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www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2020 GOURMET NEWS 9 0 Regatta Craft Mixers Sets Sail in Retail Channel Waters By Lorrie Baumann Regatta Craft Mixers has launched a retail line of premium cocktail mixers with a brand that already has customers behind the bars in 25 states across the country. The line, now packaged in carefully designed cans illustrat- ing the brand's aspirational appeal, has a fol- lowing wind from consumers who favor clean ingredients and complex flavors, even when they're indulging. "Gone are the days, in my opinion, of peo- ple ordering generic cocktails with low-end mixers. The spirit game has elevated signif- icantly in the last 10 years toward premium and premium-plus spirits. For the most part, the mixer side hasn't evolved that much, and is just now catching up," said Sam Zarou, Regatta Craft Mixer's Chief Executive Offi- cer. "We're looking to complement the trend on the spirit side by offering a premium ex- perience to the consumer from start to fin- ish." When Stan Rottell founded Regatta Craft Mixers in 2006, he just wanted to make a classic Bermuda stone ginger beer, with a balanced flavor that was a little more citrus- forward than a spicier Jamaican-style ginger beer. He built a business around the bever- age that's now Regatta Craft Mixers' Classic Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, which has be- come popular with bartenders, especially those along the East Coast, for its small batch quality and natural ingredients. Zarou and his partners bought the thriving company in 2016 with the intention of expanding the product line and going deeper into the retail channel. To accomplish this, they would build on the market strength of consumers who had already been introduced to Regatta by their favorite bartenders and who were re- ceptive to the idea that they could duplicate their restaurant-quality experiences in their own homes. Zarou's first extension to the line was Light Ginger Beer. It's the same flavor as the brand's flagship product except that it's sweetened with organic blue agave rather than cane sugar. "Our Light Ginger Beer is 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar compared to 120 calories and 30 grams of sugar. It's just incredible refreshment, but it's also good for somebody that's looking for a l i g h t e r - b o d i e d , lighter-calorie, just overall lighter ex- perience," Zarou said. Light Ginger Beer has been followed by Royal Oak Ginger Ale, Dry Citrus Sparkling Tonic and Pacific Sea Salt Club Soda. The Dry Citrus Sparkling Tonic brings out the botanicals of any gin and also pairs well with vodka, tequila or any rum. Royal Oak Ginger Ale is smooth and sweet with oak barrel and ginger flavors. It pairs well with bourbon as well as vodka, gin and tequila. Pacific Sea Salt Club Soda is a zero-calorie option with the balance of flavor and carbonation to make a great gin and soda or vodka and soda. All of the mixers are non-GMO. "The new line is resonating with its packaging and graphics, flavor profiles, and the Non-GMO Project verification," Zarou said. "As con- sumers become more interested and edu- cated on what's inside the products they are drinking, I think they will eventually demand that kind of transparency." Along with the retail launch comes the necessity of scaling up the enterprise to accommodate the new market. Zarou says the company is well prepared to do that without compro- mising product quality. The distribution network is in place, and marketing and sales are tooled up and ready. Ingredient suppliers are ready to deliver. "It's a very well capitalized business with a very smart board that is well resourced....This is not a spray-and-pray model. Everything we do has to make sense," Zarou said. "We have secured the ability to produce at scale with favorable economics for the company for the foresee- able future.... We're really focused on the best ingredients; we're a premium craft mixer. The second we stop focusing on that, why do we exist? The ingredients are un- compromisable – it's just never on the chop- ping block." For more information, visit www.regatta craftmixers.com. Hitting the Road from Hickey Bottom By Lorrie Baumann Rebecca McCrea spent most of the last half of 2019 running her Hickey Bottom Barbe- cue Company from the road. Starting on May 18 from her home in Butler, Pennsylva- nia, she walked more than 2,600 miles across the country to Los Angeles, California, to raise money for the Best Friends Animal So- ciety. Along the way, she ran Hickey Bottom Barbecue Company from roadside motel rooms and her cell phone with some help from friends back home and a sister who pitched in to pay her household bills and mow her lawn. "I have my cell phone in my hand all the time," she said from a few days' hike from Los Angeles. "I have people help- ing me out here and there who know a little bit about [the business]." Her desire to hike cross-country started with knee surgery and a decision that, after a month of healing, she was ready to take a hike. "Back when I was a teenager, I al- ways wanted to hike the country, and I never did it," she said. "I'm 45 years old. If I don't do it now, I never will. And if I'm going to do it, why not do it for a good cause?" McCrea founded Hickey Bottom Barbe- cue in 2013 with three flavors of the bar- becue sauce she'd been making for friends and family for years. "They said that I ought to bottle it," she said. "It went well, so I thought, why not give it a shot? I didn't want to dive into it just because my friends like it." She named her new com- pany after a quiet country road in western Pennsylvania, a place that she says reflects a way of life that includes hard work and doing your best for your family and neigh- bors, keeping their word and standing be- hind their agree- ments. She wants her company to reflect that also, she said. The Hickey Bottom Barbecue sauces are gluten free and made without high fructose corn syrup, colors or preservatives. "I've tried to make a better quality product for the consumer," McCrea said. They come from a company that's cer- tified as a women-owned business. They're manufactured in North Carolina and distrib- uted in brick-and-mortar stores on the north- ern East Coast and nationally through Amazon, retailing at prices ranging from $2.99 to $10. The range includes her Sweet BBQ, Honey BBQ and Hot BBQ sauces as well as a Smokey Hot Sauce and a Grillin' Rub. The three barbecue sauces are pack- aged in 20-ounce PET plastic bottles, while the Grillin' Rub comes in a 6- ounce plastic spice shaker bottle, and the Smokey Hot Sauce is packaged in a 5.25-fluid ounce glass bottle. As for McCrea herself, she was planning to end her cross-country hike by driving back home in the chase van that had been following her along the road with water and baggage and getting back to her routine of running her business from its home base. "I miss my family and friends," she said. "I hope to grow nationally. It's a small company, so it takes a lot of time, but hopefully, one day it will be national – brick-and-mortar national." For more information, visit www .hickeybottombbq.com. New Products from Suzie's Good Groceries Company, under its popular Suzie's brand, continues to launch category- disrupting great tasting healthy products with "better for you" ingredients. If you share the company's 2020 vision for higher profits through great tasting innovation, then look no further. Introducing six Suzie's Meal Fixin' kits. You provide the bowl, wrap or taco; Suzie's provides everything else you need for Chi- nese Mu Shu, Korean Barbecue, Indian Kati Roll, Spicy Habanero, Smokey Chipotle or Guerrero Herb & Lime. Each kit contains all the Fixin's you need, such as jackfruit, sea- sonings packets, Mashu sauce, cheese pa- neer, vegetable blend, chutney, barbecue sauce, refried rice and beans, salsa con queso, etc. Merchandise inline by the burrito and taco wraps, on shelved ends or tie in over meat cases for a tasty new profit center. Introducing Suzie's high protein, organic, gluten-free couscous. Ready in five minutes, this delicious take on couscous will energize your side dishes. Available in Chickpea with 10 grams of protein per serving, Pea with 13 grams and Red Lentil with a whopping 15 grams of protein per serving. No longer just a side dish, here's a meatless meal that won't let you lose any nutritional value. Suzie's Couscous comes in a 14-ounce (400g) offer- ing, a value over other options on the shelf. Be part of the lentil revolution! Help your consumers get their day going with Ginergy Ginger Shots from Suzie's. Available in three flavor profiles – Ginger, Beet and Carrot, and in a value sized 17 fluid ounce bottle. Each bottle contains two pounds of compressed ginger and packs a jolt of natural energy. What's next and new from Suzie's is the launch of Lentil Crisps and Sprouted Lentil Crisps. Con- sumers love the square Corn, Spelt or Rice Thin Cakes and the round Puffed Spelt & Kamut Round Cakes; now add Thin Round Lentil Crisps. In trial runs, customers told the company they loved them; you'll love the sales they add to your stores. Speaking of added sales, Suzie's Organic Round Popcorn cakes will complement your "better for you" snack sets. Each bag con- tains 5.4 ounces of goodness. Unique flavor profiles like Sunflower & Salt, Indian Co- conut Spiced and Beetroot & Carrot com- plete the story. "Better for you" sets growing and grow- ing? How about adding next level "better for you" with Suzie's Sprouted Pita Chips? With flavor profiles consisting of Sea Salt, Smokey Barbecue, Sour Cream & Onion, Honey Mustard and Garlic Parmesan, you'll give your cus- tomers more choices and your stores more profits. Finally, Good Groceries is of- fering Popped Lotus Seeds by Rooted. Vegan, gluten-free and delicious, Rooted offers seven tantalizing flavor profiles: Salt & Pepper, Cocoa & Sea Salt, Cheese & Chives, Thai Sweet Chili, Salt & Vinegar, Turmeric and Jalapeno. Suzie's – innovation you can taste, inno- vation for your health! Innovation that drives sales! For more information, visit booth #6244, go to www.goodgroceries.com, email info@ good-groceries.com or call 718.768.0821. Fol- low the company on Pinterest and Instagram or go to www.twitter.com/SuziesBrand or www.facebook.com/Suzies.Natural.Products.

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