EP 6 - Brand Lab Sessions : Empathy-Driven Brand Identity with Erica Lopez

When perception meets purpose, connection becomes inevitable. In this episode of Think Brand Taran, host Shivani sits down with Erica, CEO & founder of Animal Blood Center—California's first community-based pet blood bank, on a mission to make lifesaving blood accessible, ethical, and transparent for pets across the state.

Together, they unpack how a founder's empathy + engineering mindset can rebuild a broken supply chain, why clear positioning attracts meaningful partners, and how to communicate heavy topics (ethics, cost, scarcity) without fear-mongering—so the right people lean in and help.

In this episode, you will learn:

- How to position a purpose

-driven venture for partnerships and collaborators

- The power of a one-line promise: "We're the Red Cross for pets."

- How to talk about ethics & transparency without scaring your audience away

- What reframing your message does for trust, credibility, and action

- The pet blood workflow: donor screening → testing → whole blood/RBCs/plasma → delivery

- The real cost/shortage problem—and why a quick donation can save up to four lives

- How regulations in California create a clear, safer path for community blood banking

🎧 Tune in, take one idea, put it to work, and share it—because when your message is reframed with clarity and heart, perception becomes connection.

About Erica LopezErica Lopez is the CEO and Founder of Animal Blood Center, California's first community-based pet blood bank. She is leading the charge to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and programs that make lifesaving blood accessible for pets across the state. Her work is setting a new standard for veterinary care and driving change in a field that has long lacked visibility and resource socials:

Instagram: @animalbloodcenter, https://www.instagram.com/animalbloodcenter/

Website: www.animalbloodcenter.org

GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/550f66a1f

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

George we need to think that thought that on the field on the community standout voices. Take one idea, put it to work.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

All right. I am so, so delighted today. I have a purpose-driven founder sitting with me here at Think Brand, Talk Brand Podcast, and I am so happy to welcome Erica. Hi, Erica. Hello. How are you? I'm good, Erica. Erica is the CEO and founder of Animal Blood Center. It's California's first community-based pet blood bank. She is leading the charge to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and programs that make life-saving blood accessible for pets across the state. Her work is setting a new standard for veterinary care and driving change in a field has long lacked visibility and resources. Oh my God. Everything about this is so inspiring. It's so amazing. I really am delighted that I have you here because I feel that there are so many industries and so many sectors which are underserved. And it is people like you who bring the unheard heroes, who bring light to these unserved sectors. And that's the kind of purpose that I think aligning with is amazing. And I want to congratulate you on that.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Oh, thank you. I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

Of course. So, Erica, as you know, the episode is about you and your brand and the purpose, but I really wanted to shift the focus a bit more on when you know businesses like this want to reach out to more meaningful uh, you know, partnerships or collaborators. They need a certain positioning in this space which can help them uh reach out and reach out in the correct way because that's what we want, right? We want to be heard and seen by the right people. So I think I really want to go back and ask you when did it become real for you, right? Like when did you realize that? What was the taking back to the story where in your life where you realized that this is what you wanted to do? Uh, that animals needed a blood blood blank. Like what happened? What did you see?

SPEAKER_00 2:52

For sure. So I it's hard to kind of pin it down to one moment. I feel like I've always had a heart for animals, and growing up, I wanted to be a veterinarian. So I just quickly realized that I didn't want to be dealing with like sick and dying animals all the time. And so I just kind of you know tabled that for a little bit. But that that passion and that part of me has always really been a driving force. And I feel like in the past couple years, it just came to this realization where there often isn't blood available for pets who need it, and it felt like finding something that was hidden in plain sight. And, you know, I feel like human blood donation is a very well-understood concept and process. And so just applying that to you know the pet world, I was like, oh my goodness, this seems to be something that should be a thing and it's not. And once I started to realize that it kind of came from this place of heartbreak and curiosity. But the more I dug, the more I realized there was no scalable, reliable system for this animal blood, especially in California. And then my background being in engineering and also tying that with the animal lover part, my brain was like, okay, this can be fixed, you know, something needs to be done about this. And then I feel like that was a spark that really drove, you know, the compassion into the innovation part. I really want to rewire how we think about pet blood banking and just create a community-based, transparent and ethical, you know, business from the ground up. And that's something that isn't currently being done. So I'm really excited to do that. And that's how Animal Blood Center was born.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Oh wow. That's yeah, I think most uh founder stories that I've heard, read, what I interact with is primarily coming from a place of I needed this, I didn't have this, I couldn't find it, so I created it. Like that's that's the journey most founders have when they create something which is meaningful, is because they have deeply felt that need uh in some point of their life, and they felt that lack of that availability or whatever it would be, it could be like you said, ethical community or uh for someone else, it could be uh, you know, like a course that didn't exist to train somebody in XYZ and they created that course. So um, you know, it's always amazing to dig into the uh spirit of uh the founder of how it happened for them. Uh if you were had to like clearly, you know, uh like a clear promise of animal birth blood center, if you had to put it in one line and explain it to somebody who is coming in, uh coming into your world, how would you how would you define that?

SPEAKER_00 5:28

My favorite way to say it is we're the pet version of American Red Cross. So just think of like the Red Cross for cats and dogs. We haven't built a nonprofit side up yet, but that's that is part of a vision. But something that you know we can leverage is that notion that you know human blood banking is very well understood, and now we just need to apply it to pets. And there is this national shortage, and there is a huge problem, especially in California now. And then so just spreading that awareness and and seeing that it can really be a solution if we all put our brains together and we all just like help a little bit can really go a long way and make a really big impact and save lives.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Oh, yeah, that's such a great way of doing it and uh kind of uh putting it in a nutshell for someone who maybe interacts with you in a in an event where they just want to understand you in a one-liner, and that's just the perfect way to say it for someone to immediately connect. Like Red Cross is obviously hugely popular for uh, you know, blood donations. So I really like that you've used that analogy for uh others to understand your promise. What as a as a founder, as a business, what's your promise, right? So um I think most people don't even know that this is needed. Like, you know, the uh this problem exists, is something that is not known to many people. So, how can how do you use your platform to like share more about it without scaring people? Because obviously there is a side to it that this if if this is ethically needed, that that means it's happening unethically somewhere. So, like, you know, and a lot of times, like, you know, people are like a bit wary of getting into anything which is crossing the lines of legality and ethical. So, how do you make it more accessible to people, to your future collaborators, partners, consumers, without really having to uh scare them away?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Yes, I feel like that is something that is really close to my heart because anything that you look up right now, it's very sensational. You know, PETA has been has an opinion on it. There's a lot of negativity and just darkness around this kind of topic. It's it's a very heavy um thing to be exposed to. Um, fortunately, California legislation has made it where um there are laws now in place to address the ethics of it. And that's also part of our vision is to be something that is ethical and transparent. I think it's about not just giving somebody the current state of reality and leaving them with the with the despair and the weight and the heaviness of it, but providing a better option and just providing a new way that things can be done and hope and just, you know, yes, explaining the situation, the current reality for what it is, but then also on the backside being like, hey, we don't have to keep doing it this way, you know, and there's a difference that we can make together. So I think it's just really putting someone in my shoes, you know, to have for them to have the same realization that I had that this is very necessary and it's very needed. Um, and it doesn't have to just stay this way that we we can make a difference together.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

Wow, that's beautiful. I think you are uh describing a way that maybe there is there are people who've gone through a really terrible experience because of this. And uh to actually make a change and make an impact, it really takes a lot of courage. It really takes a lot of uh understanding of uh what pain people have gone through. So I think that's where your idea of this this business is or this brand is so great. And and for uh the sake of the listeners, are there any safety practices that you promise or you kind of work towards so that uh say if I'm a pet owner and I want to come and help be part of your, you know, uh uh cause, um, how can I be sure that like if I'm coming and working and it's everything is safe? So what's the promise here?

SPEAKER_00 9:30

For sure. So a lot of what we're building is based upon the California Department of Food and Agriculture's regulations. So they actually have a department now that regulates animal blood banking. And so that's been something that has maybe deterred, you know, other hospitals or other businesses and brands from creating themselves, you know, just because of that regulation. Um, however, you know, it's it's there for a reason. We want to be transparent, we want to be ethical. So there are standards and protocols already set in place, but everything that we do is for the health of the animal. There's no sort of financial incentive, you know, for donors, you know, to come and donate. You know, everything would just be, you know, out of the goodness of your heart. You know, chances are if you're a pet parent, I don't need to convince you that this is a worthy cause. You know, you already have that heart and that empathy for animals. And, you know, just knowing the impact of your donation, I think is really huge. You know, that dogs can save, you know, one donation can save four lives. Like they can save more lives than you can, you know, and it's a very quick and easy, painless process. It's faster than a typical human blood donation, you know, it takes like 10, 15 minutes, you know, and the impact is astronomical in that sense. So I just believe that when presented with a better option, that people want to take it and make a better option. And there are, you know, those regulating bodies at B that are making sure that we're doing it correctly. But, you know, from our perspective too, we're also, you know, you're getting the the free blood work, the physical exam, you know, maybe we'll throw in some merch and some swag and that kind of thing. And just I'm really excited for that part to make it an experience, you know, for the owner and for the dog and for the pet, you know. Um, so yeah, I'm really excited to do that. It's but it does come from that place of transparency, being open and honest about not the current not only the current reality, but how we're addressing it and how we're fixing it, and then just building that relationship, you know, with pet owners and vets and going from there and just being very open about it.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

Well, you said some great things here. Um A, I think empathy is big because I think this business, like if it's totally based on that, because if you have empathy for, you know, the way it's happening right now and your heart bleeds and pains for the animals who have to be unethically used for this purpose, uh, I think that is where it goes back to empathy, it is so big in this particular business. And I feel that every purpose-driven owner that I speak to, uh, who has a bigger purpose in their uh brand, which is not just about making money, it comes from a place of empathy. It it they feel uh something which is bigger than themselves. And and I was just discussing something with this another with another uh collaborator, and she was like, so many things change in our life on a daily basis. Like, you know, now we have AI, uh in 2000 it was the dot-com boom, like things keep changing. But if your purpose is big, you know, you are going to sustain the tide over all of that, and and that is where your own mission and vision kind of helps in pushing through even the hard times, because it's not always going to be glorious, right? It's not always going to have uh the best case scenarios, you'll have dark days, and then this kind of purpose that you are living and you're promoting and you are devoting a cause to, I think is so brilliant because that is something even I truly believe in that if your brand purpose is so clear and it's so high, then everything else is inversely proportional to it, you know, like the overwhelm, the hard days, the uh, you know, maybe you lost a partnership because of XYZ, all of those hard things get inversely proportional to the achievement of this brand purpose. So it's amazing. And you also said about transparency, right? Because anything in this business has the the emphasis on transparency is so high. So uh could you walk us through a typical, uh, you know, like a like a typical case or typical scenario? How does a healthy pet become a donor and how does a clinic request blood? Like how does that happen?

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Sure. So the process is super simple. I like to explain it as we'll pre-screen, you know, healthy donors that come from loving families. So any dog, pretty much like one to eight, um, they have to be over a certain weight, typically around 50 pounds. They just have to have a good, you know, body score. You know, the vet will perform the physical exam to make sure that they're, you know, a good donor and good to go. We'll take a couple forms from you guys in terms of, you know, any like flea intake preventatives that you're on, you know, any sort of disease or medication, that kind of thing. Um, so the biggest thing is we'll take a sample of the blood and you know, if we perform the collection, it's super painless, really quick and easy. Um, and then we'll test that blood for any sort of diseases, you know, that it may have. We'll perform the complete blood count. Um, we'll send that off to the lab and make sure it comes back clean. And then once it goes from there, depending on what a hospital needs, so the major three products that they're asking and and that are in demand right now are whole blood, red blood cells, and plasma. So depending on a hospital's need, you know, we can either, you know, just keep it as whole blood or then process it into red blood cells and plasma and then go from there. So part of the thing that I have in terms of my vision is being able to innovate on the delivery system because right now, um, just the main supplier has uh, I don't even know, like it's the price increases for some of the blood products are really insane and everything's on back order, you know, with the national shortage and everything, the prices can be up as high as two to three hundred percent. I actually just talked about that recently that shared this with me. And I thought the lead times were one to two months, and it turns out it's two to three months. And so they're just placing these orders, you know, every month or every two months, and thousands of dollars and hoping that their order gets fulfilled and there's no guarantee that it will. And sometimes a blood bag can be as high as you know, eleven hundred dollars, which is crazy. So, you know, there's definitely a need. And even uh when it comes to transfusion, a cost, you know, typical range is anywhere from three to five K. And the saddest part, and what actually like breaks my heart in terms of like empathy is that once an owner is hit with that price tag, they will choose to euthanize upon estimation. And that just absolutely broke my heart. I literally cried when I got off the phone with the vet that shared that with me, and I just can't even imagine having to be put in that situation and having to make a decision like that. And I don't think any pet parent anticipates that. So it's just that's kind of the current state of things. It's very much feast or famine, and everyone is kind of fending for themselves in terms of trying to meet their own needs internally, and that's not sustainable, you know, long term. So that's really the problem that we're trying to address. And the vision that I have is to be able to get these products in the hospitals when they need it, you know, as soon as they need it. And I really think that that is their biggest need, you know, is in terms of the reliable reliability and accessibility, and then you know, just having it be there and ready when they need it.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Wow, God, that is that is immense. Honestly, I really have no words to tell you how I feel like when you're telling me all of this, because I do remember a friend and not exactly a blood situation, but the their pet had diabetes, like, and the insulin cost for the poor pet was so high that they had to eventually, you know, euthanize it, and it has happened in front of me. So I totally understand what you're saying. And then my friend was really broken for a very long time, and you know, most pet parents love their pets as their own family, as their own kids. So if you won't do it to your own, you know, real family of humans, like to do it to your own pets is it's an immense heartbreak. And I I I believe that this core message that you have, I think even when you are working towards your visibility or you're working towards all of the work that you will put into to reach out to a bigger pool of collaborators and partnerships, you really should use this messaging of you know, equating this this trauma. Because it is a trauma at the end of the day, if you have to like let go of a pet because of flack of something. So I really feel that your core message, your primary message in all your communication must use this thing as something that people can immediately empathize with, right? Because one is exactly on one side of the supply chain, you're talking about the unethical treatment of animals, which is also equally bad because you know they may not be someone's pet, but they are still animals, right? And they are being treated unethically just for the sake of like supply chain. And on the other end, loving pets of homeowners are uh of families are losing their life because they didn't get what they needed. So I I feel that your messaging is very, very strong and it will hit home very quickly the moment you start shaping it uh in the right way, in the right format, channeling it through whichever platforms that you're using. I think your core message is really gonna hit home. So I really also want you to uh you know take us a little more deeper into this. Like your empathy in you know, this understanding of life, like many people can see it, right? Like I can see it, and uh many people can see it, but very few people will do something about it. So there is there is a layer of if we go further down, there is something else that you are trying to channel here, and I really want to dig into that. What is that? Like, where why is that empathy so important about this cost to you that you want to create a whole new ecosystem for this uh you need in the market? I'm sure many pet owners understand this, but not everyone's creating it. So, can you go a little deeper into your reason for this?

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Yeah, I feel like I'm just not the kind of person that can turn away from an animal in suffering. And that's happened, you know, over the course of my life. You know, I've had accidents and incidents with pets where, you know, they've needed emergency care. And, you know, you're just not even in the right mind to be able to think about anything else other than your pet in that moment. And you know, there's times where I found like dogs on the street and like had to do something about it. So I think that has always been very innate and inherent to me. And it was just something that I saw it, it's it's more of a supply chain issue. You know, this is not something where I'm like curing cancer. This is, you know, a process, this is a supply thing. And so I feel like my experience also with engineering has really prepared me to tackle this problem because we're trained as engineers to look at the process. We're trained to look at, you know, how can we innovate on the process itself. Whereas a veterinarian, they're focused on the animal in front of them and they're trying to find the solution of how can I address this animal, you know, and help them in this moment. Whereas I get to build the infrastructure that allows them to do that. So I feel like I have this unique perspective where I can bring my engineering knowledge and apply my passion, you know, for animals and create something that is needed and necessary, but from this place of, you know, no animal should have to suffer and no one should ever have to put their pet down just because they can't afford it, you know, just because they can't control the price of blood. You know, that's not something the vets can control, that's not something the animals control, and the, you know, the the owners can't control that either. So I just saw it as something that can be changed. And, you know, it's taken a long time to change it. It's been about four years that legislation has changed in California. No one's really stepped up to the plate until now. Um so I just I feel like the time is right. And I feel like, you know, I I have this unique perspective and I have the skills, and I'm really excited to put them together and and make an impact.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Oh my gosh, this is exactly like this is amazing. You just hit the nail on the head. Like, it's not just about the cause, it's about your unique perspective to it, right? It's your uh passion and your skills and your perspective. It's like the ikigai of it, right? Like it's that concept of where everything, you know, in the center comes together because it's not just one thing. And it's amazing that you're using all of your expertise, your experience on this and channeling it into your passion. So this is amazing. Is it something like this that exists uh in other states or other countries?

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Yes. So California is the last to adopt this community model. You know, it's not as you know ubiquitous as it is across the country. Um, but yes, so there are proven systems, you know, in in other states in Colorado and Florida and Texas, Georgia. I know of some, and then internationally as well. Um, the UK has a really great system, Brazil has a very well-established PEPLIP banking system, Portugal, um, some areas in Spain as well. So this is a global issue, but I feel like the US is kind of late to the party and in California even more so when it comes to addressing it. So that's also good to know, you know, even though it's the first year in California, it's still a proven process, you know, that's being done and has potential to make you know a national impact as well.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

No, yes, because I think the fastest way to uh create something and make sure it's succeeding is to look at similar models that exist and how are they doing it because um this is such a brilliant cause, you have all the skills. So um, you know, even in terms of say you need funding or you need um some support, like having these kind of case studies of other uh popular uh you know organizations who are doing it is like the perfect way for you to uh get more people in the room and you know make this cause much more accessible to everybody. That's that's amazing. So um I really want to close this episode by asking you that as a listener, somebody who's listening to this episode and they want to take the first step, what is the lowest lift like? What is the lowest level effort that they need to make? Say uh in any capacity, how can they how can they help you? How can they contribute to your cause?

SPEAKER_00 24:23

For sure. So I am watching a GoFundMe, and that's really where I'm inviting everyone to just come in and be part of our story from day one. And that's more to serve the purpose of a sort of soft launch, a proof of concept. Um, it's not just for raising capital, it's more to just, you know, show the community that when we come together, we can do something incredible. And I want to have like a donor event and you know, show the process from beginning to end in terms of, you know, this is what it looks like, you know, not just talking and telling about it, but but showing the actual process of here's what we can do, you know, here's from start to finish, and then just sharing that with, you know, the world essentially. But that that would I would say is the the most immediate thing. Um, but even just taking the quiz, you know, to see if your dog is eligible to donate on our website at animalbloodcenter.org. Um, we also have a quiz for veterinarians if there's any sort of need that they have, we just want to be able to capture that. Um, but even just every share, every donation, or just telling your friends, hey, cats and dogs can donate blood too, you know, that's a huge thing. I feel like the awareness is, you know, incredible. And this isn't something that is really crossing anyone's mind, you know, on a daily basis. So every little bit counts and helps in terms of you know spreading that awareness. And yeah, I'm just grateful to to create this kind of like movement and to show people that we can all come together and make something special.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Oh my gosh, yeah, 100%. So if I've heard you right and anyone who's listening, uh the number one thing that they can do do is uh take the quiz on the website, which I'll be linking in the episode bio. Or there's also a GoFundMe page, which also I will be linking, and they can use it to uh share donations, they can share it with their friends and families who are equally invested in this cause uh as pet owners or as animal lovers. So uh this is amazing, Erica. As again, I want to just congratulate you on taking this step of such a worthy cause. Like, as you said, that your unique perspective, your passion, and your skills all have come together. So, like, success is guaranteed in this in this way. So, I really want to congratulate you and I want to thank you for coming on the episode today because I really want other purpose-driven owners to understand what it takes to build a brand when it's when your cause and uh what you're living for is so deep and it's so worthy. And um, a lot of times what happens is that for a lot of brand owners with a cause still want to look at vanity matrix very soon, which means like, oh my god, how many followers did I get, how many likes did I get? How many, you know, uh website traffic did I get? So um what happens is that you can get very quickly engaged in this particular uh vanity metrics and you can just feel disheartened. But I I feel that, as I said earlier, that your purpose is so high that your uh disappointment or overwhelm will always be lower uh compared to somebody who doesn't really believe in their cause that much because you know that yes, right now it's it's not happening, but as you go along and you keep building and you keep creating, I think you will get you know the right people aligned with you, uh the right partners and collaborators and investors, all of them will come together because you you believe in your cause so much. So I really think that's gonna happen for you and for and for other um of course, of course. And and um yes, let's let's jam again. And when um, you know, in when you have a success story to share with us, please do. I'll be tagging you on everything. Uh and then uh yes, thank you so much for being on the episode today.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

Of course, thank you for having me. This is so great. I just I really hope that the passion and the conviction comes through. And you know, like you said, that this is so much bigger than just me. And I'm just really excited to be able to be at the forefront of something that's so new and emerging, and that has the potential to make an incredible impact. So thank you again for having me.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

Of course, Erica. Thank you so much for joining me.