At a Glance

John Violette is the co-founder and Head of Sales at mainelove, the Maine-born canned water company focused on sustainability, community, and premium Sebago Lake water. He is recognized for building high-performing sales teams and leading the brand’s rapid retail expansion across Maine and into new regional markets. With a background in sales leadership and brand growth, John plays a key role in scaling mainelove while staying true to the company’s mission of environmental stewardship and authentic Maine roots.

Who is John Violette?

Meet John Violette, the Co-Founder and Head of Sales for mainelove.

About mainelove

mainelove is a relatively new company, founded only a year and a half ago. But this canned water and flavored seltzer company has a great deal going for it. That’s because it’s not just about the beverages themselves. It’s also about solving multiple problems at once.

First, people want to get away from using single-use plastics, and so mainelove uses infinitely recyclable aluminum cans.

Second, college students are looking for alternatives to alcoholic drinks for social occasions, so mainelove offers a flavored seltzer in a container that’s reminiscent of a beer can, without the alcohol.

Third, there are plenty of microbreweries in Maine, where the company is founded, and people are drinking less beer, so mainelove puts them to work making different canned products.

But where did mainelove really start? It was an idea created by John and his co-founder Jen who he actually met while he was in college. Jen was one of his professors, and the two maintained contact for several years. When she came up with an idea for what would become mainelove she contacted John, and they jumped right in.

John’s Journey

The team at mainelove consists of approximately a dozen members, including both part-time and full-time. With a core sales team, operations, and production to work with, now they’ve expanded from an idea to a major market, selling in over 600 stores today.

Business Growth and Revenue Strategies

Getting from nothing to selling in so many stores has required a great deal of work, of course. But John credits something relatively simple. Cans in hands.

Where clear plastic cups look boring and don’t attract your attention, the cans made by mainelove are bright blue and actually look beautiful. In fact, John and the rest of the team at mainelove pride themselves on that. And it’s something that makes people sit up and take notice.

When they’re out somewhere and see a lot of people with those bright, beautiful cans in their hands, it looks good, it feels good, and it drives more people to get one for themselves. John admits that it can be strange for some people to have a non-carbonated beverage in a can, but people are increasingly interested, which helps drive business.

Understanding Customer Retention

Keeping customers coming back is essential for any business, and when it’s a newer business and a newer market that’s even more important. mainelove actually sells their products both direct to consumer and through distributors, so they’re looking at plenty of metrics when it comes to recognizing where they are and how they’re doing.

The number one metric that mainelove is looking at is case velocity in stores. This gives them the best understanding of their customer retention KPIs. In the process, they look at where the product is stocked in the store, including specific coolers or regular shelving. And they don’t just look at their best-performing stores.

John wants to know the 25 best and the 25 worst accounts, and from there, it’s possible to see both the positive and negative aspects of their performance and start making changes.

mainelove’s CX Philosophy 

What does the customer experience look like? Who is handling the day-to-day? The answer is there are plenty of people involved. With a small team, several people are responsible for helping customers.

It starts with the sales team that handles a range of customer needs and concerns. And expands to reps who are answering phones and handling questions. And there is an admin who handles small accounts and keeps things moving. And of course, John himself is handling things as well.

But all of that is only the beginning of the customer experience because mainelove’s team not only deals with customers on the phone, but they deal with them in person as well. For example, when interacting with potential distributors and business owners, their philosophy is always to be the best interaction they have every day. John believes that up to 60% of the customer experience is about the interaction, not the product at all.

Growing mainelove for the Future

The future of mainelove is, in simple terms, what you would expect. Expansion. For mainelove, it starts by expanding further down the East Coast, beginning in Florida, then along the coast into DC, and into New York. It’s possible to continue driving into new markets and into larger areas of the country, but John believes that expanding a sustainability company too far could actually be contrary to what they’re actually aiming for.

Shipping water is expensive, and it’s heavy, and it requires a great deal of gas, none of which are good for the environment. So instead of looking to expand nationwide, John’s six-month goal is to expand mainelove across the East Coast and turn it into a great regional brand.

Innovation and Adaptability

The peak season for mainelove is actually during the summer, when there’s a whole lot more going on in the area. There are more people, and there’s plenty of activity. It’s when there are more people to purchase the product. But mainelove is looking to circumvent their down season with their expansion.

By expanding into Florida, for example, they’ll be able to capitalize on selling to a larger market during an entirely different season. That way, when Maine is experiencing a slower season, the Florida market will be ramping up, and vice versa.

Starting a New Business

For those who are looking to start their own business? John says you need thick skin and persistence because every day will be a challenge. It’s about creating processes that will help within the business, and who will build those processes. Being willing and able to keep working and keep pushing and just keep getting back up when you get knocked down is essential for anyone looking to create a business of their own.