When you build a business around a trend, you run the risk of tastes changing or the trend becoming a fad. It turned out that Americans only liked self-serve frozen yogurt to a certain point, and that left many people who jumped on that trend holding the bag when demand proved weak.
In other cases, people have overestimated demand in areas that do have a real following. Plant-based meat, for example, has its supporters, but most fast-food chains' efforts to offer plant-based meat products have failed.
Related: After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, retail chain may receive a lifeline
The same logic applied when many chains decided to offer gluten-free products. In most cases, those efforts failed, since while some people clearly follow a gluten-free diet, those people may not have gone to Dunkin' more than they wanted the chain's plant-based options.
These are real trends, but a trend doesn't necessarily support a business. The same seems to apply to the non-alcoholic beer and wine market. Boisson, a retail chain built around the non-alcoholic beverage market, closed its retail locations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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Non-alcoholic beverage chain closes stores
In theory, there has been an increase in consumers wanting the experience of drinking beer, wine and mocktails. That's a trend that Boisson, who used the slogan “we're evolving the way the world drinks,” tried to capitalize.
“Every day, more of us look at labels. We research ingredients. We pay attention to the foods we put into our bodies. And, just like what we eat, what we drink is changing. Brilliant advances in alcohol alternatives are helping more than us to find healthier alternatives. alternatives to alcohol. At Boisson, we bring you the best alcohol-free alternatives from around the world,” the company shared on its website.
The company operated an e-commerce business and five retail stores in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. All five brick-and-mortar locations have closed as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Company founder Nicholas Bodkin confirmed the decision on his LinkedIn page.
“Boisson's board of directors has determined that initiating a restructuring process for the company to change its operational approach is in the best interest of its creditors and other stakeholders. This and other difficult decisions have been made, including the decision to close all stores retailers.,” he shared.
Boisson hopes to continue
The non-alcoholic beverage company hopes to continue its online operations and is currently operating normally.
“While this is certainly disappointing, taking these actions will give the company the opportunity to present a restructuring plan aimed at focusing on the wholesale distribution and e-commerce divisions, which continue to operate, accept and fulfill orders without interruption,” he wrote Bodkin. .
The founder of Boisson does not believe that the failure of his company means that interest in non-alcoholic beverages has waned.
“First of all, our failure is not the failure of the NA category. No one should view this as anything other than what it is: a failed venture-backed startup that grew too fast, made mistakes, and wasn't able to find capital “fast enough to move on. To build three businesses at the same time (physical retail, e-commerce and wholesale import/distribution), which, in retrospect, turned out to be incredibly difficult to execute,” he added.
Details of the filing are not yet available and the company has not shared any information about how it will fund continued operations.
Bodkin reflected in his post, noting that the company had served 250,000 customers.
“Ultimately, my biggest disappointment is not delivering on our team, both current and former. From our dedicated and knowledgeable retail associates and our tenacious warehouse team, to our wholesale, e-commerce, operations and planning teams who dedicated every days to the magnitude of what we were trying to build,” he added.
