Cheeky Cocktails

👋 Hi, I'm April, and I'm the Founder of Cheeky Cocktails.

I'm a former brand ambassador for Bacardi, consultant for Diageo, and cocktail instructor at Astor Center, ICE, and more- I've taught over 12K students how to make cocktails.

A few years ago, I was planning a cocktail party for 30 friends when the Today Show called to ask me to appear as a cocktail expert.

Normally, I make fresh syrups and juices from scratch like they do in the top bars, but the Today Show had me on the phone for hours, and I ran out of time to prep. Available mixers were all filled with artificial flavors and preservatives, nothing like the fresh ingredients used in bars.

When guests arrived, I was frazzled and embarrassed. I handed out beers while I frantically juiced citrus for cocktails.

At that moment, I realized the market was missing high-quality, ready-to-go cocktail ingredients that even the most discerning hosts could trust so they could focus on the fun part of entertaining and forget about the work.

A 2024 Bacardi survey showed that:

• 27% plan to make cocktails with two ingredients in the next year (p28)
• 43% of younger respondents in the US plan to drink cocktails made from more natural ingredients in 2024 (p23)
• Nearly 50% of NOLO* customers choose NOLO options on certain occasions and full strength on others (*no and low alcohol) (p8)

And so, I launched Cheeky, a line of professional-grade cocktail ingredients that make labor-intensive cocktails (and mocktails) a breeze. Our products are shelf-stable for up to two years and include 100% citrus juices and syrups like Simple Syrup, Espresso Syrup, and more. 

Several of our syrups simplify drink prep by improving quality and reducing required ingredients. Simply mix Vodka with our Espresso Syrup to make Espresso Martinis and Scotch with our Honey Ginger Syrup and Lemon to make Penicillins. Our website boasts a range of recipe suggestions, and we provide recipe cards in every Direct-To-Consumer order.

Cheeky launched four years ago and has generated $1.2M+ in revenue on only $20K in paid marketing. We have been featured in the NY Times twice, recommended by some of the top bartenders in the country, like John deBary author of "Drink What you Want" and "Saved by the Bellini," and Lynnette Marrero from Masterclass, and partnered with leading spirits suppliers like Diageo and Bacardi.

Our Average Order Value is $68, which increases to $117 for repeat customers. We began digital marketing initiatives in June of 2024 and have some exciting early results.

We're selling wholesale to over 1200 stores in 44 states with a $258 Average Order Value and a 99.8% sell-through. Our retailers range from boutiques to gourmet grocery stores to independent liquor stores, and we are in several chain stores like Anthropologie and HomeGoods.

Sources: Statista, Global Information

The US spirits market is massive—$98.2B annually- and 60% of those sales occur in brick-and-mortar retail, where consumers struggle to make cocktails. The global mixer market was $9.1B in 2022, but premiumization and craft cocktails are two of the main drivers of growth in the spirits industry. 

Cheeky enables consumers to replicate their favorite bar cocktails or create signature cocktails without all the work. 

However, home consumers are just some of our customers!

Cheeky helps bartenders save time and maintain quality, and we’re used behind bars at four and five-star hotels and resorts like the Standard and the Bellagio and Aria, and at local bars, restaurants, country clubs and more.

We partner with spirits brands, bartenders and influencers on live events, social posts, giveaways, and collab kits, as well as leverage PR, paid & organic digital (search and display, SEO), Email & SMS, and influencer and affiliate marketing.

Our target consumers are 21+ digitally-savvy social drinkers who are highly engaged on social media and are: 

• Spirits drinkers seeking quality AND convenience
• New spirits consumers who are just learning about cocktails and
• Sober-curious drinkers who have embraced the non-alcoholic cocktail movement

There are a lot of brands in the mixer category, but our main "competitors" are ingredients made from scratch, like homemade syrups and fresh-squeezed juices. 

Cheeky's mission is to make shelf-stable versions of bar ingredients normally made from scratch, using only bar recipes and mixologist "approved" ingredients. This simplicity is one of the main ways we stand out from the competition.

• Our recipes are simple, with one to four ingredients per mixer. 
• We use real fruit, herbs, and spices, and we never add "natural" or artificial flavors. 
• Our product names are intuitive, like "Espresso Syrup" and "Lime Juice," 
• Our labels are minimalist, designed to look gorgeous alongside premium spirits.

Professional bartenders and enthusiasts choose us over other craft products because we make flavors required in millions of cocktails globally. Cheeky juices are necessary to make 28 of the top 50 cocktails in the world, and our syrups may be used in over 20.

I'm Cheeky's CEO- I'm a spirits and cocktail veteran with 26 years in food, beverage, and hospitality. I've been featured on the Today Show, Fox & Friends, and the Sundance Channel and in print in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Martha Stewart, Whisky Advocate, and more. In addition to Cheeky, I host the Movers and Shakers podcast on people and ideas changing the beverage landscape.

Our CFO and Director of Operations have scaled small and medium-sized CPG brands. Cheeky coach and investor Hayden sold his business Liquid IV to Unilever in 2020.

**Forecasts are not guaranteed

We're forecasting $750K in 2024, $4.5M in 2025, and $12M in 2026** with a focus on growing direct-to-consumer sales via PR, paid & organic social, Email & SMS, and content, influencer, and affiliate marketing. We will continue to nurture our existing retailers and submit to longer-lead national retailers.

Accounting for seasonality, we expect to land at over $400k in revenue for 2024 at our current growth rate if we acquired zero additional customers and neither of our national accounts reordered. However, we anticipate reorders and recently hired a PR firm and implemented SEO changes. We're forecasting 60% ecommerce growth month over month. We've also over doubled our store count in the last few months, from 500 to 1200 stores. Additionally, we've landed a few key strategic partnerships. All of this considered, we've forecasted that we will hit $750k in revenue in 2024.

Future projections are not guaranteed.

We're currently raising a million-dollar seed round to fund our direct-to-consumer growth, with a target of raising $124K on Wefunder. If we're successful in raising the $124K, we will use $110K for marketing, including PR, paid and organic social media, content creation, and trade shows, and the remaining $24K on R&D, working capital, and inventory.

Get Cheeky with us as we bring premium bar ingredients into homes and professional bars across America:)