We were lucky to catch up with Nate Wannlund recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nate , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Since I was in college I wanted to have a beverage brand. I thought it would be craft beer but by the time I gained the experience and had the connections, my tastes and the tastes of the drinking public had changed. When I was working directly with beer consumers and manufactuers, I realized that the Spirit Based RTD market was going to take off. If the laws and the taxes wearn’t so ruthless, it would have done so a long time ago.

In October of 2023, I made the step to launch. I took out the money and committed to the plan. I knew it would be at least a year before I would see my drinks in cans, but then I found out the hard way, that is if you have done this before. Licences, Reciepe Development, Brand Building, Raw Material Sourcing, and finding a CoPacker all took over 1.5 years to get to a first release. It was also a lot more expensive in time, money, and anxiety than I was intelletually prepared for. Patience and belief played enormous roles in getting me to the first finish line, which is really just the starting line. Having a product for people to taste and sell.

Nate , 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 came into the alcohol industry through craft beer. I loved the punk rock nature of it in the beginning. Just brewers focusing on the craft and collaborating to carve out a piece of the market. I loved the idea of being a small brand who was apart of a bigger movement.

Fast forward, and that is why I built the brand Mettle. I wanted to make drinks that toasted the courage it takes to be creative and put something new into the world. I wanted to work with Musicians, Artists, Chefs, Authors, Makers, and Creators. I want to be the beverage of choice when people were togther and sharing a creative experience. Personally, I took a lot inspriation from the Urban Art scene, which to me has always been about expression in the face of convention. Putting something new and creative over an established norm. I wanted to take the pretention out of cocktails and bring them to the streets. I wanted to take cocktails that werent conventionally known, are delicious, complex, and different – then remix them for the can. Normalize them in group and social gatherings. Take them from the dark and exclusive speakeasys and out into the concerts, gastropubs, botique hotels, art releases, and book signings. Also, if this brand is successful, I want it to be true to those roots and invest back into the creative ecosystem to support people who are bringing their art to life.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn impatience and hustle culture. Everything we are taught is high anxiety, impatient, overly aggressive push to market that result in low quality, inauthentic, and boom to bust offerings. In order for this brand to grow, keep its soul, and be around for the long game- I needed to change, unlearn, and fight against my HDHD/YOLO mentality. I need to learn patience, bite size goals, and consistency. I have had to learn to focus, and avoid chasing all the cool ideas that come up on the daily. I wont say I have been perfect, far from it, but I have surrouded myself (and I am listening to) the people I respect who exemplify these traits. That has lead to a much better learning curve for the business and myself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The story isnt long, and it isnt yet completed -but I have had to find resolve to keep putting my drinks out there despite the consistent rejection from the gatekeepers. I know there is a market for my drinks, I know there are people who really like them, but I joined an industry where that doesnt matter. One person at one distributor, liquor store, or bar can block you from all the people who come into their stores.

In the face of rejection, I just need to keep knocking on the next door. I know once I get into a few places, and people get the opportunity to try these drinks, they will find their market.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MettleBeverage.com
• Instagram: @MettleCannedCocktails
• Facebook: @MettleCannedCocktails