Meet Marc Song of American Soju in Vista

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marc Song.

Marc, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started drinking the Korean soju about 5 years ago and I really enjoyed it for the most part. I noticed that some would squeeze lemon to kill the bite and some of the ladies would mix it with other things. So I thought you know I think I want to make an American Soju! Take all of the things I liked and remove what I didn’t like about the Korean soju. Went to work on the logo design with my graphic designer friend Branden Tintianco. I even made him sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and made him promise not tell even his wife. I felt that strong about my idea. It took several versions but I settled on the great logo we now have. It has the Korean flag “ying and yang” in the middle but with the American Red, White & Blue. The water source was really important to me so it really came down to Seattle or Denver, and I chose Denver due to the central location. We went back and forth with the distillery to fine tune the taste and we have 4 wonderful flavors: Original, Cucumber, Lemon & Watermelon. After 2 years, we had our first real sample run produced. We had our 1st live tasting event on NYE 2016 and it was a big success. Everyone loved the product, but we didn’t have any retailers to sell the product yet. So, we sent it to 2 of the largest wholesalers in the country and got turned down by both. Knowing how the distribution game works, I decided that I would self-distribute and start with the local market. After wadding through the mountain of red tape from Federal to California ABC, we finally got our license to distribute in late October of this year. Fourth quarter is not the best time to try and launch a retail product, obviously. With a help of a friend and my business partner’s contact, we’re now in 3 retail locations: Holiday Wine Cellar, Scripps Liquor & Servall Liquor in Hillcrest with a 4th retailer Holiday House Liquor in Bonita. American Soju is also available online through HolidayWineCellar.com and Craftcity.com We also have restaurant Shanghai Saloon on Convoy serving as our lone on premise location. We will be launching at Club M @ Fairmont Grand Del Mar on February 10th at their 2nd Annual Stoplight Party. We’re also in discussions with a large retailer right now and hope to be in there by end of 1st quarter of 2018. It’s a slow process but we really want people to experience what American Soju is all about.

Has it been a smooth road?
As with starting any business there are a lot of bumps on the road. The biggest challenge is getting the word out there about American Soju. As most Americans have never heard of soju before so they’re like “is it like sake?” And of course I tell them, “they are fighting words” with a laugh. I tell them it’s the #1 Selling distilled spirit in the world by volume but not in American. The #2 brand is Smirnoff, of course everyone knows who Smirnoff is. The other challenge is getting a mainstream retailer to try something they’ve never tried or in many cases never heard of. No one heard of Vitamin Water when it first came out, but now who hasn’t heard of Vitamin Water now? This is my vision for American Soju!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the American Soju story. Tell us more about the business.
Our corporate name is SB Diversified Products, Inc. and my business partner Willy Bates and I operate 3 business now with the addition of American Soju as our new venture. Our main business, Rugged Ranch Products we design and manufacture overseas and sell to distributors & co-ops nationally. We produce dog kennels, chicken coops, horse feeders, sheep & goat feeders as well as the only multi-catch trap line on the market. We also operate a local (So-Cal) distribution business to independent farm & feed dealers in Southern California. We are the exclusive authorized distributor for NW Rubber out of Canada and we sell stall mats, shavings, wood pellets & pipe corral.

American Soju is our new venture. What we’re proud of is our taste of our product. This is also what sets us apart from our competitors. We have a full line to cater to all tastes not just original flavor. Our ingredients are 100% natural unlike the Korean version.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Premium or Super Premium is where it’s at. People want something new not another vodka or tequila. I know that the old school cocktails are making a comeback and a lot of people are into the Bourbons and whiskies but that’s just the same old stuff. I believe American is ready for American Soju. I think there will be more varieties of ready to drink cocktails along with more people starting crafts liquors.

Pricing:

• 12.99
• 13.99
• 14.99
• 15.99

Contact Info:

• Website: www.AmericanSoju.net
• Phone: 858-335-9679
• Instagram: #AmericanSoju
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Americansoju.net/

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