Episode Description
Every great business has a moment when the founder walks into a stranger's establishment and has to sell the dream from scratch. For Gino Santos, that pitch had three parts: increase your margins, keep your customers coming back, and make your wait staff more money — all with just a beer and wine license.
In this final installment of the Premium Blend series, Forrest gets the full story:
- Why Premium Blend launched in plastic bottles — a practical shipping decision when you're self-distributing across Florida with almost no capital
- Why plastic has actually become a selling point for bars and restaurants where dropped bottles are a real cost
- The three-part sales pitch Gino used to walk cold into venues: higher profit margins, increased customer retention, and bigger tips for waitstaff
- How Premium Blend sales presentations work — Henry and Gino would show up with bags of product like they were moving in, letting everyone taste everything
- Blind taste tests against actual rum, tequila, and more — and why the cocktails are indistinguishable
- Pricing breakdown: roughly $8–$10 per liter depending on state alcohol tax
- The philosophy behind the business: owning a company, not just having a job
- A moving tribute to their late father, Orestes Santos — the Cuban musician who said "we didn't come here to take, we came here to give" — and what he would think seeing his sons build something that employs people and sustains small businesses across the country
Learn more at premiumblend.com
@thebestwinepod
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