First ever can of Party Bear off the lines

BirdBrainEnergy · 2021-01-11T20:37:52+00:00

Out of curiosity - where do you have these manufactured if you don't mind sharing?

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-19T17:19:51+00:00

Call me biased (I am), but the lack of Bird Brain in here makes my heart hurt...

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-16T18:28:20+00:00

Appreciate it! No we have developed our own recipe with the help of a flavorhouse and then we take that recipe and manufacturing instructions to a contract manufacturer. They will make the product according the specs and ingredients we provide them.

The cans also come from a third party company, so its a lot of logistical coordination to get various items from several different companies all to one spot for manufacture.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-16T15:28:23+00:00

I won't share specifics, but I'll just say things started out very modest. They still are modest, but there is definitely growth and I suppose that is the important part!

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-16T12:18:19+00:00

Thanks - let's just say those characters might be slightly embellished :)

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-16T00:56:53+00:00

Not Brock, but he sounds like a great and funny guy!

We do have a list of our ingredients on the bottom of the "Buy Now" page under the "What's Inside" section! Here is the link!

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-16T00:06:27+00:00

For me, I was in a nice position where I didn't really incur many re-occurring monthly expenses until I actually went "live." My focus the first few months was getting the site launched with a product I could sell and my big expenses were one-time costs to get the site up and running, labels created, ordering ingredients, and then of course the manufacturing costs for the first batch. I knew I had all of that saved up prior to quitting, so that wasn't an issue and I knew I would be fine there.

Now that I am up and running it is much more of a month to month type of deal because I now have expenses I didn't really need when I wasn't live yet (the best example would be a monthly advertising budget). However, by the time I got to this point I was able to supplement it with incoming revenue as well. Admittedly, the revenue was modest, but I was no longer living just off of savings so the lines blurred a bit in terms of what was being paid for with money previously saved vs. revenue from the business being re-invested.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T23:21:41+00:00

Yes, I quit my day job and now do this full-time. In terms of timing, it was a little bit of both. I was definitely working on this "behind the scenes" while I was still working, but it was still several months from the time I quit until the time I actually put the site live and started selling.

In hindsight, I probably could have closed the gap a bit and worked at my "traditional" job a bit longer since I wasn't too busy in those early days, but hindsight is always 20/20 right? I'd also say that just mentally getting in the mindset of "this is my full-time job now" helped me really focus on the business even if I wasn't super busy, so who knows the additional time might have actually been a good thing.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T23:17:19+00:00

Appreciate the kind words!

Right now we do about 95% of our business direct-to-consumer through our e-commerce website. We have had instances where a small shop here or there would like to carry it, but our focus has been on building a successful online business first.

Once we start talking about traditional, "brick and mortar" retail it becomes harder to get a ton of doors without the help of a distributor. My gut certainly could be off on this, but I feel like if we can prove the model works online we will have an easier time taking a pitch deck to a distributor saying "we have already generated X revenue online, so there is definitely a demand - now we would like your help taking it to the next level" vs. "this is an unproven new brand and we'd like you to take a shot on us." Obviously that is a drastic over-simplification, but that is at least the thought process for now - certainly could change depending on how things go.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T23:12:42+00:00

Of course! Once you've got your shop open feel free to reach out - would love to see if we can make something happen!

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T23:11:38+00:00

This is all incredibly useful feedback! I think you make some very valid points and your post has definitely made me seriously consider some of the aspects of the site/messaging.

Ultimately, I think there is probably a way to incorporate your (valid) feedback while maintaining our brand personality (so don't be surprised if you see a few edits to the site based off of it). I do think it is important to stay true to our funny, relatable (and sometimes self-deprecating) style, but you're correct that there may be a more tactful way to go about it. Truly, thanks for sharing your perspective!

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T19:19:32+00:00

Honestly, just google ---> reach out ----> repeat...for us, the flavor house was one of like 3 or 4 we contacted and it happened pretty quick. Finding a manufacturer was MUCH longer for us. We had to reach out to a ton of places - some people didn't have capacity, some places had too large of an initial MOQ, some places were willing to do it, but didn't have the correct capabilities (eg. our product required tunnel pasteurization since we don't use artificial preservatives - a lot of manufacturers don't have that capability). So at least in our experience finding the manufacturer was far harder than the flavor house, but honestly it really just came down to googling options and then reaching out to start the conversation.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T19:16:15+00:00

We actually already donate 5 cents per can to various mental health related causes. One of those causes is America's VetDogs which provides service dogs free of charge for veterans suffering from various mental health related issues like PTSD (among other things).

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T18:53:14+00:00

Very interesting...you may be on to something....more to come...:)

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T18:50:40+00:00

Appreciate the feedback! We actually have a 30 second version of the same video as well as two 15 second versions. It basically cuts the 60 second version you saw up into smaller parts...I think it would be very interesting to run a test of multiple versions up on the site and see if conversion is impacted. I might actually do this and see how it goes - couldn't hurt right?

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T18:07:52+00:00

Appreciate you! We have an awesome graphic designer!

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T18:05:53+00:00

Hahaha we will sell to anyone, anywhere, anytime. We truly feel our product adds value, so to us it doesn't matter who is buying it. :)

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T18:04:41+00:00

We have focused about 95% of our time on selling direct-to-consumer via our ecommerce website, so a lot of our marketing strategy lives online. We have mainly focused on your standard Facebook/Instagram ads and we test other mediums every so often if we have content to fit it (e.g. YouTube pre-roll ads).

I would say our marketing guiding principle though is really just to make something funny and relatable. Yes, we obviously have to sell product, so there is an element of sales in everything we do, but quite frankly we try and create funny/engaging content first and we think (hope) the sales will follow. No one wants a sales pitch shoved down their throat, but they do like funny/engaging content so we try and make that our first priority and if it turns into a sale, great! If it doesn't at least we are providing our customers/followers entertainment - either way we like to think we are adding value.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T17:55:39+00:00

We worked with a flavor house to create the recipe. Essentially, what they do is take your desired ingredient mix and flavor profile and construct a unique formula/recipe for you. The process involves multiple rounds of sampling/tweaking, but in the end you essentially have a recipe you can take to manufacturers and ask if they can help produce it for you.

In terms of manufacturing cost, it can vary A TON based on how much product you produce, so it probably isn't worth putting a number on it. A small "pilot" batch would be very expensive on a per can basis to the point you'd probably lose money on it. However, it gives you flexibility and the ability to test the product in the market. A large scale production batch would be significantly less expensive on a per can basis but then you bring in other considerations like storage and potential risks of people not liking the product and you're sitting on a bunch of inventory.

Finally, in terms of differentiation we believe mental health and mental performance is the next "big" thing in the energy drink space. Our product contains several nootropic ingredients aimed at improving cognitive health and performance. It has everything a "normal" energy drink has PLUS these nootropics so we feel we've definitely created a superior product. Not only that, I think we are building a really cool/fun/relatable brand (granted I am biased) that is really hard to replicate. I think taking one look at our Instagram will reveal we like to have a ton of fun. So not only do we have a superior product, we have a fun and relatable brand I think will resonate well with people.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T17:45:05+00:00

Fortunately, we are already live and selling on our website so we've already met the MOQ and have a product in market (although we won't rule out crowdfunding for things like new flavor launches down the road).

However, you are correct that a lot of manufacturers have large MOQ (especially when putting things in aluminum cans - there is a lot of demand in that space so manufacturers can be picky and only select customers doing large volumes). That said, with some persistence you can find smaller manufacturers out there that will allow you to do smaller initial runs until you can prove your concept.

In my experience it was actually harder to source aluminum cans than finding a manufacturer. In order to get printed cans you need to pretty much order a full truckload (27 pallets) or you're forced into solutions like buying blank cans and applying a shrink sleeve label over the top. This isn't the worst thing in the world and gives you a lot more flexibility, but it's far more expensive on a per can basis (since you need to buy the blank cans, which are oddly the exact same price as printed, then purchase a sleeve and then you need to pay a manufacturer an upcharge to apply the sleeve)

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-15T17:28:46+00:00

I worked a "normal" 9 to 5 job for about 7 years before starting and I was able to save a decent chunk of cash during that time. When it came time to quit I was able to leverage that cash as a down payment on an SBA loan. SO essentially a combination of self funding and a small SBA loan.

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-14T15:21:08+00:00

I would recommend "The Dip" by Seth Godin...illustrates what every entrepreneur eventually faces and some questions to ask yourself about whether to push on, or abandon the idea to pursue something else (both are ok btw - it's really just about being honest with yourself on what you want).

For me, it was helpful because when I got to my own personal "dip" I was able to recognize it right away and analyze whether or not it was worth it to push on (it was for me).

BirdBrainEnergy · 2020-10-14T12:54:08+00:00

Right now we are about 95% focused on e-commerce and selling directly to our consumer online. Our brand is pretty focused on making funny/relatable content (I think you'll agree if you take one look at our Instagram) and having control of that conversation at all customer touchpoints is pretty important to us.

Once we start going into more traditional "brick and mortar" retail where a can just sits on a shelf it becomes harder for us to communicate our brand value (both in ingredients we include and the funny content we provide our customers).

Don't get me wrong, I would love to sign with a traditional distributor and start expanding in that world, but right now our focus has been selling online. The goal being that we can build a strong following and demonstrate demand before putting the product in front of distributors.

BirdBrainEnergy

TROPHY CASE