Starting Small

A few weeks ago I wrote that we sent mock ups of our bottles to the largest distributor in the country for their feedback.  The bad news is that we learned it would cost us $100,000 to launch in one state with them.  (Not happening).  The good news was that this executive gave us a lot of specific feedback.  He loved our bottle though thought it could "pop" more. (We've enlarged some of the type -- which we think does the trick).  Most crucially he said we should start small.  And by small, I mean 10 accounts.  He said do that, and concentrate on those accounts and once we've built them up to a certain level, to go out and add more.

This same advice was given to us by our insurance broker, who is one of the few people in the country to have his finger on the pulse of small liquor brands.  He said he's seen people start big and they tend not to work out, whereas the clients he's seen start small seem happy -- in other words, it is a winning strategy.

And so it is ours.