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heartland distillers

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Everything posted by heartland distillers

  1. If you're only distilling to 80% it won't be vodka. Also, doesn't look like you inputed still time to get to low wines.
  2. See: http://www.ttb.gov/foia/gauging_manual_toc.shtml#27:1.0.1.1.25.4.504.2 Part 30.32 Also, see http://www.ttb.gov/expo/presentations-black/s14-bw.pdf This will get you started.
  3. I would worry most about year 1. There really is no way a start up can forecast future years--it will be at best an educated guess. Heck, you most likely won't be right about year one. I would talk to distributors in your intended market(s) and see if they can give you an idea of the total volume your particular spirit category does in those markets. Also ask if they have any info on the volume of individual products. The bigger distributors subscribe to industry trade publications that collect and track this info. (You can buy them, but they are really expensive.) Then pick a few products in your intended price range and compare volumes. Assume you will be lower, probably much lower since you aren't established. If you can't get this info, then talk to the biggest retailers in your markets. Ask them for sales info on particular products. Then extrapolate to your entire market. For example, if liquor store chain sells 100 cases of X product each year and it's a 30 store chain, then you can estimate that X product sells on average about 3 cases per store. If there are 200 stores in your market, then that's 600 cases. You should be able to get a list of potential customers from your states alcoholic beverage commission. These methods will give you a theoretical maximum, most likely your sales will be far less, especially at first. Also, remember that price means a lot. If you are pricing your product at $30, comparing yourself to a $20 dollar product will be useless. Yes, I know we all think our products are worth every penny, but I've generally found that people shop price point. If you assume that all the $20 shoppers will flock to your product at $30 because it is so much better, then you will be in for a disappointment. There is also no substitute for getting out into the market and seeing what is on the shelves of your potential customers. Look for products near your price point and of similar type. Are they case stacked or do the stores carry just a few bottles. If they carry just a few bottles, then most likely they are selling just a few bottles each month (dust on the bottle? probably just a few each year). Don't expect everyone to carry you. Large national chains usually are adverse to picking up new products. In my state of Indiana, liquor stores carry variety and are apt to pick up new products, grocery stores have limited selection and will only carry you after you've become popular. This is usually the case in most (non control) states. On premise sales aren't easy either. The big guys spend a lot of promo money to maintain their edge and exclusivity in the clubs and bars.
  4. Don (posted above) did a great job for us.
  5. I would not use self generated bar codes. You will only run into trouble in the future. You run the risk of using a barcode that, even if it is not being used now, may be issued by GS1 (or Nationwide Barcode) in the future. This would put you in the position of possibly being mandated by a court ro recall all outstanding products with those codes. I have seen this happen with printing mistakes involving bar codes. Using an unregistered bar code would put you in greater legal jeopardy. Also, not all upc numbers that are in use can be found on google or other search engines. I know this for a fact, as several of our upcs do not come up on google. As for Nationwide Barcode, it is a subseller of barcodes, using them would put you at risk of losing your rights to the barcode if this company is bought out or goes out of business. Near term, this is not likely to happen, however it will happen one day as all of these subsellers have a finite number of barcodes they can sell. Finally, although Nationwide states that only Walmert, Macy's and Kroger require a gs1 certificate, that number is surely to increase in the future as as barcode technology matures and as retailers shift to the use of RFID and other new technology. When applying for your prefix with gs1us, be sure to play with the numbers that they are asking. The price they charge you for your initial registration depends on the info you provide them. www.gs1us.org
  6. The government does not issue bar codes. They are issued by GS1 which was formally called the Uniform Code Council. Try here: http://www.gs1.com/
  7. Nice displays, what are the minimum order quatities and approximate cost?
  8. We use wax in to seal our bottles. You can see my post near the bottom of the above mentioned thread. If you want to discuss in detail feel free to give me a call on my cell.
  9. As already stated, it's best to map out the space ahead of time so you will know exactly where you want to put everything. We forklift a lot of things at the distillery, so we need to make sure we can turn the lift around and have space to load and off load pallets. Also consider how you are going to be ordering your bottles, raw materials, etc. and where you are going to put it. A container of bottles take up a lot of space.
  10. Call the guys that make this: www.3vodka.com
  11. what type of liqueur do you plan on selling? That will matter significantly.
  12. I understand your thinking, but must respectively disagree. Highlighting regional affiliations helps us all. Yes, a strong push by midwest producers would theoretically hurt west coast producers, but not really. It, in fact, enhances other regional producers by highlighting the uniqueness of regional brands and producers. Other than KY bourbon, can you off the top of your head tell me where the big boys produce their products such as Smirnoff, Skyy, etc? Highlighting regional producers helps all producers that have a local connection. Someone who comes to appreciate my vodka because of its local connection and not because of some Madison Avenue marketing campaign will as some point look to other regional producers. The wine industry has shown this. 30 years ago, wines in this country were mostly brands with little emphases on regional production, now even Gallo hypes where it is produced. As for beer--Sierra Nevada, Samuel Adams BOSTON Lager! As craft distillers, we must push and support each other. I never hesitate to talk up my fellow craft producers when I'm in an account that carries them. The multi-nationals have 90%+ of the market, let's focus on that share and not worry about the rest.
  13. Robert, As I said last year, we are on board. Small distilleries need to band together to get noticed and to increase their marketing clout. Sure there is competition between us, but that is a bit like focusing on a tree and not seeing the forest. It's the big guys, that are our main competition. A company like Diagio or Bacardi will introduce a new brand that will never make it, and sell more of it in one year than the combined sales of all craft distillers. Stuart
  14. Are you referring to Bacardi Coco Flavored Rum. If so, I'm pretty sure it's 70 proof. Also, did you mean 27 CRF 5.22(h)(4) for rum liqueur? I've not had any experience with this particular regulation, but a reading of the reg would imply that as long as you left out the word rum you could lower the proof to below 60 proof. 27 CRF 5.22(h)(4) further defines 27 CRF 5.22(h) when the designation "rum liqueur" is used. Probably the assumption by the TTB is that anything less than 60 proof is not to be defined as rum so rum can't be used in the name. Contact your local TTB officer and tell him/her what you are trying to do. They can be a good resource. I'd also suggest using a formulation attorney like Lehrman Beverage law. They can often find ways around and through the regulations to get your label approved the way you want.
  15. Well that's pretty sloppy reporting.
  16. Mike, you bought a new spinner for $500? Could you tell us the brand and model?
  17. We wax seal our vodka. We really like the look and I think it really gives the handcrafted feel to the bottle. That said this step in our bottling process has literally proven to be the bottleneck. We dip our bottles straight down and remove them quickly. One dip is all you need, then angle the bottle up side down at a forty five degree angle and let the excess wax pour off the bottle--it takes anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds per bottle. We add a slight twist at the end to create a little curl in the wax. We bought a candle wax making vat that holds about forty five pounds of wax to melt the wax and that will last the whole day. It does take a long time to melt all that wax though, for example we will be sealing bottles tomorrow and I just turned on the wax melter. As for trademark issues. Maker's Mark does take seriously their trademark. I have a letter in hand from them to prove that. However, their trademark is on the free form wax drippings. We knew this and intentionally made sure our wax was different in all aspects from theirs to avoid any issues. If you are thinking of emulating their free form drips, I would advise against that. One final thing, we are still in search of the perfect wax seal remover. The tear tape doesn't work well. We use a piece of wire, but it only works well then it can be kept against the bottle during wax dipping, which is tricky. If anyone comes up with a good idea or solution let me know.
  18. I'm in the market for one also, if you can't find a used one, maybe we can go together and get a better price for two.
  19. I paid paid betweet $300 and $400 for my bond.
  20. We've used: Don McCartney Diablo Graphic Design 2055 North Broadway, Suite B Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Ph: 925-708-0653 Web: www.diablographic.com Don did a great job and is easy to work with.
  21. Does your CIP system and/or cleaning regimen clean out the condenser?
  22. Sonja, We would also be interested if enough participate.
  23. Here is the relevant reg. § 5.40 Statements of age and percentage. (a) Statements of age and percentage for whisky. In the case of straight whisky bottled in conformity with the bottled in bond labeling requirements and of domestic or foreign whisky, whether or not mixed or blended, all of which is 4 years old or more, statements of age and percentage are optional. As to all other whiskies there shall be stated the following: (1) In the case of whisky, whether or not mixed or blended but containing no neutral spirits, the age of the youngest whisky. The age statement shall read substantially as follows: “___ years old.”
  24. Regarding straight whiskys, others can correct me if I'm wrong on this, but the only aging requirements relate to labeling. Straight whiskys under a certain age (I belive 4 years) must state their age. Labeling requirements do sometimes drive aging.
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