EYL #87 Night Cap - podcast episode cover

EYL #87 Night Cap

Jun 30, 20201 hr 15 min
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Episode description

The spirits business is a $677 billion annual industry. Although liquor is an extremely lucrative business, it is extremely difficult to own a spirits company. In the search of an independently owned and operated brand, we found Myriam and Stevens Charles who are the owners of LS Cream Liqueur. LS Cream is an award-winning Haitian-inspired cream liquor known in the Caribbean as Kremas. Myriam and Stevens are a power couple from Montreal Canada. On EYL 87, they explained in detail the process of manufacturing liquor, the process of distribution, and the ins and outs of running an international business that covers America, Canada and the Caribbean. During the episode, they walked us through the complicated world of owning a liquor brand. We also discussed entrepreneurship in Canada, the connection to business opportunities that exist for entrepreneurs on both sides of the border, and how to do business in our neighboring countries. #entrepreneur #canada #Kremas --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure/support

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Transcript

Speaker 1

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Speaker 2

Warranty limitations apply.

Speaker 3

All right, guys, welcome back, another exciting episode. This is International Edition week. Yeah, I think so, I think so. We're crossing the border. Yeah, it took Corona across the border. Took Corona across the border. So you know, we got We have a very large listenership in Canada. Shout out to Toronto, that's like our main hub. But but we also have a lot of listeners in all over Canada, but Montreal, specifically in Montreal. So if you're familiar with Canada,

this the English shide the French side. So the French province is Quebec and they speak French and they speak English. It was a it was an interesting experience when we went there because yeah, everybody speaks French like it's it's it's like it's the same country as Toronto, but it's it's really different culturally. It's more mirrored around Francis culture, where Toronto isn't. So I say that to say, Canada is a very interesting place. We love Canada. It's one

of our favorite places in the world. So this was something that was long overdue to have, you know, our first Canadian guest, so without further do oh and also also I have to pick up Haiti as well, because so we also have a very large listenership in the Caribbean. We've been on the top charts in like all the Caribbean countries. I'm not sure what we placed in Haiti, but I know Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, you name it, Bahamas. So I'm pretty sure we got a lot of support

in Haiti as well. Saint Lucia for sure. So shout out to the Haitian massive South passe. Yes, yes, yes to all of the Haitians all over the all over the disaster and all over the world. And so our guests today are both Haitian and Canadian, so they fit both of those pockets. Our first international guest, so Stephen Charles and Miriam Jean Baptiste, a couple out of Montreal, Canada, and they have a liquor brand. So the liquor brand is interesting. The liquor industry is interesting. It's a multi

billion dollar industry that we haven't really covered. A shout out to Nick Storm. He covered it from like the marketing aspect as far as is concerned, but we haven't spoken to anybody that had their own liquor brands. Yeah, it's not easy to own a liquor brand, that's what he said, especially a liquor brand as well. So ls krim krim Let's Cream Liqueur is the name is the name of the brand and the liquor is Chremos. That's not crimas, got it. And yeah, so it's it's uh a milky.

Speaker 4

Uh.

Speaker 5

It's like a holiday drink that is and yours is filled with nutmeg, which makes it very unique. So like each island in the West Indies has its own holiday drink, uh you know is big and hispanic.

Speaker 3

And shout out to pout Aja makings.

Speaker 6

We just like to do rum punch, to be honest with you.

Speaker 5

But but it's it's similar in that category of a creamy type liquor.

Speaker 3

Yes, yeah, So first of all, thank you guys for joining us. We appreciate it.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Thank you guys, thank you so much. Congratulations on all the success. It's it's amazing to see you guys.

Speaker 7

Bro.

Speaker 3

No, I appreciate it, appreciate it. So all right, let's get into it. So all right, you guys have a liquor brand and you're distributing it, and you're distributing it in the United States and Canada. So where does it start? Because this is an interesting story because even when we had Shelf Calvin on shoutut to Chef Calvin, and he has a cokey and he's he's Dominican. It So I was saying that, you know, a lot of times, especially

people from the Islands, like Troy, he's Jamaican. So I go over his household the time, and during the holiday, his mom makes run punch and it's very common for people to make, you know, liquors in their house, their grandmother, their mother, their aunts. That's like a very common thing, like I said, especially among people from the Islands. But you don't really see it turn into a business a lot of times. It's just like a family thing, holidays

and stuff like that. And you see like Bacardi and all of these brands and they just control the market. So how did how did you guys get into the spirits industry from a manufacturing standpoint?

Speaker 4

Well, it's it's a funny story, right. So before that, I was in finance, right I was. I was a mortgage specialist, And basically exactly as you said, one holiday a few years ago, basically I saw my my in laws, basically I wasn't my in laws, and I saw them give a bottle of camas like I saw bottle of Camas and I saw something special about it because I

talked to myself, this product is so good. And you know, over here we got a lot of different different cultures, right, so we have a lot of white people Jamaicans, Caucasions or whatever so far right, so and all those people would like that all made chemas, right, but they would always need to have somebody make it for them.

Speaker 7

They could not purchase it at the store.

Speaker 4

And we grew up with this recipe, me and Miriam, and we were like, well, maybe it would be time to have this delicious recipe be available on the shelf. And that's basically what you start to do your research and get into it basically.

Speaker 6

So oh god, God, Mary, no no.

Speaker 8

No, I was just saying that it's really the fact. I think what really spider Eyes was the fact that it was not only those requests were not only coming from like or Haitian friends or Caribbean friends, like or Italian friends were like, please, you'll ask your mom to do a.

Speaker 7

Bottle for me.

Speaker 8

Please ask your grandma to do a bottle for me. So there was definitely a niche there that we there was a gap that we.

Speaker 4

Needed to f So yeah, I think also what when it comes into like going to that market. First tim we looked at was the cream category was pretty dormant when you think about it. So if you ask anybody in the street, uh, made me a cream like cream? A cream brand, They're gonna say Bailey's, right, you know.

So so that's basically what they're gonna say. And basically that's a really because but if you ask that for a vodka or gin or whatever else, there's a lot of new newcomers and that in those in those categories. So we saw an opportunity to have a cream that would take the taste of Cemas, but we'd use the culture to attract more people basically and have our own cream the same way we have our vodka and our RUMs.

And that identify to us because I saw a lot of men that like cream, but they say, oh yeah, cream is a little bit girly because when I go to the store and buy Bailey's, I don't feel right, you know.

Speaker 7

But when you have a bottle like this.

Speaker 4

Now a guy can go to the to the liquor store and be proud to take it and uh and buy it, you know.

Speaker 5

So I want to go back to how we get the recipe for the Kermas, because like in most West Indian families, recipes don't get they get held onto for a while, right, Like my mom has this famous jerk chicken recipe that she refuses to pass on.

Speaker 6

Hopefully I'll find it one day and I'll be able to share with my family.

Speaker 5

But I know your aunt actually found the recipe zip locked somewhere in the house.

Speaker 6

You won't tell us about this story, man.

Speaker 4

So so basically when we started the journey, like again, like I said, you grew you grew you. You realize that the recipe that you've seen your mom and your grandma do you take nothing of it. But when you actually list all the ingredients, you know, like, we wanted to see it being made from the ground up. So I asked my aunt to come to come to my house and and basically showed to me and Miriam like how she would do it. Oh man, we were not disappointed.

Like she brought it all the ingredients and she she took out a ziplock and basically in that ziplop was a piece of paper that my grandmother wrote the recipe in, right, and they were passing that recipe from all my aunts, like in the family basically, you know, And it was just funny to see that ziplock with the ND writing on there was just like and she followed all the steps and there you were six hours later with a

bottle of Chemas in your hands. And that's actually the bottle we use to bring to the laboratory in the States that were able to put the recipe of kimas in a commercial commercial lies you know, version.

Speaker 7

Of it, you know.

Speaker 3

So all right, so let me ask you this because that's interesting what you said as far as like, you know, I'm thinking about it. There's a lot of competition in tequila. There's a lot of competition in kognak, there's a lot of competition in vodka. But your niche, so what would it be called, like, what what's the sector of that what you got doing.

Speaker 7

It's actually cordials.

Speaker 9

Cordials.

Speaker 4

So cordials is gonna be your Baillies, your Grandma Nier, it's gonna be your ls, it's gonna be your rum chata. So that's pretty much what it's gonna be, those those kind of drinks.

Speaker 9

All right.

Speaker 3

So you saw so you saw the less the less crowded option, which is always a good bad. A good business strategy. You don't want to run into traffic, you know, it's less people playing in that field. You have the family recipe from your family that's making it. So now you have that and you say, okay, so but like what's this step that you took to actually turn it into a business and say, okay, now we're gonna start making liquor. Like how don't do you need like a

factory for that? Like how does that work?

Speaker 4

So it's a it's a lot of contracting distillers, right, So what happens that you become a partner with the distiller and you have the recipe, So basically you create the recipe and then you can go see a distiller and they can basically bottle it for you.

Speaker 7

Right, So you become a partner with that distiller.

Speaker 4

Because, as you may know or not, it's not everybody that has the right to have a distillery or be a distributor for that fact. Right, So there's a lot of laws that you know, there's a some kind of gatekeepers in a sense, right, you know, so even if you have the money, you still need the proper paperwork and they might not even give.

Speaker 7

It to you.

Speaker 4

You know, so some people in New Jersey know a lot about that, where you know, not everybody can have the license to have a liquor store and stuff like that.

Speaker 7

So it's still liquor, right, it's still controlled right.

Speaker 4

So yeah, So basically what I what I mean is that when you think about it, some companies they don't necessarily produce like, for example, like a company that's based out of Belgium, for example, and make cream. They're not necessarily gonna make the cream in Belgium and ship it over here. They're gonna take the recipe Mandata company here and do the same recipe here. That way, for the transport and for everything, it might be less expensive.

Speaker 6

So do you have to the recipe?

Speaker 4

Yeah, so that's a decision that we took not to do it. It's simple because it's the same thing as pepsi and coke. Right, So, uh ther recipes the dirt recipe and basically you can always you know, put a little bit more sugar, a little bit more salt, attle bit more this, little bit more that, and you can copy that recipe really easily. What we did, however, we did trademark the logo and the bottle so ls cream recipe can only be sold in that specific bottle.

Speaker 6

Okay.

Speaker 3

So all right, so like rum punch and stuff is made with other liquor, right, are you making liquor with other liquor or are you actually manufacturing liquor from like out of nowhere?

Speaker 9

Like how does that work?

Speaker 6

Yeah?

Speaker 4

Go ahead, okay, So yeah, so basically, yeah, we just we purchased the liquor and the the alcohol in bulk, right, so, and then we're able to ship it to our partners that help us with the cream, and then we mix everything together based on the recipe, and then we ship it to the bottling factory and then they're able to bottle.

Speaker 5

Okay, so you got the distiller end, the balance factory. What type of costs are we talking for somebody who is trying to start that?

Speaker 7

Okay?

Speaker 4

So I mean from you mean, if you're starting, you need at least at least one hundred and fifty k.

Speaker 8

So what we said earlier, Sorry about that. You said earlier that it was really hard to get into the liquor business. It's crazy how many barriers that we have to like open doors and you know, force ourselves in. And we do understand why people don't necessarily go in that type of industry because first of all, it requires capital, right, Steve and I were not necessarily like from that industry, So we had to do a lot of research on

our side. We had to learn the process. And let me tell you, guys, that's it wasn't easy, you know, but we pull through, try to you know, get as much information as possible, and you know, we were able to just go line step by step and make a product that's actually sellable, you know.

Speaker 4

And the only thing I'm gonna add, oh sorry, Troy want is something okay, okay, because yeah, because what it's because of the minimums. Right, So your body, so your your bottle order is gonna have a minimum of a container. For example, your your cream maker is gonna ask you for a minimum of whatever amount of gallons, right, and that makes basically the the the amount you know, like at the end, be a high amount. Basically, that's basically the reason why it costs so much. It's it's not

because you have a lot of stuff to pay. It is because you have to pay four different entities a lot of money to be able to start, because they're not gonna deal with you if you say, oh, yeah, I just want to bottle ten ten cases. You know, You'll be like, okay, see you see, see you when you can do at least a thousand, you know, or like two thousand you know.

Speaker 3

So okay, So like for rum Punch, Let's say, like if somebody wants to start a rum Punch brand, right and and making it.

Speaker 9

Out of like a variety of like other.

Speaker 3

Liquor, like they might put Hennessy in it, they might put whatever, right, so they put different liquors in it. So now you're buying those liquors at bulk, And is there is there ever a possibility of going straight to the source and not actually buying other liquor? But like, so like where Hennessy gets their liquor from, like in

France or something like that, right, is that ever? Obviously that's a lot more money, I'm assuming, But is that ever a possibility where it's like you can just buy alcohol without any label on it, without it coming from a company, Like how is that a possibility?

Speaker 9

Or no?

Speaker 7

Yeah, but that's.

Speaker 4

So basically maybe I spoke too fast or so, but just to be straight, the liquor I'm talking about that we buy the alcohol that we buy it's pure. It's

pure grain, neutral grain alcohol. There's no label on there. Right, So it's that's a reason why a lot of distillers right now, because of the pandemic, they were able to turn the distillery into making and sanitizers, right because the only difference between them and us is that they actually own the distillery and they can turn basically the ingredients into making something else.

Speaker 7

But it's still.

Speaker 4

Neutral grain alcohol that has no label on it, and you can just purchase for fun, you know.

Speaker 3

So I a question, So you all right, that's interact That's what I wanted to know. That was interesting. Thank you for that. So you can actually buy alcohol, whether it's whatever kind of alcohol it is, but it's not no, it has no label on it, and you can just buy that and bulk yep. And it's factory like where are those facts? Like where do you do that? Like it there's just warehouses that just sell alcohol.

Speaker 7

Yeah, I mean you have you have to do it through a third party obviously.

Speaker 4

So for us, it's our cream maker that able to do that.

Speaker 7

For us, it's like plug right.

Speaker 4

So so basically and and and then the and then the sorry, in this industry, that's the thing that you realize is that you need a plug, you know.

Speaker 7

So that's the first thing, you know, like.

Speaker 4

Just to uh circle back to our story, that's the first thing that we did. Actually I did because you know, we have a family and we need to be responsible. But I was able to leave for a couple of weeks and I went to one of the biggest convention in in Vegas, right where all the industry is there. And I was able to squeeze my my in because even if you're willing to pay top dollar, they're not going to let you in if somebody is not backing you.

Speaker 9

What's the name of that? What's the name of the convention?

Speaker 5

I was asking you where I was going next? Yeahating right, what is it?

Speaker 9

What's the name of it?

Speaker 4

In Spirits W s W A. And that's actually where actually that convention we went back. And that's actually where we made Ali Scream enter competition in the cream category and we want actually the gold all in twenty fourteen.

Speaker 7

That was like the beginning of our.

Speaker 4

Traction for the brand and so far, you know, but all of that we wouldn't learned if we would have not went to that convention, you know, And and seeing the things that we that we've seen and you know, shake the hands that we shook.

Speaker 6

You know, yes, got very no.

Speaker 8

I was gonna say once we actually won that medal, So that's when people like because we didn't even have one bottle on the shelves for cell yet. So we entered the competition, won the gold medal, and then we started getting calls from the SEQ, which is like the government owned cut well government owned a distributor in Quebec. So that's when he said, they called this and they were like, okay, well we need to have some of

that product. We heard that you're you know, you're making noise over in the States, so let's see how we could get you in. And you know, the SEQ is one of the hardest distributors to get into, so that really gave us like the stemp of approval for other distribution.

Speaker 7

Yeah.

Speaker 5

So literally, like those are my next two questions, that the trip to Vegas and then the SAQ because like when I googled SAQ, the first thing that came up with saquon Barkley, I was like, yo, come on man, So really the SAQ is like the Quebec Alcohol Corporation, like they run what can be put out in alcohol shells.

Speaker 4

Yeah, so for the people that know the verbiage. In the states, they call this a control state. So you guys have Pennsylvania, for example, that's a control state. So basically, the state buys the liquor to put it in the stores and then you go ahead and go buy it, right. I think Virginia is like this too, and so that's why most liquor companies are going to start in Florida,

for example, because Florida is pretty open. So anything you need is just money and time, and you'll be able to start selling your liquor with the proper paperwork in Florida.

Speaker 3

But other states, Oh, can you explain that because I wasn't. I wasn't aware of that in Pennsylvania, I.

Speaker 5

Guess the Commonwealth states, right, so they say Pennsylvania.

Speaker 9

And Virginia, so they didn't the state controls the liquor.

Speaker 7

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 4

There's thirteen control states in the state in the fifty states. Uh, and basically Pennsylvania is one of them. I think Virginia is one of them. The reason I don't know them by heart is simply because like they're so hard to get into. We're focused on the ones that we're in, which is which is New York, which is New Jersey, California and Florida. Uh and and you know those states are fairly easy to make that that's where everybody starts, you know, And.

Speaker 8

I mean it's the biggest market also.

Speaker 5

So yeah, yeah, I mean you want to start in New York, in Florida and Callia. Yeah, so before you can put it on the shelves. I know you guys ran into some issues with stabilizing the recipe. Can you talk about what that process is like because I don't think people I didn't even fully understand it, so I read into it. You talk about the stabilizing and the importance of stabilizing the recipe.

Speaker 7

That's that's such a good question. Thank you for asking that.

Speaker 4

Yeah, the people don't know the work it goes into making a products table, especially when you're dealing with cream dairy. So that's that's something that's really important for us because we don't want anyone to drink LS cream and have issues, right So, and people don't need to worry really because everything that you see on the shelf in the States, in the liquor store or restaurant or whatever is controlled by the federal government. Right, So the entity is called

the TTB. If you go on the TTB website, you will find all the information you need to be able to start legally a liquor in the United States. Okay, And basically what happens is that, first of all, we so again let me circle back to the story. Remember we told you that we had that bottle of command that my aunt did, right, So we took that bottle

to the laboratory. So what they're gonna do is that they're gonna take that full blown recipe and they're gonna separate it to know how they can put it back together but in a more you know, professional way or commercialize commercialized way, right.

Speaker 8

And also separate all the ingredients and the percentage so that every single bottle is the same. Right.

Speaker 4

Once they're able to do that, they basically come to you and they're like, Stevens, we can make that recipe. We can make the liquid blue, we can make it red, we can make it yellow, whatever color you want, and so forth.

Speaker 7

Right.

Speaker 4

But again, the thing that's really good right now with LS Scream is that we decided to go the route of everything needs to be natural right with that, we were able to make a kosher product and the gluten free product also was really important to us. Right So, once that's done, our partners at the creamery were able to send it to the government under a specific label for this project, and then the TTB takes six months to come back to us with a formula approval.

Speaker 7

Once you have the formula.

Speaker 4

Approval, you're able to bottle, but you need to also submit a label approval that's going to take another six months. So that's where like everything that you see that you know, when you hear about the government shutdown, that's where it affects people like us because they're the government that approves those things.

Speaker 7

So we had a government.

Speaker 4

Shutdown in twenty fourteen, so we had to wait a little bit more to get a label approvals and.

Speaker 7

So and so forth.

Speaker 4

Right, So, yeah, that's so that's the entities that deal with that, and maybe that gives you a better idea of like the time frame and the steps that needs to be to be done to be able to actually bottle.

Speaker 8

And also on Earth's side, like it was really important for us to keep you know, a traditional type of Chemas. People know Chmas as being a bit thicker than LS it actually is. That's just because we can't have like a tick you know, product inside a bottle and then when you drink it, you have like to tap the bottom of your glass so that it falls down. So there was a lot of back and forth also to make sure that you know, the product was perfect, it was had the right consistency. So yeah, it's a lot

a lot of time. That's you know, just going into back and forth with our partners.

Speaker 6

Yeah, man, I heard that, you know.

Speaker 5

Number one, like when it's not stabilized, the looker could go bad if it sits on the shelf past a long time. But the other thing you found a pleasant surprise, you guys, you original recipe only had about four percent alcohol.

Speaker 6

Now we got to uptake that thing, right.

Speaker 4

Yeah, so basically, yeah, everybody that drinks came out so like, oh my god, that sting is strong.

Speaker 7

It's really strong. No, man, it's just it's just it's just sugar.

Speaker 4

Man, That's just a sugar rush, you know, that's ferments with the alcohol. It gives you that aspect that it's really strong, but it's not really so. So so what we did with LS Scream, we elevated the alcohol content to seventeen percent so that we can be on par with with the other products in the in the category. Sorry, and basically making l scream one of the strongest you know, in the category because you know, we we like our stuff strong and we know how we how we are.

But but it's something with important and also I want to piggyback on what Miriam said. You know that the consistency of chem as is usually thick.

Speaker 7

But if you ask.

Speaker 4

Somebody any Asian, you're like, oh, how do you drink your chemas? Is gonna's gonna say, Oh, I put it on ice. You're gonna say why, Because I want it to be a little bit more liquid, you know. So that's the first time people do so actually doing a lot of market research and a lot of you know, tastings and stuff like that with people with regular chemas

before we add ls, that's what we realized. People wanted it to be a little bit more liquid because it didn't it wasn't fun to drink that way, so so thick, and they wanted to. There was a lot of residues with the original recipe because of the of the sugar and and the coconut and the condensed milk. So when you finished drinking, you look at your glass and you see all that residue on the on the on the

on the side of your glass. It's not really appealing, right, So those the things that we were we wanted to fix, you know, sort of in terms of making a cream licker inspired by That's how we were different ourselves.

Speaker 6

You know.

Speaker 3

No, that's dope. So that's a lot, that's a lot of information. So in the next segment, we're going to go into the daily operations and actually, you know, the meat and potatoes of how you're running this operation. So yeah, all right, so yeah, so we're gonna go into some some meat and potatoes. But before we start, we gotta salute the fact first it's power couple.

Speaker 9

I love. I love to do episodes with couples.

Speaker 6

That's a lot of couple episodes do so well.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it's so it's always inspiring for me to you know, see couples. So salute to you guys. But then also you in the industry, like every industry where it's predominantly run by you know, people that don't look like us, not black owned company, there's not a lot of black

owned spirits companies. There's a lot of black ambassadors for spirits companies and black endorsers of other spirits companies, but there's not a lot of black owned spirit company So how has that been as far as you know, hurdles and things of that nature. I don't know how it is in Canada, but you know, racism is everywhere all over the world.

Speaker 6

So that's the pandemic that we're not talking about.

Speaker 3

Yeah, that's that's never going to stop. So how has that been as far as your journey being a black owned spirits brand?

Speaker 8

Yeah, I think that in Quebec here we were really lucky to have like, you know, the support of the Haitian community, the Caribbean community, and you know, the multicultural community in general. So I mean, yes, there were some hurdles, but I think that one thing that we want to you know, have people take away from this conversation is really like we need to get educated, right, we need

to especially in the alcohol industry. We know how our community love their alcohol, right, Like everyone loves to drink, but it's like when you guys go to the liquor store next door, you know, make sure that you your bottle of wine. Make sure that you ask like is this do you do you carry let's say the mid Bright Sisters, which is a black owned brand, do you carry? You want some rose? Do you carry La fet Rose? Which is owned by exactly like a black ceo. This

is a premium liquor, a premium wine. A premium rose comes from Sentropez Like, this is really like very nice, you know, wine to drink. So people need to get educated and every after your work, I don't know, you want to unwine. Normally people go for Baileys. Well, now you know that Els Cream is black owned, So it's really like people need to get educated just to understand the impact that you know, buying from black owned companies

will do, we'll have on the community itself. So in general, that's really what we want you guys to take away in the audience. But at the same time, especially in the States, it was really important for us to penetrate that market so that we you know, open the doors and have a table where everyone that looked like us could actually join and you know, be part of the journey. So that's really a mission that we really think, we really want to happen, and that's that's our mission.

Speaker 7

You know, yeah, yes, I.

Speaker 4

Think I think it's it's funny because I love talking about this subject because the love has been real. You know, as you guys said, as we all said, uh, starting your lickup business is not easy. And actually because you have to do you have to please a lot of people. You have to please your distributor, you have to please the retailer, and you have to please the customer.

Speaker 6

Right.

Speaker 4

So after you're able to make that sell into the store, you need to actually have people go in and buying the product.

Speaker 7

Right.

Speaker 4

So in Quebec is where we actually made a lot of seals. The reason is simple is because the ACQ they have they have a four they have four hundred stores across Quebec, right that are really beautiful stores, a lot distribution. So we were able to have quantities going in there and sell out really fast, right in different

points across the whole province. So there was a lot of people, a lot of white people that bought l scream a lot because in Quebec, me and Miriam were seen as this couple, Quebec based couple that started the liquor. You know, that's the whole prerogative, right, So people see that we're black. So for white people, it's like, oh my god, this is so fun. This is the equivalency of what they want people that assimilate quote unquote to their culture in a sense, you know, so.

Speaker 7

They go gonna go ahead and support that.

Speaker 4

They're gonna be like, okay, this this is the kind of black people quote unquote that we like to support sort of you know and such. In the States, it's completely different, like like prerogative because over here, you guys are doing really well on the business aspect, you know, in quebec Us were another completely like we're actually the only black owned brand in the A s Q right now in since like you know, like that's totally minority

owned and so forth. Like at least in the States you can see there's a couple, you.

Speaker 3

Know, but I mean, but there's also there's also a prerogative at the whole point. There's also a lot more people in the States too, So I don't even know if we don't I don't even know if we're doing I don't know if we're doing that much better because it's like outside of you know, shout out to whole one hundred percent black owned Champagne with ace of space. But he's a billionaire. You know that's different. But I don't know too many. You named a few people I wasn't aware of.

Speaker 5

Yeah, story that everyone needs to go and research because it's amazing.

Speaker 8

I mean, you know, what's your name of Fun Weaver? Sorry about Weaver, which is an amazing African American women. She's like, I don't know, I don't even have words to respect her. Actually revealed the history the story of Jack Daniels Jack Daniels, and she went on afterwards to open her own distillery and now we have a black owned, fully black owned whiskey. You know. So that's that's the type of things that we need to do so that we have more people on our table.

Speaker 5

So you guys, I know y'all met in business school, right and obviously you did their research into this. Were these the people that you were looking to as inspiration that, yo, I.

Speaker 6

Could we could actually do this?

Speaker 7

My inspiration was j Z.

Speaker 6

That's it.

Speaker 7

Was j Z. Like at a young age.

Speaker 4

I mean, I have two major inspirations on my side because I've I've been She's Miriam. She's not gonna say it because she does a lot for the business. But I'm basically the whirlwinding a life that just took it in. But but I've been I've been on the business side since I was six years old, so so like I was doing coming books and selling them to the people

in my class and stuff like that. But to be honest with you, guys, like listening to Tupac made me stay in school and like, you know, just and then listening to jy Z was more like, Okay, this is what we need to do, right, you know that the inspired to to have an empire, but just have a business.

Speaker 9

Mind, you know, shout to hold the blue print show.

Speaker 3

But let me let me, let me let me ask you this as far as so with the liquor, right manufacturing it?

Speaker 9

How do you make this stuff?

Speaker 3

Because it's like shaty chef Calvin, but he was making it in his he still makes it manually.

Speaker 9

But you guys, you guys, I'm assuming have an operation.

Speaker 3

So how's that You got like a warehouse, you got workers, Like, what's what's the process of actually making the liquor?

Speaker 7

Yeah?

Speaker 4

So the process is is that once the cream leaves the facility, Okay, it goes to the bottler. Okay, and then at the bottling factory. At at the bottler, everything gets bottled the caps. So you need to have the bottle, you need to have the cabs, need to put them together.

Speaker 7

You have to put the liquid inside and then put it together.

Speaker 4

Right. We're fortunate because our bottle LS Scream is custom made. I mean it costs a little bit more to have a custom made bottle. But are labeling. It's already printed on the bottle, right, so we don't need to apply labels, so that would be another and another.

Speaker 7

Step to do.

Speaker 4

But regardless of this, once everything is bottle and ready to ship, we actually ship.

Speaker 7

To our warehouse.

Speaker 4

We have one warehouse and in Miami, another one in New Jersey, and the other one in California. Now when I say that we have a warehouse, it's not exactly that you need to have an approved warehouse where you can share with other liquor brands.

Speaker 7

Right.

Speaker 4

So one closest to you guys in New York is called Western Carriers. People that are interested into liquor can look into it.

Speaker 7

Western Carriers, I think, is the side.

Speaker 4

Of fifteen foot ball fields, Okay, and it's completely huge, and inside this warehouse you have a different. You have a section that is also unbunded territory, which means that you actually have border patrol agents within that factory that protects products that are not tax paid yet. Right, So it's a whole different image of what people think of the simple warehouse with the door that just closes. No, it's highly secured, highly A lot of companies use it.

So you're going there, you have like maybe a million brands in there. And when we're there, so I remember the first time I went there, they took us in and we took a jeep and we drove for like fifteen minutes to get to our stuff.

Speaker 9

So it's like it's like a storage facility.

Speaker 4

Yeah, exactly, it's a storage facility for alcohol.

Speaker 5

So your bottles are getting put in case how many bottles in a case field? Twelve twelves in a case at today?

Speaker 6

Leave that.

Speaker 5

Now they're getting distributed to different retailers. And do you own the truck in? What is that process? Like you financing it?

Speaker 6

What are we doing?

Speaker 7

Yeah? So for the deliveries, it's pretty simple. You have to have a So for example, for New York, we have a solicitor.

Speaker 4

Right, you need to apply for to have a solicitor which needs to have a valid driving's license from New York, so you're able to take your truck and you're able to go pick up merchandise and deliver it to retailers.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 7

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Speaker 4

A b office company help us get all of that paperwork done legally, right, so it's sort of like a lawyer. It's like a lawyer company like that helps us be able to get the legal paperwork and we do that also for the same thing for Florida. That makes us able to take the product from the warehouse and deliver it to the retailers that are interested.

Speaker 7

In the product.

Speaker 9

So how many how many states are you in America?

Speaker 7

So brick and mortar when Florida.

Speaker 4

So if you're Florida today, you can look on the website and you'll be able to find at least fifty stores where that we sell the product at.

Speaker 7

Because we just got into Total Wines, which is.

Speaker 4

Like a big brand over there, right, So that's one thing. But online we're available in thirty three states, so people in thirty three states can order, so California.

Speaker 7

Illinois, and New Jersey, Massachusetts and so forth.

Speaker 3

So most most of the distribution is coming via online.

Speaker 8

Yeah, exactly, yep. So that's one Actually, that's one of the you know, the points that we want to reach in twenty twenty is to have distribution, to be able to exactly be able to just have one distributor that will himself go into the stores and put our product in, because by ourselves, it's really it's not the easiest thing, especially in New York.

Speaker 5

So you said that you have a brick and mortar, right, what's the difference between the on premise and off premise locations.

Speaker 4

So on premise is the restaurants and bars. Off premise is going to be the retailers. So that's why, like the articles that have been coming out because of the pandemic, is gonna be more in the sense that off premise, I've seen a spike in cells because all the restaurants were closed, right, So so that's what you're gonna see. But also I wanted to point out that sort of what we're talking about that a not a lot of

people that look like us in this industry. Distribution is aub Right, So right now, what's happening is that?

Speaker 7

Give you an example. The best example I use is Massachusetts.

Speaker 4

Okay, there's a big community of African American in Boston and specifically Asians in Boston that want to have the product and would like to go into the store and get the product.

Speaker 7

Well, it doesn't matter what's the demand.

Speaker 4

There's three distributors in Massachusetts that have the right to distribute, and if they don't like ls scream, we cannot sell in.

Speaker 7

A brick and mortar over there.

Speaker 4

Right, And every states have their own laws specific to those distributors.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 4

Other states they have one hundred distributors. Other other states they have one that are the control states.

Speaker 7

Right.

Speaker 4

So so if people are wondering, oh, that's that's hard, why can I not find a product in Texas? Well, you know it's it's it's the same thing. It's you need to go over there. You need to sell your product to the distributor, and they have the fate of the of your product in yours, you know. So and some of them they don't even care about yourselves, you know, like it's just a question of if they already have Bailey's why why bother.

Speaker 8

And I mean just to continue on that. It's the fact also that if we go into the States, let's say we wanted to be in the publics, in public stores, okay, at the grocery grocery store, Well, if we don't do business with want a specific type of distributor, then they won't even look at us. So it's really like there's so many barriers that have to you know, we have we have to bring them. We're not saying that we're not able to do that. I think it's just a

lot of work. And again, we just need to have more people that look like us, that understand the culture, that understand that we're not necessarily trying to take the place of Bailey's because I don't think that Baileyes cater to caters necessarily to the demography that we cater cater to.

Speaker 7

It's not the same taste. It doesn't taste at all. It's not the same taste at all.

Speaker 8

And it's more like a moth cultural demographics that we're targeting. Right, So we need people. Again, I keep on saying it because I really want to pass this message, but we need more people at the top levels of this distribution of these type of distribution companies so that we could have we could be distributed and being seeing stores that as Billies or other type of source.

Speaker 5

So out of the thirty three states that you're in, right, we won't include the other the seventeen that you're not.

Speaker 6

Which ones have had the toughest.

Speaker 5

I know you mentioned Virginia and Pennsylvania, which ones have had some of the You've had some real issues getting like it would be tough for somebody who's trying to distribute it.

Speaker 4

I mean if you're meaning brick and mortars again, like Massachusetts is one of them, and after that Georgia is one of them because Georgia you don't have the right to do tastings, right, So what's going to happen is that you're going to do a pitch to a distributor, but he's gonna say, okay, but you need to invest this amount of dollars into.

Speaker 7

The into the marketing or else we're not going to take you in.

Speaker 4

And then they're gonna throw out an agregeous number you know out you that you know they know that for a startup you can't it doesn't make any sense, you know. So so they're basically even when they buy the product, they low vall you into like you know, and in a way, we have no support and and and that's simple, as simple as that, as simple as that.

Speaker 7

So everything that you see is that some people are.

Speaker 4

Able to do it, but we want to create our own distribution, our own distribution so that we we don't need to rely on those people to like us to be able to take in our product.

Speaker 7

That that's that's the endgame.

Speaker 3

So so let me ask you this, because marketing is the is the key to any business success. So how how do you guys market Because especially with liquor, we we've seen marketing, you know, through social media, but mainly what's really helped these brands is being artists, rappers and user in America and musicians really pushed the needle. If you look at a brand like Sarak, if you look at Hypnotic and a lot of episodes that we've done.

Once again shout out to Nick Storm but Hennessy. Once artists started to champion these brands, even going back to Crystal Champagne. Yeah, if anybody's not familiar with the Crystal Champagne situation, Christal was a champagne brand for years before before any rapper started to champion it, and it was like,

you know, there was a decent size company. But then when Rest in Peace Notorious Big, when he started rapping about crystal and the gold bottles, and then Jay just kind of took it to the next level, and then every rapper in the late nineties early two thousands they had a crystal bottle in there. That business skyrocketed like a thousand percent in a few years, and it was

directly related to hip hop. And then they asked the CEO or the company, you know how he felt about rappers endorsing the products, and he's like, I never asked these people to endorse anything. He's think that they should. They should drink what don Perry on something like that. He said they should, they should drink another champagne. Like, we don't really want that that kind of image for

our brand. So I say all that to say, you know, it's unfortunate, but you know, we have a very large cultural influence and a lot of times is used for the for the wrong company, for the wrong people. So what kind of marketing have have you guys done, and have you used influencers, whether it's musicians or I saw you got to have yourweight a boxer that. Yeah, there's a lot of boxes in Montreal. What's the what's the

what's the Yeah? Yeah, so yeah, what kind of what's your marketing what's your marketing plan?

Speaker 7

Yeah, exactly what you said.

Speaker 4

Influencers, Uh, linking up with artists, that's pretty that's pretty much a goal. But again, I think we don't want to go too fast because we could ink a huge artist right now, it's nothing to do us any.

Speaker 7

Good because we're not everywhere yet.

Speaker 4

We want to be so that people can actually turn around and go get the product.

Speaker 7

Right now, we're still.

Speaker 4

In the phase where we're using social media platforms, social media ads to let the people know about the product, and it's been working just because of COVID. We've flipped around focused on Internet seals and it works, you know.

So people are buying the product and that's a rare feat because when you think about it, buying alcohol online, not everybody you know around you do that, right, So we've been able to sell a lot of bottles since the beginning of this pandemic and people responding greatly to it, you know, buying two, three, four, even some people buying.

Speaker 7

Cases, you know. So that's that's something that's really for us focused on and.

Speaker 4

We're gonna partner up with the right people when the time is right, because we want the leverage that distributor and jest of that of that artist so that everything works together and we can have a proper quote unquote launch.

Speaker 7

You know.

Speaker 8

And I think that's one of the main reasons why we we know that there's something there with Elie Cream. We've done most of the marketing is was like from mouth to ear. Most of our first orders from the SEQ and also like in in New York and the States, Uh, they were sold out right, and that was with no no big marketing campaigns. There was really like Okay, there's this young black couple their Haitian. I heard, like the

bottle is really nice. They're they're they're they're commercializing hemas what is it?

Speaker 7

Like?

Speaker 8

It was strictly from worth the mouth. So we know that there's something there. That's what we keep on pushing. And like Stephen said, I think that when the right partner will come in, that's when we're just gonna go ahead and uh and reach for the stars.

Speaker 7

Dope.

Speaker 3

So another question that I had that it sounds like this costs a lot, like to manufacture it tend to to have warehouses and distributing all of that. So what's the profit margin? Because I'm assuming a bottle? How much is your bottle? How much?

Speaker 4

So it's it's right now, it's a I mean, it depends on the state, right, So if you go online you'll be able to find it between seventeen dollars to around twenty three dollars.

Speaker 7

It depends on the state, right. Same thing as that if you go into retail.

Speaker 3

Yeah, so it is it prop like is that is it like thin thin profit margins in a lick of business?

Speaker 4

It sounds actually good profits. So it's actually a big margin. So we're talking about around in between forty to sixty five percent.

Speaker 9

Okay, that's very good.

Speaker 3

I just sound like a lot because but that's a good profit margin forty sixty percent Yeah all right, Yeah, I was gonna say that the initial investment is a lot, right, but after that, if you keep at it, you can recoup pretty fast what you invested.

Speaker 5

Are you finding it that your target audience like the West Indies, You're finding that the cities that have large populations of people from the West, that's where your number one audiences are.

Speaker 7

Yeah, one hundred percent, one hundred percent.

Speaker 4

I think I think what we're doing with LS is that we're using the culture to we're piggybacking up the culture to present LS as a cool cream as an alternative. So basically, the the proposition is if first first proposition is if you used to drain cream liquor or cream liquor, switch switch to LS cream, right, So that's our first proposition. So and then afterwards we're able to say, Okay, we've won these metals. The product is gluten free culture of

natural ingredients. Now we can go tackle other types of demographics, still using the culture as something like we're just using this to be different aspect, an alternative on the shelf.

Speaker 7

You know. That's how we got into total lines.

Speaker 8

And it's good.

Speaker 6

Yeah. What's the reaction like when y'all when y'all.

Speaker 5

Visit Haiti or have you heard the feedback in Haiti when you hear it like your story?

Speaker 4

Well, I mean I can say because I was able to go, Okay, I'm not gonna.

Speaker 8

I'm gonna let me. I'm not gonna.

Speaker 4

I was able to go to eighty because you know, AB eighty has been unstable for.

Speaker 7

A couple of years, you know.

Speaker 4

But I went to for the first time in twenty thirteen after we won the gold medal. So there was actually news outlets over there, newspapers and TV networks that wanted to interview me to talk about, you know, our success with the brand.

Speaker 7

Right.

Speaker 4

So they because it was the first time that they heard that somebody was making a professional, professional version of kimas right, So it was really dope. So the reception over there was amazing. Like I it was my first time going back to going to Haiti, and I went back two times after and it was like, listen, people have no idea what they're missing if they've never been.

Speaker 8

We got this temp of approval, but at the same time, you know, the older generation, they're like, this is not as I know it, Like it doesn't taste, you know, like your grandmother used to do it because of what we said for the process that we need to stabilize, stabilize the the recipe and all of that. So but still I think we got the the stamp of approvals from from the community.

Speaker 3

How is how is how is the situation in Haiti right now? I mean, yeah, we see so many things on the news and uh it looks pretty discouraging, to be honest. So like, what's the what's the Because there's a lot of Haitians that live in New York, there's a lot of Haitians that live in Miami. Shots to my guy, Mike, Gee, he's somebody. Actually i'mna introduce you to I'll talk I'll talk to you about off camera.

Speaker 9

But yes, that is so, Yeah, how is it? How is it?

Speaker 5

What?

Speaker 9

What's the? Yeah? I just want to know what's going on out there.

Speaker 8

I think Haiti is uh you know, they're they're struggling over there, and it's I don't think it's easy. One thing to the other keeps on coming. We have the earthquake, we have the this what the hurricanes, the hurricanes that come in and out, and then COVID right, so it's not going too well. I think every time that they're trying to get back on their feet, something else comes in.

But that's why we want also to partner up with organizations such as we're we're starting conversation with Hope Hope for Haiti, which is a big organization that does a lot of things. Uh in Haiti, so that we could also you know, try to help and contribute to to what's going on over there. So whether it is for mask or just give us support. So we're trying to figure out something with them to see how we can help.

Speaker 3

Yeah, once again, salute to Haiti. So all right, in the last segment, we're going to bring it home. We're gonna talk about the scaling model moving forward, and I think we're gonna do a tasting as well.

Speaker 9

So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's let's do it. Let's do it.

Speaker 3

All right, So we're going to start this segment off with the first time ever earned Alesia situation. We're gonna do a taste testing. And now this is one hundred percent organic. We have not tasted the product yet. They sent us a few bottles, but we didn't get a chance. Yeah that's a fact. The bottle is frozen. You can see the bottles froze. Yeah, we have not We have not got a chance to sample the product yet. So we're doing this direct. We're doing straight online and yeah,

you know we're gonna do it. This is like I said, we don't we did it first. Yeah, shout out to Al Harrington. We did his uh, his company. I don't smoke, so I didn't sample any I didn't sample any of his edibles.

Speaker 9

I don't smoke. I barely drink.

Speaker 3

I hope my parents aren't watching this, so you know, on occasion, on special occasions, i'll chair so chairs.

Speaker 7

Look thank you again.

Speaker 9

No, that's the leap, that's elite, that's leap. I like this, Drake Champs.

Speaker 7

The turn.

Speaker 9

It just turned into drinks.

Speaker 6

Here, let's do it.

Speaker 9

No, that's that's the lee.

Speaker 6

That's no.

Speaker 3

I like that. That's a nice like a it's like a coffee blend. Like yo, it's dope. My wife said, we're gonna put that on our French shows tomorrow.

Speaker 5

Now this this, this above, she said, don't finish She said, don't finish it all.

Speaker 9

I said, all right, oh yeah, fresh a vibe. I'm not gonna sit here and hold you this. This is vibe.

Speaker 6

I liked it.

Speaker 9

I like it.

Speaker 3

So talking about Canada, all right, So are you guys more focused on growing the business in America or are you more focused on growing the business in Canada or is it a combination of both.

Speaker 7

It's a combination of both.

Speaker 4

But Canada is thirty five million people united States is three hundred and fifty million people. So of course, like any logical businessman would say, like the US, I mean, we we the goal was always to make it in the US and that's what we're on. The strike to do Canada was just I mean Quebec specifically was just you know, like a some kind of a detour if you may, because again, laquer boards are really hard to get into and we got really lucky because the buzz

we were making in the States. So now this is a story, right, So a couple from Canada, from Montreal that starts a liquor needs to start in the States because it's so hard to get in their own home, you know, to get in because over there you talk about a boys club. It's basically media pressure that put the product on the shelf over here, right, so so so yeah, So basically our goal was always the US, always, always, always, so yeah.

Speaker 8

But we're still grateful the opportunity to turn our products at home and on the shelves.

Speaker 5

Of basic All we think about I know, the United States at international for you guys, but what about you know, across the pond. You know there's a large west in the in popular in the UK, specifically London, Africa that a continent. You know, I think seeing something like this would be aspirational and could be beneficial. Is that something you guys are looking forward to as well?

Speaker 7

One hundred percent?

Speaker 4

France, UK A lot of conversations, but we don't want to stretch ourselves to thin. So we have a couple of key milestones that we wanted that we want to achieve in the States before we even consider shipping abroad.

Speaker 7

So in just in terms of logistics.

Speaker 4

We don't think that we're ready to do that unless something major would would fall on our lot. But in terms of scaling the business properly, uh, we think we need to achieve those milestones to be able to uh uh to to to be able to target the UK and France.

Speaker 9

So okay, are you guys all right?

Speaker 3

So as far as the province is, are you able to do business in Toronto?

Speaker 9

Which is Artio? Are you key?

Speaker 7

Is the same thing? So you know what it was?

Speaker 4

Actually, the ACQ and LCBO are pretty similar in the way they run their business, so it's a one strike your out kind of mentality over there.

Speaker 7

So we knew going to the ac Q, which is in.

Speaker 4

Quebec our home that we were going to be a success, right and we were right. So first order sold out, sec an order sold out, and so more so until right now where the product is in a large majority of the stores and now we're just people are buying it selling out, but they can reorder at the same time from their warehouse LCBO. If we go in there and we're not able to how can I say this, do the home run from the beginning. They're not going

to reorder afterwards, you know. So we know that Ontario they like a lot what's going on in the States. So we're making it a success in the States before going to Ontario, so the same way surrog did. Right, So surrog made a success here and then they went to Ontario and then boom.

Speaker 3

Well, I'll tell you what, if you're interested, hopefully this time next year every thing will clear up.

Speaker 9

We have a pop up shop in Caraban e y L E y L.

Speaker 3

Supposed to We'll have we'll have LS as the official liquor sponsor and that that that'll be crazy, that'll.

Speaker 7

Be all vibe.

Speaker 8

A lot of people are disappointed about Carabana being canceled this year.

Speaker 6

Right, my heart is broken. It's broke good for sure.

Speaker 9

For sure, sure don't worry you guys.

Speaker 4

Like we can we were Legitimately, we're happy that we can do business in Canada because the fact that we're in the SQ, there's ways for us to be able to send the liquor over there, even if it would not be on the shelf yet. For example, there's still ways to put it on the shelf one hundred percent, Like we could do taste things and stuff like that, even if it's not in all the stores in the LCB, or we could have one store habit and stuff like that.

Speaker 5

So each province has its own alcohol corporation, so British Columbia, Nova Scotia, they.

Speaker 6

All have their own, so you have to go through this process for each one.

Speaker 3

Yep, and Vancouver too, British Columbia. That's British Columbia. Shout out to Vancouver. We got some some love out of there too. So all right, So this is interesting too because how has business been during this pandemic Because I was in Brooklyn, Shotut to bk that's our biggest market in the in the world, which also has a lot of Haitians in Brooklyn, a lot of West Indians everybody in Brooklyn is the West Indies.

Speaker 6

Or Jamaicans in Brooklyn, and actually Jamaica yeah, big fat.

Speaker 3

Yeah, Brooklyn is heavy. So when I was in Brooklyn, like right right around it started the lockdown. We're in New York. So if you if you're not familiar New York, we're still on lockdown. I don't know when this will come out, but we'll probably still be on lockdown. And it's like one of the strictest in the world because we have one of the worst I think it is the worst in the world as far as Corona is concerned. But only a few businesses are are left open, which

what they deemed as essentral businesses. Liquor stores have been left open. Yeah, yeah, liquor stores have been left over at their essential businesses. And I went to the liquor store, like right before that announcement was made, like early in March, and I was in the liquor store in Brooklyn and the guy was saying that they did New Year's numbers for the last two days. Like they was doing like the store usually does like three thousand dollars a day,

they did eighteen thousand dollars. And he was saying that business was booming. So what I realized is that I guess the reason why they deemed these liquor stores essential is because people need some kind of outlet to you know, to get away from from staying inside all day. So has your how has business been for you during this pandemic?

Speaker 7

It's been great.

Speaker 4

So basically we saw an influx of sales in all the stores in Florida and online. So so basically, if you compare it to last year, like it's a no brainer. But I think it's just a question of people making reserves, right, So because they don't know what's gonna happen, they say, hey, if I get stuck home, I want.

Speaker 7

My liquor with me, the same way they want their toilet paper.

Speaker 5

So you've been watching our news, they really see it the same way.

Speaker 4

So it's gonna be it's gonna be liquor and toilet paper for them, and they're gonna be good.

Speaker 8

I mean, like, there's a lot of people that are seeing this pandemic. You know, it's it's it's hard on everyone. It is still hard on us, even though we were able to pivot. But I mean, I think it's also a type of blessing, Okay, a type of blessing just because I you know, we were able to like focus, refocus, reshift, you know, do a lot of pr get in contact with people, things that we necessarily don't have time usually

to do. So. At the same time, yes, it's a hard time for for all of us, but I think that we just have to change a bit of our mindset and try to take out the positive out of all of that.

Speaker 7

Yeah.

Speaker 5

One of the things that I read about, and you know, I admire is the fact that you guys are doing mentorship and internship programs.

Speaker 6

Correct.

Speaker 5

Yeah, because it's not good enough that you make it, it's also good you know that you pave a way for somebody else to make it. And that's kind of where we were rooted in is we actually were found it in an internship program, having kids come and tell us about their.

Speaker 6

Future aspirations and then going out and find it.

Speaker 5

You want to talk about the internship programs and mentorship programs that you guys are part of.

Speaker 4

Yeah, So basically what we did is that we did we did an interview where we spoke about the internship and basically what we wanted to do is that we're simply gathering people that sent us the resumes basically, and we're based at well it was a little bit prior to COVID, right, but we're still getting the resumes and we're.

Speaker 7

Gonna contact them.

Speaker 4

We're gonna do basically interviews with them and see the which one that the most and some of them are going to come on the boat basically with us, and they're they're going to see the rise and grind of the liquor business, you know. And we just want to be models in the community over here in Montreal and be.

Speaker 7

Able to to to.

Speaker 4

Help people that are in need because we have those emails and those d ms.

Speaker 7

We have them, and I mean.

Speaker 8

Like we've been going to schools also talking to the youth, you know, you know, just sharing our story. So that's been a really good thing as well. So yeah, and the thing is also I just want to add, like you know, it's I think it's a business again that is really difficult to be into and there was not

necessarily any doors that were open for us. We're doing this, We're building this from the ground up, and I think that it's our responsibility after that we break all these doors that after that we take on people you know, under our wings and actually help them to go into that business. So it's really we're we're doing it for generational, generational wealth, We're doing it for the Black community, for

the multicultural community, whoever. But I mean, it's it's something that's really really important for us.

Speaker 3

So let me ask you this as far as like, we had a vendom machine episode and that's one of our biggest episodes. Shout out to Kashif, good guy, and you know, I asked him, like, you know, with vending machines, it's like, I'm like, do you have a feel like you have a certain responsibility because like childhood obesity is crazy right now, and it's like, you know, you got a lot of sugar candy, And he was saying, like, you know, he tries to make some healthy items in there.

So I say that to say, liquor is legal and everybody has a right to drink liquor, but also obviously, you know it has some some a lot of negative side effects. I have done too much, anything done in too and excess, it's gonna be harmful, but you know it's had some some really negative side effects, pecially in

our community. So do you have an initiative or do you do You think it's it's up to you guys to like, you know, kind of help people understand too, you know, drink responsibly and to you know, how do you do you think about that at all?

Speaker 7

Or yeah?

Speaker 4

I mean me personally, I think about it a lot. I think it's really important that also we realize that it's more of a question of like you said, it is legal, but at the same time, we can just add to whatever's being done right now and inside of our community. I mean, we know that we're not pushing ads to children, you know, we're not making the you know, are making it accessible to people that are underage or or.

Speaker 7

Or so forth.

Speaker 4

I mean that's where our partners also, you know, like we know that if we partner with the A s Q, they're not going to sell to to minors or so forth, right, you know, So we.

Speaker 7

Feel comfortable with that.

Speaker 4

And in terms of the initiative, of course, I mean, if if we talk to school, we're going to talk about entrepreneurship.

Speaker 7

We're not going to talk about the joy of drinking liquor, you.

Speaker 6

Know, So it's legal.

Speaker 5

Ladies eighteen in Quebec right said legal age is eighteen in Quebec.

Speaker 8

Right, Yeah, that's what we get. A lot of Americans they came down over here.

Speaker 4

But yeah, but but I mean it is something that we think about. And but again, I mean anything can be deemed you know, problematic at some point.

Speaker 7

It's just like maybe except water, I guess.

Speaker 3

But I think moderate, I think I think moderation is the key. I think moderation is the key. And you have to you know, understand that, you know, anything can be harmful if you do it too much and excessive. So yeah, you know, I just wanted to put that out there because alcohol, alcoholism is a real thing and a lot of people suffer from alcoholism. So you know, it's it's it's one of these things where like you know,

like I said, I drink. I'm not a heavy drinker, but I do enjoy it every once in a while. But I just think that, you know, as long as it's done tastefully, drink classically, drink responsibly, act accordingly.

Speaker 9

That's a that's a fact.

Speaker 6

Really quick. I know you said that, you know, business is doing good.

Speaker 5

The online presence was that something that you built post Corona or had that been developed pre Corona?

Speaker 6

Right, because I know that's something that you do with right.

Speaker 5

Now with a lot of the stores being closed, well not closed, but it changes with Corona, your online presence was already something that.

Speaker 6

You had built.

Speaker 4

So the online the online presence ramp up, No, lie, one hundred percent. I mean I'm I'm more in front of my screen that I was ever before producing content for you know, to help us, you know, expand our brand.

Speaker 7

So it's definitely one hundred percent. It ramp up.

Speaker 4

So we we had a good online presence before, but right now what we're doing, what we plan to do. Like but it's fun because even when things are going to open up more, we're still.

Speaker 7

Gonna keep that same online presence.

Speaker 4

So like covid was like a blessing in disguise in multiple facets of the business.

Speaker 6

Yeah, I know you got the podcast going.

Speaker 7

There you go.

Speaker 4

You know you guys are coming other podcast.

Speaker 6

I saw, I saw you on the podcast.

Speaker 9

Let's do it for sure.

Speaker 8

So I mean, like when we're talking about the stores we mentioned that we were, we just got into total winds a few stores in Florida. The thing is now since we're not able to cross the border, we're not able to do tastings, you know, So it's we had to find another way to put our bottles out. So even like with Total Wines now in Florida, you can directly order through Instacart, So that's a way that people could still get their bottles delivered right to their doorstep.

Speaker 7

And yeah, instac cart is really cool.

Speaker 4

Like we didn't even know about it before Covid, Like COVID forced us to know about Instacart.

Speaker 5

There's another thing and I just found it when I was doing research for you guys with Spirit Network. It's actually, like I said, it's like a home shopping network.

Speaker 6

For just the spirits industry.

Speaker 5

So what it does is like you're allowed to create content almost like commercials or ads that can be like five to seven minutes and it only goes on it and people can literally shop from their TV to buy out. So like that's like a really cool. Yeah, it's a really creative way. Hopefully you guys can be on there and hopefully the sales go up even further.

Speaker 3

Yeah, Amazon to get into the liquor industry as well, so that's something that that's something to pay attention to.

Speaker 9

Amazon. And yeah, I didn't I didn't know.

Speaker 3

About the delivery the delivery liquor service either until somebody introduced it to me during COVID nineteen. A friend of mine was telling me about it, and I'm like, oh, that's crazy. I didn't know that they deliver liquor, but apparently too. Oh yeah, yeah, so yeah apparently.

Speaker 6

Yeah, yeah, restaurants were doing that for a while.

Speaker 9

So yeah.

Speaker 3

I tell people all the time, if you don't have if you don't have a way to get money online, you don't really have a business. So this is a perfect example of that where you can't just rely on the mom and pop liquor stores. And like you said, there's so much politics and stuff like that. Anyway, that is probably even harder. But before we wrap it up,

I actually had a question about that. If you are in a mom and pop store, how did they buy that on consignment like those cases on consignment or they just buy it, they just buy it.

Speaker 7

I mean, every state have their own laws in terms of when they need to pay.

Speaker 4

Uh so for so some some states is ten days, other states is thirty days.

Speaker 7

And same thing for distributors, right, so most distributors is going to be thirty days.

Speaker 4

But again that's every state have their own rules about that.

Speaker 7

You know. It's uh, it's it's really complicated.

Speaker 4

Every state, like for example, like Vegas, it's hyper complicated when you want to ship liquor over there.

Speaker 7

So judge with the test.

Speaker 4

Go go through your postal office, your local postal office, have a bottle of liquor, and tell them to ship it to another state.

Speaker 5

See what happens, gos Well, we got all.

Speaker 3

It's it's been a pleasure. We got to come up there for the Formula one race. I've been wanting to do that for a long time. That's a that's guys, Yeah, Formula one race. So yeah, we gotta do something together in Canada. But before we wrap this up, how can you how can people contact you? How can they purchase ls? Social media all that information?

Speaker 4

Okay, Well, the first of all, they can go on the website creamls dot com. So creamls dot com. You have all the story there, all the links to buy. You can choose your state, you can choose your city like in terms of to find sorry, to find a store like in Florida. So that's the first thing. Also on social media on Instagram, ls creamlica. So it's like a French twist on it, so but if you write ls scream, you'll be able to find it on Instagram.

We're also on Facebook and Twitter with the same handles. So yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it.

Speaker 8

I guess ye.

Speaker 9

Sure, house keeping it on.

Speaker 6

Yeah, shout out to this LS cream though. This is really good.

Speaker 5

Yeah, everybody on patreon dot com, thank you for supporting us for the drivation of Elisia.

Speaker 7

Man.

Speaker 5

You our patrons have been amazing. We got a new patron at Tier five, Nark or Nrek hopefully I'm pronouncing that right. She joined Ler. She joined that Tier five, So we're happy to have you. Obviously. You know that being a Tier four or five member and Patreon gives you access to ey L University, our online school, the number one online school for business and entrepreneurship, and we have our private Facebook real estate group in there too

that has been going crazy. Shout out to everybody that's been part of our book club and our movie club that has been going crazy. The community has literally taken over our book club. So that that is as a teacher, man, there's no better reward than having the class actually facilitate the lesson, So that that is amazing. And everybody that's been supporting our merch or in leisure dot com. We

really appreciate it. We got some new stuff out. We recently just trademark some things, so be on the lookout.

Speaker 9

Yeah for sure.

Speaker 3

Shout out to euy L University dot com is one of the dopest platform v dopest platform for educational learning. And shout out to all of our listeners once again all over the world. This is something that we're going to do a lot of. We're going to have interviews with people and Europe, in Africa, in Asia, Canada, South America. We had it to these places. Physically go there. This COVID situation is up. We definitely gonna be in Canada.

Speaker 6

That shout out.

Speaker 5

Shout out to everybody on YouTube. Our YouTube support has been crazy.

Speaker 6

We went over.

Speaker 5

Eighty thousand subscribers and everybody that's been tuning into our YouTube show Market Mondays.

Speaker 3

Yeah, yeah, shout out to everybody and check out check out Market Monday. That's our latest stocks that's our new stock show on YouTube, exclusively on YouTube. So yeah, thank you guys for rocking with us. We appreciate it.

Speaker 8

We'll see we'll see you appreciate it seriously.

Speaker 3

Yeah, thanks anybody for listening. We'll see you next week. Peace, Peace, Coach.

Speaker 2

The energy out there felt different. What changed for the team today?

Speaker 10

It was the new game day scratches from the California Lottery players, everything.

Speaker 6

Those games sent the team's energy through the roof.

Speaker 2

Are you saying it was the off field play that made the difference on the field.

Speaker 10

Hey, little play makes your day, and today it made the game. That's all for now, Coach.

Speaker 7

One more question.

Speaker 2

Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco forty nine ers and Los Angeles Rams scratchers from the California Lottery. A little play can make your day.

Speaker 4

Peace.

Speaker 2

Play responsibly. Must be eighteen years or older to purchase play or claim

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