Small Business Success Story - Ninth Planet Beverage Solutions

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Each year the New York Small Business Development Center recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the  Baruch SBDC appears in our 2016 Annual Report. 

Josh Schaffner
Ninth Planet Beverage Solutions
Midtown Manhattan SBDC

 
Ninth Planet Beverage Solutions packages beverages for small and medium-sized producers, specializing in beers for craft breweries. The company was created to provide a reliable and affordable packaging service to small growing producers who don’t want to sacrifice quality control or presentation in the growth of their product to additional sales outlets. Ninth Planet are the first counter pressure filling canner that goes to the customer! 

Josh Schaffner is not new to the industry. He has been a professional advocate for craft beverage producers since he launched NY Craft Beer Week in 2008. When he saw the canning problem faced by micro-brewers he had his “aha moment.” Believing that small brewers have a right to quality canning services without the huge upfront costs of purchasing the machinery, Josh got to work with a team of engineers to create a mobile canning unit. 

With help from Business Advisor Jesse Karasin at the Baruch SBDC, Josh came up with a plan to can for breweries at their locations. Jesse was there throughout the lending process to work with Josh on everything from the financial modeling to the loan documentation. Jesse helped him obtain a $250,000 loan from NYBDC. Together with his team, Josh is currently canning for brewers in the five NYC boroughs, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, the Adirondacks, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. He and his team want to be a profitable business that responsibly cares for its employees and the broader business community.

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