Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Oscilowski.
Hi Lauren, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I moved to Montana in 2009 with a teaching degree and quickly realized how challenging it is to find secondary education teaching positions. I pivoted and took a job at a small distillery near Glacier National Park, and what I thought would be a summer of figuring out grad school quickly became a summer of falling in love with small business and distilling. I worked for that company for nearly 4 years and in true small business style I wore many hats. I left in April 2015 to start Spotted Bear. We opened our doors on December 13th 2015. I acted as general contractor for the remodel and learned so many things about construction working alongside my subs. I grouted 1000 square foot raw slate floor (something I will never do again). At the same time I was developing our brand/marketing materials and testing spirit recipes. There are so many details when starting a distillery and I dove into all of them. I worked but butt off and learned so much. When we opened I was the distiller, tasting room manager/bartender, sales person, ran our social media. I did everything. Looking back now I don’t know how I did it. But being in my early 30s meant endless energy. I basically lived at the distillery and only went home to shower and sleep a few hours. Now, I’ve stepped back from the day-to-day of our tasting room. The fella who started as my assistant distiller in 2015 now runs our entire production facility. I oversee the general operations of the business. I think of this as three businesses under one roof: manufacturer, wholesale distributor and retail storefront. We are where we are today because of the people–we have the best people. I think you can only truly grow a business if you’re willing and able to lean on and trust your people with boots on the ground. We now distribute throughout the state of Montana, in Northern Colorado, and sell direct to consumers via our online shop.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. Remember that little incident in 2020? Yea, that was a complete reinvention/re-approach to the business. Navigating COVID made me get creative. It forced me to reevaluate our why and our how. I think we are stronger for it. Supply chain issues, inventory shifts, general logistics are always one of the more challenging aspects of the business. That and the seasonality of our retail tasting room. Whitefish Montana is a tourist destination and sees millions of visitors during the summer months and a steady stream in winter for skiing–but outside of that our town of 8,000 can be kind of sleepy. That poses it’s own challenges. Capturing revenue while we can and making sure we are still a space that provides community for our locals.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We focus on capturing the taste of Montana. We source locally (and organic) whenever possible. Our huckleberry spirits use REAL Montana wild foraged huckleberries–that’s why they have a beautiful redish-purple color. Many distilleries lean on artificial flavorings, because it’s more affordable and consistent. We use 1 cup of huckleberries in every bottle. Our Mountain Mint peppermint schnapps uses mint grown 10 miles from our distillery. You can taste the freshness. Perfect in hot cocoa or your ski flask. Our number one selling product is our gin–we use 9 botanicals and it leans citrus and floral.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now we are really investing in our sales team and trying to grow our footprint. Which feels equal parts scary and exciting. We also have a few fun new products in the works, but I can’t share them quite yet…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.spottedbearspirits.com
- Instagram: @spottedbearspirits
- Facebook: @spottedbearspirits
