24 Oct Its Grow Time at Hi & Mighty Distillery, and You Can Get in on the Expansion
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
Hi & Mighty Distillery, located on the grounds of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, is looking to aggressively expand their reach and their product line in the next two years. To achieve their goals, co-owners Jamie and Dan Fahrner are looking for investments from savvy private citizens, and especially from people who understand how great Hi & Mighty’s portfolio of products is.
Hi & Mighty Distillery was born out of Jamie’s family’s BBQ business and their travels to fairs and such. Lemon shake-ups are a perennial favorite at those events, and this flavor stuck with Jamie after she grew up. Dan said, “When a building at the State Fair became available in 2021, we jumped at the chance to partner on a unique distillery concept. Hi & Mighty was launched in 2022 at the Indiana State Fair with our Lemon Shake Up cocktail which has become our best seller.” People in Indiana have taken to the Lemon Shake Up in a big way, and Jamie & Dan have evidence that people across the Midwest (and beyond) will enjoy it as well.
image credit: Hi & Mighty Distillery
Nick Hutchins of Johnson Brothers Distributing told me, “The Lemon shake Up is one of our best sellers…The quality of the product sells itself.” Dan added, “We were also a top 10 selling brand for them in July 2023, which is a huge feat because they have mega national brand like High Noon and Fireball.”
Dan’s recent description to me on the growth of company included, “We’re grateful to share that we’ve grown significantly from when we launched in summer of 2022 to a regional business active in multiple states (IN, IL, WI), selling over 17,000 cases. This growth came mainly from our popular canned cocktail line based on the popular state and county fair flavor: Lemon Shake Up. What began as a hobby has grown into a full production distillery at the Indiana State Fair!”
After Lemon Shake Up, Hi & Mighty branched out to include Cherry, Spiced Apple, Peach, Watermelon, and more to their list of ready to drink cocktails (RTDs), and now they are looking to expand that list considerably. This is forward thinking, because the RTD market has blown up. Dan explained (with evidence), “Spirits outsold beer & wine for the first time ever in 2023, in large part to explosive growth from RTD cocktails which saw 27% growth year over year. The RTD market is the fastest growing segment in beverage alcohol and particularly with spirit-based seltzers and cocktails, compared to malt-based seltzers such as White Claw which are declining in growth and market share. Audience preferences are shifting towards cleaner flavors made with real ingredients.” This is good evidence that Hi & Mighty’s early growth could continue.
Hi & Mighty does more than RTDs, they are a full artisan distiller. image credit: Hi & Mighty Distillery
Finally, the IN Market Manager from Total Wine said to Dan, “At tastings, people always love it, especially the lemon shake up…it harkens back to your childhood, and it’s just sort of an old-fashioned flavoring.”
Now you have a chance to get in on the ground floor of Hi & Mighty’s growth. Specifically, the Fahrners are looking to grow by 20,000 cases of RTDs each year, to expand their reach to five states, and to hire more staff, both in the distillery and out and about doing events and selling to retailers.
Hi & Mighty is a family business, with sisters, brothers, friends, and others helping out in many different ways, both at public events and in the distillery. They understand the concept of working together and getting help where they can. This means that Hi & Mighty is very open to small investors looking to help out a family business, but that’s not their only target in this campaign. Hi & Mighty has been in talks with venture capital groups, so large investments are being sought as well. All people who understand the opportunity here are welcome.
In keeping with this being a personal, family business – this is a more focused, personal campaign than would be the kickstarter or a GoFundMe scattershot approach. Personal conversations are more likely to find people with the characteristics and vision that the Fahrners are looking for, be they large or small investors. The evidence of that – if you’d like to discuss an investment, you should email Dan himself, and here’s his email address – dan@drinkhiandmighty.com.
image credit: Hi & Mighty Distillery
Are you looking for a partial ownership stake, and the input and the ROI that would go with that? Then High & Mighty could be a good investment for you. Are you looking for some free product, advance notice and some input on new flavors; maybe some swag? Then an investment in Hi & Mighty could be for you, too. Want both? – then Hi & Mighty is definitely a place you should be looking into.
The investment push is going on until the end of 2024, so you have some time to do your own research and have a discussion with Dan (dan@drinkhiandmighty.com). By spring of 2025, the team will be moving to implementation of the funds for expansion and will be in development of new flavors for the line. If you have the means, or know someone who does, you might look into this opportunity. Yes, you might make some extra money from your investment, but in the process you’ll be helping a family business, supporting an Indiana small business and the craft beverage industry, and grabbing up some great product in the meantime.
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