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Mike Kirban was in Brazil visiting the home of his friend, Ira Liran, in 2003 when they started talking about a favorite local drink.


It was coconut water, and the two were impressed. They learned that the beverage is second only to orange juice in popularity in Brazil. And when they discovered that coconut water the liquid inside young coconuts was largely unheard of as a beverage outside of South America, their entrepreneurial instincts kicked in.


“I went back to New York to look for distribution and Ira stayed in Brazil, talking to farmers,” said Kirban, now 32. Liran’s wife, Bianca, a graphic designer, also pitched in, designing the tropical-themed packaging.


The result was Vita Coco, a sports beverage. They founded All Market LLC and jumped on the crowded health drink bandwagon. They stressed that at 60 calories per serving their beverage was less fattening than sector mainstays like Gatorade (130 calories) and Red Bull (110 calories), and health food stores and food chains like Whole Foods quickly snapped up Vita Coco.


In 2005, the product’s first year, the pair broke $1 million in sales. Thanks to wider distribution in larger supermarket chains including Ralph’s Grocery Co., and Arden Group Inc.’s Gelson’s, Vita Coco expects to gross nearly $3 million this year.


To back up this push, Liran, now 28, and Bianca have relocated from Brazil to West Hollywood, where the company is now headquartered. The firm has six full-time and three part-time employees. Kirban remains in New York, where he oversees marketing.


“You’ve got to be innovative in a tight budget,” Kirban said. Among other things, that means hiring people to carry six-foot billboards while riding tricycles in the Big Apple.


The partners aren’t resting on their laurels. All Market intends to focus on mass distribution in the future and they have made preliminary inroads with Vita Coco in Australia, Canada and the U.K.


With no outside investors, and having landed in 3,000 retail outlets in two years, Kirban and Liran are allowing themselves just a bit of satisfaction.


“We did it with very few employees and hard work,” Kirban said. “Everyone involved is passionate about the product. Obviously it’s better than we expected, but we also expected the most.”

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