AGE: 36
POSITION: Co-founder & Chairman, Stirrings LLC
RESIDENCE: Providence
FAVORITE BOOK: “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Roald Dahl
LIFELONG AMBITION: To be a great dad
GUILTY PLEASURE: Watching “Family Guy”
Timing can be everything. When Gil MacLean and childhood friend Bill Creelman decided they wanted to expand their company’s product lines, they used what they knew as purveyors of spice rubs to make dry garnishes for cocktail glasses, such as sugar, mint and lime combinations for mojitos.
But they wanted to do more. What they learned, as MacLean said in his 40 Under Forty application, was that although “at the turn of the century the spirits world saw a dramatic turn toward high-end spirits, and while the popularity and quality of these spirits soared, the quality of the ingredients they were being mixed with did not.”
That is what is known as a market opportunity. And an influential experience, MacLean said.
“We ignored all the industry advice we were given telling us that a high-end, all-natural cocktail mix that was two to three times more expensive than any product on the market would not sell.”
In creating the Stirrings product line (the company now has that name as well), they learned to trust themselves, and the rewards have been tangible.
Inc. magazine named the company the second-fastest growing food and beverage business in the United States in 2006, while the National Association of Specialty Food Trade named Stirrings the outstanding product line of the year. This year, MacLean was a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
The confidence that experience engendered had led MacLean to expand his horizons. He joined the boards of trustees for The Academy at Charlemont in 2005 and Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education in 2006. But for sure, there will be more coming.
After all, MacLean has come to realize the power of new ideas: “We have been able to not only transform the way the industry perceives cocktail mixes but how people all over the country can now enjoy amazing cocktails.
This experience is best summed up by Henry Ford’s great quote, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a better horse.”
