redhand Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I am in the business planning stages of my distillery. I am using Bill's book as my starting point and moving forward. But I wanted to get some advice on cost projections for my products (vodka and bourbon). Right now, I am breaking things down to the bottle level. I am planning $2 per 750 ml bottle for raw ingredients (grain, yeast, water), $2 per bottle for bottling and labeling (glass, label) and $1 per bottle for packaging (boxes, pallets). Is this reasonable? High or low? Also, I was wondering what to plan for a tabletop bottling machine to get us started. Thanks for any advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions. I appreciate ADI and the willingness of this industry to encourage upstarts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhand Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 One other thing I meant to add... Should those costs of ingredients, bottling, etc. decrease per bottle as production increases over time or do they remain relatively steady regardless of output? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billowens Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I have distiller spreadsheets on distilling.com Call me and I'll give you the password. bill owens 510-886-7418 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninWV Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I have it figured to be about $5-$6 a bottle and hopefully, I can improve on that. My breakdown is a bit different. Corn is about $4.50/bushel here, and there's about 36 bushels in a ton. That's $162/ton. Even if you figure 2.5 times that for shipping, etc, it's only $405/ton. A ton produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 bottles. That's about $.50 per bottle. Yeast isn't that much. I have water figured in as a utility, not as a GOGS, but it's cheap here. So, I'm thinking $1 for product, $3-$4 for bottle/label/cork, and $1 for boxes/pallets. You guys already doing it may be able to give a better detail...or tell me if I'm full of crap too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckrogstad Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I usually calculate per case rather than per bottle. I know its just a matter of arithmetic, but I figure that since I'm selling it by the case I ought to cost it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforks Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Hi John, I came up with similar costs, but did you inlcude the tax? peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobKnode Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I am in the business planning stages of my distillery. I am using Bill's book as my starting point and moving forward. But I wanted to get some advice on cost projections for my products (vodka and bourbon). Right now, I am breaking things down to the bottle level. I am planning $2 per 750 ml bottle for raw ingredients (grain, yeast, water), $2 per bottle for bottling and labeling (glass, label) and $1 per bottle for packaging (boxes, pallets). Is this reasonable? High or low?Also, I was wondering what to plan for a tabletop bottling machine to get us started. Thanks for any advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions. I appreciate ADI and the willingness of this industry to encourage upstarts! I hate to bring up the otherside but the cost consideration should be taken into account, and by that I mean the financial side. You should look at the cost of assembling your professionals and setting up an entity for the distillery, usually LLC or Corp. It probably varies by State, but a LLC will probably be less than $500 to set up and a Corp usually runs $1000. Be sure to bring in your accountant and insurance agent to discuss what entity might be best for you. If you have a lease on a space or equipment, factor that in, and then look at the cost of your Bond for the TTB ($400-$2000 for the initial DSP bond at 16K) and insurance (General & Liquor Liability at least - based on expected sales, and Property & Business Income -- based on limits, deductibles and location). BEFORE you sign any lease agreement, be sure to consult with your insurance broker and attorney to be sure you are not oblibating yourself to more than you think. Once the lease is signed, it is hard to go back and negotiate. Didn't mean to damper your enthusiasm, but you need to factor these items in too. Rob Knode, Balcos Insurance, 800-292-3456 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigneron/Xpressfill Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 We wish you the very best of luck in your new endeavor - may you be successful in all aspects and gain much pleasure in the experience. Always remember that the challenges you'll be encountering are opportunities to learn and grow, ... no matter how much hair they may cause you to lose. In regards to your inquiry about a table-top bottling machine, please check out XpressFill bottle filling machines, www.XpressFill.com, tel: 805.541.0100 , email - judy@XpressFill.com. We are the NEW Owners (2 years now) of Vigneron Specialty Products, and the XpressFill is a NEW bottle filling machine with a totally new design which is highly accurate and user-friendly. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhand Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thank for all the rapid responses! RobKnode, I appreciate the advice as well. I am certainly factoring in the items you mentioned. In my analysis, I am seperating start up costs (grain handling equipment, distilling equipment, building, licensing) from working capital (insurance, legal, marketing) and then production. I am keeping production seperate as it hodls the revenue side of thigns. So I want to balance it seperately from the other expenses. But hopefully I am in the right ballpark. Please feel free to offer any other advice oyu may have. I'm sure I'll be back with more q's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertbirnecker Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Hey! I am happy to give you more information on the production side as well. Give me a call or send me an e-mail when you get a chance and we can talk about case output goals and equipment. All the best, Robert Kothe Distilling Technologies. Award winning handcrafted German engineered potstills for the production of high quality fruit and grain spirits, as well as bioethanol. “Kothe Destillationstechnik” uses patented technology to specially engineer each still with solid quality and energy saving compounds to meet the particular needs of each distiller. Kothe Distilling Technologies is the sole representative of “Kothe Destillationstechnik” in North America, Canada, and Mexico. -------------------------------------------------------- Kothe Distilling Technologies Inc. 5121 N. Ravenswood Ave Chicago, IL 60640 http://www.kothe-distilling.com info@kothe-distilling.com (773) 295 4454 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninWV Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I did not include excise tax, utilities, other expenses relating to equipment, etc. Only the stuff that goes into the bottle, minus water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coop Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Every single cost you encounter will be reflected in the cost per bottle. If it cost you $100,000.00 a year to keep your door open and pay for everything, taxes, insurance, rent, utilities, property taxes, along with personal property taxes which is based on the total cost of any and all equipment purchases everything you can think of including licenses which are paid yearly. The more you produce and sell of course the price per bottle will come down. but the first years production, marketing, labor and everything you can think of counts. I think you will be looking at around 12 to 13 bucks per bottle as a net cost. Volume will decrease this amount but then you will hope to start making a profit and begin to pay yourself and income. Do not sell your product to low. It will be harder to raise your price than to lower it. Coop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I have distiller spreadsheets on distilling.com Call me and I'll give you the password. bill owens 510-886-7418 Hi Bill, Could you send me a copy of the spreadsheets? Regards, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCG Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hi Bill, Would I also be able to get a copy of the spreadsheets you mention related to actual cost. Thanks, WCG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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