Brewbound Pitch Slam 12: Finals

Ray Latif [00:08] Hey, folks, I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Bevnet's Taste Radio podcast, the #1 podcast for the food and beverage industry. I'm also the host of Brewbound's Pitch Slam 12 competition, which is presented by Brewers Collective, the craft business unit of Anheuser-Busch. The Brewbound Pitch Lam is a one of a kind business pitch competition that gives entrepreneurs behind the beer industry's next breakout brands an opportunity to sample their innovative products and showcase their business plans to a panel of expert judges and the audience watching at home on our video stream. 6 brands for our semifinal round, which was held earlier this week, have moved on to today's final round, and let's talk about the rules for this round. Today's contestants will have 5 minutes to deliver their pitches. Our judging panel will have 5 minutes to deliver feedback and provide and ask questions. Once all the finalists have presented, the judges will convene and pick a winner. We'll announce that winner approximately 30 minutes after the end of the round. The winning brewery will receive a $10,000 digital advertising package on Brewbound.com. Additionally, Brewers Collective will provide the winner with multiple opportunities to connect with craft founders as well as industry veterans and specialists across different functions. A gaining access to invaluable insights and state of the art resources to support their growth, they'll also receive lab testing and quality assurance support through ElevateQA, a new initiative launched by Brewers Collective that provides free lab access and assistance to craft brewers. Big package indeed. Uh, let's meet our judges, beginning with Tom Bligh, who is the innovation brewmaster and co-founder of the PH Experiment, continuing upon his work with the Brewers Collective, where he leads new product ideation, prototyping, and creation. Next is Joy Young, who is the senior director of innovation for Brewers Collective. Joy Young leads innovation and strategy for the Kraft business unit, supporting brewery partners to develop and bring to life the most creative new recipes and leading products. Next we have Sinead Carey, who is the director of sales for specialty beer and beverage at Wine Warehouse. With over 17 years of experience working in the beer industry, Sinead has held roles in sales, distributor management, channel management, and trade marketing with Star Brand Imports, Heineken USA, and Anchor Brewing. Last but certainly not least is Benny Ashburn, who is the co-founder and according to her LinkedIn profile, the dope CEO of Crowns and Hops, a business dedicated to producing world-class craft beer and creating spaces for communities of color, creatives, innovators, influencers, and craft beer connoisseurs. As you can tell by the incredible cup that's sitting next to Benny, she is. As the CEO and co-founder, the winner of last year's Brewbound Pitchlam competition, uh, Crowns and Hops once again, uh, took that home. Congratulations once again to Benny. And we will have a winner at the end of this competition. Really excited to find out who it is. First, we have to hear from the contestants. So, let's get started. Our first finalist for this round is Young Guan Lee, who is the CEO of Doke Beer. Young Juan, how are you? Hi, how are you? It's great to see you again. Excited? Excited. Are you ready to give your pitch? There you go. Alright, well, as soon as you're ready, your 5 minutes will begin. All right. Um, hi, everyone. I'm the founder of Tokyo Beer, craft beer with a touch of Asian inspiration. I have been in the alcohol industry for about the past 12 years now and had the awesome opportunity to manage various alcohol brands ranging from wines, spirits, RTDs, and eventually to craft beer, but out of all my favorite time has been in the craft beer industry. I believe we have the most open-minded consumers and innovative people making beer. It is a highly competitive market, and yet all the breweries are always supporting and collaborating with one another. As I got more involved in the beer scene, I saw an opportunity to create a company. As I was planning the company, I wanted to be rooted in heritage, be authentic, and yet be playful, but I got stuck for a while trying to create the brand. But one day my wife said, What do you think about Tokibi? And I said, Tokibi, These are mythical creatures in Korean folk stories. They hide in objects during the day, come out at night to eat, drink, and have fun with people. They, you know, punish bad people, help good, but all of a sudden it clicked. And you might think it's kind of funny to base a company based on a, you know, creature, but the values I wanted to pursue as a company aligned with what Tokibis are known for. These are adventurous shape shifters. I wanted ourselves to constantly change, experiment, and innovate. They're wanderers. We're traveling around collaborating with local breweries to make beer. We launched a brand with a pop-up store. We connect people. We celebrate, and together. So our mission is simple. We fill glasses, bellies, and spirits, um, and that's how Do giver was born. What we do is combine unique and tasty ingredients with traditional beer styles, ingredients like bamboo leaves, lemongrass, Sichuan peppercorn, galangal, and even oyster sauce. We release them in these simple white labels with different batch numbers, and this is sort of our creative outlet. And depending on the popularity of our one-off beer, we fine tune the recipe and relaunch it as a steady product. This green label is our flagship pilsner, uh, flavored with bamboo leaves, and it was originally our, our batch number 3. With these beers we make, the opportunity I saw was this. We have a massive beer market, but most of our brands are targeting Western F&B retailers. I believe Tokke beer is very unique to the craft beer scene, but our other potential is this untapped market. It is difficult to initially enter because they don't have any experience selling craft beer. Price is too high, uh, has to be refrigerated, low shelf life, but this was exactly what we went through in mainstream beer market 20 years ago. What if Doke Beer could be the first craft beer brand to reform these extremely lagger-driven retailers. We have one Asian retailer who started selling our beer a few months ago, and they're moving about 50 cases a month, and that's not a small number. As we are selling more in these off-premise spaces, we went through a few iterations of can design. We started with Tokibis hiding in the back of the cans, then to the ingredients, and finally with ingredients and Tokibis together on the front label. Um, we use Tokibi character throughout all of our design elements. We're still a very young startup going through changes, but always making improvements on our can labels. These are some of our merchandise items uh that we're selling now and planning to sell. We're also designing a limited release Tumblr that includes all the ingredients we've used in 2020. Um, we launched the brand with a pop-up store, uh, last February on the first day of SF Beer Week. Um, we were known for having the best Korean fried chicken in the Bay Area area, but after one month, uh, COVID hit. So we had to pivot the business and focus on our beer distribution. Everything I showed you guys until now or uh the pretty part of it. And you know, this is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears we went through. Um, uh, this is one pallet that we, our first batch that we made, um, that was sort of destroyed during the translate, uh, transportation. Uh, but we're currently, um, I'm driving about 200 miles a day, uh, over 12 hour period, uh, with my Prius, and we're also supporting local community healthcare workers and, uh, doing online virtual events to promote the brand. Thankfully, we have been well received by the community and everyone has been supporting us. Um, we will never be untapped 5.0 beer company, but we will be known for being creative, innovative, and adding more flavors and diversity to the beer industry. So depending on where you're from, these flavors will either take you on a journey to the far side of the earth or if you're an Asian like me, take you on a journey back home. Thank you. Great presentation, Young Juan. Uh, good stuff indeed. Uh, let's start with Joy. Um, I have a feeling you kind of liked, um, Young Juan's presentation. Uh, what are your initial thoughts on what you heard today?

Speaker 2 [08:48] Yeah, um, thanks, Ray, and thanks, um, so much, uh, for the presentation. Um, I love it. Um, I did really enjoy, um, your story, the, the background of the brewery, and what you guys are, are going through now and what's gonna take you into the future. One of the things that I was super interested in, you mentioned at the end of your presentation and your pitch, is, you know, the connection to the Asian American consumer, right? So you talked about the market being kind of untapped in the restaurant industry, but there's also A ton of influence that Asian culture is having in so many aspects of different industries of course the food and beverage industry. What have you seen so far with your brewery actually really being able to get consumers, um, you know, with. Um, you know, Asian culture to want to really try and support and, and be ambassadors for, for your brand.

Ray Latif [09:48] Um, so, you know, especially because, you know, being Korean and Brand is a little bit, you know, from the Korean heritage, uh, we get a lot of Korean, uh, community support. Uh, they've never tasted craft beer, a lot of them, and it's the first time they're trying it. Uh, they initially also started because of coronavirus Virus and so how we're, you know, I'm delivering out of my previous driving 200 miles a day and they wanted to support the local, you know, Korean business and thankfully they appreciate the taste of it and uh because of the ingredients that we use, it resonated a little bit more with the culture itself. So there was a more, um, I guess instant connection with, you know, where we are from and what we are using and getting more local uh support in that way. You know, I wonder, do you see that this is being expressed as much on the packaging as it needs to be, Sinead, this idea of being rooted in heritage, that is.

Speaker 2 [10:44] Uh, I think, I think so. I really liked and appreciated the package, and I appreciated the care to detail with which you actually sent the sample beer. So thank you for doing that. So I feel it's there, and to me the packaging was very clean, which I also appreciate in beer packaging. I feel that it would jump off the shelf very easily. I think you could highlight the ingredients a little bit more with with regards to the to the. labeling of the beer because you are using such interesting flavorful ingredients and maybe a little bit of a story as to what kind of flavors that those are going to lend to the beer as well. I think the question I had, it sounds like you're predominantly dealing with the on-premise market right now. Do you have plans to enter into the independent retail channel or into the chain channel, and how does that look for you?

Ray Latif [11:35] Uh, yes, definitely, uh. We started as a pop-up store and with the draft beer, but because of COVID we had to pivot and you know all of our uh Beer is producing cans right now, and majority of our sales revenue is coming from off-premise accounts. So we do sell from, uh, local, uh, grocery stores like, uh, you know, Berkeley Bowl, Gus's Market, uh, in the area. Uh, we're in conversation with the Whole Foods to launch and, uh, retail shops, uh, but also we're also doing uh direct to consumer, uh, selling through from our website and doing, you know, deliveries door to door. Benny, you know, this is a pretty interesting brand, and Youngw identified the intersection of where it sits, he identified where he thinks Doke beer sits at the intersection of a bunch of concentric circles. Um, is that focus a little too narrow though? What are your thoughts on sort of the broader opportunity for Doke beer? I think it's, it's, it's, I don't think it's narrow because Tio and myself, when we first really got into the craft beer industry, we were a little bit more narrow in our thinking in terms of trying to diversify the industry. So I think that you actually do a really good job of not making it feel too narrow, but making it feel very specific in terms of really. and leading with culture. Um, I really appreciate the curated experience that you've presented from the packaging to the merchandise to the story to these really, you know, amazing, you know, Korean folk folklore characters that really, you know, drive the whole, the whole story and make it a little bit more playful, but also um And enjoyable. I think to Sinead's point, Sinead's point, I like that you've evolved your labeling because the labels that we received, it was very hard to tell the difference between the different styles of beer, and I think you've now added those ingredients and some, some pictures on the actual labels that that drive that forward. Um, I do think though as you move forward, Is your focus primarily only going to be in those Korean markets and in those very specific neighborhoods? How do you plan to introduce this Korean folklore to other cultures for them to understand and appreciate what you've, what you guys have created? Yeah, uh, definitely. So we are still, you know, going through and getting adjusted to, you know, COVID phase. Uh, normally, uh, with my previous experiences, I used to usually go to a lot of beer festivals and I think that's where we could excel in a lot of, uh, along with other breweries because how, uh, unique approach we have. Um, there's a little bit of limitation, but our focus will be, you know, craftier market, uh, Definitely we want to capture that untapped market, but that's more of a long term, uh, strategy for us. We definitely want to go in there, but it actually takes longer time, more work to get into to those retailers and try to convince, um, 60 year old Asian gentleman who's never tasted, you know, craft beer. So, uh, we want both markets, you know, with the traditional craft beer market, I think that's where we could, um, Uh, succeed as a unique, uh, brand, but you know, yeah, both markets, definitely. Tom, we have about a minute left. Um, you know, Young Wan, uh, showed us some pretty innovative formulations using some, uh, ingredients that are really uncommon or at least uncommon to me that are in the beer industry. Uh, you know, what are your thoughts on the flavor, the formulation of what you tasted? Well, I really appreciate how cohesive uh the brand is and that attention to detail and the brand I think carries through in the beer. Uh, the beer is firmly rooted in beer itself and then it has this really kind of familiar, uh, context, but then the, uh, the flavors that come through add just a little bit of nuance and, um, intrigue into the beer to make it exciting and, and exploratory and, and makes me want to continue that journey of, of sampling. I think it's really nice to take a very kind of underhanded approach and really allow people to To, um, step up to it and experience it on their terms. So I think it's really well done. I think they're really well crafted. Outstanding. Great feedback, young one. I gotta, please launch another pop-up. That sounds so amazing. I gotta check it out. It, it really does. So, but in the meantime, thank you so much for your presentation and uh please stay in touch with everything going forward. All right, thank you. All right. All right, let's move on to our next finalist for this round, who is Ray Ricky Rivera, the founder of Norock Brew House. Ray, how are you?

Speaker 3 [16:13] I'm good, thanks for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

Ray Latif [16:16] I'm excited to have you present. Great to see you again. Uh, are you ready to give a five-minute presentation this time?

Speaker 3 [16:24] I am. It's morning here and I've had my coffee, so let's go.

Ray Latif [16:28] Let's do it. Indeed. Your 5 minutes begin now.

Speaker 3 [16:31] I'm Ray Ricky Rivera. I'm the founder of Norwalk Brew House. Why Norwalk, you ask? Well, I live in the city of Norwalk in Southern California with my wife and our 3 beautiful kids, and judges, I believe I am in a unique position to make a huge impact on the craft beer industry. And bring in new craft beer consumers, and I'm gonna tell you why that is and how I will go about that. So in my early 20s while living with my grandparents in housing projects in East LA, I launched a Latin music record label from my bedroom with absolutely zero startup capital solely funded on heart and hustle. For the next 10 years, I scouted, marketed, and developed Latin artists, and I really honed in on my skills for developing. Uh, audiences for the American Latino market. In 2014, I started homebrewing. And as I started exploring home brew shops, I quickly realized that I was the only brown face in these home brew stores. And it was really odd to me because in Los Angeles specifically, we have 55 million Latinos. So I thought to myself, there's gotta be more people like me. So I took to social media. Founded another Mexican, found another Mexican, uh, homebrewer. We became friends and we co-founded the SoCal Serviceros Homebrew Club, which today is the largest homebrew Latino homebrew club in the country. And pretty soon, my music world and my beer world was gonna collide. In 2019, for our second annual Cold Cella Music Festival, uh, Cela is Spanish for beer, so literally Cold beer festival. Uh, we pulled out 1500 beer drinkers, 95% of those. Of those drinkers were uh Latinos, so huge Latino turnout, uh, using my uh production skills. I curated a, I curated 50 Latino brewers from the O Casa deceros. I programmed a full day of live Latin music. And today, the Coachella Beer Fest is the largest Latino Beer Fest in California, uh, but it's really interesting because for me it was a game changer. It was a huge eye opener. Uh, I, I, I realized something and the light bulb went off and I thought to myself, This is it. A beer company is like a record label. I can source new talent like I do with artists, develop and market beer brands just like I do with artists, and I can leverage the SoCalcceros to do that because the market is telling me. There is a market here. Latinos do drink craft beer, and there's a lot of us out there. So with that in mind, I created Norwalk Brew House. And Norwalk Brew House is really set up as a three-part business. So the first part of our business is our core brands. It's our flagship products produced for general mass market appeal. Yeah, the second part is our, uh, B2B marketing which involves collaborations, activations, and campaigns. It's a B2B focused strategies that allow for additional revenue stream while building relationships that can benefit the core business. And then the other part of our, the third part of our business is our incubator program, so where we, uh, source new talent, develop new Latin. Uh, own beer brands and plug them into our distribution channels and we build a community by developing brands making a direct impact on, uh, local economies and diversity in beer. Uh, so our core brands, our core flagship brands target new and casual Latino beer drinkers ages 21 to 45. These beers are deliberately approachable, easy on the palate, and brewed to resemble the mass market lagers that newer, uh, Latino consumers may, may, may already be, uh. Familiar with. So we've got a Pilsner at 4%, a blonde at 4 4.5%, and a whip beer at 5.2%. And uh I purposefully not included our label designs because we're working on all the trademarking and we're getting that together right now. So our innovative B2B marketing activation. So here you have the Love fights back beer which you guys tasted. Uh, so we're building brand awareness by creating a multi-layered collaboration utilizing music and art to support social causes while bringing added value to consumers by offering exclusive multimedia. Content and unique merchandise. So with this, I, I, uh, put together this entire, uh, what I call beer project, and we, we brought in music, we brought in Eagle Rock Brewery. We partnered with the Urban Peace Institute to give our, uh, social cost component. But what's really cool is when you scan the, the QR code on this can label. You get taken to a download of an exclusive song that we produced specifically for this, uh, collaboration. You also get access to an exclusive interview with myself, with the owner of Eagle Rock Brewery, with the artist and the director of Urban Peace Institute.

Ray Latif [21:33] Ray, uh, I'm sorry your 5 minutes are up, but, uh, thank you so much for your presentation.

Speaker 3 [21:38] Thank you.

Ray Latif [21:40] All right, let's talk about Norwalk Brewhouse, Judges, um, Benny, let's start with you. Um, you know, what do you think of Ray's approach to building this sort of beer platform, um, or building his business as a beer platform? I mean, the B2B marketing, the core brands, the incubator brands, um, you know, it's kind of a differentiated approach for a brewery. I mean, I think it's, I think it's pretty genius, honestly. I think when you say a beer company is like a record company that is absolutely true. It's, it's innovative. It's creative, it's expansive, and I think what you're creating allows beer to be more than. Product on shelves, um, I think you're creating opportunities not only to sell your beer but creating actual programs for other breweries and other people who are trying to get into the craft beer industry but who don't have a lot of opportunities and I think a lot of resources, I think. Um, there's a lot going on inside of, of the Norwalk brand, and I would love if it could be maybe centralized just a little bit more because I think each section of what you're doing is so important. But what I would love to really focus on if, if Norwalk is the lead factor or the driving part of what you're doing. I want to understand that more and let everything else sort of kind of filter outside of that, but I want to narrow in on what Norwalk is so that that's the place I always go to first. I know Norwalk is Ray. I know Norwalk is the center of the business, and then all of the other programs are subsidiaries or portions of that. So that that would be my only advice is that core piece, that core brand is what is going to drive everything forward, and that's what everyone should be following you. And it certainly helps to have great liquid associated with that core brand. Tom, what do you think of the beer you tasted? Well, much as Ray described, I mean, there's a multi-layered kind of effect to it in their approach to the way that they see their business, and I would say that the beer reflected that as well. Love Fights Back has multiple flavor, tropical flavor profiles added to it. There's a very strong. Head of the guava. Um, it's multi-layered in that regard. I do like that it's ripe, it's tropical. There's a little bit of funk in the tropical, um, carryover through the blonde. The question I have is how do you start to use the curating of this portfolio to really enhance and elevate, um, your proposition and your identity as a brand and, and kind of use that to be more cohesive. But all in all, I thought the beer was well made and it was a great collaboration and I, I appreciate the collaboration component of it as well. Ray talked about the lack of, uh, you know, a Latin-focused beer, a craft, a Latin-focused craft beer out there. Um, are you seeing that as well, you know, in the Los Angeles area? And if so, do you think that Norwalk Brew House, you know, might have a place on your shelves in the near future?

Speaker 2 [24:41] So I would absolutely agree with uh with Ray. There is really a craft brand that is speaking directly to the Latino community right now, um, from what I've seen in the market, uh, I think there is a place for it again. I think it goes back to what Benny was saying is making sure that you have a very cohesive brand story that links back to Norwalk brewing and to what you're doing. I think the liquid was really great. It was probably one of the favorites out of which I tried. Uh, I will fully admit that I almost lost the QR code on the packaging because there is a lot going on in the packaging, and I think that's a fundamental part of what you're doing and how you're building your brand and how you're reaching a community with your story and with music, uh, and, you know, where I think it particularly in Southern California, the links between. You know, good beer and good music partly driven by music festivals, uh, is really, really important, uh, so I think again going back to what Benny said, try not to lose sight of, you know, having a true tried and tested brand with Norwalk, but I think continue to speak to the, the, the Latin community is absolutely underserved right now in the craft brewing industry.

Ray Latif [25:46] And Joy, Ray talked quite a bit about uh his work building out uh the Coachella Festival. Uh, you know, when you're looking at brands and you're hearing pitches, um, how, how much do you factor that into your evaluation is the prior experience in a particular industry and how it relates to their current business?

Speaker 2 [26:06] Yeah, first, um, Ray Coachella, genius, right, love the name, um, definitely grabbed me as soon as I saw it and then also just hearing you talk about, you know, what that meant and what you were actually trying to do, um, for that festival, super meaningful, um, to your. Question, right, um, I do think that the experience, right, and the, um, connection to the, the mission and the and the vision for why you're even getting into this business in the first place really does matter. Um, I definitely want to echo, um, Benny's point on, you know, it being about, um, you know, the authenticity, uh, of the, the, the, um, the brewing, the, the culture, the Latin, um, you know, uh. Focus there and really being able to tie it together so as much as you can bring that story to life um I I think it's the most important part of what you're trying to do with Norwalk um it seems like there are layers to what you're trying to build with the brewery and and the brand and starting with um that real fundamental need to bring um Latin culture into craft beer. Year through something like Coachella makes a ton of sense. Um, but one question I have for you, and I know we're out of time as well, is, you know, thinking about where we are today with festivals not really being, um, as much of what we can do in person. Have you thought about how you might, um, translate this idea of Coachella into, um, this post-COVID reality that we're in right now?

Ray Latif [27:37] And Ray, you've got 30 seconds to address that very complex question.

Speaker 3 [27:43] Yeah, we, we actually thought about it and people kept asking if we were gonna move to a digital platform and really, um, for me I, I, I, I wasn't really excited at first to move to, to digital or online because you know it's all about the connection it's all about um seeing people in person, especially for Latinos we, we love to be around each other, um, and we love just that interaction that in person interaction so um it's something that we're still figuring out uh but yes we thought about it. And it's just a tricky thing and unfortunately I don't have an answer of, you know, how we make that transition in this moment. I think we're still figuring it out. Thank you, Joy.

Ray Latif [28:24] All right, well done, Ray. Uh, thanks so much for the presentation and uh hopefully, hopefully we'll see you again really soon. All right, moving on to our next finalist for the round, that's John Rentthrop, who is the CEO of Cajun Fire Brewing Company. John, how are you? I'm pretty good, and yourself, Ray? I'm doing great. I'm even better now that I see your outfit. This is, I think, one of the first times, if not the only time that I've seen someone wear a tie for the pitch slam, and I absolutely love it. So I, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for doing that. Are you ready to give your 5 minute presentation? Let's vibrate. I'm ready. All right, your timer begins now. All right, good morning, good afternoon and good evening, everyone. My name is John L. Reinthrop. I am the CEO of Cajun Fire Brewing Company. Uh, we're the first, historically we're the first Black and Native American owned brewing company in the state of Louisiana. Um, to date, uh, we were established in 2011, and most importantly about our company is our, our mission, uh, brewing for socioeconomic change, one pint at a time. Uh, Cajun Fire, we're also headquartered in the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans, and that has a significant impact on the products we produce and their, uh, resemblance. Um, our products have garnered, garnered a cult-following in the birthplace of jazz, and we produce products that pay homage to the Cajun Creole, uh, home of Nation and. diaspora, uh, which this region is well renowned for, uh, on the slide that you see, we have a new release that's coming to the market that's actually getting canned as I'm speaking. I'm happy about that. Our P Train funk, uh, we have our flagship beer, our honey ale, and also we have our seasonal offering if you can catch it, our Big Chief Cream stout. Um, one of the things that Cajun Fire solves is that by us being the 5th black-owned brewing company in the, uh, nation's history, uh, we are operating in a realm of a lot of disparities on there are more than 8,000+ breweries in the, in operation in the United States. Uh, we're one of the few that's family-owned and operated that happens to be African American. Um, in our state, some of these inequities and how they, uh, They factor in, uh, we have 900+ employees, that's, I mean, people that's directly employed, uh, by a craft brewery in that industry. Uh, in, in the state of Louisiana, it's a $740 million economic impact, um, and these are numbers that's from 2017. Uh, we directly employed in that number, there's less than 10, uh, people that identify as African-American in the state of Louisiana, uh, that are employed by, uh, breweries in operation. So that's, that's a huge disparity. Um, some of the things that we are facing, I mean, the stakes are higher than they've ever been for, uh, small business owners. Uh, we have an active hurricane season, the worst in recorded history, uh, that, that affected us. And uh, you know, we're a company that was founded and created in the uh shadow of Katrina. So that's definitely rooted in our, our efforts. Uh, the cannon shortage, uh, the worst since World War II, uh, that's affecting a lot of breweries and, and, and other dispensary companies. Um, also localizes disruption, like you're looking into 2021, you got Mardi Gras that's closed, that's a, a huge revenue generator and something that small business owners look to. So we, we've been doing a lot of different pivoting. I'm happy to say we have pivoted, uh, due to that in multiple states. So we've been constantly growing our, our reach. Um, we have pivoted in the states as Georgia, uh, North Carolina, Virginia, and even as far as exporting opportunities in Canada. So I'm really happy about the leadership and where we've gone with that. And this is our solution that's the most important thing. We have a solution for economic growth, uh, and engaging in increasing food and beverage tourism, specifically tailored to the, uh, cultural economy. This is our, uh, bread and butter right here. This is our socioeconomic growth blueprint. Uh, we have site control of 10 acres of commercial land in New Orleans East. Uh, we're developing our brick and mortar. Uh, we acquired this property in 2016. Uh, we still are independent and we've done everything to date independently. Um, we're increasing our beer and food, uh, tourism opportunities for this area. It's an area that has more than 80,000, uh, uh, occupants in it. And as you can see in the picture, we're in the shadow of Jazzland, uh, that's still in disrepair and blighted. So that's our motive. We, we're, we're doing tangible good community. This area has 120,000 net index traffic every day, not even on a holiday. And uh that's some of the things we're doing to promote STEM jobs. Uh, ultimately, in our first year of operation, we will create, uh, more than 15+ quality jobs. This is our beautiful family that we operate with. Uh, I'm not alone in this endeavor. I have my wife, my business partner Adam Dawson, as well as my blood brother Jamark Rinthrop, and my other business partner, Paul Taylor. So together we make up the Cajun Farm family, but we're not alone. We also have partners, uh, more legal support than I wish we had, but they're good work. Uh, we also have our distributorship partners in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana as representative. We also partnered with the Southern United States Trade Association. And most importantly, we have $3 million worth of liability coverage via our Swanson Insurance Company, uh, which is also a MB, I mean, uh, a disadvantaged minority business, uh, company. Uh, this is our, our, uh, headquarters that I'm reporting live from today. Uh, it's a very humble location, but we, we're putting in some solid, uh, work. Uh, we are a B2B company and one of the, uh, differences about our situation is we operate in a state where self-distribution is prohibited by law. And these are some of our consistent track records of success. Uh, we're featured in the brands you love, Trader Joe's, Total Wine, Rouse's, and this is the, the rendering of our 10,000 square foot facility. Uh, for all investment inquiries, please reach out to us at Drinkcajunfire.com. Uh, support us on all social media platforms, and these are the sources that you can see before you. Thank you all and cheers, and most importantly, uh, stay safe. Great message and great job, John. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right, um, Shinee, I'd like to start with you. You know, mission-based brands, um, are important, um. It's sometimes a challenge to communicate your mission to the end consumer, and sometimes, you know, there's a question of whether the mission actually resonates with that end consumer. You know, in your experience, have you seen mission-based brands succeed in the beer industry? And if so, do you think that Cajun Fire is on the right path to delivering the kind of beer that consumers want?

Speaker 2 [34:34] So I think it's an interesting question that you posed because I think mission-based brands are becoming more and more part of the beer culture. Uh, you know, the Brewers Association is anything to go by the millions of dollars that are donated by breweries every year is critically important to local communities, and we know that local breweries are supporting their local communities through varying different initiatives, and they have become a place to go to, um, as well for families and for. Uh, and for, for locals alike. So I think it's an important piece. I don't think it can be just the only thing that a brewery factors their success on. Uh, I think it has to be communicated very clearly through social, a little bit through packaging, um, and also just having a really good liquid too, because if you don't have the liquid to back up what you're stating in your mission, Then, you know, people are not going to come back and your mission is not supported, um, but I do think it is a very, very important piece of what our craft breweries are doing today.

Ray Latif [35:33] Tom, following up on what Sinead was saying, you know, liquid is really important, um, you know, and it can be even more important than, uh, you know, a brewer might think in some cases. Um, you know, what did you think of the formulations that you tried today? You know, in this situation, it's always helpful to appeal to a broad audience so that we can continue or perpetuate the philanthropic component of this. I mean, Beer with a Cause is amazing. It's something I feel really strongly about and I, my heart is warmed by it. Um, I had the opportunity to try the Big Chief Stout, and I really enjoyed it, but I, I was struggling with the fact that for me it wasn't necessarily a cream stout. It read more like a dry Irish. Um, it was fairly thin. The dry component was, was great. I liked it as a beer, but I didn't, I didn't believe it to be a cream stout, so that would be my critical feedback on that beer. Joy, you know, in terms of the message that you heard, the presentation that you heard from John today, it felt a lot like uh he was building a business that was almost like an NGO in some ways. It, it, uh, it was about social mission. I think the first thing we heard was brewing for socioeconomic change, one beer at a time. Um, you know, what do you think about that approach in terms of, you know, building a brewery while at the same time building a nonprofit organization. You know, for change.

Speaker 2 [36:55] Yeah, I mean I think to um Sinead's uh earlier comment this is the time when you know businesses and obviously craft beer is not um um you know outside of of this reality where businesses really do need to have this mission this purpose, this larger um why behind what they're actually doing besides obviously making money and and driving profit. I love John you know's story about how Asian Fire was born out of um the outcome of of Katrina, right? So understanding what that that founder story, like the the the story behind how you even came up with the idea, the fact that it's very family owned definitely draws people into what you're actually trying to do and I think you know it's represented in the number of organizations and businesses you've partnered with and have gotten involved in um the the. The making and the success of your business since its inception in 2011. So kudos to you on that. I think that the one piece of advice that I'd have for you in this space is to really think about which specific businesses you want to partner with in this in this territory, especially considering some of the challenges that are coming in 2021, to really step change what you've been able to do. There's a ton of things that similar to what happened during the Katrina, um, you know. Backlash and outcomes of Katrina that are happening or will be happening in 2021. How do you really, you know, you know, use this, I mean, it's definitely a tragedy, but using it to really solidify some of those current relationships you have and potentially building more.

Ray Latif [38:26] So Benny, John described Cajun Fire as a market disruptor, which is a really important thing to be, I guess, in a category when you have the potential to help an industry or a category evolve. Do you see, do you see a disruption? Do you see this potential from Cajun Fire? And if so, you know, how much does it play into the potential success of the brand? Yes, I 100% see Cajun Fire as a disruptor, but a disruptor in a good way. I think you bring up a really good point about how to evolve an industry, and I think what Cajun Fire is doing, being not only the first black-owned craft beer brand in their area, but the things that they're doing for the community, the way they're driving forward, their narrative, I definitely think it lends itself to the evolution of the craft beer industry, and I'm excited about. The things that that they that they are bringing to the table moving forward, I think the one note that I had is I would really love to see more focus around the name Cajun fire and that branding and really centralizing all of the things that they do around that and not so much on the styles. I think because they are disruptors and because they have so much power in the story they're telling, I would love if they would lean more into. Branding Cajun fire and what that represents and allow the styles to be sort of secondary to that because I think they have a very strong brand and a very strong story to tell. All right, great feedback, great presentation, John. Thank you so much. All right. Let's move on to our 4th finalist for this round, who is Kevin Wong, the co-founder of Lunar. Kevin, how are you? Hey, Ray, doing good. You? I'm doing great. Uh, it's, it's been too long. It's been 2 days since I last saw you. I feel like, you know, we need to connect more often. So, uh, semi-final round, you have 2 minutes. Final round, you have 5. Are you ready to give those 5 that 5 minute presentation? I am ready when you are. Fantastic. Your 5 minutes will begin now. Hey everyone, I'm Kevin, one of the co-founders of Lunar, the first Asian American craft hard shelter made from real authentic ingredients sourced directly from the motherland. In early 2019, while eating Korean fried chicken at a local spot, we noticed something. Why were the only mass market light beers on the menu instead of a beverage pairing as authentic as the food? Why wasn't there a drink that proudly celebrated the flavors that we grew up with? So we started to do some research, but all we could find were artificially flavored cookie cutter, lemon and raspberry drinks, and there ain't nothing wrong with those, but they simply didn't resonate with us on a deeper level. So we took matters into our own hands, spent a year and a half brewing, formulating recipes, taste testing, and traveling back and forth to Asia to find the right ingredients. And somehow at the exact same time we were witnessing a huge cultural phenomenon bubbling up underneath our feet. Over the past few decades, Asian restaurants have been the fastest growing cuisine in the US. But in the past few years, there's been this massive rising wave of Asian American culture across the board, starting with the first few boba stores popping up to the wild success of Crazy Rich Asians, to the rise of K-pop, and the increase of AAPI political representation this year. It's clear that America's tastes are Easternizing, and yet in the Red Hot seltzer category, there's a distinct lack of representation and focus on a rapidly growing community. So to fill that void, we launched Lunar, the first Asian American craft hard seltzer that celebrates the flavors we grew up with that are near and dear to our hearts. And as we pioneer the craft seltzer category, we wanted to address the lunchbox moment. As a kid growing up in the suburbs, I was always embarrassed to bring my lunches that my mom made to school since I was afraid they'd look and smell different than what others were used to. But with Lunar, we're creating what we call the reverse lunchbox moment where people can be proud to be seen drinking our seltzer. This year we launched our first flavor yuzu, which is made from real yuzu grown in Japan's Shimani Prefecture to fully capture the fruit's iconic floral aroma and tartness. And next week we're launching our second flavor, lychee. It's made with real lychees from Thailand to properly highlight the fruit's tropical, sweet and sour notes. Each flavor has a has a deeper significance and story behind it, both to ourselves and to the community. We crafted a yuzu seltzer in memory of Sean, my co-founder's childhood winters, where his mom would pour him hot yuzu tea every morning. And a lychee seltzer is made in memory of my childhood summers in Taiwan where Grandma would help me buy the best lychees and fruits from street vendors. And to do these flavors justice and share these stories and experiences with the world, it's imperative for us to only use actual real ingredients and never anything artificial. And don't just take our word for it. People love our seltzer. We've heard from people who say they don't drink any alcohol except for lunar. We've heard from beer snobs who begrudgingly admit that I don't drink seltzer, but I drink lunar. We've heard from seltzer skeptics who hate White Claw and truly, but were saved by us, and our email inbox has been flooded with people across the globe asking when we'll be available in their area. And part of the reason why that's happening is because of a unique value prop for everyone. Asian American consumers find their flavors familiar and authentic. The rest of the consumer base finds us new, exotic, yet approachable. Restaurants are elevating the menu with their first seltzer pairing ever and increasing average check size even on delivery apps, while retailers want to attract these valuable shopper demos. Distributors want to leverage our unique offering as a tip of the spear into Asian accounts that have been difficult to penetrate. So despite launching during a pandemic, we've been able to gain meaningful traction both on and off-prem uh in New York and we're expanding to California and other key markets next year. We may be starting off with just some damn good craft shelter, but we're aiming to build a brand into a movement, one that breaks barriers, helps share the stories and experiences of those with hyphenated identities, and inspires others to be proud of who they are. The days of generically designed brands are over. Today's consumer values authenticity and a strong mission, and by actively partnering with AAPI causes, we mean it when we say that each sip of lunar is a taste of Asian Americana in a can. Thank you. All right, well done, Kevin. Asian Americana in a can. I like it. Uh. You know, I think I would never classify Tom as a beer snob. I would classify you as a beer expert, and Kevin, you know, you said this appeals to all kinds of beer people, so, you know, don't take this the wrong way, Tom. I want to get your opinion on the taste and what you thought of this particular hard seltzer. Well, I'm occasionally a beer snob, but I'm also someone who makes hard seltzer, so I think I can answer this question and speak to this a little bit. Um, Kevin, I really want you to know that it, it's hard to make a clean seltzer. Um, you can go, um, arrive pretty quickly depending on yeast, um, attributes that you're using and, and how it comes through. You don't have any of those issues. Um, the other thing that's really admirable about this product is the authenticity of the flavors. I've worked with Yuzu pretty, um, pretty regularly and Sudachi as well, and they have a very distinct flavor profile and they're citrusy, but they're very woody. Um, and that herbaceousness when done properly is really, really beautiful, and you've done that really well in the lunar for me. I, I really enjoyed the, um, the overall flavor. I thought it was super clean. Um, I, I would also want to speak to drinkability. Um, it's not just important that you make a good product, it's good, it's important that you make something that's drinkable that you might want to have one or two, and I would easily have, um, one or two of your beverages. They were really well made. I can't say enough about them. I will say that the one criticism I might have is that it could use a little bit increased carbonation, but it's a small, small talking point. Well done. So Tom talks about the authenticity of the flavors. Kevin talks about brand authenticity being really, really important. Communicating that on a package is also really, really important, um. Benny, did, did that message of authenticity come across in the packaging of Lunar? Yes, definitely, I was able to very quickly identify the the, you know, your, your concept of, um, you know, Asian Americana in a can. I think that was actually very clever, very simple, very direct. And it was really good, honestly, it was, I'm not a huge fan of seltzers myself, but I definitely was looking forward to having more than just the one or 22 cans that I had. So I think your branding and marketing is really beautiful, actually. I think it's very clean, it's very elegant. It doesn't complicate the story, the messaging, or the flavors that you're expected to taste when you actually sip the product. So I think you did a really good job. Um, they are, yeah, I don't really have any questions. I think it's, it's really nicely put together, um, product. Congratulations. You know, one point that Kevin made that resonated with me was this idea of a reverse lunchbox moment or a lunchbox moment when you're bringing in food that might be ethnically themed and, you know, people are questioning what it is and coming up with this reverse lunchbox moment is pretty interesting. Joy, what did you think of, um, you know, that part of Lunar and Kevin's presentation?

Speaker 2 [48:20] Yeah, thanks for the question. First of all, Kevin, I love a personal story, so I think that that was, um, you know, resonated really well. I think I've heard the same from friends of mine who, you know, might have a different culture and have different prepared meals at home that they would then bring, and people will be looking at them. You know, in a, in a way that was confused or curious and what have you. I think what's great about connecting that story that you had that's super personal and the folks that you work with as well um to what product that you're bringing to bear is the fact that you did that, but you almost make the flavors that In those cases, in the personal cases, we're more curious, um, much more accessible and familiar, and I think that that is what, you know, this concept, this idea of lunar really brings to life really well. I just want to echo Tom's comment on yuzu and the flavor and being able to bring that to life so authentically and um. In the in the beverage, it was really well done. I think I've had so many seltzers both within my company but then also competitors in the marketplace, and this is definitely one of the best that I've I've definitely tried. So congrats on that. Well done.

Ray Latif [49:43] Yeah, Sinead, uh, Joy touched on this. I'm sure everyone was thinking about this, uh, a booming category of hard seltzers, um, so many new entrants coming to market, uh, and what Lu is bringing to the table is interesting. It's an Asian American themed craft hard seltzer. Um, does it have enough? Does it have what it takes to stand out among this highly competitive and growing category?

Speaker 2 [50:10] So that's, I think for a seltzer like this, the ingredients to me were the key components using something like yuzu, which you are not seeing in any other seltzer across the category. I think most seltzers are coming in a white can or a white packaging, so having something that was brighter in color was was an automatic draw for me. I think the other piece to this that intrigued. was the opportunity to sell this into a growing category of restaurants, you know, Asian restaurants, whether it's ramen, whether it's Korean barbecue, they have exploded over the last number of years and traditionally as you go into those restaurants you're finding beer and wine, maybe some soju, maybe some sake, but you're not seeing a seltzer on that menu, so there's definitely some white space and avail and opportunity there. So I think the market is ripe for something a little bit different as well. I think the big key is going to be getting liquid to lips and getting people to try it because to both Thomas's and Joy and Joy's point, it's a great liquid. The flavors are spot on. I think to Thomas's point, I would have liked a little bit more carbonation in it, but I think you guys did a really good job.

Ray Latif [51:16] All right, and great job with your presentation, Kevin. Thanks so much. Thank you all. All right, let's move on to our next finalists for this round. Those are Tyler Powell Caldwell and Stephanie Chow, the co-founders of Pao Brewing Company. Tyler, Stephanie, how are you? Good. How are you guys? Great, great, great to see you both. Uh, are you ready to give your five-minute presentation?

Speaker 2 [51:42] Yes, we are.

Ray Latif [51:44] Fantastic. All right, your 5 minutes will begin now.

Speaker 2 [51:48] Um, my name is Tyler. I'm Steph and we are Pal Brewing. So Pow Brein stands for Power of a woman. Um, I got into brewing. Probably like 3 years ago, but I really, I was like still going to like working and really wasn't like too like focused on it because I put like my career first um and then I used to do like women panels where I had young entrepreneurs, like young black entre like black female entrepreneurs. Just coming up and just talking and then I was like, you know, I'm doing these women's panels, I'm all for like women empowerment. I need to really just focus on what I really wanna do and what I really wanted to do was start brewing because it's not a lot of African-Americans into brewing and on top of that, there's not a lot of female brewers and I I was like I can do this and I would go to breweries and my friends would go with me and they were like, I don't like none of these beers like so I was like I wanted to brew something that my friends can enjoy and I can enjoy and then everyone else can enjoy it too, just so it could be like nice, relaxing and it's a good beer, um. Um, my mission is to provide a good tasting beer, not for only um beer lovers, but for like future beer lovers, for women who don't ever think that they'll drink beer, um, for black people to experience something different, um, to just motivate like the LGBT community, um. And just women like uplifting each other. Um, all of my beers, they, my background, I grew up in the city of Gardena, so when I'm like Coming out with a new beer, I always wanna display like or have something to do with the city where I was brought up and raised. So I have like a beer called Just a Beer from Gardena. Um, I have a beer, Strawberry Square, the beer that I sent you guys. It's a local shopping center in the city of Gardena where I used to like catch the, like I used to beg my mom like can I just go to Strawberry Square to go to the donut stand or just go to like um Jack in the Box and get food and just hang and meet my friends and just hang out. Um, I also have a beer called Venezuelan Hyde Park. It's my little Ingle, it's my Inglewood beer because when I was 13 my mom moved to Inglewood, so I just wanna be able to just make sure that when I'm brewing something, it comes from the heart. It's like I'm passionate about brewing. It's what I love and I want to be able to make sure. My friends can like drink it and love it too because I don't want to just be out and then having a beer and talking and then my friends aren't able to enjoy it. So that's the whole point of me getting into brewing and like I said, to motivate young black women to just go out and push and do everything that you're willing to do, like do and don't let anyone stop you. Um, and then also on my beer labels, I put a motivational quote on each beer and it's like a quote that inspires me to like, so when you, when you're drinking a beer, you can like read the label. So I use like quotes from um John F. Kennedy because I love President Kennedy so I typically like use a lot of his quotes. Um, I use quotes just to uplift each other, so You know, sometimes you like go and you have like a beer and then you wanna know like what's the, like what's your purpose, like what motivated you to do this and I feel like with my brand, I wanted people to understand it's not just It's not just a beer, it's not just you having a beer. It's something that you can connect to because I want everyone to be able to connect to all of the different beers that I have out and just to be like think like, oh like, OK, Strawberry Square, like, hmm let me picture Gardena, let me just like drive around in Gardena and see Strawberry Square, like what it's like, um, so it's just a little bit of me. And it, um, when doing my labels, I kind of let like Steffi like take over with the labeling. I just tell her like, this is the name for the beer, this is my quote, so she like my back, she's like my little right-hand person when I come to like When it's time for me to come out with a new beer, I always have to like check with her like I need you to taste this, make sure it's on point. I need you to smell these different hops. I use Galaxy Hop for like almost all of my beers because I just love how it like makes my beer taste and I'm just a tropical type of girl, so I wanted to make sure that it's like the tropical flavors in it still. Um, I do have merch coming. Well, I have merch now. I have hoodies. I do, I have key chains. Um, my whole goal is to eventually, because

Ray Latif [56:42] right now I'm, I'm Tyler, I'm so sorry. I have to cut you off. Your 5 minutes are up, but well done. All right, let's take it to the judges. Um, Joy, can we start with you? Um, Tyler talked about building a brand, building a, a brewery, uh, that creates beer for people who didn't even know they wanted beer, didn't even know they liked beer. Um, you know, what do you think of that approach? What do you think of that strategy when you are, uh, you know, building a brewery from, from the, from the ground up?

Speaker 2 [57:14] Yeah, I love the idea. I think that craft beer. In its infancy and as it's continued to progress as an overall segment in the beer category, it's really about that. It's about trying to drive and get people to learn what their own preferences and things are and also shape what, you know, beers actually end up being. So I think that the vision that you have for your brewery and what you're trying to do and even how that comes through honestly in the packaging and the labeling that you have is very appealing. To, uh, the, uh, unconventional beer drinker or even the beer drinker, uh, the person who doesn't think that they drink beer, so that, um, you know, accessibility of what you're trying to do, um, of the beers that you are developing and brewing, and then also how you're trying to bring it to life. I loved, um, you know, the, the point that you made about women, um, and, and the industry itself just not even actually having enough um. Women brewers um to actually come up with what are some of the flavors and things that we have been looking for but nobody's actually brewing. I think that is super resonant and your story behind that, you know, makes it, you know, appealing to anybody who wants to try something that they may not have tried it before, but then also inspires other brewers who wouldn't think that that's something they wanted to do to get into the industry. So congrats on that, um. A comment and about your strawberry beer, um, really delicious. I think it's very delightful, um, and I think this kind of brings to life what you were talking about like why you wanted to get into the business, but then also the types of beers that you're looking to brew to appeal to a broader audience.

Ray Latif [59:00] Sinead, based on what you heard uh in Tyler's presentation today, um, is Power Brewing Company something that, um, will fit on shelves at liquor and beer and and uh other retail stores like it, um, or does it need a little bit more to sort of stand out on the shelf?

Speaker 2 [59:20] So I think the label is really pretty, is really pretty, uh, and certainly would attract not what would be a normal beer consumer, particularly a female beer consumer. I think from a label, I get a little and punch that up a little bit. I think for me as a craft beer consumer, I automatically pick it up. I look to see what style of beer it is. I do look for a little bit of information, uh, on a label to tell me what it is I'm going to drink, so I have some sort of an expectation. Uh, I love the links to the local Gardena community as well. I don't think that there's a lot of breweries in Gardena, so I think that's great. Uh, and certainly linking it back to Strawberry Square. I know exactly where you're talking about, um, but, uh, yeah, I can just punch up the style a little bit to make sure that, uh, people know what they're getting in the bottle.

Ray Latif [1:00:07] Benny, in terms of the presentation, you know, what are some things that really resonated with you and what are some of the things that you think that Tyler would need to highlight uh for future pitches and future presentations, uh, going forward? Um, I think, one, I love seeing a black female brewer, so we're going to start there because there are hardly a lot of black females in craft beer period. So, uh, you know, first I'll start there, and I think What I would love to see more though as you present is your story. I think I can feel your passion. I can feel your heart in the labels. I think your messaging around really trying to tap into a consumer that isn't your traditional sort of craft beer aficionado is super important because we do need to expand our consumer consumer market honestly across. Um, across all fronts because that only benefits pretty much all of us in the industry, but I would love to understand more of your story, your mission, and where you're going next. Um, I was actually kind of surprised that you said you had a quote from JFK and not Jackie. I thought this was, this is about empowering women. Where did we get JFK from? No, I'm just playing. Um, but I think even that lends itself to What is it that you are really trying to say, because you led with women empowerment, um, and then you say you have a quote from JFK. So I think it's thinking about those tiny details in your storytelling and your mission that will help drive your brand forward in a way that will really resonate and stick with people as they continue to follow your brand. And Tom, as the other judges pointed out, striking labels for Power Brewing Company was the liquid inside the bottles just as striking? You know, that's a really good ask. The labels are really whimsical, but they're lighthearted, and I think that the beer kind of spoke to that at the same time. I was particularly fond of the strawberry square. I thought it had tons of strawberry flavor, super fruity. I like that you're using Galaxy to kind of put an under layer of fruitiness across your beers. You know, strawberry is really hard to deal with because it's such a subtle fruit and it has a tendency to disappear really quickly, but in this one, I thought that the combination of the malts, the hops, and the strawberry actually played to it and strengthened the character. It was an enjoyable beer. I enjoyed it. Um, I do want to make a couple of critiques though, and one of them is that the 32 that I received was a gusher, and I believe that it was probably just um Uh, probably exaggerated bottle conditioning, so you probably just had something that, that was probably primed a little too intensely. Um, and then one other thing that I didn't notice, and, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't see a government warning on the label, so just a call out on that as well for the labeling. OK. All right, great feedback, great presentation, Tyler, Steph, thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you. All right, on to our final finalist for this round, that's Sean Kawamura, who's the founder of Study Break Hard Seltzer. Sean, how are you?

Speaker 4 [1:03:09] I'm doing great. How are you doing,

Ray Latif [1:03:10] Ray? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Ready to give your final presentation for this round?

Speaker 4 [1:03:16] Yeah, excited.

Ray Latif [1:03:18] Fantastic. All right, your 5 minutes will begin now.

Speaker 4 [1:03:22] Hi everyone, my name is Sean Kawamura. I'm the founder of Studybreak, a cocktail inspired hard seltzer brand based in Los Angeles. Study Break was born out of curiosity. In 2017, I was a sophomore at USC and was just starting to discover and explore the alcohol space. Beer, especially craft beer, when we could afford it, was a go to. Flavored malt beverages were a crowd favorite, and spirits were an absolute must. While they all served their purpose, I started to notice that there was a disconnect between our generation and the drink options available. Too much sugar, too malty of a finish, and just plain taste alone or what my friends and I wish would change. On top of that, I just didn't feel connected to the brands of drinks on the market. None of them resonated with our generation because they weren't made by our generation. I thought to myself, why isn't anyone our age taking it upon themselves to create a brand by our by our generation for our generation. Around the same time, excuse me, at the same time, I got a small bartending kit and started making cocktails for my girlfriend and I. Mojitos were and still are, my girlfriend's go to, so I had plenty of practice and had a bunch of fun with it. One day I was whipping up some drinks and thought, wouldn't it be so easy just to just to have a cocktail in the can, crack one open instead of muddling the mint and measuring out the ingredients. The light bulb went off in my head, and curiosity led me to some long nights of research. After learning more, I was hooked. I was inspired to find a solution that my friends and I could enjoy together. I started with a cocktail. I started with a cocktail that no one had dared try to recreate, the Long Island iced tea. Months into R&D, I had to pull the plug as we were farther away than when we started. I went back to the drawing board and set out to create a cocktail that everyone, guys and girls, have had at one point or another, the mojito. If you ask my girlfriend, she would definitely tell you that she knew this was a winner from the beginning. 2 years into R&D when we when we finally did it. We tested every type of base and eventually decided on a wine base made from fermented oranges that was naturally gluten-free and tasted like a neutral spirit. Mixed it with real fruit juice, and naturally sweetened it to give it extra flavor without the sugar. At 6.9% ABV and zero sugar, I envisioned study break as a perfect drink, crack open on a hot day in LA. Um, as we perfected the formula, I worked with my design partner Mauricio to figure out who we were as a brand. I envisioned something that was young at heart, adventurous, and wasn't just a guy's or a girl's dream. Through trial and error, we came up with Study Break. We created it to stand out on the shelves by focusing on bold colors and making it truly androgynous by balancing masculine and feminine design aspects by speaking by speaking in flavors instead of cocktails. Each flavor didn't have a gender connotation. Ginger and lime was just that, a universal take on the Moscow. We wanted our customers to let us worry about those minute, minute details and focus on taking the time to relax, kick their feet up, and enjoy the company of friends and family. And as all of us know the feeling of being overwhelmed in this digital age, we wanted Study Break to be that breath of fresh air of human connection and authentic relationships. With our, with our branding and design finished, Study Break was ready to take off. The plan was to launch with prominent LA restaurants and bars. Armed with samples and glass vials, I set off to pre-sell study break. I, I spent a few weeks talking with owners and managers. I'm not gonna lie, it was really, really tough. By the end of February, we had, we had about 8 accounts um that are ready to launch with us in March. With our soft opening with our first restaurant, Okarro LA um. That Bacar LA in early March that went extremely well. We sold over 10 kegs in the first week. However, by March 15th, all of our on-premise partners had shut down due to COVID-19 and study break. I faced its first sink or swim popsicle. It took a few weeks to find my balance in the changing landscape of COVID, but I knew I wanted to share study break. I found a new local salary to partner up with, and we were able to cancel C break at the end of May. At the beginning of June, I started to go down, I started to go out and sell the independent liquor and grocery stores throughout LA. I spent all day speaking with owners and managers and come back at night to plan my next day. There's no option other than to succeed. With no marketing, Study Break began to fly off the shelves just through word of mouth. Liquor store owners loved us as we took care of them when they ran out midweek, and we never compromised on our customer service. So fast forward all the way to today and we just passed the 100 store mark in Los Angeles with stores spanning from Malibu all the way down to Long Beach.

Ray Latif [1:08:10] Sean, unfortunately your time is up, but thank you so much. Well done. Thank you. All right, let's go to the judges. Uh, Sinead, we'll start with you. You know, we talked about this earlier, the market for hard seltzer is booming, but it's becoming a very, very crowded category. Um, you know, what do you think about study break's approach to, uh, this category and, and in particular, what do you think of the formulation at, you know, 6.9% alcohol and 170 calories?

Speaker 2 [1:08:41] So, uh, that was something that actually struck me when I first tasted these. Uh, I think is most seltzer consumers are still, uh, looking at that 100 calorie offering that Slim can because it has really been driven by, by the bigger companies. Uh, I think for me personally, I found these a little bit sweet, uh, when I tasted them, but I did appreciate the very clear flavor profiles that were on the label as well. Uh, again, going back to the consumer. Or they are looking at that calorie count, health and wellness as a factor in terms of how seltzer consumers are making their decisions on what they're drinking. So I think the calorie count of 170 is definitely a little bit towards the higher end of what I have seen, whether that's through samples that have been sent to us as a distributor or what I've seen in the market as well. So it's just something to be conscious of.

Ray Latif [1:09:30] Yeah, let's stay on the formulation, Tom. Wine made with wine from oranges, again, zero sugar, but at 170 calories. You know, what are your thoughts on the liquid? There's a lot of things I like here. I like that it's wine-based. I like that it's fermented oranges. The flavor combinations are good, but I agree that these are just too sweet. I appreciate the fact that we're using a natural sweetener here, but we've gone well beyond the tipping point of perception of. Sweetness, I would dial the sweetness down in terms of perception down to maybe a quarter of what you have, and I think it would start to be a much more balanced drinking experience as it is right now. It's, it's too plainantly sweet for my taste, and that's just, that's just my perspective. And Joy, you know, Sean outlined the inspiration behind Study Break, um, and what it represents to him. Uh, you know, what do you think about sort of that inspiration and how it has been communicated in the can and the branding that you see today?

Speaker 2 [1:10:38] Yeah, I love the entrepreneurial spirit behind, uh, you know, your story and what you were inspired to do, um, because, you know, there's always a reason to create something that you think is missing, right? If you see something that is a gap in the products that you've got access to, to think and then, you know, actually brew something that is going to address your needs as an individual and as your peers it's a. Great, um, you know, step forward, so I think the story there, um, makes a ton of sense. I think it's a story that a lot of, um, craft brewers and, um, brewers in general have, so, um, kudos to you on that. Um, I think that, um, it seems that the name right for the products, um, and the brands came out of what that what that impetus was for you starting, um, study Break and. I think it's really clever. Um, the question and a little bit of feedback I have on that because, you know, knowing that the Balc industry is the implication of the connotation around age, right? So thinking about that 21 plus and ensuring that we don't give the perception that this is for somebody younger than the legal drinking age is the only piece of feedback that I have for you to just be cautious about.

Ray Latif [1:11:53] And Benny, uh, you get the last word, um, uh, a cocktail inspired hard seltzer. Um, you know, uh, in terms of consumer education, you know, what do you think are some of the things that Sean will need to think about in terms of, uh, discussing these products and brand attributes? I think there might be a little bit more explanation needed in understanding what a cocktail is in this regard. Just because hard seltzers are the number one sort of selling product in this space. I think really helping people to know the difference between this not necessarily being just a hard seltzer but also a cocktail, I think it also eliminates some of the concern. I think that. was said about it being a little bit of a higher, higher calorie count because again hard seltzer, everyone's looking for this low calorie kind of beverage, but that's not what this is. This this offers a little bit more than that, so I think helping to create the the separation between those two, I think eases people into it being a little bit of a higher calorie. It also being even a little bit sweeter, which again most people wouldn't necessarily. be used to, but I think that's how you can differentiate yourself from what is actually in the market right now and could possibly win or sort of take the lead in that space. All right, great feedback, great presentation once again, Sean. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right, uh, you know, this is a tough competition, and I thought all the finalists did a great job. Uh, kudos to everyone who participated today, um, and I know it's going to be a tough decision for the judges, but before we get to the part where the judges convene and decide a winner, I'd like to sort of debrief and get some general thoughts on this round as a whole. We saw some pretty interesting concepts, um, and I think There's some interesting, there are some comments that are that the judges made about formulation, marketing, branding, and let's sort of talk about these things in a in a general sense. Benny, let's start with you. We heard so much about mission and purpose and the reason for being. Some things I think the judges called call that as being articulate and well thought out. Some things needed improvement. In general, what are some of the things that these brands need to do to really, really highlight what they're doing from a mission, mission-based standpoint? Um, I think, I think a lot of them really have their mission locked. I think it's just how do you tell that visually, um, and how do you tell that in, in your marketing, in your social media, um, in your constant communication you have with your consumer? Is it as clear to you as it is to I think everyone else, and I think that's often very hard to do, um, packaging, visualization of concepts, it can get very muddled and it can be very difficult, but I think a lot of that information exists in most of these brands. I think we just need to be very I think they just really need to lock to ensure that what they're driving forward in their narrative is truly coming across as crystal clear as possible in every touch point of their brand across all levels, and I think that's really how you drive the narrative and really get the community to fall in love with the brand as much as you love the brand yourself. And Sinead, um, yeah, I'm sure your shelves are already pretty packed at this point, and, you know, it's pretty, it's, it's an evolving process for you to determine, you know, what new products and brands can appear on your shelves. Um, what are some of the things that, uh, brands really need to do to stand out to you, um, and for you to say, OK, this belongs on my shelf. Um, what are some of the things that you heard today that really want to make you put these products on, uh, in your stores?

Speaker 2 [1:16:05] So, I think for us as a distributor, we really do start with what's in, what's in the can, um, because we wanna make sure that the, the liquid is, is good. We have a, you know, a, a big sales force that has got to sell something that's based on You know, a, based on enjoyment, based on good flavors, based on a well-made product, but also having a good brand story behind it that, you know, has a link to community, has a link to mission, has a link to purpose, um, and also then as we look at, uh, as we evaluate brands as well, it's also where does it fit within our portfolio of brands. Is there a need within the market that that particular brand is addressing? So those are some of the things that we as a distributor look at when we're evaluating brands. I think the one thing I appreciated about all of the things that were all of the brands that were presented today is the level of diversity that's coming through in terms of liquid, in terms of approach to market. Uh, and also in terms of the, the different demographics that the brands are speaking to, and I think we as distributors, that's something that we have to look to because we do service all demographics varying different areas as well. So that's important as to where we can find that niche and making sure that that's clear to us. Uh, I also think that looking at things like your social media and websites, there's, that aspect of the. Business is incredibly important. If me as a, as a consumer or a distributor, if I look on your website, are you able to tell me what stores you're currently selling in if you're self-distributed, or are you able to say, hey, come to our brewery and tasty, you get that experience, that experience of going to see what's happening and what's being made there as well. So all of that has to come through when we're looking at, at, uh, brands and looking at how we flesh out our portfolio.

Ray Latif [1:17:50] Tom, uh, Sinee touched on this at the top. She said, you know, the liquid's got to be great. Um, and I think based on your feedback, I heard a lot of really good things about the, the products that you tasted, um. Is there something though that uh you know really stood out for you, you know, in terms of the formulation of these products? Um, again, many of, not many, but some of which we saw with really interesting ingredients not common to this industry. You know, um, the quality of the beverage is like the, the bare minimum requirement for entry into this space and I think that what we need to be really mindful of is that um there's an opportunity to leverage and really amplify your message and your brand through the choice and the curation of the, of the beverages you choose to make. Um, I think thoughtfulness and detail, attention to detail is really going to amplify that and when you really understand Your, um, your position and your point of view and you're able to amplify all those details into a cohesive holistic, um, statement. I think that's when you see the synergies and you really start to um understand how those products are really going to resonate not just with consumers but as an experience and, and the thing I keep thinking about is all of these were very unique. There was, um, every one of these, um, of the pitches were, were amazingly well presented. People should be really proud of what they did. But there's a great opportunity to really think about um the occasion that you really want these beverages experience and I would just ask that people use a little bit of an editorial filter in terms of thinking about that maybe as they approach the design of these, of these products. And Joy, um, in terms of business strategy, um, you know, it's one thing to, to, to really have a great mission, it's one thing to have a really great liquid, it's another thing to have great packaging, but the business strategy as a whole has also got to be great. Um, in terms of what you saw today, uh, are there things that uh these finalists need to be mindful of when it comes to building their businesses and eventually turning a profit?

Speaker 2 [1:19:49] Yeah, um, absolutely, I think um first just congratulations to to all the entrepreneurs, the, the, the folks who came to pitch today great job very well done, um, I think just to echo a couple of things, very differentiated, um, products, but then also um the diversity amongst, um, the, the group here was amazing and something that um I think we'd just love to see, so congrats again. I think another kudos to this group as well because you've had a tough year, right? This is a tough time to actually, you know, get into the business and try to be as scrappy as possible and still, you know, have an inkling of something that really is going to make sense. So again, congratulations to you on that. I think despite, you know, the tough year that this has been to kind of get your businesses off the ground and up and running. And there's been a lot of successes that you guys can point to and this should be, you know, one of those successes. You've made it to the final round, um, great, um, you know, foundation to what you've started and there's going to be more success to come. Um, I think as you move into the next phase of your business, like you've already lived through some of these challenges trying to prepare and be a little bit more flexible. For um maybe the start um of your business to kind of morph into something that is gonna be um you know, strong against the current reality um in the market right now. So a lot of startups in the on-premise and thinking about how that's going to change in the future, really focusing on the packaging being very clearly identifying everything about the brand that you need to identify because that. Might be the only way that a person is going to be able to come into contact with your brand so really paying attention to the messaging there, um, still being very creative about that, you know, consumer um audience and that personal story that got you to the place that you are right now and communicating that effectively as well, um, all those things are going to be super important as you move forward um and build your business further. So congrats again.

Ray Latif [1:21:49] Indeed, congratulations and uh This wouldn't be as great a competition as it has been without our fantastic judging panels, um, and you know, this final round of judges that we have, this final round panel that we have has just been second to none. So thank you all so much for all your contributions, your feedback and advice has been so valuable to these participants and to everyone watching as well. So thank you, Snaps, snaps. All right, uh, the judges are going to uh go deliberate. Pick a winner and we're going to announce that winner in about 30 minutes. So please stay tuned. We'll also, in addition to announcing the winner, we will be having a short interview with that winner. So don't touch that dial. That's dating me. Don't touch that mouse, and we'll be back in about 30 minutes or so. Thanks for watching. All right. Welcome back. Once again, I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Bevnet's Taste Radio podcast, and it's time to announce the winner of the Brewbound 12 Pitchlam competition presented by Brewers Collective, the craft business unit of Anheuser-Busch. Before we make that announcement, uh, I just want to note that uh the judges were all really, really impressed with all 12 semi-finalists and uh urged all of them. to reach out and connect with them going forward. They all want to help in any way they can, um, and you know, the folks at Brewers Collective also want to note that, uh, you know, the Elevate QA program that they have is open not just to the semi-finalists, but to all brewers, craft brewers out there who want to enhance their formulations and look for ways to make better beer essentially. So once again, you know, congratulations to all the 12 semi-finalists, and please reach out to the judges. They want to hear from you. They're expecting to hear from you. If you need their contact information, just reach out to us at Brewbound and we'll get it to you. All right, now it's time to announce the winner of the competition and $10,000 in an ad package from Brewbound, along with collaboration efforts and opportunities to work with the top brewers at Brewers Collective. This winner is Lunar. Congratulations to Lunar and Kevin Wong and his team. Right now we have live with us on the show, Kevin Wong, co-founder of Lunar. Kevin, how are you? Doing really good. Um, so I have no words to say. I'm, I'm really excited. Well, we're really excited for you. Uh, congratulations once again. I bet you're over the moon. OK, I had to do it. I'm sorry. Now, in all seriousness, very well deserved, uh, the judges were very complimentary of everything that they heard, saw, and drank. Um. You know, I, I, I, I'm wondering, I mean, how did you, how did you prepare for this because your presentation was tight, um, your packaging is, you know, I think everyone noted top-notch. Um, you know, what was, what was your, when you heard that you were going to be a semi-finalist, when you were preparing to, to join this competition, you know, what was the process? Yeah, I think, you know, for us, for both me and my co-founder Sean, and you know, I can't thank him enough, you know, the two of us, I wouldn't be here without him, and you know, to us this brand and what we're about is personal. And I think that's, this is what happens when something, you know, is so personal and meaningful to us. Everything kind of comes a little bit more naturally, right? That the copy on the, on the, on the can, right? The flavors, the formulation, these are all things that, you know, we've, you've tried so many times, taste testing, formulating, fixing yeast issues, and at the end of the day, this is just something driven by passion, and I think that's You know what really drives us and, you know, continues to drive us going forward. So yes, we have used it today, but you know, stay tuned because we're not going to stop after just this one flavor. Fantastic. I'm looking forward to uh trying the new flavors as they come out. Um, so what's next for the brand? I mean, obviously, you know, you know, a, a, a big win for, for Lunar and for the company. Um, you know, what are your plans going into 2021 and beyond? Yeah, no, we're, there's a lot of stuff going on. I mean, this week alone with rebound, uh, Pitch Slam 12 is one of the big highlights of the, of the week so far, but, you know, we're really gearing up for expansion in 2021. We have Lichee launching next week. We have a third flavor that's in the works for January, uh, Lunar New Year, uh, which is coming in February. I mean, we'd be remiss to, you know, not, uh, capitalize on that as a marketing opportunity for us and our brand. So we're already planning in February. And then really planning up production for next year, you know, we're figuring out how to expand to California, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Texas. These are all key markets for us. So really trying to find the right distributors, the right partners to kind of take our brand and scale it. And then at the same time trying to make sure we have enough production to meet our demand because right now that's probably one of our biggest constraints is not meeting, uh, not meeting our demand. And lastly, it's really just evolving the brand and evolving the mission. You know, we started today here being about the AAPI community. That's kind of our our core focus, um, but really, as I mentioned on our pitch, it's about hyphenated identity. It's about all of us who are in between, uh, who for us, when you ask, where's home for me, I don't really know. Is it in America? Is it in Taiwan? Um, and a lot of people have the same kinds of questions, and that's that kind of like duality is something we really want to bring light to the world. Um, and you know, we talked a lot about a lot, all the semi and finalists this, this time around. Everyone talks about mission and it's just so important to us and we want to make sure we continue nailing that. Yeah, I mean, heritage is so important and I can tell, you know, how passionate you are about it, and it's interesting because, you know, for me, again, I think I mentioned this, you know, earlier in the round is it can sometimes be this weird dynamic that you're in right now where when you were a kid, you know, you almost tried to hide your identity, you almost tried to hide your heritage because you were afraid that you were going to be knocked for it. Now it's just like this is an opportunity not just to embrace it. But to run with it and run with it as a business, as a culture, as a, as a, you know, as something that you are, and I think it's, you know, something that really resonated with the judges as well. So congrats on, you know, really putting your heart into this and putting your heart on your sleeve or your your your your canned sleeve, so to speak. Um, you know, last thing, you know, in terms of You know, I, I know you mentioned production as being something that you, that is going to be a constraint and a challenge for you going forward, but what else do you really need, you know, if you're talking to the, you know, folks watching right now and, you know, who are willing to help you in any way they can, you know, what's one other way that you're looking that could really help you as you move forward? Yeah, we have just kicked off our our fundraising round. Um, so that's one way. So please do reach out if you are interested in like our mission. Um, you know, that's probably the biggest thing on our minds for the next 6 weeks. Uh, production planning is the second, and then really uh demand gen and distribution is, is, is 3rd. Um, demand and supply on both sides of the same coin. Um, we think we're doing pretty well on the demand side. So definitely wanted to, you know, learn a lot from everyone. You know, Sean and I, we are both from the tech industry. We're not, you know, we're new to this space. And you know what we bring to the space is passion and hustle, and one thing we don't have is, you know, years and years of experience. Um, there's so many little, little things, right, like negotiating distributor contract like contracts or how to pick the right one or how to, you know, identify great target accounts. Like these are all things that for us, we're kind of figuring out on the fly. We're putting our our minds to it, um, but definitely we want, you know, we want to hear from other people with experience and that's, you know, advisors and people with Kind of a lot of experience is something we're definitely keen on, uh, picking people's brains for. So, please do reach out. Don't be a, don't be a stranger. And, uh, yeah, you have our email [email protected], [email protected]. Um, and then, sorry, that's, that's all. No, no, that that's fantastic, and I don't mean to cut you off, but I mean, I, I think, uh, probably the best thing to do is to start with the judges, as I mentioned, you know, the judges definitely want to hear from you and the other 11 semi-finalists. They want to help. They, they see. The great things that you guys are doing, the great start that you're off to, and want to build and help you build and enhance everything with Lunar and your company. Um, again, this goes, uh, this goes to all the other semi-finalists as well. Um. You know, Kevin, you may be new to the industry, maybe kind of green, but you guys are off to a great start. Congratulations on everything that you've done to this point. Congratulations on winning rebound and pitch slam 12. Again, very well deserved. Fantastic. Um, please stay in touch. Let us know how things are going. We want to, uh, keep, keep an eye and keep track of everything lunar, uh, because, like I said, I think, uh, you guys are off to a great start and it's gonna be fun to see the progress that you guys make in the coming months and years. No, we're honestly so honored, uh, both to be here to share the stage with such amazing uh fellow brewers. So thank you for that and that opportunity, Brewbound. Thank you to the judges for the feedback. Uh, thank you, Ray, for hosting. Uh, and then also I wanted to make sure, one, thank you, Sean, uh, for being there for me. Facebook tells us that we're friends of 11 years now, so we're practically married. Um, and I can't do this without, without it. So it's really awesome. Wish he was right here behind me, uh, you know, live with, with us here today. And wanted to thank our community. Um, without our community, we would definitely not be here today. And we actually write this on or can sleeve, that's, you know, without us, without them, we would not be here. And so that's something that I want to make sure we call out. And lastly, thanking our significant others, you know, Sean and I, we live in New York and we started homebrewing in our tiny studio apartments in Manhattan. So honestly, not a lot of space for anything. Um, and so thank you for bearing with us as we embarked on this journey. And you know, to everyone out there watching, uh, please stay tuned. We're, you know, really excited for what's coming up and, you know, definitely I want to keep delivering hits and delicious flavors to everyone. Very, very well said, Kevin, uh, and I'm glad you, you, you thanked your significant others because in the, in the, in the world of entrepreneurship, I think they're the ones who really are, are perhaps most affected by the, uh, the, the hustle and the grind and what it takes to really be successful in this, uh, this crazy business of ours. Uh, once again, congratulations and congratulations to everyone who participated. This was such a fun competition. Uh, I feel like, um, you know, with the diversity that we saw in terms of the brewers, and what they brought to the table was just, just amazing. I hope we can do it again next year. But until then, uh, thank you to everyone at Bevnet and Brewbound. Uh, everyone behind the scenes did such an amazing job on this competition. Thank you to the judges. Uh, and thank you to Brewers Collective for presenting, uh, this competition. It's, it's extremely appreciated and it's extremely appreciated by the beer community as well. All right, until next time, signing off for everyone. I'm Ray Latif. We'll talk to you next time.