1.2: The Future of Alcohol
Are pop-ups and mead the real deal? Let’s find out.
OSM State of Affairs:
- Open for Business: January 2017
- Next Event: None scheduled… yet!
- Production Facility: Scouting Process
- Website: In Development
- Facebook: Not Yet
- Twitter: Oaken Shell
- Snapchat: Not Yet
As some of you know, our goal here at Oaken Shell Meadery is two-fold.
1) We want to turn people onto, not only our particular brand of mead, but also the mead industry as a whole. Its a delicious, healthier alcoholic option, and we are confident that all of the man-hours and meticulous research we have put into our product have led us to developing the industry-leading drink.
2) We want to publicize our attempt at entrepreneurship. Our documentation will be indiscriminate and completely unedited. In other words, you get to watch us fall on our collective faces. Then, you get to watch us step back up to the plate and take another swing. Most beneficial to our readers that are following along, though, is that you get a first-hand look at what strategies have the ability to garner success in today’s economic climate. If you are fellow entrepreneurs, you might have some of the same ideas as we do in regards to what successful operation and marketing of a brand looks like. Or, some of you may discover new ideas that you can adapt for your particular brand. In the next few paragraphs I’m going to detail exactly where we are at as a business, and what our nearest-term business development and marketing plans are… which, we believe, will lead us to be successful.
Who are we?
Oaken Shell Meadery is owned and operated equally by three friends. DB and I are twin brothers. We met DT in college at Syracuse, where we were all teammates on the Syracuse men’s rowing team. In fact, the sport of rowing is where our name is derived from! Back in the early days of the sport, some of the shells (boats) were made out of oakwood. Rowing is a gigantic part of our lives… we believe it has led us to be the ambitious and hard-working people that we are today. Moreover, we believe it is what will ultimately lead to our future success as business owners.
The Gang:
- Dan Turner (Engineer) is OSM’s Research & Development guru. He’s the one physically making the good stuff!
- Dan Berry (PMP) is OSM’s Project Management lead, and is heading up all Business Development affairs, as well as handling all Legal services.
- Vince Berry (MBA) is OSM’s Financial Management, Brand Management, and Marketing Management specialist.
Where are we at?
Physically, the three co-owners of OSM are geographically separated. DT is residing in Chicago, DB is in Nashville, and I’m in Dayton. Our business will be based out of Chicago, as that is where our production is. At the present moment, we have DT mass-producing our product in Chicago, we have DB finalizing our business plan and our LLC status, and we have your’s truly finishing up OSM’s two-year financial forecast and heading up our marketing campaign (part of which you are experiencing right now). Our initial reach for sales will be in all three states (IL, TN, OH). How do we plan to do this?
What, actually, IS our business strategy?
Pop-ups. Was that an anti-climactic response? I’ll explain.
We will be embracing our inner-British side and jumping on the English sesnsation that is… pop-up bars. If you don’t know what a pop-up bar is, here is a good breakdown of how they operate, and here is a look at some of the most ingenious, affordable ways to open one. Our goal is to open our first pop-up bar in Chicago in January 2017, and then to quickly open two others in Nashville and Dayton. The initial idea is to temporarily occupy abandoned spaces in the heart of each city and hold them as event venues. In the warmer months we will even be taking up residence at outdoor locations! Essentially, we want to open on the weekends, throw two big parties on Friday night and Saturday night, then close up shop for the week (or forever, in some cases!). **Of note, the first event will be in the spirit of the catchiest music from the 80s and 90s… many drunken sing-alongs are sure to ensue.
Here are the two most important things to think about in utilizing a pop-up bar:
- Operation: For our purposes as conservative entrepreneurs, pop-ups are a perfect way in which to a) go directly to our target market, b) earn bounds of research to get a feel for the market, and c) save a ton of capital by operating in the most efficient way possible.
- Marketing: There is something intriguing and captivating about the idea that something you have grown a fondness for could disappear at any minute. I know that an argument could be made for consistency, but we have found that the alcohol industry is in the midst of a revolution in which it is ditching things like single-brand loyalty and embracing things like craft alcohol, flavored alcohol, and innovative ways in which to consume those alcohols. We feel that the most innovative way that will allow OSM to build its customer base are pop-ups. Pop-ups incentivize our customers to follow us on our social media platforms to find out where we will be, when we will be hosting events, and what kind of great deals we are offering on our products. This will allow us an opportunity to interact directly with our customers via social media, enhancing customer engagment and satisfaction and, ultimately, opening the door for loyalty to Oaken Shell as their drink of choice in the mead industry.
In conclusion…
Will our attempt at a pop-up bar as a means to push Oaken Shell brand awareness lead us to a successful venture into entrepreneurship? Are Chicago, Nashville, and Dayton the right markets to attempt this approach? Will our assumptions about the state of the alcohol industry as shifting from reliant sedentaryness to experimental progressiveness prove true? Make sure to continue following Oaken Shell on Medium to find out how we do! Future posts will consist of all business updates, statistics regarding performance at different price points in each of the three different markets, and a reevaluation of our marketing strategy to see if we still believe there will be a future in Oaken Shell pop-up bars after we take them to market. Cheers!
Vince
