Solid Proof: Local Vodka Venture's First Year

By George O'brien

The golf hats arrived late last month. Distributed by a Chicopee outfit called Big Guy Tee Shirts, they bear the V-One Vodka logo and come in a variety of colors. And they are just one of many signs of the growing presence achieved by this new product — and its creator, Paul Kozub — in one short year in business.

Indeed, the V-One name and logo are also on golf shirts (Kozub was wearing one when he talked with BusinessWest on the occasion of the first anniversary of his business venture) and on coasters ($3,000 worth) placed on bars across Western Mass. and now Cape Cod and California. They're also on the side doors and spare tire cover of a Hummer H3, acquired this past winter and then detailed to help promote the product, and on outfits worn by 'V-One girls,' or "brand managers," as Kozub calls them, who appear at tastings and golf tournaments across the region.

“V-One has really taken on a life of its own. I've seen about twice the volume I originally projected for the year.”

Meanwhile, and perhaps more importantly, the name is on a silver medal awarded this summer at the World Spirit Competition staged in San Francisco. And it can now be seen on the shelves of more than 300 package stores and dozens of bars and restaurants. When the Big E opens on Sept. 15, a martini bar will make its debut in the Young Building, serving just one brand of vodka — V-One.

It all adds up to an intriguing first 12 months in business for Kozub, the former commercial loan officer at Banknorth who traded the chair behind his desk for the driver's seat in a white van he uses to hand-deliver his product. Kozub has put more than 40,000 miles on that van since last Sept. 1, and has been from Deerfield to Dennis, West Springfield to West Yarmouth.

The time on the road has been well spent. He's far exceeded his first-year expectations for sales and geographic expansion. He was expecting to go through one shipment of his super-premium vodka, made in Poland, in a year. His third shipment of 1,000 cases will arrive later this month. He thought it would take about a year to successfully introduce the product locally and start to take measurable market share from the other super-premium vodka labels on the shelf. Instead, it took just over half that time, by his estimate, progress that enabled him to turn his attention to the Cape — where many from the Pioneer Valley vacation or retreat to summer homes — and the Boston area.

"V-One has really taken on a life of its own," said Kozub, who still handles most of this operation by himself. "I've seen about twice the volume I originally projected for the first year."

Not all has gone smoothly — Kozub regrets not putting his product in the larger, 1.25-liter bottles favored by some consumers (that step will be completed later this fall) — and sales have been slow in some places V-One has been introduced, such as the South Shore. But for the most part, this has been a hugely successful entry into a highly competitive industry; the product has won accolades from experts and typical consumers alike.

The first year's success has put Kozub at a crossroads. He has decisions to make about distribution — continue doing it himself or align with a larger distribution firm — and also about further expansion, with possible franchising or licensing of territories for a national expansion, and potential further penetration within the Bay State and New England.

One thing Kozub does know is that growth will be carefully managed.

"I want to start ramping up — I want to be able to do five, 10, or 20 shipments a year someday," he said. "But the key is not to grow too fast. I could be in another 200 stores right now if I wanted to be, but my product is not going to sell off the shelves; there are so many vodkas out and so much competition.

"I have to move slowly and carefully," he continued. "And that's what I intend to do. I don't want to get ahead of myself."

As he talked with BusinessWest, Kozub opened his work calendar to September to review what was on his slate. All but a few of the 30 squares had something written in, and many days had more than one entry.

It's been like this since V-One was officially launched, he explained, noting that his time — "every waking hour," he joked — is absorbed in a number of ways. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays are especially busy, he said, noting that his schedule includes tastings, or pourings, in restaurants, bars, events like golf tournaments at which the company has a booth and samples, and meetings with liquor store owners to introduce the product and hopefully get it placed on the shelves.

The common denominator with all these appearances is awareness and non-stop efforts to increase it.

"People are not going to spend $25 on a bottle of vodka if they haven't heard of it or tasted it," he said. "So it's simple … we've got to get people to try it."

That's been the primary assignment for Kozub since he officially launched V-One. The previous two years had been spent taking a somewhat unusual dream and turning it into a business venture.

As BusinessWest recounted late last fall, Kozub, while successful in the commercial lending field and with a bright future apparently ahead of him, had always planned on embarking on some type of entrepreneurial pursuit himself. That venture turned out to be vodka, a path, and a product, inspired in part by stories told by Kozub's grandfather about his exploits in bootlegging.

After his grandfather died, Kozub sought some way to honor his legacy. He started reading everything he could about vodka and how to make it, and eventually traveled to Poland to consult with noted vodka expert Marek Brniak. Soon thereafter, he took most of the most the money his grandfather left him plus some of his own and set out to create his own label.

After first considering plans to build a distillery in his native Hadley, he quickly rejected that notion due mostly to logistical reasons, especially the large amounts of water that would be required. Through some trial and error, he found a distillery in Poland and a recipe — with wheat as its base rather than potatoes, which were favored in earlier versions — that he believed would create a product that could effectively compete with a long list of distinguished competitors.

As it turned out, he was right.

“People here have supported me so well, and that has given me the ability to go into other areas.”

In addition to the silver medal at the World Spirit Competition (the same honor given Belvedere; a label called Chopin garnered the gold), V-One has earned a '90 to 95 points' rating from Wine Enthusiast magazine (the same as Grey Goose), a 'highly recommended' review from the Beverage Tasting Institute in Chicago, and a '92 points — outstanding' nod from Patterson's Beverage Journal.

Even before those accolades started rolling in earlier this year, Kozub was confident that once people became familiar with his product they would like it, and thus most of his efforts since last September have involved making introductions to V-One.

They have been made in many ways and places, he said, listing everything from after-hours events staged by area chambers of commerce to one-on-one meetings with liquor store owners. Most have been impressed with the product, as evidenced by the fact that the roster of liquor stores continues to grow, and at one of this region's largest — Town & Country Liquors on Riverdale Street in West Springfield — V-One was the best-selling brand of super premium vodka over the past several months.

That placed it ahead of such stalwarts as Grey Goose (its main competition), Belvedere, and others, and the strong showing offers testimony to Kozub's success in making area residents familiar with his product — and creating customers.

Kozub said his familiarity with Western Mass. — he's a lifelong resident — has helped in his efforts to promote his product, as have some effective partnerships and collaborations. He has, for example, become a sponsor of the popular Uno's summer concert series, and also a sponsor of a similar program organized by Chandler's restaurant at the Yankee Candle complex in South Deerfield.

He's also made some strong connections with several area restaurants and clubs. The list includes Max's in Springfield, his biggest restaurant client; the Tunnel Bar in Northampton, which has created special drinks featuring V-One, and Uno's, which has had a $3 V-One and cranberry juice special running most of this year.

"I've had a tremendous response from Western Mass., and I think part of it is because this is a locally owned product," he said. "People here have supported me so well, and that has given me the ability to go into other areas."

Indeed, the successful penetration of the Pioneer Valley market has enabled Kozub to turn his focus, ahead of schedule, to other quadrants in the Commonwealth (his license allows him to distribute anywhere in the state), especially the Cape, which he considered the next logical expansion area.

He's now in 10 liquor stores and a few restaurants there, and is working to expand that presence. And he's employing the same strategy that worked so well in Greater Springfield — going door to door himself in his van or H3.

Indeed, at the Cape and elsewhere, said Kozub, there are advantages to his still largely one-man-show operation. Elaborating, he said, many products are delivered by a distributor also handling several other labels. He delivers only V-One, and he's the individual who created it, meaning that he can answer questions on how the vodka is made and what makes it shelf-worthy.

"A lot of times when I visit a liquor store, the owner or manager will say, 'open up a bottle; let's try it,'" said Kozub. "It helps that I'm delivering V-One personally; I created it, so I know all about it."

For the immediate future, Kozub is focused on the Big E and its one million annual visitors, and what should be a great opportunity to gain some exposure for V-One with people from both the 413 area code and well beyond it. Meanwhile, there's the start of the new year at area colleges, and many of the events written into Kozub's September slate are pourings at liquor stores in Amherst and other college towns.

Then, there are the holidays. November and December are traditionally busy for liquor-makers (the products make easy, attractive gifts), and Kozub is looking to improve on what were exceptional numbers from the 2005 holiday season — good enough to allow him to splurge a little and buy himself the Hummer.

The answer to the question about what may come next from a long-term perspective might have been answered in part by response to Kozub's mother's 2005 Christmas newsletter. In it, she told family members of Paul's exploits with V-One, and the account caught the attention of his second cousin, Alex Kozub, a California resident.

The two, who hadn't seen each other in more than a decade, talked about taking the product to the West Coast, and eventually, after Alex obtained the necessary permits and licenses, Paul sent his cousin a few hundred cases with which to test the market.

The liquor-selling landscape is different and somewhat more challenging in California, said Paul Kozub, noting that off-premise (liquor store) tastings, which have been so successful in the Pioneer Valley, are illegal in the Golden State. Meanwhile, supermarkets are permitted to sell all types of alcohol, which serves to limit traffic in liquor stores, where V-One is making its debut.

But overall, the product is doing well in California, said Paul Kozub, noting that his cousin has made some inroads in the Fresno area and is already setting his sights on San Francisco and Los Angeles. But Paul is urging caution and slow, smart growth similar to what has transpired in the Bay State.

"We're going to pace ourselves and move cautiously," he said, adding that the California experiment, if it can be called that, may serve as a model for franchising or licensing territories across the country. This is one of the options discussed in recent meetings between Kozub and his lawyer, accountant, banker, and other team members.

"We're looking at some different options like franchising or giving people territories and making then licensed distributors," he explained. "We're going to weigh those options and do what we feel makes sense. The important thing is not to try to grow too quickly."

For now, though, Kozub is clearly focused on creating more awareness of V-One, and making his tribute to his grandfather a household name.

That assignment will be accomplished through strategies short- and long-term, large and small, from bar coasters to golf hats to the Hummer.

He believes he's on the right track, and there's ample proof that he's right.