Co-Founder of Leading Maryland Craft Cocktail Continues to Thrive Despite Tragic Loss

Stacey Fifer, a lifelong Maryland resident, is the co-founder and President of Craft Crushes, a Ready-To-Drink "Crush" cocktail made right in Baltimore. Stacey is a devoted mother to her two beautiful daughters, Alora and Aviana, ages 3 and 1. She enjoys traveling and exploring new venues, but most importantly, she loves sharing new experiences and building lasting memories with her daughters. With a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, Stacey has utilized her knowledge and experience to develop success in the fiercely competitive and evolving alcohol industry. Her strong work ethic, commitment, and perseverance have created a top-selling cocktail sold in liquor stores throughout Maryland.

1. What are Craft Crushes? Where did you get the idea?

Craft Crushes are vodka based Ready-to-Drink (RTD) "Crush" cocktails. All of our crushes are 100% All-Natural and made with the finest vodka that’s been distilled 6 times. They're gluten free, 6% ABV, 200 calories per serving, and made right in Maryland!

Dating back only a few years ago, "Ready-to-Drink" cocktails didn't exist in the market. Seltzers were experiencing tremendous growth and popularity, but vodka and other spirit-based cocktails had not emerged yet. My husband owned a restaurant and a liquor store in Pasadena where, like so many other Maryland bars and restaurants, were known for their fresh-squeezed crushes. Because there weren't any canned crushes available at the time, we began researching the idea and worked through various sources to develop our own canned Orange Crush. We were really at the forefront of this "RTD" market.

2. Did you always have the itch to become an entrepreneur? What did you do first when launching Craft Crushes? When did you know you had a winner?

I've always been very ambitious and have taken enormous pride in all career opportunities through the years. When my husband and I were developing Craft Crushes, we both knew we had a promising concept, and we were motivated to bring that idea to life.  Once we finally had a viable product, we self-distributed to stores throughout Maryland.  My husband would load his pickup truck with crushes and drive to liquor stores to sample our drink and share our story.  He was actually able to gain a lot of traction, and we eventually partnered with an alcohol distributor.  Once we perfected our All-Natural Orange Crush formula, we knew we had a winning business.  We just needed people to try Craft Crushes for themselves, and we knew the opportunities would be endless.

3. All business owners encounter challenges and obstacles on the road to success, but you faced the unimaginable in losing your husband/business partner. How has your experience of loss shaped your approach to running the business?

Losing my husband to cancer created such a devastating loss for me both personally and professionally. As a mother of two very young daughters, I had to overcome such enormous heartache and overwhelming grief and instead exude strength for my girls.  My husband had become the face of the business - he was the one who developed relationships with clients, liquor stores, and distributor representatives.  After he passed, I not only needed to continue managing production and manufacturing, but I also needed to become the new face of Craft Crushes. I needed to build these relationships and create industry connections of my own.  

However, the loss of my husband has only motivated and inspired me to work even harder and to take the business to new heights.  I promised him I wouldn’t give up and that I would ultimately create the success we envisioned, and I want to show my daughters something to be proud of. 

4. Where can people buy Craft Crushes?

Craft Crushes are currently sold in almost 400 liquor stores throughout Maryland, and that list is growing by the day!  I have the list of retailers that carry our crushes on our website:  www.craftcrushes.com.  For those that don’t currently see their favorite liquor store listed, it's no problem!  They can always reach out to me and I can assist with placing an order. 

5. What's next for Craft Crushes and just how far do you plan to take this business?

When we initially launched Craft Crushes, we only had one flavor: the original Orange Crush. Last year, I was able to expand and launch our variety pack which featured two new flavors, the Mango Crush and Strawberry Lemon Crush. Now, I'm able to focus more of my attention on growing distribution and market share not only throughout Maryland, but to neighboring states and beyond. The sky is the limit!!