How Rob Smithson (EMBA’25) and Jose Carlos Herrera (EMBA’25) Turned a Grocery Store Find Into Banagua

Some businesses start with pitch decks and five-year plans. Banagua started in a grocery store aisle. During his time in Vanderbilt’s Executive MBA program, Rob Smithson, already deep in the consumer-packaged goods world, picked up a tall can that stopped him mid-shop. The ingredient list was literally the product. No additives. No flavoring. Just banana water. It was almost too simple.  “It […]

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