Alan Vo Quang, Violaine de Grully and Alexander Assouline launch Caïs, the first brand of cocktail sorbets
The brand name is a contraction of C for “cocktail” and ice” pronounced à la française. Caïs is described as the first French brand of cocktail sorbets.
EDHEC ALUMNI: tell us about your project. How did it come about?
Alan Vo Quang: Caïs is France’s first brand of cocktail sorbets. A cocktail sorbet is a faithful transformation of a cocktail into a sorbet (e.g. Mojito sorbet, Spritz sorbet, Gin & Tonic sorbet). Each one is gluten-free, lactose-free and has no animal-based ingredients. They are made using organic raw materials produced using artisanal skills at United Kitchens.
This project has been at the back of my mind since I was 12 years old. I have always dreamed of setting up an ice cream company, and it quickly became an obsession. Indeed, during my admission interview for EDHEC, I hardly spoke of anything else! But at the time it was no more than a dream. Thanks to EDHEC, I was able to meet my future associates Violaine de Grully and Alexander Assouline (both EDHEC Grande Ecole graduates – 2017), with experience in the worlds of spirits and sorbets respectively. They immediately came on board! We are highly complementary and it quickly became clear that we were more than ready to take the plunge!
Alexander, Violaine and Alan
EA: what drives your motivation in this entrepreneurial adventure?
AVQ: Apart from the fact that this project was a childhood dream that is now becoming a tangible reality, it is particularly motivating when you set about breaking the codes of a well-known product and reworking it in a way that is different to every other market player. But by far the most motivating factor is to see our clients in awe at our products and to offer them a real delight for the senses. For some it’s a revelation and they find it hard to go back to regular sorbets. Mission accomplished!
EA: how has your experience at edhec or with the network of graduates helped you achieve this project?
AVQ: My experience at EDHEC was crucial in making this project a success. In the first year of the Masters programme, I had the opportunity to take an option specialising in entrepreneurship. My mentor was Gilles Serpry (EDHEC GE, 1978), who taught me everything I needed to know about setting up a business. Once I was well-equipped and had an understanding of the various problems that young businesses encounter, nothing could hold me back. I was also lucky enough to meet with entrepreneurs, investors and other mentors, each of whom were inspirational and had highly relevant expertise to share. For example, I still remember a discussion I had with Jérôme Frizzera 2 years ago on how to find the right angle to tackle the market!
EA: what is your initial assessment of this entrepreneurial adventure? What advice do you have for others from edhec looking to become entrepreneurs?
AVQ: The first lesson is taking on the market as a priority rather than over-focusing on developing a wonderful business plan. Too many people lose time drawing up their business plans but you have to remember that a business plan is like a balance sheet: it is only applicable at a specific moment in time. It is essential, but don’t spend too much time on it. As you will see, your hypotheses will change more quickly than you think! I think all entrepreneurs experience this, but no-one anticipates it.
The two pieces of advice I would have are as follows:
- Cultivate your network as soon as you start internships. All of the people you meet will be potential contacts you can return to in the future. Each environment has its own codes, and no-one will be able to explain them better to you than someone from the inside, but first you need to know that person!
- People are often afraid of entrepreneurship because they think it’s an overly risky adventure. But at our age, when graduating, there are very few risks. If you have an idea and are lucky enough to be able to get it off the ground, go for it, you will never regret the fantastic adventure that awaits you!
EA: What’s next for your business? What are your expectations from the community of EDHEC graduates?
AVQ: The next stage is to successfully run our crowdfunding campaign on KissKissBankBank. In less than two days we had already reached 40% of our objective, which left us in first place of the KissKissBankBank “Selection” in record time! And if we manage to raise our target of €7,000, we will be able to concentrate on increasing our production capacity as well as our on-site presence at various events. We take part in trade fairs and corporate events, so we are always interested in making contact with people responsible for organising them. Feel free to help us out, we’ll pay you back in sorbets, it’s worth it. ????
More info about our company:
L’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération.
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