AriZona Iced Tea Founder: 99¢ Forever, Coke Never

Dan Bova sits down with AriZona Iced Tea co-founder Don Vultaggio, the Brooklyn billionaire who survived 100 robberies, laughed off a Coca-Cola buyout threat, and has never once sent an email. Find out how that iconic can has stayed at 99 cents for decades, where the capital Z really came from, and why one glance at a table of half-full bottles told Don that Zima was doomed. Timestamps: 0:00 Arizona Iced Tea founder turns down Coca-Cola buyout 0:30 Don Vultaggio interview: Arizona Beverages co-founder 1:38 Brooklyn entrepreneur story: from brewery job to beverage business 2:19 Beer distributor robbed 100 times at gunpoint 4:46 Business mentors: lessons from his father and a grocery store owner 6:25 Know your costs: pricing advice for entrepreneurs and small business owners 8:05 How successful founders handle bad business decisions 9:19 Billionaire still welding steel for new Arizona factory in Anaheim 10:09 Running a family business with his sons (and never sending an email) 11:55 Customer loyalty secrets and an Arnold Palmer Arizona story 13:53 Why Arizona Iced Tea still costs 99 cents: pricing strategy explained 14:12 Arizona Iced Tea x Hot Wheels collab 15:32 Competing with Coke and Pepsi without Super Bowl ads 16:16 Sicilian stubbornness in business 17:03 Company culture: treating employees like family 18:31 Arizona logo history: why there’s a capital Z in AriZona 20:08 Ranking ’90s brands: Amazon, Pokémon cards, Blockbuster, Bath & Body Works 22:09 Why Zima failed: the half-full bottle test 23:13 Passing on Corona beer: his biggest missed opportunity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices