Shaken

Idea

Introduction

We produce cocktail boxes filled with premium ingredients and recipes. Our boxes are available via a monthly subscription, through high-end retailers such as Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and, in the near future, in hotel rooms around the world.

We work with global brands and craft distillers, with support from some of the world’s finest cocktail creators, carving out a whole new market for at-home cocktails.

“This is the most exciting concept I have seen in the take-home cocktail sector.” – Nick Rodgers, MD, Instil Drinks

“The best idea I’ve heard in years” – Dick Bradsell, legendary barman and creator of the Espresso Martini

“The team at Shaken are a leading voice in the world of cocktails.” – Andy Wallace, Prestige Marketing Manager, William Grant & Sons UK

Intended impact

FOR HOME
At the moment we see cocktails in the home as being the equivalent of coffee in the home 15 years ago.

Back then, you could go out for a good cup of coffee but at home you were generally stuck with instant. Quality coffee was for geeks or snobs. Now, good coffee is in most kitchens - and we want to do the same for cocktails - by making them easy, cost-effective and fun. Above all, it’s about giving people the skills, ingredients and confidence to make great drinks.

We believe that the main barriers are:
* Cost – you need to buy full bottles of spirits and mixers to make a single drink, so this limits experimentation
* Wastage – you might only need 30ml of Chartreuse for a cocktail, but you still need to buy a 700ml bottle, which then ends up sitting in a cupboard getting crusty
* Knowledge – cocktail techniques can seem intimidatingly mysterious to the uninitiated, and the existing online guides can assume an uncommon amount of prior knowledge

Our boxes overcome these barriers by providing an affordable package with only the straightforward instructions and ingredients that you need.

"Thanks 4 introducing me to the best cocktails I've tasted, love being part of your explorers club & learning about cocktail" Madelaine Taylor‏, Shaken Member

FOR HOTELS
Hotel groups are looking at how they can stand out, how the in-room experience can be enhanced and how to reward frequent customers. A Shaken product for hotels is in development for a major global hotel group.

“I think that your product has applications both as an in room amenity for VIP guests and as a way of driving revenue through our mini bar business.” VP, Food & Beverages, Major Global Hotel Group

FOR BRANDS
Brands work with us to promote their products and learn more about consumers in a powerful new way.

Underlying all of this is *data*. As we grow, the market insight we get from our members will become more and more detailed and comprehensive, which we believe would enable us to track and predict future trends.

Substantial accomplishments to date

* Listings in Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Master of Malt and 31 Dover.

* 200 monthly paying subscription members.

* Major brands officially sanction us to re-bottle their spirits, a cherished and hard fought position of trust and mutual respect.

* Featured and quoted in the 2015 Market Report from William Grant & Sons as a new market trend.

* Significant support from leading industry figures.

* High quality press coverage from the likes of Telegraph, Monocle, Time Out, Harper’s Bazaar, the Evening Standard and Huffington Post

* Established strong working relationships with drinks brands - resulting in significant free stock, media support and exclusive partnerships

* Our social media channels are growing, with our 2,200+ Twitter followers generating around 50,000 tweet impressions/month; and our 1500+ Facebook page followers give us a 60,000+ reach/month.

Monetisation strategy

We are building THE brand for cocktails at home. We’ve achieved a great deal this year and also learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Our plan now is to:

1) Lower the barrier to entry for new customers,
2) Increase the monthly spend of our existing members
3) Extend into new markets (hotels and duty free)

We recognise that the subscription model is a potential hurdle for some consumers, so we’re developing entry-level products for direct-to-consumer sale, as well as selling cocktail equipment, bundled packs and spirits online to increase the basket size for current members.

In addition, we will further grow the retail presence of our Signature boxes, taking them into duty free retail; and we’ll launch our hotel product.

Scale in the direct-to-consumer business is important as it delivers greater profit per box. As we grow, we will unlock additional streams of revenue such as partnerships, co-branding and market research that leverages our consumer data.

Once we have built the foundation in the UK market we will look to expand internationally, where we already have significant interest.

Use of proceeds

We are now seeking investment to capitalise on the brand position we’ve established, by growing the Explorers’ Club subscription business in the UK (both through product development to reach the entry level, and marketing support), developing the hotel product and extending the Signature Retail product.

We’ll invest in the team, marketing, facilities and equipment to ensure growth and capacity are aligned.

Our focus is simple: growth.

1. Employ a highly experienced Head of Customer Acquisition (already identified)
2. Provide budget to implement the customer acquisition strategy
3. Expand our product range, lowering the barrier to entry and enabling increased spend for superfans
4. Develop our online store to reflect our new product range
5. Create and sell our hotel product
6. Extend our Signature boxes’ retail presence in more stores and in duty free

In 2015, our small team has achieved mighty things. We’ve created an entirely new category of retail product, in the process going from an online-only company to a high-end retail brand on the shelves of Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. Invest in Shaken and imagine how far we can go in 2016.