The ENDO logo in square JPG format

The Challenge:

Launch a hemp beverage brand with distinctive packaging that captures attention on crowded retail shelves, while maintaining flexibility for regulatory changes and controlling costs without investor capital.

The Solution:

InTouch Labels & Packaging collaborated with Jake to design custom holographic labels that became an integral part of ENDO’s brand identity, offering competitive pricing, fast turnaround times, and the flexibility to iterate on designs as regulations evolved.

The Results:

Endo became one of the first 20 hemp-derived cannabis beverages in the market, launching as an early entrant in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. The holographic labels generated consistent praise from consumers. Jake mentioned that customers frequently describe the cans as “cute” and visually striking, with the packaging playing a crucial role in Endo’s mainstream appeal, extending beyond just athletic consumers.

The Brand Story: From Coffee Shop to Cannabis Beverage Pioneer

Jake Sitler, a professional cyclist (from 2005-2018), suffered a life-altering crash when he was hit by a vehicle. He burst his L2 vertebrae and turned to CBD as an alternative to the painkillers he was prescribed. His wife, Jamie, a former special education teacher, witnessed firsthand the life-changing benefits of cannabis when Pennsylvania passed its medical marijuana program, seeing how it improved the lives of some of her students. Together, they founded ENDO in 2020 as a cannabis-themed coffee shop in Pennsylvania with a mission to de-stigmatize hemp products in a State where it is currently only legal medically, and create community-based education around wellness. What started with four handmade tinctures and CBD coffee evolved into something far more ambitious when Sitler developed a proprietary sports-based cannabinoid powder technology.
“We started as a coffee shop, but we’re more like a cannabis brand coffee shop,” Sitler explained. “My goal really was just to make a community-based business that was de-stigmatizing and educating”. Drawing inspiration from his background as an athlete and his experience in sports science, Sitler created a hemp beverage that distinguished itself from competitors by avoiding liquid emulsions entirely. Instead, Endo’s proprietary technology uses a cannabinoid powder that lives in the drink, delivering all-natural ingredients with a clean taste and balanced CBD-to-THC ratios (typically 10mg THC to 20mg CBD).

The “Recover Socially” Philosophy

The brand’s tagline, “Recover Socially,” emerged from Sitler’s vision of creating a social beverage that supports recovery rather than impairment. “It’s like beer or alcohol where you can drink it socially, but you’re recovering,” Sitler said. “We’re not chasing a quick high, we’re chasing people needing to know Endo for our story and our vision”. This positioning enabled Endo to appeal to a broader audience, including not only hardcore athletes but also anyone seeking a functional beverage with genuine wellness benefits. The brand draws inspiration from craft beer pioneers, Athletic Brewing’s non-alcoholic success, and legacy brands like Clif Bar, which started as athletic-focused but achieved mainstream CPG distribution.

The Packaging Challenge: Standing Out in a Saturated Market

By 2021, the hemp beverage market was experiencing rapid growth, with major players investing substantial capital in the space. Sitler recognized that packaging would be critical to Endo’s success, but he needed an affordable solution that aligned with his bootstrap business model.

Initial Design Concepts

“From the onset, packaging is the most important thing, right?” Sitler recalled. “What is going to bring someone to your product? You go on a shelf and you look at something like, what draws you out? And I was like, let’s be crazy”.
Endo’s packaging evolution began with humble origins:
  1. Hand-Cut Stickers (2021): In the earliest days, Endo applied hand-cut stickers to holographic stock cans purchased separately. “This looks like it was made in someone’s garage, dude,” Sitler laughed, looking back at early photos. “But that’s how all things start, right? If you’re truly making something, I didn’t care about coming out and being some front. I care about the final product.”
  2. Spotted Cow Concept: Initial professional designs featured a non-holographic “spotted cow” aesthetic with wave patterns. These mockups were never printed.
  3. The Holographic Breakthrough: While experimenting with wave designs, Sitler had a breakthrough: “I was like, what if we made the waves holographic? And then that’s how the holographic life of the product came to play”.

Why Holographic? The Strategic Decision

Choosing holographic labels was both an aesthetic and strategic business decision:
  • Shelf Impact: “When you look at Endo on a shelf and you see that it instantly grabs your attention when light hits it…it’s a non-starter for us. We’ve become synonymous with holographic. That’s just our label”.
  • Cost Efficiency Over Printed Cans: Unlike many competitors who invested in printed cans, Endo chose labels for financial flexibility. “Think of the waste in this industry. I’ve seen stacks of pallets from brands that can’t use cans because they printed all these cans that one thing’s messed up or one department flagged it,” Sitler explained. “How do you even scale a consumer-facing brand without doing labels?”.
  • Regulatory Agility: Hemp beverage regulations are constantly evolving across states. Labels allow rapid iteration without scrapping inventory. “When you get into the weeds, you’re going to see how fast the regulator can come in and make you make a change and what that’s going to do to you,” Sitler noted.
Initially, Sitler worried that using labels instead of printed cans might make Endo appear less professional. “At first I was a little self-conscious, like, oh, we don’t look like we’re big enough because we’re not doing printed cans,” he admitted. “But I’ve totally changed my mindset. Just because you buy printed cans does not necessarily make you a more professional organization with a better product. Look at Maine Beer Company. It’s just a sticker on a bottle”.

The InTouch Partnership: Speed, Quality, and Competitive Pricing

Jake Sitler connected with InTouch Labels & Packaging as Endo transitioned from startup to scale-up phase. The partnership proved essential for several reasons:

1. Technical Expertise with Holographic Stock

Holographic labels present unique printing challenges, particularly in achieving proper opacity with white ink layers over reflective material. InTouch’s team worked with Endo to perfect the print ratios and color applications.
“Working with you guys has been fantastic,” Sitler told Jason Foss during the interview. “I had to understand what the stock is, what the print ratios are…there’s always snafus, some on my end or whatever. But InTouch has been priced extremely competitively, which is so beneficial to allow you to scale your brand, especially as you’re growing”.
InTouch staff internally praised Endo’s holographic execution. “Your products do get kind of a big thumbs up from the staff about the actual use of the holographic stock because a lot of people have trouble with how that’ll work with their products, so they avoid it, and it ends up looking great,” Foss noted.

2. Rapid Turnaround and Flexible Ordering

For a lean operation like Endo, speed to market and effective inventory management are critical. InTouch’s production capabilities enabled Sitler to operate on a month-to-month basis, rather than committing to massive inventory purchases.
“Endo is ordering 10,000 labels of White Peach, and then we’re going to do 10,000 labels over the month. And then I order another 10,000 labels for the next month,” Sitler explained. “It allows me to scale our cash and use it really efficiently where we’re not bloated with a tremendous amount of inventory”. This flexibility is particularly valuable given Endo’s bootstrap model. “I have to be lean like that because of the way we’re scaling without an outside investor. This type of situation with InTouch helped pave the way we built our model, it’s like the only way you can do a beverage brand without taking on outside capital”.

3. Navigating Regulatory Compliance

Hemp beverage labeling is subject to intense scrutiny from state regulators, with rules varying significantly by jurisdiction. InTouch worked with Endo through several regulatory hurdles, including:
  • Marketing-to-Children Concerns: One central state flagged Endo’s cannabis leaf logo for having a face, deeming it potentially attractive to children. “I’m like, that’s a little ridiculous, right? It’s a weed leaf. Isn’t the universal symbol in some states a weed leaf?” Sitler said. InTouch helped iterate the design to address compliance while maintaining brand identity.
  • Readability Adjustments: Some holographic elements made text harder to read. InTouch collaborated on design tweaks to improve legibility while preserving the signature holographic aesthetic.
  • Batch-Specific Testing Labels: Hemp beverages require third-party lab testing, with results varying slightly by batch. InTouch’s flexible ordering system enables Endo to adjust label content as needed without wasting massive amounts of pre-printed inventory.

4. Design Evolution and Product Line Expansion

As Endo expanded its flavor offerings, InTouch helped execute a consistent visual system where each SKU maintains the holographic wave pattern while differentiating through color.
Product Line Highlights:
  • Core Sparkling Waters: Raspberry Lime, Cherry, White Peach (holographic labels).
  • The Tradler: A Radler-inspired beverage (A Radler is a refreshing beverage category that blends beer with fruit juice or carbonated lemonade. The term originates from Austria and Bavaria, where it’s a traditional summer drink.) with 20 grams of sugar, featuring metallic (non-holographic) labels that still feel cohesive with the brand.
  • The Camo Design: Inspired by the Busch Light camo can design, positioning ENDO as “Pennsylvania’s Original 420 Beverage” in homage to Yuengling’s regional pride.
“Each of the labels makes you feel a certain way,” Sitler reflected. “I love that you can launch a new flavor, and it’s exciting because you’re like, oh, we know exactly what we’re going to do. We’re just going to change a color, but I can’t wait to see what that color looks like over the substrate of holographic BOPP”.

The Results: Consumer Response and Market Impact

Consumer Feedback: “This Can Is So Cute”

Perhaps the most telling measure of the packaging’s success is the organic consumer response. “People tell us all the time…you know how many times we’ll get people sending pictures of the cans like ‘this can is so cute,’” Sitler said. “When you’re hearing people say something’s cute, you’re like, OK, we’ve done something right”.
This emotional response is critical for Endo’s strategy. “We didn’t want people to pick up Endo and be like, oh, this is just a sports brand. That packaging has let us become a mainstream design,” Sitler explained.
The holographic labels deliver what Sitler calls “unbelievable” visual clarity. “It’s art, right? Like I feel like what we’re doing is artistic with the cannabis industry, and it’s blending art…each of the labels make you feel a certain kind of way”.

Retail Success and Staff Recommendations

At Total Wine locations, where Endo conducts tastings and consumer education, the brand has gained an unexpected advantage: staff recommendations.
“One really cool thing that I’ve found for us that’s super beneficial is…Total Wine staff usually choose us as a staff favorite, and I think it’s because they try our stuff and they realize that we taste different,” Sitler noted.
While product quality drives those endorsements, the packaging plays a crucial role in attracting initial attention on crowded shelves with 250+ competing brands.

Market Positioning and Early Mover Advantage

Endo’s combination of proprietary technology and distinctive packaging helped secure early market entry:
  • One of the first 20 hemp-derived cannabis beverages nationwide
  • One of the first two to launch in New Jersey
  • One of the first to launch in Delaware
  • Pennsylvania’s original hemp beverage brand (a positioning proudly displayed on case trays)

Lean Operations Enable Sustainable Growth

By partnering with InTouch for labels rather than investing in printed cans, Endo has built an operationally lean company that “punches extremely heavy above our weight for our infrastructure,” according to Sitler.
This efficiency has enabled Endo to scale without relying on investor capital, maintaining founder control and staying true to its community-focused mission. “We’ve turned down investment dollars. We don’t have an interest in that right now, even when it’s painful,” Sitler said.

Looking Ahead: Scaling with Purpose

As Endo expands into new markets and product lines, InTouch Labels remains a critical partner in the growth strategy.

Upcoming Product Launch: Powder Drink Mix Line

Endo is preparing to launch a cannabinoid-infused powder drink mix line by Christmas 2025, featuring functional formulations for sleep, exercise recovery, and social consumption. These powder packets will leverage Endo’s proprietary technology in a new format, with athletic-focused design elements and precise cannabinoid ratios.

Pennsylvania Market Leadership

While many hemp beverage brands chase national distribution, Sitler is focused on winning Pennsylvania first—a strategy inspired by regional legends like Maine Beer Company and Yuengling. “I want to win Pennsylvania. I want to be seen as Pennsylvania’s first,” Sitler explained. “I’m spending 50% of my time on education here, and that doesn’t benefit Endo other than the fact that the market’s going to open eventually, and I’ll know the laws will be right because I spent so much time doing that”.
As the founder of the Pennsylvania Hemp and Cannabis Guild, with over 30 members, Sitler actively collaborates with state police, the Liquor Control Board, and the Department of Agriculture to shape sensible regulations.

The Role of Packaging in Future Growth

Looking ahead, Sitler sees InTouch as essential to Endo’s scaling plans. “It’s everything, right? That is your lifeline—your ability to scale,” he said.
Key advantages include:
  • Speed-to-market for new products and flavors
  • Regulatory flexibility as state laws evolve
  • Capital efficiency that allows growth without diluting ownership
  • Quality consistency that builds brand trust
“If another hemp or functional beverage brand asked me what to look for in a label and packaging vendor, I’d say speed to market is everything,” Sitler advised. “If you need to do iterations, that’s where you guys are so fantastic—your quality is great, everything that comes down is what you approve. The ability actually to get it quickly is essential”.

Why Cannabis Brands Should Choose InTouch:

Speed to market, good price point, high quality. And I always joke—it’s unbelievable to me that people are scaling hemp beverage brands with printed cans. I’m just like, man, you got way more money than me.
— Jake Sitler, Founder, ENDO