We recently connected with Katie Cole and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Absolutely! A mid-season vacation is a must. Everyone needs a break and especially being a one-women ran business. I think it is very important to take the time to relax and recharge before the busy holiday season. This year I will be going to Nashville for a week with my boyfriend, Trent. We are looking forward to exploring Nashville and having a cocktail or two!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Katie, the proud Minnesota owner of Fusion Bouzion L.L.C. We are here to create experiences with our crafted cocktails and sangria jars. I am a cocktail drinker, coffee lover, foodie and boutique fanatic! I knew I had to combine these passions and start my own business. I have always longed to become an entrepreneur since I attended Hospitality Management & Culinary School.

We dehydrate fruit, purchase spices, herbs and more fruit for our products. Choose from one of our four cocktail jars and add 10-12 oz of spirits. The alcohol will then begin to infuse with the fruit. We recommend infusing each jar 1-3 days. The longer you infuse the jar more flavors will come through for your cocktails. Each jar will make 6-8 cocktails or use as shots! 6-8 drinks per jar is based on 1.5 ounces infused spirits in each drink.

Our customer favorite is our Old-Fashioned cocktail kit. We have orange, candied ginger, apricot, cinnamon and cane sugar that makes up our Old-Fashioned. The best part about the Old-Fashioned and all of our other kits are that you can refill them for a second infusion!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I started Fusion Bouzion Craft Cocktails a year and a half ago. My intention was to make my new business a full-time business. I left my hotel, General Manager position in hopes of starting my own business. Within the first few months after leaving my job, I started driving for Shipt, the grocery delivery service. I continued to drive for Shipt for 4 months while trying to build up Fusion Bouzion. I finally had my big break where my business started to take off in, September of 2021. I started to work craft shows almost every weekend for the remainder of 2021. It took time to figure out which shows would be the most profitable, but you never know until you work them. I now work a few craft shows in the Spring and busiest seasons for us are the Fall/Winter season.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think word of mouth has helped with our reputation. We have customers who purchase our cocktail kits for gifts for their friends or family. Then those friends and family find us to purchase jars because they loved them. Our cocktail kits are very unique, and they make the perfect gift for any event, holiday or gathering. We are a local Minnesota company, and our kits are all handmade. I believe having a handmade product helps the consumer relate to our business. Lastly, people love that our kits can be used more than one time and that you can add whichever spirit you like to our cocktail kits.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fusionbouzioncraftcocktails.com/
• Instagram: Fusion Bouzion Craft Cocktails (@fusionbouzioncraftcocktails) • Instagram photos and videos
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fusionbouzioncraftcocktails