For 5-year-old liquor maker Belle Isle Moonshine, expansion is a way of life.
Since its beginning in 2014, Belle Isle has grown to become the fifth-largest craft distillery in Virginia by volume, according to data provider IWSR. Last year it signed a lease to double its Manchester production space and office, and sales were up more than 150 percent year-over-year for most of 2018.
The year it launched, the Richmond-based startup sold 365 cases of moonshine. By 2016, that number was 1,900 cases, and last year, it sold more than 10,000 cases across 12 states. It has grown to 30 full-time employees spread across 14 states, including 15 staffers at its local headquarters.
CEO Vince Riggi – who co-founded Belle Isle with Brian Marks – said the group has every fiscal quarter for the next five years planned out, and its current space is all it will need in that time frame. But it still plans to continue boosting production and distribution efforts, including its most popular Honey Habanero infusion.
We spoke with Riggi, an area native, about what it took to get his homegrown moonshine company off the ground in Richmond.
This interview, conducted in November 2018, has been edited for clarity and length.
Richmond Inno: Take us back to the beginning, when did Belle Isle first get its footing?
Vince Riggi: We officially formed the company in April 2013. Within eight months we had sold our first bottles, but at that time it was just a special order list. In mid-2014 we got a full listing of Belle Isle Black Label in Virginia.
The Richmond Moonshine Festival is where we came up with Honey Habanero. In 2014 we were invited to set up a booth, and at the time just had black label. They all had different infusions and flavors, like blueberries and apple pies and peaches, and we just had our base. So we hired local bartender Greg Brooks, now our head of production, and tasked him with making infusions for the event to showcase our product as a canvas to create.
Honey Habanero was one of the infusions he made that day, and we had a line of 200 people the entire day asking for infusions and specifically for that. Our mindset was to gravitate into whiskey and start aging Belle Isle, but after that day, seeing people's responses, we changed directions and haven’t looked back.
How has Richmond played a part in the foundation and growth of the company?
We were living here at the time and still do. We’re in a fortunate time period where entrepreneurs can come up with an idea and get funding and grow a company. Whether a brewery, distillery, SaaS company or clothing label, if you have an idea and you can execute, you can have a successful company.
Richmond gave us a foundational location to have this brand. It’s played an integral part in who we are as a brand by creating an advocate. If Richmond gets behind a brand and loves a brand, whether it’s a Hardywood or Ledbury, you become one of their own. It’s a fantastic innovative town and allows startups to flourish and succeed. You have such passionate fans and advocates that create those initial ambassadors.
How did you first get your moonshine onto store shelves?
Our earliest customer was the bartender – the earliest one solving for customer moments. So we asked Richmond bartenders what the bottle should look like and how it should act. We brought in variety of bottle shapes; some would stand out, some would blend in. We chose a tall, sexy vodka-type bottle because it was easiest for the bartenders to use behind the bar.
In 2014 we were a special order item for ABC for six months. I love the barrier to entry because it means not everyone can do it, and if you make it through, you’re worthy of it. We can all complain about it, but at the end of day, it's smart – there’s only a certain amount of space on the shelves.
In the second half of 2014 we got shelf space, in 2015 we launched Honey Habanero, and in 2016 we introduced Ruby Red Grapefruit and launched in Maryland, D.C. and South Carolina – based on what we thought a launch was back then. Unless you’re willing to put a body in market and put the time in, you’re not going to be successful. So we started launching markets in the right way in 2017 with area sales managers.
At what point would you consider Belle Isle a success?
I don’t think we’ll ever put our feet up. I don’t know when that date would be – it’s not in our DNA. Now, when we've raised money, the real pressure is on. Our mentors in the industry taught us that early on, like Bulldog Gin and Deep Eddy Vodka. It’s not my job or (co-founder) Brian's job to feel accomplished, we want the team to feel accomplished. If my team feels accomplished and successful, that makes this worth the effort.
How did you raise capital to grow as fast as you have?
Brian and I bootstrapped this the first six to eight months, then in 2014 we raised $500,000 in seed money from angels, then in 2016 and 2017 we raised a Series A of $3.25 million. And we've currently raised $3.5 million of a $5 million convertible note round.
We've had a great deal of local investors, also in Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach and Charlottesville that get behind what we’re building here. We had our Q3 investor call [in November], and it's always awesome to have group of individuals on the same page going in the same direction.
