Meta Bourbon: The Fourth Tier
The micro trend of 2 o’clock Chuggzz turns into a brand!
Early during the COVD pandemic when we were all stuck in our houses, not sure of what was going to happen next, Dan Kidd @heavybourbon, a local bourbon enthusiast, took it upon himself to punctuate the boredom by posting a video of himself lightly chugging a different bottle of bourbon each day at 2:00 p.m. As the pandemic dragged on and people were stuck at home Dan continued diligently to post videos, day after day, never missing his time slot. As his followers, likes, and copy-cats followed, Dan quickly began to form a micro-trend of like minded drinkers taking sips directly from the bottle. Thus, “2 o’clock chuggz” was born.
Fast forward to early May. While Dan’s postings continued to pick up steam, it dawned on us that this could be more than just a small social media trend nurtured among local bourbon drinkers, but with Dan’s help and willing participation, we could actually turn this “idea” into a sellable product. Thus the “Dan Kiddzz 2 O’Clock Chuggzz” single barrel bourbon was born.
What started out as a bit of fun, could now be a brand!
As we all know, there are three tiers in the alcohol business, suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers. These three distinct entities all share some part in creating, marketing, distributing, and selling product to consumers. Most of the time this has been a relatively one way street. Brands were in charge of the creation of ideas. Distributors helped bring the product to market and managed the two way relationships between retailers and wholesalers, and retailers merchandised and sold the final product, balancing the relationship between themselves, their customers, and the wholesalers and brands.
Now we live in an age where consumers (mainly through social media) can create, control, and maintain different narrative threads all on their own. In some ways these stories, memes, and headlines operate as a brand. While Beam Suntory is resurrecting “Old Tub,” consumers have created a thousand different barrel pick stickers for Knob Creek. Creativity and brand creation is actually happening at the consumer level, and it’s a trend to which suppliers need to pay attention. Barrel pick meme stickers cross referencing a handful of cultural references often communicate more about the target consumer group in a 2x2 inch area, than the entire brand to which it is attached.
It is the self-reflexive nature of social media itself which drives in part the desire to want more than just a one way brand experience. Consumers and collectors especially want to be recognized, to belong, and ultimately to be validated. And what after all is the ultimate validation, but to see your own name and likeness on a bottle on a shelf in a liquor store? It’s why so many people get into this business to begin with, a shot at immortality, and a chance to order a shot of your own making at any bar you might chance upon. For brands to understand this about themselves, and know that their consumers feel the same way, and to be able to share in that basic drive, is to turn on a very powerful sales tool.
So, the single barrel programs, the memes, the stickers, the clubs, and the secondary market are all here to stay. They are in fact a vital bellwether to our industry, showing us in a clear way, the basic desires of our customers to be recognized, to see themselves in what they are purchasing. When we first approached Dan about collaborating with us on this project, there was no hesitation, and for his followers, friends, and family, I doubt very little there will be any hesitation to pull the product from the shelf. While not every brand can make bottlings for every individual, the lesson remains, the more we participate, understand, and absorb our customers lives, the better we’ll fair in the market.