We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Rainey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

The idea for SÕLIDA came about on a “pity party” trip to Miami. I was going through some personal issues in my life at the time, so I scheduled a 45th birthday trip to Miami by myself to clear my mind and figure out how I was going to move forward. My buddy, Laurence Driver, decided to join me because his birthday was the same week. We wound up at the hotel bar where the bartender offered us some tequila. We were both aware of tequila’s bad reputation for giving you headaches and hangovers so we declined, but he insisted saying he had some premium tequilas that wouldn’t make us sick…and he was right! Fast forward a few months later. Lawrence and I are drinking the last of the $90 bottle of tequila we liked in Miami. He says, “It’s too bad we can’t have our own tequila.” That’s when my 20+ years of experience in purchasing and supply chain kicked in and said, “why can’t we?” There began the journey of finding a craft distiller in Jalisco, Mexico, fine tuning the formula, designing the packaging, and bringing it to market. Here we are 6 years later with an amazing tequila that in our first year with product on the shelves, has won four gold and two silver medals in tasting competitions. However, it was by no means easy.

The biggest challenge was funding. We pitched the idea to several people to see if they wanted to be a part of the company. Not everyone saw the dream the way we did. Fortunately, two of our closest friends, Todd Walsh, and Kendrick Westbrook (aka “Smurf”), saw the potential and came on as co-owners. While we are still bootstrapping the expenses, having a dedicated team that understands the vision has helped.

The second hurdle was understanding of the legal issues. Navigating federal, state and international alcohol laws and regulations is no joke. We had several trials by fire in trademarks, taxes, contract negotiation and distribution. Fortunately, we had a network of friends that had experience in these areas that helped us to navigate these complex issues.

Of course, there were many moments of doubt. Times when it felt like the hurdles were just too high and too many. When we had to decide between paying bills or funding the business. But we stayed focused on the goal, leaned on each other, trusted God and kept pushing forward.

Now, seeing people enjoy SÕLIDA Tequila makes all of it worth it.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Brandon Rainey, and I’m the CEO and managing partner of SÕLIDA Tequila. Along with my friends, Lawrence Driver (COO), Todd Walsh (CHRO) and Kendrick “Smurf” Westbrook (CXO), are the owners of SÕLIDA Tequila.

Most people connect drinks to memorable experiences, good or bad. Unfortunately, tequila has gotten an unfair reputation over the years. It has traditionally been consumed through shots or in cocktails, such as the margarita, the number one tequila-based drink in the world. This has been to reduce the “burn” of poor-quality tequila by drinking it quickly or by hiding it behind the flavor of fruit juices. The palate of tequila drinkers is maturing and demanding a smooth sipping tequila, at a reasonable cost.

Crafted from 100% blue agave plants from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, SÕLIDA is a sophisticated, artisanal spirit aged to perfection and double-filtered to deliver a smooth, satisfying finish.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

After deciding to brand our own tequila, I began by doing research into the history of tequila and how it’s made. Then I searched for craft distillers who specialized in making private label tequilas. After finding one, I took a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico to meet with him and his team. He spent all day with me going through tequila’s history, explaining the agave growing process, and the harvesting, cooking and distilling processes. Then we tasted several of his other tequilas, identifying the flavor notes and refining the taste to what we wanted in the final product. Several years of adjusting the formula and designing the packaging has resulted in an amazing, award-winning tequila that we can be proud of.

I would say the biggest lesson is to make sure you do your due diligence in selecting the right manufacturer. You want someone who will be a partner in the process, not just a vendor.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Honestly speaking, branding our tequila was a pivot from our original idea. We wanted to do something else that was very cost prohibitive. This actually worked out in our favor because it was during this time that the world was hit by the Covid pandemic and recession. Had we proceeded with our original idea and not pivoted to SÕLIDA, we probably would have lost our investment and had to file for bankruptcy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://solidatequila.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solidatequila
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SolidaTequila
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@solida.tequila