How Hemingway Whiskey Launched a Successful Limited-Release for Sale Online
After pouring their hearts into perfecting their inaugural release, the team behind Hemingway Spirits needed an effective way to sell it directly to consumers. Fulfilling orders for less than 1000 hand-numbered bottles was a complex problem requiring a powerful e-commerce solution designed specifically to navigate DTC alcohol sales. Enter AccelPay!
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Holiday season is coming up, and AccelPay is the best way to turn increased demand into skyrocketing DTC sales and seamless order fulfillment. Here are some of the ways we help our brands maximize this important time of the year!
Blog Post: Prep for the Holidays
For your convenience, we have a handy blog post on how to prep for the holiday season. Be sure to give it a read and share it with anyone else on your team who might benefit.
Webinar: OND Best Practices
We are hosting a webinar on Thursday, Oct 26, 2023, at 1:00 PM ET to talk through OND best practices, potential pitfalls, and what to consider when working with AccelPay this holiday season. Register here.
Tip: Get Your Emails Ready
This is the time to offer discounts, create bundles, offer holiday merchandise, and blast customers with notices about your product. Gifting season is here, so make sure customers see how great your product is as a gift.
Not sure where to start? Or interested in utilizing our demand gen marketing services from our in-house team? Email your AccelPay Account Manager and we’ll help you get started.
Using an email marketing service? Check out this blog post on how to effectively use it this holiday season.
Reminders: Be Sure You're Ready to Go
Here’s a few reminders to be sure you're ready to go for the busy season ahead and can make it a full success:
- In this busy time, we extend our SLAs. Our processing time before an order ships is 3-5 business days. Customers always receive a confirmation email with tracking information once their order ships. If any order is further delayed we will proactively reach out to affected customers.
- Be sure to update your shipping policy and terms & conditions on your site to reflect this before the busy season hits.
- If you have plans for email marketing campaigns, special release products, or promotions for your products (e.g. 50% off on Black Friday or free shipping in November), please be sure to share your promotion calendar for the holiday season with your AccelPay Partner Success Team so that we are ready to support you with this.
- As we approach OND we would like to ensure our records regarding your distribution are current to best assist you. Please provide us with your distributor information using this quick online form. Your quick response to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Enjoy the holidays and the upcoming increase in order volume. Make sure your distributors are ready to go and that you're informing the AccelPay team of any holiday promotions or special releases. Go crush it out there!
Hemingway Whiskey
Launching a successful limited-time release for sale online
After pouring their hearts into perfecting their inaugural release, the team behind Hemingway Spirits needed an effective way to sell it directly to consumers. Fulfilling orders for less than 1000 hand-numbered bottles was a complex problem requiring a powerful e-commerce solution designed specifically to navigate DTC alcohol sales. Enter AccelPay!
Limited First-Edition Release
A family affair
Whiskey pioneer and founder Steve Groth and his two sons came together with 7th-generation Master Distiller Ron Call and his two sons, Clayton and 8th-generation Master Distiller Jacob, to author a new whiskey masterpiece and continue their legacy with Hemingway Whiskey.
Fulfillment headaches
After the recipe was perfected and the launch date grew closer, the Hemingway team anticipated several obstacles ahead. How could they accept orders for the limited-edition bottles online and have those orders fulfilled quickly and reliably by a retail partner, all while ensuring those retailers stayed in-stock and be able to ship orders directly to the customer?
“We knew that the inaugural release would be a special hand-numbered bottle in unique packaging,” said co-founder Kyle Groth. “We were very excited to sell directly to whiskey lovers across the United States, but weren’t sure how we could possibly execute on a DTC limited-release through our own website. It seemed pretty daunting at the time.”
Forming a successful partnership
Easy integration
Hemingway Whiskey was introduced to AccelPay through Drinkubator as their release date approached, and immediately recognized a solution for all of their e-commerce challenges. For Kyle, AccelPay’s extensive network of trusted fulfillment partners made it an easy decision to start working together. He could see that keeping retailers in stock, inventory up-to-date, and orders shipping out fast would be no problem for the AccelPay team.
In fact, AccelPay was able to integrate with Hemingway’s website and get ready for launch in under three weeks with minimal complexity.
“It was amazingly efficient and easy to get things set up,” confirmed Groth. “Their team immediately got to work talking with their fulfillment partners and making sure the right stores were stocked up and ready to ship orders. From there, it was a simple process to get them plugged into our existing Shopify site.”
Consistent selling experience
Hemingway loved that AccelPay was able to keep the selling experience consistent for their online customers. Keeping shoppers on the branded Hemingway Whiskey website and controlling the checkout experience from end-to-end was a huge selling point. For an emerging brand, it was important to reflect their premium, artisanal distilling process in their branding and they wanted that to come through during the entire buying process.
As Kyle put it, “With AccelPay, we can sell online and tap into a large, trusted fulfillment network but still own the customer journey and keep the small batch, handcrafted ethos that drives our company and culture. For us, that’s a winning combination.”
A rewarding inaugural release
972 hand-numbered bottles sold in just 2 weeks
After launching their online store powered by AccelPay, inaugural release bottles went up for sale at the premium price point of $149.99. Each was hand-numbered, signed, and packaged in a library-style box with satin ribbon. Because of Ron Call, Jacob Call and Steve Groth’s reputation in the industry, demand was high and the limited release was sold out in less than two weeks.
“Every bottle from this first release was gone seemingly overnight,” said Kyle Groth. “We worried that this would cause out-of-stock issues for the retailers fulfilling the orders, but the AccelPay team routed everything perfectly and all of the bottles arrived on time and without issue.”
The Hemingway team looks forward to growing their online sales to new heights with AccelPay in the years to come.
“Having been in the industry for quite some time, I wish I had known about AccelPay sooner. Overcoming numerous obstacles, segregating our brand site from our bottle sales site, managing multiple partners and retailers, have always been challenging for our direct-to-consumer efforts. AccelPay's platform has allowed us to overcome these hurdles and optimize our e-commerce business.”
Kyle Groth
Co-Founder of Hemingway Whiskey
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Braxton Freeman
Grolsch