• by Steve Ellwanger , November 4, 2022

What do you get when you mix B2B, D2C and alcohol?

In the words of Sourced Craft Cocktails founder and CEO Tim Angelillo, “Sampling as a service.”

The prime decision maker in both channels is a female in charge of planning at-home entertainment or an office happy hour. Using her smartphone, she can order a bottle of spirits, cocktail mix and bar tools from Sourced for a curated experience delivered within hours—as explained in this video.

On the brand side, Sourced handles sampling events at large venues and liquor stores—providing consumer data that spirits brands can’t access because of the manufacturer-distributor-retailer system.

At this year’s Coachella music and arts festival, Absolut vodka enhanced the experience with a branded activation in the metaverse. By clicking on a digital vending machine in Absolut.Land, users were connected to Sourced so they could purchase curated cocktails.

In this interview, edited for brevity and clarity, Angelillo explained how Sourced serves consumers and brands.

CPG Insider: You call your D2C and B2B customers Chief Entertainment Officers. Why is that?

Angelillo: We find that 75% of both our D2C and enterprise audience is a female who is in charge either because she’s the boss of a division in her professional life or because she is the boss of the household or her friend group. It’s females ages 28-55. That’s really the sweet spot of who is making decisions about how to entertain at home and the office.

CPG Insider: What kind of experiences are employers seeking?

Angelillo: There is a growing business opportunity in serving office managers and HR departments. They need to create a reason to come to the office. There’s a period from after 4 to 6 p.m. where company culture is enjoying each other’s company socially—and  alcohol has always played a role. But serving cheap white wine in a plastic cup does not say “Thank you for the 90-minute commute each way.”

CPG Insider: What does an order typically consist of?

Angelillo: A premium spirit from our network of 550 retailers who list on our website, then bar tools—because she doesn’t have time to go get a jigger or bar spoon or cocktail shaker—and then a cocktail mix that’s made fresh in one of our commercial kitchens where we employ local bartenders.

CPG Insider: Where is your service available?

Angelillo: Right now we’re in New York City, Washington D.C., Miami, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Our experience is really meant for an urban market—upwardly mobile and with a refined palate, because she knows and likes cocktails.

CPG Insider: What’s the time frame for ordering?

Angelillo: Orders before noon will be delivered that afternoon. Orders after noon can be scheduled for the next day or thereafter. We do not deliver on Mondays and in some states on Sundays, depending on the regulations. We see the bulk of our volume coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

CPG Insider: What are the benefits for brands?

Angelillo: We actually go into a liquor store and offer people a spirit in a full cocktail sample. We’re not just giving them a quarter ounce of a warm spirit—because that’s not how people enjoy, say, gin in this country. We’re putting that quarter ounce into a fresh cocktail inside the store and giving the customer the ability to enjoy that spirit and mixture in their home by shopping right there or from their phone in the future.

CPG Insider: How about consumer insights?

Angelillo: We help brands understand customer data trends. Because of the three-tier system of alcohol distribution, brands don’t know nearly as much about their consumer audience as other CPG industries. We’re closing that gap by helping brands understand who’s shopping for what, when they’re actually buying, on what occasions they’re enjoying specific flavor profiles, and how they’re doing so by geography and time of day.