Invest in Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda

Hard Sodas are the hottest beverage trend in 2016, and its only getting started! Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas incorporates a premium, craft element to the growing Hard Soda category that is expected to nearly double to $6.5 billion in sales by 2018. Garden Party will utilize key partnerships to create and produce the product without heavy capital investment, allowing the company to focus their resources on marketing and selling the brand.

Stephen Edds, Co-Founder/C.O.O.

Financial Summary

Previous Fundraise Summary

Security Type	Convertible Note
Investor Eligibility	All Investors
Minimum Investment	$2,500
Interest Rate	8.00%
Term	3 years

Offering Materials

There are no offering materials available for this business. Check back soon.

Learn about investing in convertible notes

Financial projections are subject to certain risks of the business and may not be achieved. Projections only contemplate projected cash flows, are unaudited and may not be formulated in accordance with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Consult the investment materials for more information on business specific risks and a discussion of the key risks that may impede the achievement of the revenue forecasts presented. There is no guarantee that an investment may achieve any level of return. Review our Risks of Investing before making an investment decision.

Garden Party Investor Video

‹ ›

Q&A

What market(s) are you in?

Product will launch through Monarch Beverage in 69 counties in Indiana through liquor stores, chain stores, bars, restaurants and other outlets approved to sell or serve alcoholic beverages. Through a strategic partnership with a major vodka brand (which will be announced soon,) we will be co-marketing our product in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky in 2016 and early 2017.

Customer Profile

According to Gallup, the number of adults in the US who consume alcoholic beverages has remained consistent for the past 50 years at 64% (appx 150 million.)
According a 2016 report from the food industry research firm Datassential, nearly 16% of adults drink beer on a daily basis, which is a higher consumption rate than non-alcoholic drinks such as specialty coffee and sports and energy drinks.
A 2011 report by the Global Health Institute at Ball State, found that in 2011, 51.6% of adults in Indiana classified themselves as regular drinkers.
According to a Nielsen report, 73% of women surveyed enjoy flavored alcohol beverages, with the number increasing to 92% for women between the ages of 21-34.
According to Chris Fehrnstrom, chief marketing officer for Constellation Brands, there are 62 million Millennials of legal drinking age in the Unites States, and in two years another eight million will celebrate turning 21.

To make a comparison, according to analysts at Rabobank, the hard cider alcohol market has doubled over the past decade, with over half of those consumers being women.

The end user of the Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas will be:

21-34 year-old Millennials (focused on, but not limited to, women);
College educated/graduates;
Higher income levels, either personally or via family;
Lives in a metropolitan area/college town;
Wine, craft beer and craft spirits drinkers.

4.6 Demographics for Indiana:

Key Demographics of the Garden Party launch market (based on 2010 census numbers):

4,578,226 - 21 and over
2,215,523 - 21 and over males
2,362,703 - 21 and over females
635,579 - 21-35 females
Breakdown by race (all ages):
- White: 84%
- African-American: 9%
- Hispanic/Latino: 6%

Population breakdown for target market area for Garden Party launch:

Indianapolis and surrounding counties
8 of the Top 10 counties by income (the other two are near Evansville, and are primarily agriculture/industrial areas)
Counties containing Indiana University (44,000 students,) Purdue (40,000) IUPUI (28,000), Ball State (20,500) Butler (4,800) and Notre Dame (2,000.)
By concentrating our initial efforts on 14 primary markets (out of the 96 counties,) this will allow for a more focused sales effort.

County	Median Household Income	18-24*	24-44	Total	Total potential audience **
Marion (Indianapolis)	$43,541	91,366	273,704	365,070	233,645
Hamilton (Fishers, Noblesville)	$81,947	21,601	84,457	106,058	67,877
Boone (Zionsville)	$68,594	4,748	15,536	20,284	12,982
Hancock (Greenfield)	$61,052	5,691	17,584	23,275	14,986
Hendricks (Avon)	$67,180	12,258	42,779	55,037	35,224
Johnson (Greenwood)	$61,629	12,779	39,013	51,792	33,147
Allen (Ft Wayne)	$48,714	34,388	94,833	129,221	82,701
Delaware (Muncie)	$51,394	23,491	25,136	48,627	31,121
Lake (NW Indiana)	$48,723	44,709	121,749	166,458	106,533
Monroe (Bloomington/IU)	$38,137	39,826	35,392	75,218	48,139
Porter (Valpo)	$60,889	15,443	42,640	58,083	37,173
St Joseph (South Bend/ND)	$44,644	29,572	66,627	96,199	61,567
Tippecanoe (Lafayette/Purdue)	$42,632	44,021	45,506	89,527	57,297
Vanderburgh County (Evansville)	$42,396	19,195	46,753	65,948	42,207
Indiana total	$54,390	399,088	951,709	1,350,797	864,510
United States total	$51,914	31,464,358	84,029,637	115,493,995	73,916,157

*This information includes ages 18-20, which is below legal drinking age, but the census breakdown was in that area.

**This is based on the Gallup poll that says 64% of Americans aged 21 and up consume alcoholic beverages.

Team

Stephen Edds

Co-Founder/C.O.O.

Stephen has 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing and left his job at a publisher to work for Erin and serve as the National Sales Manager for Hoosier Momma. During his 4 year tenure, he secured distribution deals with 14 separate distributors as well as chain placement in Kroger, Meijer, Walmart and Sam’s Club. That succes is due to his hands-on approach to relentlessly and passionately promote and sell the brand at every opportunity. Stephen is also the author of three books, including “The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street,” which led to the creation of a publishing company to self-publish the book. Stephen appeared on more than 40 radio programs across the country during the promotion tour. Stephen has a BA in Political Science from Hanover (IN) College.

Erin Edds

Co-Founder / President

- Named “One to Watch in Local Foods” by the Indianapolis Star in 2011;

- Nominated as “10 to Watch in Indianapolis” in 2012;

- Named a “Local Hero in Artisan Foods” by Edible Indy in 2015;

- Featured appearances on Inside Indiana Business, Indy Style, Fox 59, WISH-TV, and in the Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis Monthly and Ivy Tech Community College Magazine.

In May 2010, Erin co-founded Hoosier Momma, LLC. Starting as a farmers market product, Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Maker grew rapidly to include distribution in 19 states with over $500k in sales and a Top 25 category performer nationally by 2014. The company was featured on the front page of the Food Section of the LA Times, and received additional praise from TIME, Chicago Tribune, Imbibe, Midwest Living, Tasting Panel and American Express OPEN Forum, just to name a few. Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Maker was selected to be served at the Official NFL Tailgate at Super Bowl 46 in Indianapolis and Super Bowl 47 in New Orleans.

Edds is passionate about using her culinary and entrepreneurial experience to help students at Ivy Tech. She currently serves on the Alumni Board for the college, and the Hospitality School Advisory Council where she is working to help design the Hospitality Entrepreneurship Certificate Program. 205 will win in School 91

Wild Flavors

Service Provider

WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients focuses on outstanding flavor, functionality, quality, and safety of its products. WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients is committed to developing innovative products that maintain a leading position in the market. With advanced technological expertise in superior taste, functional health, and natural colors, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients delivers first-class ingredients to the food and beverage industry.

With over 80 years of history, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients’ aim has consistently been to produce and provide the food and beverage industries with raw materials using natural ingredients. WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients has carried this mission into the 21st century, offering customers unsurpassed quality and consistency, innovative technologies, responsive service, and, of course, great taste. WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients has the reputation as a “major think tank” for modern product ideation and design, research and innovation, and we have never strayed from our founding mission of researching, developing, and creating the best possible natural food and beverage ingredients for our customers.

Whether our customers require innovative flavors, organic-compliant colors, superior finished products, or environmentally friendly packaging alternatives, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients is their one-stop-resource. WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients is dedicated to providing unique solutions to the food and beverage industry and continue to focus on our customers’ requirements while maintaining total quality throughout the entire process.

WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients offers everything from ideation to product development, supply chain management through commercialization and technical support as complete solutions to the companies we work with.

Through proprietary resources, such as our N.E.X.T. Team - New Emerging eXciting Trends™ - and constant communication with our global research and innovation groups, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients is able to review and analyze international trends and market data and forecast the direction of the marketplace to help our customers stay at the forefront of the industry.

Production Services International

Service Provider

Beverage Formulation & Development Experts, Contract Manufacturer, Beverage Consulting & More

Beverage visionaries worldwide have turned to Production Services International (PSI) for turnkey beverage production, beverage operations consulting, contract packing management, materials procurement, fulfillment and logistics management. By expertly navigating the beverage industry for our clients, PSI empowers you to stay focused on marketing and selling your brand.

City Brewing Company

Service Provider

City Brewing Company - is the premier contract beverage producer in the country. Between our three production facilities, we have the capacity to package over 130 million cases annually. All our facilities have the capability to produce beer, flavored malt beverages, teas and energy drinks in a variety of bottle and can sizes and configurations. We pride ourselves in quality and reliability for our customers, which include some of the largest beverage companies in the country. Our facilities, coupled with the experience and dedication of our skilled employees, enable our customers to meet the demands of an ever changing marketplace.

Ice Miller

Service Provider

Built on a 100+ year foundation of legal service, Ice Miller LLP is committed to helping our clients stay ahead of a changing world.

Our diverse client base ranges from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies and from governmental entities to educational organizations and pension funds. Our clients span the business economy from service to industrial to tech. In the non-profit sector our experience includes work with charitable, fiduciary, educational and governmental entities. Our attorneys strive to develop a deep understanding of each client's needs in order to help them build, grow and protect their most valued assets.

Ice Miller's clients are often economic and community drivers. Many are leaders in their fields and sectors. We work collaboratively with them to achieve their goals. To do that, we offer our greatest strength: our people. Ice Miller is a talent mosaic with the ability to bring the exact legal skills needed for specific projects from the routine to the complex. Every professional at Ice Miller is fully and deeply committed to providing our clients with innovative, responsive, relevant and cost-effective solutions. Our attorneys help clients protect their interests and build an advantage through a variety of practice groups.

Founded in 1910, Ice Miller has more than 300 lawyers and 40 paraprofessionals located in offices in Chicago; Cleveland; Columbus; DuPage County, Ill.; Indianapolis; New York; and Washington, D.C.

Somerset CPAs and Advisors

Service Provider

Since our founding in 1960, when we were originally known as Whipple & Company, Somerset CPAs and Advisors has been dedicated to looking after our clients’ best interests. Decades of expanding our client base and services, along with continued growth and mergers, have made us what we are today—one of the most trusted and respected accounting firms in the region.

With our office centrally located in Indianapolis, we can easily serve our clients throughout the nation. And as a member of the BDO Alliance USA—a nationwide association of independently owned accounting and consulting firms—we have access to BDO International, which gives us the resources, services and technical knowledge to provide professional support and expert advice for our clients doing business internationally.

About Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda

Entity	RumsTech Ventures Corp
Entity Type	C-Corp
State Organized	Indiana
Founded	October 2015
Employees	0
Social Media
Website

Headquarters

Status	Still Looking
Location Type	Warehouse
Comments	Home office with a plan to rent warehouse space for surplus product down the road.

Company Updates

Last call...last call for alcohol!

September 2, 2016

We are extending the Garden Party round through the holiday weekend until Tuesday, Sept 6. In addition, there will be an additional piece of information related to the launch occurring this weekend which we will be announcing.

But NOW is the time to move forward with the investment to get the paperwork in place by the 6th. What info are you needing to make this happen? Let us know at stephen@drinkgp.com or erin@drinkgp.com.

Garden Party in Sept Issue of Indianapolis Monthly

August 26, 2016

If you check out page 50 of the September issue of Indianapolis Monthly, you'll see yet another story about Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda building the momentum of the brand in the final two months before launch. In addition, Garden Party's Erin Edds will be also have an article in the Visit Indy Visitor's Guide given out in hotels and businesses across Indianapolis. Erin is one of only six people featured to list their favorite Indianapolis destinations.

As we close out our Localstake raise in the next couple of weeks, now is the time to make that step from the interest phase to the commitment phase and RSVP for the Garden Party! If you have any questions before making your investment, contact Erin Edds at erin@drinkgp.com or Stephen Edds at stephen@drinkgp.com.

New 4-pack packaging and campaign update

August 20, 2016

1471705739 packaging stack mock up violet

The next phase our our development is complete with the 4-packs cardboard wraps which highlights the theme of a "party in a box." Take a look at the photos.

Also, as Erin stated in the IBJ article, we have reached a point in our fundraising where we have the minimum capital necessary to launch the brand in October. With that in mind, we are going to close this round of funding through Localstake on Aug 31st. However, the more funds we can close before Sept 1, the more we can devote to the launch. If you are listed as an interested investor and would like to complete the process, please move your status to commitment so we can begin getting the Indiana VC Tax Credit paperwork submitted and the investment completed.

Thank you for your interest in Garden Party and I hope we can count you as an investor when we close out this round.

Garden Party to set up shop at Speakeasy Downtown

July 29, 2016

We are happy to announce that as of September 1, Garden Party will have an office at the new Speakeasy Downtown at the Morrison Opera House building at 47 South Meridian in Indianapolis. The advantage of having a spot at the Speak Easy Downtown is it allows startups like ours an opportunity to purchase only the space we need on a month-to-month basis without having to sign a long-term lease and have the flexibility to scale that space up when needed.

It also gives us a visible space, as the window of our office will face the main area, which will be used for events and for members to hang out and work. This gives us another way to advertise the brand and continue networking with entrepreneurs and business leaders.

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the Opera Place building, which was built around 1870, has rich historical character, both on its interior and exterior. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Located two blocks south of Monument Circle in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, the four-story building boasts arched windows on its upper floors and an Italianate-style cornice at the roof. Its interior is marked by a brick facade; exposed wood beams and trusses; cast iron columns and more. According its National Register application, the Italianate design that the building's exterior typifies "was popular for commercial buildings in this area of Indianapolis from the period just before the Civil War to about 1880."

This fulfills another step in our development process as we work towards our Fall launch.

Initial commitment target reached!!

July 21, 2016

Thank you!

We have reached our initial commitment target and are finalizing the process to close 82% of those commitments by early next week. But our work has just begun. We know investors sometimes like to wait until the "first check is written" before moving forward with a commitment, so as other Localstake investors lead the way, hopefully this will encourage you to get involved.

We also have an updated video for you to watch. Jim Cota and his team at Rare Bird did a tremendous job in just a few days to have this ready for Innovation Showcase. They are a first-class organization, one of the many we are working with to bring this product to market this fall. Log in to our Localstake page to watch the video and complete your review.

Please take that next step and join those investors who believe that Garden Party will revolutionize the hard soda market.

Garden Party at the 2016 Innovation Showcase

July 16, 2016

1468721341 erin moved into the main area

Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda was an invited participant in the 2016 Innovation Showcase put on by the Venture Club of Indiana and Elevate Ventures (Indiana-run VC firm.) Garden Party was one of only a handful of the 70+ participants to not be a tech-related firm, which was a huge validation that we are getting attention in the Indiana startup community. Governor (and now VP candidate) Pence took the opportunity (with CNN on-site) to make an announcement of $1b in investment in Indiana startups.

From the tweets below and the response of the crowd, we are doing something fun and unique, and the startup community has taken notice, and we want you to be a part of this.

Now is the time to make your commitment to Garden Party. We are nearing our launch date and more and more opportunities are presenting themselves. Let us know if you're ready to move forward, or what questions you need answered to move forward.

Garden Party in national article in VinePair

July 5, 2016

VinePair, a New York City web-based publication published a story on the rise of hard sodas. The article dedicated three paragraphs to Garden Party and included quotes from Erin:

"Keeping with the millennial generation’s craving for all things “craft” and artisanal,” we’re already beginning to see the emergence of the high-end sector of the hard soda market. Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas, a startup based in Indianapolis and founded by husband-and-wife team Erin and Stephen Edds, has branded itself as offering the “softer side” of the hard soda market. The company will launch at the end of this summer with its lofty-named Ruby and Violet flavors, which tap into an appetite similar to what craft cocktails have done.

“I think millennials in general have an insatiable drive towards whimsy and irony,” said Erin Edds. “We like quirky, we like interesting, we like the humor in things. We can see the humor in things.”

Like the cocktails that hearkened to earlier medicinal days when unfamiliar herbs provided flavoring for teas and remedies, Garden Party’s hard sodas utilize ingredients like lavender and hibiscus. These ingredients aren’t typical for flavoring agents in a sugary soda but, according to Erin, the retro aspect of 1600s botany and the degree of playfulness in experimentation with uncommon flavors is the sort of nostalgia that proves attractive to potential millennial consumers."

http://vinepair.com/articles/rise-hard-soda-nos...

Garden Party to participate in Innovation Showcase

June 28, 2016

Garden Party was chosen as a high-potential startup and invited to be among the Indiana companies to be featured at the largest venture conference in Indiana, the 2016 Innovation Showcase. Now in its 8th year, the Innovation Showcase is expecting more than 1500 attendees, including venture capitalists and Angel investors from around the Midwest.

Started by the Venture Club of Indiana, past participants who have experienced remarkable growth after exhibiting include: Scale Computing, Pi Labs, CloudOne, myCOI, Indigo Biosystems, BlueLock, Bluebridge Digital, Precise Path Robotics, Upper Hand, Skyepack and many others.

This is a overall tremendous vote of confidence in Garden Party by the investment community. It is extremely difficult for a consumer packaged goods company in the pre-launch stage to be invited to such a prestigious event before our product is even available.

www.innovationshowcase.com

Garden Party in Sept issue of Indianapolis Monthly

June 24, 2016

Yesterday, we were interviewed by Indianapolis Monthly writer Alex Kincaid for a story that will be featured in their September issue. Indianapolis Monthly is a highly respected upscale magazine owned by Emmis Communications with a reach of 209,000 monthly readers, along with 51,000 Twitter followers. Alex's final question to us after sampling both flavors was "I feel like you're revolutionizing hard sodas. Do you agree?" (And yes, our answer was "Yes.)

It is highly unusual for a startup beverage brand to get this type of media coverage with no PR firm in place months before a product is even released. This gives Garden Party an strong advantage over other startups in generating name recognition for their product in the marketplace.

We encourage you, if you haven't already, to review the live offering and become an investor and help us continue our strong pre-launch efforts.

Our Live Offering is now ready for review!

June 22, 2016

Documents

We're excited to be moving forward to the live offering for Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda. Based on the overall feedback, we have modified the terms of the Convertible Note in order to reward early investors in the company. This campaign will allow the company to focus our efforts on marketing and sales surrounding our launch later this Summer.

Since we began our investor interest phase we have had several key developments and strong traction for the brand:

1) An unprecedented distribution deal with the largest beer and wine distributor in Indiana to distribute Garden party in 69 counties in Indiana. Monarch Beverage is projecting first 12 months sales of nearly $600,000. Big Red Liquors has already committed to feature Garden Party in their 55 stores and other local and national chains will come on board closer to launch. The funds raised will be used to support Monarch's efforts through doing tastings at stores and events, POS (point-of-sale) pieces, industry training and networking, web and social media development and other consumer engagement efforts.

2) Strong media coverage helping build a pre-launch buzz for the brand. Based on one press release, The Indianapolis Star, Inside Indiana Business, Brewbound, Marriott Traveler and VinePair have all done stories on the brand. Erin is doing an interview with Indianapolis Monthly tomorrow for their September issue which will coincide with the launch and both Fox 59 and Channel 4 have expressed interest in having Erin come on their shows when the brand is launched. Garden Party will receive tens of thousands of dollars of free advertising through these appearances.

3) The formulation is complete and it is in the TTB regulatory process now. Our decision to bring Production Services International on board has been invaluable. In addition to fronting the cost of our initial production run, thus saving us from having to raise the additional $225,000, they have been experts in navigating the potential minefields of the regulatory and production process.

Investment in the offering is eligible for the State of Indiana's VCI tax credit. For those unfamiliar, investors will receive a credit on their state income tax bill equal to 20% of investment amount.

Please review the terms for the Convertible Note and take the next step to become an investor in the most anticipated hard soda launch in Indiana history!

New Garden Party can packaging mock-ups

June 12, 2016

On Friday, we received the first mock-ups of the can design for our flagship flavors, Ruby and Violet. The initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and while there will be some slight modifications made, we are thrilled with the direction of the brand. One of the best comments received was "I could see this brand being really popular in Brooklyn AND Portland." That's the nationwide appeal we are looking for,

Indianapolis Star article, tweet and new logo

May 12, 2016

The Indianapolis Star today had a story on Garden Party a full three months before the product is scheduled to hit the shelves. In addition, in their tweet to their 154,000 followers, they stated that: "Hard Soda" could be the next big thing in Indy." Inside Indiana Business also reported on our story.

Here's a link to the article: http://www.indystar.com/story/life/food/2016/05...

Also attached is the tweet, and the new Garden Party logo developed by Vision Concepts.

Garden Party lands distribution with Monarch Bev

April 20, 2016

Garden Party anticipates a full state-wide launch in Indiana!

We have game-changing news! Last Friday, Monarch Beverage, the largest beer and wine distributor in Indiana, formally agreed to represent and distribute Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas to their accounts in 69 counties in the state. In addition, Monarch is facilitating discussions with Indiana Beverage in Valpo and Five-Star Beverage in Ft Wayne with the expectation that Garden Party will have full Indiana market penetration upon launch. We have truly hit the trifecta of elite distributors in Indiana and this gives the brand tremendous initial traction!

Monarch will begin presenting Garden Party to their chain retailers to get the brand included in the fall resets and on the shelves of all of the major grocery and liquor chains. With distribution in place and the formulation complete, we are now reaching out to our contacts in the restaurant and retail areas for pre-sales of Garden Party before the anticipated August launch.

We are also working with Vision Concepts to develop the formal logo, branding and marks for the brand. We’re utilizing the talent of Michael Pogue (http://www.forrentdesign.com/work.html) who has an impressive background of branding, packaging and advertising campaigns for major Fortune 500 companies.

We are revising the business plan based on the sales projections from Monarch, and we will be working with our CPA group to take the projections from the distributors and revise our sales projections and have a formal valuation completed. We believe based on our initial conversations that the sales projections we have provided are very low, and the potential sales of the company from Day 1 will be impressive.

We’ve also been contacted by Elevate Ventures and met with their Central Indiana Entrepreneur-in-Residence last week. If they decide to get involved, they require matching funds on any funding they provide.

We are looking to move forward on the first round of investment soon, so now is the time to get on board!

Another article on the rapid rise of hard sodas

April 13, 2016

Below is an article from the April issue of BevNet magazine on the amazing growth of Hard Sodas. Some relevant info from the piece:

- MillerCoors executives believe that flavored beer and “malternatives” could eventually make up six percent of total beer category sales [Ed note: that 6% would total over $6.5 billion]. Currently, they’re giving the category a shot in the arm: year-to-date FMB volume sales, according to market research firm IRI Worldwide, which this year began counting sales of the Not Your Father’s brand in that segment, are up 17 percent and make up four percent of total beer volume share.

- According to research firm IRI, Not Your Father's Root Beer generated more than $104 million in off-premise retail sales in 2015.

- “It is going to be much bigger than cider.” - Pabst CEO Eugene Kashper

- “Today’s consumers are willing to try anything. There seems to be this appetite for all sorts of things. If they are done well and people grasp it, there’s opportunity...I think we are on the edge of something that hasn’t been done before.” – Alan Newman, president, Alchemy & Science (Boston Beer Company).

Article: http://www.brewbound.com/news/gruit-gimmick-har...

Article: How Hard Soda Became Such A Hot Category

April 1, 2016

The below beverage industry article hits at the heart of why hard sodas are here to stay and why Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas will be a key player in this rapidly growing category. Help our "Garden" grow. Become involved today!

http://www.beveragedynamics.com/2016/03/30/how-...

Results of Focus Group survey for Garden Party

March 25, 2016

Last Friday (3/18), Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas conducted a Focus Group to test the revised formulas and provide feedback that we could share with the Development Team at Wild Flavors (www.wildflavors.com). Based on the initial feedback from the first round of test samples, the Wild Flavors Development Team created two separate versions of Garden Party Ruby and two separate versions of Garden Party Violet in order to provide a clearer understanding of what worked within each flavor.

Our focus group consisted of 20 participants, with half of those involved in the food and beverage industry either as part of or as a beverage distributor, restaurant owner, chef, bartender, food writer or food producer. The other half represented the consumer field as a whole. This provided a solid sample group to provide us the best and most specific feedback possible.

The participants were given 1 oz samples consisting of two different formulations of Garden Party Ruby and two different formulations of Garden Party Violet along with a survey to fill out anonymously while sampling. The participants were asked to use a rating scale, but also to write out specific comments based on Look, Taste, Quality, Appeal and Overall Product. In addition, the participants were asked about the market viability of the product.

The highlights:

· On a scale of 0-10 (0-Not at all, 10-Very):
When asked the likelihood of recommending Garden Party Ruby to a friend or colleague, the average score was 8.06.

· On a scale of 0-10 (0-Not at all, 10-Very):
When asked the likelihood of recommending Garden Party Violet to a friend or colleague, the average score was 8.26.

· On a scale of 1-5 (1-Much worse, 5-Much better):
When asked how Garden Party compares to the competitors on the market, the average score was 4.66.

· On a scale of 1-5 (1-Very Unlikely, 5-Very Likely):
When asked if Garden Party were available today, how likely would you be to use it, the average score was 4.33.

· On a scale of 1-5 (1-Very Dissatisfied, 5-Very Satisfied):
When asked that considering all factors, to select the response that describes your overall satisfaction level, the average score was 4.23.

Each participant was given two versions of Garden Party Ruby and two versions of Garden Party Violet, and asked to judge on Look, Taste, Quality, Appeal and Overall Product.

Overall Score:

· Out of a scale of 1-5 (1-Very Dissatisfied, 5-Very Satisfied):

Garden Party Ruby: 3.8
Garden Party Violet: 4.4
(Note: The answers were combined and it was taken into consideration that participants likely preferred one version over the other and therefore scored one version higher than the other.)

Erin shared this feedback with the Development Team at Wild Flavors during a conference call yesterday, and compared our results with their internal feedback. The results were very encouraging that we are one major step closer to finalizing the formulations and moving forward towards the production phase.

Volunteers needed to beta test Garden Party.

March 18, 2016

Would you like to provide feedback on the second beta test batch of Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas and meet Erin and Stephen Edds? We have a limited supply available and will be providing 1 oz samples at the Speakeasy at 5255 Winthrop Avenue in Indianapolis TODAY, March 18th, from 4-6PM. Please stop by, we'd love to meet you and show you what we've put together! To RSVP, or if you have questions, contact Erin@drinkgp.com.

Business Insider article on the rise of Hard Sodas

March 14, 2016

According to an article released today from Business Insider, "(i)n the last year, fruit beers grew 63% in volume and, 82% in revenue. Cider sales increased 75.4% from November 2013 to 2014. 'I think next year will be the year of the hard sodas and sweeter flavors, like hard root beers,' beer sommelier Marc Stroobandt told Business Insider late in 2015.

Stoobarandt is already being proven right. The growing success of hard root beer is bringing about a new era of sweet alcoholic beverages that draw from both the craft beer and sweet, malt liquor markets."

Read the article here: http://www.businessinsider.com/hard-soda-for-dr...

What Garden Party Botanical Hard Sodas is introducing to this exploding market is a premium product that offers a higher quality alternative to the current market options. Our aim is to differentiate from the competition on quality. The time is now to join us, because the best is yet to come...

View 13 more updates...