An Interview With The Sisters Behind Austin Cocktails, One Of The Pioneers Of The Ready-To-Drink Market

While it seems to many that the sudden appearance of premixed alcoholic cocktails from the hazy aftermath of the pandemic was somewhat akin to a boozy miracle, that is an inaccuracy. The idea of accessible ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages was something that had been percolating in the minds of many a drinks maker. The pandemic and its accompanying shutdowns poured fuel onto a smoldering idea that rapidly ignited, riding on the coattails of the seltzer explosion.

One brand that had seen the writing on the wall years ago, Austin Cocktails, is ideally positioned to become a significant player in the RTD category. Founded by two sisters, Jill Burns and Kelly Gasink, in 2012, the brand can be considered one of the pioneers in the RTD movement. Made with premium spirits and natural ingredients that are meticulously sourced, their craft cocktails are aimed at drinkers looking for a bar-quality drink straight from a can.

Distributed in twenty-seven states, Austin Cocktails was recently fully acquired by beverage powerhouse ConstellationDAG
Brands. That followed an earlier investment made by the alcohol giant in 2018 as a part of their commitment to invest $100 million in women-led start-ups over a decade. With cocktail-based RTDs projected to surpass hard seltzer sales by 2026, according to a report from industry analysts IWSR, expect to see more of them hitting the shelves.

To learn more about Austin Beverage’s story, the challenges the sisters faced as female founders in the competitive alcohol industry, and how they spotted a trend before so many others, we reached out to them to ask a few questions. Their responses have been slightly edited for clarity.

The idea of luxury premixed cocktails was almost unheard of in the drinks industry when you started out. Where did the idea arise from, and what challenges did you face?

Kelly: We sometimes call ourselves the OGs of the premium RTD market. I think an improbable group of stars aligned for us to start Austin Cocktails. But three things stand out when looking back to our history. The first and most critical piece was this family tradition started by our Grandfather Fred called cocktail time. It was a ritual where everything stopped in the household at five o’clock on summer nights, and everyone would gather to have a cocktail.

So, when all the family was helping him during harvest time, everything stopped then. The kids had Shirley Temples, and the adult’s cocktails. It was a magical time and spawned a lifelong love affair with cocktails for us. The second thing that stands out was timing. About a decade ago, I read an article that beer, for the first time in American history, had less than half the market share of alcohol. Much of that was due to the ascendant growth of spirits and the cocktail culture that was taking off. This shift overlapped with consumers becoming more interested in smaller craft brands and shifting from big institutional brands.

That convinced us that we should try our hand at making craft cocktails. We were both serial entrepreneurs, and Jill had worked in the beverage industry, so she knew what went into developing drinks. She saw that there was a space that well-crafted cocktails could fit into that the more prominent brands were ignoring. So, we decided that the time was ripe to create something convenient for drinkers that might disrupt the category.

Jill: We did get laughed at a lot in the beginning after we had created our first products and went out selling them. All everyone knew was these gross neon-colored high fructose corn syrup-based drinks with tons of baggage. We had to work hard to educate people that what we were was something totally different. Luckily there were a few people who believed in us. They saw the possibility of a category being overhauled and saw a lot of potentials. It was a lot of work just getting people to believe in our concept.

As female pioneers in a historically male-dominated industry, what challenges did you have to deal with along the way?

Kelly: We certainly got plenty of verbal pats on the head, as we call them, and that felt a little more gendered. It started to actually hit our radar screens after a few years that what we were doing was fairly meaningful. I am trying to remember when but at one point, someone told us that female-founded companies only count for 4% of the revenue, 6% of the employment, and only received 2% of all venture funding in the United States.

While we’ve made tons of progress, and I don’t think there’s an organized cabal trying to keep female entrepreneurs down, the reality is there’s a ton of legacy infrastructure that the statistics bear out. The statistics make it pretty plain. It’s tough for a female to gain traction in the business world. We can count on one hand how many meetings we have had with females in the C-suite and with female decision-makers in fundraising.

We were one of the very few female-founded companies on the globe that was able to raise institutional capital from publicly traded companies. It was, for sure, an uphill climb, and we didn’t let it chip away at our optimism. I think the arc of history is bending in the right direction, but you must get out there and keep trying to be a part of the change you want to see.

What’s the point of differentiation between your beverages and others on the market?

Jill Burns: We pride ourselves on drink development. When we develop them, we do things a little bit differently. Every ingredient is looked at from every angle. What does it taste like? Does it blend well with other ingredients? We tasted over twenty different types of mint to ensure we found the perfect one. That happens with everything. We decided early to make everything perfect and not put our name on anything less than that. Luckily because we were early in the RTD movement, we had a bit more time to ensure things lined up properly. We didn’t have to rush to market.

But with that said, it was costly. Our husbands were like, ‘Hey, do you guys have those cocktails ready yet?’ I think they were getting a little frustrated that it was taking so long, but the end result is we have cocktails that are balanced and have structure. It might have taken some time, but we are happy that we stuck to our vision of all-natural cocktails with no artificial sweeteners and such. It’s what has led to our success. Our drinks have been served in places as diverse as the James Beard House to tailgates.

You often hear successful businesspersons crediting something in their background that led to their breakout. What’s one thing you can point to that was crucial to your success?

Jill Burns: We had parents who really helped us embrace the idea of getting out of our comfort zone. As kids, anytime we went on a family trip, we never had hotel reservations because my dad always thought he could get a better deal if he walked up to the hotel counter instead of booking beforehand. The same went for sporting events which my parents loved. We couldn’t afford season tickets, so instead, we would watch them find the best tickets they could from scalpers. Kelly and I like to joke that we were taught the art of negotiation from a young age. I think you have to have a little bit of quiet confidence, the ability to take risks, and the ability to think differently to succeed as an entrepreneur. We built those muscles up as kids being around our parents.

Kelly: I can’t take credit for this concept, but I really like it. You have to work to expand your luck surface area. I mean, you’re not going to get lucky sitting on the couch. I think there’s something about being a female entrepreneur where you have to be conscientious about how much you need to put yourself out there. Most entrepreneurs will work and hustle endlessly. What can differentiate you is your willingness to go towards the hard stuff and the scary stuff. The more you can do that, the more competitive you are. There were plenty of times when we were shaking and nervous, but we leaned forward and kept embracing it. That’s what I call expanding your luck surface area. You have to work hard to maximize the opportunities and put yourself out there for something lucky to happen to you.