Spirits Consulting Group is focused on innovation and new to market brands so as you can imagine, we are often asked what is needed to start your own spirits company. Whether you are a first-time entrepreneur or have already launched your own beverage alcohol brand, the first thing is to make sure that you have a product or brand that is really different than what is already out there. There are A LOT of products already and many of them sit in distributor warehouses or gathering dust on the shelves. If you don’t have something unique and powerful to offer you should keep working on it until you do. We work with the best producers, flavor specialists, designers, glass developers and branding experts in the U.S. to make sure that the liquid, visual and branding components of your product are the best they can be. You don’t need to produce everything yourself. You can start with a production partner but make sure you avoid the common pitfalls such as not owning your own formulation or having an unrealistic cost of goods for your intended shelf price.
After product, production, pricing and brand, the next thing to focus on is who is your consumer and how do you reach them. Do the work during the branding process to know who your intended target audience is. “Everybody” is not a target audience. You may get to universal appeal eventually, but you need to start with the most likely consumer to adopt your product and a plan to reach them. These early adopters are key to creating awareness and repeat purchases that will give you the ability to go to your next target audience and then your next. With online targeting you can see quickly if your planned target audience is really your customer or if you have a different customer profile than what you had originally thought. Pivot, if needed. Don’t keep trying to convince uninterested consumers just because you thought they would be your best consumers. Go to where your consumers are and know the best way to reach them online, on premise and off premise.
In addition to focusing on the right consumer, start in a clearly defined geographic area. The US is a huge market with thousands of accounts and different regulations in each state. You should have a phased plan for expanding into new states. Start focused, understand who your consumer is and then expand out. Consider services only distributors instead of waiting months or even years for a distributor to take on your product. Develop this phased, state by state route to market plan with clear tactics and KPIs for execution.
Finally, make sure you have the team and the budget to do everything for the first two years so that you can lay a strong foundation for future growth. Launching a brand in the beverage alcohol space is a very slow, labor-intensive process that requires the right sequencing of activities and investments to be successful. We usually create 3-5 year financial plans and strategies for our clients so that they know what is the most effective way to spend each dollar, what they need to focus on and how their team will evolve over time. Like any new venture, doing the work at the outset to create the best product, an actionable plan and getting the resources to execute the plan is the surest way to be around long enough to succeed.
