Market Watch, March 1, 2017

Craft StarFEW has also set itself apart in the overseas market which is still a relatively open field for American craft spirits and even many larger Bourbon brands The companys products have been present in the United Kingdom since 2012 with boutique distrib utor Maverick Drinks and the country accounts for 20 percent of its sales Hletko recalls the persis tence of Maverick founder Michael Vachon when it came to landing the brand He flew from London to the distillery to say he wanted to bring FEW to the U K Hletko says noting that this was after he had declined Vachons requests multi ple times I thought whats the risk We were his first brand He wasnt really a distributor But hes a machine Were the No 1 American craft spirits brand in the U K now We double every year We were in the high end department store Marks Spencer until we became the most shoplifted item in the entire store then we lost our shelf place ment which is irritating Stateside FEWs strongest markets are concen trated in Illinois New York California Maryland and Washington D C The brand does well both on and off premise though Hletko has noted more on premise growth of late Retailers say FEW has strong sales especially with consumers who are curi ous about craft products When FEW first got released people were asking about the rye and Bourbon says Taylor Young assistant spirits buyer at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido California We got the rye in 2013 but werent able to get the Bourbon until a few years later Some customers asked to be notified when the Bourbon arrived People want to try small batch products because they feel theres a lot of care going into them Holiday Wine Cellar currently offers FEW Bourbon 5699 a 750 ml rye 7599 single malt 8099 and American gin 4099 Young says that despite being unavailable until early 2016 the Bourbon outsells the rest of the portfolio He notes the importance of tasting custom ers on the products Sampling goes over well he explains Since FEW is at a higher price point than other whiskies and not everyone knows about it its a hand sell probably three quarters of the time So sampling is a good way to get people to make a purchase Category LeaderWhile FEW is the most prominent label in the Samson and Surrey stable currently Hletko notes the synergies developed in marketing his brand alongside others that the company owns such as Philadelphia based Bluecoat American dry gin The overall idea of the portfolio is to have the best of the best in each category he explains FEW is the best Ameri can whiskey Bluecoat is the best gin There could be the best agave based spirit or the best non American whisky Whatever trying to grow into the general market and this partnership helps spread the FEW name outside of the whiskey geeks The Flaming Lips sold Few branded swag on their website Thats pretty cool Hletko has several other collaborations including one with another iconic American rock band in the works for this year FEW SPIRITS AT A GLANCEFoundedHeadquartersKey ProductsAnnual VolumeDistributionWebsiteFuture Plans2011Evanston IllinoisBourbon rye and single malt whiskies American Barrel and Breakfast gins Undisclosed25 states and 21 foreign marketsFewspirits comFew will expand to an additional facility by 2018 This year the company is releasing bottled in bond versions of its Bourbon rye and single malt whiskies FEWs whiskies work well in cocktails like the Evanston Colonel pictured made with FEW Bourbon Bénédictine bitters and an orange twist 84 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM MARCH 2017MW0317_