Hint Water CEO Kara Goldin Faces Pressure from Tariffs, Competitors, and Within Her Own Family
Kara Goldin, founder and CEO of Hint Water, is navigating a high-stakes period as her better-for-you beverage brand contends with pressures from international trade, rising production costs, and deepening competitive tensions—including a surprising legal clash with family.
Hint, known for its unsweetened fruit-infused waters, has long positioned itself as a healthier alternative to traditional sodas and sugary drinks. With demand for clean-label beverages on the rise, the company has successfully carved a niche in the $30 billion U.S. bottled water market. However, a combination of external and internal challenges is placing the company—and its CEO—under scrutiny.
Tariffs Strain Margins
Recent tariffs targeting Chinese imports have squeezed the company’s cost base. Hint sources bottles and other packaging components from China, and new trade policies have inflated input costs by double digits. For a company operating independently and without the scale of multinational giants, margin management has become a key concern.
Goldin, who bootstrapped Hint to over $150 million in annual revenue without taking large private equity investments, has emphasized the importance of maintaining quality and pricing discipline. But she acknowledges that ongoing duties on key inputs will likely translate to leaner margins—or higher shelf prices—for U.S. consumers.
Legal Battle with Bottling Partner—and Family
In a surprising twist, Hint is also embroiled in a lawsuit with PSR, a Utah-based bottling partner once owned by Goldin’s brother. The legal dispute centers around accusations that PSR misused Hint’s proprietary information and failed to honor bottling agreements. Goldin is now working to bring all Hint production under tighter control and add more redundancy to the supply chain to avoid future disruptions.
Competitive Landscape Intensifies
The flavored water sector is increasingly congested with offerings from Big Beverage players like PepsiCo’s Bubly and Coca-Cola’s AHA, both of which leverage large-scale marketing budgets and established retail relationships. While Hint pioneered the unsweetened water category, new entrants are eroding its early-mover advantage.
Still, Goldin remains bullish on consumer demand for simplicity and transparency in ingredient labeling—areas where Hint maintains a strong brand