Inside Indiana's Homegrown Cocktail Brand | Dan Farner, Shake Up

On today's show I sat down with Dan Farner, co-founder and CEO of Indiana's Shake Up Cocktails.

Dan delves into the origins of its signature lemon shake up canned cocktail, which debuted at the 2022 Indiana State Fair and exceeded expectations by selling out within weeks.

Our discussion covers the brand's rapid growth, rebranding from High and Mighty Distillery, and expanding into Midwestern markets like Illinois and Wisconsin.

With insights on working with university partners like Ball State and Butler University, Dan shares the ups and downs of building a startup in the competitive beverage industry.

You are going to learn about: - How Shake Up Started and Quickly Became a Hot Commodity - Shake Up's Rebrand from High and Mighty Distillery - The Highs and Lows of Startups in the Beverage Industry

Thank you to our partners: NCW Cowpokes

Check out these great clips from the show: 01:15 Guest Introduction: Dan Farner, Shake Up 02:00 The Lemon Costume Story 02:37 Building the Brand: Shake Up Cocktails 04:10 From Concept to Reality 06:22 Challenges and Early Successes 09:03 Navigating the Alcohol Industry 10:29 The Role of Moonshine University 11:57 Partnership with Indiana State Fairgrounds 15:27 Overcoming Financial Hurdles 16:50 The Lemon Shake Up Takes Off 20:05 Scaling Up and Distribution 23:47 Grassroots Marketing and Events 28:32 Grassroots Growth and Legal Constraints 28:57 Crowdsourcing New Flavors 29:46 Expanding Beyond Indiana 32:21 Rebranding Challenges 35:52 University Partnerships 40:37 New Product Launches 42:56 Indiana Pride and Local Partnerships

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