![]() I realized I didn't need a massive advertising and marketing budget if I already had consumer awareness.Īnd Summer House is pretty much the perfect show for alcohol product placement. When I agreed to do the show, I definitely saw an opportunity for brand exposure. What it really took to break out in the industry was a cheat code - and it ended up being 'Summer House.' Marketing can get incredibly expensive. (Loverboy hard teas technically fall into the beer category, even though they don't contain malt.) I had to figure out a 'cheat code' You can't circumvent those three tiers unless you sell a wine or wine-based product. Then, it becomes a patchwork of distributor negotiations - you have to sell to a wholesaler, who sells to a retailer, who sells to the consumer. You have to get your federal brewer's permit and a state brewer's permit and pay federal and state taxes. It took a year between 20 for me to figure out all the complexities and logistics of launching an alcohol brand. ![]() Kyle Cooke with his wife and Loverboy creative director Amanda Batula I figured, what if I create the first better-for-you hard tea? Tea adds flavor without adding calories, and less sugar equals less of a hangover. We'd generated incredible exposure for brands like Whispering Angel and Twisted Tea because we were drinking them every episode. I'd been trying to figure out a way to incorporate it into the show, but it was almost impossible to include it organically - plus, it didn't really go hand in hand with a show about partying in the Hamptons.īut I'd started to notice that Bravo's audience was paying attention to what the cast was drinking. ![]() When we filmed the first season of 'Summer House' in 2017, I was working on a nutrition coaching app. If I was going to be a solo founder, I needed to be able to get off the ground myself. I realized it's very difficult to raise venture capital if you don't have a technical co-founder. Trying to get those first few startups off the ground was a rude awakening. Now, we've generated about $38 million in total sales and work with over 150 distributors across 44 states - but I definitely faced my fair share of obstacles along the way. An alcohol brand would have the winning factors my past startups were missing: Namely, it was a product I was passionate and knowledgeable about, and it was easy to integrate into our reality show. It wasn't until 2017, after my first season on 'Summer House,' that I got the idea for Loverboy. The problem was that I was stuck thinking I had to be in tech, constantly chasing projects that I thought were trendy - like a beauty app or a restaurant reservation app - instead of what got me excited. Even if I wasn't passionate about the product itself, I could sell it.Īfter I went to business school, I tried to get several startups off the ground, and none of them worked. I always had the entrepreneurial itch, whether it was putting on magic shows and lemonade stands to earn some money as a kid or selling Cutco cutlery when I was 18. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kyle Cooke, 39-year-old Loverboy founder and star of Bravo's 'Summer House.' It has been edited for length and clarity. I actually didn't taste the ginger in this at all, but it was still pretty tasty regardless.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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