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

Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

19 years ago, I was still working for a craft brewery, and pregnant. There were less women in the industry then, and I felt the peer pressure to still attend events etc. However I had to hide the non alcoholic drinking selection. There was really nothing that they could offer. A Cola, a lemon lime soda? Both really high in sugar and sodium….no thanks. I went with tonic water (not realizing at the time it too was loaded with sugar and sodium…), because at least it didn’t taste like sugar water. “Someday”, I thought, “Even the soda guns in restaurants will serve craft sodas and we will have choice there too.” I find myself still working on that, as it is a pay to play system monopolized by big CPG brands. Still, as non alcoholic drinks are finding a resurgence of supply to the demand that was always there, it is encouraging that maybe too the soda gun will change.

Mary, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started my career in beer. Beer testing to be exact, at the Siebel Institute. From there I eventually landed a job with the then growing Goose Island Beer Company as the quality manager. I honed my skills in quality. I found I had a palate and could distinguish flavors at Siebel, so that came in handy when developing new beers. Goose was always winning medals for their beer in the competitions, but it was getting more competitive when I joined. I was really thrilled to be part of several brands including Matilda, Bourbon County Stout, 312, getting their start and claiming their gold medals.

Fast forward a decade I found myself at MillerCoors. Learning about how a big business operates, but I didn’t lose the passion to want to start my own business. So about 5 years in that job, I made the challenging decision to leap and not have a regular salary until I can make that happen with my own company. I wrote a book on beer quality for the Brewers Association in Boulder, and kept some consulting jobs on the side. But since 2014, I have been at this chess game of starting a business.

Top Note, my brand, is a passion project. We started with the fundamental though that better tasting beverages are needed. We really have not gone away from that. Our function is flavor, our purpose is to ensure all folks have choice when going out, or imbibing at home. Choice meaning better constructed beverages, that exist for true discovery, creativity, and joy. That alone is enough. Like going to a great restaurant, the function of the food is there for your true immersion in the moment. We always thought beverages, even soft beverages, should serve that higher purpose too.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I assume most business owners go into business not knowing how much resilience they will need. But going through the rough times, you discover a lot about yourself. I think at the start of my business, as we were getting kicked off, I sensed the “plan” wasn’t working, yet I kept digging in. I was reticent to pull away, change things up, people, strategy etc. I now know, my gut told me everything. This isn’t working, cut the cord. We nearly ran out of money several times. But thankfully sales have always been there, as was growth.

Covid was a challenge. One thing though, it was easy to cut off the parts not working as we had the excuse. We actually improved our profitability. However I think in retrospect, I have learned I need to cut out parts dragging us down when I sense it. I also have learned to say no to things. And finally, I realize because of Covid, as long as I want to stay in this game, I will be in it. I will figure things out. Cash crunches are normal to growing brands. staying solvent, and staying calm so decisions can be made, is super important. Cut what isn’t working in the moment, and keep going. Thankfully my partner and I have a way to ensure we are staying level. The real last lesson in resilience is partners are important. Resilience happens when partners are literally pushing each other up too.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I have found that our best source for new clients remains winning bartenders and small retailers over. They are the heartbeat of the cocktail and mocktail culture we have. Without both of those innovating, we wouldn’t see the demand consumers have translate to products on the shelf. That experience they create, translates to demand in retail in a broader sense eventually too. They help create demand with categories, as much as they do that for brands.

To build on this, we love to share their stories on Instagram. A lot of our content comes from accounts using our products and showing a mash up of flavors in a cocktail. When bartenders move to new positions in a new bar, many times they take our brand with them. So that loyalty, and sense they are part of this flavor revolution with us, and us with them, is the best brand building we can do.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.store.topnotetonic.com
• Instagram: @topnotetonic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/top-note-tonics

Image Credits
Top Note Tonics Top Note Tonics, Steph Achter Top Note Tonics Top Note Tonics