Palm Beach, FL 33480, US
Consumer Products
www.grainandbarrel.com
Island Club Brands dba Grain & Barrel Spirits (GB) is an innovation-driven alcohol beverage company adept at identifying emerging trends and monetizing them with nimble new product development. Leveraging one of the most successful independent brand launches of the past year in Chicken Cock Whiskey ($2 million + in sales), GB has created an incubator platform designed to develop, test and scale brands. Operating within a highly acquisitive industry where large suppliers lack internal innovation and therefore must acquire it, GB’s goal is to monetize brand successes on a recurring basis, while having a consistent pipeline of new product development targeting niche, but highly scalable, on-trend opportunities.
GB is raising up to $3 million in growth capital to fund expansion of its current portfolio of successful alcohol beverage brands and further build out a robust brand development and sales platform. In order to keep up with the demands of rapid expansion and production, GB will also be using this raise to build a significant working capital reserve.
Company Age | Employees | Sub-Industry |
---|---|---|
2 years, 9 months | 10 | Beverages |
Chicken Cock is an American Whiskey brand dating back to 1856. During Prohibition it was a well known bootleg whiskey. It was the house whiskey at the Cotton Club where it was smuggled in tin cans, becoming known as “The Whiskey in the Tin Can.” In the 1950’s the original distillery in Paris, KY burned down and the brand died off. ICB acquired the rights to the brand in 2012 and relaunched it in Spring ’13. Initially a line of flavored whiskeys, the brand was one of the most successful launches by an independent supplier in 2013. Endorsed by country musician Colt Ford.
General Dixie is a craft vodka out of Charleston, South Carolina launched by ICB in January 2014. Developed as a “vodka for the southern guy,” Dixie is 100% All-American and gluten free. At a retail driven price point of $19.99, Dixie launched with a straight vodka (6x distilled from Non-genetically modified corn), mint vodka and black pepper vodka. Initial markets will be restricted to the Southern region. Taking advantage of the growing interest in craft, local, American and Southern, Dixie is being positioned as the “Tito’s of the South.”
Carnaval is the first mainstream Brazilian wine entrant in the robust U.S. wine market. ICB partnered with the largest winery in Brazil, Cooperativa Vinicola Aurora to develop and produce the label, rolling it out across the U.S. in 2013. At a competitive price point of $9.99 – $11.99, Carnaval was developed to take advantage of the opportunities at retail surrounding the growing interest in all things Brazilian. With the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and Olympics in 2016, the window of opportunity is substantial to establish Carnaval as the market leader in the emerging Brazilian wine category.
Market | Annual Size | % Growth Rate |
---|---|---|
U.S. Distilled Spirits | $22,200,000,000 | 4 % |
U.S. Wine Market | $34,600,000,000 | 2 % |
GB Founder and Matti Anttila is a former investment banker who first traveled to Brazil while in the natural resources group at J.P. Morgan. Inspired by the growing global prospects of Brazil, he decided to create a super-premium version of Brazil’s national spirit, cachaça. Matti launched Cabana Cachaça in 2006, which went on to win a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and was named one of the Top 50 Spirits of 2011 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. In 2011 Matti acquired and successfully sold the 166 year old Boodles Gin brand. In 2012, he created GB with the mandate of building a dynamic alcohol beverage incubator, monetizing emerging trends with truly innovative new product development. An honors graduate of Amherst College, Matti has been featured on Fox Business and in numerous publications including Entrepreneur, the Financial Times, Departures and Wall Street Journal.