Distillery Business Plan and SWOT Analysis

Distillery Business Plan, Marketing Plan, How To Guide, and Funding Directory

The Distillery Business Plan and Business Development toolkit features 18 different documents that you can use for capital raising or general business planning purposes. Our product line also features comprehensive information regarding to how to start a Distillery business. All business planning packages come with easy-to-use instructions so that you can reduce the time needed to create a professional business plan and presentation.

Your Business Planning Package will be immediately emailed to you after you make your purchase.

Product Specifications (please see images below):

  • Bank/Investor Ready!
  • Complete Industry Research
  • 3 Year Excel Financial Model
  • Business Plan (26 to 30 pages)
  • Loan Amortization and ROI Tools
  • Three SWOT Analysis Templates
  • Easy to Use Instructions
  • All Documents Delivered in Word, Excel, and PDF Format
  • Meets SBA Requirements

Distilleries have become extremely popular businesses within the United States given the explosion of their counterparts – microbreweries. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms have recently reduced the amount of regulations necessary to operate as a distillery. As the production of hard liquor and spirits is a drastically different process than wine making or brewing – the difficulty in starting a new distillery in years past was significant. However, given the demand for specialty small batch products these days – distilleries have found ways to comply with all necessary regulations in order to produce spirits. The startup costs associated with a new distillery usually run anywhere from $200,000 upwards of $1 million depending on the scope and scale of the business from the onset of operations. The barriers to entry for this type of business are considered to be moderate. Additionally, it should be noted that the gross margins of these businesses is extremely high. The highest ongoing expense faced by a new distillery typically is marketing. This is a highly competitive industry and many of the major brands have been available for over a century. As such, an owner of a new distillery must have a very defined marketing plan as to how they will position their hard liquor products within the market.

As it relates to raising capital for a distillery – most people use a combination of both equity and debt. For equity, most people will either use their own funds or source funding from private investors in order to pay for the working capital, marketing capital, and other incidental expenses relating to the development of the distillery facility. Most banks and lenders are willing to provide a strong level of financial support for the acquisition of tangible furniture, fixtures, and equipment. It is important to note that most banks and lenders are going to want to see a significant amount of collateral as it relates to the equipment that’s can be purchased and used within the distilling process. Any entrepreneur that is looking to raise capital is all going to need a business plan. The distillery business plan should include a three year profit and loss statement, cash flow analysis, balance sheet, breakeven analysis, and business ratios page. It is very important to note within the business plan the demographic that will be targeted for the sale of distilled hard liquor products. As part of the business plan an expansive marketing plan should be included as well. When examining demographics it should be completed to include examination of median household income, median family income, psychographics, and other pertinent information about the specific to the consumer that the distillery will be targeting with its hard liquor products.

After the business is complete, it is time to develop the marketing plan. The distillery marketing plan should include a number of different ways in which the distillery will reach its intended audience. This includes potentially partnering with celebrities that will create a brand endorsement. Given the tremendous amount of competition among hard liquor brands to position themselves within this market – the hiring of a celebrity to co-brand the product is one of the quickest ways to boost sales and increase the brand-name. Additionally, viral marketing messages can be developed and disseminated through popular social media platforms such as FaceBook and Twitter in order to create immediate brand-name visibility for the business. When developing the marketing plan, the financial aspect of it should include a discussion regarding how 10% to 20% of aggregate revenues are going to need to be allocated towards positioning the hard liquor products within the market.

Once the business plan and marketing plan are complete, it is time to develop the distillery SWOT analysis. This analysis focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that are commonly faced by these companies. As it relates the strengths, once established the barriers to entry for new distillery are very high. Also, the sales of hard liquor typically generate extremely high gross margins both within a tasting room capacity as well as selling individual bottles of liquor. For weaknesses, again – this is a highly competitive business and there are going to be ongoing marketing challenges to properly position the liquor products in the market while differentiating the brand from other competitors. As it relates to opportunities, many distilleries will seek to develop many different types of hard liquor products that can be sold through their established distribution channels. For threats, given that the ATF has changed regulations regarding small-scale distilleries – there really no ongoing threats from a regulatory standpoint that would impact the way that these companies do business.

In closing, the distillery can be a great small business investment that has the potential to expand substantially during the life of the company. While the startup expenses are high and the risks relating to start this type of business are also high – once establish these businesses tend to be highly profitable and lucrative.