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Craft spirits industry overview numbers and trends


Freshie

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Hi All,

I'm in the process of building a business plan. I'm struggling to find hard numbers on industry overview specifics. Key items that would be useful:

- Annual sales growth trends.

- Craft spirit segment growth for Vodka, Rum, Whiskey, etc.

- Craft spirit market pricing.

- Overall craft spirit sales.

- Regional growths.

- Any other industry overview information that may be useful in a business plan.

Is there a resource on ADI or else where that would can provide this data?

Thanks for the help!

~Freshie

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The problem with conventional investment firms lending to craft distillers, is they are beginning to realize that Craft is ill defined. there is growing risk that large producers will so co-op the term, that local Craft distillers will never gain any traction. I was at an Old Forester tasting event last night, and all four of their new product were boldly ladeled CRAFT.

Pretty funny coming from the oldest distillery in the US, plus owned by Brown Foreman. Their products were very good, and they should be proud of them. What they shouldn't do, is claim that product made in the millions of gallons by automation and continious distillation is Craft.

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I agree that everything should be a level playing field but it is not.

Marketing and branding is where it is at for any business. Especially new ones just starting out

I don't see where anything about borrowing funds from "conventional firms" is ever mentioned in the original post.

Knowing the numbers is a good thing.

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That question has been asked on here many times in various forms over the past few years, and most notably as related to banking requirements.

just assumed it was again.Regardless whether it's coming out of your own pocket, or someone else, the issues are the same.

Tks

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Thanks guys!

Most of the data for business plan is to make it comprehensive. There are number of friends and family investors that want in on this project. Having a well thought out and complete business plan sets proper expectations. It's also to provide information to the chamber of commerce and city planners where we will be setting up operations.

Between the partners and seed round funding, it's highly unlikely we'll have to deal with any banks. :-)

~Freshie

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Hi Freshie, we just went through the process you are about to embark on. We too had friends and family asking to invest in our idea. In the end, and after talking to a number of legal and financial professionals, we decided to seek debt financing (i.e. bank) instead of equity financing. We weren't comfortable giving out equity before the business even started, not really having a good yardstick on how much of a percentage to give for "X" amount of dollars. I guess I've always been a control freak and wanted to retain complete control over this business. Maybe down the road, after we have actual revenue coming in and if we're looking to expand, we'll consider taking on investors. At that point we'll have better metrics for assigning ownership % based on investment dollar amounts.

Anyways, getting back to your original point, I put together a pretty solid business plan that I used to present to several banks. I purchased a "Spirits Industry Report" from Sundale Research that contained a lot of facts and figures about the trends in the industry that I was able to use to show the potential of our business. My plan was well received at the couple of banks that I met with and in the end I was able to get a good offer from a well respected regional bank.

The pitching of this idea to banks was a real experience. Two banks wanted no part of this business while two others were practically fighting over the opportunity. I DID have to completely explain the concept to all 4 banks I talked to - get used to explaining the concept of a craft distillery, you'll need it many times down the road (architects, zoning, fire chief, building inspectors, etc). PM me if you like, I'd be happy to share some sections of my plan that are related to your original question.

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  • 1 month later...

There are tons of places to look for all kinds of data. It means lots of surfing.

Here is one that I found http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/12/top-spirits-trends-to-watch-in-the-us/

Also, http://www.shankennewsdaily.comis a great website and sends out a daily newsletter with craft distilling information. You can then use the sources to look for more of data.

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There are tons of places to look for all kinds of data. It means lots of surfing.

Here is one that I found http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/12/top-spirits-trends-to-watch-in-the-us/

Also, http://www.shankennewsdaily.comis a great website and sends out a daily newsletter with craft distilling information. You can then use the sources to look for more of data.

Thanks!

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  • 3 weeks later...

The DISCUS companies are making every effort to co-opt the term "craft" because, to them, it's just another marketing opportunity.

Absent some kind of explicit rulemaking, nothing will stop them from doing so. The only thing that will differentiate "true" craft products from just another batch of Sazerac spirit in a different barrel is the consumer. Educating consumers within your immediate market reach should be part of any good business plan.

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