The Business of Craft Distilled Alcohol

For people interested in perhaps one day launching a craft distillery business, this Course provides valuable insight into the numerous business decisions that must accompany  the decision to launch a craft distillery. This course will introduce the participant to issues such as location, zoning, fire codes, pricing, distribution, competitive advantage, marketing, the structure of a Business Plan, packaging and licencing.

Not every city or town wants a craft distillery. Not every part of a city or town is zoned for alcohol production. What are some Fire Code aspects that are critical? Should you hire a code consultant?

How much alcohol will your craft distillery generate? How much will you sell in a year? Are you sure about that?? How will you distribute your alcohol? How will your pricing compare to that of the big commercial distillers? This lecture provides ample material to seriously reflect on as you plan your craft distillery.

How much market share will your distillery take from the established big name players? Really? Are you sure? What will you use as your competitive advantage to ensure your survival? This lecture is designed to make you think....

There are an endless number of Marketing textbooks available. Reading them all could take years. You don't have that much time as you plan your craft distillery project. Thankfully, marketing of beverage alcohol can be greatly simplified by applying a model created by a French academic in the late 1990's. This lecture steps you through his model.

Before you get too far advanced in your planning, it is critical that you take steps to fully understand the science of mashing, fermenting and distilling. Thankfully there are many avenues available to the person seeking to further his/her knowledge. Your overall idea and scheme for your distillery will have to be expressed in a Business Plan. This lecture shows you the backbone structure of a sound Plan. Lastly this lecture introduces you to the dark side of distilled spirits competitions.

How will you package your craft alcohol? In all probability you will opt for glass bottles. Not all bottles are made the same. What about stock bottles versus custom bottles? What about the type of bottle closure? What about the colors on your labels? Do certain colors evoke psychological responses in consumers?

Every craft distiller will require a series of licences and permits in order to make alcohol. This final lecture introduces you to these licences and shows you what to expect.