Kyle Cooke is sharing major updates on the status of his alcoholic spritz brand, Loverboy, today. The beverage entrepreneur had been so open about the business’ financial problems during Summer House Season 10. But he recently admitted that the business is doing better.
Kyle opened up about Loverboy in a recent interview, where he admitted that he is still trying to figure it out in the alcohol industry. “The beverage industry is a very challenging industry. We have been able to try to do everything and anything possible to give people the opportunity to support the brand,” he told US Weekly in an interview published on Aug. 12. He added to the publication, “In some cases, the easiest thing for us to do is turn around and make some merch, because with alcohol particularly, getting it through the wholesale retail distribution system is timely and resource intensive. But we’re still fighting and we’re still surviving thanks to our diehard fans.”
Kyle isn’t wrong. Loverboy has had several recent merch releases, with Kyle releasing new “Summer should be fun” hoodies and t-shirts in July, and Kyle Cooke Send It Tour merch in August in honor of his birthday month. The brand also relaunched limoncello and espresso martini spritzes this month.
Kyle Cooke reveals new details on Loverboy’s evolution in the industry
Kyle continued, telling the publication that in spite of the struggles, he is happy with his business and being an entrepreneur. “At one point, we were one of the fastest-growing brands in what we call in alcohol the fourth category, which is basically everything in a can,” he admitted. “There’s obviously a lot of brands with celebrities attached — I hate the c-word because I just think of myself as a normal guy who stumbled into television — but just building something that got to a point where there is international interest is pretty freaking awesome, despite all the challenges.”
“So, to put something out there that’s tangible that people can enjoy, give me feedback, and we can continue to iterate and launch new flavors, [it’s] been very rewarding despite all the blood, sweat, and tears.”
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What happened with Loverboy’s finances?
Kyle had been open throughout Summer House Season 10 that Loverboy was on the verge of closing its doors forever. “In the last six months, we’ve actually seen a decline in distribution, which means declines in revenue,” Kyle explained in a confessional during Summer House Season 10, Episode 2. “So, I stopped taking a salary at Loverboy to prolong our cash reserves.”
Kyle further shared an update on Loverboy’s financial status during In The City Season 1, Episode 3. “We have enough money in the bank to basically last ’til the end of the year. We have to just continue to do a lot with a little,” he said. “We are talking to partners that could buy a minority or majority stake in us. But those conversations are happening way slower than I would like. We basically have to find ways, creatively, to get revenue up — to extend the ‘runway,’ right?”
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Learn more about Kyle’s other career as a DJ and how much money he makes from it.
