February 25, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode, host Jimmy Moreland and MHW's Cassidy Poe are joined by Margaheata Founders Briana Kovacs and Andrew Hirko to talk about their spicy startup simple syrup brand, and how they've leveraged grass roots marketing and data collection to maximize growth in their home market of Colorado and beyond.
More about Margaheata: Website
More info about MHW at https://www.mhwltd.com/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the MHW Mark podcast, where we take deep
dives into various aspects ofthe alcohol industry.
My name is Jimmy Moreland.
Mhw is a US and EU beveragealcohol importer, distributor
and service provider Co-hostingwith me.
Today I am pleased to welcomeback MHW's Cassidy Poe.
Welcome back.
How have you been, hey, jimmy?
Happy to be back.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Mhw's Cassidy Poe, welcome back.
How have you been?
Hey, jimmy, happy to be back.
It's been a while.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It's been a minute but we're back.
How have things been at MHW?
I've been seeing on socialmedia it seems like the event
schedule has been pretty packed.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yes, we've been very busy, especially our marketing
and sales team, attending a lotof industry events and planning
for the upcoming busy well, noteven upcoming anymore.
It's already started the busytrade show season.
Some of our team was at theBeer, wine and Spirits Daily
Summit in January and then wealso had a team just come back
(00:59):
from the WSWA Access LiveConference in Colorado, which I
heard great things about.
Most recently, some of oursales team went to VinExpo Paris
and got to meet with somereally awesome brands and see
clients, which they said was areally great time.
And now, coming up, we haveProvine in March and then it
(01:22):
just continues on from there.
So we're keeping ourselves verybusy around here and if
anyone's interested in attendingany of these events, they can
also see all the upcoming eventson our events calendar on our
website.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yep, head over and check out the website it's
mhwltdcom and go to those eventsand you can put a face to the
voices that you hear every otherweek on this podcast.
Yes, well, for this episode wehave something a little
different.
Generally, we talk with peoplewho are in some way directly
involved with alcohol brands,service providers and so forth.
(01:56):
Today, our guests are thefounders of a simple syrup brand
and we get into some greatconversation about how they fit
into the broader picture in thisindustry.
So let's get into it.
My guests today are first, theco-founder and COO of Marga Hita
, andrew Hercow.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Hi Jimmy, Hi Cassidy, Thanks for having us on.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
We're also happy to welcome the founder and CEO,
Brianna Kovacs.
Welcome, Brianna.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Thank you so much.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's great to have you both on here.
Can you just for us give us alittle bit of a bio, a
background on each of you, justto let us know how you came to
be in charge of Margarita and,if you want as well, some
background on the company itselfand Brianna, if you want to
kick us off there?
Speaker 4 (02:43):
So a little bit about myself.
I am a Colorado native, stillliving in Colorado.
Outdoor enthusiast, I, for afew years, lived in the New York
area, actually in the winebusiness, at a retail shop where
we did click and mortar as well.
This was after finishinguniversity and that's where I
(03:04):
ended up meeting Andrew manyyears ago I won't tell you how
many because it will date me andwe've subsequently moved back
to Colorado and, in addition tobeing in the wine industry, I've
dabbled in a series ofdifferent industries, so being
the electronics industry for aFortune 200 company and also
(03:26):
within the fintech space,specifically digital payments,
working for internationalcompanies, European companies
specifically.
And how we came to get involvedwith or create essentially,
marguerita is that I am a spicymargarita enthusiast.
So many years ago I ended uphaving a fantastic spicy
(03:51):
margarita.
This was before they becamereally popular.
It was at a craft cocktail barand I thought, wow, this is
incredible.
It was the perfect combinationof many of the major flavor
categories.
Right, you have the sourness ofthe lime, you have the
saltiness of the rim, you havethe spice, the heat of the spice
(04:12):
within the margarita and I washooked.
So then, as I would continue togo to restaurants or bars,
establishments and they had iton the menu.
I would often even ask if theydidn't.
Establishments and they had iton the menu.
I would often even ask if theydidn't.
I began ordering that when Iwas indulging in a cocktail and
found myself typically fairlydisappointed more often than not
(04:32):
, and of course taste is verysubjective.
But then sometimes I wouldstumble upon again a very
craveable, delicious, spicymargarita and I would end up
going back to that establishmentand ordering the drink again
and it would be completelydifferent.
And I would end up going backto that establishment and
ordering the drink again and itwould be completely different.
And that's just due to manyvariations.
And we've all experienced thatin different bartenders making
(04:53):
the drinks, differentmethodologies, that they're
using different variations justwithin peppers themselves.
We've all had anextraordinarily spicy peppers
themselves.
We've all had anextraordinarily spicy jalapeno
and then some that are very mild.
And so I decided that I wouldbegin a quest to create the
(05:15):
perfect spicy margarita, ifnothing else, at home.
So I began experimenting,essentially, and I started with
the classic muddling and I foundagain the same thing.
Because of that variation inpeppers, it was really
inconsistent and I found thespice level to be underwhelming.
And then I began to juliennejalapenos and put those in the
tequila, my tequila of choice.
(05:36):
The challenge there was thatthe first few drinks that I
would make from that bottle, thespice level was again
underwhelming.
Then the drinks I would makeafter that, the spice level was
again underwhelming.
Then the drinks I would makeafter that, the spice level was
great.
And then towards the end of thebottle, it was too spicy.
So again, it wasn't the perfectapproach.
So then I began to experimentwith spicy simple syrups and
(06:00):
many, many iterations later Icame up with what I felt to be
the perfect spice level.
And mind you, jimmy, I know thatyou mentioned that you like
spice, I too like things reallyspicy.
So it required some feedbackfriendly feedback from people
that maybe it was a little bittoo spicy.
So we found what we thought wasjust the right level and also
(06:26):
something that was, you know,more conscious of the caloric
impact too, right.
I mean, you know, when we'repeople like to indulge in an
adult beverage but not alwaysindulge when it comes to the
packing and the calories or theextra sugar, et cetera.
So we just were sharing it withfamily and friends when we
would host or, you know, wewould go to extra sugar, et
cetera.
So we just were sharing it withfamily and friends when we
would host or we would go to agathering, et cetera.
(06:49):
And people started asking haveyou thought about sharing this
with the broader world?
And hence the advent ofmargarita, which is, we like to
say, it adds heat to anymargarita.
So that's the background as tohow it came to be.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Andrew, can we get a little bit about you personally,
and then we'll jump back intoMargarita.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Sure, I mean Brianna covered most of it, but I would
say we did meet when we wereboth in the industry.
So I was managing an importingdistribution business in New
York for a long time and fromthat experience was great,
learned about the industry andwhen we got together it was a
long time ago and I fell in lovewith Colorado coming out here
(07:32):
to visit with Brianna's familyand we would go camping and
skiing and really fell in lovewith the state.
And when we decided to movehere in 2010, I think it was the
best decision we made.
But we went different paths inour careers and I was also with
a Fortune 200 company locallyhere in Denver and subsequently
(07:53):
have also joined the digitalpayment space.
While we're building ourcareers, we also decided to
launch this business and it'sbeen a long process, an exciting
process.
It was fun to have our officialkickoff at the Access Live
event in Denver in the beginningof February, so we're just
(08:15):
excited to be creating thisthing and sharing it with the
world.
I guess that's the right way tosay it.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Can I ask and you're free to tell me to mind my own
business can I ask if this crazyventure of putting out a whole
new consumer product here areyou able to continue your
parallel careers, or has thisthing completely consumed your
lives and this is the only thingyou can do?
It hasn thing completelyconsumed your lives and this is
the only thing you can do.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
It hasn't completely consumed our lives yet.
It's consumed a lot of ourevenings.
So our day jobs take up.
You know we're focused on ourcareers as well, but weekends
and evenings are kind ofconsumed by this right now.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Yeah, we're in that exciting time where things are
starting to move faster and geta little bit bigger, and so,
while we have maintained our dayjobs if that's what you would
call it yes, I would say that weare getting less sleep, albeit
we also have two young childrenrelatively young children, a
five-year-old and an18-month-old, so sleep is really
(09:09):
something of the past anyways,but, yes, yes, it is to the
point where it's definitelytaking more time, but I mean in
a very encouraging and excitingway.
And just so to add to Andrewhis background as well, he also
has a background in therestaurant industry and
specifically large restaurantsand managing bars, et cetera.
(09:31):
So that was something that wasreally has been very helpful for
us and really understandingthat perspective, the on-premise
perspective as well.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Y'all are gluttons for punishment, it seems.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, we're glad because we all benefit from it.
Can we hear a little bit more,I guess, about the product as it
stands today?
You can go to the website.
We'll have links to that in theshow notes for people to check
out and you can see.
I love that you've got theColorado flag on the bottle.
I love that.
But can you tell us more aboutMarga Heat Estrella as it stands
today, now that consumers canget their hands on it?
(10:04):
And you know you talked aboutyour issues and why you iterated
and figured out the rightformula and the right product
type in the first place, whetherit was an infused tequila and
you've sort of landed on asimple syrup now and I guess why
it was important to do all ofthat iterating to where it was
useful, not just in your own barat home, but as something that
(10:27):
consumers and the bars andrestaurants might want,
something like this behind theirbar.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Talking about iterating, I mean when you start
making a product like this, youmake it at home.
You can't legally sell it andyou can make it however you want
and it's your own kind of Idon't want to say risk.
But when you're making anyproduct at home, it's not a
commercial kitchen and when wefirst decided we want to sell
this product it was okay, well,how can you legally sell the
product?
(10:52):
So we went through a very longprocess of finding a commercial
kitchen where we could produceit and sourcing the products and
the labels and the bottles andthe induction seals and all of
that stuff and getting licensedby the city of Denver and the
state of Colorado and registerwith the FDA.
And we did all of those things.
And it's like Brianna said, wehave a small family.
(11:12):
You know, like Brianna said, wehave a small family.
It's very difficult to take aday off and have multiple
babysitters watch our childrenand spend a day in downtown
Denver producing this product.
But it was great.
We were able to iterate there,kind of perfect the recipe in a
way that it's where our friendswent from oh wow, that's really
spicy to my gosh, it's delicious, so that kind of a thing.
(11:33):
So we iterated on flavor first,and also in a safe way.
So where we're certified to beacidified food manufacturers, we
understand ph and all of thethings that go into making sure
that this thing is safe.
Ultimately, we've got atwo-year shelf life, with you
know, before the bottle is openat room temperature.
So it's a very, very safeproduct.
(11:53):
That was one of the key points,and the second round it, or the
third round of iteration wouldbe when we decided we need to be
able to scale this and wepartnered with a co-packer here
in Colorado and with thatco-packer it was a whole nother
round of iterations on how do wescale this product and how do
we refine the recipe in a waythat we can scale it, but it
(12:13):
still.
We refine the recipe in a waythat we can scale it, but it
still hits all of our standards.
And there were about 10 roundsof production with a co-packer
until now, about four or fivemonths ago, he was able to get
it to a point where we're happywith it and it's incredible and
we were able to produce thevolume that we need I mean
hundreds of gallons at a time tobe able to serve the market and
(12:36):
fill the bottles and everythingin a way that it's truly
scalable at this point.
And today it's the syrup, andtomorrow I guess it's one of the
things we'll talk about, buttomorrow is going to be the RTDs
and you know, partnering withtequila brands and things like
that.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Can you share with us roughly what's the time frame
that it took from when youdecided like, okay, let's do
this to like first product onthe shelf, to today Like, how
long are we talking here?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I'm also curious, like was that a big learning
curve for you guys to figure allthat out in the beginning, or
did your backgrounds like kindof lend a hand in sorting
everything out?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Oh, there was a huge learning curve, absolutely.
I mean, you know, I'd like tothink it was a slightly less
painful curve than if we didn'thave certain backgrounds and you
know, let's say, in the liquorindustry, restaurant industry,
et cetera.
But absolutely, you know,andrew was mentioning all of
this, all of this licenses andthe certifications and you know,
really making sure that we arecrossing our T's and dotting our
(13:37):
I's was really important, right.
And you know, and I think youknow, and also learning a lot
from other people talking toother people.
You know Andrew mentioned thatwe, you know, we were a vendor
at the Access Live WSWA eventthis last year and, candidly,
one of the greatest benefitsfrom that event was talking to
(13:58):
other people with experience andhearing, just getting that
firsthand guidance.
Because you make missteps, right, you try the Facebook adage
fail fast.
We tried to do that.
But to your question, jimmy, Imean from when we first came up
with the idea to now isembarrassingly slow, and that's
(14:20):
also again having children andhaving other full-time jobs et
cetera.
But Andrew and I have talkedabout it.
It's been about seven years,but I remember years ago and I
can't credit the original source, hearing that you know, as you
get older, life doesn't getharder, it just gets faster, and
I often think of it as sort ofa game of Tetris.
(14:41):
So it's not necessarily gettingharder, but things are coming
faster.
And so now you know, a lot ofit was okay.
We kind of have this idea andokay, let's, let's see if we can
come up with a product andlet's see if we can kind of
perfect it, and then let's comeup with a name, you know with
friends, and then, okay, well,let's trademark the name, and
that trademark process takesquite some time, and you know
(15:04):
then the various licenses, etcetera, all the way to the.
You know Andrew mentioned thatnow we have a co-packer, which
makes this significantly morescalable.
Albeit, it was really importantto us to have it be a local co
-packer because we want to bethere, we want to see the
peppers, we want to really behands-on.
It's incredibly important to usfor the quality of the product
(15:27):
that we be very involved in that, rather than truly outsourcing
absolutely everything.
Right, this is our baby, so tospeak.
So it's lots of learning andwe're still learning, honestly,
and I'm sure there will be manymore lessons again in the future
.
But at this point.
Now we are to the point wherewe are able to scale it more,
(15:52):
which is really exciting andit's really well received by the
market.
I still consider us in ourlaunch stage, sort of I won't
consider us out of that stageuntil we're really a household
name.
But yes, things are starting tomove much faster in a very
encouraging way.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Let's talk a little more broadly about margaritas.
Tell us about specificallyspicy margaritas, like do you
have data or how do you sort ofmake decisions about forecasting
?
You know what you're doing?
Or is it just like hey, we know, we've got anecdata that says
there's a need for this in themarket, and so, by God, here we
are.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
That's a good question.
I mean in terms of hard data,industry data, and, andrew, you
can of course elaborate on this.
You know, certainly, liquorsales.
There are hard statisticsaround that right.
There are organizations,companies that they track, that,
they report it, et cetera.
So you know, as you mentioned,tequila being the number one
(16:53):
liquor type in terms of salesand margaritas being the number
one most popular cocktail in theStates.
For at this point you know,years running, when it comes to
specifically spicy margaritas.
It's a little more challengingto ascertain that because that
requires some on-premisereporting versus the likes of,
you know, suppliers anddistributors and wholesalers, et
(17:15):
cetera.
But really the best gauge ofthat, especially in today's day
and age, is to be payingattention to the chatter, and
one of those sources is thelikes of social media, in
addition to people's justgeneral experience talking to
restaurants and bars and thingslike that.
But there is an increase of 25%, at least in the States, of
(17:39):
chatter on social media aboutspecifically spicy margaritas,
and that's even higher in Canadaand even higher, I think, up to
32% in the UK.
So it's obvious that this is atrend and there's also a greater
trend towards bolder, moreadventurous flavors in the
cocktail scene and you know wetalked about cocktails and
(18:01):
liquor, but I mean, in allhonesty, there's another big
trend which is aroundnon-alcoholic and mocktails.
Right, I mean, there'sespecially the younger
generation you know Gen Zs, butpeople in general are choosing,
for a variety of reasons, toabstain and they also want
flavorful beverages and theywant options as well, and so
(18:25):
that was one of the reasons thatwe feel we're really filling a
niche because, in addition tomargarita being able to be used
for spicy margaritas and givingthe additional flexibility for
any tequila right, you know,perhaps you have a specific
preference toward the brand, oryou can also use it in let's be
(18:46):
honest any cocktail If you likespice.
You know the sky's the limit interms of being able to
experiment, but also it'sexcellent in mocktails.
Sky's the limit in terms ofbeing able to experiment, but
also it's excellent in mocktails.
I have had periods when I waspregnant or breastfeeding or
whatever, where I was notindulging in cocktails, but I
still wanted an interestingdrink, I still wanted to be able
(19:09):
to have that experience, andMarguerita is the perfect
solution for that because itadds that complexity, it
increases the satiation of theoverall beverage to where you
really.
That's feedback that we'vereceived.
You really don't even noticethat there's no alcohol in the
beverage, and going back to thefact that we really focused on
(19:32):
making sure that that spicelevel was to the point where
that we really focused on makingsure that that spice level was
to the point where it's stillpresent, but you're not suddenly
making the beverage so sweet,because that's also feedback.
We have friends who don't drinkalcohol, and that was one of
their complaints is thattypically these mocktails are
just syrupy and overly sweet andthey really don't want the
(19:55):
empty calories, et cetera, andso margarita is a really
excellent solution for that aswell, in adding that complexity
without necessarily packing inall the additional calories.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Let's talk Scoville's .
How spicy Do you have theScoville measurement?
Speaker 4 (20:10):
This is a challenge actually, andrew.
Do you want to take this one?
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Yeah, I mean we're relying on our palate at this
point.
I mean these, you know theScoville meters are pretty
expensive and you know we'reusing habaneros and serrano
peppers and we kind of know thelevel of heat.
We haven't gotten crazy on itat this point and I would just
say, you know, we're justtrusting our palate at this
(20:34):
point.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I put you on the spot and I apologize for that.
But I have the nice way to sortof like bring us around there
in that I really do appreciatespice.
I've done the hot oneschallenge.
I bought all 10 of the hot onessauces all the way up to level
10.
And if anything will radicalizeyou against the Scoville system
, it's doing the hot oneschallenge, because a jump of
(20:59):
three times the amount ofScoville units does not
correspond to three times asspicy and it's like no, the last
one was spicier than this one,even though it says it's four
times as many Scoville units.
I hope we don't get a cease anddesist from the Scoville people
, but that's I'm going to say.
If that's something that y'allaren't interested in, don't do
it, Don't worry about it.
(21:20):
Talk about the comparables, Ithink, comparing qualitatively
and talking about the spicesthat are represented in the
formula.
I think so when you saySerranos and Habaneros, I've got
a good picture and I know whatI'm getting into.
So I think that's.
I think that's the way to do it.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
And to just add on to that, I think the it's not just
about heat.
I know the name is Marga Jita,but it's a very balanced,
well-balanced flavorful syrup.
And we've talked about on theside of doing a scale of one to
five.
How hot do you want yourbeverage?
I would say the recommendedrecipe of a quarter ounce in a
(21:58):
drink is about a three, and ifyou want it to go to a five,
just add more, and it does addmore heat.
But it's more about the flavor.
I mean, there are plenty ofproducts on the market that have
extracts of habaneros and youcan just add the heat without
the flavor.
Ours is really a well-balancedsyrup that makes a delicious
(22:19):
cocktail in our opinion.
And, um, some really goodfeedback we got from the show a
couple weeks ago was um, thereactions were uh, you'd have to
bleep me, I mean, but some ofthese people were saying you
know f that's good, like that isreally delicious.
That's very encouraging becausethat's exactly what we were
going for.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
I'm glad to hear that you guys had a good time at the
show and everything was worthit.
We had a great time as well myteam that was there.
I wish I could have been thereto try Margarita.
But I want to switch gears alittle bit into your either
current or like potential waysthat you guys could partner with
(22:57):
like spirits brands and bars.
I imagine that your productwould be a great way for spirits
brands to help betteraccelerate their on-premise
volume goals and achieve theirmilestones.
So do you guys have any plansof doing this in the future?
Are you working, working onthis?
What's going on with likespirit brand and bar partnership
(23:19):
?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yep, I mean we like to say that Margarita is a
bartender's best friend.
It enables the bartender tooperate efficiently, craft,
consistent, craveable spicymargaritas that's really the
pain point that we're trying tosolve in the beginning.
Spicy margaritas that's reallythe pain point that we're trying
to solve in the beginning.
It's difficult to find aconsistent spicy margarita.
(23:40):
But it also enables them tooffer, like Brianna was saying,
a broader range of spicybeverages.
So it streamlines them, allowsthem flexibility, and I've
worked, I've managed restaurantsthat have the tequila steeped
with peppers and you can'tmodify it and the heat level
changes as you consume thebottle or serve the bottle.
(24:00):
So we're trying to make surethat their guests aren't locked
into a specific drink or tequilabrand and it just makes their
job easier.
But, to your point, we aretalking to several tequila
manufacturers about exactly thishow to go to market and our
product being a non-alcoholicproduct, there's a lot of
flexibility that some of thesecompanies don't have.
(24:22):
Enables them to offer, maybe afree bottle of Margarita when
you purchase a bottle of theirtequila brand.
It enables them to do specificmenu items where it's the spicy
margarita with their brand andthe margherita brand combined,
(24:43):
so that the restaurant is sortof helping to promote that
specific tequila because it goeswell with margherita.
And that was one of the biggesttakeaways from this event is we
tried dozens of tequilas andthere are some that just are
head and shoulders above therest and I'll end up getting
myself in trouble on thispodcast with some of those
companies, but I'm not justmentioning that.
(25:04):
There are some that we're verykeen to partner with and the
feeling has been reciprocal fromthose companies.
It's really cool.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Yeah, and in the long run, at this point we're
working directly with othertequila manufacturers, one in
particular who's we really feellike their product is top shelf
and so it's.
It seems like it's a greatsynergy between us.
But, you know, in the long runwe would envision things like
having be co-branding.
You know some sort of you knowMarga Hita with you know, the
(25:36):
major tequila producer.
And also you know some sort ofyou know margahita with you know
, the major tequila producer.
And also, you know, looking atready-to-drink beverages, you
know that's another reallygrowing trend.
But you know, quality is reallyimportant.
I think we've probably all hadthose experiences where you've
been excited and you've openedthe drink and it's maybe not
been quite what you had hopedfor.
So you know, we want to makesure that if that's an avenue
(25:58):
we're going to go down, thatit's really the right fit and
it's going to properly representMarguerita.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
I imagine stepping into the space.
I just imagine that the burdenof regulatory compliance and
everything else that comes intoplay once you're actually
delivering something withalcohol in it, I imagine that's
quite a big step to consider.
Is that daunting to you?
Speaker 4 (26:21):
Both of us having had experience in the wine industry
and a bit of experience, I didhave a New York State liquor
license in my name many moonsago.
Yes, absolutely, and weappreciate that.
You know the regulations varystate by state and that is a
whole monster in and of itself.
So, yes, although that is oneof the benefits of partnering
(26:45):
with liquor manufacturers right,they have the licenses, they
have that experience level tobring into it.
So I mean, I'm trying to thinkof the phrase is alone you can
go fast, but together you can gofar.
And that's really, you know,part of our strategy in the long
run is partnering, making goodchoices of the right partners,
(27:06):
but then having us be able tocollaborate and leverage the
experience and skill sets of oneanother to be able to go far to
be able to go far.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
To get back to a point that Andrew was touching
on there about on-premisestrategy we want for our
listeners, especially thelisteners who are perhaps
involved with younger brands,newer brands, can we talk a
little bit about on-premisestrategy specifically?
I don't know, like working withbartenders and I guess there's
a training element to it.
Can you talk about just sort ofthat strategy and share any
(27:38):
lessons, hard fought orotherwise, that you can share?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Thanks, yeah, absolutely.
I mean we have several friendswho are serious bartenders and
we've gotten a ton of feedbackfrom them and worked with them
to help develop some cocktailrecipes.
And I would say the thing thatgets everybody so excited is
that Margarita is flexible,really doesn't require a lot of
training.
You can add it to any cocktailor mocktail.
(28:02):
It adds a balanced heat to thebeverage.
We say a quarter ounce for adrink is your general guideline,
which makes it easy for thebartender.
If the customer wants it or theguest wants it spicier, you add
a little bit more.
Everybody kind of gets theirown taste on what they prefer,
how much, but we designed it ina way.
(28:23):
Even the bottle itself isdesigned in a way to just make
it simple.
So it's a little squeeze bottle, just add a little bit more.
It's nothing to be scared of.
Once the person tries it thefirst time, they're like wow,
this is easy.
It's easy to make it consistent.
But the tip that we provide tothe bartenders is what I
mentioned before, which is askthe guest or ask the waitstaff
(28:44):
how spicy do you want your drink?
And that's sort of what we,what we would envision a
restaurant doing, the do youwant it on a one to five scale.
Three is how we serve it.
Do you want it a four or five,or do you want it less than a
three, and we'll adjust thedrink accordingly.
You can always add more.
That's pretty easy.
Taking it out, obviously, is thehard part.
(29:09):
So we start with the three,which, from our feedback from
hundreds of different peopletasting this with us, has been
that's really the right level.
Obviously, if it's a Mexicanrestaurant and they've got the
margarita in a big bowl, theywould have to adjust it and we
would have to help them a littlebit determine what's the right
ratio.
But it's really a quarter ouncefor every eight ounce drink is
what we think.
So the goal is obviously to help, not just streamline the
(29:32):
bartender's job and thewaitstaff's job, where we go to
restaurants and order a spicymargarita and we've had it take
20 minutes maybe it feels like20 minutes but it's really 15
but you're sitting there andwaiting and the food is coming.
The drink doesn't come becausethe bartender moves the ticket
over.
They don't want to make thatone yet because they have to go.
You know, muddle the peppers orwe've.
(29:53):
We've experienced that manytimes.
And.
But it's not just thatefficiency, it's the consistency
getting the drink where you'relike, wow, this tastes delicious
.
And then the bartender earninga tip and the waiter not having
to check back at the bar becausethe drink's not ready.
The goal is to improve theguest experience, ultimately,
(30:15):
and it doesn't really requiremuch in the way of training, to
answer the question.
Speaker 5 (30:20):
I want to make sure we cover the off-premise side of
this too, because I know youguys have two different
approaches here.
So can you tell us a little bitabout your approach for
off-premise and your goals withthat?
Speaker 4 (30:32):
So, in addition to it being great for on-premise bars
and et cetera, it's also reallyexcellent for the home
enthusiast and the host.
You know it's great forbundling is what we typically
suggest when it comes toon-premise.
So, you know, putting together,you know, either in an end cap
or, you know, a package onlineif they're doing online sales,
(30:54):
being able to bundle and puttogether a spicy margarita
package, it helps them be ableto choose to promote certain
liquor brands and put thosethings together.
Also, it's great for thatimpulse buy at checkout, you
know, sort of taking a look andthinking, okay, well, I was
planning on making margaritas,right, I've got my tequila, I've
got my triple sec or my youknow, pre-made margarita mix,
(31:17):
whatever, whatever they may beusing, and then suddenly they
see that at the checkout lineand it's a great thing to add to
the cart to just increase theaverage ticket value as well.
So it's, it's excellent andagain, it's very versatile,
right.
So it could be that, you know,depending on what, what type of
tequila they want to use, maybethey want to use you know it's.
You know you could do Moscowmules, you could do lots of
(31:39):
different types of cocktails.
It's not limited to justmargaritas either, and so you
know you can at retailers,off-premises can be really
creative about putting togethersome of those recommendations,
because you know we have foundthat oftentimes, you know some
patrons come in and they knowexactly what they're looking for
, right, they know where it isin the store, they're going to
go grab it and then they'regoing to check out.
But oftentimes people come inand they're open and they're
(32:03):
actively seeking suggestions,and so it's a great opportunity.
You know someone comes in forjust tequila and the retailer
can ask well, do you like spicymargaritas?
Do your guests like this?
And then suddenly you areadding additional items to their
basket, which is a win-win foreveryone.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
I think, with Cinco de Mayo coming up too, that's
going to be where you'll seesome of these bundles in stores.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
I think that's actually a great segue into the
next question.
Here is your plans for the nextfive years.
What's in store for Margarita?
Are we seeing more of thesebundles and partnerships with
tequila brands?
We would love to hear more.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
Well, our ambitions are lofty in terms of the next
five years.
So I think you know, at thispoint we're gaining momentum
within the industry and someconsumers.
Our goal is, within the nextfive years, to have Marguerita
truly be a household brand, youknow, be that, recognizing it
from the shelves of your, youknow local liquor stores, but
(33:05):
also on menus.
You know, working withrestaurants to, you know, have
sort of co-branded cocktailMarguerita and having the patron
immediately recognize that andknow what to expect.
And having the patronimmediately recognize that and
know what to expect.
And co-branded liquors andpossibly the RTDs as well.
So you know, that's somethingyou know, we think Xerox or
(33:28):
Kleenex, I mean, yes, these arevery ambitious goals, but this
is what we're driving towards,this is what we'd ultimately
like to see for the brand Timefor our final fun question that
we always like to end with, andthat is simply what is your
favorite adult beverage?
(33:49):
Well, I think I let the cat outof the bag already on that one.
I would say a spicy margarita,specifically a skinny spicy
margarita.
You know I tend not to enjoythe overly sweet ones as much.
So for me this is again hittingthose notes where you have the
sour, you have a little bit ofthe sweet, you have a little of
the salt and you have that heat.
You know gets a little closerto that umami for me.
(34:13):
And so I would have to say that, the skinny spicy being my
ultimate favorite.
That said, I always aminterested if I see something
really unique and interesting ona menu and exciting.
I love to order that as well,because you know, I think that I
always appreciate the art ofthe craft of creating cocktails
(34:33):
and I like when people areadventurous and I'm often
pleasantly surprised by those.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
For mine, we've been.
Well, brianna is really themixologist in our household and
she's pretty talented, I'm goingto say, but she's been making a
basil lemonade cocktail usingvodka and fresh basil and fresh
squeezed lemon for years.
We usually take a batch of itwhen we go camping and it's just
refreshing.
(34:59):
It always makes me think ofcamping and we've actually
turned that into a mocktailwhere we'll serve that to
friends and delicious.
But I take that with usingvodka and add margherita to it
and it's just, in my opinion,perfection.
Balanced spice, the flavors,the acidity, everything just
(35:20):
goes so well together.
That's my go-to.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Very good.
A basil lemonade with orwithout vodka, with some
margherita in it.
I have to ask are you aware ofa beverage called a prairie fire
?
Speaker 4 (35:35):
I know, no, do tell.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
It's a very simple shot that you can call at
certain kinds of bars andcertain kinds of places, and
it's simply a shot of cleartequila with a shot of Tabasco
in it.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Wow Interesting.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Shout out to the United States Marine Corps for
teaching me that one when I wasstationed at Fort Meade.
It's not as bad as it sounds.
It actually is, surprisingly.
It goes down smooth, and if youcan keep it down then you're in
good shape.
Speaker 4 (36:05):
Well, I suppose probably better chance earlier
in the night than at the end ofthe night in terms of keeping it
down.
You said it's called a prairiedog shop, prairie Fire, prairie
Fire Ah, okay, interesting yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
We should formulate a recipe with marguerita.
There you go.
Speaker 5 (36:20):
I was going to ask if there was some sort of like
shot recipe that you guys coulddo.
I feel like that could be fun.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Well, honestly, I think probably we should get you
guys some samples in your handsand we welcome the feedback
Because, I mean, that's one ofthe most the more fun parts of
this whole project is thatpeople really like it and it
inspires them to try new thingsand play around with it.
Yeah, get creative.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Yeah, exactly, I still know some Marines.
I'll invite them over and we'llgive it a shot, please do.
It's not a true prairie fire ifthere aren, aren't marines sort
of yelling at you to keep going?
Well, um, this podcast is allabout responsible.
Okay, we'll do the legaleselater.
I want to thank y'all forcoming by.
(37:10):
I want to be respectful of yourtime.
So thank you so much, briannakovach and andrew herko, for
stopping by and talking with us.
We will put links to marga hitain the show notes for people
who want to check out what'sgoing on there and maybe get
themselves a bottle.
So thank y'all for stopping by.
Thanks for having us.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
To me and Cassidy.
Thank you so much, it's been apleasure.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
And thank you listeners for joining us on the
MHW Mark podcast and thanksagain to Cassidy Poe for joining
me in hosting.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Glad to be here, Jimmy.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
This podcast is produced by me, jimmy Moreland,
with booking and planningsupport by Cassidy Poe and
Bridget McCabe.
It's presented by MHW.
Find out more at mhwltdcom orconnect with MHW on LinkedIn.
Lend us a hand by subscribing,rating and reviewing this
podcast wherever you listen.
We'll be back in your feed intwo weeks.
We'll be back in your feed intwo weeks.
We'll see you then.
Cheers.
Welcome to the MHW Mark podcast, where we take deep
dives into various aspects ofthe alcohol industry.
My name is Jimmy Moreland.
Mhw is a US and EU beveragealcohol importer, distributor
and service provider Co-hostingwith me.
Today I am pleased to welcomeback MHW's Cassidy Poe.
Welcome back.
How have you been, hey, jimmy?
Happy to be back.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Mhw's Cassidy Poe, welcome back.
How have you been?
Hey, jimmy, happy to be back.
It's been a while.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It's been a minute but we're back.
How have things been at MHW?
I've been seeing on socialmedia it seems like the event
schedule has been pretty packed.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yes, we've been very busy, especially our marketing
and sales team, attending a lotof industry events and planning
for the upcoming busy well, noteven upcoming anymore.
It's already started the busytrade show season.
Some of our team was at theBeer, wine and Spirits Daily
Summit in January and then wealso had a team just come back
(00:59):
from the WSWA Access LiveConference in Colorado, which I
heard great things about.
Most recently, some of oursales team went to VinExpo Paris
and got to meet with somereally awesome brands and see
clients, which they said was areally great time.
And now, coming up, we haveProvine in March and then it
(01:22):
just continues on from there.
So we're keeping ourselves verybusy around here and if
anyone's interested in attendingany of these events, they can
also see all the upcoming eventson our events calendar on our
website.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yep, head over and check out the website it's
mhwltdcom and go to those eventsand you can put a face to the
voices that you hear every otherweek on this podcast.
Yes, well, for this episode wehave something a little
different.
Generally, we talk with peoplewho are in some way directly
involved with alcohol brands,service providers and so forth.
(01:56):
Today, our guests are thefounders of a simple syrup brand
and we get into some greatconversation about how they fit
into the broader picture in thisindustry.
So let's get into it.
My guests today are first, theco-founder and COO of Marga Hita
, andrew Hercow.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Hi Jimmy, Hi Cassidy, Thanks for having us on.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
We're also happy to welcome the founder and CEO,
Brianna Kovacs.
Welcome, Brianna.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Thank you so much.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's great to have you both on here.
Can you just for us give us alittle bit of a bio, a
background on each of you, justto let us know how you came to
be in charge of Margarita and,if you want as well, some
background on the company itselfand Brianna, if you want to
kick us off there?
Speaker 4 (02:43):
So a little bit about myself.
I am a Colorado native, stillliving in Colorado.
Outdoor enthusiast, I, for afew years, lived in the New York
area, actually in the winebusiness, at a retail shop where
we did click and mortar as well.
This was after finishinguniversity and that's where I
(03:04):
ended up meeting Andrew manyyears ago I won't tell you how
many because it will date me andwe've subsequently moved back
to Colorado and, in addition tobeing in the wine industry, I've
dabbled in a series ofdifferent industries, so being
the electronics industry for aFortune 200 company and also
(03:26):
within the fintech space,specifically digital payments,
working for internationalcompanies, European companies
specifically.
And how we came to get involvedwith or create essentially,
marguerita is that I am a spicymargarita enthusiast.
So many years ago I ended uphaving a fantastic spicy
(03:51):
margarita.
This was before they becamereally popular.
It was at a craft cocktail barand I thought, wow, this is
incredible.
It was the perfect combinationof many of the major flavor
categories.
Right, you have the sourness ofthe lime, you have the
saltiness of the rim, you havethe spice, the heat of the spice
(04:12):
within the margarita and I washooked.
So then, as I would continue togo to restaurants or bars,
establishments and they had iton the menu.
I would often even ask if theydidn't.
Establishments and they had iton the menu.
I would often even ask if theydidn't.
I began ordering that when Iwas indulging in a cocktail and
found myself typically fairlydisappointed more often than not
(04:32):
, and of course taste is verysubjective.
But then sometimes I wouldstumble upon again a very
craveable, delicious, spicymargarita and I would end up
going back to that establishmentand ordering the drink again
and it would be completelydifferent.
And I would end up going backto that establishment and
ordering the drink again and itwould be completely different.
And that's just due to manyvariations.
And we've all experienced thatin different bartenders making
(04:53):
the drinks, differentmethodologies, that they're
using different variations justwithin peppers themselves.
We've all had anextraordinarily spicy peppers
themselves.
We've all had anextraordinarily spicy jalapeno
and then some that are very mild.
And so I decided that I wouldbegin a quest to create the
(05:15):
perfect spicy margarita, ifnothing else, at home.
So I began experimenting,essentially, and I started with
the classic muddling and I foundagain the same thing.
Because of that variation inpeppers, it was really
inconsistent and I found thespice level to be underwhelming.
And then I began to juliennejalapenos and put those in the
tequila, my tequila of choice.
(05:36):
The challenge there was thatthe first few drinks that I
would make from that bottle, thespice level was again
underwhelming.
Then the drinks I would makeafter that, the spice level was
again underwhelming.
Then the drinks I would makeafter that, the spice level was
great.
And then towards the end of thebottle, it was too spicy.
So again, it wasn't the perfectapproach.
So then I began to experimentwith spicy simple syrups and
(06:00):
many, many iterations later Icame up with what I felt to be
the perfect spice level.
And mind you, jimmy, I know thatyou mentioned that you like
spice, I too like things reallyspicy.
So it required some feedbackfriendly feedback from people
that maybe it was a little bittoo spicy.
So we found what we thought wasjust the right level and also
(06:26):
something that was, you know,more conscious of the caloric
impact too, right.
I mean, you know, when we'repeople like to indulge in an
adult beverage but not alwaysindulge when it comes to the
packing and the calories or theextra sugar, et cetera.
So we just were sharing it withfamily and friends when we
would host or, you know, wewould go to extra sugar, et
cetera.
So we just were sharing it withfamily and friends when we
would host or we would go to agathering, et cetera.
(06:49):
And people started asking haveyou thought about sharing this
with the broader world?
And hence the advent ofmargarita, which is, we like to
say, it adds heat to anymargarita.
So that's the background as tohow it came to be.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Andrew, can we get a little bit about you personally,
and then we'll jump back intoMargarita.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Sure, I mean Brianna covered most of it, but I would
say we did meet when we wereboth in the industry.
So I was managing an importingdistribution business in New
York for a long time and fromthat experience was great,
learned about the industry andwhen we got together it was a
long time ago and I fell in lovewith Colorado coming out here
(07:32):
to visit with Brianna's familyand we would go camping and
skiing and really fell in lovewith the state.
And when we decided to movehere in 2010, I think it was the
best decision we made.
But we went different paths inour careers and I was also with
a Fortune 200 company locallyhere in Denver and subsequently
(07:53):
have also joined the digitalpayment space.
While we're building ourcareers, we also decided to
launch this business and it'sbeen a long process, an exciting
process.
It was fun to have our officialkickoff at the Access Live
event in Denver in the beginningof February, so we're just
(08:15):
excited to be creating thisthing and sharing it with the
world.
I guess that's the right way tosay it.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Can I ask and you're free to tell me to mind my own
business can I ask if this crazyventure of putting out a whole
new consumer product here areyou able to continue your
parallel careers, or has thisthing completely consumed your
lives and this is the only thingyou can do?
It hasn thing completelyconsumed your lives and this is
the only thing you can do.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
It hasn't completely consumed our lives yet.
It's consumed a lot of ourevenings.
So our day jobs take up.
You know we're focused on ourcareers as well, but weekends
and evenings are kind ofconsumed by this right now.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Yeah, we're in that exciting time where things are
starting to move faster and geta little bit bigger, and so,
while we have maintained our dayjobs if that's what you would
call it yes, I would say that weare getting less sleep, albeit
we also have two young childrenrelatively young children, a
five-year-old and an18-month-old, so sleep is really
(09:09):
something of the past anyways,but, yes, yes, it is to the
point where it's definitelytaking more time, but I mean in
a very encouraging and excitingway.
And just so to add to Andrewhis background as well, he also
has a background in therestaurant industry and
specifically large restaurantsand managing bars, et cetera.
(09:31):
So that was something that wasreally has been very helpful for
us and really understandingthat perspective, the on-premise
perspective as well.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Y'all are gluttons for punishment, it seems.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, we're glad because we all benefit from it.
Can we hear a little bit more,I guess, about the product as it
stands today?
You can go to the website.
We'll have links to that in theshow notes for people to check
out and you can see.
I love that you've got theColorado flag on the bottle.
I love that.
But can you tell us more aboutMarga Heat Estrella as it stands
today, now that consumers canget their hands on it?
(10:04):
And you know you talked aboutyour issues and why you iterated
and figured out the rightformula and the right product
type in the first place, whetherit was an infused tequila and
you've sort of landed on asimple syrup now and I guess why
it was important to do all ofthat iterating to where it was
useful, not just in your own barat home, but as something that
(10:27):
consumers and the bars andrestaurants might want,
something like this behind theirbar.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Talking about iterating, I mean when you start
making a product like this, youmake it at home.
You can't legally sell it andyou can make it however you want
and it's your own kind of Idon't want to say risk.
But when you're making anyproduct at home, it's not a
commercial kitchen and when wefirst decided we want to sell
this product it was okay, well,how can you legally sell the
product?
(10:52):
So we went through a very longprocess of finding a commercial
kitchen where we could produceit and sourcing the products and
the labels and the bottles andthe induction seals and all of
that stuff and getting licensedby the city of Denver and the
state of Colorado and registerwith the FDA.
And we did all of those things.
And it's like Brianna said, wehave a small family.
(11:12):
You know, like Brianna said, wehave a small family.
It's very difficult to take aday off and have multiple
babysitters watch our childrenand spend a day in downtown
Denver producing this product.
But it was great.
We were able to iterate there,kind of perfect the recipe in a
way that it's where our friendswent from oh wow, that's really
spicy to my gosh, it's delicious, so that kind of a thing.
(11:33):
So we iterated on flavor first,and also in a safe way.
So where we're certified to beacidified food manufacturers, we
understand ph and all of thethings that go into making sure
that this thing is safe.
Ultimately, we've got atwo-year shelf life, with you
know, before the bottle is openat room temperature.
So it's a very, very safeproduct.
(11:53):
That was one of the key points,and the second round it, or the
third round of iteration wouldbe when we decided we need to be
able to scale this and wepartnered with a co-packer here
in Colorado and with thatco-packer it was a whole nother
round of iterations on how do wescale this product and how do
we refine the recipe in a waythat we can scale it, but it
(12:13):
still.
We refine the recipe in a waythat we can scale it, but it
still hits all of our standards.
And there were about 10 roundsof production with a co-packer
until now, about four or fivemonths ago, he was able to get
it to a point where we're happywith it and it's incredible and
we were able to produce thevolume that we need I mean
hundreds of gallons at a time tobe able to serve the market and
(12:36):
fill the bottles and everythingin a way that it's truly
scalable at this point.
And today it's the syrup, andtomorrow I guess it's one of the
things we'll talk about, buttomorrow is going to be the RTDs
and you know, partnering withtequila brands and things like
that.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Can you share with us roughly what's the time frame
that it took from when youdecided like, okay, let's do
this to like first product onthe shelf, to today Like, how
long are we talking here?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I'm also curious, like was that a big learning
curve for you guys to figure allthat out in the beginning, or
did your backgrounds like kindof lend a hand in sorting
everything out?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Oh, there was a huge learning curve, absolutely.
I mean, you know, I'd like tothink it was a slightly less
painful curve than if we didn'thave certain backgrounds and you
know, let's say, in the liquorindustry, restaurant industry,
et cetera.
But absolutely, you know,andrew was mentioning all of
this, all of this licenses andthe certifications and you know,
really making sure that we arecrossing our T's and dotting our
(13:37):
I's was really important, right.
And you know, and I think youknow, and also learning a lot
from other people talking toother people.
You know Andrew mentioned thatwe, you know, we were a vendor
at the Access Live WSWA eventthis last year and, candidly,
one of the greatest benefitsfrom that event was talking to
(13:58):
other people with experience andhearing, just getting that
firsthand guidance.
Because you make missteps, right, you try the Facebook adage
fail fast.
We tried to do that.
But to your question, jimmy, Imean from when we first came up
with the idea to now isembarrassingly slow, and that's
(14:20):
also again having children andhaving other full-time jobs et
cetera.
But Andrew and I have talkedabout it.
It's been about seven years,but I remember years ago and I
can't credit the original source, hearing that you know, as you
get older, life doesn't getharder, it just gets faster, and
I often think of it as sort ofa game of Tetris.
(14:41):
So it's not necessarily gettingharder, but things are coming
faster.
And so now you know, a lot ofit was okay.
We kind of have this idea andokay, let's, let's see if we can
come up with a product andlet's see if we can kind of
perfect it, and then let's comeup with a name, you know with
friends, and then, okay, well,let's trademark the name, and
that trademark process takesquite some time, and you know
(15:04):
then the various licenses, etcetera, all the way to the.
You know Andrew mentioned thatnow we have a co-packer, which
makes this significantly morescalable.
Albeit, it was really importantto us to have it be a local co
-packer because we want to bethere, we want to see the
peppers, we want to really behands-on.
It's incredibly important to usfor the quality of the product
(15:27):
that we be very involved in that, rather than truly outsourcing
absolutely everything.
Right, this is our baby, so tospeak.
So it's lots of learning andwe're still learning, honestly,
and I'm sure there will be manymore lessons again in the future
.
But at this point.
Now we are to the point wherewe are able to scale it more,
(15:52):
which is really exciting andit's really well received by the
market.
I still consider us in ourlaunch stage, sort of I won't
consider us out of that stageuntil we're really a household
name.
But yes, things are starting tomove much faster in a very
encouraging way.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Let's talk a little more broadly about margaritas.
Tell us about specificallyspicy margaritas, like do you
have data or how do you sort ofmake decisions about forecasting
?
You know what you're doing?
Or is it just like hey, we know, we've got anecdata that says
there's a need for this in themarket, and so, by God, here we
are.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
That's a good question.
I mean in terms of hard data,industry data, and, andrew, you
can of course elaborate on this.
You know, certainly, liquorsales.
There are hard statisticsaround that right.
There are organizations,companies that they track, that,
they report it, et cetera.
So you know, as you mentioned,tequila being the number one
(16:53):
liquor type in terms of salesand margaritas being the number
one most popular cocktail in theStates.
For at this point you know,years running, when it comes to
specifically spicy margaritas.
It's a little more challengingto ascertain that because that
requires some on-premisereporting versus the likes of,
you know, suppliers anddistributors and wholesalers, et
(17:15):
cetera.
But really the best gauge ofthat, especially in today's day
and age, is to be payingattention to the chatter, and
one of those sources is thelikes of social media, in
addition to people's justgeneral experience talking to
restaurants and bars and thingslike that.
But there is an increase of 25%, at least in the States, of
(17:39):
chatter on social media aboutspecifically spicy margaritas,
and that's even higher in Canadaand even higher, I think, up to
32% in the UK.
So it's obvious that this is atrend and there's also a greater
trend towards bolder, moreadventurous flavors in the
cocktail scene and you know wetalked about cocktails and
(18:01):
liquor, but I mean, in allhonesty, there's another big
trend which is aroundnon-alcoholic and mocktails.
Right, I mean, there'sespecially the younger
generation you know Gen Zs, butpeople in general are choosing,
for a variety of reasons, toabstain and they also want
flavorful beverages and theywant options as well, and so
(18:25):
that was one of the reasons thatwe feel we're really filling a
niche because, in addition tomargarita being able to be used
for spicy margaritas and givingthe additional flexibility for
any tequila right, you know,perhaps you have a specific
preference toward the brand, oryou can also use it in let's be
(18:46):
honest any cocktail If you likespice.
You know the sky's the limit interms of being able to
experiment, but also it'sexcellent in mocktails.
Sky's the limit in terms ofbeing able to experiment, but
also it's excellent in mocktails.
I have had periods when I waspregnant or breastfeeding or
whatever, where I was notindulging in cocktails, but I
still wanted an interestingdrink, I still wanted to be able
(19:09):
to have that experience, andMarguerita is the perfect
solution for that because itadds that complexity, it
increases the satiation of theoverall beverage to where you
really.
That's feedback that we'vereceived.
You really don't even noticethat there's no alcohol in the
beverage, and going back to thefact that we really focused on
(19:32):
making sure that that spicelevel was to the point where
that we really focused on makingsure that that spice level was
to the point where it's stillpresent, but you're not suddenly
making the beverage so sweet,because that's also feedback.
We have friends who don't drinkalcohol, and that was one of
their complaints is thattypically these mocktails are
just syrupy and overly sweet andthey really don't want the
(19:55):
empty calories, et cetera, andso margarita is a really
excellent solution for that aswell, in adding that complexity
without necessarily packing inall the additional calories.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Let's talk Scoville's .
How spicy Do you have theScoville measurement?
Speaker 4 (20:10):
This is a challenge actually, andrew.
Do you want to take this one?
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Yeah, I mean we're relying on our palate at this
point.
I mean these, you know theScoville meters are pretty
expensive and you know we'reusing habaneros and serrano
peppers and we kind of know thelevel of heat.
We haven't gotten crazy on itat this point and I would just
say, you know, we're justtrusting our palate at this
(20:34):
point.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I put you on the spot and I apologize for that.
But I have the nice way to sortof like bring us around there
in that I really do appreciatespice.
I've done the hot oneschallenge.
I bought all 10 of the hot onessauces all the way up to level
10.
And if anything will radicalizeyou against the Scoville system
, it's doing the hot oneschallenge, because a jump of
(20:59):
three times the amount ofScoville units does not
correspond to three times asspicy and it's like no, the last
one was spicier than this one,even though it says it's four
times as many Scoville units.
I hope we don't get a cease anddesist from the Scoville people
, but that's I'm going to say.
If that's something that y'allaren't interested in, don't do
it, Don't worry about it.
(21:20):
Talk about the comparables, Ithink, comparing qualitatively
and talking about the spicesthat are represented in the
formula.
I think so when you saySerranos and Habaneros, I've got
a good picture and I know whatI'm getting into.
So I think that's.
I think that's the way to do it.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
And to just add on to that, I think the it's not just
about heat.
I know the name is Marga Jita,but it's a very balanced,
well-balanced flavorful syrup.
And we've talked about on theside of doing a scale of one to
five.
How hot do you want yourbeverage?
I would say the recommendedrecipe of a quarter ounce in a
(21:58):
drink is about a three, and ifyou want it to go to a five,
just add more, and it does addmore heat.
But it's more about the flavor.
I mean, there are plenty ofproducts on the market that have
extracts of habaneros and youcan just add the heat without
the flavor.
Ours is really a well-balancedsyrup that makes a delicious
(22:19):
cocktail in our opinion.
And, um, some really goodfeedback we got from the show a
couple weeks ago was um, thereactions were uh, you'd have to
bleep me, I mean, but some ofthese people were saying you
know f that's good, like that isreally delicious.
That's very encouraging becausethat's exactly what we were
going for.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
I'm glad to hear that you guys had a good time at the
show and everything was worthit.
We had a great time as well myteam that was there.
I wish I could have been thereto try Margarita.
But I want to switch gears alittle bit into your either
current or like potential waysthat you guys could partner with
(22:57):
like spirits brands and bars.
I imagine that your productwould be a great way for spirits
brands to help betteraccelerate their on-premise
volume goals and achieve theirmilestones.
So do you guys have any plansof doing this in the future?
Are you working, working onthis?
What's going on with likespirit brand and bar partnership
(23:19):
?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yep, I mean we like to say that Margarita is a
bartender's best friend.
It enables the bartender tooperate efficiently, craft,
consistent, craveable spicymargaritas that's really the
pain point that we're trying tosolve in the beginning.
Spicy margaritas that's reallythe pain point that we're trying
to solve in the beginning.
It's difficult to find aconsistent spicy margarita.
(23:40):
But it also enables them tooffer, like Brianna was saying,
a broader range of spicybeverages.
So it streamlines them, allowsthem flexibility, and I've
worked, I've managed restaurantsthat have the tequila steeped
with peppers and you can'tmodify it and the heat level
changes as you consume thebottle or serve the bottle.
(24:00):
So we're trying to make surethat their guests aren't locked
into a specific drink or tequilabrand and it just makes their
job easier.
But, to your point, we aretalking to several tequila
manufacturers about exactly thishow to go to market and our
product being a non-alcoholicproduct, there's a lot of
flexibility that some of thesecompanies don't have.
(24:22):
Enables them to offer, maybe afree bottle of Margarita when
you purchase a bottle of theirtequila brand.
It enables them to do specificmenu items where it's the spicy
margarita with their brand andthe margherita brand combined,
(24:43):
so that the restaurant is sortof helping to promote that
specific tequila because it goeswell with margherita.
And that was one of the biggesttakeaways from this event is we
tried dozens of tequilas andthere are some that just are
head and shoulders above therest and I'll end up getting
myself in trouble on thispodcast with some of those
companies, but I'm not justmentioning that.
(25:04):
There are some that we're verykeen to partner with and the
feeling has been reciprocal fromthose companies.
It's really cool.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Yeah, and in the long run, at this point we're
working directly with othertequila manufacturers, one in
particular who's we really feellike their product is top shelf
and so it's.
It seems like it's a greatsynergy between us.
But, you know, in the long runwe would envision things like
having be co-branding.
You know some sort of you knowMarga Hita with you know, the
(25:36):
major tequila producer.
And also you know some sort ofyou know margahita with you know
, the major tequila producer.
And also, you know, looking atready-to-drink beverages, you
know that's another reallygrowing trend.
But you know, quality is reallyimportant.
I think we've probably all hadthose experiences where you've
been excited and you've openedthe drink and it's maybe not
been quite what you had hopedfor.
So you know, we want to makesure that if that's an avenue
(25:58):
we're going to go down, thatit's really the right fit and
it's going to properly representMarguerita.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
I imagine stepping into the space.
I just imagine that the burdenof regulatory compliance and
everything else that comes intoplay once you're actually
delivering something withalcohol in it, I imagine that's
quite a big step to consider.
Is that daunting to you?
Speaker 4 (26:21):
Both of us having had experience in the wine industry
and a bit of experience, I didhave a New York State liquor
license in my name many moonsago.
Yes, absolutely, and weappreciate that.
You know the regulations varystate by state and that is a
whole monster in and of itself.
So, yes, although that is oneof the benefits of partnering
(26:45):
with liquor manufacturers right,they have the licenses, they
have that experience level tobring into it.
So I mean, I'm trying to thinkof the phrase is alone you can
go fast, but together you can gofar.
And that's really, you know,part of our strategy in the long
run is partnering, making goodchoices of the right partners,
(27:06):
but then having us be able tocollaborate and leverage the
experience and skill sets of oneanother to be able to go far to
be able to go far.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
To get back to a point that Andrew was touching
on there about on-premisestrategy we want for our
listeners, especially thelisteners who are perhaps
involved with younger brands,newer brands, can we talk a
little bit about on-premisestrategy specifically?
I don't know, like working withbartenders and I guess there's
a training element to it.
Can you talk about just sort ofthat strategy and share any
(27:38):
lessons, hard fought orotherwise, that you can share?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Thanks, yeah, absolutely.
I mean we have several friendswho are serious bartenders and
we've gotten a ton of feedbackfrom them and worked with them
to help develop some cocktailrecipes.
And I would say the thing thatgets everybody so excited is
that Margarita is flexible,really doesn't require a lot of
training.
You can add it to any cocktailor mocktail.
(28:02):
It adds a balanced heat to thebeverage.
We say a quarter ounce for adrink is your general guideline,
which makes it easy for thebartender.
If the customer wants it or theguest wants it spicier, you add
a little bit more.
Everybody kind of gets theirown taste on what they prefer,
how much, but we designed it ina way.
(28:23):
Even the bottle itself isdesigned in a way to just make
it simple.
So it's a little squeeze bottle, just add a little bit more.
It's nothing to be scared of.
Once the person tries it thefirst time, they're like wow,
this is easy.
It's easy to make it consistent.
But the tip that we provide tothe bartenders is what I
mentioned before, which is askthe guest or ask the waitstaff
(28:44):
how spicy do you want your drink?
And that's sort of what we,what we would envision a
restaurant doing, the do youwant it on a one to five scale.
Three is how we serve it.
Do you want it a four or five,or do you want it less than a
three, and we'll adjust thedrink accordingly.
You can always add more.
That's pretty easy.
Taking it out, obviously, is thehard part.
(29:09):
So we start with the three,which, from our feedback from
hundreds of different peopletasting this with us, has been
that's really the right level.
Obviously, if it's a Mexicanrestaurant and they've got the
margarita in a big bowl, theywould have to adjust it and we
would have to help them a littlebit determine what's the right
ratio.
But it's really a quarter ouncefor every eight ounce drink is
what we think.
So the goal is obviously to help, not just streamline the
(29:32):
bartender's job and thewaitstaff's job, where we go to
restaurants and order a spicymargarita and we've had it take
20 minutes maybe it feels like20 minutes but it's really 15
but you're sitting there andwaiting and the food is coming.
The drink doesn't come becausethe bartender moves the ticket
over.
They don't want to make thatone yet because they have to go.
You know, muddle the peppers orwe've.
(29:53):
We've experienced that manytimes.
And.
But it's not just thatefficiency, it's the consistency
getting the drink where you'relike, wow, this tastes delicious
.
And then the bartender earninga tip and the waiter not having
to check back at the bar becausethe drink's not ready.
The goal is to improve theguest experience, ultimately,
(30:15):
and it doesn't really requiremuch in the way of training, to
answer the question.
Speaker 5 (30:20):
I want to make sure we cover the off-premise side of
this too, because I know youguys have two different
approaches here.
So can you tell us a little bitabout your approach for
off-premise and your goals withthat?
Speaker 4 (30:32):
So, in addition to it being great for on-premise bars
and et cetera, it's also reallyexcellent for the home
enthusiast and the host.
You know it's great forbundling is what we typically
suggest when it comes toon-premise.
So, you know, putting together,you know, either in an end cap
or, you know, a package onlineif they're doing online sales,
(30:54):
being able to bundle and puttogether a spicy margarita
package, it helps them be ableto choose to promote certain
liquor brands and put thosethings together.
Also, it's great for thatimpulse buy at checkout, you
know, sort of taking a look andthinking, okay, well, I was
planning on making margaritas,right, I've got my tequila, I've
got my triple sec or my youknow, pre-made margarita mix,
(31:17):
whatever, whatever they may beusing, and then suddenly they
see that at the checkout lineand it's a great thing to add to
the cart to just increase theaverage ticket value as well.
So it's, it's excellent andagain, it's very versatile,
right.
So it could be that, you know,depending on what, what type of
tequila they want to use, maybethey want to use you know it's.
You know you could do Moscowmules, you could do lots of
(31:39):
different types of cocktails.
It's not limited to justmargaritas either, and so you
know you can at retailers,off-premises can be really
creative about putting togethersome of those recommendations,
because you know we have foundthat oftentimes, you know some
patrons come in and they knowexactly what they're looking for
, right, they know where it isin the store, they're going to
go grab it and then they'regoing to check out.
But oftentimes people come inand they're open and they're
(32:03):
actively seeking suggestions,and so it's a great opportunity.
You know someone comes in forjust tequila and the retailer
can ask well, do you like spicymargaritas?
Do your guests like this?
And then suddenly you areadding additional items to their
basket, which is a win-win foreveryone.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
I think, with Cinco de Mayo coming up too, that's
going to be where you'll seesome of these bundles in stores.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
I think that's actually a great segue into the
next question.
Here is your plans for the nextfive years.
What's in store for Margarita?
Are we seeing more of thesebundles and partnerships with
tequila brands?
We would love to hear more.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
Well, our ambitions are lofty in terms of the next
five years.
So I think you know, at thispoint we're gaining momentum
within the industry and someconsumers.
Our goal is, within the nextfive years, to have Marguerita
truly be a household brand, youknow, be that, recognizing it
from the shelves of your, youknow local liquor stores, but
(33:05):
also on menus.
You know, working withrestaurants to, you know, have
sort of co-branded cocktailMarguerita and having the patron
immediately recognize that andknow what to expect.
And having the patronimmediately recognize that and
know what to expect.
And co-branded liquors andpossibly the RTDs as well.
So you know, that's somethingyou know, we think Xerox or
(33:28):
Kleenex, I mean, yes, these arevery ambitious goals, but this
is what we're driving towards,this is what we'd ultimately
like to see for the brand Timefor our final fun question that
we always like to end with, andthat is simply what is your
favorite adult beverage?
(33:49):
Well, I think I let the cat outof the bag already on that one.
I would say a spicy margarita,specifically a skinny spicy
margarita.
You know I tend not to enjoythe overly sweet ones as much.
So for me this is again hittingthose notes where you have the
sour, you have a little bit ofthe sweet, you have a little of
the salt and you have that heat.
You know gets a little closerto that umami for me.
(34:13):
And so I would have to say that, the skinny spicy being my
ultimate favorite.
That said, I always aminterested if I see something
really unique and interesting ona menu and exciting.
I love to order that as well,because you know, I think that I
always appreciate the art ofthe craft of creating cocktails
(34:33):
and I like when people areadventurous and I'm often
pleasantly surprised by those.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
For mine, we've been.
Well, brianna is really themixologist in our household and
she's pretty talented, I'm goingto say, but she's been making a
basil lemonade cocktail usingvodka and fresh basil and fresh
squeezed lemon for years.
We usually take a batch of itwhen we go camping and it's just
refreshing.
(34:59):
It always makes me think ofcamping and we've actually
turned that into a mocktailwhere we'll serve that to
friends and delicious.
But I take that with usingvodka and add margherita to it
and it's just, in my opinion,perfection.
Balanced spice, the flavors,the acidity, everything just
(35:20):
goes so well together.
That's my go-to.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Very good.
A basil lemonade with orwithout vodka, with some
margherita in it.
I have to ask are you aware ofa beverage called a prairie fire
?
Speaker 4 (35:35):
I know, no, do tell.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
It's a very simple shot that you can call at
certain kinds of bars andcertain kinds of places, and
it's simply a shot of cleartequila with a shot of Tabasco
in it.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Wow Interesting.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Shout out to the United States Marine Corps for
teaching me that one when I wasstationed at Fort Meade.
It's not as bad as it sounds.
It actually is, surprisingly.
It goes down smooth, and if youcan keep it down then you're in
good shape.
Speaker 4 (36:05):
Well, I suppose probably better chance earlier
in the night than at the end ofthe night in terms of keeping it
down.
You said it's called a prairiedog shop, prairie Fire, prairie
Fire Ah, okay, interesting yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
We should formulate a recipe with marguerita.
There you go.
Speaker 5 (36:20):
I was going to ask if there was some sort of like
shot recipe that you guys coulddo.
I feel like that could be fun.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Well, honestly, I think probably we should get you
guys some samples in your handsand we welcome the feedback
Because, I mean, that's one ofthe most the more fun parts of
this whole project is thatpeople really like it and it
inspires them to try new thingsand play around with it.
Yeah, get creative.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Yeah, exactly, I still know some Marines.
I'll invite them over and we'llgive it a shot, please do.
It's not a true prairie fire ifthere aren, aren't marines sort
of yelling at you to keep going?
Well, um, this podcast is allabout responsible.
Okay, we'll do the legaleselater.
I want to thank y'all forcoming by.
(37:10):
I want to be respectful of yourtime.
So thank you so much, briannakovach and andrew herko, for
stopping by and talking with us.
We will put links to marga hitain the show notes for people
who want to check out what'sgoing on there and maybe get
themselves a bottle.
So thank y'all for stopping by.
Thanks for having us.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
To me and Cassidy.
Thank you so much, it's been apleasure.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
And thank you listeners for joining us on the
MHW Mark podcast and thanksagain to Cassidy Poe for joining
me in hosting.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Glad to be here, Jimmy.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
This podcast is produced by me, jimmy Moreland,
with booking and planningsupport by Cassidy Poe and
Bridget McCabe.
It's presented by MHW.
Find out more at mhwltdcom orconnect with MHW on LinkedIn.
Lend us a hand by subscribing,rating and reviewing this
podcast wherever you listen.
We'll be back in your feed intwo weeks.
We'll be back in your feed intwo weeks.
We'll see you then.
Cheers.
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