169. How to Create Products People Beg to Buy ft. Maxx Chewning

Say goodbye to payment terms with Hydrant Pay:   https://2ly.link/27h83 Sign up for our LIVE Training this Sunday: https://the505podcast.courses/10steproadmap The 10 Minute Personal Brand Kickstart (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/personalbrandkickstart What’s up, Rock Nation! Today we’re joined by Maxx Chewning - fitness YouTuber, entrepreneur, and the founder of Sour Strips, one of the fastest-growing creator-led candy brands in the world. In this episode, Maxx breaks down how he turned $50,000 and a secret “Project XX” into a candy empire that sold out 20,000 units in under an hour. We dive into the psychology of building a brand people actually want, why he kept his face off the packaging, and how obsessing over tiny details - from resealable bags to flavor tweaks - set Sour Strips apart from the competition. Maxx also shares the reality of running a multimillion-dollar company without investors, why product-market fit matters more than follower count, and the behind-the-scenes risks that nearly broke the business (including changing the entire formula at scale). From influencer marketing hacks to lessons in cash flow, this episode is a raw playbook for turning passion into profit. If you’ve ever thought about launching a brand, building something bigger than content, or just want the inside scoop on how a YouTuber created a $100M candy company, this one’s for you. Check out Maxx here: https://www.instagram.com/maxxchewning/ https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@maxxchewning⁩   https://www.instagram.com/sourstrips/ SUSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: https://the505podcast.ac-page.com/rock-report The Creator Pricing Guide - The No BS Guide to Pricing Your Creative Services Coupon Code: ROCKNATION10 gets you $10 off at checkout for the boulders https://courses.the505podcast.com/pricing-guide Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/xgEAzkqAvs More Free Products: Our 5 Positioning Tips to Land Bigger Clients (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/5positioningtips  6 Questions to ask on Every Sales Call (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/6questionsfordiscoverycall COP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE:  https://courses.the505podcast.com/BFIGGYSFXPACK KG Presets Vol. 1 https://www.kostasgarcia.com/store-1/p/kglightroompresets Kostas’ Amazon Storefront: https://amzn.to/3GhId25 15% OFF Prism Lens FX with code: KOSTAS15 https://bit.ly/42sNdej Timestamps:  0:00 - Intro 1:22 - Leveraging the initial $50,000 investment 2:42 - Sour Strips Launch Strategy 8:44 - Why Sour Strips was the fastest growing creator lead brand 13:06 - No investors and making every decision 13:51 - Hydrant Pay 14:48 - No investors and making every decision 19:22 - Dialing in the final candy 24:17 - The biggest decision in Sour Strips History 25:43 - Changing the original formula 30:15 - Pushback from customers 31:01 - Trusting your gut 33:11 - Packaging details 37:59 - The Viewing Window 40:36 - Truly understanding your brand 43:32 - Separating Maxx from Sour Strips Branding 48:33 - The science behind buying candy 52:33 - Why Sour Strips is more expensive 56:22 - Covid was the best thing to happen for Sour Strips 59:10 - Getting into Target 1:04:15 - Using influencer marketing to blow up Sour Strips 1:13:38 - Expanding outside of influencers 1:14:40 - Managing cashflow with massive target orders 1:26:48 - How Maxx paid himself while growing Sour Strips 1:29:25 - Maxx was the only one who handled the finances 1:31:46 - Hiring an inventory analyst 1:32:44 - Maxx never thought about selling 1:38:21 - Maxx’s next chapter 1:44:03 - How the money has changed Maxx 1:52:51 - Maxx’s investment strategy 1:58:08 - Maxx never got caught up in blowing cash 2:01:47 - How Maxx wants to raise his kids 2:07:05 - Advice to your 18 year old self If you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on.  DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!)  Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/  Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/  TikTok: Bfiggy: https://www.tiktok.com/bfiggy/  Kostas: https://www.tiktok.com/kostasgarcia/