Innovation often happens when met with a challenge. For Kat Hantas, Co-Founder and CEO of 21Seeds, that innovation occurred with a challenge to stop drinking fermented alcohol. Even as a busy mom, Kat had the exceptional talent to create innovative flavors out of her kitchen. But she didn’t stop there. By disrupting the traditional go-to-market plan, she founded a brand that was built for the female consumer with a focus approachability for all. We sat down with Kat to learn more about her unique tequilas, the marketing that accelerated the 21Seeds growth, and what’s coming next for this incredible brand where women call the shots.
How did You Get Started Making 21Seeds Tequila?
The reason why the company exists is kind of random. I wasn't enjoying wine and rosé like I used to, so I decided to switch from drinking fermented beverages to tequila, which I initially didn't like, outside of the occasional margarita, but I was not a person who drank tequila often. I just found tequila on its own to be quite harsh. And it didn't matter the type of tequila; I was buying all kinds of tequila, and I still found it all to be harsh. So I thought I had to do something to smooth it out, make it easier to drink, and make it convenient for my busy lifestyle.
Since I love to cook, I started infusing it. I started to find that Infusing it just completely changed the spirit in its entirety. The infusion made it super smooth; it got rid of the bite. So it was easy to drink, but it wasn't sweet, which was important to me. I wasn't a person who was also drinking those traditionally flavored spirits because I found them to be overly sweet and have sort of a strange aftertaste. They kind of smell like Jolly Ranchers to me. And so I knew those types of sweet, flavored spirits were not going to work for me. And by actually infusing the tequila, it made it so smooth that I could just put it in a wine glass and drink it with club soda every night.
I think the other big thing is that a lot of people think you have to pour a full shot when you're drinking a spirit. And you don't; you can just pour a half-ounce of spirit, top with club soda, and have a perfect spritz. You can create your own ready-to-drink cocktail (RTD) with a bottle of spirits; you just use less. There's no rule that says you have to use two ounces of a spirit when you're making a cocktail. So I found the infused tequila very easy to use. And I just made my own recipe for years and years before we decided to turn it into a company.
It's crazy. The very first one I created was cucumber and jalapeno. There are so many iterations of a product before it’s released. And how do you keep doing what you're doing in your kitchen when you scale? Sometimes it loses the things you loved about it. But, the very first one I'd made was cucumber and jalapeno, and now it is one of our three SKUs, and it is actually our best seller. So yeah, the first time's a charm for me, I suppose. What is it, usually the third time's the charm, but in this case, the first time was a home run.
You Started this Brand with Your Sister and Best Friend. What was it like Starting this Company with Two People You are Very Close With?
I actually moved here as a kid. I was not born in the US; I was born in Lima, Peru. My two Greek parents were in Peru, and my older sister and I were both born there. My older sister Joulia works at 21Seeds as well, so it's a real family affair. My younger sister, Nicole, was born in Greece, and she is my co-founder. The name 21Seeds comes from two sisters and one girlfriend. So Nicole and I are the two sisters. It's funny because now there are three sisters at 21Seeds. But the name stands for just the two sisters, and the one is the friend.
We moved here as kids, and I only just recently became a US citizen about three years ago. I am so thankful to be here because it's a great country. And it’s where so many things are possible. Myself and my two co-founders are all moms. All three of us have two children. I had a whole other career in film and television for 15 years before I stopped and took time off to just be with my kids. Then my sister, Nicole, had her kids. She had been the CFO of the companies she worked for. At this last company she was super fortunate as they were very encouraging of side hustles. And so she said, “Look, I'm starting this tequila company with my sister. And while I'm the CFO of this multi-billion dollar company, I'm going to be doing this on the side until I can just be doing 21Seeds 100%.”
We're very excited that she's with us and has been 100% with us for a while now. And then, of course, Sarika, a Stanford engineer who had this whole other career in the food industry before she also took time to spend with her kids. So, we're stoked that we live in a country where women can do that. I think you can have it all, just maybe not at the same time. There are always things that you have to pick and choose and where you spend your time.
How did You go About Developing the Different Flavors for Your Brand?
I wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel. You're never going to get a cotton candy flavor tequila from 21Seeds. I wasn't trying to start a line of flavor tequilas. I really just wanted an easy solution to be enjoyed because I was a mom. All my friends were moms. And so we want something easy that we can add club soda to and make a spritz and drink it like that, maybe with a slice of orange or a slice of grapefruit, and be done.
So, I just looked to the world of tequila cocktails, and found that pretty much all of them had some sort of orange in them. Whether it's an orange liqueur or a Tequila Sunrise, even a margarita has an orange liqueur in it. So I thought, okay, orange must be good with tequila, so let's try that. Grapefruit was the obvious next choice. The Cucumber Jalapeño was just what I was making the most of at home and for friends. I thought, “let's try cucumber and jalapeno and see how that sells because those two flavors are things that you see in the cuisine when you travel to a beach anyway,” so I thought that would work. And it did. And then the Grapefruit Hibiscus was picked because palomas are probably the second most popular tequila cocktail, and it’s so easy to make. At that point, we knew these were the three we had to start with.
How Does Your Brand Approach the Industry Differently?
For us, we didn't come from spirits when we first started, and now I feel like we know an awful lot about spirits. And it’s such a complicated industry. Every state has different spirit laws. And there are different things you can do for spirits versus wine or beer. So we got a rapid education on all of it. And it's always fun to learn something new, so we thoroughly enjoyed learning about the industry. But for us, we stuck to what we knew, which is that we're three female founders.
We looked at our friends and how they were drinking it because those were the ones who were enjoying tequila in this new way — like drinking a tequila soda with like a splash of orange or tequila soda with fresh grapefruit. That was what was all around us. A lot of women I knew were switching from wine and champagne to tequila for wellness reasons, like trying to avoid those sugar hangovers the next day and so on. There are plenty of women who are drinking tequila. But in the tequila aisle, at the time when we came to market, there weren't a lot of tequila options that related to the women we knew and how they were drinking it, which was often in this spritz. So we focused on that and decided to go after the female consumer and an easy at-home cocktail solution, like the spritz.
All of those things were not typical of how you bring a spirit to the market, but they were totally in line with our female consumers, who we were focused on. And so we focused on her; we went to where we knew she discovered brands. We came from a brand storytelling background, and my sister was the CFO of Refinery 29. So, with us having an online media background, we knew that’s where women were going to discover brands.
Women are buying based on recommendations from their friends on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest recipes. And so, we stuck to generating awareness online versus the traditional method of bringing spirits to market via on-premise at the time. Traditionally, you start in the on-premise, meaning a bartender community backing the brand and talking about the brand. Instead, we thought there was a whole army of women out there that love to talk and share advice, recommendations, and all kinds of things. So we figured we'll just go after that army of women. And that's what we did, which was pretty different from how everyone else was doing it.
How did all of Your Experiences Come Together to Create this Brand? How does it Speak to What You do Now?
At the core, I don't think too much has changed in terms of our approach to things. We are definitely always thinking about it, because we're still a young company. The end of April will be our third year in the market, so we have not been around for very long. So there are still a lot of people who don't know about 21Seeds. We're still very, very focused on that female consumer, first and foremost, in terms of where we're spending our dollars, where we're spending our mindshare. We're still thinking about all of her pain points and how to solve them.
I create all of our recipes for our cocktails. Who wants extra sugar if you don't need to add it? Why make it more complicated just for the sake of making it more complicated?
I am like a crazy person when it comes to taste. I did not know this about myself, but I actually can taste flavors very well. Again, I was a storyteller in a prior career. But it is true; I do have this ability to taste stuff in certain ways. And it just drives me nuts when cocktails aren't perfectly balanced. I feel like there's always too much lime used in cocktails. I think it's the most overused ingredient in cocktails because the fastest way to cut harshness is to add a lot of lime juice, but our tequilas are so smooth already. And they're 35% ABV versus regular tequila that is 40%. That makes them even smoother, so you don't have to use a lot of lime. Less is more.
I'm pushing that through to the team all the time. Collectively, we brought a different point of view to the market, and I think we brought an open mindset. When we got here, we encountered a traditional way that things are done. And we kind of shook it up. We said, “Hey, we get it, but we want to do it a little differently.” And we had good reasons and explanations for why we wanted to do it differently. And I think that that has really helped us be successful because we stuck to our guns. This is what we believe; we are the female consumer we’re going after. Just trust us; let us prove that we can do it this way. And then, it worked. And so, I think the fact that we were able to bring this perspective was helpful in a time when the world was very uncertain.
If Someone New to Your Brand is Trying Your Tequila for the First Time, How do You Recommend They Start with Your Expressions?
So it depends on what you like to drink. A little less than half the cocktails ordered in a bar are margaritas, so you cannot go wrong with the Valencia Orange. You don't have to add Triple Sec or any liqueurs like Grand Marnier. Simply pour two ounces of Valencia Orange, a half-ounce of fresh lime juice, and simple syrup into a shaker. You should always squeeze the lime juice yourself. It's worth every drop and every amount of effort you put into it. It is the perfect skinny Margarita, not because we've designed it to be skinny, but just because it ends up being less than 130 calories.
If you like palomas and you're a grapefruit girl, then I would try the Grapefruit Hibiscus in your paloma build. And if you like spice, you can't go wrong with a spicy Margarita made the exact same way as the regular Margarita just with a different base: pour two ounces of 21Seeds Cucumber Jalapeño, a half-ounce of fresh lime juice, a dash of simple syrup, and you’re good to go. So it just kind of depends on what you like.
We also made a great Negroni on a Virtual Tasting with ReserveBar. We used two ounces of the Valencia Orange, a half-ounce of Campari, and a half-ounce of sweet vermouth. So by cutting the liqueurs by half, which is where the majority of the calories and sugar are, you get all the flavors you want while being refreshing and a little lighter. I'm not a gin girl, but I do love our Negroni. It's one of my favorite cocktails, and then the other recipe that I'm surprised that I love so much because I'm not a bourbon girl is our old fashioned.
I love the idea of drinking bourbon because I love a heavy rocks glass, and I love that it's mostly liquid and one ice cube. Just the whole presentation of an old fashioned feels super cool to me. And so I was desperate to try to make an old fashioned for us. I love how our old fashioned turned out. Here's what you do: take a tablespoon of coffee beans and throw them into 2.5 ounces of Valencia Orange. And just let them sit there for a half of an hour. It's not very long; a half-hour is enough. Then strain the beans out. Take one raw sugar cube at the bottom of the cup, then add three dashes of chocolate bitters and two tablespoons of water. Muddle the bitters into the sugar and add the infused Valencia Orange. Stir well and add a large ice cube. Finally, garnish with an orange rind. It's basically a coffee and chocolate old fashioned that has almost no calories. And it's so flavorful. It has become my go-to when it's been a long day and you just want to snuggle up on a sofa and relax and drink something comforting.
I love the idea of drinking bourbon because I love a heavy rocks glass, and I love that it's mostly liquid and one ice cube. Just the whole presentation of an old fashioned feels super cool to me. And so I was desperate to try to make an old fashioned for us. I love how our old fashioned turned out. Here's what you do: take a tablespoon of coffee beans and throw them into 2.5 ounces of Valencia Orange. And just let them sit there for a half of an hour. It's not very long; a half-hour is enough. Then strain the beans out. Take one raw sugar cube at the bottom of the cup, then add three dashes of chocolate bitters and two tablespoons of water. Muddle the bitters into the sugar and add the infused Valencia Orange. Stir well and add a large ice cube. Finally, garnish with an orange rind. It's basically a coffee and chocolate old fashioned that has almost no calories. And it's so flavorful. It has become my go-to when it's been a long day and you just want to snuggle up on a sofa and relax and drink something comforting.
As a Female-centric Brand, do You Have any Advice for Other Women Looking to get into the Spirits Industry?
First of all, I think that hiring women is just so smart because women are overachievers. There are so many stats that say women wouldn't even apply for a job unless they were overqualified. If there are 10 things you need for a job, we have to have 16 of them. According to the study, men only need to meet half of the qualifications, and they'd apply for it. Women are just naturally overachievers. So they're great employees to have and great people to have in your organization. If you want to build a business, there are no better employees than women.
But my advice to women is to use your differences as your asset. Don't go into a man's world and try to be a man. If you do, then you're not using your special attributes and your gifts. That's really our focus at 21Seeds. We have this open mindset and think about where we can make a bigger difference and where we can have a bigger impact. It's really about focusing on your attributes that make you different. For example, when I created this product, I realized that I have a different palate, right? Women have a different palate; we taste things differently than men do. So that right there is a perfect example. I created the 21Seeds to taste the way that I wanted it to taste; I wanted to enjoy it for myself. And I figured that if I make it taste really good for myself, then maybe almost all the women will like it. Now I don't know if the men will like it or not, but I'm not going to try to solve for that; let someone else solve that. I'm just focused on making sure that I make the best tasting tequila that I think a woman is going to enjoy. And then, let's hope that the men like it too.
When you just focus on one thing you're trying to do really, really well, you end up solving the problem for more than just the demographic that you're going after. So many men love 21Seeds. Nine times out of ten, they're finding out about it from a woman in their life. But once they taste it, they love it, and then they end up drinking it just as much as the women are drinking it. But if I had thought, “I want to start this tequila company, and I want to make sure that I am appealing to everyone,” I would have failed because then I would not be using the things that are specific and special about me as a female.
And so, that's my advice: think about who your consumer is and who you're going after. And then think about whatever piece of you that makes you special and different. That's what you lean into. Because if you're just trying to create what everyone else is trying to create, then it all starts to blend together, and you don't stand apart.
Do you have Anything New that Everyone Should Check Out?
Yes, we do! We have our cute little 21Seeds squad starter pack. It’s so adorable. People can try all three before they make a commitment. And they're great gifts, right? We asked, what can you bring to a birthday party or a bridal shower? What do you give your bridesmaids or bachelorette party? And then that allows them to also be able to try it. So we're very excited about that. That's going to hit shelves in April; we’re launching first in California. They're coming this spring in time for summer weddings.
They're so cute. And you can take them as little roadies; take two sips of your Topo Chico and then dump the whole thing in, and then boom, you've got a perfect RTD! They're so easy to use; throw them in a cooler and just bring them with you on a picnic. They're awesome. Yeah, I'm excited about them.
Another bit of exciting news is that we were just acquired by Diageo. This means that we are going to be available in even more markets! We’re just so honored to be considered by Diageo as one of the fastest-growing brands in the tequila category. It’s thrilling to be growing so quickly, and we can’t wait to see what comes next with Diageo backing us!
Are There any Closing Thoughts Before We Go?
I'm so in awe and so stoked about how many women are becoming entrepreneurs. There are actually more female entrepreneurs than male entrepreneurs out there! I just think, “good for you,” because it's tough when a lot of women are balancing so many things. Even if they've taken time off, when they go back into the workforce, it doesn't mean that their old day job is now done. Women still are managing households and raising kids. I just feel like women have so much to offer.
For everyone out there, this is going to be a more amazing planet if we just embrace women and their flexible schedules, if that's the way it needs to be. There's just so much that women have to offer. And sometimes, they just have to balance it with other things. I'm so in awe of these female entrepreneurs and these young women coming out of college who are raring to go and are excited to show the world what they've got. I'm super stoked about what the future holds for all of us and the many, many new concoctions in the spirits industry that we're going to see from women who have different palates than men. So, of course, we need women here in the industry. Bring them in, and let's bring more gender equality to the back bar and cocktail menus across the country. That's my hope. That's what I hope to see happen.
