Brewbound Pitch Slam 14: Semi-Finals - Sake High!

Speaker 1 [00:24] Let's move on to our next semi-finalist for the Brewbound Pitch Slam, that's uh Brenna Turner, who is the co-founder and CEO of Sake High. Oh And please just

Speaker 2 [00:39] America has a drinking problem. What you're drinking, it's low quality, unhealthy, and unoriginal. Big brand seltzers, beers, wines, they're really just all the same, and they don't give you the buzz that you deserve. Introducing Sake High, America's number 1 canned sake. With 2 drinks in every can, Sake High packs a strong punch while still keeping you feeling great. Our sake is gluten-free, sulfate-free, tannin-free, with zero sugar added, it's a better drink tonight and the next morning. All of our sake is small batch and brewed in Kyoto, Japan, using the highest quality ingredients local to Kyoto. Sakeha is redefining the alcohol category. We aren't another seltzer, beer, canned cocktail, but we're still packed in a can and ready to take on the go. Sake High is versatile and it says it right on our can. sip it like a beer, drink it like a shot, or mix it like a cocktail. For every type of drinker, there's a reason to drink sake high. Our mission at Sake High is to create new and unforgettable memories through a unique and high quality drink. Just like the bird on our can, when you drink sake high, you fly high out of your comfort zone, meeting the person next to you at the bar and sharing the drink with new friends and old. Sake High's goal is to elevate life's best moments and to bring you and the people around you higher. I launched Sake High just 10 months ago after serendipitously meeting our brewmaster in Kyoto, Japan. Visiting some family, I told them about the lack of sake knowledge and brand recognition in the US. Together we created the perfect sake for US consumers, and we packaged it in a way that is easily understood and enjoyed. Sake Hai's female founded and now sold in more than 80 independent retailers across California, 50 more in Michigan and available for nationwide delivery. Our next step is to expand to more regional and national chains. So next time you're looking at that seltzer or the beer, choose something new and choose Sake High. Thank you.

Speaker 1 [02:41] Well done. All right, it's not a beer, it's not a wine, it's not a seltzer, it's sake high, uh, just. Uh, Brennan mentioned that, you know, the next time you're looking for a beer or a seltzer, maybe look for a sake high, but are consumers going to be looking for a for a product like this?

Speaker 3 [02:58] Uh, personally, I'm, I would not, but my husband would. So you get, you know, if we're out, you're going to get one of, one of the two of us kind of picking it up. So that's what you, you gotta hope for, um, but I've been seeing, you know, again, people want something different, and I, I really love the packaging. I think it, it stands out and it, it explains what it is. So if you're a sake fan and you want to go. You know, try something new. I think it's, it's gonna jump out at you.

Speaker 1 [03:22] Yeah, feels like it's, uh, a bit more approachable, uh, in so many ways than a typical sake that we see in bottles, you know, Ryan, but, um, do you know, do you think this is a sort of, um, way to get people into the sake category?

Speaker 4 [03:35] Yeah, potentially. I think it's gonna be a key of marketing and, and, and product availability. I think getting people to drink sake when they're not at a sushi bar, I think is the challenge. People don't associate sake with occasions in my mind other than that. So how do you expand beyond that and get them to grab this when they're at a grocery store or they're doing an impulse trip to some other liquor store, um, for other occasions beyond sushi.

Speaker 1 [03:57] Rich, um, you know, best for you alcohol, simple and clean ingredients. It feels like people are looking to have a better experience with their alcoholic beverages. Um, do you get that when you're looking at Sake high from a packaging standpoint? I mean, obviously if you saw that in the presentation, but, um, are you understanding that?

Speaker 5 [04:16] Not necessarily just from the packaging, but like when you turn around the can and it kind of explains it a little bit more, have it as a shot, have it with a cocktail, I kind of get where they're going with it. So like. Yes and no. The back of the packaging helped like for someone that like me that doesn't drink sake outside of like, you know, a sushi restaurant, like kind of understand where this fits in my drinking rotation. So yeah.

Speaker 1 [04:39] Well, I mean that's the thing, you want people to be drinking this on a regular basis. Um, Jamie, do you think this could be, you know, a regular Purchase for consumers, do you think you know sake can become that next sort of alcoholic beverage that's uh is trending?

Speaker 6 [04:51] You know, it's tricky um sake is one of those categories where like it seems like it's a no brainer and people would drink more of it, but it's also still one of those categories that. In all this time still hasn't really reached scale um outside of you know again like occasions that are sushi or fish based or things like that I mean it's not to say that you don't have retail based sake brands, but I do think it's a destination and not something that people are drinking all the time so I think having one that's approachable could be really interesting. Um, it's also just a very polarizing flavor, right? So like it's preference if you are into sake and that's your thing, I think you have more, um. Opportunity with those consumers, but I think there's also maybe something to helping bridge the gap from people that are currently drinking wine or seltzer and figuring out a way to get them into sake versus. Thinking that they'll just come into sake on their own if that makes sense. The only other thing I'll say is it was a little confusing to me, um, just the, the name of the brand. I thought there was maybe a little something something extra added in there, so just be mindful of, of, of that for people that, um, may not be as familiar with the brand

Speaker 1 [06:11] that was in the small, small, small letters of something something extra. No, just kidding, just kidding.