21d • General discussion
Looking for a real manufacturing business to buy or advise on?
Here’s one I’m reviewing now.
Market: Manufacturing / Alcohol & Spirits Accessories
Target: Established niche manufacturer Plan: Operational cleanup + channel focus
Here’s the breakdown 👇
This is a 26+ year old manufacturing business serving the wine, whiskey, bourbon, and spirits market.
They produce oak barrels, aging kits, and custom products used by:
• Home enthusiasts
• Distilleries
• Breweries
• Gift shops
• Online buyers (Amazon-heavy)
This is not trend-based. It’s physical, boring, and proven.
Interesting part?
They manufacture over 100,000 units per year, hold patents and licensing, and operate with a small team after recent restructuring.
This is a real factory business, not just branding.
Customers are sticky.
Once distilleries, bars, or hobbyists find a barrel supplier they trust, they don’t switch easily. Quality matters a lot here.
Returns and complaints are expensive in this category.
Repeat buyers are common.
Revenue model is diversified.
Sales come from:
• Amazon
• Website
• Wholesale
• Festivals
• B2B distillery orders
No single customer concentration risk.
Financials are solid, but not perfect.
Revenue history:
• 2022: ~$4.9M
• 2023: ~$3.4M
• 2024: ~$4.0M
There was a dip, then recovery.
Not ideal, but explainable.
Key change happened in 2025.
The owner:
• Cut staff by ~50%
• Reduced warehouse footprint
• Focused heavily on Amazon FBA • Streamlined operations
Result → higher profitability, not just top-line growth.
SDE (owner earnings):
• 2022: ~$838K
• 2023: ~$504K
• 2024: ~$417K
3-year average ≈ $495K
For manufacturing with IP, this is respectable.
Asking price: ~$1.95M
- ~$300K inventory
- That’s roughly 3.9x SDE.
Not cheap. Not crazy. Fair if margins continue improving.
Why hasn’t this business scaled more?
The owner is deeply involved in:
• Product development
• Design
• Marketing decisions
Great for quality, bad for scale.
This creates opportunity for a new operator.
Where I see upside 👇
• Narrow SKU focus to top sellers
• Reduce owner dependency
• Push B2B distillery contracts
• Improve Amazon pricing + ads
• Clean up expense discipline
• Add subscription / refill kits
This is an operator’s deal, not passive.
Transition looks reasonable.
Seller is willing to:
• Train buyer
• Stay on in consulting role
• Consider seller financing
That lowers execution risk a lot.
This business already has:
• Long operating history
• Real brand + IP
• Multiple revenue streams
• Lean team
• Clear operational levers
The real opportunity?
Turn a solid, niche manufacturer into a much more efficient cash machine.
Step 1: Buy it and stabilize ops
Step 2: Lock in Amazon + B2B margins
Step 3: Reduce owner dependency
Step 4: Scale what already works
If you like:
• Manufacturing
• Physical products
• Amazon + B2B
• Improving ops instead of inventing new stuff
This deal is worth deeper look.
Want the IM + my full thoughts?
Comment “BARREL” and I’ll share more deals like this.
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