Speaker 1 [00:04] Hey, folks, it's Ray with Taste Radio. Right now, I'm honored to be sitting down with John Sastetter, the CEO of Silver King Beverage Company. John, it's great to see you.
Speaker 2 [00:14] Hi, Ray, thanks. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 [00:16] So what is Silver King Beverage Company?
Speaker 2 [00:20] Well, Silver King Beverage is a CPAC facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. What's unique about us is that we, we actually produce aluminum cans and fill aluminum cans under one roof. So that's unique in North America, a model that, you know, we thought would be great to service the western part of the US where can supply was more limited. Um, as well as CPAC capabilities. And so, uh, the facility was built. We're about 1.4 million square feet over two buildings, um, and we kind of provide an end to end service for our customers filling beverage products.
Speaker 1 [00:59] That's pretty remarkable. Uh, it almost sounds like you're a one-stop shop and solution for a lot of beverage companies.
Speaker 2 [01:06] Our, our goal is to be a, a one-stop shop. So, you know, you can, you can, we produce the can here. We fill a can, we can variety pack the cans, and also provide warehouse services for our customers. So there's a lot of flexibility in our manufacturing process. Different MOQs that have enabled emerging brands and new brands to come to market with a lower MOQ, but then also scale and be produced on our high speed lines as well.
Speaker 1 [01:37] It seems like there would be a lot of advantages for beverage companies of all sizes to work with Silver King and its integrated model, but why specifically does it matter? I know you mentioned one specific reason, but what are the other reasons that a company would want to work with you and the integrated model that you provide?
Speaker 2 [01:55] Sure. And we, we, we hope that's the case, right? We want to be a, we wanna be a provider that, uh, you know, is focused on quality and service and, and trust, right? I think that's such an important part of this is that brand owners are entrusting, uh, that process with us to make the, the product in the, in the liquid that goes in a can and goes to a consumer. But I think, you know, when you think about aluminum can manufacturing and getting product to the West Coast, um. You know, there's a freight savings, a logistics savings in that, and I think, you know, we're not, we're not a national provider, you know, we know that we have a regional focus and logistics and that cost of transportation on inbound materials as well as in outbound getting it to your, to the consumer ultimately is a big part of the of the puzzle for a brand owner, and I think that's where we service a niche in the in the West. And by, by providing a can, in addition to the rest of the services we mentioned, there's a tremendous freight savings when you're not shipping, you know, air across the country to fill somewhere else, right? It's all here, so you, you save that leg of the supply chain.
Speaker 1 [03:05] Do you work with companies that are brand new? Do you work with companies that are more established, that are, you know, large strategics? What size, what size and stage of company is ideal to working with uh Silver King Beverage Company?
Speaker 2 [03:20] You know, really, Ray, it's, it's all of the above. And I think that's another strategic advantage that we have. So we, we have, um, you know, very, very large brands that work with us to supply a regional portion of their network, right? So that's, that's great and they're big volume. But we also have helped emerging brands and companies who are just starting out and that we're the first time they're making their product and we have, we have some low MOQs on both can making and can filling. So we have, we have three can fill lines, and one is 250 cans a minute with only a 50,000 can MOQ. So that lets those new brands produce at a scale that's more appropriate for them. With the with the hopes that those brands are successful and then can graduate to the higher speed lines and we've seen that we've had some great success stories where brands have started here and uh and then just really exploded and have moved from our slowest lines to our fastest lines and we've helped them build. And eventually, right, eventually those same customers end up then finding other CPAC sites on the east coast of the country because it doesn't, you know, again, it doesn't make sense to produce here for the east coast and ship, ship liquid that far. So we help support that process as well. We're here for the customer and our and our brand owners.
Speaker 1 [04:40] Clearly flexibility is a key advantage of working with Silver King Beverage Company, but In your experience, why is flexibility such a critical factor for beverage companies?
Speaker 2 [04:55] Great question. I, you know, and I came from the brand side of things. I was, you know, so I, I worked with co-packers and I, and I helped build plants to support, uh, big brands. Um, you know, I think innovation drives this industry, right? So whether it's new flavors or pack sizes, uh, uh, can sizes, whatever it happens to be, that really does drive, uh, the consumer. And so that is really important for the brand. And I think what we've created here. Is that ultimate flexibility. So we can, we can produce almost any can size you can imagine. We can package, we can fill those cans, uh, provide a multitude of variety pack options for customers, and then we also have the ability to take on different types of beverages. So we, we do a lot of sparkling water, energy drinks. We're doing a ton of protein drinks right now. Uh, we have a, we have our hemp license and we're helping customers that have hemp beverages. And then we're, we're also getting into flavored malt beverages, uh, here. So it's being able to provide all of those services, uh, to the brands and, and be really quick and nimble as well because we're a small company so being quick and nimble on the innovation front and helping customers through, um, launching new products, new flavors, uh, I think is a place that we excel as well.
Speaker 1 [06:13] I've spoken with a lot of entrepreneurs who look at co-packers as pretty much one dimensional. You make my product. In your case, you've sort of changed the model such that it's about so much more. But at the end of the day, it's really about trust. A relationship has to be built and based on trust. How would you advise brands and their owners to think about relationships? Uh, with their co-packers and what they should be expecting from their co-packers.
Speaker 2 [06:45] Yeah, great question. And I think, you know, ultimately, it sounds a little cliche, but it is about a partnership. It's not just a, uh, you know, a supplier and manufacturer kind of working together to create a widget. It's, it's about a partnership. And I think, you know, we, we have, um, under, under the same roof here, we also have laboratories and an R&D center. We help companies. Kind of recreate their brands and and make sure formulation is most efficient, right, so that we help them reduce cost and I think that comes with trust in a real partnership where um there's been companies that have come here and said, hey, we, this is the way it has to be, this is the way we do it, and we respect that and we'll do that, but then we'll offer suggestions to say, hey, we, we think we can actually make this more efficiently if you are open and willing to try A, B, and C. And then working together we do that and I think we've had a lot of success there. So it's, it's really about building the trust and that's around quality and service, I think is where it starts and I, you know, cost is always a big part of this equation and discussion as we bring on new customers. Everybody wants to drive cost as low as they can. Um, but it has to be about much more than that because everybody has to, you know, we, we all have to survive. We all have to make a little bit of money along the way here, and I think, you know, in the COPAC world it's, it's some tight margins and so there has to be a mutual respect that we all have to kind of Share in the process here, and I think when we work together to find ways to take out costs, we all win and it's, it's more successful.
Speaker 1 [08:21] Thinking about the future, how do you see Silver King Beverage Company as fitting into the future of manufacturing?
Speaker 2 [08:28] You know, we want to continue to provide a great service and be known for quality, right? And then as a, as an employer, I think that's important too. We're, we're building a place where we want people to Enjoy coming to work and be proud of the work that we do. And really, I know when we do town halls and we survey employees, they're proud to go into a grocery store and pick up a can and see the Silver King logo on there and know that they helped put that onto the shelf. And so it's, I think number one is building a great company that focuses on safety and quality and building trust with our, with our partners. And I think for our partners in the industry, it's continuing to be super flexible, um, understanding the changing environment and what's really needed in the market. I think, you know, I mentioned some of the things that are evolving like protein drinks, the hemp, again, variety packs, I think continue to be a big player in the market. So I think we have to Stay in tune with our customers and understand what's driving their innovation for the next 2-3 years and we, you know, with, with our really close partners, that's what we do. We have a, we have a connection into them where we're talking about what's, what's coming down the road and how do we prepare as a co-packer to be able to address that and we want to be the first ones they come to. To try new things. So we have, we have some really big customers that have little innovation offshoots that are kind of off the beaten path, I'd say within their company, and they come here to try on our, on our smaller lines. They'll run those tests and they'll do market trials and, you know, we actually can print cans, but we can also sleeve cans on our small lines. So we've really again. Built a tremendous amount of flexibility so that customers can come here. We can be a bit of an innovation center and partner for them, and I think that's what, you know, is going to drive the future.
Speaker 1 [10:25] I would say so. I, you know, innovative ideas need innovative partners, and it sounds like Silver King Beverage Company is just that. Uh, the website is Silver King Beverage Company.com. There's a contact us link on there. Is that the best way to get in touch with you and your team?
Speaker 2 [10:42] That is, and we, we monitor that daily and so we, we try to get back to everybody really quickly within 48 hours. Um, and again, we're excited to continue to grow and, and, uh, provide a great solution for new business in the west part of the US.
Speaker 1 [10:57] Outstanding. John, thanks so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it and let's definitely stay in touch.
Speaker 2 [11:03] I appreciate it. Thanks, Ray.
