Better Tomorrows - Building a Beverage Brand With Kayla O'Connor of Island District Company

You ever just decide you're going to start a ready-to-drink cocktail brand from scratch...? Yeah, me neither.

But Kayla O'Connor did and things seem to be working out justtttt fine for her.

Kayla was tired of the malt-based, hangover-inducing products that were out on the market, so she took it upon herself to create a better alternative. The result was Island District Company. A beverage company with two initial SKUs launching in May of 2021. A tequila, aloe water, and honey cocktail. And a vodka, coconut water, guave, and lime cocktail. They both sound unreal and the beachy branding conjures feelings of sun and surf any time of year.

You might remember Kayla from Episode 5 of Destination Different where we talked about her sustainable clothing company, Blue Seaciety. Well, in this episode we discussed all the learnings she picked up from that business and how she is pouring them into Island District. We hit on everything from an extensive research & development phase, to building something beyond just an alcohol brand, to dealing with tequila brokers in Mexico.

If you want to keep up with Kayla and Island District you can follow along on Instagram @islanddistrictcompany. And if you're on the east coast be sure to keep your eyes out as her cocktails hit stores in 13 states this spring!

And if you're not already, you should be keeping up with Destination Different all over the internet...

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