How was FHA-Food & Beverage for you? Was it well organised?
Michael: FHA-Food & Beverage was our first fair in ASIA for our range of Shake-It Cordial Mixers and the first ever fair for out ready-to-serve cocktail brands “The Cocktail factory”. We participated as a part of the Danish delegation under the “Drink of Denmark” banner that brought together interesting drink brands from Denmark including Gin, sparkling team, cocktail syrups, mixers and ready to serve cocktails.
From our perspective FHA-Food & Beverage was well structured all the from pre-registration to the “salad plate” to the event itself. All our presenter needs were met.
What did you like about it? What can be improved?
Michael: What is not to like, the location, venue and the organisation all were flawlessly executed in our opinion. Maybe the only thing missing were “soundproof call booths” where you could take you calls as the fair was really packed.
What has been the biggest take away from the event?
Michael: For us as brand from the Nordics it was crucial for us to get live feedback on our products and concepts.
For example, in Denmark and in several of our Export markets there is a larger interest and strong consumer confidence in “mixing drinks and cocktails at home” even in a post pandemic world. Making drinks at home plays a huge part in socializing with friends and family in a home setting.
This is the opportunity we are going after with our all-natural Shake-It Mixer range where we pair great design an esthetics with superb flavor profiles.
The feedback from the fair was that that the opportunity is not as established as in Europe for example, but the opportunity here would be more driven by the on-trade as people tend to go out for cocktails.
Has there been new business made from the event? Are there ongoing partnership talks?
Michael: We got an amazing response with around 20 to 30 actionable leads for the APAC region and are discussing partnership and possible market entry in the near future.
What are some of the benefits to the industry in using your products? (Cheaper price, longer shelf life, better end products, healthier for end consumer etc?)
Michael: With our Shake-It Mixer we wanted to introduce something new to the cocktail syrup category; First we created a bottle that you want to show in you bar or that would it well in any home bars, something that is as beautiful and interesting as the spirits bottles. Our bottle and label designs were inspired by both nature and the golden age of mixology., You can easily see this on the overall look and feel, but also the lower end of the bottle has an easy to hold fluted “flower petal” design and the bottom of the bottle is built to resemble a fruit juicer. We also worked hard together with a team of top bartenders build fresh and balanced natural flavours across the range. This really paid off since we Introduced the product in late 2020 to the Danish market and by the end of 2021, we already had a nearly 50 % share of the market. The bottle design also won old at the Pentawards in 2021 which is quite an achievement for a new, Danish brand in a market with big, international brands.
The Second brand we have now launched was The Cocktail Factory that is a range of cocktails and mocktails drawn from our extensive market, consumer, and cocktail knowledge. We have combined a world-class natural flavor with design cues that resonate with the category consumers.
The whole ready-to-drink / bottled cocktails category was already amid premiumization, and both the growth and premiumization were super changed by the pandemic and entering the category with a basic offering is not relevant to the consumers anymore.
From the start it was important for us to use only natural flavors and premium spirits and to deliver an overall premium experience. I think we really managed to achieve this and the fact that we gained 3 Gold medals and 2 Silver medals across the range in this year’s Global Pre-Mixed & RTD Masters that was organized by The Spirits Business* competition just underlines the fact.
What’s next for The Cocktail Factory?
Michael: After the tremendously positive feedback we will continue to pursue distribution opportunities in the region.
