Holly Berrigan

Sorel Liqueur: The Ultimate Modifier Alcohol has a problem no one in the spirits industry talks about: alcohol doesn't taste good. This is by design. Taste (like most of our senses) doubles as a defensive mechanism: our body rejects things that are (or might be) poison. Pure alcohol, by definition, is poison: that's why every bottle of alcohol sold comes with a warning label; why it's a controlled substance. This has in no way diminished human desire to consume alcohol. Humans discovered the effects alcohol has on the body (both good and bad) and have spent thousands of years desperately trying to minimize the impact so we can enjoy the effect. Ancient Egyptians soaked botanicals in alcohol to make tinctures. The Celts began the practice of aging spirits in wood. Water, sugar, fruits; all things people have added over the millennia to make spirits more potable. Big liquor solves this problem by adding flavor to alcohol. This is why things like cinnamon flavored whiskey, blueberry flavored vodka, and jalapeño flavored tequila exist. At Sorel Liqueur we reverse the logic. Everyone else starts with alcohol and adds flavor: We start with flavor and add alcohol. The end result isn't just objectively delicious. It's also infinitely flexible. The combination of botanicals in Sorel effectively masks the flavor of ethanol. Practically, this means not only will it combine with any base spirit, it compliments the base by suppressing the flavor of ethanol, thus enhancing flavors. Gins have more botanical notes. Aged liquors (rum or whisky) have more barrel notes. Agave bases (tequila or mezcal) show more fruit and smoke. Don't believe me? Try mixing your favorite base 1:1 with Sorel. I've got a restaurant in Northern KY who's serving equal parts Sorel and Chartreuse. A spot in DC is serving equal parts Sorel and Sake. A dive bar in ATL is serving equal parts Sorel and peanut butter whisky (it's a perfect PBJ shot). And then there's this conversation from a decade ago, from my friend Matthew Sheinberg: Sorel and Laphroaig. Given modern drink trends, you may not need a base spirit at all in your favorite Sorel cocktail. Add a bit of Sorel to your favorite carbonated beverage, alc or non-alc. Top off your sparkling wine with Sorel instead of wasting your orange juice in a mimosa. Add Sorel to your seltzer with a spritz of lime. Ginger beer and Sorel makes a hibiscus mule that absolutely crushes summer drink menus. Or just drink it neat. The ultimate modifier requires no modification. #Caribbean #BlackOwned #ForTheCulture #DrinkSorel

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“Growing a CPG company, especially in the food and beverage space, ‘is astronomically harder today,’. ” Paul Voge you said it, man. So many truth bombs dropped in this article about the challenges and difficulties growing and scaling a CPG brand in today’s world. The cruel reality is that it takes a whole lot of money or a whole lot of time (and most times both) along with a fair amount of luck to have a chance at making it. If you dont have a ton of money then you better have a ton of time, some good fortune, and a product that can withstand many changes of the seasons (and "trends"). For most emerging brands today its all about survival and just finding a way.  There are lots of traps out there– lots of shiny objects– lots of vanity metrics hoping to be noticed and cared about–but at the end of the day sometimes its just about living to see another one. Here’s to all you day-to-dayers and week-to-weekers out there that are all just finding a way. Keep finding it.

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Marketers report a staggering 760% increase in email revenue when adopting personalized and segmented campaigns. If nothing else will convince you, that number sure should! Want to dive deeper on the most powerful personalization tactics for wine brands? Check out our most recent video and blog: https://lnkd.in/gXepWbEt :: #emailmarketingisourjam #emailmavens #emailmarketingforwineries #sellmorewineonline #emailpersonalization

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Real takes on a whole new meaning in electrolytes. In today's wellness market, the term "natural" has become increasingly ambiguous. At PUREST, we're bringing clarity back to REAL hydration through science-backed, whole food ingredients. Our commitment to genuine natural solutions includes: 🌊 Solar-harvested sea salts containing 85+ trace minerals 🍓 Organic freeze-dried fruits retaining 98% of nutrient content 🌿 Whole food botanicals ⚡️ Ionic mineral bonds for superior absorption The result? An electrolyte blend that mirrors human blood composition, providing optimal hydration through nature's own blueprint. Learn more about our whole food hydration™ approach @purestelectrolyte.com. #WholeFoodHydration #WellnessInnovation #CleanLabel #Hydration

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HUGE deal: PepsiCo is acquiring Siete Foods for $1.2 billion. Before you doubt that valuation, I’ll say it:  Siete earned their price tag. CPG is hard.  Fundraising in this economic environment is hard. Disrupting stale categories (beans, tortillas, salsa, sauces) is hard. Challenging multi-brand, billion-dollar companies is very hard. Winning market share in salty snacks (chips) is very very hard. Building a multi-category food brand is very very very hard. Getting acquired by your biggest competitor – near impossible. All of those accomplishments are a legacy to be proud of. But the hardest work is just beginning. Because now it’s the family of founders’ job – all 7 of them –  To protect the legacy that they’ve built. To preserve the values that made this brand what it is today. To fight for what they believe when literal billions are at stake. Siete Family Foods x PepsiCo, Keep fighting the good fight. #food #innovation #mergers #acquisitions #marketing #finance

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"What truly excites me at Clif Family is creating unforgettable wine and food experiences that connect people to each other and to our planet." Did you catch our interview with Clif Family President Linzi Gay? We are excited to feature Clif Family's delicious mixed nuts in our new Subscription "Coffee Break" Boxes, designed to help remote and hybrid teams connect through the power of food. When you work with Narrative Food and our community of small-batch makers, it shows just how much you care about people and the planet. https://lnkd.in/eqCGwHJT #supportsmallbusinesses #shopsmall #smallbusinessmatters,#bcorp #b1 #climateneutral #1percentfortheplanet #wethechange,#employeeappreciation #employeeengagement #employeeretention #teamappreciation,#giftsthatgiveback #giftwithpurpose #impactfulgiving,#sustainablefood #eatkind,#corporatewellness #workplacewellness,#remoteworkers,#corporategifting,#businessasaforceforgood #consciouscapitalism

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Why is the CPG journey from inception to consumer so freaking difficult?? So many hurdles to overcome and battle through... The system is broken and we have been trying to figure out how to build some kind of a road map that allows founders to at least have an idea of what is coming. After talking to 100's of founders and industry experts we have compiled the beginnings of what we feel should be able to help, we are calling it SKU Trails. This info is straight from the source and from our own experiences. We simply laid it out in a way that we feel can at least start to shed some light on the journey of CPG products. We've worked on this layout with a few founders and their brands already (including our own) and its been invaluable. Gonna start sharing the madness and we encourage any and all feedback as we do. The ULTIMATE goal is to help the ecosystem and improve the chance of brand success! Jonny Boyarsky Tim Xenos Catapult Commercialization Services Trevor Davis #cpg #founder #journey

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Interesting article in the The New York Times re: Ultra processed foods (UPFs) - gift link below for anyone without a subscription. I've said this in previous posts, but I think that the natural /better-for-you industry should tread carefully in overly demonizing these foods - in part because they are often more affordable to many, many people and in part because the current science shows correlation between eating UPFs an increased health issues - but no clear causal relationship (to date). Furthermore, the definition of UPFs is still fluid. Is packaged whole grain bread a UPF? Technically yes. Is that the same as eating a bag of chips? Probably not. So how SHOULD this industry handle this ever-changing dialogue? In the same way that we should all be eating: By celebrating the value and diversity of whole foods - but acknowledging that eating a packaged cookie as a part of one's diet isn't going to kill anyone. I'd rather sell not just co. because it's the best damn stuff on the market - and have our lack of junk & nutritious ingredients as added benefits. So that anyone who picks it up know's it's for them, too, no matter where they start or how they eat. https://lnkd.in/eBRTT67Q

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Casalú- Named "Best Rum Seltzer" by Rolling Stone. How we got to our final flavor profile was a crazy ride. No expert advice followed, no industry experience. Just culture...and a keg. Here's the story: In 2020 Ricardo A. Sucre is sitting by the pool, Bad Bunny blasting in the background and High Noon in hand. That was the light bulb moment: "Why in the world is there no hard seltzer for latinos (or like fancy industry people like to call them now: RTDs) and why in the world is there none made with what we drink, real Rum??" He goes full Breaking bad mode and heads to Target to buy a Soda Stream. He starts mixing ron añejo, sparkling water, and juices which gave us the first versions of Casalú. Fast-forward a year and we find ourselves in North Carolina State University startup Accelerator. Our peers were all tech companies who could validate demand pretty quickly. Us...well, we were trying to explain the relevance of Latino Culture and brand. We had to do something! We packed our bags and headed to Miami. A second(or first) home for many of us Latinos. We rented a tiny house that was behind a tiny house in a semi-ghetto area (will tell you that story another day). But basically, we start crashing parties and get feedback directly from customers. We tweaked our ABV and lowered our Lemon concentration from our home made formula. That's the true beginning for what's in our Limón can of Casalú today. We still listen to our customers and make tweaks accordingly. But more importantly, with the flavors coming, we keep the same principles. We crash parties and do our grassroots events with home made mixes and see what happens. That's our R&D and we wouldn't change it for anything else. If it connects with our roots, then we know it will work. And who knows, it might actually make it to a major spot in Rolling Stone - Salú https://lnkd.in/ewF35PPB

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NonAlc Bottle Shop profitability is HARD! But not impossible. Boisson filing for Chapter 11 isn't indicative of the interest, demand, and excitement of this new, booming market 🚀 Neilsen Company shows Off Premise up +31.2% vs a year prior (Aug 2023 report). I think the potential market is the majority of the population, who want a good drink. My real-world experience comes from operating a Non-Alcoholic Bar + Bottle Shop for 3.5 years in a tourist destination: Ocean Beach. In a major city: San Francisco. I have more revenue with NONALC products than FOOD. (And I sell a LOT of delicious sandwiches and vegan avocado wraps!) I include the 90 min. NA Mixology Classes and 60 min. Temperance Tastings by reservation in this figure. I intentionally named it Ocean Beach Cafe. The margins, and what really brings the masses in, are the food and the coffee. (You should see my Google Analytics) But everyday, multiple times a day, people come from far and and wide to experience what we've curate. And we've had over 70 articles written about us because of the 100% NonAlc focus, which you don't really get for just being a friendly, community beachside cafe with a total vibe. If I had named it, lets say: "Niche NonAlc Bar," I would probably have only a third of the revenue. I'm not in the best location for a NA Bar + Bottle Shop. But, it was a great deal during COVID in 2020 that I couldn’t pass up. And when you're the only shop in town with the most relevant topic in F&B and deliver it with radical hospitality, people will come! I’ve seen several shops open after me and close before me. It breaks my heart 💔 I have a GREAT interest in helping folks have the best chance of success in this industry. 💪🏼 Taking on an F&B Brick + Mortar is the HARDEST thing you could do. Society's interest in having social spaces that are NonAlc focused is MASSIVE. I envision a time when these social spaces exist in multiple places within a city and are dotted all across the country. When desirable, adult Non-Alcoholic options on menus are ubiquitous. It's all happening; I just want it to move along even quicker and am here to help with that. 🌊 John deBary, epic article, thanks for creating it! https://lnkd.in/gaQF6tvJ #nonalcoholic #nonalcoholicbar #nabottleshop

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My Opinion that This is Fact: People that have never been a founder (especially in CPG) just don't truly understand what founders go through on a daily basis and how hard it is. Being a founder for over 10 years with Genius Juice, I understand exactly (or close enough anyway) where founders are coming from. When I do consulting now, I factor this in to every word I say and I actively listen to really feel where someone is coming from and how they feel, especially when it's something personal such as a formulation change, packaging upgrade, distribution strategy, etc. I've personally experienced working with teams in my own company i've founded where advisors simply see it high level and disregard important details that only founders are thinking of, whether it is label design, distribution, product formulation, SKUs to keep or cut, and so many more examples where founders have great intuition. Nothing can be more frustrating or simply stressful when your team doesn't truly understand the emotions you as a founder go through, the exhaustion, the amount of weight on their shoulders to make key decisions everyday and how they are hanging on by a thread for years with little to no pay and underfunded and potentially no end in sight. On top of this, the burnout factor that affects their own health, their relationships to significant others, children, and others in their lives. These factors CANNOT go unnoticed and founders need to be given the respect that they are sacrificing on ALL FRONTS. Jake Karls and team have been very open about this, that even with success, it's still fucking hard and causes a ton of stress to the body and mind. Having the right mentors (example Mike Fata, John Foraker who have been a founder/CEO and successfully exited) they can truly understand the daily battles and be right in the trenches with you. Most founders are not fully understood and people don't truly listen to hear the meaning behind their words and what they are going through emotionally. What most founders need are people to LISTEN and feel their emotions, this alone helps people feel better. This is a picture in 2015 of our very first Expo West in Hall E, 1 year into Genius Juice. We shared booths with another brand and had a 5x5.

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Micro-segmentation. If there's a Word of the Year for 2024 when it comes to selling wine DTC, it's micro-segmentation. Hands down. Why? Our customers are individuals, with individual preferences and styles. Micro-segmentation lets us treat them that way, with the right offer to the right person at the right time. Why else is micro-segmentation the Word of the Year in 2024 for wine DTC? Because it works. Today's new Enolytics 101 post shares the example of a winery who just earned $30,000 in four days through their largest Labor Day sale yet. Have a look. Ask questions. Let me know if we can help you too. https://lnkd.in/ehNE3Ecd

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Recent data from #BankofAmerica highlights a promising trend: amidst economic uncertainty, Gen Z is making smart adjustments to their spending habits. This proactive approach in managing finances may prompt significant adaptations in luxury or non-essential sectors, including the #wine industry. To stay relevant, the wine industry must innovate, offering products that not only meet Gen Z’s budget but also echo their ethical and environmental values. It’s about crafting experiences that are not just enjoyable but also #shareable and #sustainable. How can the wine industry evolve to captivate this value-conscious, digitally savvy generation? #GenZ #FinancialSavvy #WineMarketing #wineindustry #sonomastate #SSU #WBI #GERL #GrapeExpectationsResearchLab #WineIndustryToday #socialmedia #Marketing #consumerbehavior https://lnkd.in/g9p_grgA

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A simple quote from Mike Tyson and one of my favorites of all time: "Everybody has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth." It rings true in the day to day battles of business, especially in CPG. Here are some examples many CPG founders go through or ones I've personally battled: 🥴 You launch a product, did all the research for R&D, focus group testing, and reviewed the packaging thousands of times before launching, but still something went wrong either with shelf life, negative consumer/retailer feedback, or weak sales on shelf 💰 You had cash flow projections in place and expected that with X amount raised, it would last you for Y Months, but ran short of runway and were scrambling to raise more cash to keep the company going in difficult times 🤝 Formed partnerships, only disappointed to find out the partner backed out, or it wasn't the partnership you envisioned and now you are doing damage control and it's causing emotional pain to be with this person 🚛 Brought on a distributor thinking they would push the brand and it would be an estimated cost, but they didn't do their job, and the costs ended up sky-rocketing from chargebacks, thus losing money on every unit 😲You release a great product, and then a competitor comes up with a version of yours that is a lower price point and they have all the marketing dollars in the world to out-compete you. I can go on and on, but in this business, like any business, you have intentions when you go into it, and many times, it doesn't turn out the way you envisioned. What's your story of getting punched in the mouth?

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Big Heart Tea Co. Minty Blue was just featured on Whole Foods Market 2025 Trend Report! And I can’t even begin to tell you what this means to me, but I’ll try. In 2016, I was at a real crossroads with my tea business. Back then, it was still called Retrailer Tea (horrible name in hindsight, but hey, we sold tea out of a trailer, so it made sense to nobody but me). The world felt so divided, my social feeds were filled with negativity, and on top of that, I had a 2-year-old at home. Farmers markets weren’t cutting it anymore as a revenue stream, and I saw two options—close the business or go big. That’s when I saw Whole Foods’ 2017 Market Trend Report featuring tulsi and turmeric—two key ingredients in our Cup of Sunshine blend. I thought, “We’re on trend. Maybe I know what I’m doing.” So, I began crafting a plan to take my small, local tea company national. I renamed the company Big Heart because of tea’s natural power to bring people together and started doing some very DIY market research—literally hanging out in the tea aisle at Whole Foods. I spent hours observing the brands on the shelves and quickly realized that while all the teas were high-quality and value-based, none of the packaging spoke to me as a millennial who loves beautiful branding. So, I decided to create a tea company that spoke directly to its customers through both the quality of its ingredients and the design of its packaging. Here’s where the doubts came in. I told all my friends and family that our value prop was brand, and while they supported me, nobody fully understood what I meant. They couldn’t quite see the vision, but that was okay, because I did. I went all in, and in March 2017, we launched Big Heart Tea Co. Almost immediately, we started filling orders from early market adopters, specialty retailers, and small businesses. In a crowded tea market, our brand set us apart. Buyers constantly complimented our packaging, which got their attention first, but once they tasted the tea—simple blends made with whole, natural ingredients—they’d say, “And it tastes good, too!” Dare I say, we became the total package. As the company grew, we onboarded national accounts that further validated our position in the market. Every year, I reviewed Whole Foods’ market trend reports for continued validation and inspiration. For us, that report became a North Star, since the Whole Foods customer was always our target. Many of the herbs, flowers, and spices we use have been featured over the years. Now, to be featured in the 2025 report with our Minty Blue tea feels like a full-circle moment. I’m so honored and proud of what we’ve built—a company that has so much of my heart and soul wrapped up in it. Thank you for seeing us, the little Big Heart that could.

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And not just wine...

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If your email personalization game stalled out at ‘Dear First Name’ then this video is for you! Every single one of your subscribers is a human being with unique motivations and relationship with your winery. But too often we are sending email campaigns ‘to our list’ or ‘to that segment’ without actually considering what might inspire action from the unique human being on the receiving end. The latest episode of our Email Mavens YouTube Channel is dedicated to helping you create more human to human connection in your winery’s emails by harnessing the power of personalization. Check it out! ---> https://lnkd.in/gXepWbEt :: #emailmarketingisourjam #emailmavens #emailmarketingforwineries #sellmorewineonline #emailpersonalization

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Feeling blue today. Another purpose-led, planet-friendly brand has gone into administration. This time, it’s allplants | B Corp™, this week they filed an NOI (notice of intention to appoint administrators). I’d actually had “write a post about allplants” on my to-do list this week - because we’ve just launched an amazing collab featuring our Bold Bean Co | B Corp™ Queen Butter Bean Puttanesca ( https://lnkd.in/eQeBNzH4 ). It's bloody delicious, their team have done such a good job. But in light of this news, it felt weird talking about it. If you haven’t heard of allplants | B Corp™ (unlikely, given their AMAZING marketing), they’re a vegan ready-meal brand perfectly aligned with the times we live in - aka WE NEED TO REDUCE MEAT - and they do what they say on the tin - helping people eat more plants. As a founder, when you hear news like this, the first reaction is selfishly -gratitude: “Thank god WE are okay.” Because with startups, every founders chimp brain tells you: it could be you. But once that moment of self-absorption passes, your thoughts go to the people behind the brand - the founders, the team. Building a brand with a mission as strong as allplants - means work is more than a paycheck for everyone involved. So you can imagine the hurt quite vividly. I feel completely gutted for the brilliant founders and team who brought this business to life with SO much soul (and lets not forget - SO MANY SUCCESSES!). Right now, it seems being sustainable in the environmental sense wasn't fueling sustainability in the business sense. We've seen it before with brands like Farmdrop and Meatless Farm. Its depressing in many ways. The business is still trading - and while the founders will miss out - I don't think we should let the world miss out on a proposition with so much positive impact potential. So if you've been wondering whether to give these guys a try, and you like Bold Beans - now is your moment. We're giving a free jar of our new baked beans with every order of our butter bean puttanesca with this brand that NEEDS to live on. I'm sure that team needs a boost in morale and a boost of sales from people invested in a more sustainable future will likely help do that.

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🍸📊 Feeling the squeeze of rising cocktail prices? Our F&B Insights platform has the data and strategies to help bars and restaurants beat boozeflation! From menu optimization to brand partnerships, we’ve got the tools to keep your profits flowing without turning customers away. Let’s chat about how to make your beverage program work smarter, not harder. 💡 https://lnkd.in/gUt8-JU5

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