Claire Matern, Founder of JONI
Name: Claire Matern
Founder: JONI
Who is Claire Matern?
Claire grew up in the food industry in New York City, where her family owned a cheese & specialty food store for 20 years. Having worked in production, supply chain management, and recipe development, it's been a natural progression launching her own drink, JONI.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
JONI is a non-alcoholic drink that uses and celebrates a long overlooked ingredient: verjus. Verjus is the pressing of grapes culled from the vine pre-harvest so it is naturally unfermented and 100% alcohol free. JONI offers a sophisticated NA sip (which can be mixed and made "spirited" if desired) that's lightly sparkling, free from added sugar with bright and savory flavor notes.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
It's felt like such a natural progression in my life and finally like everything has slipped into place. It makes sense. Of course there are daily challenges of being a founder and running a company, but it also feels so seamless.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
I'm so proud that JONI is carried in so many women and minority owned businesses--actually the majority of our retail and hospitality accounts. They've supported JONI by taking on a new product and introducing their community and customers to us. I've enjoyed doing tasting demos and spending time in their shops and bars and being able to support them and interact with their regulars. Small business is the heart of communities and having grown up in the business I care deeply about maintaining them.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
I manage the social media and have really enjoyed curating the JONI Instagram page. Building a brand's social profile has been really fun because I use IG not only to highlight the product with images of the beautiful cans and Reels of different drinks you can make with it, but to use the account as a sort of scrapbook as well. Between product shots it's fun to post inspiration pics and reels curated from other accounts (always tagged and given credit) of dreamy vacation destinations, beautiful home interiors etc. as #jonivibes to evoke the feeling of the brand.
How did you land your first client?
I got into my first retailer, and all my retailers, by walking in, chatting and having samples ready to go. JONI has been picked up because it's a great tasting, quality product, and I've loved building and deepening my business relationships and friendships with my accounts.
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