Most new spirits brands never reach 100,000 cases. Skrewball passed three million. In 2018, Steven Yeng and his wife Brittany launched a peanut butter whiskey out of their bar in Ocean Beach, San Diego. Banks turned them down, investors drank for free and never wrote a check, and most of the industry didn’t know what to make of the idea. Within a few years, Skrewball became the fastest brand over $20 to hit a million cases. It reached all 50 states in about 18 months, and in 2023 Pernod Ricard took a majority stake.
In this episode, recorded live on the Park Street University stage at Bar Convent Berlin, Steven joins Emmett Strack to break down how a bar favorite became a category of its own. He tells the story of the first retail account that ordered three cases and called back asking for 500. He explains why bartenders became the brand’s most important sales force, and how a viral moment on the Today Show turned into real repeat purchases. He also covers the fundamentals behind the growth: perfecting the recipe over 164 versions, securing proprietary glass and protecting the brand’s IP worldwide before selling a single bottle. Finally, he explains why doubling down on the hospitality industry in March 2020, when other suppliers pulled back, paid off many times over.
Park Street Imports is the back-office and importing solution for alcoholic beverage brands launching and scaling in the U.S. market.
Featured Guests:
Steve Yeng, Founder, Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
Mentioned in the Episode:
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