RUM RUNS TINY PETALUMA FIRM
Published on August 23, 2002
© 2002- The Press Democrat
BYLINE: RAYNE WOLFE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
PAGE: E1
COLUMN: Small Business Profile
Tucked away in a Petaluma shopping center, Three-D Spirits' headquarters seems a little out of place.
Filled with palm trees, toy monkeys, tiki masks and bottles of liquor covering nearly every surface, founder Dan DaDalt plots business strategy at a bright red conference table featuring a gyrating toy hula girl.
Although Sonoma County is known for its wine, DaDalt has carved out a niche in Wine Country with a liquor made from sugar cane, of all things. His 6-year-old company, which put Redrum on the map in the 1990s, is now launching VooDoo spiced rum in bars, restaurants and grocery stores across Northern California.
Lots of people want their own businesses, but few think of venturing into the liquor industry dominated by a large corporations.
A former Skyy Vodka executive, DaDalt felt confident that there was room for true independent brand, called ``indie'' booze in the industry.
``I wanted to create a special liquor brand. Beer was too crowded. Vodka and tequila were saturated. But rum? I thought there might be room for new rum,'' said DaDalt, a Chico State University graduate who learned about liquor sales at Skyy Vodka in San Francisco, where he was marketing vice president.
DaDalt's early liquor industry experience was intense. In the 1990s DaDalt was hosting parties and tipping blue bottles of Skyy Vodka to Generation Xers at trendy South of Market Street watering holes.
By 1996 DaDalt had quit Skyy, founded his own business with a partner and introduced a fruit-flavored rum dubbed Redrum. By 1997, Redrum, which retails for about $15 per bottle, racked up $1.2 million in sales.
``The fax machine never stopped spitting out orders. We had a big distributor and immediate sales in 35 states. Redrum was featured in magazines including Playboy,'' DaDalt said.
The company moved to Sonoma County in the late 1990s after DaDalt bought a home in Petaluma and tired of the commute to San Francisco. Besides, he needed to reign in the runaway growth of Redrum, which was putting strain on the small company.
``We let the interest in Redrum run us -- we grew too fast and we weren't able to support the demand,'' he said.
The company nearly floundered about the time his partner resigned over two years ago, but slowly Three-D Spirits regained its momentum.
Today DaDalt is the owner of a two-employee company that is launching its second rum brand, VooDoo.
A vanilla spiced concoction, VooDoo with its mascot, the Tiki Dude, is hoping to divert some Coca-Cola soda away from the swashbuckling rum sales leader, Captain Morgan, whose devotes order Cap'an Cokes more often than any other rum cocktail.
VooDoo rum enters the market at a time when fruit-flavored alcohol beverages are coming under increased scrutiny. Critics, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, charge the alcohol industry is targeting teen-agers with a new generation of sweet-tasting concoctions dubbed ``starter drinks'' or ``alcopops.''
Three-D maintains its Redrum and VooDoo brands are aimed at young adults, age 21 to 35, who can drink legally.
The rum market has had some big shake-ups of late, which may create opportunities for tiny brands like VooDoo.
Last April Guinness UDV bought Captain Morgan after selling its Malibu brand to Allied Domecq. Sustained growth by the major rum producers -- Bacardi, Captain Morgan and Malibu -- has fueled growth over the past several years, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
``With seven consecutive years of growth, rum is the second best selling spirit in America, after vodka,'' said Lisa Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States in Washington, D.C.
Rum has enjoyed the benefit of an explosion of calls for rum-inspired cocktails like Cuba Libres and Mojitos served in pan-Latin restaurants in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
``Rum is enjoying great popularity,'' Hawkins said.
Today, DaDalt is focusing his efforts on Pacific Northwest sales, building on his deal for shelf space in Northern California Albertson's groceries, which he landed three years ago. Last week the Albertson's deal went state-wide.
``Albertson's is 500 stores, Raley's about 75, plus our distributors make sure were in as many bars and restaurants in 27 states as possible,'' said DaDalt who relied on local bartenders to develop his new VooDoo spiced rum, which retails at about $15 per bottle. The rum he uses is imported from St. Croix and bottled in San Jose.
In charge of branding, marketing, sales, promotions and just about everything else, DaDalt answers the phones and takes out the trash at night.
In fact, he was happy to carry batch after batch of VooDoo testers to bars around downtown Petaluma, in search of fine-tuning.
``The key is using aged rum. ... I have quite a developed palate, but I still wanted bartenders' opinions,'' he said.
You can reach Staff Writer Rayne Wolfe at 521-5240 or rwolfe@pressdemocrat.com PHOTO: 1 by JEFF KAN LEE / The Press Democrat Dan DaDalt, a former Skyy Vodka employee from San Francisco, has set up shop in Petaluma for his Redrum and VooDoo rums.
Infobox: A CLOSER LOOK
Company: Three-D Spirits
Headquarters: Petaluma
Founded: 1996
Co-founder and CEO: Dan DaDalt
Employees: Two, including DaDalt
Products: Specialty rums, including Redrum and new label VooDoo Keywords: PROFILE ALCOHOL