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

Hi Nick, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Typically as you read in older business books about starting a brand. There is a substantial amount of market research, focus groups, branding exercises etc. My story is a bit different as we did not do that in a substantial way. It all started out in my home kitchen. Where my father and I would make our family recipe of limoncello for house parties, work parties, and any type of gathering. Three or 4 years of doing this, after constant feedback about how great ours was. We started to get more serious and consistently made it and gave it to friends for free. It was not until I graduated college from The University of Arizona where I had a house party for The Phoenix Open in February 2018. The largest party on grass. To put it into perspective, there is about 200,000 attendees on Saturday. So it is a huge event for the city of Scottsdale.

I had about 50 friends over and we had many alcohol brands there as you could imagine. It popped in my head to bring a few friends inside and give them a taste of The Guerrieri Limoncello (the first unofficial name). We were serving it in glass bottles with a sticker of our family name on it. After my friends tasted it, every single one of them shouted how amazing it was. After some moments of celebration and discussions. My other friends at the party, my now business partner, mentioned how we should start an alcohol business. It first started off as a rah-rah moment about how fun it would be. Fast forward almost two years later after coming up with the name, legally getting everything in order, and giving out samplings to people for feedback. We were legally allowed to sell at the beginning of 2020 or the start of Covid.

With that being said, it was really the constant feedback over the years about how great our homemade limoncello was year after year. We didn’t spend any money on market research or focus groups. Our holiday parties, house parties, or any gathering with friends and families year after year was our “market research” and my friends and I took the gamble and wanted to start something different. It was a very natural process to the creation of CHELLY.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are in the business of inspiring moments of unity and refreshing spirits. We do that by handcrafting a local modernized limoncello. Limoncello is an Italian treasure from centuries ago. Ours is delicious on its own or in a cocktail that you can share and experience stories and unity together. What separates us apart from others is really our unique story and authenticity behind what we are doing. I come from an Italian heritage and our recipe was inspired through three generations of my Italian family. That is not something you can buy or mimic. What also makes us different in a world of saturated alcohol categories is that we are in a category that has not been updated for the modern day drinker since inception. limoncello is known to be extremely sugary, viscous, and not versatile enough to be enjoyed in larger amounts outside of just being a “digestif”. Which is something you take a small amount of after dinner. We are bringing something special to light that can be used in cocktails and used as a shot due to using substantially less sugar. Whatever best fits the occasion for you and your fellow friends or family to have a special moment.

We are most excited about the fact we get the share an Italian treasure to the world and demographic (21 to 34 year olds) who really don’t know what limoncello is. This provides an opportunity for us to come in and show them that this Italian delicacy can be used in ways never thought of before.

There have been many challenges along the way and many lessons learned. One of the biggest challenges still till this day is educating consumers of what limoncello is. We are learning ways to do this in the easiest and most approachable way. We are doing this by focusing less on the direct explanation of what limoncello is, but by focusing on the consumers use occasion for it. Which are things like how can they use it and best ways to use it. Using things they already know to connect the dots. The biggest thing I’ve learned about starting my first brand is just how important it is to understand consumer purchasing behavior and speaking their language.

What I want the world to know about myself, brand, and story is that we were kids coming right out of college and got into an industry we initially knew nothing about. However, we put in the work to learn more about the industry, market, and how to sell a brand to consumers. My hope is that through our story and brand, we can inspire the next person who is thinking about launching that brand or idea but feels like he or she can’t do it yet. You just have to be willing to put the work in and ask for help. Personally, what I am doing now is a lot bigger than just selling a product. I am looking to inspire others through my story, failures, and successes because I had people help me along the way and I want to pay it forward!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many great spots in Arizona to recommend. Since I am in the food and beverage business – I’ll stick to that. I might be bias but if you are looking for amazing places to eat. drink, or hangout.. It would have to be any place that offers CHELLY! Which you can find out on our locator page (https://drinkchelly.com/find-chelly/)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that have helped create and shape my story. It might be a common answer, but it would have to be my parents. My parents are fellow (serial) entrepreneurs and they have been through it all. More specifically with Chelly… From my Dad first taking the initiative to get the family recipe from my cousin from Italy almost 10 year ago to my Mom who is always so supportive of me taking risks and speaking life into my endeavors. I really wouldn’t of even made it this far if it was not for them. I have such a supportive group behind me that I can go to for advice and counsel. It is almost like having startup consultants available to you 24/7 that you can 100% trust and who believe in you.

I am so grateful for them and many other friends, family, organizations, and colleagues along the way who have mentored and shaped who I am today.

Website: www.drinkchelly.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkchelly/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickguerrieri/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drinkchelly/

Other: Follow me on Tiktok (nickg.xcv) and Twitter (xcvnick)

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.