Running a small business is no easy feat. Tenneyson founders Michael Bumgarner and Graham Wasilition have overcome many hurdles just to get their beverage brand up and running, but one of their most recent challenges is one that countless brands are also up against: supply chain issues.
Shipment delays and limited production capacity are directly impacting Tenneyson. The stakes are high, as these setbacks not only disrupt the workflow but also threaten the brand’s ability to meet customer demand and maintain momentum.
“Our ingredient supplier ships directly to our production partner, and securing their schedule requires us to plan months in advance. Unfortunately, if ingredients are delayed, we’re bumped further down the line, putting our timeline at risk,” says Bumgarner. “If we’re pushed out of the production queue, it means our customers won’t receive their orders.”
There’s added pressure with Tenneyson’s distribution partners — if the brand can’t meet the demands, there’s a risk the partners will move on to the next brand.
Special ingredients require special processes
Heading into Dry January this year, a time where consumers everywhere try to cut back on their alcohol intake, the Tenneyson founders weren’t as prepared as they had hoped.
“We had all of our ingredients and components on order and tracking to deliver before the December holiday for a production run the first week in January, but one supplier in particular failed to meet the delivery date,” says Wasilition.
“Unfortunately, those ingredients were rather specialized extractions using glycerin rather than alcohol and we couldn’t just buy any old standard alcohol-based extract,” Wasilition continues. “Therefore, we were left waiting an additional 30 days to produce, so we were out of stock for a few weeks.”
Even if just one item is missing, it has a massive negative impact on the production line.
Wasilition says that growth and consistency help the brand get around these supply chain issues, since both Bumgarner and Wasilition can now better anticipate market needs.
“We are also speaking with potential production partners who use some of our ingredients in other products so that we wouldn’t have to special order everything just for our production runs,” Wasilition notes.
Preparing for future complications
With the uncertainty that the future holds, both Bumgarner and Wasilition are exploring bringing production in-house.
“Having backup domestic component suppliers vetted within current pricing and capacity is something top of mind as the import/tariff landscape is shaken up,” Wasilition says.
Producing Tenneyson beverages in-house would not only help the brand brace themselves from potential tariff threats, but it would also lead to a better, more consistent product.
Pure perseverance also keeps the Tenneyson team going strong.
“Two years ago, we ran into a similar supply issue,” notes Bumgarner. “The day before our production run, Graham drove 13 hours to get our production partners what they needed to stay on schedule. Sometimes you just have to do whatever you have to do to win — and it’s the small wins like that that keep us going.”
Tennyson going strong
Due to the founders’ ability to pivot and keep pushing through the difficult times, Tennyson is finding its footing within the emerging community of those who are intentional about their alcohol intake.
“We have taken an alcohol-friendly approach because we believe the true opportunity lies within the market of those who still drink alcohol but are looking for a few good staples to choose throughout their week when abstaining or alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks,” says Bumgarner. “Some brands openly bash the alcohol category and preach about sobriety, but we have found that tends to turn off the modern ‘hybrid’ drinker.”
Due to Tenneyson’s alcohol-free nature, it allows Bumgarner and Wasilition to sell the beverage on Amazon. After launching sales on the e-commerce conglomerate in the fall of 2024, Bumgarner says they saw 20x growth heading into Dry January.
“We have not taken a big outside capital and are in this for the long haul, which allows us to take the crawl, walk and run approach,” explains Bumgarner. “We make intentional decisions about what markets we want to be in and when it makes sense to expand. There is so much learning to do in this new emerging market and we want to make sure we continue to improve our strategy based on real-world feedback. When it’s time for us to run, we’ll be ready.”
