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Helpful Guidelines for IB’s
If you’re looking to start an Independnet Bottling company, here are some thoughts to help you get started.
Long Term Relationship
As an Independent Bottler, the health of your company will be dependent on your ability to create long-term relationships with distillers. That means every decision you make needs to haven a positive impact on the distiller you are featuring in your release. Make sure you ‘ve spent time with them so you can understand how to talk about them, promote them, and highlight their product in the way they prefer.
Marketing
You will spend a real amount of time and effort marketing your own product. Make sure you’re doing it in a way that contributes to the health of the distilleries and brands as well as other IB’s in the market. As this category grows, it will have a positive impact on every level of the beverage industry.
Pricing
You have to purchase barrels at a price that allows you to make healthy margins after taxes and various markups from other tiers. But also remember that the distillery you are purchasing from is likely small enough that they are counting on every single barrel in their warehouse to stay healthy and grow. Be kind and patient in those conversations.
Brand Protection
Independent Bottlers count on long-term relationship and connection with distillers to succeed. That means every interaction is about confidence and longevity. When picking a single barrel to release, make sure it represents the brand in they way they prefer. If they plan to blend it, finish it, or in any way alter it after they receive it, it’s fair for them to request final say on the product before it goes to market. They can also have a clause about first right of by-back in case you decide not to release the barrel.
Helpful Guidelines for Distillers
If you’ve never worked with an Independent Bottler before, the process can be full of questions. These are few of the most basic formats that we hope make the process simpler.
Pricing
Every distillery has a different set of costs and different margins. Because of that, no two barrels cost the same. Independent Bottlers will be selling their products at the same retail level as you. That means they have to pay the same taxes and need the same margins for the other tiers in the industry. When you sell them a barrel, you need to leave them room to release their product at a reasonable price point to be competitive with other special industry releases. Keep this in mind when you’re negotiating prices.
Marketing
When you work with an Independent Bottler, it’s almost like adding a whole other marketing company to your retail strategy. They have their own fans and their own markets. It’s a really great way to get your product to an entirely new set of consumers. Many distillers will take the costs of working with IB’s out of their marketing budget instead of their production market. It’s almost like another brand is paying you in order to market your own brand for you.
Brand Protection
Independent Bottlers count on long-term relationship and connection with distillers to succeed. That means every interaction is about confidence and longevity. If an IB is releasing a single barrel, you’ll get to work with them to choose it. If they plan to blend it, finish it, or in any way alter it after they receive it, it’s fair to request that you get final say on hte product to make sure it represents your brand in the way you want. You can also have a clause about first right of by-back in case they decide not to release your barrel.