DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 29, 2019 / West Palm Beach resident Alex Kowtun has created a brand that is basically a millennial's fantasy.
Monkey In Paradise combines an award-winning vodka with viral social media accounts and accepts Bitcoin as a payment option for online merchandise.
But the 36-year-old's company isn't just for young people. ABC Fine Wine and Spirits has picked it up, it now has a strong presence in Georgia and even President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago is buying up cases of the vodka that is distilled in Riviera Beach, said Kowtun, who started the company with co-founders Seth Goldberg and Frank Gomez.
"Within four to five years we intend on being a national brand in all 50 states," Kowtun said.
That's pretty quick growth for a guy who didn't know anything about distilling vodka 18 months ago. In fact, Monkey in Paradise didn't even start as a spirits company.
Common problems require innovative solutions. This is how businesses are born. A simple creative solution can spur an unexpected business model for you and Alex Kowtun knows all about this.
As an avid entertainer in West Palm Beach, Kowtun believed he was solving a simple problem for his guests, but, found himself and his business partners with a rapidly growing business, instead.
While entertaining guests, Kowtun found that his guests were having cocktail mix ups and were frequently mixing up which cup was theirs. He thought he was avoiding a common problem by ordering 100 multicolor monkey cocktail markers, but, found that they were serving a much larger purpose.
Social drinking is used as a means of ice breaking, opening up, and getting to know people with ease. What happens when the drink itself isn't enough of a conversation warmer? Maybe, the solution is the cocktail marker. For Kowtun and his social circle, the cocktail marker was a hit. People were thrilled by the simple multi colored monkeys and enjoyed the added spirit which they added to social gatherings.
From there. Monkeys In Paradise was born. With a vast social media outburst and following of the cute monkeys and creative decals, something innovative needed to happen. Through the organic growth of social media, Monkey In Paradise was able to gather a large millennial following with their new and inspired concept.
The next step became creating a super premium vodka at an affordable price point. Since Monkey In Paradise Vodka hit the market 2 short years ago, it started as a small local South Florida brand. Today it is being distributed in 12 states with a national growth plan over the next 36 months.
Post market launch, Monkey In Paradise Vodka has won several awards, including Best Vodka at the New York World Spirits Competition 2018 and the prestigious Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
While Kowtun's creation was initially meant for his friends, him and his founding business partners, Frank Gomez and Seth Goldberg, made no mistake in seizing the opportunity to create a business around the monkeys. With little knowledge of spirit sales and production, Kowtun and his team created a premium brand from the ground up. All of this goes to show you can never underestimate the power of creativity.
SOURCE: SV Advisory Group