Two Brothers Launch A Rapidly Expanding, Gold-Medal Winning Whiskey, A Founder’s Story with Sran Brothers
Brothers Andy and Sonny started Sran Spirits at the height of the COVID pandemic by launching their flagship product, Daru Whiskey. Daru has since grown tremendously: it won a double-gold medal at a spirits competition and has taken international honors, it is stocked in multiple states across the U.S., is carried in Total Wine & More (the largest independent spirits retailer in the U.S.), has secured partnerships with spirits boxes such as PourMore and Flaviar as well as an online retail partnership with Caskers, allowing them to take advantage of the e-commerce boom, and they recently secured a distribution deal with Southern Glazer’s (the largest spirits distributor in North America). The brothers plan to scale and expand the brand over the next months and even have their eye on possible international expansion. Perhaps most impressive? The brothers have grown the brand while still working their normal jobs, and have self-funded their business.
Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up
We both grew up in the Los Angeles area; Sonny served in the U.S. Marine Corps and eventually settled in Scottsdale after his military service, whereas Andy remains and lives in the LA area. Our childhood wasn’t easy; we didn’t grow up with a lot, and because of this, we always had entrepreneurial ambitions to not only accomplish amazing things but to strive for more and never settle for less. We’ve always been extremely close as brothers, and this business endeavor has brought us even closer. We couldn’t have chosen better business partners and we’re blessed to be able to run this business together.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
Our whiskey company was our first official endeavor! We always had entrepreneurial ambitions and tendencies, but when we thought about this idea initially and talked it through, it all clicked. One night, when we were regularly chatting, Andy brought up the idea of possibly creating our own spirit, continuing our father’s tradition from India here in the United States (our father, ironically, used to distill spirits of his own back in India). Sonny immediately thought we could name the product “Daru” which loosely translates to “spirits” in India. Between our branding, our name, and our product, we knew it’d be a hit. From there, we got right to work and here we are.
What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?
Do not be afraid to pivot! The initial vision for your business will iterate and change over time, but don’t let this deter you – this is normal! Many times in our journey, we had unexpected pivots. From supplier shake-ups to re-doing our formulas to changing our go-to-market strategy, we refused to be stubborn and chose to embrace change rather than resist it.
