In the late spring of 2025, the Swrl team we met at AtoA Table Seoul was still walking through New York's summer with their distinctive energy and experimental spirit intact. Meeting them in a GreenDesk conference room in Brooklyn at the Independence Day, I was reminded of America's early immigrant entrepreneurs—people who, despite facing unfamiliar languages, new markets, and limited resources, believed firmly in their products, philosophies, and vision. Swrl's co-founder Injie was at the forefront of such challenges.
The Conversation: Building Beyond Borders
Q: What brought you to New York?
"We needed market validation. But more importantly, we wanted to see if our brand philosophy could truly resonate globally. We fused the concept of seltzer with makgeolli, a traditional Korean alcohol, but in the Korean market, people had preconceptions about makgeolli that became the main focus, making it difficult for us. We wanted to bridge East and West, combining the best of both worlds, but felt we weren't being properly evaluated because people were trapped in familiar concepts.
Fundamentally, team Swrl believed that the massive market size here and starting fresh would offer the same level of challenge but with greater returns for the Swrl team. And as we felt at AtoA Table Seoul, there was still a gap between Korean domestic and international communities, and New York felt like the most challenging yet authentic stage to test this."
Q: Your approach feels different from tech-focused startups. What path do you think Swrl is walking?
"Swrl is a kind of consumer brand. We're on a completely different trajectory from tech-centered startups. While they might have time to find product-market fit, we need immediate revenue generation and cash flow maintenance. We also need to feel customers' immediate reactions firsthand and continuously improve our products. As a consumer brand, we need an ecosystem where product quality, brand identity, and real-time community feedback all circulate closely together. We believe true growth is only possible when these three elements work organically."
From 3 Targets to 1 Hypothesis More
In conversation with Inji, the Swrl team was targeting three initial communities—women, LGBTQ+, and artists—all key groups that drive trends and wield cultural influence in New York. However, New York as a megacity has far more complex and nuanced demographics. East Asian, Latin, African, and Middle Eastern communities each maintain their unique cultural characteristics while intersecting with each other, creating diverse crossroads of religious and cultural identities, socioeconomic classes, and even lifestyle differences based on residential areas. This complex demographic composition presented both challenges and opportunities for the Swrl team.
"We think we need to go beyond simple community marketing to find communities with real 'mass adoption' potential. The real question is whether our product can reach not just trendy communities, but also middle-class white working-class consumers."
Q: Have you discovered any insights from your testing so far?
"A place called Little Barrel Cellar in Rocky Point suddenly started purchasing from us. The liquor store that made the purchase wasn't in any of our three target categories—not LGBTQ, not young entrepreneurs, and not artists. It was in an area where about 85% of residents are middle-class white families. We haven't confirmed yet, but we're planning to visit soon. We want to understand how water, carbonation, design, and taste could appeal there. And most importantly, alcohol is consumed with food. We want to ask what cultural cuisines it pairs with. Well... our biggest curiosity is how much it's actually selling."
Rocky Point is a coastal suburban area on Long Island, New York, with approximately 13,900 residents, a median age of 38, primarily inhabited by US-born citizens. About 76-85% of residents are white, 18% Hispanic, with a median household income of approximately $124,615, making it economically stable. English usage is very high, and it's characterized by a family-oriented, quiet, and peaceful neighborhood atmosphere. Little Barrel Cellar Liquor Store is a specialty liquor store located in this area, well-regarded by local residents for its diverse wine and whiskey selection and friendly service.
Design, Language, and the Power of Water
Swrl's hard seltzer product isn't simply a "makgeolli-based beverage." Rather, it's a communication reimagined around the keywords "water" and "fermentation." Team BigC.Works mentioned "Yeongwol's water" has great storytelling and asked about the potential for reinterpreting the product's identity through design and storytelling.
"Carbonation and water. The essence of alcohol is actually water. Water is the biggest component we work with, and if we can properly tell the story of water quality and origin like coffee does, the depth of our brand will be completely different."
Our conversation with the Swrl team was more than an interview—it was dialogue, support, and encouragement. On another level, it was brainstorming.
The challenges were rough, questions were endless, and above all, there was a greater thirst for the "next challenge" rather than clear answers. They were "strangers" in New York on Independence Day, but their presence evoked the archetype of American entrepreneurial spirit.
The reason they're bound to succeed was clear: their concept was definitive, their product was appealing, and their journey to reach customers and markets was both fierce and sincere. We look forward to the amazing future the Swrl team will create.