After a chance encounter with two Brazilian women in a New York City bar in 2003 and hearing about the tasty coconut water they missed from back home, Michael Kirban and his friend Ira Liran wanted to introduce coconut water to the U.S. market. The two co-founded Vita Coco the following year. Initially investing $75,000 to launch the product in the U.S., 20 years later, the company has multiple products and is worth over $1 billion. Produced by: Raffi Paul Senior Managing Producer: Eric M. Clark Editor: Marisa Forziati Animator: Gene Kim Senior Production Manager: Kathryn Mavrikakis Reporter: Tom Huddleston Jr. Additional Footage: The Vita Coco Company, Getty Images Subscribe to CNBC Make It: http://cnb.cx/2kxl2rf Want to land your dream job in 2024? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview and save 50% with discount code EARLYBIRD: https://cnb.cx/3TRz5Jt About CNBC Make It: CNBC Make It is a new section of CNBC dedicated to making you smarter about managing your business, career, and money. Connect with CNBC Make It. Online Get the latest updates: https://www.cnbc.com/make-it Find CNBC Make It. on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBCMakeIt Find CNBC Make It. on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBCMakeIt Find CNBC Make It. on Instagram: https://bit.ly/InstagramCNBCMakeIt #CNBC #CNBCMakeIt Vita Coco: My Billion-Dollar Coconut Water Company