Eklektik Craft Distillery: Top 5 Black Businesses - Finalists
Question 1 - Does the Founder team / Ownership identify predominantly as Black (50+%)?
Please tell us a bit more about this, your why, and your story.
- Eklektik Spirits is a majority Black Woman-led grain-to-glass distillery, using innovative approaches to produce blended spirits. Eklektik is proudly known for its meticulously distilled spirits. This family business produces and distributes local vodka, gin, and whiskey to foster the Canadian economy. Eklektik uses innovative approaches to produce blended spirits that allow for more people to enjoy spirits as we strive to create global spirit brands of the future.
- Eklektik was born from the realization that people including myself, did not enjoy spirits due to sensitive palates and gene variants that enhance bitter flavours. Our passion and distilling journey began twenty years ago. Over the years, I've become an avid spirits tester to the extent that I completed a distilling course with the intention of starting a distilling business. My dream is coming to fruition and we are looking forward with excitement to the entrepreneurship journey ahead.
Question 2 - When was the business registered or incorporated? Please provide the month & year as well as which structure. Please also advise as to the process you used (organization, lawyer, or what steps you took). Is it headquartered in Canada with primary operations in Canadian markets?
Please explain and elaborate.
- Eklektik was registered as an incorporation in October 2023.
- The Eklektik business structure is an incorporation, with a majority Black Woman shareholding of 90%. The registration of the company was facilitated and guided by an accountant, while also taking the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission requirements and regulations for registering a craft distillery into consideration.
- The company was incorporated through the Alberta registry services. The process of incorporation involved completing a name search, naming the corporation, creating articles of incorporation, establishing the initial registered office address and the first board of directors, and submitting and paying for the company incorporation application. Once the company was incorporated, we were provided with the business number and the certificate of incorporation.
- Eklektik Inc. is headquartered in Canada with the primary operations in the Canadian markets.
Question 3 - Please provide us your sales figures (Total Revenue) and your (Total Profit) for the past operating years (minimum 3 years). Also tell us which revenue stream accounts for the most sales activity and provide any other strategy, milestone, or noteworthy achievements for your Annual Recurring Revenue/Profitability.
i.e., 2020 – 150K Revenue 30K Profit, 2021 – 180K Revenue 60K Profit, 2022 – 215K Revenue 75K Profit – and so forth. Then provide us some explanation and narrative regarding the financial performance of the business.
- The path to creating Eklektik's first spirit has been more than three years in the making. To establish that blended spirits with a healthy twist were possible and importantly tasted great, Eklektik embarked on a series of distillation trials to prove the concept. Eklektik distilled and tested spirits using locally sourced ingredients which included Saskatoon berries, rose hip, and citrus. It's this testing and experiments that have set the course for the creation of Eklektik spirits.
- Three different products were tested with a small sample of 10 people.
- The percentage of the sample size that found the blended vodka suitable for their palate included; 80% - Citrus-flavored blend, 70% - Saskatoon berries, and 65% - Rose hip.
- The percentage of the sample size that found the blended vodka not suitable for their palate included; 15% - Citrus-flavored blend, 20% - Saskatoon berries, and 25% -Rose hip.
- The percentage of the sample size that was undecided included: 5% - Citrus-flavored blend, 10%-Saskatoon berries, and 10% -Rose hip.
- Based on the above results, the citrus-flavored vodka had the highest ranking and best market fit. Citrus-flavored vodka is under production and projected to be on the market by December 2024.
Question 4 - Tell us about your team composition. Our eligibility requires that you have at least 1 additional employee besides the founder(s) on payroll. Please explain and tell us more about your organizational chart and employment structures.
Please explain and elaborate.
- Eklektik uses a flat organizational chart consisting of two permanent employees (Master Distiller and Sales and Marketing Manager) and three contract employees. The flat organizational chart allows for better communication, faster decision-making, and increased agility.
- At Eklektik, overall decision-making is the responsibility of the CEO. The sales and marketing manager is responsible for policy decisions on branding, advertising, sales, and distribution. The three contract employees report to the CEO, and their primary roles and responsibilities include procurement, bottling, packaging, labeling, and product distribution.
- Eklektik falls within the secondary sector employment structure of the manufacturing category. The employment rate in this category increased by 2.7% in June 2023 as per Statistics Canada, outpacing employment growth across all industries.
- Farm Credit Canada reports that food and beverage manufacturing sales rose by 10.6% to $156 billion in 2022. Overall, the food and beverage manufacturing sector remains healthy and has a positive long-term outlook.
Question 5 - Prove to us that you have attained Product/Market fit and validated the business model since you started operating the organization.
Please explain and elaborate.
- Eklektik used a target market analysis to better understand customer needs and preferred blended spirit products. It conducted a series of distillation trials and surveys to determine product-market fit and the product value proposition. A minimum viable product prototype (MVP) was then produced and tested with customers. On finding the product-market fit, Eklektik was able to address a valid consumer problem by producing blended spirits that appeal to all palates.
- The product-market fit of blended spirits showed the strong alignment between the product's value proposition and the underserved needs of target customers.
- Eklektik measured the product-market fit by identifying the total addressable market (TAM) for the products.
- To validate the business model, Eklektik is continuously testing products and refining the business model to ensure it is viable and scalable. Also, we gather feedback from potential customers, analyze market trends and competition, and refine our value proposition and revenue model.
Question 6 - How is your business leadership and quality standards driving the business forward? What are your plans to Scale and Grow the business? How has your growth helped to accomplish the business and strategic goals while furthering brand presence and brand value?
Please explain and elaborate.
- Effective business leadership and maintaining high-quality standards are essential for driving a business forward. As Eklektik leaders, we lead by example; establish clear visions and goals, maintain open and transparent communication, empower our team, invest in training and development, use a customer-centric approach, adapt to change, set quality standards and metrics, and embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Our leadership is focused on long-term growth and sustainability, a culture of excellence and accountability, and quality is at the core of our operations.
- Scaling and growing a business requires careful planning and execution. Some of the strategies Eklektik has adapted include; seeking professional advice, setting clear goals, understanding the market, developing a solid business plan, improving products, monitoring key metrics, optimizing operations through lean manufacturing to reduce costs and increase efficiency and profit margins, building a strong team, incorporating a sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives (CSR) and considering global expansion as we scale the business in 3-to 5 Years.
- The company will focus on supply chain and product branding and marketing which is critical in the distilling industry and consider incorporating an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system as we scale the business.
Question 7 - Tell us how your organization is overcoming barriers as a Black-led business and how being a Black Founder has brought about a unique journey to impact for your community and to the economy.
Please upload a video file shot in a vertical cellphone format of you responding to these questions. Videos should be no longer than 30 seconds (if they are longer than 30 seconds you'll be disqualified).
