Tiffany Capri Hainesworth made historical past in 2019 when she launched TCapri Tequila, changing into the primary Black lady to solely personal a tequila model. Nonetheless, the highway to creating historical past was no simple feat. Her journey started in 2012 after she survived a tragic automotive crash that modified her perspective on life. On the time, she had been working for the federal authorities for practically 30 years. Nonetheless, the crash motivated her to pursue her ardour and enterprise into entrepreneurship.
“I used to be in a significant automotive accident that brought on traumatic mind damage leading to a seizure dysfunction accompanied by debilitating migraine complications. This life-changing automotive accident compelled me to reevaluate my life,” Hainesworth advised BLACK ENTERPRISE in an e mail. After the accident, the D.C. native says she gained “newfound readability” that led her to start making and promoting alcohol-infused sweets like muffins, bread pudding, and gummy bears underneath the umbrella of her first enterprise, TCapri Connoisseur Treats.
“With the success of my treats, I started to dream even greater,” she stated.
Along with making boozy treats, she finally aspired to really personal a spirit model so she started researching the method of creating tequila and the way it’s regulated. In 2018, the tequila aficionado says she “packed up and flew to Jalisco, Mexico, in pursuit of the last word tequila.” Whereas there, she found a small distillery in Jalisco’s capital Guadalajara, a western metropolis in Mexico identified for tequila, and commenced working alongside farmers who harvested agave crops, a base ingredient for manufacturing tequila. That’s the place she produced a small batch tequila and signed a contract for her very personal model.
“The highlands and lowlands of Jalisco, Mexico, are the one locations the place 100% Blue Weber Agave is grown, farmed, and processed to make 100% tequila,” she stated. “Being within the Agave fields with the Jimadors and studying learn how to use a Coa de jima (a specialised instrument used for harvesting agave), makes you respect this extremely regulated spirit much more.”
Hainesworth says she traveled to Jalisco from her house in Maryland as usually as potential to realize a hands-on expertise with the method of creating tequila from farm to glass.
“I didn’t hesitate to leap on a aircraft and journey to Jalisco, which is roughly a 3-hour drive from the Guadalajara Airport.” She continued, “as a girl, taking up this mission independently, I wanted the distillery proprietor to know that I used to be critical about this endeavor. The one approach to accomplish this was for them to see me in Mexico regularly.”
In 2019, T-Capri, LLC, grew to become a licensed spirits distributor all whereas Hainesworth continued to work as a full-time worker for the U.S. authorities. Nonetheless, her plans got here to a screeching halt on the onset of the COVID-19 disaster, forcing her to launch the model a 12 months later than anticipated.
“As a result of pandemic, I couldn’t journey to Mexico for fairly a while. As soon as everybody started to turn out to be acclimated to the ‘new regular’ of working from house– that wasn’t the case for the workplaces in Mexico. I wanted to course of documentation, for instance, such because the IMPI (The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property) and the CRT (Tequila Regulatory Council). They have been fully closed. So I needed to look ahead to the workplace to reopen and atone for their backlog earlier than I may full my course of,” she defined.
As soon as authorities workplaces in Mexico reopened, Hainesworth then confronted one other main concern for the reason that pandemic additionally triggered a provide chain disruption within the glass trade. Because of this, bottle and glass factories ran out of provides and bought an incredible backlog.
“Instantly, every thing got here to an abrupt halt,” says Hainesworth. “My glass firm had depleted their provide of my explicit bottle and had no concept when manufacturing would resume. My group and I began to frantically seek for new glass firms however to no avail. There was a waitlist in every single place,” she stated. In flip, she created a tasting field whereas her bottles have been positioned on maintain.
“It was a really somber time for me. I had simply efficiently launched a product that everybody liked and identical to that, I used to be off retailer cabinets— it lasted for months! This value the corporate tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in loss. I had to consider a approach to pivot,” she stated. “I shortly shifted gears to domesticate a tasting field which launched our new Reposado tequila, in addition to our award-winning Blanco.”
Undeterred, Hainesworth finally started distributing her merchandise as soon as once more, which turned out to be a hit.
“Every batch had fully bought out nearly instantly which validated my market. I need to say, our firm has skilled probably the most difficult obstacles throughout the pandemic— but we’ve survived.”
After carrying out such an unimaginable feat, Hainesworth says making historical past as the primary Black lady to solely personal a tequila model means the world to her.
“This achievement demonstrates to little women that appear to be me that something is feasible. You need to imagine which you can develop as you go. You don’t have to attend to have a number of companions or an investor earlier than beginning a spirit model. You want sheer dedication, drive, ambition, and keenness! You need to even be devoted, constant, and targeted. Lastly, you solely want that one ‘sure’ to catapult you into your future.”
Right now, TCapri Tequila is bought in shops throughout Maryland. Impressed by her grandfather and aunts’ work ethic, Hainesworth hopes to develop to distribute her model globally finally.
“I might not take ‘no’ for a solution! I’ve achieved what most stated that I couldn’t, and most didn’t imagine was attainable. Girls from each stroll of life also can see that that is potential.”
