I am always curious about brands with talented leaders who have shaken a segment within their industries.
One brand’s narrative caught my eye recently is 21 Seeds, a tequila company founded by a mom who saw an unmet need in the market. After three years, the brand was sold to Diageo for $160MM.
Yep, three years from zero to $160MM valuation.
Wow.
What a remarkable business built on a single insight.
Kat Hantas’s story began when, night after night, she got headaches from a glass of wine while preparing dinner and a glass at dinner. Strangely, her doctor told her to replace the wine with Blanco Tequilla. Blanco tequila, silver or plata tequila, is a clear, unaged tequila made from 100% blue agave and bottled shortly after distillation.
This change eliminated the headaches, but the taste was harsh. So, as an experiment at home, she began infusing the tequila with fruits and herbs. She shared it with her girlfriends, who found the taste appealing and different.
Tequila is a male-dominated business, but Kat realized that more needed to be done to focus on women through branding. She wanted to create a smooth, natural tequila that was easy to drink and a low-calorie alternative to cocktails and wine.
Seeding the Team
The founders of 21 Seeds Tequila are Kat Hantas, Nicole Hantas-Emanuel, and Sarika Singh:
- Kat Hantas: Created the company after working in film for 15 years.
- Nicole Hantas-Emanuel: Kat’s sister and a previous entrepreneur with a CFO background.
- Sarika Singh: A long-time friend and previous entrepreneur.
The three women believed women wanted a spirit experience that other brands didn’t provide. They also thought that their fresh perspective would give them insights missing from the established industry players.
The big idea is that no tequila brand should focus on women, specifically moms. The category has ignored more than half the population!
The founders traveled to Mexico to find a partner distillery owned and staffed predominantly by women. To be called tequila, tequila must be made in certain places in Mexico. This is similar to how only champagne from the Champagne region of France can have that name on its label.
They experimented with different infusions for almost a year before perfecting the recipe.
21 Seeds Tequila is available in three infusions: Valencia Orange, Cucumber Jalapeño, and Grapefruit Hibiscus. The brand became available nationally in 2021 after a distribution deal with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and selling at 150 Bev Mos in California.
What Does 21 Seeds’ Name Mean?
The name of the tequila brand, 21 Seeds, is a reference to the company’s founders and the natural ingredients used to make the tequila:
- 2: The number 2 refers to the two sisters, Kat Hantas and Nicole Emanuel, who are the CEO and CFO of the company.
- 1: The number 1 refers to their friend Sarika Singh, the COO.
- Seeds: The word “seeds” represents the natural ingredients used to make the tequila and the idea that the tequila is the beginning of something bigger.
21 Seeds is a brand of all-natural, fruit-infused tequila that comes in three varieties: Valencia Orange, Grapefruit Hibiscus, and Cucumber Jalapeño.
Recognizing a gap in the market for a high-quality, health-conscious spirit, Kat and her team set out to create her solution. This tequila infusion would satisfy her desired taste without the nasty side effects. After extensive research and development, she landed on a proprietary blend of 100% blue Weber agave tequila, combined with botanicals and adaptogens, to minimize traditional tequila’s dehydrating and headache-inducing aspects.
The result was 21 Seeds, a line of tequila-based spirits that quickly gained a loyal following among health-conscious women, especially busy moms like Kat. In its first year, 21 Seed launched in Bev Mo stores across California, tapping into the growing demand for premium, better-for-you alcoholic beverages.
So, what can other startup food and beverage brands learn from the success of 21 Seeds?
Three Lucrative Lessons To Learn from 21 Seeds
1. Identify a big market where a specific audience isn’t served.
Tequila is a $8B market in the U.S., with most sales from men. Finding a niche in a big, addressable market is wise. The most successful brands don’t just create new products—they solve real problems for their target customers.
In Kat’s case, she recognized that many women, especially moms, were struggling with the adverse side effects of their wine consumption but didn’t want to give up their social drinking habits. By creating a tequila infusion that addressed this pain point, she was able to carve out a white space in the booming spirit market.
As you’re developing your own food or beverage brand, take the time to understand your target customers. What challenges are they facing that your product could solve? What unmet needs are you uniquely positioned to fulfill? Zeroing in on these pain points is critical to creating a brand that resonates and drives loyalty.
2. Leverage and trust your personal experience.
Kat’s inspiration for 21 Seeds stemmed directly from her struggles with wine-induced headaches. As a busy working mom, she knew firsthand the frustration of not being able to enjoy her favorite adult beverage without suffering the consequences.
Rather than ignoring this personal pain point, Kat used it as the foundation for her brand. She intimately understood the needs of her target customer because she was one herself. This allowed her to develop a product that speaks to her audience’s core desires and challenges.
Feel free to draw from your experiences and perspectives when building your brand. What unique insights can you bring based on your life story? How can you authentically connect with your customers by tapping into your struggles and solutions? Leveraging your firsthand knowledge can be a decisive competitive advantage.
She also experienced the burden of experts. Kat hired a packaging design firm that kept bringing her graphics, logos, and labels that looked like the heavily male counterparts’ brands (think Casamigos). Then, she fired that agency and found a design firm that would listen to her desire for a light, bright, white label where the infusion was the hero. She knew what would appeal to her and her girlfriends, and her first design firm didn’t get it.
3. Start narrow, then expand.
In its first year, 21 Seed launched exclusively in BevMo stores across California – a strategic decision that allowed the brand to gain traction in a specific, high-potential market before scaling nationwide.
This focused, regional approach is a hallmark of many successful food and beverage startups. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone from the outset, they start by deeply penetrating a core customer segment or geographic area. This enables them to fine-tune their product, marketing, and operations before tackling broader expansion.
For 21 Seed, California represented an ideal launch pad. As one of the largest and most trend-forward alcohol markets in the US, it provided ample opportunity to build awareness and demonstrate demand for the brand’s unique value proposition. Once Samantha had proven the concept in this initial market, she could replicate that success in other regions.
So, as you plan the rollout of your food or beverage brand, resist the urge to go big too fast. Start by dominating a specific niche, then methodically grow from there. Slow and steady wins the race in this highly competitive industry.
Ultimately, 21 Seed’s story is a testament to the power of identifying underserved consumer needs and building a brand that authentically addresses them. Drawing on her personal experiences as a busy mom, Samantha created a tequila infusion that filled a critical market gap and built a rapidly growing business.
Last Call
For any food or beverage entrepreneur looking to follow in 21 Seed’s footsteps, the key is staying laser-focused on your target customer, leveraging your unique insights, and executing a thoughtful, measured growth strategy.
Do that, and you might be the next breakout brand in your industry.
Who isn’t being served if you are starting a business in a crowded category? What tribe might care about you creating a product for them?
Start with an insight to guide you about who you will serve.
Build your brand on an insight that gives you a shot at success.
Connect with Jeff at The Marketing Sage Consultancy. Interested in setting up a call with me? Use my calendly to schedule a time to talk. The call is free, and we can discuss your brand and marketing needs.
If you want to learn more about my new offering, The Trusted Advisor Board, you can click here to learn the details. Feel free to email me at jeffslater@themarketing sage.com or text 919 720 0995. Thanks for your interest in working with The Marketing Sage Consultancy.
Photo from 21 Seeds. All rights reserved by Diageo.
