Cocktail Showdown 4

Ray Latif [00:10] Thanks to everyone who showed up today for our spirit Sunday content. My name is Ray Latif. I'm the editor and producer of the Taste Radio podcast, the number one podcast for the food and beverage industry. You're all here for the cocktail showdown competition, at least I hope you all are. Maybe some of you are here for some of the delicious cocktails in the back, and if you haven't tried some of those cocktails in the back, I highly recommend you do. Once again, I'm Ray Latif, and I'm the host of the cocktail showdown competition. The Cocktail Showdown is a pitch competition that showcases the most innovative and disruptive brands in the rapidly emerging category of spirit-based, ready to drink and ready to pour cocktails. The event features early to mid-stage brands who will, who will each have 5 minutes to present their business plans and products to a panel of expert judges, along with our audience here and watching the live stream. Following each pitch, the judging panel will provide 4 minutes of immediate and constructive feedback. After all of the brands have presented, the judges will convene, pick a winner, and we'll announce that winner at approximately 5:30 p.m. Pacific time. We'll also have a short interview with the winner here on stage after the announcement. The champion will take home an engraved trophy in the grand prize, an advertising package valued at $10,000. Now, I didn't know one important thing, and if Ed is in the back of the room, he is. If you or one of the participants tries to go over the 5 minutes that they have to present, they will hear the dreaded gong. Or not. I You don't want to hear that, folks, so try to be concise if you can. All right, now it's time to introduce our esteemed judging panel, beginning with someone who you just saw up on stage, Taylor Foxman. Taylor is a veteran beverage alcohol expert with over a decade of experience, having worked for globally recognized wine, beer, and spirits companies including Pernod Ricard and Grupo Campari. She's the founder and CEO of the Industry Collective, a leading beverage and cannabis advisory firm, and is a partner with Althea Ventures and an associate partner of MacArthur Capital. Next up we have Taylor Katila, excuse me. Taylor has worked in the adult beverage retail space for over 12 years and is currently the senior, excuse me, the Spirit senior category manager merchant for Whole Foods Market covering all stores in the US and Canada. Next we have Grace Venus. Grace is the president of Venus Research and Development, a leading independent product development consultant. Consultancy, excuse me. Her expertise lies in formulation, concept development, and custom ingredient sourcing and has over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage sector. Grace and her husband Sean Venus also opened a distillery in 2013, the aptly named Venus Spirits. All right. Very excited for our judging panel. This, uh, group right here tasted everything, uh, a couple of hours ago, and, uh, they have some great feedback to everyone who's participating. One note, uh, I know there's a lot of cocktailing going on in the back. If you could please keep it down to a low roar. Uh, the folks who are presenting and I would appreciate it very much. There you go. Thank you. Thank you to anyone who shushed. All right, up next, um, excuse, excuse me, the first contestants for the cocktail showdown are Marcin Malisko and Ammit Singh, the co-founders of Mission Craft Cocktails. Come on up. Hello again. Good to see you. Good to see you. Any timer right there, either microphone. And there you go.

Speaker 2 [04:09] I clicker. Hello everyone. Super excited

Ray Latif [04:12] and

Speaker 2 [04:13] To be here. Thank you, BevNET. My name is Marcin Maliko, and this is my best friend and co-founder Amit Singh. We are Mission Craft Cocktails, cocktails with a purpose. As Marston mentioned, we are absolutely two best friends, but more importantly, we are 110% cocktail lovers. And much like when COVID hit, uh, probably like a lot of other people in the room, we became closet alcoholics or at home alcoholics, and we went out in search of how do we fill that, uh, that cocktail need. We went out, tried to make our own drinks, uh, we found it messy. We found it expensive, and truthfully, we just didn't have the skill set to, uh, to put them all together, so. Instead we went out and really looked for as many RTDs in the market as we could and we found that not a lot of them really hit our taste profile, which was really one of having a, having a drink that was fresh, made with real juices, premium spirits that tasted exactly like you'd get it right out of a bartender's shaker. So with that, a little bit of naivety, a little bit of bravado, and I'm sure we were drunk at the time, but we decided to establish Mission Craft Cocktails. The mission behind Mission Craft Cocktails, as Marston mentioned earlier with a purpose, is the fact that we give 5% back of all of our revenues to local food banks. So we absolutely love our cocktails. We made our own palates and our friends told us our cocktails are great, so we thought they were just being nice. So we started entering into the competitions and have been honored to win double gold at the San Francisco wine and spirits competition, gold in the New York International Spirit Competition, as well as innovation and Platinum at the SI Awards. Our time is ticking, so I'm gonna run you through three of them, and our, our mantra behind making all of our drinks again was fresh, exactly like you get it out of a bartender shaker. Uh, we like our drinks strong, so all of them are between 25, 32, and 40%, uh, ABV. They're meant to be, uh. Uh consumed over ice, our mai tai, which is actually our most award winning drink. Like all of our drinks, we try to add a little bit of a California flair, but we use a West Indies rum that's infused with coconut. We have fresh lime juice, pineapple, cardamom, allspice, and our, our classic. Uh, orange liqueur that we make with California oranges to keep that California freshness. Our cosmopolitan, which again is a super simple cocktail to make, we think we make it an incredibly complex and sophisticated one. We've got a cucumber and grapefruit infused vodka just to have a really start finish, that's really fresh start, sorry. A 25% alcohol on that fresh cranberry juice. We finish it with cracked peppercorn and a little bit of rosemary to add a bit of a savory finish. The favorite drink in my lineup is the old fashioned. We used a 2018 Texas bourbon aged to perfection, once again adding that California flair. We hand peel California oranges. We let it infuse in the bourbon for 48 hours so you get that orange expression. Uh, finish it like an old fashioned should with some simple syrup and some turbonato, sorry, some turbonato and some Angostura bitters. So what really is the mission behind Mission Craft Cocktails? As I mentioned, we give 5% back of all of our revenues to local food banks. We started this business 3 years ago. We've only been at retail in about the last 10 months. We're super proud to announce that we've donated over 13,000 meals to Orange County families in need. We're on track with the support of our retailers to hit 25,000 meals donated by the end of the year. So where can you find us? So incredible launch since April of 2023. We're in about over 100 stores, including Babmo, Total Wines, some 5 star properties, and golf courses. Hopefully with Taylor being here, you'll be able to find Mission Craft cocktails starting January at Whole Foods. We also have a direct to consumer model, and our retail is anywhere from 1399 to 1499. We know the traditional strategy is liquid to lips. So we've done about 150 tastings in the last 4 months, a lot of community activations try to earn as much local earned media, but we know that's not going to be enough. So we have a huge influencer campaign working with over 1000 influencers to help us drive more liquid to lips nationwide and drive the awareness and grow our mission. So one of our greatest, um, I guess the luckiest part of being a minority owned business is we crossed paths with Jack Daniel's and Uncle Nearest. They are a walk the walk, talk the talk organizations about BIPOC support and founders, and we are happy and so proud to announce that we are one of only two brands across the nation to be accepted into their incubator for

Ray Latif [09:13] 2024. Hi.

Speaker 2 [09:21] We didn't make the 5 minutes. That's,

Ray Latif [09:23] that's OK. You are, there's still time because the judges may have some questions for you. You can slide up over here so they can see you. All right, you know, friends always tell you that, your products taste great, uh, as they told Marston and Ahmed. What what do you think, Grace?

Speaker 2 [09:38] I actually thought they tasted really great as well. Um, one thing that I found a little bit surprising is when you went into all these discussions about using California fruit and especially all the ingredients that were in the Cosmo. I did not get from the idea from the packaging that I was tasting all of those. So that is something that I would probably explain a little bit more. What was it on the packaging? Did we miss it? Uh, there's really fine print, and if you wear glasses like me, you'll probably miss it. Uh, it's included, but we feel we have so much to tell. Uh, we probably didn't give it enough justice. OK, I think you are trying to tell on your packaging, and that is, is complicated, but I think that's something that's really unique about what you're doing on top of the mission, and I think that would be something that would be. Thank you. Thank you.

Ray Latif [10:24] Taylor, what are your thoughts about Mission Craft within that sort of subset of premium multi-serve cocktails?

Speaker 2 [10:30] Right? Well, nice to meet face to face after all the emails. Uh, so I think, um, first and foremost, balance is really important when you get to RTS and higher proof cocktails. The old fashioned to me was really well balanced and. Nuanced finish with the turbonata sugar really kind of like lingered and that was really nice and also I just I love the aesthetic and the consistency of brand blocking with showing clear glass to allow the product to sell to the customer and it's consistent. Like when I envision it on a shelf, it looks like it sells a story and it tells a story. I really like it. Thank you so much. There's a lot of thought into the packaging and design, us not coming from the space we know it's super competitive. So from the bottle design, the packaging, the branding, and of course the story, we still have a lot of work to do on how to share that story to be able to drive that community bigger. Just imagine how good it's gonna look on your shelves.

Ray Latif [11:25] Laying it on thick, no pressure at all.

Speaker 2 [11:27] I think we have a lot of buyers here that would already participate, customers, right.

Ray Latif [11:32] Uh, Taylor, we did hear a lot about the story, Taylor Foxman, that is, we did hear a lot about the, uh, story, the mission. How important is that aspect of the brand to you as an investor? Yeah, I was actually gonna say first that mai tai, like I'll be thinking about that for a long time. That was absolutely delicious. I would like another one right now. Um,

Speaker 2 [11:49] we

Ray Latif [11:49] will

Speaker 2 [11:50] give you some. Don't worry.

Ray Latif [11:51] It was really good. No, I mean, I think again going back to kind of like finding like your unique value proposition and like you're so what I think that the name. Uh, as it ties and it pertains to like your focus on charitable give back, um, but I think kind of even more broadly speaking, like when I look at the bottle, like you have a lot to share, like, you know, the focus on BIPAC, like your relationship as founders, the 5% they give back. So again, I think we're all kind of saying the same thing, like there's a lot more than like me. The bottles. So I think like just keep doing what you're doing and I think those are kind of small iterations, but I think the focus on philanthropy because people really care not only like what's in their product but like where's my money going towards it like so I think, I think that is really cool and I think that is a unique differentiator that I don't really see as much day to day. So keep doing what you're doing, yeah,

Speaker 2 [12:37] we appreciate that one and specifically we believe our customer is the conscious consumer that's who's really, really, you know. Conscious about what they put in their body and they want fresh ingredients and natural ingredients and not artificial, but also you know where their money goes and what it does and one of the points of you know us being having a close relationship with Uncle Nes and Jack Daniel's, they, they really helped us clarify, you know, you've got an amazing story and the mission is to give back and. Truthfully, you know, our accountants run our business with, with spreadsheets. Me and Marston only count our business with the success of how many meals we give back. So we know what our forecast is of how many meals we want to get back in a year from now and, and how many we want to give back at the, at the end of this year. So, it, as, as purpose-driven owners, uh, that's what we really believe is our business.

Ray Latif [13:27] Outstanding. Very well done. Thank you so much. Thank you. Great job. Thank you.

Speaker 2 [13:32] Good job.

Ray Latif [13:34] Great job. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Thank you so much. All right, bear with me for one moment. Usually I'll leave my notes on the podium here, but this time I didn't. All right, up next we have Ryan and Laura Wolf, who are the co-founders of Good Spirits. Come on up. How are you? So either microphone and your clicker is right here and your timer is right over here. Yeah. Hi everyone, I'm Laura Wolf and I'm Ryan Wolf, and we're the founders of Good Spirits Cocktails. We're excited to be here and want to thank the judges, as well as Bevnet for inviting us to participate. We also want to thank all of you for being here with us today. We started Good Spirits in September of 2020, 4 months after we first met and started dating. While ostensibly a ready to drink cocktail company, we really founded Good Spirits to foster connection, the kind of connection we were able to build when we first met. In the early days of our relationship, we would build elaborate cocktails and talk for hours, as many people did during those times. Um, and we wanted to bring the cocktail of bar experience that we missed into our pandemic bubble. Um, before we go to the next slide. Um, this created a ritual. Um, we would go, yeah, every Sunday night, we'd sit on the counter, drink in hand, um, for what we called our counter chats, um, and it reminded us to find the good in each day, especially in such a difficult time. Um, so, you know, our phones out of reach, we would talk about all kinds of things ordinary, weird, deep. And we wanted to recreate that cocktail bar experience without having to leave your house. We wanted to make it easy for you to entertain people in your own space, having game nights or just getting into those deep conversations all while enjoying a drink that was actually good. We didn't want to spend time away from guests creating those drinks. We wanted everyone that was at the party to be a part of the party. Um, to that end, we created 3, Cocktails based on our own favorites and scaled them up for commercial formulation, um, in hopes of fostering the, the connection that, uh, for others like we did with our own counter chats. So after 3 years of Did I hit somehow? After 3 years of formulation and learning the ropes of the alcohol industry, we launched our 1st 3 skis this spring. We have the Golden Hour, the Bourbon Crisp, and the Lovebird Paloma. The Golden Hour is a play on a classic old fashioned. It's originally part of a set of Hamilton-themed cocktails that we made at home, and the pun is a bit tortured, but it has honey and thyme in it. So that's hence the golden hour. Um, it's a very well balanced old fashioned with the sweetness of the honey really contrasting the earthy herbalness of the time. And it's our strongest cocktail at 27% ABV. The bourbon crisp is perfect for this time of year. It's one of my personal favorite home recipes. Essentially it's a spiked apple cider with added lemon and cinnamon to round it out. It's 13% ABV, so it's still bar strength, but it's perfect for drinking around a bonfire. The Lovebird Paloma is a lightly carbonated, um, passion fruit paloma. Uh, the traditional grapefruit and tequila work really well, brightened up by the passion fruit. Um, honestly, this is a huge crowd, crowd favorite, um, one that most people tell us they really enjoy. Um, it's 12% ABV. We really wanted our branding to reflect the original genesis of our company, so we worked with Creature Theory Out of North Carolina to come up with the packaging you see here today. Each drink has its own set of questions around the top of the can to help spark conversation between consumers. We came up with the questions ourselves. They ranged from kind of deep to shallow to a little absurd. My personal favorite question is, what is something that you are bad at but you still enjoy doing? We, we also wanted each can to speak for itself while also working well in conversation with the others. Um, the bright colors and modern style like really help it to pop out on a shelf as well as in a cooler like at your next party. Um, our logo can be seen, um, as either a speech bubble or like a quotation mark, which further drives home the point of our brand, which is that connection and sparking conversation. Um, my personal favorite question is, what exactly are numbers? We also have a random question generator available on our website at goodspirits cocktails.com/curious that asks us whether you want, who you want to talk to, a friend, a stranger, a partner, even more, and what you want to talk about, whether it's something personal, casual, something philosophical. I mean it gives you questions to start your conversation, um, where it goes, that's up to you. Um, an additional benefit of our cocktails is the true portability, um, as with many of the cocktails here today. Um, we designed them to be highly drinkable straight from the can as well as work well dressed up over ice. Um, during formulation, we specifically wanted to strike the balance where it didn't taste diluted when poured over ice, um, but it was also still approachable right out of the can. We intentionally selected the 200 mL format for our drinks, um, with the range of ADVs we have, we wanted to get a fair serving, um, while also encouraging mindful consumption. Um, as you said, it's very portable. Uh Oh no, that was it. Um, having officially launched in May of 2023, um, we're available direct to consumer via our website to 42 different states, um, and we're also in select liquor stores in the DC area. Um, We also have a lot of success selling. I was anticipating it. No problem. You slide over here. The judges might have some comments for you. And if you'd like to finish your, uh, your statement there, now's your chance. Oh, I was just saying we, uh, we've seen actually a lot of success in breaking up the 4 packs and selling them as individuals at like a pretty high margin for the retailer, which really helps with pull through. Great. You can just slide over just a little bit. There we go. A Taylor from Whole Foods, let's start with you. You know, I'd love to hear your thoughts in terms of the package design and the branding and how it fits into or may not fit into that Whole Foods experience for your consumers.

Speaker 2 [19:56] Uh, my first question, because I was, I was looking at the cans, do you have a cardboard wrapper or is it a Pac-tech?

Ray Latif [20:02] Uh, it's packech right now.

Speaker 2 [20:03] We

Ray Latif [20:03] do have

Speaker 2 [20:04] a

Ray Latif [20:04] design

Speaker 2 [20:04] cardboard box that has like the same brand

Ray Latif [20:06] cut

Speaker 2 [20:06] out of it.

Ray Latif [20:07] Um,

Speaker 2 [20:07] we just, for our

Ray Latif [20:08] first like runs, we haven't purchased those yet.

Speaker 2 [20:11] Yeah, I mean, I, I think the color spectrums are really nice and the brand blocking opportunity, uh, with a cardboard wrap can really make that pop, um, with PacTech and just singular cans sometimes that can get lost in a set. Um, I think, uh. You know, specifically the namings, the crisp and the paloma, they tasted great. The names make sense. The golden hour. From a customer's perspective, they may see that and like what is that? Uh, so that would be like my one feedback is just considering like the, the name that, that doesn't resonate with the customer and would they know what that is. The Paloma clearly makes sense. The apple, the bourbon crisp, I think. You know, you think apple crisp, like, yeah, it sounds wonderful, um, but yeah, that was, that was my, my main points. Really good job.

Ray Latif [20:57] Taylor Foxman, uh, you know, when I think about the wide variety of new products that are coming to market and lots of brands coming to market and you're seeing all of them, um, you know, how do you evaluate a brand like Good Spirits among that, you know, um, that huge cohort of brands that are coming into the market? Yeah, I think again it's just kind of like being able to articulate like what's your unique, so what for each of the audiences that you're looking to target, and so obviously. You know, for like a Whole Foods, for example, like what's your unique, so what for them, um, I think for consumers, a lot of your story really resonates with a lot of people, um, not necessarily because it started around COVID, but like how you guys met and like how integral it was into like the development and like the evolution of your relationship. Um, so again, I think you have a really, I, I love the bourbon. I, I, I eat 3 apples a day. I absolutely love the product. I think it was absolutely delicious, um, so I think your products are great and Again, like, it's really hard sometimes because if you're just on a shelf, it's really hard to articulate like your story, but that's why there's opportunities like social media and going in front of investors, going in front of buyers to try to bring that to life in more detail. So really good product and just like use the channels you have to try to share your so what given how concentrated and competitive the space is. Thank you. And Grace, your thoughts on the liquid.

Speaker 2 [22:18] Well, they were all really different from each other, especially the fact that one of them was such a high ABV and also that it has a really different price point. I think that that could end up, especially on the shelf being a little bit confusing for the, the consumer. I loved the Paloma. I think that I would use that sort of recipe to maybe meld the other two. I just felt like that one was the most balanced between the sweetness and the tartness that the rest of them were just a little bit on the sweet side. Especially the golden hour. I got a lot of honey out of that, and I almost think that you could maybe bring the alcohol percentage down closer to the other ones

Ray Latif [22:56] and have uh

Speaker 2 [22:57] the

Ray Latif [22:57] skews a little bit more

Speaker 2 [22:58] similar to each other.

Ray Latif [23:01] Thank you. Yeah, I think um the golden hour, I mean, a couple of you touched on it, it is a slightly off. I mean, we kind of think, thought of our drinks is like if you go to a cocktail bar and you see a menu, like you have quite a bit of diversity. Um, so we're kind of thinking of it as like signature cocktails at that point, but I mean, your, your, uh, feedback is well received, um, and with the naming, um, I will say we spoke a lot about that and it was kind of a risk that we took, um, going alongside with that kind of signature cocktail approach, but it is admittedly a little bit less clear what you're going to be getting unless you look closer. So definitely appreciate the feedback and thanks again. Well done. Thank you so much. I'll take your microphone. Good job. All right, up next we have Jamie Hunt, who is the founder and CEO of Fastpenny. Come on up, Jimmy. Microphone. quicker And a wish of a very happy birthday. Today is Jamie's birthday. Just turning 30. I'm just turning 30. All right. Hello. I'm so grateful to be here. Um, thank you, Bevnet, judges, this fantastic audience. I'm Jamie Hunt, founder of Fast Penny Spirits and maker of the award-winning Americano. Before starting an Amaro distillery, I was a huge fan of the bittersweet herbal liqueur. Uh, I left the tech industry to follow my passion. Creating delicious food and drink is my love language, so much so that I spent time in Napa at the CIA and also earned my Psalm one pin. Coming from an Italian family where food and drink are life. Amaro isn't just something you drink, it's a ritual and one I love. I was inspired years ago while drinking an after dinner amaro in Seattle. That's when I began experimenting with creating my own recipe. Now the Italians spent years perfecting their recipes, so I knew it wasn't gonna, it was, it wasn't going to be easy. And so after 2.5 years of R&D. I finally achieved the flavor, balance, and complexity that I was really looking for and launched the first two products in July of 2020. We took our time because we wanted to honor Italian tradition by melding regional and global ingredients for a rich amaro. We've dedicated time to perfecting the blend using local hops, saffron, black truffle, and more, and age it in American white oak casks. So most Americans are unfamiliar with amaro and unaccustomed to sipping it neat after a meal. So education is key. That's why we kicked off our Amaro-based cocktail program, sharing recipes with our customers and serving them on the tasting deck. One of the crowd favorites is the Shakerato. We spotted a gap in the RTD market and knew we had to find a way to introduce this lovely cocktail to more people. But first, what is a shakerrato? In Italy they take espresso, sugar, ice, shake it up, and strain it into a coup. Our Shakerato featuring our americano. Uh, takes that classic recipe and adds a little extra flavor and kick. As we heard earlier, the spirit space market, RTD market is booming. With high noon and cut water spirits really dominating the category, and we're seeing consumer preference, according to the Distilled Spirits Council, a rising indicator of consumers choosing spirit-based cocktails over wine and malt-based cocktails. But we think there's room for bar quality cocktails like ours to fit in that market, especially with the rising trend in coffee-based cocktails. It took us about 2 years and the addition of a food scientist, but we finally achieved the tasting deck cocktail deliciousness using the same simple ingredients and launched it in September of this year. We partnered with brands who are relentless about quality and crafted our Shakekerado with Madcap coffee, our premium amaro, and Scrappy's orange and chocolate bitters. Uh, our, our drink is nitro dosed. It has no additives, no preservatives, and no need for pasteurization. It's rocking a 15% ABV and it sells on the shelf for about $8 a can or $28 for a 4 pack. This lovely sipper appeals broadly, but especially to young professionals who are looking for a brunch boost. A tasty alternative to an espresso martini. Or the perfect perk after a tiring day or before a big night out. Our Shake Erato just won double gold at proof and gold and best in class at sunset competition. Our main focus is selling to retailers, hotels, uh, busy brunch spots, music and sports venues. We're already in 6 states and we just passed the Whole Foods. Well done. You can hold on to that and slide over. I'll actually take these. OK, there you go. Thank you. All right, and you can slide over here where the X is, there we go, thanks. Taylor Foxman, let's start with you. Um, you know, how much confidence does it give you when there's already an established company like a Fast Penny that introduces an RTD component to what they're doing? Yeah, I think it matters a lot. I mean, like for, for a consumer, I think it's really important because you have like a gold stamp of approval from Jamie and her team. You know that first, it's, you know, a sustainable company. They, they have sustainable practices. It's diverse led, um, and then in just in general, I think like once you already have like an affiliation with a. Company, you're more apt to want to try what comes next, what comes next? It looks like there's even more than we knew, like a black Negroni and other things in the pipeline. So I think, yeah, it makes a lot of sense and um I, I love the, the focus on local. I thought that was really, really cool. I think being able to collaborate. I think a lot of times companies Sometimes like underestimate the, the power of partnerships like that, especially on a local level. So I really loved that not only did you work with a local coffee, um, provider, but, uh, you featured them right and center on the front of the can, so I thought that was great. Um, and yeah, overall, I, I, I really enjoyed the product and I think, um, it sounds like it's kind of the beginning of a larger innovation pipeline for you, so it's really exciting. Thank you. Uh, Grace, Jamie said it took 2 years and you hired a food scientist, right? I did, yes. Did the food scientists do it for you,

Speaker 2 [30:51] Grace? Yeah, it was really good. I didn't know what a Shakerato was either when he was first tasting it, so I was actually surprised to see, to feel as much coffee as there was in there, so it was really nice and surprising. I wish I would have been able to taste your amaro on its own before. I am an amaro fan.

Ray Latif [31:14] But,

Speaker 2 [31:15] yeah, good, good job.

Ray Latif [31:16] Thank you, thank you, and Taylor, uh, you know, Jamie talked a bit about the use case, the opportunity for this to be sort of fit into a brunch opportunity. Um, how do you think about that when you're evaluating a brand and, you know, the sort of velocity that it might come and bring to your Whole Foods?

Speaker 2 [31:33] Yeah, first off, hello, Jamie, nice to meet you in person, um. So I think uh with the cocktails that are kind of like pushing the spectrum on flavor to the customer, um, a little extra energy on the packaging to kind of maybe explain what they're stepping into. Um, I know you have like the ingredients listed there at the bottom, maybe uh. A description of like what you can expect on the back and I know you're supposed to shake it, but I, I don't recall if I saw that like right out of the gates on the front of the package, um, so that kind of like instruction and, and expectation of what to, to go to get into I think can be really helpful, um, but I think as you're like approaching that higher price tier and price point on the retail shelf, um, there's a bit of a commitment attached to that from the customer's perspective and. That little extra explanation can go a long ways to know that like oh it's kind of like an elevated espresso martini. There's like a unique, very like customized amaro flavor that's locally made and there's the partnership component of who you're working with. All those tell a really awesome story, let alone what you do with your own company and like the inclusiveness there is incredible. So I think it's as you approach that higher price point. You have a lot more bandwidth to explain a story and kind of talk to the customer about why this is worth it. Um, so overall really great, like the aroma is killer, like it really is, and the coffee comes through, um, but maybe just, you know, like for the, the, the entry level cocktail consumer that may not know what to do with it. They may accidentally the first thing they do is drink out of a can and be like, whoa, that's a lot, you know, but, but understanding how to properly serve it and let them know what they're getting into, I think can go a long ways.

Ray Latif [33:16] Great, thank you. Thanks for the feedback and happy birthday. Happy birthday for sure. Thank you. Well done. Mr. All right. Up next we have Nick Bradley, who is the founder and CEO of DO Cocktails. Nick, come on up. You can use either microphone any quicker, please mind your timer.

Speaker 2 [33:47] Hi, I'm Nick Bradley, one of the co-founders of DO, a line of celestial cane cocktails distilled from the divine. Before I get started, I'd first like to thank Bevnet and all the judges for the opportunity to share a taste of divinity with the beverage world today. In a sea of savorless seltzers, it's my pleasure to introduce you to a new era of luxurious libations. Dio, short for Dionysus, the Greek god of festivity and ecstasy, is the first of its kind. The luxurious mixology first, low sugar, hybrid RTD and RTS can cocktail. Our 200 mL can offers classic cocktails with innovative flavor twists powered by a Herculean strength ABV ranging from 13.5 to 15%. I first started my career working in branding and creative development here of several award winning agencies in Los Angeles before starting my own first brand, Pangaea Men's One More Line for the worldly gentlemen. In January 2020, I was thrilled to receive a call from my dear friend Bronson Van Wy to embark on a new venture of cocktail mixes. Bronson is a renowned celebrity event planner, best known for being the mastermind behind some of the greatest events of our lifetime. Together we share a common bond in our deep roots of Southern hospitality and our love for all things opulent. Two years later, after many pandemic hurdles, we finally launched our cocktail mix line designed for the hedonist host. This cocktail mix line boasted a low sugar, full flavor cocktail profile with an easy 1 to 1 mix to spirit ratio. After having such a warm reception of the cocktail mixes, we saw an opportunity to further cater to the hedonist host by creating the first ever luxury canned cocktail. High ABV canned cocktails were not a new concept. However, we were underwhelmed by the single flavor, very sugary options available in the market, lacking transparency of what was in the product. In order to succeed, we knew that we needed to differentiate not only in product but brand, and to do so we'd have to capitalize on the changes and trends of cocktail culture from a post pandemic era. Another year later, after being told that what we wanted to do was impossible, we finally accomplished, and in July of this year we launched our canned cocktails in New York. Each 200 mL can is all supernatural. We only use all natural flavors. We avoid anything artificial, no preservatives, and no colors, because we focus on the finest and freshest ingredients possible. Each can boasts an 8 g of sugar, and we proudly list all of our nutritional and ingredients on every single piece of our packaging. To be successful, we knew that we had to differentiate not only in product but in brand, and to do this, we knew that we cannot just be a product focused brand. We focus on having a rich brand narrative telling a story of hedonistic aspects of Greek mythology alongside New York party culture. We target luxury consumers in metropolitan cities, specifically millennials with high disposable incomes, who are the early adopters of food and drink trends that you usually filter into mainstream. As gay founders, we also are very, very integrated in the LGBTQIA plus community. Our exotic elixirs can be drank directly from the can or from a more luxurious libation can be consumed over the rocks in a chilled chalice. Our current flavors include a spicy pineapple margarita made with 100% agave spirit, a hibiscus rose French 75 crafted with gin and white wine, the turmeric, ginger, lemon mule, and Tahitian vanilla espresso martini, both crafted with premium vodka, the honey date 24 karat gold rush made with American bourbon. And in 2024 we will debut our grapefruit basil paloma that will also be crafted with 100% agave spirit. In New York we aim for a 699 on the shelf price per can and which we plan to replicate in California. Outside of those two markets, we'll aim for a 599 per can price and we'll also offer all of our, all of our flavors in 4 packs. Geo has been very fortunate to be fortified by some great press accolades and reviews, including an exclusive in Vogue marking the debut of our Cannes cocktail line earlier this year. This year in 2023 we have been hyper focused on building a strong foundation in New York, our home base, the playground of the gods. In 2024 we plan to go deep, not wide, expanding regionally in the Northeast as well as targeting California, Colorado, Georgia, and Florida. We have been confirmed for a national airline partnership and look to expand our on-premise hospitality-focused partnerships that cater to the most discerning of palates. In closing, Dial will be successful not because it's a damn good cocktail and it's a super sexy can, but truly because we are defining the category with canned cocktails and luxury. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to sharing the taste of divinity with you guys very soon.

Ray Latif [38:53] Thank you, thank you. Let's slide over here so the judges can see it. A damn good cocktail in a super sexy can. Grace, would you agree

Speaker 2 [39:02] it is a very sexy can. Thank you. That was my COVID. And I absolutely love the names of the cocktails. I just think you've hit it out of the park with these really esoteric but familiar. Concepts that I think is exactly where you need to be. Um, I felt like they were a little bit on the acidic side, a couple of them, but I just really, really love the concept and the, the entire packaging is, is beautiful and, and the names of them really fits, fits the whole hedonistic vibe. Thank you. They're definitely tongue tires that you saw from my presentation and uh I do lay in citrus, but, uh, well noted. Thank you.

Ray Latif [39:41] Uh, Taylor, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that sort of whole hedonistic branding and how it might fit into a consumer's opinion or perspective on this brand, but I also love to hear from you about that price point and how you evaluate price point when you're thinking about bringing new brands into your stores. Mm.

Speaker 2 [39:57] Well, first off, I think it's just fun, right? And like a consumer that's coming in to like shop the shelves, if it's an occasion. Uh, and they're going to a party, maybe they want to get something, they can get like a 12 pack or something and then maybe they'll take a risk on something that's a little different, a little bit unique, and then maybe something like to share and talk about, um, but I think, um, you know, it's keeping it fun is great because it allows you to pitch more of a story. And it gives, it gives you the ability to like really make that 699 per can make sense, um, keeping it relevant to cocktails that are pretty well established, um, but then like adding a little flare goes a long ways, um, but you know, I think there is a space for that price point that keeps like raising and raising and, and I think you're on the right, the right track here. Um, we often will sell those as singles. Um, I think there is a bit of a sticker shock to be aware of that, that like, you know, even if you're saving $1 or $2 when you buy a 4-pack, that $2799 can be a lot to, to, to go into even though, you know, you equate it to divide it by 4 and it's like a fancy cocktail like for $7 no big deal. Um, but it's hard to step away from that $28 ring, right? Um. But I think there is space for that. Like I'm just going to grab one and give it a shot. So trial is really, really important. So making sure that your flavors stick, and I would suggest to any customer to try it with the espresso martini first because the aroma on that with the vanilla is killer. Thank you, very, very that was perfect. Wow, thank you. I totally agree with you. I think, you know, one of the things I pointed out is that it's, it's we're very focused on going deep, not wide, and I think, you know, just being focused in New York this year. Done almost 180 tastings and which has been quite time consuming. But to your point, there is sticker shock when it comes to this, even in New York in a place where people are not price sensitive. But I think, you know, the proof is in the pudding, and I think that when people do taste the product, we're able to sell on average 3 to 4 cases at our stores and, you know, a 2 hour tasting. And so I totally agree with you, and I think it is that, you know, age old liquid lipstrategy which is going to really drive it home, yeah.

Ray Latif [42:10] Taylor, I know you like the espresso martini as well, but I'd love to hear from you also about the lifestyle component of Dio and how much value or stock you put into, uh, that when you are evaluating a brand. I like your pants a lot. I plan on having later on. I've been holding this in for like 10. That is pretty good feedback, so thank you for that. I mean, I was gonna say. OK, back to serious stuff like cocktails. Um, I just can't get over the pants. Um, no, I, I, so I, I've also never liked, um, I'm not a big espresso martini person. Um, I also have had about 6 cups of coffee today, um, and, uh, that was just, it was delicious. It was super, super good. Um, no, I think, look, I think your whole, the whole thing, the whole thing vibes, I mean, even like literally you like holding the can, like I could just see it on a billboard, um. I think it's really important. I think again, going back to like how many brands that are out there at this point, like even to get them to try it now to sample the product, that's great and that's a huge part of, you know, like getting these people on board to try it again and buy it on site and beyond. Um, but the whole brand just feels high-end and premium, and it seems like you're kind of coming out that, that's your vibes, it's a brand vibes, social media vibes. So I think you're creating a lifestyle versus just creating a product which I think is like very, very, very important at this moment in time. And I also think just like holding. That, that, that they can like it feels it feels high-end so like to me I think that's the first, you know, especially when you don't have the opportunity to sample, you don't have the opportunity to share your story or see you in those pants, um, I think, I think the, the cans itself, I think are just really impressive. I'm done talking. You know what? I, I love this panel. This is a fantastic panel. Well done. Great presentation. Where, where does one buy those types, those pants? I mean, we'll, we'll talk after. Ray's asking for a friend friend himself. I am a friend to myself, yes. Uh, so, all right, up next, we have Mike and Janelle Bass, who are the co-founders of Pony Boy. Come on up. Good to see you. Good to see you. And you Please just keep an eye on your time. OK. Hello, we are Pony Boy Slings from Louisville, Kentucky. We are a brand new bourbon-based canned cocktail. We're 7% and fully carbonated. We come in in a 4 pack with a suggested retail price of 1,499 cents. So we've got 3 cocktails for you. We've got the Bourbon Popstar, which we like to say this one kind of drinks like a spritz. So this is bourbon with dry vermouth. We use real strawberry juice. Black lemon bitters and a natural basil extract. The second one is the derby cream soda. So this is that nostalgic cream soda but all grown up. So this is bourbon with sherry, real vanilla, natural butterscotch, and aromatic bitters. So the third one is the my cherry Amore. We like to say this one's pretty crushable because of how tart it is. So this is bourbon with dry vermouth, real black cherry juice, aromatic bitters, and a little natural lemon. So who are we and how did we get here? My name is Janelle Bass. This is my husband Mike Bass, and we are longtime bartenders and have been in the bar industry for 15 years for me, 26 for him, and most of my experience came from when I actually lived here in LA from 2011 until COVID. Then I moved back to Kentucky. And when I was here, I worked for some pretty amazing places. I worked for Spago in Beverly Hills. I became a certified beer cicerone at Franklin and Company, and then I learned natural. Wine and did cocktail creation at Osteria La Buca. So Mike over here, he is basically one of the first pioneers in the craft cocktail movement in Central Florida. He did cocktail development and bar programs for national accounts, and he competed in Diageo World Class two years in a row, not to mention so many more things. So when we met during COVID, we decided to put our skills together and start consulting for bourbon brands all over Kentucky. So what that means. We would create their cocktails for their events or visitor centers, and we would batch these bourbon cocktails using fruit from local farms. We'd make our own syrups, throw them in a keg, carbonate it, and put it on tap. This is when we realized there's a huge market for refreshing, bubbly bourbon that's on the back end, because not only were bourbon lovers totally digging it, non-bourbon lovers were drinking it and going, Wait, this is bourbon? I guess I like bourbon now. So our whole idea behind Pony Boy is to show people a new way to drink whiskey. Being from bourbon country, typically bourbon is always presented to you very straightforward, whether that's on the rocks or neat or an old fashioned or Manhattan, which is fantastic. But what we want to do is show you that you can actually use bourbon. Just like any other spirit when you put it on the back end to make an elevated round balanced cocktail, which is honestly very approachable. So finally bourbon lovers can be on a boat and not have to have a vodka or malt option, and the non-bourbon lovers, we feel like we're making them lovers with what we like to say our gateway bourbon. So because we are bourbon in the can, we want to make sure that our brand feels fun, relaxed, and cool. So hence the seventies retro vibe. The only instructions we have on the can is chill it, pop it, giddy up. Right, I'm more of a cue card guy, so I'm going to hang on to these. Um, as you can see, we've been having some fun with our marketing. Uh, between the two of us, we've created a one-stop shop from a one-stop ad shop from a shared knack for film, photography, writing, acting, and design and music. We're marketing to millennials and Gen X through social media, but we're really starting to see baby boomers getting on board in our in-store tastings. The market. Our current market strategy is go narrow, go deep. We're doing this by distributing only in Kentucky for now because we really think it's important to create relationships, brand awareness, and build an organic brand community. And we're doing this by deeply supporting our local and Lighthouse accounts, getting personal face time and liquid to lips through events, activations and tastings. And keeping Pony Boy relevant and growing momentum, and we are growing. Since our July launch, we've opened 50+ accounts, sold 400 cases, and we have a 90% reorder rate. We've been really been seeing some great traction, and we're reaching outside markets through strategic hotel placement. Our forecasts. So you know we're looking forward, we're really wanting to maximize our sales and marketing efforts in our home state in preparation to scale into neighboring neighboring markets like Southern Indiana, Cincinnati, and Nashville. And since we're bartenders and we do all of our own formulation, we're really looking forward to further product development and test marketing our slings in progress. So keep an eye out. It's time we give bourbon its bubbly moment. So remember, chill it, pop it, giddy up. Thank you. Well done. Just grab your microphones and judges may have a couple of questions for you. There you go. Nope, right over there. Thank you very much. I am so glad that we ended on that slide. I'm looking at that the entire time. Oh yeah, that's the pony wagon. 1977 right there. Nice, uh, Taylor. This is like a little different than the first four brands that we've seen in terms of what they're offering. you know, do you see a bigger opportunity? Do you see an opportunity for Pony Boy in that sort of blurring the lines, you know, hard soda, better for excuse me, hard soda space? Yeah,

Speaker 2 [50:10] we don't talk about hard soda. That was a couple of years ago, but I think Like it's, it's interesting like looking at the packaging, I wasn't sure what I was getting into, kind of, I think we all felt the same way, um, but sipping it, it like it felt nostalgic and personally like I'm a huge fan, like big sweet tooth bourbon drinker and The cherry in particular was like that's real good, and, and I think you've you've offset those flavors that sometimes can be too sweet, like, like fruit purees or fruit juices and bourbon can like clash because they're too sweet, but you offset it really well and it gives it a very diverse flavor even with just a little bit of vermouth or a little bit of amaro, like very well done and um. I, I think really my own, like I love the flavors. My only real feedback is just the, the cherry and the strawberry, they look too similar on shelf, right? And I think, right, and, and I think when it comes to brand blocking, the aesthetic is beautiful, the style, the flavor is good, um, and it, we need more whiskey RTD drinks, frankly, we do.

Ray Latif [51:16] Yes, thank you. Uh, Taylor, Mike and Janelle talked about Pony Boy as a new way to drink whiskey. Um, they perhaps introduced whiskey to consumers who aren't familiar with it. Um, you know, what do you think of that proposition? Can I just say I like really enjoyed everything that I tried. I thought it was, and I love your outfits too, um. It's just on a roll with the outfits today. Um, no, I thought it was, I, I'll answer your question. I think, um, I think, yeah, I think also just like integrating also women into more continually more women into the, the, the brown spirit and bourbon occasion and whiskey occasion, I think is. It is great and you're doing it in a way that's just not like you're forced women, you, you should have bourbon because it's like, why does it have to be like female-focused? It, it doesn't. It could just be like good flavors and, and, and, and have someone who's one of the co-founders be a woman, um, and it's just kind of like. Be in the forefront of it. Um, I think everything was absolutely delicious. I had the same, we had the same feedback on the cans, like maybe there's some more differentiation, but, um, I think leaning into just you two too, I think you're just super vibrant people. You have really interesting backgrounds and um. Yeah, I, I, I, I think the space for the product, but also just like expanding who's drinking bourbon and then also not only who's drinking bourbon, like what are you drinking when it comes to bourbon. I think you're kind of, you know, blowing some minds there with what's what's out there, and I think you've created a really unique white space that I personally haven't seen yet, so. Thank you so much, and I drink like Stewart's root beer every day of my life, I love it. I appreciate that. Yeah, thank you, Grace. We heard good feedback from the tailors about the taste. What do you think about the liquid and the balance that you might have gotten from it?

Speaker 2 [52:54] I don't even like cream soda or cherry Coke, and I loved both of them. I thought they were perfect, and

Ray Latif [53:00] it is

Speaker 2 [53:01] really rare

Ray Latif [53:01] that

Speaker 2 [53:02] I say that.

Ray Latif [53:02] Oh my gosh, I've got some fans on the stage. Yes, I love it.

Speaker 2 [53:07] Yeah, I think you guys can really go, um, so far and so fun with this, and you just really, really killed it with the formulation. So, um, hats off. That means a lot. I have, I'm going to end on this. Um, I told my husband that I'd figure out some way to say that, um, I found a patio smasher,

Ray Latif [53:26] and that that was it. The next name. Well done, well done. All right. Up next we have Kelsey Trevithan who is the co-founder of TI Spiked. Kelsey, come on up. How are you? Yep, you can grab that, any microphone, and please just keep an eye on your timer.

Speaker 3 [53:59] Hi everyone, and thank you so much for having us. It was just last year I was sitting in a much smaller room than this, but taking aggressive notes with the hopes of being up here this year. So I'm super excited and honored to be amongst these other competitors. So what is TI Spiked? We are a spirit-based canned cocktail brand on a mission to deliver bar quality cocktails that deliver summer vibes all year long. You're probably wondering who is Tiff. Tiff is my mom, and although she couldn't be here with us today, she's the reason we're all here today. About a decade ago, she came home from a tropical vacation and was trying to recreate a drink she had had and ended up concocting something that became a household staple that friends and family beg for the second they walk in the door. She keeps it in those plastic lemonade pitchers in the fridge to this day. And pours them every single day. So after, fast forward a few years ago, we sat down as a family and decided, why don't we give this a shot? Worst case, we'll have a ton of drinks that we know we will drink with our friends and family. Cue the birth of TI Spiked. We launched last August with one flavor, and the following March added 3 additional for a current lineup of 4 skews. So our team, we're a family-run team, which I, it, I recommend with a lot of therapy, but it has been fun. Um, Tiff leads up all of our flavor creation. She creates all of our skews at home herself and then works with our flavor house closely to match them as close as possible. Myself with a background in corporate tech, I left my job of about 8 years to come run the business full time, and my dad, Kelly, who helps part-time with sales. So why did we take this giant leap into the crazy world of beverage? We saw a huge opportunity outside of not only what we thought was an amazing drink. There are an abundance of malt and wine-based cocktails, claiming that they're real cocktails. They don't taste very good, and there are a ton of renditions of classic cocktails. That's where we come in. All of our drinks are made with real spirits ranging from 8 to 12% ABV. Tiff loves a strong ass drink, and that was a non-negotiable for her. She wanted this to be higher. We also pride ourselves on our taste. We've won 9 award competitions so far to date, and that was something we weren't willing to compromise. We also knew we wanted innovative flavors that you couldn't find anywhere else and really pride ourselves on. Unique flavor combinations that we like to call transportive. A lot of people take a sip and it's always, it reminds me of a beach I've been to or a vacation I've been on, and we really wanted each sip of our cocktails to remind people of those vacation summer vibes. So here's our current lineup of products. We have 4 skews. Our flagship flavor, which we started with, is the lemonade. It is a combo of vodka and rum with lemon, coconut, and acai. It's really unlike anything I've ever tasted. My personal favorite is our spicy margarita, which is tequila imported from Mexico with jalapeno and passion fruit. Our rum punch, which is rum, strawberry, pineapple, and then our vodka cooler, which is our only one at an 8% ABV for those that want something a little lighter with vodka, cucumber, honeydew, and lime. Um, our SRP right now is between 599 to 799, but we find that our customers are willing to pay a premium price for a more premium product. We're also gluten-free and use no preservatives, and then here's a few of our competitions that we've won to date. So we, although this market is super daunting, we did see a huge opportunity, especially in the cocktail category, which is rapidly growing, as you all know, um, but research has shown that consumers are actively searching for spirit-based cocktails. They're willing to pay double for them. They find them to be more premium than others, and a bonus for Instagrammable packaging, which we're super proud of the packaging we've put together, and it really does pop on shelves. So who is our customer? Honestly, anyone looking for a really great tasting drink, we find those people to be kind of the the millennials and beyond, whether they're packing a drink for a picnic or hosting a dinner party at their house or someone that's just looking for a new emerging exciting brand to tell their friends about. You can see some of our exciting accounts that we've gotten in the past year below. Since launching last August, we really wanted to focus on winning our backyard. We are a born and raised California family. Our product is canned in Ventura, California, so we focused the past year on events, um, throughout the state. We've brought on two small California distributors and our goal for the next 6 to 12 months is to bring on statewide distribution before growing outside of the state. These are a few more events that we've done in the past year.

Ray Latif [59:10] There you go, slide over here. And if you come over here, the judges, there we go. All right. uh, Taylor Foxman, let's start with you. Um, I'm curious as to your thoughts on the name and the branding of TI Spike. I, I didn't know that if it was on the back. I'm sorry if it was on there. Um, I would pull that to the forefront. Um, I'm not like a branding expert, but I think it's a really cute story. Um, I don't even know what my, my mom's would be like watered down Chardonnay, so I don't really know what that would be called. It's like in Germany, what is it, the Shula, Shula, whatever it is the watered down wine. Um, anyway, I like the story. I don't know if I necessarily like knew the connection to it, so maybe like a QR code that is like a photo of your mom or something funny could be really cute. Um, it's her call, um. But I also, I love the, um, I love the design of the front and the package. I think that the matte is, I don't know what the feeling and the texture was. I thought it was really cool. It added a little bit of a premium vibe to it. Um, I love the designs. We all kind of agreed, we love the illustrations. We thought they were really cool. The only thing I'll say is like, maybe there is some to associate like your mom or some form of like the family into the, the can design because again going back to like just how competitive it is right now, like any type of thing that we could pull out that is like unique and ownable specifically to you. Um, could be worthwhile to help move it forward. So I just think that that lean in on the mom in whatever way, shape or form could be, yeah,

Speaker 3 [1:00:31] that's great feedback, and I find all the events we do, people are so excited to find out that Tiff is my mom and she's like the face behind it. So that's something

Ray Latif [1:00:39] great. Yeah, yeah, I assume a lot of people call you Tiff.

Speaker 3 [1:00:42] Yeah, that's like their first question. Are you Tiff? And I'm like, I, I, the joke is I need a name tag or a sweatshirt that says Tiff's daughter, and then Kelly needs one that says Tiff's husband.

Ray Latif [1:00:52] Uh, Grace, I think we tried 3 skews of work. Do you have any favorites, and you know, what do you think of all of them?

Speaker 2 [1:01:00] Well, one thing that I am surprised about was from the packaging and I also really, really love the packaging, but I expected it to be a little bit more straightforward tasting. I didn't really Understand the concept between these are sort of like created on a vacation and supposed to be really tropically. Obviously, there was one that did have the coconut direction to them, but I kind of wanted all of them to be a little bit more. Like opening at a tropical vacation, so I felt like a little bit more passion fruit or something like that would have been really good. Um, I, I know there was acai in one of them, but I didn't really notice it, so I just feel like there could have been a little bit more of a connection between the tropical vacation or I'm seeing even the surf writer part of it on the screen that didn't quite resonate to the packaging, which I thought was going to taste a little bit more like a spikes spin drift or something along those lines. And then um I can't remember whether or not there was a call out on the sugar in the back of it, but I kind of expected it to be more of a seltzer, and I do think that there was some sugar in it, so a little bit of an explanation on that.

Speaker 3 [1:02:01] So we're definitely. Oh, not seltzer. We're going towards an actual canned cocktail, so the sugar is not low. Um, when people ask, we say we're kind of in line with a restaurant cocktail. So if you're ordering a margarita at a restaurant and you're not worried about the sugar, it's about there,

Speaker 2 [1:02:16] which I totally agree. I just think there's something the clean line of the packaging makes you give, gives you the idea that it might be a seltzer. OK, and that was my, my only sort of surprise

Ray Latif [1:02:26] when I started drinking

Speaker 2 [1:02:27] them.

Ray Latif [1:02:27] They

Speaker 2 [1:02:27] were

Ray Latif [1:02:27] delicious though.

Speaker 2 [1:02:28] Thank you.

Ray Latif [1:02:29] And Taylor, um, you know, what do you think of that opportunity for spiked lemonade, spiked punches within this growing set of canned cocktails?

Speaker 2 [1:02:37] Yeah, hi, nice to put a face. Um, well, I think, uh, that, that is a booming area for sure that we're looking into on our shelves, and, um, it's already iterating on itself a lot. So I feel when, when I first tried your that was a couple of years ago, um. I think it's you, you've now caught up to what the trend is like it's a very flavorful cocktail, and I think the packaging, as Grace was saying, like kind of doesn't say that. And I think what I do like is the new flavor, the spicy Marg that came out, has like flair to it, like a little bit more going on with the packaging, kind of a little bit more with the text, like to kind of block that with all of them and kind of give a vibe of like what you're getting into because there, there's a lot, right? There's a lot of flavor, there's a lot of um The, the ABV is pretty high and um I think there's an opportunity to really like sell that story and as Taylor said as well like, like that's a cool story, like let's, let's hear more and, and I think um on the front of the packaging it's, you know, the, the, it's so clean and maybe a little sterile that like customers may wonder like oh it's like a, it's a vodka, it's a vodka soda. Um, but it's not, it's not, and I think it's that flavor, that category is elevating quickly in the space of cocktails, and so you're there now, and I think the packaging could reflect it.

Ray Latif [1:03:56] I think also one more thing, just like leaning into the mom thing is also like you could expand the demographic as to maybe potentially additional drinkers that would be interested in trying it because like there is a demo that drinks like RTDs, but like if Tiff becomes more prominent in your story, like she could tap, you know, like the golden, what is it, the Golden Bachelor? I don't know. I don't know how old your mom is, but I just mean like there's massive demos of people that still drink, so like, maybe she could tap a whole different demographic too. So just again, leaning into her could also unlock. Maybe even a broader range of,

Speaker 3 [1:04:26] OK, yeah, we find that not only my because I'm the millennial kind of of our team, but those kind of older generations are pouring these at home over ice like for a dinner party, so tapping into that for sure. ABV, yeah, high ABV drink. They don't have to make it and get all the things to make it and tastes like a craft cocktail at home. No

Ray Latif [1:04:45] watered down Chardonnay. No watered down Chardonnay. Kelsey, well done. Thank

Speaker 2 [1:04:48] you. Thank you.

Ray Latif [1:04:55] All right, up next we have Yoni Schwartz, who is the president of Fresh Fiz. Yoni, come on up. Good to see you. You know how to do this. The button right here. There you go, and keep an eye on your timer, please.

Speaker 2 [1:05:10] Hi everybody, uh, good afternoon. Thank you, Ray. Thank you to Bevnet. Uh, I'm Yoni Schwartz, the, uh, founder of Fresh Fizz Sodas, and I'm here to talk about our new line of, uh, RTD cocktails, uh, cocktail sodas, spirit of Fizz cocktail sodas. So, um, these are pre-market. We haven't launched these yet, uh, in stores yet, um, but we, uh, we do have at least one fan. Uh, John was pretty excited about them, so we're excited too. Um, so like I said, our, our parent brand is, is Fresh Fizz Sodas, which is a line of organic sodas. Um, we make these, um, all the products in our own facility in, in Long Island, New York, and, um, the, uh, which is also licensed as a, as a distillery, and the kind of shared, uh, philosophy between the two, brands is that, you know, we only use real food ingredients, we don't use any, um, extracts, flavors, um. Anything like that, we only use juices, spices, herbs, and we sweeten only with honey and and date syrup. We don't use cane sugar. We don't use sugar substitutes and processed sugar, and also we like to have a little fun with the with the flavors. So on the soda side we have a mint flavor, we have a jalapeno flavor, and you'll see with the uh with the cocktails we have some interesting flavors as well. We call these cocktail sodas. I threw up a bunch of examples of what I think also fits into this kind of category. I don't know if it's an official category of cocktail sodas, but I think of it as relatively low ABV, 5 to 7%. Ours are 6%, carbonated cocktails that, you know, kind of have the same use occasion as a hard seltzer but are more premium. More cocktail inspired, um, spirit-based. So that's, I think where we fit in, uh, category wise. So we have 4 varieties right now. We have the monkey's uncle, which is a mezcal banana combination with coffee and cacao. If you haven't had those particular flavors together, you can go to the back and try it. I think, I think you should, you should do that. Next we have the Bittersweet Symphony, which is a strawberry negroni soda. So we make all the components of this in-house. Negroni typically is gin, vermouth, and Campari. So we actually compound our own gin. We bring in bulk wine and doctor it up to make vermouth, and we also make a strawberry aperitivo as a stand-in for the Campari. Next we have Drink Your Veggies, which is a celery, gin and tonic. Flavor wise it's similar to a Dr. Brown's celery soda if you've ever had that, but in a cocktail version. Finally we have the Winter Wonderland, which is a gingerbread mule, a riff on a on a Moscow mule, which would be ginger, ginger beer and vodka. So this is That with the addition of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice to give it a gingerbread flavor, and that one's sweetened with date syrup which has a very nice kind of caramel tone to it. Um, I'm, I'm going to take a couple of seconds here because we are pre-market. I've, uh, I've been in the business long enough to know that distribution is, is more than half the battle. So if anyone is in the distribution business, can hook me up, uh, we can talk about that later.

Ray Latif [1:08:37] Ask for what you want. It's great.

Speaker 2 [1:08:41] Um, that's really it. I,

Ray Latif [1:08:42] uh,

Speaker 2 [1:08:43] thank

Ray Latif [1:08:43] you

Speaker 2 [1:08:44] again, and I'm very curious to hear your feedback. Thank you.

Ray Latif [1:08:51] OK, slide over here. Thank you. That is definitely the first time we've had Bernie Sanders on stage here at Bevnet Live, but I like it. So Grace, let's start with you. Um, you know, pretty adventurous flavors as we can see on the cans. Uh, what, you know, what were your thoughts on the three flavors that you tried?

Speaker 2 [1:09:09] They were very adventurous.

Ray Latif [1:09:11] It

Speaker 2 [1:09:11] was a little shocking, I think, um, I. I had not actually read the entire part of the Drink your Veggies until I drank it, and I was expecting a gin and tonic, and it was definitely a little bit more like a V8. Um, but really, really interesting. I think the packaging is so fun that I just couldn't kind of get over that monkey. Uh, whoever's doing this, um, I know you're not completely finished with it, but I just It's really fun and you want to pick them up just because of how they are. Yeah, well, I just mostly, I, I, I think that the illustrations are so amazing, but I, I just felt almost like the, the labels were going to fall off. So I'm not sure if they're the final ones, but they're so, they're so fun and also I think that you're really Hitting a sweet spot with the with the mezcal direction. Everybody, that's sort of the really, really hot thing and the negroni. So I think you're really, really spot on with a lot of these directions. Um, I felt, I felt like they were maybe a little too esoteric tasting. I wanted them to be a little bit more mainstream, yeah, and that would be my, you know, I, you're doing some really, really interesting things. So you want to be just, you know, another. Thing that everybody else is doing, but yeah, you could go too far. Yeah, I think, I think they could just gently nudge into the mainstream a little bit more, but with keeping these really interesting esoteric flavors as well. Thank you.

Ray Latif [1:10:38] One quick note, please keep it down if you can in the back. We're almost done. Thank you very much. For those who are shushing. Taylor Ketala, you know, I'm not going to say hard sodas because you got mad when I said hard sodas last time, but cocktail sodas is on these cans. You know, what do you think of that opportunity?

Speaker 2 [1:10:56] I think that's fine. That's kind of fun. It's like it's approaching a new subcategory. It's getting very diverse and Um, I think it's the, the, the hard cola per se is, is the tricky one, but I think, I think you have a play here with, with some of the flavors. I think the strawberry Negroni soda had some potential like really unique, um, but again, the, the flavors like dial it back a little bit, they're pretty intense, and I think you're, you're on to something cool, like really unique and different, um. I'm curious, the final, like let's say the final say on what the packaging is going to be. Are you expecting wrap or PacTech? It would be. Uh, like carton wise, um, probably start with PacTech, but then go to, to carton, yeah, because the, the, the, the designs are super cool, and so the idea I'm thinking if it's like a wrap, you have like a singular image on a shelf, um, with PacTech, just be aware like it can get kind of busy when there's duplicate cans, um, so like, it's a lot of pictures, right, um, but again, the flavors are you're onto something banana and mezcal is super unique. Uh, I think if you just do part of that recipe like you got like a winner for sure. Thank you.

Ray Latif [1:12:11] And Taylor, you know, we've seen Coke leverage their soda brands to get into the alcohol business. I mean, does that mean that Yoni's on the right track? Well, first, people have been talking about your sodas. I've tried it. I love the sodas. So first and foremost, and congrats on what you've done previously too. I mean, it's a testament to now like you're able to do something very well and now kind of expand and evolve your business first and foremost, and congrats on that. Um, what was your question? It was very complicated and complex. Sorry, I asked two complicated questions. you know, we've seen Coca-Cola leverage some of their soda brands to get into this beverage alcohol space. I mean, does that mean that Yoni is on the right track? Oh sorry, yeah, yeah, I think definitely for sure, and I think what you've done is really interesting, I think. I think everyone's saying the same thing like you're the packaging is nothing like I've ever seen before and actually the just the kind of the combination of what you're looking to do here. I, we also said the same thing, like super unique, absolutely innovative in terms of like the combination. I think um just the flavor profile, I think needs just a little bit more work. I agree. But, but you're, you know, you'll have kind of that audience that you've already had that really likes your core product, and I think they'll be converted with, with the alcohol brand. And then I think I even, we were talking downstairs like I think some of this is very reminiscent even of like the craft beer movement and like, you know, like just grabbing it because it's interesting and it looks cool on the shelf and the product and then the flavor profile. So I think you're crossing the same thing. You're like you're right there. I think it's really, really, really cool. Thank you. All right, well done. Thank you very much. All right, we're down to our final presenter for the cocktail showdown. It's Michael Baruch, who is the founder of Bottle Service. Come on up. Hello. You can take any clicker, any microphone, and please just keep an eye on your timer.

Speaker 2 [1:14:12] OK. Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for being here. I'd like to thank Bevnet and Caroline Craven as well as Grace. And uh uh I'm gonna forget the name. We go by the Taylor. You have the same name, Taylor, Taylor Taylor. Thank you for being with us today. Uh, bottle service started with a simple question. Nathan Oliver, whose signatures on all of our bottles, he was a bartender of 13 years here in Los Angeles, came to me and said, Why can't I get a drink in a bottle as good as I make in my bars? And I was like, I hope you can answer that better than I, and he couldn't. And at the time there was only Mike's Hard Liquor, Smirnoff Ice, and Skinny Girl in the marketplace. And so he was right. There wasn't very many good products in the market. And so we sent Nate out to Kentucky to work on exactly what he suggested bar quality cocktails that had using bar, bar ingredients and that had no additives, preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors. While he worked on the cocktails, I worked on the packaging. And a year later, bottle service was born and we hit the mark that we asked for. All of our products are bar quality. We use ingredients from behind the bar like Carpano Antica sweet vermouth in our Manhattan in our negroni. We use Campari in our negroni. We use Loosow brandy, Park cognac. We use Dolan Dry vermouth in our martini. None of them have additives, preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, and all ended up being gluten-free as well. So. With that in mind and with our packaging, we also feel like we cater to two very different audiences. One is a more mature, sophisticated adult who harks back to the 60s classics and is looking to have a nightcap or an after dinner drink. But we also feel we reach the younger audience of millennials and Gen Zers who like small batch artisan and craft. And both of these groups care about quality, and they're both willing to spend a little bit more to get it. But we were also Concerned about consumers not being educated about a quality cocktail in a bottle at the time, so we looked for alternative platforms and we landed on the travel industry. We saw hundreds of millions of people on planes, on trains, on ships, as well as in rooms that had minibars. And so these were people who were captive but didn't have the opportunity to make a cocktail. They didn't have the ingredients, the tools, the time, the energy, or even the know-how. So we felt that convenience could help us overcome the trust issue and lo and behold, we did extremely well. We got into a myriad of hotels including all the Four Seasons. American Airlines came to us and we became their bar program and their bartender list first in business class lounges. Uh, we then started getting into concessions where there was a quick turnaround time, consistent taste, fixed cost to your bottom dollar, and we got into Madison Square Garden, the Met, the Guggenheim, Radio City Music Hall, the Barclays Arena, and then COVID came. And everything we built went to 0. But we got lucky that 6 months prior to COVID, we started our retail footprint and we got into a bunch of independent retail stores and we also got into our first supermarket chain which was Bristol Farms. In addition, 6 months prior, we started our own direct to consumer platform. And that kept us afloat because during COVID our retail spiked 1,000%, which allowed us to continue. But we had to ask ourselves after that, who are we? 1500 to 2000 new entrants came into the marketplace, from the cans to the spirit bases. And so who is bottle service today? Well, we landed right back to where we started from, which is the highest quality product in the market. We truly believe that. Through the ingredients we use in the taste, as well as Nate's profiles and his recipes, we have the most perfectly balanced cocktails in a bottle. And so that is who we are today. We believe retailers need to consider. That RTDs are here to stay. And that there are 3 consumers to consider price conscious, value conscious, and quality conscious. And we, we trust that they're going to approach it the same way they approach the beer, the wine, and other spirits, which is have products that cater to each of these groups. You have Kettle one and, and Absolute, but you also have Belvedere and And gray goose, you have a Casa Amigos, but you also have 1942 and Casa Azul. So we feel that the same is true about RTDs. You should have products that cater to these consumers and if you are serious about quality conscious products, we believe bottle service is the best solution. We have 10 different cocktails as well, going over categories of vodka, tequila, whiskey, gin, rum, brandy, and cognac. For all those reasons, we're here today and we appreciate your time and your consideration.

Ray Latif [1:19:24] Give this back to you, Michael. There you go. Thank you. Slide over here to where that X is. There we go. Perfect. Um, Taylor Michael outline price, value, and quality consumers. Um, do you see quality given that bottle services in this space? Do you see quality as having a pretty significant runway in comparison to the other two,

Speaker 2 [1:19:42] um. Nice to meet you in person. Yes,

Ray Latif [1:19:46] a reoccurring theme here.

Speaker 2 [1:19:48] Uh, well, yeah, so, um, RTS, like something that you can serve a couple of times, but screw it back on, um, the, the quality is elevating really fast and I think sometimes the customer doesn't necessarily see that like that price point, you know, and so I think there's an opportunity to really um show the quality, um, I, I think it's all categories are kind of booming and I'm with you. RTD is here to stay like for sure, um, and I think you. You have really great products. I love the flavors. We got a set of 4 to taste through, and I think there is a case to be made about the SKU assortment and the brand blocking, and I know you have 10 flavors. That's that's awesome. I think if you're maybe you're curating exactly what you pitched to retail, but that, that's a lot, right? RTD is here, but it's still challenging to carve that space in and sometimes it's like really pushing through with like three winners like that can be like that can do a lot to really like build the brand, push the quality, and have it be something that a customer like understands and recognizes, and then you can kind of like innovate and then innovate year after year. That's really my only feedback. The flavors and the balance is like super on point, um. Took me a minute to understand that says bottle service, not gonna lie. Fair enough, uh, but, but yeah, other than that, like I, I really did like the flavors. Uh, quickly to your points. One, our new logo does say crafted cocktails underneath it, so thank you. Uh, but yeah, I agree with you. I think that we are, uh, curating the flavors that go into each retailer. We don't intend to or always launch with all 10 of them. Some retailers pick them all up. We also have 375 in addition to 100, so it's a multi-pour, so you can taste one and then build into the next, and it's a value proposition, so it's cheaper per cocktail. Uh, but, uh, you know, we, we feel that you should start with at least 4, which is a vodka, tequila, whiskey, and a gin, and maybe if you wanted to add one of the other spirit bases, but that way you're catering to each of those main spirits. But I agree with you, and we didn't intend to keep all 10, but our sales average from 8% to 12% of total sales between all amongst all 10. So we thought we'd have a dog or two, but at the end of the day there wasn't really a dog. They really were different interests out there, so we kept them.

Ray Latif [1:22:21] Taylor, can I ask you for your thoughts on bottle services success in getting into hotels, airlines, and event spaces, and how much, whether or not that gives you confidence that it could succeed even greater at retail? Yeah, I think it's a really good start and like even I went to like a super nice restaurant in Chicago a few weeks ago and like literally complimentary they came over and they poured. A cocktail, like, I don't know, I think it was like Belvedere or something like that. Like I could see a really, really cool play, like kind of an elevated liquid to lips opportunity where you go to some of the nicer restaurants and like they offer you this in like an RTD format. I think that could be a really cool play for you.

Speaker 2 [1:22:56] Thank you. We're actually doing that at Zero Bond in New York. There's a, I live right next door. I will go tables and because they don't have the bar. They can serve you one of our cocktails at the table rather than you having to call for the drink or ask for it. So

Ray Latif [1:23:09] yeah, I think, I think there's a lot. And then just, yeah, I mean I think that that's obviously like a great initial kind of proof of concept with the places you've already and we were talking about that we see that's your play is like the hospitality groups, the higher end restaurants, stuff like that. Um, the only bit of feedback would be I love the signature. I think we all really like the signature. It kind of reminds me of like a really cool bottle of bourbon or whiskey or anything like that. I would just put something on there to show who that person is because we didn't know who this was,

Speaker 2 [1:23:33] right? We do that on the website.

Ray Latif [1:23:35] Yeah, but on the bottle it's like someone doesn't

Speaker 2 [1:23:36] label is just not large enough

Ray Latif [1:23:39] unfortunately just just even like something small, yeah, so that we knew he or she was of some prominence if there's a signature on there and I like that. I don't really see that often on the RTD side pretty much ever, um, but just putting a little bit of like a recognition of why that person matters and why you get in that space, yeah, would be worthwhile. Grace, you get the last word for the judging panel.

Speaker 2 [1:23:59] I thought they were really, really good. Uh, the spicy maid, which I didn't totally understand the connotation. It was delicious, so I think it was one of the favorite things that I tried all day. And my only suggestion was that the cosmo tasted a lot like raspberry, and I wished it would have said something like a raspberry Cosmo or something like that because it was delicious, but I love raspberry and it didn't taste like a Cosmo. Thank you. Well, it was the 1934 Cosmo, which is what it's called, is the original recipe, had raspberry and not cranberry, OK, and so all of our cocktails stayed true to the original recipes, and we didn't deviate because we wanted to stay down the lane. And so

Ray Latif [1:24:39] that's

Speaker 2 [1:24:39] why it's raspberry, but that's

Ray Latif [1:24:41] a good point.

Speaker 2 [1:24:41] People are used

Ray Latif [1:24:42] to

Speaker 2 [1:24:42] having cranberry.

Ray Latif [1:24:43] It was delicious, so

Speaker 2 [1:24:45] nothing about the

Ray Latif [1:24:45] liquid, yeah,

Speaker 2 [1:24:47] it

Ray Latif [1:24:47] was just

Speaker 2 [1:24:47] a

Ray Latif [1:24:47] little

Speaker 2 [1:24:47] surprising so much. They

Ray Latif [1:24:48] were, they were really, really

Speaker 2 [1:24:49] great. Thank you.

Ray Latif [1:24:51] Well done, Michael. Thank you. Appreciate it. Oh wow, uh, 8 amazing brands, 8 amazing presentations. I'm really, really excited for the future of this category. Um, congratulations to everyone who presented today, just fantastic stuff. The judges have a tough decision to make, but one they will make, and we're going to return here on stage, well, let's call it 5:45 if you can all be back in the room to find out who's going to win BevNet Live winter 2023's cocktail showdown. Before we do that, I do want to say thank you so much to the judges who did an amazing job. Really, really appreciate all the great feedback. And also the Taylor Foxton who's been on stage for about 99, 100 minutes in the blinding light here. Well done, Taylor. Thank you so much. Thank you, Taylor. All right, those watching at home on the live stream, 5:45, there's those here at Bebe Live, 5:45 be back here in this room. Thank you.