Owl’s Brew CEO: Being in a field of one is a huge opportunity, but also a huge challenge

The brainchild of tea (and cocktail) enthusiasts Jennie Ripps (founder & CEO) and Maria Littlefield (partner and CMO), Owl’s Brew​​ is the first tea mixer on the retail market, and is still number one in a field of one, having created its own ‘micro-category’, Ripps told FoodNavigator-USA.

“Tea-based cocktails are a huge trend on premise, but we are still the only tea-based cocktail mixer in the retail market, which is both a huge opportunity and a huge challenge. It’s a great point of differentiation but also means more education is involved.”​

People are having incredible cocktails at bars and restaurants and want to replicate that experience at home​

That said, women in particular are very receptive to the idea (Owl’s Brew not only has a far more sophisticated look and flavor profile than many traditional mixers, but one third of the calories) and they want to emulate what they are being served in bars, hotels and restaurants - at home, said Ripps.

“It’s such an incredible time for craft cocktails on premise, and people want to replicate that experience, so they are buying premium liquors and mixers to enjoy at home for themselves and friends. ​

“The at home bar is a big trend now and we’re seeing more craft small batch tonics, syrups and cocktail accessories in stores.”​

The target audience is people aged 20-45, with a skew towards women​

So who is the target audience for Owl’s Brew, which comes in chic black apothecary-like glass bottles, and typically retails at around $13.99 for the 32oz bottle (which makes 16 cocktails) and $6.99 for the 8oz mini (which makes 4 cocktails)?

“Our products tend to skew more to women than men,” ​said Ripps. “The split is probably 65% (women) to 35% (men), while the age range of our customers is typically around 25-40 or maybe 45. Owl’s Brew doesn’t skew terribly young.”​

Retailers, meanwhile, are still learning how to cash in, although some are now “building out entire cocktail sets for mixologists”,​ she said.

“We had a great partnership with ​[Brooklyn-based home décor retailer] West Elm where we ended up doing holiday gift sets for them, but we also do well in specialty, natural market and artisanal stores as well as liquor stores and on-premise.”​

Mixologists are using our product as an ingredient, which is very exciting​

Indeed, the foodservice market is a big focus for 2015, said Ripps, who has historically picked up many of her key customers at trade shows: “We​ launched in retail to start with but over the past 4-5 months we have started making inroads on premise and we’re in a lot of locations in the NYC area as well as various hotel chains. Mixologists are using our product as an ingredient, which is very exciting. We’ve done a lot of cocktail hours in bars where people must RSVP, so we have their email addresses and can engage with them.  ​

“Another thing we’re also focused on is gaining distribution in liquor stores in locations where we already have a presence in specialty and natural food stores.”​

Owl’s Brew works well with multiple liquors from gin and tequila to vodka​

A tea blender by profession (Ripps also runs her own tea business called Brew Lab Tea), she designed Owl’s Brew to complement multiple liquors, such as vodka, bourbon, tequila or even beer, unlike most traditional mixers.

The unique flavor profile helped Owl’s Brew win the BevNET Live ‘New Beverage Showdown’ last summer (a shark-tank-style competition in which finalists present their wares to an expert industry panel), while it was also a finalist at the 2014 SOFI awards run by the Specialty Food Association.

The recommended serving is two parts Owl’s Brew, one part booze, while there are three variants: Classic​, a blend of English breakfast tea with lemon and lime; Coco-Lada​, a blend of black tea, chai spices, pineapple and coconut; and Pink & Black​, a blend of darjeeling, hibiscus, lemon peel and strawberry.

There will also be a new addition to the range in the summer - a white tea with lemon peel and watermelon juice in a white bottle - said Ripps: “We just debuted it at the Winter Fancy Food show and had a lot of interest.”​

I worry about the business all the time. But I’m also very proud of what we have achieved  ​

But how tough has it been to get on the shelf and stay there given the beverages aisle is littered with the corpses of entrepreneurial brands just like Owl’s Brew - which faces the additional challenge of being in a category of one?

Said Ripps: “I worry about the business all the time. But I’m also very proud of what we have achieved. We are both thrilled with year one and there are so many opportunities.​

“One thing I will say that helped us is that it took us so long to find a co-packer that could make the product to our specifications - we wanted fresh brew not concentrates or powders - that while it was a roadblock, we actually used that time to ask questions and build a network of advisors, so we were pretty well versed in what to expect once we finally had a co-packer in place.​

“Having said that, when we get our monthly invoices we sometimes go wow! It is a really expensive business, especially when you are at an early stage, and we anticipate having at least two more rounds of financing.”​

Try to line up more than one vendor in any given area​

So what is her advice to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

“From an operations standpoint, one thing I would say to people is try to line up more than one vendor in any given area, whether it is bottle production or corrugated box supplies or whatever,” ​said Ripps.

“We have over time had to source and then resource vendors and that can be very time consuming and really affect your costs, so I wish I had paid more attention to sourcing from the get go.”​

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