Your Brewery's Oyster Social
THE CORE CONCEPT FOR AN OYSTER SOCIAL
It is pretty simple. Empire Oyster & Your Brewery partner to produce and promote YOUR BREWERY’S OYSTER SOCIAL @ YOUR LOCATION on a date that works for you. Your entity is the title sponsor of the event. It is profitable. Generally, it is a ticketed event. It attracts premium consumers, creates a buzz and fills your brewery with great energy. Empire Oyster does all the oyster related production and presents an ultra-premium oyster bar that features up to 12 varieties of East, West and/or Gulf Coast oysters. Empire Oysterhelps to promote the event through our social and digital media. Brewery partners handle the beer side of the project, co-promote the event and sell tickets as well. Together, we aim to sell 100 - 300 ticketets guests, depending on the capacity of your venue, indoors and out.
July 4th, 2016. Private Oyster Bar for Hornblower Yachts, NYC
WHY DO THIS?
- Sales & Profits
- Marketing & Publicity
- New Customer Acquisition
YOUR BREWERY’S OYSTER SOCIAL @ YOUR LOCATION will drive sales, generate buzz and publicity and attract new and valuable consumers to your location and brand. Oyster-centric events attract interested, interesting & influential consumers who are not price sensitive. They are value-driven consumers who seek an elevated pairing experience. They respect and appreciate and pay for authentic experiences like this. And they post about it on social media. The bottom line: This can be both profitable and an outstanding marketing opportunity.
THE MARKETING VALUE
Is the marketing value of this clear to you and your team? Are you willing to put forth additional effort (over standard operations on any given Saturday)) in order to fill you facility with the types of consumers who are willing to pre-pay for an ultra-premium food & wine experience. If the answer is yes, read on.
BENEFITS OTHER THAN BEER & TICKET SALES
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COMPARABLE & EXISTING CONCEPTS
MOTHER SHUCKER @ Captain Lawrence Brewery - New York https://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/event/mother-shucker/
Presented by The Cookery, a nearby restaurant, offering other food: https://patch.com/new-york/tarrytown/cookery-host-oyster-fest-captain-lawrence-brewing-company
EMPIRE OYSTER'S BRAND, PRODUCT & EXPERIENCE
Empire Oyster is a vertically integrated oyster business based in NYC. We produce oysters. We distribute oysters. We serve oysters in our Oyster Bar. And since 2012, Empire Oyster has created and produced dozens of first class oyster-centric events of all shapes, sizes and styles. Empire Oyster's events are ultra-premium, memorable and exciting. Here are a few of our “Greatest Hits”:
New York Oyster Week 2012-2017
International Oyster Day 2015 & 2016
Miami Oyster Week 2017
Jingle Shells 2016
Empire Oyster presented by Thrillist 2015
EMPIRE OYSTER PRESENTED BY THRILLIST 2016
EMPIRE OYSTER PRESENTED BY THRILLIST 2017
THE CONSUMER VALUE PROPOSITION
The consumer who buys a $70 ticket feels like it is a great deal because, well, it is. In a modern, reputable, urban restaurant $70 does not get you too many ultra-premium oysters and beverages. Nor can you expect to see, learn or discover much about oysters in a restaurant setting. But you can at our events! Beyond discover, fun and scene that our events deliver, the perceived value is much higher, especially by those who “think” they’ll eat 40 oysters. The reality is that consumers average 23 oysters per person. This metric comes from having served roughly 100,000 oysters to 10,000 consumers at 70 events since 2012. We’ve done the math 1,000 times! Sure, some do eat 40. Most eat 18. The average is 23 per person, per event.
The average bill for 18 ultra-premium oysters consumed with 2 premium beverages + tax and tip at an establishment that serves both is at least $91.60.
Oysters: 18 x 3* = $54
Beverages: $10 x 2 = $20
Sub Total: $74
Tax (8%) & Tip (18%) = 24% = $17.76
Total: $91.60
*NOTE: Rarely are premium west coast oysters (especially Kumamotos) less than $3.50 per oyster. Therefore, the REAL math here is more like $95-$105.
THE EVENT MODEL
PRODUCTION - STYLE OF OYSTER SERVICE
In presenting hundreds of thousands of oysters over dozens of events over 7 years we’ve found that the best way to do this is as follows:
- Sell tickets
- Offer at least 6 different types of oysters but featuring East, West and possibly Gulf Coast oysters.
- Offer each oyster variety at it’s own station with it’s own shucker.
NOTE: Each station could easily offer 2 - 3 varieities over the course of the event making it possible to offer up to 18 varieties of oysters at a single event. Few restaurants on earth (even the very best oyster destinations) offer more than 6 varieties at once.
OYSTER “SALES" MODEL
Ala Carte or Pay As You Go: This model is not one we prefer to apply to the oysters because it requires the consumer and the shucker (or a third party) to manage the transaction. The added labor is costly and clubsy. It can certainly be the model for beverage sales, however.
Ticketing System: This model gives guests a limited number of tickets when they arrive. One for each oyster, for example. This does eliminate the toughing of money but it still maintains the need to monitor the transaction: one oyster for one ticket. This is NOT a task a shucker can take on. Therefore it adds the need for another staff person at each shucking station. We do not recommend this system.
Unlimited Consumption: This is the model we prefer for a host of reasons. No money needs to change hands. Nobody is needed to monitor the transaction at the oyster station. Guests just grab oysters they want and eat them. Simple. T
The reason we do not like to have people buy oysters ala carte:
- Transactions require labor. This costs money. An oyster shucker cannot touch money and shuck oysters. Its unsafe and gross and would slow down the process anyway.
- Transactions require guests to touch money. And this is also gross when the same consumers then uses their hands to eat a raw oyster.
We seek a safe, elegant and cost effective model for these events. We’ve found the unlimited model to work best because…
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTNERS
EMPIRE OYSTER PROVIDES & MANAGES...
- Ultra-Premium Oysters of up to 12 East, West & Gulf Coast Varieties
- Ice
- Shuckers
- Sauces & Accoutrement
- Gear for Presentation
- Fruit
- Cocktail Napkins
- Bamboo Skewers
- Online Ticket Sales
BREWERY PROVIDES & MANAGES...
- Event space
- Staff
- Other Features
- Other Infrastructure
- Security
- Permits (with the help and expertise of Empire Oyster)
- Marketing & Promotion
THE OYSTER SOCIAL CONCEPT
The development of the "OYSTER SOCIAL” as an “out of the box” product is new. We intend to create and produce dozens of "Oyster Socials" for breweries, wineries, distilleries and municipalities, world-wide.
OYSTER SOCIALS ALWAYS FEATURE...
- ...your people, place, process and product. That is, it is a showcase for your brewery, tap room, location, brand, beverages and staff.
- thousands of ultra-premium oysters of up to 20 varieties, shucked live, in the round and served raw on the half-shell with a host of premium accoutrement.
OYSTER SOCIALS CAN ALSO FEATURE
- other food
- local oyster growers
- live music
- special guests & speakers
- shellebrity shuckers
- a Learn to shuck station
- a non-profit beneficiary
- special beer & oyster pairings including an oyster stout or saison
- raffles, silent auctions, live auctions
THE “SHOW"
We have found that consumers LOVE to see oysters shucked live and served, one by one, raw, on the half-shell. So, everything we do is done to make sure the guest has a front row seat to this. This “experience” is “Edu-Taining” as they lean in at each station to learn about that particular oyster, where it came from, how it was grown. Consumers discover a great deal about oysters at these events, just as they would on a tour of your facility. It is extremely engaging and exciting. After years of producing these kinds of events we have realized again and again what works:
- The more varieties of oysters on offer, the better
- Live Shucking
- Great Accoutrement
- Great Beverages & Pairings
- Live Music
- Minimal interruptions from speeches or live auctions or anything else
- Minimal need for “other food”.
THE OYSTERS ON OFFER
Empire Oyster can curate the oyster offering in a host of ways. Oysters can be 100% local or just the opposite. Everything and anything is possible here. Costs do rise as we use more rare & exotic oysters but so can ticket prices.
THE ACCOUTREMENT
Our garnish game if off the charts. We do things that famous and profitable restaurants who have been in business for 100 years have not figured out yet. This engages and enchants our guests.
- Fresh Grated Horseradish Root
- Fresh Grated Wasabi Root
- French Mignonette
- Japanese Mignonette
- 3 Citrus Foam
- Spirited Pearls™
- Vodka, Gin, Tequila, Mezcal & Whisky Tinctures
- Pink Peppercorns
- Tabasco
- Other interesting hot sauces
NOTE: We do NOT serve cocktail sauce. Why? Because it is 99% ketchup. It was developed in 19th Century NYC to mask the scent and taste of a rancid oyster from a very polluted NY Harbor. There simply is no place for it on a fresh, ultra-premium oyster from pristine waters.
FINANCIALS
Oyster Socials make money. Not enough to retire on, but they are profitable.
COSTS
All of the production costs are covered by & our brewer partners. Costs are highly variable depending on the features on offer. See projected / typical financials below.
REVENUE SPLIT
Empire Oyster & our brewer partners negotiate a revenue split that works for both of us. 50/50 on net profits from ticket sales with a guaranteed minimum to Empire Oyster is generally the model we prefer. The numbers work. See financials below.
