*This article was originally released in January, 2023 and updated with additional material in August 2024.
So you’ve decided to take the leap to create a liquor brand. Congratulations! If you’re confused on the how to start your own alcohol brand, we’ve put together a guide on the steps to starting your own liquor brand, whether you plan to have a distillery or not.
Establish Your Alcohol Company
The first step is to establish your company’s legal structure. To do this, you need to look into whether a corporation or an LLC is the right decision for your business. Once you have your alcohol company formed, then you should file for a trademark.
Trademark applications are not complicated, but finding the right name can be a challenge. The beverage alcohol industry is a crowded space and generic names can be difficult to trademark. The best thing to do is find a name that didn’t mean anything until your brand brought meaning to it. A great example of this is Google, which didn’t mean anything until the company brought meaning to the word by providing a valuable service.
Start A Liquor Brand Without A Distillery
Building, operating, and managing your own production facility requires a huge time and money commitment, and if you decide not to go that route, the first step is to find a co-packer, also referred to as a contract producer, to help make your product. This partner may or may not be a formulation expert, depending on your needs. There is a vast network of contract producers in the U.S. that offer a variety of services. Some can help an alcohol entrepreneur through the initial phase of ideation to finished product.
Start a Liquor Brand with a Distillery
The first step to opening a distillery is to find the right location. One of the main challenges in finding a location is the zoning. Be sure that the property is zoned appropriately for manufacturing uses. This can be complicated in more crowded cities, but there can be exceptions and variances.
You also want to keep the rental agreement in mind. If you’re not buying the property, your lease should state the purpose of the property’s use. Make sure it’s known that the property will be used as a distillery because regulators will often look at this and if the rental agreement didn’t state the use, that can potentially cause a delay or other issue.
Also, be sure to consider the different license types for distilleries. If you’re going to blend product that you purchased and not gonna distill anything on your own, then that would call for a Blending or Rectifying license. If you want to have a full distillery where consumers can taste and purchase bottles, then you will need a Craft Distilling or other distilling license
Required Alcohol Licenses to Start an Alcohol Brand
You’ll want to make sure you’re applying for the appropriate federal and state licensing, as well. This will include your Federal Basic Permits and a label approval with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). You can submit your label to the TTB to receive your Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) and, in some cases, you must also submit your formula for approval.
As you expand into other states, you must also maintain the appropriate permits or registrations to sell in those states.
Secure a Wholesale Alcohol Distributor
Once you have the liquid and packaging for your alcohol brand confirmed, the next step would be to consider distribution strategy. For smaller startup brands, it can be difficult to begin with a big alcohol distributor partner right out of the gate.
If you would like to sell your brand in New York, New Jersey, Florida, or California, Park Street can act as your distributor. Park Street allows your team to focus on sales and marketing efforts, while we handle the logistics of delivery. As a national provider, Park Street can also deliver to your distributor in other states.
If you’re selling in the same state as your distillery, sometimes states will allow you to do self-distribution and sell on your own, but sometimes you must use a third-party distributor. It’s important to understand the US market and state-specific laws.
Resources on Launching a New Alcohol Brand
Alcoholic Beverage Market Overview
Free Guide to Entering the US Market
The Best Financial Advice for Beverage Alcohol Entrepreneurs