From hanging out on their first enterprise pitch to promoting out their first launch night time, The Beer Bat is aware of what it’s prefer to make a mid-game comeback — and it began with a plastic cup and a dream to make a memorable buyer expertise.
The Beer Bat — a branded and customizable drinkware model — should be thought of a small enterprise, however their success story will be an inspiration for companies of any dimension. Maintain studying to study extra about how their model bought began, how they landed on BigCommerce and the way they’re making ready for the season forward.
Pitching the New Thought
Even earlier than The Beer Bat got here to be, Sam McGee and his workforce at Inexperienced Egg Design already had a foothold within the branded drinkware trade. The workforce had simply completed a venture in Las Vegas, creating plastic bottles for Exhausting Rock Cafe’s out of doors on line casino, Rehab.
“We had been making these 32-ounce consuming bottles, and Rehab was serving alcohol in them and promoting them for $40-$50, they usually had been merely being thrown away. However all of the casinos wished was simply their identify on it,” stated McGee, president of The Beer Bat.
To create a greater buyer expertise and associate with Rehab’s theme, in 2018, McGee and his workforce got here up with the concept to make the bottles into the form of a needle. Assured that the product can be an enormous hit, the workforce pitched the concept to Rehab — solely to listen to that the product wasn’t what they had been on the lookout for.
Nonetheless, McGee and his workforce knew they had been onto one thing. So when the Hartford Yard Goats — a minor league baseball workforce — opened store simply exterior of the workforce’s Hartford workplace, McGee knew he needed to take one other swing.
Hitting a Grand Slam
“I did some analysis, and what I discovered is that the baseball park seats about 8,000 individuals, and everyone is consuming,” stated McGee.
After touchdown a gathering with the workforce’s proprietor, McGee pitched 32 ideas for a uniquely formed memento cup, and — you guessed it — the proprietor selected the hollowed-out baseball bat possibility.
To interrupt even, McGee wanted to promote 10,000 bats, however with solely 9 house video games left within the Yard Goat’s season, the workforce solely purchased 500 to start with.
For sure, 500 was nowhere close to sufficient.
With 20-30 followers ready in line at a time, the bats offered out virtually instantly, and inside a pair days, the meals and beverage workforce for the Yard Goats requested to buy 2,500 extra. However with solely two house video games left, these bats offered out, too.
“From then on, different main league baseball groups — I imply, in all places — had been calling the Yard Goats, they usually had been simply transferring the cellphone to me. Prospects would say, ‘Oh, we want 1,000,’ or ‘We’d like 10,000,’” stated McGee.
At this level, nonetheless, the patented identify for the product was really The Ingesting Vessel. However with so many shoppers nicknaming it “beer bat,” the brand new identify finally caught — and so turned The Beer Bat, branded drinkware constructed on customization and creativity.
Making a enterprise mannequin is one thing McGee is enthusiastic about — discovering a market and on the lookout for the product that matches that market, or vice versa. That’s precisely what he did with The Beer Bat, making it a memorable expertise for followers, as an alternative of merely a consuming cup.
“Simply take a look at the individuals once they have The Beer Bat,” stated McGee. “They’re smiling, and a few will not be even trying on the recreation! It’s nearly having a beer in a bat.”
Rising the Groups
From there, The Beer Bat skyrocketed.
Beginning with only one minor league baseball workforce, the corporate’s buyer base quickly grew to 27 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) groups throughout the nation and the Negro League Baseball Museum (NLBM).
“Our first license was really with the Negro League,” remarked McGee. “We’re going to be celebrating the Negro League’s baseball historical past all through your entire season with our Negro League beer bat, which is, once more, one other customizable bat the place you may really select which workforce brand you need.”
Partial proceeds from the sale of the commemorative Beer Bat go to the The Negro League’s Baseball Museum (NLBM) to assist this non-profit in its mission of preserving and celebrating the wealthy historical past of African-American baseball and its affect on the social development of America.
On high of that, The Beer Bat now has patents in a number of the largest baseball markets, such because the U.S., Canada, Japan and South Korea, in addition to a rising market in Mexico.
However with fast development comes the problem of maintaining with rising demand.
“Proper now, it’s about how briskly we will develop in our manufacturing, and that’s what we’re doing this 12 months,” stated McGee. “We must always have the ability to get into at the least 5% or 10% of our market by the top of this 12 months.”
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BigCommerce Enters the Recreation
Initially on WooCommerce, The Beer Bat discovered that the ecommerce platform merely couldn’t sustain with the enterprise’ growing demand.
Enter BigCommerce.
“BigCommerce supplied us with a straightforward and well-documented setup expertise to allow us to soft-launch in lower than two months, in addition to the options wanted to assist our future development in any path,” stated McGee.
Nevertheless it wasn’t simply the platform that knocked it out of the park — it was additionally the individuals.
“Issues had been totally different with BigCommerce. In our first interview, you all had some concepts for us, offered the platform and walked us by means of it. BigCommerce gave us a extra practical view for an organization our dimension, understanding that the numbers had been there and we had the potential to develop right into a multi-million-dollar firm slightly shortly,” stated McGee.
Take a look at our full case examine on The Beer Bat to study extra about why they selected BigCommerce and the way our platform could possibly be a profitable transfer for your corporation, too.
Going into Subsequent Season
With a newly acquired MLB license, The Beer Bat is trying ahead to increasing its B2C efforts by promoting direct to customers, permitting followers to customise their bat with their favourite workforce brand.
“Our B2B is now going to affect our B2C,” stated McGee. “If you happen to can’t get a bat or they promote out earlier than you get to the sport, you may go browsing and order it … We’re going to have this entire drive of motion occurring between these two enterprise platforms.”
And B2C isn’t the one innovation on the horizon for The Beer Bat. There’s far more within the works for the corporate, reminiscent of permitting customers to add their very own paintings or add customized textual content on any Beer Bat — and BigCommerce can’t wait to see what’s subsequent.
The Remaining Phrase
Are you a direct-to-consumer (DTC) enterprise trying to get into the B2B area? Schedule a demo for BigCommerce B2B Version, and our ecommerce consultants will likely be pleased to help you within the transition. And for further insights on all issues B2B, try The State of B2B Ecommerce: 2022 Development Report.
