The Search for a Distributor — Part IV

It has been over a month since our last post on this topic… Are we any closer? Yes!

We have agreed to terms with a broker and distributor/delivery companies (a slightly different model than a true distributor)  here in California. This will take effect on today, November 1. We believe this model will enable Ventura Limoncello to grow in CA, NV and AZ  to eventually absorb the overall margin hit of a true distributor relationship. These terms also allow us to continue sales and distribution in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. The companies we will be working with are Transworld Alliance (Keith, Brian and Joe Bootow’s group) and Renegade Distribution (out of Yorba Linda).

We’re sure this will be a positive step in gaining key accounts for Ventura Limoncello in their distribution area.

With that said, we continue to seek distribution in additional states. We recently sent samples to a distributor in Texas and another distributor in NY. This tallies samples and discussions in: AZ, CT, IL, MA,  NJ, NY, TX and WA. The general consensus of the people who are reviewing Ventura Limoncello is the same, great product, great package, price challenged. More importantly, many had already heard of us!

Price challenged? As compared to what? Well, the availability of Limoncello in each state varies. Most of the “common available” brands are inexpensive compared to Ventura Limoncello. But this is like comparing Smirnoff to Ketel One. The challenge, of course, is how to make consumers aware that there is a difference in Limoncello, like there is in Vodka (or rum, gin, scotch or whiskey for that matter). In stores that carry several (5-8) brands, you will see pricing spreads of over $10 between brands.

Now we don’t claim (or want) to be the most expensive Limoncello on the market. Ventura Limoncello is a value brand.  However, when we discuss entering additional states, we have shipping and various markup costs (distributor, retailer) that impact the price. Still, to be told we are “out of line” in price compared with the other offerings is frustrating. It makes me wonder what is the wholesale price of the other products?

The other challenge distributors in other states say we are faced with is our production amounts. They claim it is not enough. But of course, they don’t say they can sell as much as we make (nor will buy as much as we make). What gives? We can make more, but until we see sales volumes that require increased production (note: investment in the business), why should we make more? It is not a capacity issue, just a smart business decision!

We’re sure we will be in additional states soon. The word is out: Ventura Limoncello is a good product.

Ventura Limoncello Cocktail Fun

Our Ventura Limoncello cocktails have been really popular this summer and fall. Many of our restaurant customers have been featuring several cocktails on their drink menus and creating exciting Ventura Limoncello cocktails.

We recently met Bobby “G” Gleason, master mixologist of Beam Global Spirits (yes, Jim Beam). He was mixing cocktails at the American Wine & Food Festival this past weekend. We introduced him to Ventura Limoncello Originale , which he enjoyed and said he would work with. He asked that we come back in a little while and he would have a new cocktail. The Kentucky Lemon Drop was born:

The Kentucky Lemon Drop
1 oz Ventura Limoncello
1-1/2 oz Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey
2 oz fresh Sour mix
In a shaker with ice, muddle fresh mint. Add Sour Mix, Jim Beam Whiskey and Ventura Limoncello. Shake and serve.

Bobby served them as “tall shots”. Now I am the first to admit I don’t drink whiskey (or bourbon for that matter), but this was amazing tasting. It was so smooth. I did not shoot mine, but enjoyed it in 3 long sips.

Another favorite is the crisp and refreshing California Sunset. The California Sunset was created by The Ebell of Los Angeles for their Wedding Showcase, and has been a hit ever since. It makes a great “party” cocktail because you can make it by the glass, in a pitcher, or a large glass urn (with spigot of course). It is crisp and refreshing on a hot summer day or a nice evening cocktail. It has been served at several events this past summer.

Ventura Limoncello's California Sunset Cocktail

The California Sunset
Mix (or premix) with ice:
2 parts Ventura Limoncello Originale
1 part Cranberry juice
1/2 part Sweet & Sour

Fill a hi-ball glass with ice 1/3 to 1/2 with Club Soda, top off with Sunset mix, stir and enjoy!

There are many more cocktail and food recipes on our recipe page: Ventura Limoncello Recipes

Thank you for following the Ventura Limoncello Blog and remember to Ask for it by name. Salute!

In Search of a Distributor — Part III

As frustratingly slow as this may be seeming to take (a lot longer than I thought), I do feel progress is being made. We recently signed consultant/broker deals which we feel will be successful in landing us distribution in IL, MA, CT, NY and NJ. I also sent samples off to a boutique distributor in AZ today which could be a good fit for us. I was also contacted this week by a retailer in WA interested in carrying Ventura Limoncello.

As for CA distribution, I am finding that the agreements are very one sided (for the distributor of course). We are still trying to come to terms (meaning a fair deal) with a mid-tier distributor and hope to have this resolved one way or another this week. I am a firm believer that if the deal isn’t right for BOTH parties, then it isn’t right.

I am thinking if a couple/all of the out of state deals come through, I may not need to press the CA distribution issue so hard. There is the broker/delivery model I have been exploring. For a “stepping stone” growth plan, this appears to be a good way to go. And we may go this way yet. Of course there is no “right” answer, but protecting our brand, product and growth is important to me.  Stay tuned…

Ventura Limoncello – Ask for it by name (in several states soon).

We’re Baaack, Back in Production Again

We are very fortunate to live and produce Ventura Limoncello in Ventura, CA due to the year round lemon growing season we have.  This allows for freshly produced Limoncello practically year round. The end of August is the end of the summer cycle and the lemons having been soaking up sun and heat. Especially the last few weeks as we had a very hot sunny dry spell.

So back into production we go after a couple months of downtime (as Manuela was in Italy). We received some fantastic size and color lemons from our growers and have them all washed and peeled. By hand of course. It was a bit of a challenge to get our team back in production mode. Our hands forget the motions of scrubbing and peeling, our backs the weight of the bins. But we are excited that we’re making fresh Ventura Limoncello again. Batch 909A is in the tanks. Destined for a distributor we hope.

Ventura Limoncello — Ask for it by name, Salute!

Seeking a Distributor – Part II

The search continues… We have had some good meetings and conversations lately, but nothing concrete yet.

In addition to looking for a distributor here in California, I have been reaching out (through LinkedIn) to other states and have responded to inquiries from Illinois, Missouri and Connecticut (who may have access to several states). I had previously met with a NY based broker who felt the time was not quite right for Ventura Limoncello in that market (there are over 30 brands available already). I was also recently introduced to a NY bases spirits consulting/ marketing company which may have some value for us.

As one LinkedIn member wrote: Dealing with each state is like exporting to 50 countries. The myriad of each state’s laws regarding alcohol sales and distribution is daunting. But in order to get exposure in national publications, we need to reach other locations. I hear of other small distillers already in 5 states, reaching location counts close to ours in a quicker time frame and wonder: how?

My guess (and it is a guess) is that they went with a distributor right away. How they found one so “quickly and easily” is beyond me. How, as a startup, their margins could be strong enough to support using them? This is where a little frustration comes in as I learn how much margin a distributor takes based on sales plans. As the saying goes: If I only knew 18 months ago…

OK, back on topic: Growing outside California is important to us. Our web hit analysis shows that our top states after California are NY, IL, TX and FL. But how to reach those customers effectively? Many of the people I have already spoke with are concerned about our current production capacities, but not one has said they could outsell what I currently produce. I live in a state of continuous catch 22’s.

In my career I have learned NOT to over promise. I may be talking to several distributors in several states, but I will NOT sell to all at once. The people that come to table first with the deal that works for both of us, enjoy the party. Then I can invest in production growth to throw a bigger party. I believe this is a proper growth plan in this economic environment. Slow, smart, planned production and sales growth.

Ventura Limoncello  WILL find distributors that offer the right combination for success for both parties. A distributor that will partner and guide us on our vision to be the premier US produced Limoncello on the market.

Ventura Limoncello – Ask for it by name. Salute!

Truly Handmade

This post is a little on the personal side but is very applicable to Ventura Limoncello.

We are on vacation in North Carolina and today we visited the Mrs. Hanes Hand Made Moravian Cookies bakery in Clemmons, NC. It was truly inspiring…

The Hanes Family has been making handmade Moravian Cookies for 7 generations using their secret family recipe. They make 6 flavors in 3 shapes. They started as a family business in the kitchen, grew to the basement and after several expansions in facility, now have over 40,000 sq ft. They ship cookies all over the world.

Now when they say handmade, they mean “HAND MADE”. There is one machine in the entire facility, a dough mixer. After that, all the dough is hand rolled out over canvas covered wooden boards. The cookies are hand cut using cookie cutters and placed onto baking trays. Each roller/ cutter has a “dough signature” they add to each tray for QC.  The trays are placed on racks and rolled 2 at a time into the convection ovens for approx 10-12 minutes (the science is exact to the second, the variable is the cookie flavor). They are then hand stacked into large stainless steel pails.

By hand they are then packed into tubes, different size tins (1/2 lb, 1lb, 2lb) or cellophane bags. They have been doing this since the beginning and say they are the last handmade Moravian cookie in the country (according to them, all other Moravian cookies are now made by machines).

Manuela, the absolute foodie she is, completely agrees that the taste is very different in a very good way…

Which of course is the tie in to Ventura Limoncello. Our only machine is a 4 head bottling machine. We hand wash and hand peel all the fruit. Mix the sugar water and infused alcohol by hand and, while technically a “labeling machine” each bottle 1×1 is placed on the labeler and “hand applied”. We finish with a hand written batch number on the back label.

We believe this handmade difference, is one you can taste.

Please remember to “Ask for it by Name”. Ventura Limoncello.

The Search for a Distributor – Part 1

Since late Spring, we have been actively seeking a distributor or a broker/delivery deal to help grow Ventura Limoncello beyond what I am able to do by myself. Ventura Limoncello is now available in over 150 locations (restaurants and markets) throughout Southern California. I’m not sure how many locations I can add before the customer service will suffer. I strongly believe in customer service.

The delivery triangle (as I like to call it) is now from Solvang to Costa Mesa to Whittier. That’s a lot of territory for one salesman who also has to act as delivery man. In California, alcohol sales is always a 2 step process: Take an order, deliver the Limoncello. That’s how it works. We are not allowed to have it in the car waiting to be sold. This has to do with alcohol taxation. But that’s another blog entry…

So, I have been searching for a distributor. There are the BIG BOYS: Southern Wine & Spirits and Young’s Market, the mid-tier: Wine Warehouse,  and Henri Wine Group, and small tier: Pacific Edge and Maddelena. I don’t yet know where Megawine fits into the California picture. Throughout the year, I have met various representatives of all of these companies. I have inquired with my customers how they felt about these companies. I have come away with the following: There is good and bad with all of them, no right answer, and the choice is not in my control…

Let’s start with the BIG BOYS. SWS (Southern Wine & Spirits) has grown their offering amazingly this year. They carry some of the best brands in the industry, their book reads like a dictionary. I still don’t know how they can “sell” a brand when there is so much they carry. They represent over 1/2 dozen Limoncello brands. Why would they recommend Ventura Limoncello over Caravella or Danny DeVito’s? HOW can they recommend Ventura Limoncello over Caravella or Danny DeVito’s? The same goes for Young’s Market, although they don’t offer as many Limoncello brands as SWS.

Mid Tier: Wine Warehouse is known for their wine offerings (hence their name), they are still building their spirits business and do represent some very good brands.  I understand that Henry Wine Group has been under a lot of pressure lately, losing some of their offering to another distributor (guess who).

Small Tier: Pacific Edge focuses solely on Spirits. Small handcrafted companies. From what I understand, they mostly call on “off-premise” accounts (stores).

Then there are Brokers. They are like outside sales managers for a brand. I had to learn what they do, and basically, if I understand it correctly, they are the “brand representative” to make sure the BIG BOYS are pitching your brand. Huh? Ok, see the point about “Why would they recommend Ventura Limoncello…”.

So, I thought of another alternative: What if we engaged a Broker to act as our outside sales, and find a company to actually deliver it. Maybe that could work. I’m still looking into it.

Regardless, each distributor works off of different margins. That is one of the challenges. But most importantly, how many distributors are actually looking for new brands in these economic times? That is THE challenge for Ventura Limoncello .

More to come in the next post. Thanks for reading and remember: Ventura Limoncello : Ask for it by name. Salute!

Blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

I would like to start this entry with a “disclaimer”: I am well over 40. That may help you understand my point of view on this topic.

I wouldn’t say “it used to be easy” to market your brand or company. Your options were Print, Radio and TV advertising, if you could afford it. You hopefully had an article written about you in newspaper or magazine, or better yet, a celebrity “caught” enjoying your product.  Word of mouth was always good, but news travelled slowly.

Then along came the Internet. You HAD to have website. So a lot of companies got a website (believe it or not, there are still those that buck this trend). You posted a page or two, informing people about your company and products. Then e-commerce emerged and  you could sell your products directly (most products anyway).

E-mail made “word of mouth” even more effective. The old customer service adage, “Give your customer a good experience, they’ll tell a friend, give them a bad experience and they’ll tell 10 friends” was even more true. Except the 10 friends was really 100 with e-mail. The e-mail newsletter (or junk mail depending on your point of view) was soon born .

Today, marketing your brand or product  takes more than ever. I believe you still need the “traditional” advertising to keep brand awareness. I continualy hear people comment that they saw our advertisement in _______ magazine, or that they read about us in ____________. We have been fortunate to have been written about in newspapers and magazines, and interviewed on radio. I am still waiting for that TV shot!

But the “new” medium is all about the web. Not only do you need a website, it needs to be found (SEO/SEM, Meta Data, Keywords, pay for click, sponsored links) in several search engines. Having other sites link to yours helps your search results too. It needs to be “content rich” (Flash, music, images) and updated consistently.

That’s just for starters. A good e-mail marketing program is next. Reach out to your customers (or in our case our customers AND consumers) with information they are interested in, periodically. You need to build your “database”, keep it growing, keep it clean. Everyone that gives an email address is now “on your list” (I personally don’t subscribe to this, I always ask you to OPT IN to our e-newsletter).

 Then the first “serious” social networking website arrived: MySpace. At first, a place for friends and artists to share info. But as always, someone decided it should be used for marketing and business too. Then came Facebook. Again, first a way for friends to “get together” and share the haps. Again someone decided it should be used for marketing and business (was it the same someone? Don’t know).  You can have a FAN Page. People can become “fans” of your product or service. I think that’s cool. We all like fans right? Now the latest of course is Twitter. I personally don’t get Twitter. Another disclaimer: I never had a MySpace page, a Facebook page nor a Twitter account.

The other web marketing approach is YouTube. “You have to be on YouTube”, I hear often. I have a real hard time with this one. I know of companies that have created YouTube videos for training on their products. I can understand that. But marketing with YouTube? If you have a YouTube video tagged with the proper keywords and such, it will significantly improve your search results. But the only thing I know about YouTube is all the “funny home videos” you can find on it. And I know this from my son. If I made a YouTube video, it would be like having a TV commercial. I don’t believe in “selling out” my brand to create a whacked video to get 5 billion hits. I have a legitimate product, in an adult space.

Then there is this: The Blog. As I wrote in the first entry, I just felt it was something I should do. It helps me put thoughts out and I hope people find it useful and interesting. I do believe having my blog helps our website in search results. I can say I like writing the entries. I only write when I have the time.

Which leads me to the final thought: As a small business owner, who has the time to manage all this stuff and run their company effectively. I sure don’t I usually post late at night “when I have time”. After I’ve created a new ad or cocktail card, generated a new form, etc. etc. I am fortunate that my wife and business partner likes to manage our Facebook and Twitter entries. I do The Blog and e-newsletter.

So please, become a Fan on Facebook (search for Ventura Limoncello), sign up for our e-newsletter, follow us on Twitter, and read The Blog. Comment too if you would like. The best way to find all of these is, of course, on the website home page: www.venturalimoncello.com/home.htm. Thanks for reading.

Charity and Marketing

Ventura Limoncello at an Event

We do a lot of events. One week in May, we had 4 straight nights (not all events are open to the public). On average, I’d say we do 1 a week. We have done all types of events, from large charity events (3-4 thousand attendees) to local boutique shows (20 attendees).  We have done events throughout the LA Area from Ventura to Santa Barbara to LA, and all points in between. All of this, of course, is on top of our producing Ventura Limoncello.

Why do we work this hard? Well, of course, we love what we do, for starters. Actually meeting our true customer (the consumer who buys Ventura Limoncello and orders it in restaurants), is a lot of fun. It also provides valuable insight to how our product is perceived. As I wrote in my last entry “This is the best Limoncello I’ve ever tasted” is something we hear often from people who know Limoncello.

Giving back to community and helping organizations raise funds is a close second. There are so many worthy groups, I wish we could assist them all, but like everyone, resources are not infinite and we have to focus somewhat. Cancer Research and Children’s Groups (Boys & Girls Club, Casa Pacifica, for example) are two areas where like to assist. We like museums, too.

At every event, we always meet someone who is putting on another event. We get at least 3-4 calls/emails a week inviting us to support various events. We try hard not to say “no”. When we do say “no”, it has always been due to our schedule (work and personal). In addition to producing Ventura Limoncello, we are parents and a family too. I coach youth sports throughout the year as well. We are very involved with the Ventura Chamber of Commerce and also the Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks and Goleta Chambers.

Then there is the marketing opportunity, for a product niche like Limoncello, there is no better way to “get the word out”. We always hope that the press (News/Magazine or TV), writer, blogger, photographer or videographer will pick up on Ventura Limoncello. We have made great contacts this way.

But, ultimately, we hope a fair percentage of people we meet will go looking for Ventura Limoncello and “Ask for it by name” at their markets and restaurants. Check our “EVENTS” page for upcoming places to see us. Grazie.

www.venturalimoncello.com

The Loss of a Customer

Anyone who makes a product knows the loss of a customer is a rough feeling. We are no different. Every customer is important to Ventura Limoncello, regardless of size or sell through. We treat them as equals.

We recently lost our 3rd customer this year. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to save them: They closed their doors. The economy is starting to show it depth. One local Ventura store had been in business over 30 years. The shopping center they were in lost the biggest draw store and their market languished.  They lasted as long as they could, but could not hang on.

Two very well established restaurants in what are considered well to do areas also have not remained. The Wine Cask in Santa Barbara (creator of the Ventura Limoncello Tequila Cocktail) was a stalwart location for many years. They had a great reputation in town, great location, wonderful dining room, bar, and wine store featuring many fantastic local wines. They went down hard and fast. The last GM remarked, “I have been in the restaurant business over 30 years, I have never seen it this bad”.

In the “Come Full Circle” world, Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant was a local favorite in Westlake Village for many years. A fire put them out of business in the 90’s. Along came Suki 7, part of local group of restaurants (678 Dine). A fusion Sushi bar with lounge and nightclub, Suki 7 was “the place to be”. They created the liquid Dessert: Pineapple Layered Upside Down Cake using Ventura Limoncello. In a recent turn of events, Suki 7 has closed, being replaced by Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant.

We have continued to add new customers, which is a great sign. We also believe we are “in the future” of several other locations. Unlike Vodka, most restaurants will carry only one Limoncello. We have been told that when the existing stock runs out, they will begin to serve Ventura Limoncello. In this economy, that is taking a little longer…

Please look for Ventura Limoncello where you shop and “Ask for it by name”. If the markets and stores you frequent don’t carry it, ask them to consider it. Check our “Where to Buy” for current locations. Mille Grazie.

www.venturalimoncello.com