Here’s a Haus update that’s not fun to share.
Our lead investor recently declined to move forward with our Series A that we were in the process of closing. Without them, we do not have the cash to support continued operations at this time.
With Dry January approaching, I figure this is as good a time as any to share that I’ve decided to go sober. I significantly cut my drinking in 2022, and I had my final drink on 12/12. (It was a margarita if you’re curious.) (1/15)
I want to express my deepest gratitude for the opportunity to bring Haus into the world, and for all of you who joined us on this journey. I’ll never forget it.
Hi everyone, hope you’re well. Perhaps you’ve been wondering what’s going on with Haus. I haven’t much to share, because I generally don’t know. Founders are typically excluded from ABC processes. I have not been involved and updates are sparse.
As I’ve slowly weaned myself off of alcohol, I realized something important. Alcohol doesn’t bring people together. People bring people together. I realized that for me, the best way to enjoy life without the harm is to remove the harm altogether. (15/15)
So if you’re going to stock up on Haus, you have about a month to do so. I’ll be in the warehouse in Healdsburg with the remaining team, packing and shipping your final orders.
So, that’s that. We gave it our best shot.
Sending solidarity to all of the other founders out there who are going through it. This is a brutal time. Love you all.
Ok, I'm coming out of my Twitter slumber. I needed a break. Hope you all are well. I have done a lot and learned a lot this year and look forward to sharing it with you.
So now Haus is going through a process called an ABC. Essentially, the business stays operational for a short time while running through an accelerated sale process. Haus will continue to sell and ship product during this time.
Some positive news: Haus is back.
I am very glad to see the brand live on, and look forward to seeing what the new owners will do with it in this next chapter.
It’s possible that someone will buy Haus in its entirety, and it can continue on under new ownership. It’s also possible that it will be sold for parts.
If you plan to drink alcohol in 2023 and beyond, I’ll give you the same advice I’ve always given: buy from small, independent brands who are transparent with their ingredients and production process. If you tend to overdrink, avoid traditional high-ABV formats. (12/15)
I still believe in the low-ABV movement. But if it’s going to exist, you’re going to have to push for it. Tell your favorite bars and restaurants to add low-ABV cocktails to their menu. Buy these cocktails, and tip your bartenders well. (13/15)
Everybody experiences alcohol differently, but I have a unique combo of behaviors that makes it highly problematic for me. 1) When I drink, I tend to overdrink. 2) (Almost) no one can tell I am drunk, even when I black out. 3) I black out easily. (7/15)
Support indie low-ABV brands, and while you’re at it, support all of the indie brands you want to see survive the next few years. They will need you. (14/15)
I’ve never liked the word sober. One of its Oxford definitions is “make or become more serious, sensible, and solemn.” It implies that, perhaps, your previous behavior wasn’t so serious or sensible. It is, perhaps, an admission of a problem needing to be solved. (2/15)
But corporate alcohol ultimately killed Haus, and they will continue to kill innovation that threatens their status quo. This is not an industry who wants to change, and they are powerful. They are, and will continue to be, corporate heads intent on selling you poison. (11/15)
I cannot overstate to you how big of a challenge it was to build a low-ABV movement when corporate alcohol didn’t want it to happen. But we did it, and I am proud. (10/15)
Today's tweet thread is on how to make a collaborative spreadsheet of investors.
Yes, it's very tactical and mundane and seemingly simple, but it will make your fundraising go a lot further.
Read on >>
In case you missed it, I divorced my co-founder and took over Haus as sole CEO. It was very hard! But Woody and I are good, and Haus is good. I've been writing about it on my IG:
These experiences all informed my desire to build a low-ABV alcohol brand, and ultimately a low-ABV alcohol movement. I understood the power of alcohol to bring people together, and I also understood its power to harm. I believed low-ABV could solve this problem. (9/15)
But my god, it's been a journey. I am glad I've learned so much along the way, and I'm glad I can begin to share those learnings with you. If I can help give any of you a leg up, it's makes it all even more worth it.
This is where I learned of the power of people communing through alcohol. Connections are made and communities are built. I understood alcohol’s power to harm, but I also saw how it brought people together. (5/15)
With QR code scanning baked into iphone cameras, and pandemic driving up adoption at restaurants, etc.
QR codes are back in a big way.
Love this use from
@helena
on packaging to drive to flavor specific recipes and context.
Once I was in Silicon Valley, drinking was just as present as it was in Raleigh dive bars. Conferences, industry events, networking, business dinners. Drinking seemed to be a requirement of doing business and building your career. (6/15)
The things I've learned building this biz are incredible, really. Any entrepreneur knows what a roller coaster it is, and how it changes you as a person. I am very different than I was when I started this thing. I am tougher and wiser and way more confident in myself all around.
Alcohol has been a very important part of my life for a long time. For one, I come from a long lineage of alcoholic men. It impacted my life at its earliest stages. My dad died when I was a teen after a life of alcohol and drug abuse. I have long been aware of its power. (3/15)
I also spent the age of 18-21 working in bars. Alcohol paid for college and acquainted me with the world. Drinking with your colleagues after your shift was an everyday part of life. I was a fixture in the Raleigh bar scene long before I was legally allowed to participate. (4/15)
3. The legal hurdles involved in alc are even more daunting. DTC licenses can take a year to transfer, and are state by state. So a buyer would have to keep the biz operational but *not sell anything* while all of the licenses transferred. That alone made everyone walk away.
How did Liquid Death’s
@Cessario
raise $75M to murder naysayers’ thirst with meme-worthy water in a beer can? How did
@helena
’s minimalist branding make Haus stand out? Hear it on
@PRESSCLUBhouse
“From 2020 to 2021, the no or low alcohol spirits category increased sales by volume 33% according to drinks market analysis firm IWST. Furthermore, IWST predicts it will be the fastest-growing segment in the spirits category from 2020 to 2024.”
I was ambitious and worked hard to advance my career at Amazon and then Facebook. I thought the way to get ahead was to deliver results, then push for more responsibility and position myself for promotion. I later came to realize I had it totally backwards. Here's my story:
For a long time I thought this was all fine and normal. Perhaps because I grew up with it, and then saw it normalized working in bars. Over time it became something I wanted to manage, but I never once considered going sober. That would imply I had a problem. (8/15)
1. The categories of Low-ABV and DTC alcohol, while of high interest, are still very new and mysterious to people. It's still lacking the playbook of other traditional categories.
4. Then he said, lastly, it’s the markets. He said that six months ago this would have sold, but today all of the distressed buyers are taking a step back and not participating in sales they would have jumped on previously.
Today the banker running Haus’ sale process informed me that the auction has concluded, and the company did not sell. Candidly, I did not expect this. He said this was a surprise to him as much as it was to me.
1/ Excited to announce that we’ve raised $60M to start making thoughtful sustainable acquisitions of DTC brands in the home goods space.
A few things to share below...
“Drizly also found that consumers are increasingly interested in their drinks’ ingredients and supporting small, family-owned operations -- both of which could push customers away from big, publicly owned brewing companies.”
"The number of local bartenders putting effort into thoughtful, high-quality mocktails continued to grow this year, an extension of the larger growth in the market for no- and low-alcohol products, which is expected to grow by 31% by 2024."
“2021 was the year that many of us became familiar with the apéritif, a blended alcoholic beverage that boasts the multi-layered taste of a cocktail with less potent intoxicating power than your average spirit. This is in no small part thanks to Haus.”
"Unlike traditional aperitifs, Haus' wine-based versions aren't syrupy sweet," Food & Wine writer Katie MacDonald said. "[They] actually taste like the fresh ingredients used to make them."
TY
@foodandwine
<3
In today’s thread, I thought I’d share some thoughts on a founder who exemplifies hustle.
The story of
@helena
, founder
@drinkhaus
, and her resilience is amazing!
Read on >>
I asked for his thoughts on why things turned out the way they did. He said that there was an extraordinary amount of interest in the brand itself, but it was a few things:
So happy to see one of my favorite things ever,
@PopUpMag
, back in action. They’re live in SF, LA, NY and DC this month and I guarantee it’ll be one of your fave things you saw this year.
For decades, the only way for alcohol brands to get product to customers was thru distributors
The internet changes that
@helena
is leading a movement to reshape America's drinking culture with her DTC startup
@drinkhaus
Her conversation with
@jason
👇
Cost/time of compliance state by state. Illegal to sell DTC across US (w/ a few exceptions). Trying to get in with distributors who don't work with indie brands. Lack of alc-compliant copackers and 3PLs. It's why we sat alone in the space for so long, and sort of still do.
If you're looking for NYE tunes, we've been curating very good playlists on Spotify since 2019. I'll be listening to
@RebekahPeppler
's tonight. HNY! 🥂
"Canned cocktails are getting good, but even they can prove poisonous. Thankfully for us, there's Haus, which offers medium-ABV (18%) aperitifs that are versatile yet complex." TY
@VICE
<3
@helena
Beautiful! Last summer, I launched an amaro made from distilled peas. In Alberta, here in western Canada, we grow so much of the global supply of peas but we don’t do too much with the raw product. If you’ve got a moment - .
As you may know, we make Haus by hand in our warehouses in Sonoma County. Here’s our team hand-stripping rosemary last week. Our products taste better for a reason.
@jessicahische
and I shot each other’s portraits yesterday. I gave her some old photo gear and she gave me some stuff for my walls. We’ve been collaborating like this for seven years now and I’m so grateful. Long live the friend barter!
Photo shoot at the office today with
@helena
because I’m the luckiest gurl in the wurld. So many good ones!! Especially love this band pic of me, Cat (who works for me) and my studiomate Jody.