US Marine Veteran Creates "Heroes" Vodka
Sitting at Local VFW
written by Bill Briggs NBC News Contributor
“Veterans are going to give me a first look” for their next vodka purchase, said McVey, 42. “But that’s also because veterans are known for their quality of service. It’s who we are, and how we’re trained. So, yeah, veterans will give another veteran a shot. That’s just what we do.”Veterans buy from veterans: That’s the hot saying in ex-military financial circles, particularly with hundreds of thousands of former service members unable to land jobs. That patriotic consumer base has convinced more than 3 million men and women who have served the country to launch small businesses, reports the National Veteran-Owned Business Association. The group uses a two-word logo and mantra: “Buy veteran.”
Heroes Vodka • American-Made • Owned by a U.S. Veteran
heroesvodka.com/
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| Travis McVey, USMC Veteran, Continues to Receive Spirits Awards |
Between sampling and selling his first batch of Heroes Vodka, Marine veteran Travis McVey concocted a catchy marketing slogan.
“Some people drink to forget. We drink to remember,” McVey said in a phone interview this week, referring partly to two friends, Marine buddies killed in the line of duty.
“I was sitting at the VFW on (a recent) Memorial Day with some other veterans. I was looking at the bar,” McVey said. “I was thinking: No one has ever really marketed a veteran-owned spirit company. And what better name than ‘Heroes?’ Everybody has served, but the guys who didn’t come back are true heroes to me. I wanted to create a product that would be in honor of their service, something that people could raise their glass to and give a toast.”
The first vodka made by a veteran for veterans hit stores last February in Tennessee, where McVey lives. For distribution, he partnered with Nashville-based Lipman Brothers. This fall, Heroes became available in six more states, including New York and Georgia, and the company plans to expand into New England and the Pacific Northwest. A portion of the profits will be used to help ex-service members, McVey said.
In addition to winning several spirit-industry taste awards for its self-described “slightly toasty and roasted” flavor, Heroes offers an intriguing business test case. Veteran entrepreneurs – McVey calls them “vetrepreneurs” – aim to tap an ultra-loyal, 22 million-member veteran community to shop their services or push their products, including: wild salmon, a "defensive driving" school, appliance repair, a barber shop and, now, vodka.
“Veterans are going to give me a first look” for their next vodka purchase, said McVey, 42. “But that’s also because veterans are known for their quality of service. It’s who we are, and how we’re trained. So, yeah, veterans will give another veteran a shot. That’s just what we do.”Veterans buy from veterans: That’s the hot saying in ex-military financial circles, particularly with hundreds of thousands of former service members unable to land jobs. That patriotic consumer base has convinced more than 3 million men and women who have served the country to launch small businesses, reports the National Veteran-Owned Business Association. The group uses a two-word logo and mantra: “Buy veteran.”
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/10/14323986-vodka-by-a-veteran-for-veterans-and-other-cocktail-lovers For Complete Story....
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