We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Keller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It started when I was at Total Wine looking for moscow mule mugs. A fellow customer next to me was also in the market for mule mugs and started to complain that he also had to get all the ingredients to make the mules. It got me thinking – there are all kinds of premade cocktails, but there are no kits where you make the cocktail yourself. Additionally, when you buy the ingredients, it is nearly impossible to get the same quantity of all ingredients so you inevitably have waste. I thought of HelloFresh and the market there was for having meal kits delivered. With a trend of more people getting meal kits, then surely there would be a demand for cocktail kits. After some research, I found there wasn’t nearly the same penetration in the market of cocktail kits as there was with meal kits. Thus, The Mixologer was born.

What should our readers know about your business?
The Mixologer is a startup cocktail kit delivery business looking to simplify and enhance the experience of homemade cocktails. Our cocktail kits come with three to six ingredients with a four-month shelf live to make delicious cocktails at home. We made the decision to use dehydrated garnishes and ingredients with a four-month shelf life to give us differentiation from our competition and position us as the perfect gifting cocktail company. While we not only have trending drinks like the Old Fashioned and Moscow Mule, we offer many options for customers to explore. We have the number one cocktail in the U.K., the Porn Star Martini. We have a Phoenix original, the Fiery Mandarin. We also have our own handcrafted recipe like Acai Baby. We will continue to reinvent ourselves and find new ways to enhance our customer’s experience of having a blast making cocktails at home.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
UnderTow and Platform 18 are two cocktail bars that need to be visited in Phoenix hands down.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a shoutout to Frank Emert, owner of Summit CPA. Frank was one of our first customers and graciously has not only referred our products within his network, but he has made countless introductions within the industry, given valuable product feedback, and assisted with early financing strategies. Frank has been one of those people that continues to give value without anything expected in return. From my experience, these kinds of people not only get that value back, but they get it in twofold or more. Thanks for the help, Frank.

Website: https://themixologer.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themixologer
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-keller-15616481/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themixologer
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtpleem2z8qjPpRmEtbo68g

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