In this post, we cover our interview for our "Together Talks" campaign, with Cape Cod'r and Co-Founder, Will Patch. Born in the Backyard of Co-Founder Kevin O’Leary’s Dennis Port home, Cape Cod’r Craft Cocktails are inspired by summers on the Cape and spending time with the people who matter most. They pride themselves on using real spirits and all-natural juices, crafting ready-to-drink beverages with just three simple ingredients. Perfect for every kind of adventure, their cocktails are designed for enjoyment wherever your Cape may be.
"Together Talks" feature # 150: Cape Cod'r presented by KLS - Dedicated Logistic Services for Excellence -Driven Businesses In The USA
Story of how it was created? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most? Share a lesson learned? What is your why? Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
Story of how it was created?
I started this company, Cape Cod'r Craft Cocktails with my brother-in-law, Kevin O'Leary. Kevin and I always looked for entrepreneurial endeavors, ideas where there was a good product market fit. We came from corporate America and had that entrepreneurial itch. We saw what was happening in the beverage space with ready to drink cocktails, specifically spirit-based cocktails. The movement and success that was being generated piqued our interest. Then we saw the brands that were regionally based, with good packaging and solid liquid did very well.
Kevin grew up in Dennis Port Mass, middle of the Cape, where his grandfather made Cape Cod'r, the traditional vodka cranberry lime with a little bit of mint. That's where we started, our classic flavor, vodka cranberry mint. We built out five other flavors across tequila, vodka, and rum, all that aim to solve the consumer pain points we hear of synthetic sweet tasting metallic cocktails.
For us, our liquid is all natural, and just three simple ingredients. The testimonials we get from consumers are that they really are just clean, refreshing “seasonable” drinks that you can have three or four of, and not feel like you're ahead of your skis because they're only 4.5% abv.
We built up the branding from there. For Cape Cod'r, we are a nostalgic brand whose message to consumers is simple, go to your favorite place with your favorite people, enjoying your favorite drink, Cape Cod or elsewhere. For Kevin it was Cape Cod, I grew up going to North Carolina beaches. That was my Cape. Life is short, go make some memories.
What are the biggest challenges for the company?
Getting up, starting, then getting off the ground. With no experience in an industry, people don't really know exactly what it takes to put a product together. In this space specifically you have cans, cartons, the liquid, ingredients, formula, co-packers, packaging, etc. All the logistics that go into putting together a finished product complete with clean branding that's aesthetically pleasing took about a year to complete. And that’s before our products are on the shelves..
The legwork that goes into thinking about your brand, the ethos of a brand, and then having translate that in the logo, look and feel is a challenge. Converting that idea to package design and ultimately launch into the market with a tangible product is a demanding process. It's a lot of work. I'd say that's the biggest hurdle we had had to overcome to get the brand off the ground was the initial phase of creation.
Once you're in the market, I think the biggest challenge is fighting for that consumer mindshare. There are a lot of national brands that are very strong. They have brand loyalty with consumers, their marketing puts them where everyone’s eyes are. To win market share, we focused and continue to focus on the consumer in store at point of sale. Conducting tastings and promotions at the moment in time and place where that customer is making their buying decision. If anyone told me how much time I’d be spending in a store sampling customers, I might not have entered into this business. But the truth is I love it. Its so satisfying when can hear about the pain points people have with other brands and then see their face light up when they taste your products.
Our focus is on these three states, these New England states where brand affinity would be strongest in the earlier stages of our business. We've been growing at around 60 percent annually from 2022 to 2024 and the goal is to continue on that growth track and start to see a little bit more growth if we can continue to win consumers retail. We've sold into over 500 accounts across those three states including liquor stores, golf courses, bars, restaurants, resorts, anywhere where there's a liquor license. That has resulted in new account growth around 57 percent this year.
For 2025, our focus is to get more velocity through those partnerships, continue to introduce the brand to new consumer bases in towns and counties that resonate with us and get more velocity through those outlets. As time, capital and resources allow beyond next year, the idea would be to launch in a state that has a strong RTD market and less seasonality like a Florida or South Carolina.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
It requires you to be present. Always be interacting with people on social media, in stores, in restaurants, in the market, you have to live and breathe the brand. There's a natural entry that people have. They find that you've built a brand in this space and people like to talk about it. Living what the brand idea is all about, it's about happiness. We are aiming to find that time when you're off the clock and hanging with the people that matter most and making those memories that last. That's where Cod'r lives.
You have to do in consistently, day in and day out. That's what we do. We love to do it.
It's Kevin, myself, and we brought our third co-founder on, Taylor Bramhall, who's a former Red Bull and Frito-Lay guy, and just a wizard at retail. He knows how to market and sell in this space, and three of us just exude our brand. It is a lot of fun for us and it just takes winning every customer one at a time, one by one, and that's our goal.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
I enjoy learning about how to run a business personally. A lot that goes into the functioning of business in this space, or any business. We had to learn and develop everything from building out the supply chain, working through product design, formula design, how to meet a consumer need, building out a cost structure for the product, how to price the product, and so much more. We needed to understand how to make margin so we could be a profitable business, but also deliver the product at a price on the shelf that makes it easy for our consumers to purchase. Finding that balanced price point is the key to our sustainability.
Share a lesson learned?
One challenge is we work with active ingredients for our products which means that sometimes we can get to a product run and the quality control doesn't meet our standards. Being a relatively new company we had to make a business decision of sending it out to market at less than our expectations or take the financial hit to get it right. We chose to remain true to our corporate values and get it right before we sent it to market for our consumer base.
Another challenge we had to learn to navigate is picking the right vendors. As previously mentioned, so much goes into a CPG product. Upon starting our company we had to partner with multiple companies to get everything needed to send out our product. We came to the realization early on that a few were not meeting our level of expectation. We ultimately had to pivot away from them and find partners who were more properly aligned with our goals and needs. There is a learning curve early on for any new business, you just wish you could avoid it when possible.
What is your why?
We are building something people care about. We aren't creating a bland company. Instead we have formulated products that elicit a reaction from consumers, when they taste Cape Cod'r they feel happiness, positivity, joy. Knowing that we have a direct relation to providing that for consumers is great motivation. We are living and breathing this company that is providing meaningful impact by supplying products that fit a consumer pain point. On top of the consumer interactions, it is the bond I have formed with my two Co-Founders now. It is like we are brothers, we are so incredibly close as a result of this venture. The ability to grow together with like-minded individuals and leaders is really special.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
The first time we saw our product on the shelf was pretty incredible. Such a surreal and awesome moment we got to share. Having that tangible product and see it from start to finish in creation is pretty spectacular. We then got to pair that with instant customer feedback and those interactions were truly fulfilling. All the feedback, not just the positive, was worth it because we know we are on the right track and as I alluded to prior, we are creating a product that elicits happiness.
Crowdfunding:
Anyone interested in supporting our company we are initiating our Crownfunding campaign on January 7th of next year. View here!
Piece of Advice
Take a leap. In your life, there will be a handful of decisions you can make that will take you outside of your comfort zone. Do yourself a service, think it through, thoroughly concoct a plan that is actionable and then make the decision to chase it. Because once you make that leap and have the opportunity to live out your dream, nothing else compares. It will be the hardest thing you do without a doubt, but it also hold the potential to be the most fulfilling. What I have learned in these last two years has been invaluable and I am so grateful for these experiences I can take with me for the rest of my life.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Cape Cod'r and Co-Founder, Will Patch, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!
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