Hathaways Mixes

July 2009 - BIN Magazine

Bloody Wonderful!

The newly launched Hathaway’s Mixers infuse new life into an old classic with a mix of exclusivity, originality and marketing savvy.

Appleton Lane Inc. is not merely a company in the food business. In fact, since its inception in 1996, they have concentrated on developing, producing, importing and distributing upscale specialty foods. The company’s niche is limited by choice, with exclusive country clubs, upscale restaurants and a very small group of hand-picked retailers as the primary focus.

With that in mind, Hathaway’s Mixers and accoutrements, do much more than just provide a foundation for the ultimate Bloody Mary cocktails. Hathaway’s is not just a line of mixers, but a fully-rounded concept designed especially for the carefully selected accounts…and the accounts’ particularly selective customers. Though Appleton Lane has created special gourmet Bloody Mary mixes for more than a decade, the product line, with its flavor profiles and unique marketing approaches have only been around for a year. Growth is intended to be steady and carefully planned.

“Our initial mission was to make a Bloody Mary so good that nothing else needs to be added,” says Tom Bright, CEO of Appleton Lane. “We’ve created something that is truly a gourmet product, and we’ve made it ours alone, with three offerings of Original, Robust and Energy flavors. We’ve also got a plan in place for our exclusive outlay of distribution, starting in Southern California and slowly and carefully adding customers that fit the niche. The first country club with whom we did our unique on-premise promotion (a special bar, detailed below) noted that within the first month, their sales were up by over 200% simply by reintroducing their Bloody Mary with the added spark of Hathaway products to their members. At a nearby retailer selling Hathaway, meanwhile, it was reported to us that it outsells other Bloody Mary mixes three to one.”

The Original, a superb base for the traditional Bloody Mary, is made with fresh grated Horseradish, while their Robust Bloody Mary mix features the distinctive kick of fresh pureed Jalapenos. According to Bright, the brand leaders of competing Bloody Mary mixes make their products with aseptic methods, which in turn, makes it very difficult for the full flavor of the tomatoes and other components of a Bloody Mary to come through in a way that’s true to the classic. Only a hands-on approach, the Hathaway way, can address this problem satisfactorily.

“When we prepare our mixes, we cook the contents at 180 degrees as we emulsify the ingredients so natural flavors come out. We use fresh grated horseradish, fresh grated jalapenos and other fresh ingredients people would use if they were making their own cocktails at home. Everything one would want is already in there…this is what separates Hathaway from the competition.”

Elevating the Bloody Mary mix category to a new level is Hathaway’s Energy-based Bloody Mary, incorporating B-12, Taurine, Inositel, Caffeine, Niacin and Glucuronolactone. The impetus to reinvent this continuously rolling wheel, according to Bright, came from a close examination of what the energy drink market did over the last five years, and noticing its annual growth at double digit rates among the 21-35 year-old market segment. However, as Bright and his colleagues were keenly aware energy drinks had a very specific taste, they approached their chemists and asked them if they could create an energy “mix” that appealed to the youth demographic but end up with a flavor profile free from the strong medicinal flavors often identified with energy drinks.

As a result of Appleton Lane’s artisanal approach to creating a classic-yet-modern base for the Bloody Mary, adopters to this trio of category-defining products include such destination Southern California restaurants as Northwoods Inn’s 3 Forks Chop House, Red Hill Country Club, Hacienda Country Club, Liquorama (Upland) and The Bottle Shop (Sierra Madre). Beyond Hathaway’s ambitious debut, however, Bright mentions that Appleton Lane’s handcrafted on-premise promotions add an extra dimension of exclusivity and artisan appeal to the products and the venues that serve them. This comes in the form of 10 specially-built portable bars featuring the company’s colorful array of 11 accompaniments including three flavors of celery, four types of olives, baby corns, green beans, pickle wedges and onions. Any Country Club with distribution of Hathaway’s can call Appleton Lane’s office and with 48 hours notice have a complete Bloody Mary Bar promotion. Completing the picture is a choice of two types of glassware, table tents and drink menu support.

“We’re looking closely at who our clients and customers are,” affirms Bright. “We have identified that country clubs are our #1 focus and target for this product, and following that, the four and five-star restaurants. The customers whom we have targeted have made fresh Bloody Marys at their locations from scratch and have bought different ingredients to develop their own artisinal blends. However, we have been told by these clients hundreds of times that although they have used the best ingredients to develop the perfect bloody mary for their selective clientele, they say they have never found anything that matches the optimum quality—fresh or pre-made—until Hathaway’s came along.” Although Hathaway mixes have also garnered a buzz in Las Vegas, and the Bloody Mary’s will be flowing at a July event for Hollywood impresario Jerry Bruckheimer, Bright maintains the company plans to keep Hathaway’s growth controlled so the quality of the product that ends up on the bar is never compromised.

“Southern California is on the cutting edge on a lot of products,” Bright observes. “However, we’re still staying really focused on golf courses, country clubs and top restaurants within a small corridor of 400 customers starting at the coast and reaching in to where the 60 and 210 freeways meet. We have not fully completed our plans for expansion into Palm Springs or San Diego, and though we have a lot of enthusiasm from Las Vegas, we want to be sure that when we move into that market, we are fully prepared. The conversation on the Bloody Mary is new again, so we will see where what we’ve done takes us in the coming year.”