Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Longtime entrepreneur Nick DeVore has a habit of rewarding hard work with escape. After long stretches of venture-building and the occasional fail that comes with being an entrepreneur, DeVore says he books a trip. But the deal is that the trip must be somewhere far enough that the work cannot follow him.

He was on one of these trips last February when his newest venture found him.

While lying on a beach in Costa Rica, a woman approached him with a freshly cut coconut and insisted he try it. An hour later, he said he felt like he could run a marathon. When he returned from his trip, DeVore hit every local grocery store looking for something that came close, but nothing did.

“I was dumb enough to think that I could do a better job,” DeVore said. “And here we are, 14 months later, about to launch Lush Drop Beverage Co. in a month.”

DeVore told his story recently at “Founder Friday,” a program hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the 121 Tech Hub. 

Built for luxury wellness, not Walmart

DeVore said Lush Drop sources 100% organic, Fair Trade Certified coconut water from Thailand, where stable year-round temperatures keep the flavor consistently sweet. The company markets its product as three times more hydrating than leading brands, citing a distinct electrolyte ratio and a deliberate absence of the high sodium levels common in Western-formulated beverages.

But what sets Lush Drop apart as much as the product is where DeVore and his team have chosen not to sell it. Grocery shelves are out. The product is too fresh, requiring constant refrigeration. Plus, their ideal target audience is not browsing the beverage aisle. Instead, they are walking into premium spas, coffee shops, and fitness studios.

DeVore said that is exactly where Lush Drop will be.

“When I think of coconut water, I don’t think of Walmart,” DeVore said. “I think of sitting on the beach in Hawaii. Nobody else has really approached it from an elevated, luxury standpoint.”

The product’s tagline is “Nectar of the Gods.”

To protect the positioning and the margins, DeVore is also self-distributing to start. A previous venture taught him what handing a product to a distributor really costs. That distributor took 40% of his product price. With Lush Drop wholesaling at $4.33 per unit or $52 per case, he does not want to give that up again.

“Sometimes more revenue doesn’t actually mean more bottom line or net profit,” he said.

First-hand industry knowledge

DeVore did not arrive at this point without a long runway. He grew up inside Litton’s, the beloved Knoxville burger institution, shadowing the full operation under his uncle. He left at 27 to build something of his own. 

“You have to be egotistical enough to go and try to start your own thing,” he said. “But you also have to be smart enough to kind of check that ego. The quickest way to fail at anything in life, in my mind, is to just think that you know everything. That’s why I have co-founders or have sought other expertise.”

This branching out has led him to ventures in breweries, housing developments, and local restaurants, including MooYah Burgers and Elkmont Exchange.

Throughout these ventures, he noted that he has seen a change in the market. To him, capital in Knoxville seemed concentrated among a small number of families for many years. Today, outside investment is flowing in, high-paying employers are creating a new generation of younger investors, and the ecosystem feels more open than it once did.

“It’s nice to see this change happening,” he said.

Follow Lush Drop Beverage Co. on Instagram to stay updated on their launch.

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