Tastemaker: David Dafoe and the Sweet Science of Flavorman

Feature they can’t live without: List Segmentation

It’s rare that most of us stop to think about what’s on our plate or in our glass. When we think about flavor, we often think about it in terms of something we select at an ice cream shop or use to spruce up our water. 

But taste, and the science behind it, is a big deal. For David Dafoe, taste is an everyday mission. 

David is the owner and CEO of Flavorman and Distilled Spirits Epicenter, Flavorman for short, where research is at the heart of making your favorite drinks delicious. 

Constant Contact has absolutely, from our perspective, revolutionized how we send things out because we can be very specific on who gets what and how they get the content.

Flavorman founder David Dafoe

Finding the right fit

Finding your career and calling is a long and winding journey. Like most people, David Dafoe didn’t set out to end up in his current field — finding the right fit took time, hard work, and a bit of luck. 

As a pre-med student, David began working in a hospital during college, and continued his work there after graduating with a degree in Zoology. When his hospital job wasn’t fitting his expectations, he took an interview with a company named “Fries and Fries.” 

Based on the name, David thought he was walking into an interview for an ice cream producer. What David didn’t know was that he was about to start his journey toward becoming a palate professional. 

From entrance exam to expert

For his interview test, an interviewer sat him down in front of several cups filled with what appeared to be water. “There was no color or anything and the interviewer said: ‘Before we get started, I want you to taste these samples and tell me what flavor is in there…they identified me as a super taster and they hired me right then.” 

Armed with super taster status, David worked as a flavor chemist for Fries and Fries, spending his days developing recipes and producing flavors that make the food and beverages you love taste so good.

From his humble beginnings working at Fries and Fries, David continued honing his flavor expertise at the legendary Brown-Forman Corporation, working to help develop flavors for internationally recognized brands like Jack Daniel’s, Pepe Lopez, and Southern Comfort. One of the most famous beverages David helped develop the flavor for is the recipe for the Lynchburg Lemonade cocktail. 

Gone Bananas

In January of 1992, David ventured out on his own to start a flavor consulting company called Pro-Liquidtech. What started out as a two-person operation in his condo, Pro-Liquidtech soon found their foothold in the industry with big-name clients like Chiquita. As consultants, David and his team work with customers to build the flavor profiles that power your favorite beverages. 

The flavor creation process starts with a kickoff call between the lab and a client. The client communicates with the lab, describing the kind of beverage they are looking for — from sour to sweet and everything in between. Ten business days later, the client receives their first round of samples to taste and give feedback. Between extensive research, iteration, and refinements, the lab scientists are able to generate a client’s dream flavor. 

The end product is what Dave and his team call the “Final Formulation”. The requesting client receives 100 units of their Final Formulation to give to investors, to use for press, or to share with distributors.  Lastly, the team works to produce “custom-blended” ingredients so clients can produce these flavors for their brand. 

Dafoe and his team have developed signature juice flavors — tart raspberry, explosive passionfruit, sweet strawberry. They have created coffee flavorings, non-alcoholic cocktail mixes, and bubbly brews for Jones soda. They even barreled headfirst into the wine industry with Constellation Brands.

As a flavor expert, David had already been sharing his flavor knowledge at conferences across the country, teaching craft distillers about flavored vodkas and gins, but it was a special request by the mayor of Louisville that spurred the idea to provide his teachings with members of the hospitality industry. So by the mid-2010s, Pro-Liquitech rebranded itself to be known as Flavorman and added two additional brands: Moonshine University and Stave and Thief Society, all of which now employ more than 65 people and operate a multi-building beverage campus in Louisville, Kentucky.

Moonshine University hosts a range of spirit industry workshops while Stave and Thief Society is geared at educating individuals about bourbon, with the goal of certifying course participants as Bourbon Stewards.

Organizing the primordial (b)ooze

It takes a lot of work to keep order for one brand, let alone several. The addition of two new brands came with its own set of challenges and according to David, their previous method of marketing organization was not helping matters.  

“[Our previous method of marketing] was more random, less thought-out, very time-consuming and inefficient ways in which we would get content out to folks … I would say if I had to sum it up in one word it would be spreadsheets.”  

The company was managing 3 separate brands, each with its own audience that had specific wants and needs, in spreadsheets. This method was not only time-consuming but extremely error-prone. 

That is when they decided to enlist the help of Constant Contact. 

Jordan Plappert, marketing manager for Flavorman, uses the software to craft and send internal and external newsletters, as well as create and maintain separate email lists the company uses to organize their multi-brand communications. 

“Constant Contact helps us deliver effective communication to several segmented audiences across our network of brands. These campaigns build meaningful touchpoints and educational opportunities for our clients.”

Jordan Plappert, Marketing Manager

Between Flavorman, Moonshine University, and Stave and Thief Society, David and his staff have 29,000 contacts (which include students, vendors, clients, consultants, and leads) to inform and manage. With the help of segmented lists, they can now send targeted emails catered to specific brand and audience needs. This allows them to keep their subscribers informed and easily upsell course offerings and services.  Then, thanks to detailed reporting features, they can adjust their messaging based on the data provided by Constant Contact to ensure their campaigns are successful. 

“We get to the right people. Before, when we were sending out emails, we’d miss people,” David said. “…Constant Contact has absolutely, from our perspective, revolutionized how we send things out because we can be very specific on who gets what and how they get the content.” 

A sweet inbox treat

David and his team work hard everyday to produce flavors that will make your taste buds sing. While their team is off doing science, they use Constant Contact to take care of their email marketing. With carefully curated lists, beautifully designed emails, and detailed reporting, David and his team send the essence of Flavorman directly to the inboxes of intrigued vendors, interested clients, and eager students. 

Flavorman’s recipe for success

1. Primary email marketing goal: Class signups, sales, communication with clients and vendors
2. Types of emails they send: Newsletters, class announcements, event reminders
3. Marketing Channels: Email, events, social media
4. Feature they can’t live without: List segmentation
5. Key analytics: Clickthrough rates and open rates
6. Impact: “Constant Contact allows us to have elevated communication with our clients.”