For food entrepreneurs, creating small batch artisan products such as baked goods, preserves or specialty mustards is a relatively low-cost approach to starting a business. The demand for hand-crafted food products continues to grow, providing extensive opportunities for those who have the passion, drive and determination to venture into business ownership. According to recent statistics, food-related startup investments in the U.S. totaled $5.7 billion.
As any new business owner quickly learns, once the enterprise is up and running, ongoing sustainability becomes the new challenge, even with the most well-thought-out business plan. Market demand changes, competitors enter the area and personal goals shift. For long-term success, an entrepreneur needs to have the skill and willingness to evolve and change gears.
Just ask Suzanah Raffield and Rhonda Stringfellow, co-owners of Camp Craft Cocktails. What started as a dream to open a restaurant has, in just a few short years, morphed from a food truck to popsicles and now into a cocktail kit company. While their business model is certainly not what they first conceived, they’ve arrived at an ideal combination of expertise, experience and core values.
Given Raffield’s family background in seafood, the initial thought was that a food truck serving shrimp dishes would make a good entry point for a restaurant. As they began to test recipes and run the numbers to see how they could make it work, they realized the concept was too risky financially.
“We didn’t get very far into that idea before we went and visited family friends in Birmingham, where we tried Steel City Pops. Then it just clicked. We could still work with high quality ingredients, it could be fresh. At that time, food trucks were just heating up in Jacksonville, and we weren’t really sure whether the market was there. We decided that popsicles were the way to go,” said Stringfellow.
Their first venture, Bold City Pops, was launched from a 1969 Serro Scotty camper the partners would tow to local events. The business allowed them to create products that were seasonally driven and to collaborate with other food businesses in their community. Their first offerings utilized ingredients sourced within six hours of driving time from Jacksonville, including 15 different varieties of citrus they picked in a local orange grove.
“We would have pops only in season, based on the supply we could pick ourselves," said Stringfellow.
The partners also got to know the city differently with the pop truck. “I met new people making things I wasn’t aware of previously, and I started digging deeper out of curiosity. That led us to explore how we could use local products in our pops, like coffee or pickle juice. Other people and businesses let us try things to experiment,” Stringfellow said.
If they were indeed pursuing their dream business, what led them in a different direction? A long road trip on I-10.
“The same company that produced Coachella (music festival) invited us out to California for an event called Desert Trip, a two-weekend concert. They pre-purchased popsicles and wanted us to hand them out in the VIP area,” said Raffield. “It was an amazing experience, the first part of which was the drive out there, on I-10 the whole way, pulling a 1969 camper full of a frozen product. We thought that if it doesn’t make it, what are we going to do? What if the generator fails, or we have a flat tire – so many concerns about traveling with a frozen product that are a logistical challenge. Great trip but we were constantly checking the generator.”
In spite of the stress, the partners felt the trip was so inspiring, they wondered how they could go back to popsicles as usual. As they drove through the desert they brainstormed alternative products, while assessing whether their current business model was sustainable.
“Honestly, we just couldn’t make the numbers work. But what did work was our love for what we were doing. It was hard to finally reach that point. We didn’t want to give this up,” Raffield said. “And then we heard the voices of our customers in the desert and along the ride home, we thought: what about a cocktail?”
Since the start of Bold City Pops, Raffield and Stringfellow would often receive feedback from customers that the ingredients in the pops paired so well that the flavors would make a great drink. On their long drive home they thought about different ways to preserve ingredients for cocktail kits. Although they had previously considered kits, they struggled with preserving ingredients for shelf life. At some point along I-10, Stringfellow suggested dehydration. When they arrived back home, they started work in a new direction.
Camp Cocktail kits made their debut at Congaree & Penn’s Christmas market in 2016. Each jar contains pre-measured, dehydrated ingredients, ready to infuse with a spirit (such as vodka in the Bloody Mary kit). Cocktails are ready in three days. The kits were well received and the partners felt they were on the right track. “The first kits we made were based on some of our popsicles, like Aromatic Citrus and Hibiscus Ginger Lemon,” said Raffield. “Our popsicles were the muse for what was to come.”
Although they are still getting their sea legs in the craft cocktail market, the two partners are happy with the pivot. With the cocktail kits, Stringfellow said. “We still have community and collaboration. We want people to drink our product in community – gather together and be empowered to host a cocktail party. To share in this bold life.”
Their advice for other entrepreneurs? When you get to a point where you need to reassess where your business is heading, “Be willing to do a deep dive and go in directions you don’t expect. Consider aspects of what you want to do from different angles,” said Raffield. “It worked for us.”
For more information on where to find Camp Craft Cocktails, visit their website.
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