A Rising Star in the Spirits Industry: Grain & Barrel Spirits

Aug. 1, 2017

When Matti Anttila launched Grain & Barrel Spirits in 2012, he did so with the hope to fill a void he saw in the spirits industry.

 

“Larger companies struggle when it comes to true innovation,” Anttila said. “I decided to take a broader portfolio approach: identify emerging trends in the spirits space and then either acquire, resurrect or create brands from scratch to capitalize on those trends.”

 

With that in mind, Anttila and the Grain & Barrel team found niches within the largest categories and developed their lineup with an “off-premise first” mentality, as opposed to a more traditional method of an on-premise launch focusing on smaller categories.

 

“This gives us a real advantage because we are bringing very relevant and highly-scalable brand concepts to market in large, established categories,” Anttila said. “We allow for brands to evolve naturally, as opposed to being forced to push any one brand too quickly.”

 

The South’s Best Tasting Vodka

 

The idea for Grain & Barrel’s flagship spirit – Dixie Vodka – was born during a hunting trip in Florida.

 

“Everybody was drinking bourbon, and the host – the archetypal ‘guy’s guy’ if there ever was one – was drinking vodka,” Anttila said. “Why was a southern guy drinking vodka instead of bourbon?”

 

The brand his friend was enjoying was not local to the South, so Anttila quickly discovered a hole in the liquor market, and it just happened to be in the largest spirit category. A little more than a year later, Dixie Vodka launched in South Carolina, and southern consumers had their local vodka, one that they’ve since branded as “The South’s Best Tasting Vodka.”

 

Local Love

 

The alcohol industry has been trending towards local products in recent years, as consumers are craving flavors from familiar places. Anttila noticed this trend earlier than most.

 

“Coming out of the economic downturn in 2010, consumers began to think much more locally about food, beer and eventually, spirits,” Anttila said. “Consumers want to know the story, the history, the personality. Local speaks to consumers in a way big brands can’t.”

 

Grain & Barrel’s footprint has allowed the brand to forge personal relationships with local consumers, creating brand evangelists, helping drive very positive word of mouth for their lineup of spirits.

 

Silver Screen Summer Sipper

 

Seeing spirits appear on the big screen is nothing new. James Bond has his martini. Ron Burgundy has his Scotch. Arthur Bach has his… well, any and every drink he can get his $750 million hands on.

 

However, not many, if any, spirits were actually a movie.

 

Grain & Barrel’s Endless Summer Rum is based off of the 1964 cult classic surfer flick, Endless Summer, and appropriately enough, the rum is produced in a distillery on the beach in Barbados.

 

“When I think of rum, I think of sun, surfing and hanging out with friends,” Anttila said. “When I approached Bruce Brown, the director of the movie, he immediately fell in love with the idea for the rum.”

 

The Future

 

“We would like to launch a new brand every year,” Anttila said. 

 

Noting that retailers need variety in their inventory, Anttila’s charge will be to continue to identify soft spots in broad categories, and address those areas by creating brands, or in the case of their whiskey – Chicken Cock – acquiring and reviving an dormant brand.

 

“I believe we can become the clear leader in innovation amongst mid-cap spirits producers,” Anttila said. “We want to do innovation better than anyone else.”

 

 

For more information about Grain & Barrel Spirits, please visit: http://www.grainandbarrel.com/