Assertion Supported
Hantas: 21 Seeds Became the Market Leader in Flavored Tequila
“We were now on the leaderboard, like suddenly this little brand, 21 seeds is now suddenly the leader in flavored tequila and it's actually growing serious share.”
Insight
Hantas: Horror films sell on high concepts rather than A-list talent
“With horror, A, it works, if, as long as it's a good concept, and B, you don't have to worry so much about the A-list actors, because anyway, you know, they all die. It's really the idea that sells it, so as, like, young, New producers. We thought it would be …”
Assertion Supported
Hantas: The 2018 tequila market ignored women and spritz drink occasions
“Cause at that time in the world of tequila, there were shots. So like, and then there was like sipping tequila, right? And the sipping tequila was really being marketed like scotches and whiskeys to a male consumer. And there was nobody talking about, you know…”
Insight
Hantas: Co-founders are essential because friends quickly tire of your startup complaints
“It's incredibly lonely. And your family very quickly tire of hearing about your woes and your friends. Follow pretty shortly thereafter. They don't want to hear about it. So you definitely need, you know, some people in the trenches with you.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hantas: 21 Seeds convinced women to buy hard alcohol for home consumption
“Prior to 21 Seeds, really, women would bring wine and beer, buy that for the house, and they weren't in the business of really buying hard alcohol for the house, and we really changed that behavior.”
Insight
Hantas: Founders must actively distribute earned media to retail buyers and distributors
“People don't, they think that it just happens and that's the end of it. You have to push all of that out to all of the people.”
Disclosure
Hantas: 21 Seeds Held $4M in Funding for Only 1.5 Years Before Exit
“We didn't even keep their money for very long because the four million dollars we raised, they, we only had that money for like a year and a half, you know?”
Insight
Hantas: Making a startup seem bigger stretches capital and accelerates growth
“Making yourself, you know, in every step of the way, kind of seem bigger than you are so that you can make the money go further, you know. And that is so hugely important and I think played a huge role in why things happen so quickly for us.”
Opinion
Hantas: Unaged White Spirits Are Cleaner Than Barrel-Aged Spirits
“He just didn't want me to drink an aged spirit, because when you age it, you put it in barrels, and yes, what leaches in to the liquid is some flavor, but also those things can react with your body, so if you're trying to drink cleaner, just drink a white spir…”
Opinion
Hantas: Flavored spirits tend to be overly sweet and taste metallic
“Our problem with flavored spirits is that they tend to be overly sweet and Have a weird aftertaste like you're sucking on a nickel, and smell like a Jolly Rancher.”
Disclosure
Hantas: 21 Seeds launched distribution through Park Street without sales support
“We launched with Park Street. Park Street is a distributor that, you know, checks the box on the three-tier system. They are the ones who are delivering the booze to the customer, writing, you know, doing all of that. They just don't have a sales force.”
Disclosure
Hantas: 21 Seeds co-founders invested $100,000 in 2018 for product development
“So initially, the three of us each put in the money to just, and it was I want to say, a 100,000 dollars. We put in the 100,000 dollars for the year of 2018 to just see if we could actually bring this, you know, make this product, do the development of the act…”
Disclosure
Hantas: 21 Seeds spent nearly half its initial $100K on a design agency
“I mean, I think we had only put in, at this point, a 100,000 dollars, so it was like almost, I would say almost half our budget was going to this.”
Insight
Hantas: Retailers hold annual spring line reviews requiring finalized products by January
“And those line reviews happen once a year in the spring, and you have to be ready with your product, everything done in like January. And if you are lucky enough to be invited to present at a line review, you have an opportunity to pitch your product. And then…”
Assertion Supported
Hantas: Spirits brands do not pay retail slotting fees, unlike non-alcoholic CPG
“In spirits, you don't have to pay slotting fees like you do in non-alcohol. So it's a little more fair in that you, if you really do have that shining product, you can get through, and it's not a matter of how much you can pay, right? With the slotting fees yo…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hantas: 21 Seeds Turned Profitable in 2020 Due to Reduced Travel Costs
“For 2020, we actually were profitable because it was you know, you didn't have to spend as much money on things like flying to distributors and opening a market.”
Assertion Supported
Hantas: 21 Seeds went from retail launch to Diageo acquisition in under three years
“Like, we got on shelf in April of 2019 and we closed the deal with Diageo March of 2022.”
Assertion Partly supported
Hantas: Unlike wine and beer, spirits brands cannot sell directly to consumers
“Unlike wine and beer, you can't sell directly to your consumer as a hard alcohol brand, like as a spirits brand. You have to go through distributors. So your initial customer is not your ultimate customer, right?”
