#038 From Culture Repair to Category Creation: Filip Keuppens on Leading Pickle Juice Company

Built For This Podcast, with Carly Pepin

April 23, 2026 by

Carly Pepin

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In this insightful episode of Built for This, Carly Pepin sits down with Filip Keuppens, CEO of The Pickle Juice Company, to explore what it takes to transform a company from the inside out while building a brand that defines an entirely new category.

Filip shares how stepping into the business, and later navigating a private equity acquisition, became a pivotal moment that forced a complete rethink of leadership, culture, and direction. Rather than chasing growth metrics alone, he made a deliberate shift toward building a values-driven organization grounded in collaboration, accountability, integrity, and a champion mindset.

Carly and Filip dive into the realities of culture transformation, from overcoming internal skepticism to creating psychological safety and reinforcing behaviors through systems, feedback, and accountability. He explains why culture is not something that happens by accident. It must be built intentionally and reinforced every day.

Beyond leadership, the conversation explores how The Pickle Juice Company is creating a new “hyper-functional” food and beverage category. By combining science, curiosity, and real-world application, Filip and his team are developing products that solve tangible problems for consumers, moving beyond trends into true functionality. This episode is a powerful blend of leadership insight and innovation strategy, showing how strong culture and clear purpose drive both people and product forward.

Key Themes:

Culture Is Built, Not Assumed: Why values, systems, and leadership accountability are essential to creating high-performing teams.
Leadership Enables Growth: How great leaders create environments where people can succeed rather than trying to control outcomes.
Innovation Starts with Curiosity: Why solving real problems through exploration leads to category-defining products.

Memorable Quotes:
“We’re only as good as the systems that evaluate us.”

“There’s no such thing as a bad employee, just a bad leader.”

“Leadership is more about facilitating leadership in others.”

Filip Keuppens

About Filip Keuppens:

Filip Keuppens is the CEO of The Pickle Juice Company, a brand known for its scientifically backed beverage designed to help prevent muscle cramps by blocking the nerve signals that trigger them. The product is widely used by elite athletes and performance-driven consumers.

Filip’s background spans sales and operations across e-commerce, grocery, club, and specialty channels, with a strong focus on innovative, solution-based products. He previously held roles with 20th Century Fox and Warner Home Video, where he developed a deep understanding of storytelling, messaging, and consumer engagement.

Beyond business, Filip is deeply connected to the world of sport, serving in leadership roles within rugby organizations, including as a coach and director with the Dallas Rugby Football Club and as a competition commissioner with the Red River Rugby Conference.