The First Paper Bottle In the USA / Harrison Holditch (Distillery 98)

The First Paper Bottle in the USA 
https://distillery98.com/

How does a paper bottle work? 
What is is really made from? 
Can it be recycled? 

https://anewearthproject.com/collections/new-earth-approved

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Transcript

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Cory Connors: 0:00

Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is Mr. Harrison Holditch, the founder of Distillery 98. How are you, Harrison?

Harrison Holditch: 0:09

I'm great. Corey, appreciate you having us on. really like what you're doing. excited to share our story of Half Shell and, this wonderful product that, new to the market. so yeah, excited to be here. Thank you.

Cory Connors: 0:22

Yeah, thank you. And what a little sneak peek here. What we're talking about is a first of its kind for the American market and something that I've only seen in Europe before in limited basis. This is very innovative packaging, very new, sustainable alternative to old technologies. But before we get to any of that. Let's tell everybody a little bit about you and your background and how you came to, become the founder of a distillery.

Harrison Holditch: 0:53

Yeah. just like any story, there's so many twists and turns that, gets you to where you are in your life and your path. And, it's me and my brother in law, David, he's the master distiller at Distillery 98. And, this was a hobby. at first working in the backyard, having some fun on a little five gallon pot still, you just snowballed into this, profession really, it was back in 2014, 2015, micro distilling was it was there, it was just on the tail end of micro brewing, so it was something that it was still new to the American market. And, we were in Texas at the time living there. And, all the while we've been vacationing in this small little town of, Santa Rosa beach area in Florida. And, one day, just going through the normal professional grind, we looked at each other and, said, Hey, let's take a bet on ourselves. let's pursue something that both of us really enjoy and, see what we can make of it. it's. It's the whole thing of, I think it's that millennial mindset that we have where it's, if you're not happy at your job, instead of trying to jump around every two years, three years, find something new, it was, Hey, let's try and build something for ourselves and something we can be proud of, at the end of the day, David and I, we really enjoy working with our hands, being hands on and, there's almost no better feelings than creating something. And then seeing it out there in the world and people enjoying it and, you have that recognition of, okay, we're doing something fun here. And, this is something that, we can truly be proud of ourselves. And so that was a really important thing for David and I and, when we were pursuing distillery 98. yeah, we're in the panhandle of Florida. Right in between Destin and Panama city. like I like to say is, do you remember the old MTV spring break days?

Cory Connors: 2:47

those

Harrison Holditch: 2:50

guys, that's, that's where we are in the country, so it's a fun place to live. It's a beautiful place to live. And, connecting into this area and building our company and our families, we have, we all have young kids, we really want to protect and preserve, not just our beautiful beaches, our forestry, our rivers, our natural springs. So there's. So many things you can enjoy out here in nature. And, we wanted to build something, obviously a product, a distillery, but also give back to what our community has given us. And so that's our line of thought and where we are right now with distillery 98.

Cory Connors: 3:30

Well, it's very impressive. You've already built, what seems to be a very popular brand and, some very impressive packaging here that I can't wait to tell the audience about. but let's get into that here. We've got the 1st of its kind in, in North America, paper, bottle, and I just, I got to know what was the impetus for this and, what was the, How's that going so far?

Harrison Holditch: 3:56

Absolutely. yeah. So we're the first spirit in the United States. that brought in this bottle, like you said, it was there in the UK markets, not a very strong footprint. frugal pack is a newer company. I think they're probably five or six years old now, with this bottle, the frugal bottle and, essentially what happened was, during COVID and a little bit after COVID, there's all these industrial lines and people trying to get all kinds of things and having a hard time getting them, and then, it, the glass issue, when I really started diving deep into it, there's a lot of issues with glass, not. Our biggest issue was, if they put on a limit of how many of these bottles we have to buy, we're not going to be able to be around, we can't put, we can't fulfill giant orders for this glass. they shut down the U. S. factory, the major U. S. glass bottling factory moved it over to India, so essentially now you're buying glass from China, India, and that's great if you're in a hurry, that's great if you want. Mass of it. but essentially, we're building a brand on quality. so bottles come in a little imperfect here, a little imperfect there. And there was just a lot of issues with the glass industry, when we were trying to ramp up this project of ours. And, so I got a little worried there a little bit right after COVID around 21, 22. And, I was introduced to this bottle from a friend in the wine industry, and he was like, Oh, this is, this is a new product that just came out in the market. and, I took, I grabbed it and I took ahold of it and I go, what is this? That was my first question was, what am I looking at here? And like, it's a bottle, but it's. And, I did a little more research on it, got in contact with the frugal pack company. And, here I am talking to Malcolm who shout out to Malcolm and Paula over there at frugal pack. They're amazing humans, doing some good work. And, I contacted them and Hey, I'm Harrison, from Florida, from the United States. And I want to put a vodka in your bottle. And, they were just what are you talking about? it was a fun conversation, that initial conversation we had and, long story short, we brought the bottle in, we started putting our vodka in it. And, the more research that we're doing on, carbon neutral stuff and lowering carbon emissions and recyclability and. And sustainability and all that stuff. it's been an amazing road that we've been down. it's truly put us on a map, as being first movers of this product and, you're starting to see a little bit more trickle into the United States, mostly wine right now. but being the first mover in this and being an advocate for it. has meant the world to us and our brand. it's opened up some fun doors for us. and you're been about a year and a half, almost two years now with the product. And you're starting to see people come around to it. it's, they have the same question, what is this? And as you educate people on the bottle and the product. it's a no brainer, it's a no brainer for our industry. It's a no brainer for, where our industry can move into the future and the products that are being put out. yeah, it's a, it, that bottle that you're holding right there, is made, made in frugal, is made from the frugal guys in the UK. So that's 94%, recycled paperboard. we are working with a company out in California. That is bringing the machine in. So later on this year, our bottles will be made from 100 percent recycled paperboard, and materials. So we're really excited about that, bringing that bottle in and, being a champion for sustainability and what is an amazing industry, getting into the spirits, the wine, it's so fun, the people are all so different. And, going to trade shows, showing him this bottle and everyone's eyes just open up and it's a great product. really love it.

Cory Connors: 7:58

I think it's fascinating. I have a bunch of questions about it, specifically, when you. I see there's some instructions here on the side that tell people how to recycle it. So what we've got here, we've got a paper, outer shell and then a, and a paper or another paper label. and then inside is a plastic bladder and then this is a metal.

Harrison Holditch: 8:24

aluminum

Cory Connors: 8:25

cap. So the intention here, it says there's a little, note here that says push here to recycle. I think this is cool. and then it gives very specific instructions how it pops open. It looks very simple. to separate and recycle. And as we know, paper is curbside recyclable, e from for most people. but my question is, how does this come to you? Is it flat? And then your machine that fills is, assembles it.

Harrison Holditch: 8:59

So they come to us assembled, which is again, another win for us, right? the bottle comes with us with the cap off. so all we're having to do is all of our spirits are made at distillery 98. all we're having to do is fill the bottle and put the sealable cap on. quick little thing about the liner on the inside. so it is a food grade plastic, PET. Uh, it's about 80 percent less plastic, than your normal, think Ozarko water bottle or your normal water bottle that you would get at a gas station. So it's got about 80 percent less plastic, involved in that. and then what's also really cool about it is there's a, metallicized, dispersion on it. So what that means is the PET liner, is sprayed on so that, that metallicized is sprayed onto that. which allows it to actually be removed at the recycling plant and properly recycled. I

Cory Connors: 9:58

see. There's

Harrison Holditch: 10:00

other plastic bottles out there that it's just laminated on and you're essentially that's essentially going to a landfill. you're not allowed to recycle that. So that was really important with the design of the frugal bottle was we want this bottle to be 100 percent recyclable. We want you to be able to throw it into your plastics and wherever your plastics go get recycled. obviously that's a whole nother story about carbon footprint.

Cory Connors: 10:25

Kind

Harrison Holditch: 10:27

of moving it down the line, but, we're really proud to be able to say, Hey, the average consumer, the home buyer can recycle this thing 100%. we wanted to put a product out there that, it talks to talk and walks the walk, so that's really cool about it. aluminum is the most recycled. Product on the planet, so we, we wanted to go with aluminum cap. So that can be recycled. The PET has the ability to be recycled. And obviously the paper board is already made up from recycled material and just send it on down and get it recycled. and when it comes to shipping the product. you can load up more on a truck. The truck can drive further. So it's using less, carbon emissions as well. this product doesn't just end at the bottle of saying, Hey, here's our recyclable bottle. Here's our sustainable bottle. It's no, it, this impacts. So much more than just the direct consumer. And, that's one thing that, we really want to get out there and really share with the people is, there, there's so much more that you're doing, by lowering your carbon footprint. By purchasing this bottle.

Cory Connors: 11:38

Have you had some feedback from consumers that are excited about the packaging or you feel like you're getting sales? Because of this packaging.

Harrison Holditch: 11:47

Yeah, I definitely do. i'll be honest and humble. I think our Vodka is amazing. I think it's one of them I hope you've had some time to at least try it. makes a wonderful martini you know so that helps obviously putting a good product inside of a good product But yes, the paper bottle, it turns heads, people touch it, they feel it. And it just triggers something in their mind of, Hey, this is, this is something that I can get behind. and so that's a big thing for us, a lot of good feedback, it's, it, again, it's opened up a lot of doors for us, and so that's been amazing for us to be able to hold onto and grow with the brand. another good thing about the product, sorry, I don't mean to cut you off there. You're

Cory Connors: 12:32

fine. Yeah, go ahead.

Harrison Holditch: 12:33

another good thing about the product is its actual shape. you're not having to teach people how to use this, right? You're just screw cap off, pour in. a lot of people bring in new products into the industry and it's this weird looking box or bottle or whatever it is, and people don't know how to open it, store it, Do anything like that this fits right your bar cart or your liquor cabinet, whatever it's a bottle So again, the feedback's been great. I think you know the one thing that I hear all the time is well, can I go swimming with it? and i'm like Probably shouldn't you know But It's also like you go swimming with glass bottles, I don't know, maybe, but yeah, that's the funny, some funny feedbacks that I've gotten from some people.

Cory Connors: 13:21

That's pretty amazing that people would even ask that. That's hilarious. Yeah.

Harrison Holditch: 13:26

take it on your boat. By the pool, that's what's great about this is it can go where no glass can go you can hamping all that stuff. And so yeah, their follow up is oh by the pool so I can go swimming with it You're like, oh, well I guess,

Cory Connors: 13:40

So I noticed, your product says it's natural oyster shell filtered. Yes. Can you tell us about that? Cause I saw the oyster shell on here and I thought it was maybe, oyster flavored, but no, that's not the case. It is. Filtered that way.

Harrison Holditch: 13:57

We are changing. So this is our new label bottle right here. so we're taking the oyster shell off. cause that has been a little bit of the feedback is, Oh, is this going to taste like a oyster? Is it going to be salty or anything like that? And, we realized, Hey, let's just take the oyster shell off. But yes, we do filter our product, with coconut carbon and oyster shells. so oysters. they're a intricate part of our economy down here in the Gulf coast. there's oyster farms all up and down the Gulf coast. There's oyster bars. There's, just so many little things that, that oysters filter into and, filtering is what they do best. they are the filtrations to our bays, our Gulf and everything as that. That river runs down in there. Those oyster beds literally filter the water. They collect the dirt, the grime and everything and turn it into beautiful pearls. they're an amazing creature. And what's also great about it is the oyster shell itself. there's zero allergies that come from the oyster shell. anyone that has a shellfish allergy can enjoy our product without having to worry about anything. but it's also made of around 90 plus percent, calcium carbonate. it does add an extra filtration into it. it's a technique that has been used for, I want to say centuries, I'm not too sure on the exact first time it was used to, mostly it was used to filter beer, back in the day, to get that good water filtered before they add it. cause water, back in the day, there was no filtration for it is what you got. And so it's an old technique, that we brought into our wheelhouse. we love the oyster. We, obviously love eating it, but you know what it does to our, Our economy down here what it does to all of our natural resources is an intricate part to our ecosystem And so we really wanted to bring that forward it's a fun little thing that no one else is doing and it actually does work it adds a little bit of filtration in there on top of the coconut carbon that we're using so it's our little signature, I guess per se when it comes To the product. It's, you got a great corn, vodka. The corn is all grown locally here, in Florida. So we work with the farmer. make sure that there's no pesticides or any harmful chemicals used in that growing process. and then we bring that corn in, we, we grind it up, we mash, we ferment, we distill, we do all that in house and, so you're getting a wonderful corn vodka, in a unique filtration system. And then it's all coming together in this wonderful bottle, that is sustainable. our whole model when it comes to, grain to bottle is we want this to be an ethically sourced product. something that is not just helping the local economy, but it's helping our local environment. those are two big things for us. And yeah, we, I think we found a wonderful match with the frugal bottle. the way we distill all of our product here at distillery 98. it was a no brainer for us.

Cory Connors: 17:07

That's great. Well done. That sounds really exciting and very interesting. I'm impressed with how you're innovating. where do we buy this stuff?

Harrison Holditch: 17:16

Yeah. So right now we're sold, only in Florida. we're at some chains, local retailers, all bars, restaurants, everywhere from Key West, all the way up to Jacksonville and the panhandle. starting next month, hopefully the first week or two, you will be able to buy directly on half shell vodka. com.

Cory Connors: 17:35

Right.

Harrison Holditch: 17:36

so you, there'll be a little button there. You can click it. it'll fill your cart and it will directly ship to you. I think there's, man, I think it's. Almost all 50 states. I don't know if Alaska and Hawaii are there, if you're in the lower 48, you'll be able to purchase this, starting early in August. so we're super excited about that. we're working on a couple of deals on some major chains right now. we're talking with whole foods and a couple of other people. there's a chance here later on this year, you'll be able to go to your local grocery store. if they sell spirits there and pick our product up. and again, the, all doors that are opening. because of our bottle and our sustainability project. And, and I think the world's going more towards that, going towards that greener, sustainability lifestyle, going away from the uses and all that kind of good stuff. we're proud to be a part of that. and we're excited to see, where this is going to take us. and, at the end of the day, we obviously want to put a good product out there, sell a lot of it, but you know what, it's really humbled us to where we can be advocates and leaders in our industry and, we can, there's so many things that are just on the horizon and new and everything like that. and to be able to say you're a part of that. man, it's so much fun. And, we're excited to where people can purchase it and hopefully they love our product and continue to purchase it.

Cory Connors: 19:04

Right on. Well, thank you, Harrison. I really appreciate this and I'm excited for you and your, business to continue to expand. Well done.

Harrison Holditch: 19:11

Appreciate you.