Moonshine Creek Distillery Donates $25,000 To Atlantic Food Banks
This story is part of a series called, Business Does Good, stories about Maritime companies contributing time and money to making their communities stronger.
FREDERICTON – Moonshine Creek Distillery is donating close to $1 for every bottle of their popular Chicken Bones Liqueur sold so far this holiday season to food banks across Atlantic Canada. That adds up to $25,000, given the popularity of the drink just introduced to the market last year.
“Like a lot of other companies, we’re seeing the kind of impact that this holiday season can have given the state of the economy and the pandemic,” said Jeremiah Clark, CEO of Moonshine Creek Distillery.
“Food security is a main concern for a lot of people and we’ve had some success this holiday season. Success comes from people choosing to support our local business. In return, we feel the need to give back to the community whenever we can.”
The donation will be broken down according to the sales of the product. New Brunswick food banks will receive $13,000, Nova Scotia will receive $5,000, PEI will receive $2,000, and Newfoundland will receive $5,000. The central food bank in each province will distribute the funds.
The donation comes as the popular Chicken Bones Liqueur continues to be a popular product across Atlantic Canada.
“PEI sold out, Nova Scotia sold out, Newfoundland is close to selling out and New Brunswick is getting close as well,” said Mathieu Collin, CFO of Moonshine Creek Distillery.
Collin says that more bottles of the liqueur are being distributed across the Atlantic provinces where the product is selling out.
Moonshine Creek’s popular product went to market with a change this year after failing to secure a licensing agreement with Ganong, who they collaborated with on the product’s inaugural launch in 2019. Clark insists the change came down to the terms of the agreement.
“Ultimately, it just came down to we just couldn’t come to terms on the agreement,” Clark said. “Definitely the pandemic plays a role and timing in a decision like that, but it’s certainly not something that either party has any bad feelings about. It’s just something that didn’t work out this time and we would still welcome the opportunity to work with them again.”
Despite operating without a Ganong licensing agreement, Moonshine Creek is proud of the Chicken Bones Liqueur’s popularity and has high hopes for its future.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that product were a focal point every year,” said Collin. “The company’s really listening to consumer feedback to make the product better as we go along and we really foresee this product becoming a staple of the holiday season here in the Maritimes.”
After expanding into other Atlantic provinces this year, the company is hoping to expand its product into Ontario in 2021.
“We’re getting a lot of interest from consumers in the Ontario market and we feel it would be a good marketing opportunity to let the product grow,” said Collin.
“It’s definitely a big step to get into their market,” said Clark. “They have so many LCBO locations so if we’re fortunate enough to get there and be successful, that would be a great opportunity for us to grow the company and build more.”
Moonshine Creek’s Chicken Bones Liqueur launched during the holiday season in 2019 and sold out the 14,000 bottles manufactured quickly, making them a coveted collector’s item across New Brunswick.
In 2020, Moonshine Creek prepared 50,000 bottles.
The product was developed during workshop sessions that Clark says in hindsight, seemed more like focus groups.
After creating separate chocolate and cinnamon liqueurs, the suggestion came to put them together and label them as chicken bones flavoured.
“It just evolved from there and took on a life of its own. I guess like a lot of things it might not be what you intended to do when you set out, but you listen to the consumers and you get a feel for the opportunities that are out there,” said Clark. “That’s kind of how this whole product evolved. Certainly not something in our original business plan. It took on a life of its own.”
Both Collin and Clark agree that the overwhelming demand for the product and the increase in emails and phone calls asking for updates indicated to them it would likely be a success again this year.
“We knew there was built-up anticipation from people that waited in line last year but couldn’t get one and wanted to be first in line this year. We did anticipate a good launch,” said Collin.
While the team expected there to be a slight dip in sales compared to last year due to the product’s limited supply, national media coverage, and the licensing deal with Ganong, they remained confident that the market was still excited for it.
“We knew there was a lot of fanfare for it,” said Clark. “We are always very thankful that people support local businesses like ours because we just can’t create products at the pricepoint like the very large commercial blenders. But, people are choosing to spend their hard-earned dollars on our products so we’re very thankful.”
The product is different from last year’s launch – after receiving assistance from the New Brunswick Innovation Fund and the innovation team at CCNB, the product became thicker with a real chocolate base.
“We want the product to have a long life and be the best it can be,” said Clark. “With that development, we know now that we will do other chocolate-based liqueurs and create a signature series of them.”
Beyond the Chicken Bones Liqueur, Moonshine Creek’s products include Apple Crumble Cider, Double Double Liquor, and Get’n Pickled – a spirit intended to be used in Caesars and Bloody Marys.
“I always say that we’re really thankful anybody supports us and takes an interest in the company,” said Clark. “It’s certainly something we’re very aware of it only happens because people believe in us and continue to support us. So I always want to say how thankful we are. These people keep the dream alive.”
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