Bourbon & Boots
Hand-Crafted Gifts at Scale
Company Information
Bourbon & Boots is a lifestyle brand that designs, produces, and ships artisan-inspired, hand-crafted products. These products range from home decor items, to jewelry, to rare gifts.
Last year, the company was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the 16th-fastest-growing private brand.
This year, the company is on track to generate $4 million in sales and has partnered with several third-party sellers to expand further.
According to Bourbon & Boots, more than 12 million people spend an average of $300 each year on home decor and gifts. In total, this presents a $3.7 billion market.
This market size is due to the fact that many consumers are tired of mass-produced, foreign-sources gifts. As a result, several platforms have emerged that focus on offering handcrafted, quality items — platforms like Amazon Handmade and Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY).
The problem with these platforms is that individuals selling their gifts are often hobbyists that can’t produce their unique items in quantity.
Bourbon & Boots was created to fill this niche. The company’s in-house production team enables it to use domestically-sourced materials to produce rare and unique items at scale, ensuring repeat orders are the exact same design and feel, even if made months apart.
On Bourbon & Boots, customers can order handcrafted, American-made items such as artisan cheese boards, wooden bookends, and whiskey glasses featuring laser-etched images.
Bourbon & Boots was founded in 2012 as an Etsy-style peer-to-peer marketplace. This marketplace connected buyers and sellers, but did not produce or distribute any items. In 2014, the company generated $150,000 in sales and achieved a 35% gross product margin.
In May 2015, the platform was acquired by xCelerate Capital, led by serial entrepreneur Rod Ford — Ford’s previous company CognitiveData was acquired by Merkle.
Following the acquisition of Bourbon & Boots, Ford pivoted the company to its current mission.
Until recently, Bourbon & Boots generated sales exclusively through its direct-to-consumer website.
However, following its recent hire of a Chief Management Officer who formerly worked at Jet.com, the company began selling its products through several third-party platforms, including:
Marketplaces like Wayfair and Overstock…
Gifting catalog companies like 800Flowers and Wine Enthusiast…
And national media sites like Hearst Magazines and The Bourbon Review.