I love it and I know that right now you're based in oklahoma.

Greg Jones: 17:29

You've got uh dreams and aspirations, uh, to take what you have in afropop nationwide, um, and so I think it's awesome. But you know, if you're, if you're locally here in the state of Oklahoma, I believe you've got what? Several locations where people can find you in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Jamel Stephens: 17:47

Oh yes, right now we have about 70 locations that we currently sell with and growing right. You know, our goal is like you said. You know, to get it going nationwide, but also to get into grocery stores here in the city and in Oklahoma, and then nationally, and then the next step would be internationally.

Greg Jones: 18:12

Jamel, this has been a great conversation with you. As he said, social channels, he's there. Conversation with you, as he said, social channels, he's there, matter of fact, if you go to his website and you can actually subscribe and keep up to date. I keep hearing that there are some other flavors in the works and so, man, I hope that you will come back to the show. The next time we have you back, you'll be like Greg. Greg, when we first did the show, we were in 70 locations. Now we're in 150 locations and we're in multiple states and, man, I just I wish you continued growth and also, if you are a business owner listening here and you're like man, I think I might be able to contribute something to help Jamil. Or I have a skillset, or there's something that I do where I have a connection that I want man reach out to him as well. I know Jamil would be very open to that as well. So, man, again, thank you for being on Three Keys for your Journey. We really appreciate you, man.

Jamel Stephens: 19:13

Thank you, greg, I really do appreciate it.

Greg Jones: 19:15

All right, tune in next time.

Speaker 2: 19:26

Thanks for joining Three Keys for your Journey. Tune in next time for another episode.