Many types of alcohol have rebranded, refined, or looked for a new cohort of consumers, think tequila, whiskey or cognac, but not rum. Now the brand ten to one is looking to change that. It is launching here in the UK, having won a Hall of accolades in the beverages world has Britain Mark's Black History Month this October. Joining me now in studio is Bloomberg Reported tia Adebayo, who spotted this story, and Mark Cuasey Fowl, who is founder and CEO of ten to one Rum. Mark Cuaisey, Welcome to
Bloomberg Radio. Thank you for your time. Just first ye tell us a little bit about the product, how you came up with it and how you're selling it.
Yeah. Absolutely, Well, first of all, thanks so much for having me on the program. You know, I'm somebody who's very proudly from the Caribbean, born and raised in Trondad, and to be able to have spent most of my adult life living between the US and the UK, and that's been a big part of the inspiration for ten to one.
You know, I looked at the category.
First as a consumer with a bit of a point of curiosity, and a point.
Of frustration really believing that RUM.
Had been relegated to a fairly underappreciated place in the hearts and minds of medic consumers and actually didn't bear that much resemblance on the international circuit to what I know and love and appreciate coming from the Caribbean.
And so really, after a long.
Career in different elements of the consumer products world, decided to venture out on my own and really bring the brand tend onto life with this idea to reimagine the RUM category, to reinvigorate it and bring a little bit more of that Caribbean authenticity and Caribbean magic to market.
So you've successfully launched this reimagination of RUM in the US. Now you're expanding to the UK. What sort of differences have you noticed in the process and why now in the UK?
Yeah, I mean, you know, the UK has been on my ridar for quite some time, you know, for a number of reasons.
I mean, first and foremost, I mean the UK.
When you think about some of the top markets globally where you want to capture the hearts and minds of consumers, the UK ranks right at the top of that list. You know, so many incredible accounts, not just in London or the greater London area, but throughout the broader United Kingdom, and so really I think sort of bringing some of that story, having now now seen five years of success in the US, bringing that to the UK has been I think again forefront for us as a business for
quite some time. It is also worthwhile noting that there is a very strong Caribbean diasporic population that is a force there in London and in the UK, and certainly being able to share some of this story with them is you know, I think brings on a different level of meaning and inspiration for us as a brand.
And last but not least, some of my own personal connections.
You know, actually I studied at Cambridge many years ago. My twin sister lives in the UK with her family as well, and so obviously it's nice to bring a little bit of the tent to one magic for them to enjoy as well.
I wonder what you're hoping for in terms of sales and also whether you're trying to raise funds in the UK. A new survey by Opinion Matters that took place last year shows that three quarters of UK black business owners who asked have found it challenging to raise funds to kickstart businesses compared to forty six percent of their non black counterparts. Are their challenges to raising money? Were you to go down that route in the UK?
Yeah, you know, I think, I mean listen approaching the UK market with a ton of optimism and excitement. To be honest, I think there's a very fertile ground there for us, certainly in the rum category. As I said, to bring a little bit more of that magic that maybe the category is the blacking over time, I think the point that you're raising around black businesses or black
calendar businesses is a very valid one. I think one of the big challenges that those types of businesses have often faced is a little bit of a this perception that the stories that they're telling are perhaps for a a fairly narrow audience or a fairly narrow set of product offerings.
And I think that's not true.
In the case of ten to one, for example, I often tell people that so much of the story of ten to one does not require you to be from the Caribbean with a Trinidad you know, Jamaican passport. You know, if you're right there in London or in Manchester. Inspired by the Caribbean music, the art, the fashion, the food, You're going to find so many points of resonance with
what we're creating. And so I think for us, we've always tried to, I think, expand that aperture and make sure that the story, the brand, the product feel like it's accessible to more folks. And the hope is that then when you think about our fund raising and attracting investors and things of that nature, you are able to maybe sort of climb.
That hill where others have struggled in the past.
I mean, you mentioned that you don't necessarily need to be from a Caribbean background to appreciate rum, but you have noted that the marketing of the drink definitely relies on some old tropes around pirates and plantation you're trying to change. Can you speak to the importance of having black founders and executives when it comes to challenging perceptions like these.
Yeah. Absolutely.
I had a mentor of mine many years ago who very wisely and very simply.
Said, you know, if you don't tell your.
Own story yourself, someone else is going to tell it for you.
I think if you look.
At RAM as a category historically, that's exactly what has happened. I think this reliance on a fairly narrow, caricatured sort of view of the space, a lot of a lot of pirates, a lot of sea monsters, a lot of plantations and old fables and anybody who has been anywhere around the Caribbean.
But if you have a friend who's from the Caribbean, you know it's.
An incredibly rich cultural tapestry. There's ra de vive, the spontaneity, the high energy, the love of life.
There's so many other incredible stories to be told, and.
So at Tanjhan we made a very simple decision, which is to tell of those stories instead. And from the five years that we've had in market in the US, I think there's been a lot of resonance around that.
It seems to be a story and a point of view that has been working quite well. And so now I'm excited to bring that to the UK. Up.
Yeah, absolutely, and that surely chimes in also with Black History Month, of course, which is a celebrated marked in October in the UK, the theme this year being reclaiming Narratives. I wonder what is your view though, as you say, when you have a foot in both the US and the UK on the role back in the US of DEI programs in universities and also in some businesses in the US, is that a concern? Is that becoming an issue actively for you when you seek funding.
It hasn't presented as an issue for US just yet when it comes to whether it's fundraising or seeking out new partners or thinks of that major look. I think the reality is that you're going to see a little bit of a pendulum string over time with these things, right, I mean, over the last four five years, probably from the rise of you know, the COVID global pandemic till now, I think you saw a pretty big spike in the number of D and I initiatives in the US and
further afield. And now obviously you've seen a.
Little bit of a pushback or pullback rather for some of those initiatives.
The good news is and you're always going to find pockets of folks who understand the value of and to me, those things are less about sort of the DEE and I per se, but really about an acknowledgement that there are different cultural viewpoints different perspectives and all have a seat of the table and all have something to offer. We found that there are enough of those pockets in the US. My hope is that we'll find that there are also a number of those pockets in the UK.
And with that sort of support, was that sort of win in your sales because you every chance to be.
Successful Staying with that theme of di in the States, before you founded ten to one, you also had a very illustrious career at Starbucks, the youngest VP at the time, I believe. And it's a company which has had its fair share of issues when it comes to race relations. Bloomberg reported that its suffered big losses in negative press reports related to a racist incident at a store in Philadelphia.
As a former employee of star Wars, can you point to opportunities for the brand to improve when it comes to race relations.
Yeah, listen, I think you know they're opportunity for everyone across the board. And I think a lot of these things should start with being a more active and more willing listener. I'm happy to sit across the tieble from someone else and understand their point.
If you want to figure out how where you can lean into support.
Listen, I'll see that as a former executive at Starbucks, I had nothing but an incredible experience there. I was very lucky and privileged to have someone like Howard Schultz, who was the founder and CEO of Starbucks, a personal mentor of mine, who gave me an incredible opportunity there at the company for a number of years, an incredible place to grow and learn, and actually I would almost describe it as a bit of a finishing school for me, as a bit of a precursor to my time at
ten to one. I do know that the folks that were there and shared the executive suite at the time had a great deal of passion and compassion for issues around sort.
Of building a place, a sense of belonging, a super welcoming nature.
I don't think every company gets it right all the time everywhere, and so I think it's a function of whenever those moments happened during what you can to again actively the sun, engage communities wherever possible, and.
You know, I think, do what you can to set up right.
But overall, I would say my experience there was was an overwhelming, overwhelmingly positive one.
Okay, that's an interesting point. I just want to end on something light to tell me how you drink your rum.
It's a good place to end.
So you know, with ten to one, one of the hall marks of our is it's versatility where we're creating these exceptional pan Caribbean blends, bringing RUMs together from Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, even Ghana.
Be's of the cribbin in a single bottle.
And with that versatility, we encourage folks to experience to run on the tone sibly rocks, the splash of soda, water of coconut water, which is how we would enjoy it intro of that in the Caribbean. So really clean, easy mixers that maintain the integrity of the rum. If you're looking for a delightful part deal a rum, Old Fashion with our dog is extraordinary and a classic actory with our white I think we also we'll also think to capture hats and change some minds along the way.
Okay, Mark crazy Foul, thank you so much for joining us and for your recommendations. Mark Crazy Fowl is the founder and CEO of ten to one Rum and Tiblinberg Reported too Audabaya, Thank you so much for joining me on this story, for bringing it to our attention as the UK, of course, marks at Black History Month also this month. Thank you