BevNET's Cocktail Showdown 2 - Black Yeti

Speaker 1 [00:03] Uh, next up for the showdown is Eric Truhart and Samantha Franklin of Black Yeti Beverage. Come on up. Thank you. Hi there. I think I have your product. Does this work? Yes. OK. Greetings, Earthlings, friends, Bev Netters, everyone in between. I'm, uh, Eric Truhart, animation writer, comedy writer, and producer of the Army of Drunks Cocktail podcast.

Samantha Franklin [00:26] Hi there, I'm Samantha Franklin, former pro punk bassist gone psychopharmacology grad student.

Speaker 1 [00:32] We're incredibly honored to be here among so many, uh, accomplished drinks makers, and we are Black Kitty Beverage, a brand new indie and award winning, uh, company local to Southern California, and we have just launched Grizzly's Cosmic Black, first in a line of 2 year aged high rye bourbon and gourmet cola RTD cocktails.

Samantha Franklin [00:53] We imagineered our creation during the 2020 pandemic lockdown. The idea was to combine our love of craft cola, high quality bourbon, and psychedelic pop art. Our greatest hope was to bring some much needed joy and transcendent fun to our currently healing world. So what are we?

Speaker 1 [01:12] What are we? Uh, we are an elevated bourbon and cola experience with tasting notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, toasted marshmallow, and a pinch of heat compliments of a flavorless chili oil. We use a premium high rye bourbon and we are a zero sugar added cocktail clocking in at 120 calories per can with a 6% ABV and a retail price of 1,599 cents per 4 pack.

Samantha Franklin [01:36] As you may have noticed, we are a Space Yeti themed company, and our packaging with its proud, fluffy whiskey bearing mascot exists at the nexus of sci-fi and rock and roll. Our box is an all Pantone black light reactive matte and high spot gloss piece of total eye candy. The can is a standalone piece of art and the perfect Instagram ready cosmic accessory. We have a deep appreciation for the interplay of spirits and art, and we strive to reflect that throughout our brand.

Speaker 1 [02:05] Tiger. So why bring this to market? There is currently a whiskey and cola shaped hole in the RTV RTD2 marketplace. Lovers of margaritas and mules have dozens of options, but there's not really an elevated whiskey and cola RTVD. There are just a few big cne brands. Also, if the popularity of hard seltzer has taught us anything, it's that there is a demand for lower calorie, no sugar added beverages, and finally, we created it because it's fun. Um, we're a couple of arty weirdos and this is the fruit of our pandemic stir crazy, so come partake of our fruit. Airport.

Samantha Franklin [02:50] So in addition to our fruit and that airport, big picture, what is the appeal? We're an interesting dichotomy of creature comfort, familiarity and decadent indulgence. It's a cola, but the complex flavor profile makes it appealing to epicureans. It's a cocktail, but the ABV means a drink. Drinks like a beer, it's counterculture and offbeat while also being friendly and approachable. When you looked at our artwork, were you thinking the Muppets, Star Trek Tribbles, Bootsy Collins perhaps because we were thinking all of these things and these are very happy thoughts indeed. So Eric, what's up to bat next?

Speaker 1 [03:26] Well, Samantha. Um, we are proudly a line of just bourbon and cola drinks. So upcoming skews include Cosmic Bliss, a toasted marshmallow flavored cola, Cosmic Blood, a blood orange flavored cola, as well as some sassy seasonal skews. Corporate headquarters. So success and beyond, uh, we've only been on the marketplace for 5 months. We have not yet pursued a major distributor in favor of hitting the streets dressed as Men in Black carrying a furry briefcase, and so far it's worked. Uh, we've partnered with the Rayley's Market chain. We're also in select Total Wine locations. Uh, we're going to be partnering with Taproom.com as a flagship RTD for them. Uh, and you can currently order us online via e-commerce across most of the US. Uh, we've also won awards at the 2021 Cannes Challenge and the Proof Awards.

Samantha Franklin [04:17] So far we've been conquering our home market of SoCal with an effective punk rock DIY guerrilla approach to sales acceleration and brand positioning. We're a happy, easygoing, grateful company, and we want Grizzly's Cosmic to be a source of fun and success for all involved.

Speaker 1 [04:33] So in conclusion, what makes us special? No one has approached the whiskey and cola RTD from a craft cola perspective, and that's where we really differentiate ourselves. real age bourbon and insanely good cola. Grizzly's Cosmic Black is a whole new creature on the market, the only arty artisanal bourbon and cola line brought to Earth by transdimensional space yetis, and we stand by that. Roll the video. How do you end it so perfectly so that the video ended right as soon as it hit 000 on there? I have no idea. That was impressive. I really thought I, I was like, well, we can't gong a video, so they, that was a good move actually, um. So, out there, but friendly and approachable, uh, Sebastian, I mean, what do you think of that approach to this, uh, this emerging category? I mean, It is kitschy, as some might say, but it's also really interesting. Yeah,

Speaker 3 [05:53] first of all, trying to be funny on stage in front of a comedy writer that's, I didn't, didn't see that coming. So, well, well done, great presentation, and, and I, I love, I mean, you know, I love the colorful and I love the, the story behind it. Ultimately, we are all investing in a brand at the end of the day. So brand is important, story is important. I mean, the question is always, you wanna make sure that people still understand they're drinking a bourbon cola, right? I mean, you, you need to be careful not to push it too far in one direction, but I, I really, I really like that, that piece of it. Um, my, my question to you is, did you actually craft a cola first, uh, or what were you, do you try to add, you know, use flavors and, and, you know, like sweeteners in order to complement the bourbon, or was it the other way around? Like, like how did you approach that, that formulation? Well,

Samantha Franklin [06:36] for starters, we're the beneficiaries of living in proximity to an amazing old time E. cola shop where every single. Craft cola that you could possibly imagine is curated and they even have a make your own cola bar. So that's kind of fundamental. That's sort of a fun hobby that Eric and I engaged in. And so we took that and we brought that to the home kitchen where Eric made lots of cool

Speaker 1 [06:58] tinctures. Yeah, we made tinctures. We made nutmeg, we made hard peppercorn, black peppercorn. We made cinnamon and we sat. And we experimented with that at the same time we tracked down bourbons that we liked and we experimented with those. So it was basically a kitchen operation to craft that cola and then marry it with the bourbon. I, I

Speaker 3 [07:17] would even use that story more because, you know, the question is, do you come from a bourbon side and add a cola or do you come from the cola side and then the bourbon? And since you have that great story, I would add that more and the product is really good. Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 1 [07:28] Story is important, so is the taste. Saeed, um, does this fit the bill in terms of this, uh, classic pairing?

Speaker 4 [07:34] Uh, well, just to go back to this packaging, I like loud things, obviously, so this was really dope, um. Uh, but as far as taste goes, yes, uh, I do, I did appreciate the kind of craft cola vibe that you guys are going for. The one note that I wanted from it or like that I wanted more of is just more carbonation. I just wanted more carbonation because I feel like when I put this drinking out of the can and then letting it sit for, you know, 5 minutes, I was like, I go back for it and it wasn't as carbonated as I want it to be, um. That was just like my only kind of note, but other than that, taste was amazing for it being a, you know, homemade

Speaker 1 [08:15] cola. Thank you. We'll, we'll note the bubbles. Tiffany, what do you think about this in terms of, uh, retail and distribution? They're in Raley's right now. Um, how far can this brand go at retail?

Speaker 5 [08:27] Uh, the packaging has to be adjusted to be a little bit more retail friendly on, uh, just take a look at it. You have to have some, some obvious things that aren't quite there yet. I can, I can tell, um, to discuss that later if you're interested, but, uh, the cola, it has sugar in it, so the cola doesn't have any sweetener in it.

Speaker 1 [08:50] No sugar. It has, uh, artificial sweetener, but no sugar.

Speaker 5 [08:54] So, careful when you're talking to the retailers and you say zero sugar, but you have an artificial sweetener in there. It's just a tricky spot right now and people are super in tune with it, and you don't want to look inauthentic or that you're not being fully transparent. Just a little hint and, and it tastes fantastic. So I don't, I don't want to take away from its taste. Just be careful that you're authentically. Really communicating what's going on.

Speaker 1 [09:17] Thank you. We say no sugar added. We try to be careful about that language, but thank you. Carefully,

Samantha Franklin [09:22] we do prominently our ingredients. We're a very forthright company. We don't want to hide anything. We're, we're a happy food product, not a health food product. yeah.

Speaker 1 [09:31] Good. Carlton, you get the last word. What are your thoughts on the presentation of the brand? Nothing to add. These guys did a great job. Like the very well

Speaker 5 [09:39] done and a little bit more carbonation. I think the product's almost there.

Speaker 1 [09:44] Thank you very much. Great stuff. Thanks so much.