Guidance Whiskey, a Tennessee-based whiskey brand owned by African American entrepreneur Jason Ridgel, has signed a historic partnership deal with a Kentucky-based Black-owned distributor that expands its availability to 50 stores. Since then, their company sales have increased exponentially.
Founded in 2018, Guidance Whiskey has been producing premium craft whiskey in small batches to fully ensure its quality and taste that would appeal to the consumers' preferences, especially African Americans. Its products were initially sold online for delivery in 43 states and in stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, and California.
With the recent partnership deal, Guidance Whiskey will be placed on the store shelves of 50 more retail locations in five states, including 10 stores in Kentucky. Ridgel had to go through a series of rejection from other distributors before achieving it.
"I was told 'no' by a bunch of distributors," Ridgel told Jacksonville Free Press. "They told us that would never sell because the market was saturated and there are tens of thousands of spirits."
That's when Legacy Wine and Spirits came into the picture. Its owners Kelvin Young Sr. and Djuan Ditto said that as Black-owned distributors, it has been their goal to give wider opportunities to new Black-owned brands.
"Once we met with Jason and actually had a conversation about his vision for Guidance and the whole black-owned spirits movement, we knew that we definitely wanted to play a part in that and also be a distribution partner for Guidance," Young said.For more information about Guidance Whiskey and/or to order online, visit GuidanceWhiskey.com