Founded in spite of brutal hangovers and built on the foundation of a life-long friendship, spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktail brand Good Sunday announced it has closed a $1 million Series A funding round led by Vecture Inc. founder Angelo Catenaro to support the brand’s upcoming U.S. debut. In addition to the new capital, Good Sunday has also signed a distribution agreement with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits to launch its two new flavors in California in Q1 of 2022.
Who is Good Sunday?
Based in Ontario, the brand was founded by two childhood friends turned entrepreneurs — Dylan Corson and Christian Karayannides — who’s friendship began as kids in the hockey rink and lasted through their years of schooling, with both eventually landing in the alcoholic beverage industry at startup craft cider company, Brickworks Ciderhouse. After the cider company was sold to Anheuser-Busch, the two went on to pursue separate ventures and eventually reconvened to launch Good Sunday after one particularly rough night out.
“Honestly it was a shit Sunday and we were like ‘we have got to find something that will make us have a better Sunday’ so we came up with a cleaner, better-for-you drink,” explained Corson. “So it makes for a Good Sunday, but still not a Great Sunday.”
Good Sunday launched in Toronto in 2019 with two gin-based cocktails available in 16 oz. cans; however those won’t be making it to the states just yet. The brand is debuting two new vodka soda varieties — Lemon Vodka Soda and Watermelon Lime Vodka Soda — specifically for its U.S. launch. The vodka-based beverages contain only 95 calories and 1 gram of sugar per 12 oz. can and will be available in a 6-pack format in the U.S.. Karayannides emphasized as the brand continues to grow it will innovate with new flavor and spirit combinations.
What’s the growth plan?
In addition to launching the two new flavors, the pair said it plans to expand its team with the addition of a marketing hire and a California-based operations manager to secure and set up a co-packing partnership, until then it will be importing products from its Canadian co-packer. Continuing to capitalize on their friendship, Corson and Karayannides said they are both relocating to California in support of the launch and will continue to grow the brand stateside with their faces behind it.
“Using us as tools has really worked for us in Canada,” said Corson. “There’s not a lot of companies that have two, 27 year-old founders that own a beverage company that is going to be taken on by Southern Glazer’s and that is national across Canada. I think keeping ourselves as the face behind the brand will hopefully keep attracting people and get them to stick with us.”
From there they said the plan is to take it “state-by-state,” likely launching in markets with a little less “seasonality” than Canada — such as Arizona, Florida and Texas where RTD sales don’t decline as colder weather sets in. According to Karayannides, this was just one element that made California “a great place for the brand to start,” in addition to the brand story and it’s aesthetics aligning with “that California lifestyle.”
The pair said the ultimate goal is for Good Sunday to become a household name and achieve nationwide distribution in the U.S., which they believe is possible with Southern Glazer’s heading up efforts and supported by their own boots on the ground. However, Karayannides noted they are in no rush to go national just yet emphasizing that they plan to “win each state” before launching in the next.
What’s next?
Good Sunday will continue to grow its presence in Canada where it is currently distributed through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) which distributes all alcoholic beverages in the province. In addition, the pair said the brand has seen significant success in the on-premise channels including sports venues, concerts, and most notably on golf courses, and it will continue to pursue those segments in the U.S.
However, the brand faces quite a bit of competition in the crowded RTD cocktail market, even with its better-for-you, real ingredients approach. According to market research firm Grandview Research, the spirit-based RTD segment currently dominates the market, beating out wine-based and malt-based cocktails and accounting for 43% of revenue shares.
The report also notes that the category’s growth is primarily driven by a demand for premium-positioned cocktails that emphasize quality ingredients — a space that leading beverage companies such as Diageo have already entered with the launch of RTD varieties from Crown Royal and Ketel One cocktails.
However, Karayannides believes Good Sunday will be able to differentiate itself from the pack by emphasizing the authenticity of its brand story which is readily apparent on its social media accounts. He also highlighted that the name itself draws eyes and resonates with customers.
“Everyone has that experience of not having a Good Sunday,” Karayannides joked. “The branding itself is almost ironic because if you have too many of them, it won’t be a Good Sunday, but also it still will be because at least you had fun the night before.”