Patios are opening and things are looking more positive in Ontario. To celebrate, I had the co-founder of the innovative Kichesippi Beer, Paul Meek on the show. He shared the genesis of Kichesippi, a micro-brewery that he founded with his late wife, Kelly.
“I'm working for a small beer and a small wine portfolio, basically selling a case of beer or wine to make a couple of bucks on contract. So, we thought, we know what we're doing, we know how to sell beer, we have some great relationships in the hospitality industry… let's do our own thing. There was just one small craft brewery and one small brew pub, so we thought we could make a go of it.”
An origin story
They quickly realized that they didn’t have enough cash to start their own brewery, so they became contract brewers. This means they paid a brewery to make beer for them, a common practice for startups in the industry. But they soon saw the gap in the market for local brewers – “people would come to restaurants and ask for something local in Ottawa and there wasn’t a lot to offer. So, we would go into restaurants and say, ‘Hey, when your customers come in, you can tell them that you’re 4.2 kilometers from the brewery, just to define how local the beer is. Our slogan still is ‘Craft brew in Ottawa’, because it really is made within the city limits, and it’s part of the local experience.”
The hidden meaning of names
Prior to 1855, when the City of Ottawa was founded, the river that ran through the city was known as the Kichesippi. This river has been an integral part of the history of Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Kichesippi actually means “Great River” in the Algonquin language of the Kichesipirini people who lived farther up the Ottawa River. “For us, the name is a way of honouring the great people that were here long before us and our connection to Ottawa and its surrounding areas.”
The company is also creative with the names of their beer, for example the Cheshire Cat Pilsner, Dandelion Pale Ale and Grapefruit Radler. Among their most popular beers, however, is Warrior Woman, a pale ale. This name was derived from the meaning of Kelly in Gaelic, and honours Paul’s late wife and co-founder, as well as the empowerment of women.
A commitment to customer service and innovation
Apart from these incredible names and heritage stories, part of what makes Kichesippi Beer stand out is their commitment to innovation. Along with the taproom and restaurant, Kichesippi Beer have diversified to provide merchandise, wine and cider, soda, and recently launched their bottles and cans beverage company. They were also the creator and brains behind the legacy brand, Harvey & Verns, named after Paul’s grandfather and father-in-law. Paul sold this when he realized the brand deserved more than they could give it (and shared some of the lessons learnt from this incredible story on the show). “I’m still very happy every time I see it on the shelf, I get a nice little smile.”
For a brand to grow and expand, “you must pay attention to your customers and what they really want,” Paul shared. “People love our Grapefruit Radler, for example, but it's not my thing. The brand and the availability of the products need to be relevant to what the customers want, and not what the 48-year-old overweight guy who lives in the burbs wants all the time.”
“We have a huge email database, so at the end of 2020, we put a survey out to our customers to ask them what we did well and can do more of, and what we didn't do well and can improve upon. We got some fantastic feedback and made some significant changes from this.”
With a quest to meet and exceed the needs of their customers, they also created a YouTube series called ‘Brittany and the Brewmaster’ that provides background on the making of beer (with dandelion, for example) and answers commonly asked questions. This series is featured on their website, allowing customers to learn about a beer before making a purchase.
Increasing the size of the pie
Another way Kichesippi Beer adapted was when restaurants closed down in Ontario during the pandemic. Regulations allowed beer, or wine to go, otherwise known as off-sales – as long as food was purchased. As these regulations became permanent, Kichesippi Beer separated their liquor licence so they could manufacture beer in the back and sell alcohol and food in the front – essentially becoming a mini liquor store. They brought in brands (traditionally seen as their competition) that customers can’t find in the LCBO, as well as other local Ontario craft brewers, distillers and more. This encouraged more walk-ins and sales, as customers could now buy any number of things. “I look at it as being a good leader in the community and being a partner with our fellow brewers and small businesspeople, to help each other out. Maybe we all have the same piece, but it’s a bigger pie, so everybody ends up with more.”
“Whether it's cider, whether it's vodka, whether it's coffee, we're going to have more people saying: ‘I want to know that this product is local. I want to know who's behind this product. Okay, so Paul Meek is the owner, what's Paul Meek about, what are his values, what's important to him and are my values aligned with what they're about.’ That's how we're going to do business.”
To sell or not to sell
“I would sell if it made sense. We started this company to take care of the family. Kelly was in a wheelchair for over 15 years with this crazy rare disease. My son's diabetic. I'm the healthy one, which is scary because I’m huge! Don't get me wrong. I love what I do. I get to go to work every day, talk about an interesting product, and meet wonderful people. But if it made good financial sense to sell, I would entertain this. If the employees are taken care of, the brands are taken care of and our customers are taken care of and it makes sense for the family, you have to get emotionally detached to make that decision, and it's a tough one for sure. But you have to be able to do that.”
Fun, frank advice
“Keep things in perspective. We’re opening the patio today and there's going to be some stresses and speed bumps. But, if we can just keep customers having a good experience (and if they don't have a good experience, find out why so we can learn from them) we'll go from there. As my father always says, don't sweat the small stuff because everything you're probably worrying about is the small stuff when you look back on it.”
Have a listen!
Want to know more about Kichesippi Beer? Visit the YouTube channel or their website for more.
If you’re at the helm of a thriving business or startup, looking to exit, or simply have something to share with the Self-made Nation, do reach out and connect with me. I’d love to hear your story!