Park Street Insider Podcast - What It Takes— BuzzBallz CEO & Founder Merrilee Kick

What It Takes— BuzzBallz CEO & Founder Merrilee Kick

01/15/24 • 37 min

In the early days of laying the groundwork for her brand, Buzzballz, Merrilee Kick received a call from a distributor who informed her that, despite having a contract in place, they would be canceling their order, asserting that ready-to-drink products were a "fad." In 2024 it's almost impossible to imagine that her now iconic brand was ever in such a position, but Kick's beverage-alcohol journey was non-linear and faced adversities known to many early-stage entrepreneurs.
Kick joins Emmett Strack and the Park Street Insider Podcast to share her journey of building Buzzballz into one of the largest ready-to-drink suppliers in the world, operating across all 50 states and 27 countries.
Key topics mentioned:

Top-Down Alignment:

One constant between brands that break away from the pack to become a beverage-alcohol category leader is a top-down alignment of goals, intentions, and brand ethos. When Merrilee Kick set out to create an iconic package, she built a team, and infrastructure that worked in unison to achieve this.

Patience as a Virtue:

Buzzballz did not become a category leader overnight. Kick explains why entrepreneurs should be ready to self-sacrifice and be patient while the brand builds on each milestone. She also hints at why brand-builders usually need more capital than they think to get it done.

In this episode you'll hear from:

Merrilee Kick, CEO & Founder, Buzzballz / Southern Champion LLC

Mentioned in this episode:
Buzzballz
The Beverage Alcohol Manual (BAM)
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Top-Down Alignment:

One constant between brands that break away from the pack to become a beverage-alcohol category leader is a top-down alignment of goals, intentions, and brand ethos. When Merrilee Kick set out to create an iconic package, she built a team, and infrastructure that worked in unison to achieve this.

Patience as a Virtue:

Buzzballz did not become a category leader overnight. Kick explains why entrepreneurs should be ready to self-sacrifice and be patient while the brand builds on each milestone. She also hints at why brand-builders usually need more capital than they think to get it done.

In this episode you'll hear from:

Merrilee Kick, CEO & Founder, Buzzballz / Southern Champion LLC

Previous Episode

What's Trending— Why Ready-to-Drink Is Taking Over Beverage-Alcohol

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The impact of ready-to-drink beverages on the beverage alcohol landscape has been profound, and by all accounts, their influence is only set to increase. Over time, the category has gone from being on the fringes of drinking culture to guiding the core strategies of some of the world's largest beverage companies. So, what does this trend say about consumers in 2023 and beyond? And how will the industry react to its sustained success?
The Park Street Insider Podcast welcomes Spiros Malandrakis, Industry Manager for Alcoholic Drinks at Euromonitor International, to the mic for a conversation with Emily Pennington on why RTDs resonate with consumers and what their widespread appeal means for the industry. They'll break down the different types of RTDs, unpack the market conditions that have led to their success in the U.S. and abroad, and consider how brands of all sizes can use this trend to their advantage.
Key topics mentioned:

Phases of Development

Ready-to-drink beverages may have hit their stride in the last few years, but it's been an evolving category for decades. We trace the phases of RTD development to explain why they have become so relevant in today's market.

RTDs: Not a Static Principle

Malandrakis explains why the flexibility of RTDs to fit different companies, consumer cultures, and sub-categories has made them the perfect antidote to a drinker's current thirst for innovative products.

In this episode you'll hear from:

Spiros Malandrakis, Industry Manager - Alcoholic Drinks, Euromonitor International

Mentioned in this episode:
Euromonitor International
5 Alcohol Trends Shaping the Industry
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Next Episode

Essential Talks— The Future On-Premise Consumer

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As larger portions of Gen-Z reach legal drinking age, their impact on the alcohol industry is becoming more pronounced and the segment's preferences have come into full view. What's become increasingly clear is that how this demographic interacts with alcohol is dramatically different from each generation that's come before it.
Strikingly, Gen-Z is more inclined to imbibe on-premise than any other age bracket in the current market. So as this demographic brings its shifting consumption patterns into bars, restaurants, and venues, in this Essential Talk, Charlie Mitchell, Research & Insights Director at Nielsen IQ Global, is taking a look at how brands can adapt to capture Gen-Z's attention on-premise.
Key topics mentioned:

Identifying Gen-Z:

Mitchell explores the core values of Gen-Z to give brands and bars a sense of how to target this consumer group. "If you activate well, you can build relationships for life."

The importance of digital marketing:

Gen-Z is highly inclined to explore new categories. One of the biggest contributing factors to how they establish new associations with brands is through social media. Mitchell shares some strategies for engaging Gen-Z digitally before they even arrive on-premise.

Occasion based drinking:

Mitchell makes the case for why the on-premise's allure to Gen-Z is rooted in their value for experiences. He dives into the type of experiences Gen-Z is after and how they can drive engagement from this demographic.

In this episode you'll hear from:

Charlie Mitchell, Research & Insights Director, Nielsen IQ Global

Mentioned in this episode:
NielsenIQ
Want to stay in the know about new episodes from the podcast? Fill out the form below: https://share.hsforms.com/1MEb-81x2TXi3f15qO_yEpA4tip1
Learn More About Park Street
Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter.
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