If a company wants people to buy their products, they have to be passionate, alive and happy! There is truly no better feeling than improving the quality of people’s lives.
I knew, for a my brand to be successful and to enter a new market that was unfamiliar to me, I needed to offer premium quality and value. I wanted my cocktail mix to stand out and offer a noticeable difference to any other cocktail mix out there. My goal is to be an established player. I knew I had something, and it was going to be BIG. I knew there would be challenges, and to learn from them and continue to improve the product would be the difference between success and failure for me.
My next task was to find a manufacturer for my product. Not many stories about amazing products come out of Arizona, so I wanted to create one! My goal was to find a local company that could produce Senorita Limonita in the sunshine state!
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it” - Amelia Earhart
My first approach was with a national craft juice company in Tempe. Prior to my appointment, I sat outside in my car and watched several of the ingredients of my formula arrive by the truckload. Because of their fresh juices, I learned their products were required to be refrigerated. Knowing that cocktail mixes are not purchased in the refrigerated section of stores, I knew that was not going to work for me. Regardless, they were extremely helpful to me. As a registered FDA facility, they tested the acid level on the formula and said it was very well balanced -clearly the reason that it does not give consumers heartburn! They informed me that you cannot advertise a product as healthy because their is no real proof, but you can say that it is a healthy blend of sugar and acidity.
My next approach was to a private label co-packer and distributor of all natural, organic and kosher certified items in Phoenix. The owner seemed eager and anxious to be a part of the process, but he kept referring all communications to a salesman who would never return my phone call. My business advisers have told me NEVER pay for the development of a formula up front, and they refused to move forward unless I paid a sizeable amount of money to start formulation.
Having not found a manufacturer in my home state, I turned to the internet. My first run of product was made by a beverage development company in California. I must confess that, when you develop a product in your kitchen, it is WAY different than how it is made for mass production. The process begins with sending a sample to the manufacturer, they reverse engineer it, produce a sample in the chemical lab, and send it to you. They felt confident they could duplicate it in one or two attempts, but it was twelve, and took a total of four months to get it right!
The initial formulas sent to me for tasting were cheap and sugary, not at all like the fresh tasting, delicious concoction I had developed in the kitchen. I have had several companies tell me that it’s the hardest formula they have ever reverse engineered, and that’s a good thing for me!
It’s such an amazing cocktail mix, I knew others would try to copy it. Several have tried already with failed attempts. I know my strength - it's my brand - and that one day the Limonita would make people happy all over the world! I can't wait . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment