The spirits moved them
They aim to build a gin-soaked DIY empire
Joe Maiellano, 31, of Hawthorne, and Jack Hubbard, 31, of Alexandria, Va., are co-owners of the Homemade Gin Kit. The six-piece kit, which retails for $50, allows users to craft bathtub gin at home. The business, which was started in 2012, has sold more than 65,000 kits. I spoke to Maiellano, who's also a fund-raiser for Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Q: How'd you come up with the idea?
A: Jack and I were playing around and making gin in my kitchen. I was living in Arlington, Va., at the time, and we thought the gin was really good and began to discuss creating the same experience on a larger scale.
Q: The start-up money?
A: It was self-funded by both of us with $10,000, which we used to build 250 kits. We had no idea if there was even a market. We built an e-commerce website and my wife reached out to some bloggers. The business took off when Florence Fabricant of the New York Times called and said she was skeptical of the idea but if we sent her a kit, she'd review it. She wrote about us Dec. 11, 2012, and we sold 2,500 kits in two weeks.
Q: How do you make the gin?
A: Gin is an infused spirit which starts as a neutral-grain alcohol [typically vodka] and the distiller adds juniper berries, spices, and botanicals to flavor it. We steep it like a tea and you strain out the particulates and the alcohol strips the essential oils from the botanicals. Our kit comes with all the ingredients except alcohol to make one batch: a strainer, a funnel, and two apothecary-style bottles.
Q: The biz model?
A: We started in our condo, ordered ingredients and components online, then assembled, packed and shipped the kits. In mid-2014, we partnered with W&P Design in Brooklyn. We're part of their product family and have a licensing arrangement where we share warehouse space for kitting and order fulfillment in Virginia. They oversee wholesaling to larger brick-and-mortar retailers like Williams-Sonoma and Urban Outfitters, and we do most online retail sales through our website.
Q: Competitors?
A: We've had a few competitors, but this is a very niche, DIY market and we were the first and made a name. Our partnership with W&P has enabled us to cut margins and offer the kit cheaper on the wholesale side and still turn a profit.
Q: Your customers?
A: Somebody who likes cocktails, is into gin and making it themselves. We do business in D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, all throughout California and Texas. We've shipped to all 50 states, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
Q: The biggest challenge?
A: It's developing new products. We want to stay ahead of the curve. Once you buy our kit, you make that initial investment, and then you buy a refill blend. We currently have four blends, which are $15 each, but we have a three-blend pack that retails for $45 in brick-and-mortar stores. We've also sold about 6,000 add-ons, mostly bottles and blends through our website.
Q: How big a biz?
A: Me and Jack; his wife does our books, and my wife does our PR. Last year we had $500,000 in revenue.
On Twitter: @MHinkelman
Online: ph.ly/YourBusiness