Small Hand Foods
Small Hand Foods is a Hayward, California-based craft cocktail syrup manufacturer founded in 2008 by Jennifer Colliau, producing eight traditional bar syrups for craft cocktail bars, restaurants, and home enthusiasts via Amazon, Total Wine & More, BevMo!, independent retailers, and direct wholesale.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersHayward, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Small Hand Foods does
Small Hand Foods is a craft cocktail syrup manufacturer founded in 2008 by Jennifer Colliau in the San Francisco Bay Area (operations centered in Hayward, Oakland, and San Francisco, California). The company produces eight traditional cocktail syrups-Orgeat, Gum Syrup, Pineapple Gum Syrup, Raspberry Gum Syrup, Passion Fruit Syrup, Grenadine, Ginger Syrup, and Tonic-made using 1800s-era preparation methods with real, whole-food ingredients. Notably, products exclude high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and artificial ingredients, and include proprietary formulations such as an Orgeat built from California almonds with apricot kernels, orange flower water, and biodynamic California brandy, and a Tonic containing quinine extracted from cinchona bark.
The company monetizes through direct-to-consumer sales via Amazon and Total Wine's online storefront (with nationwide shipping), a wholesale channel supplying bars and restaurants-including notable craft cocktail establishments such as Bourbon & Branch, Bar Agricole, Beretta, and The Slanted Door in the Bay Area-and shelf placement at major retail chains (Total Wine & More nationally, BevMo! in California and Arizona) plus over 100 independent wine, liquor, and grocery retailers across California, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and product-level pricing models are not enumerated in the source data.
Small Hand Foods is a founder-owned, bootstrapped private company with 11-50 employees, no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries. Its competitive narrative rests on category-creation status (claim of being the first craft cocktail syrup company), the founder's two-decade bartending pedigree and press profile, and traditional, clean-label ingredient positioning targeting professional bartenders and home cocktail enthusiasts.
Small Hand Foods firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Small Hand Foods
- Legal name
- Small Hand Foods
- Website
- https://smallhandfoods.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Small Hand Foods is a Hayward, California-based craft cocktail syrup manufacturer founded in 2008 by Jennifer Colliau, producing eight traditional bar syrups for craft cocktail bars, restaurants, and home enthusiasts via Amazon, Total Wine & More, BevMo!, independent retailers, and direct wholesale.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Small Hand Foods industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Craft Cocktail Syrups
- NAICS
- Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (31193), Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (311930)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cocktail Mixes & Alcoholic Beverage Bases (non-alcoholic mixers, RTD spirit bases) (AFAFAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Non-Alcoholic Beverage Concentrates, Syrups & Bases Manufacturing (AFAFABAM), Beverage Concentrates, Syrups & Mixers Wholesale (AFAIAGAF)
Keywords
Where Small Hand Foods is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hayward
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Small Hand Foods business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations
Revenue model
- Syrup Product Sales: Revenue generated from selling bottled cocktail syrups (Orgeat, Gum Syrup, Pineapple Gum Syrup, Raspberry Gum Syrup, Passion Fruit Syrup, Grenadine, Ginger Syrup, and Tonic) through direct online sales, major retail partners, and wholesale to bars/restaurants.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels3 records
Small Hand Foods product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Small Hand Foods manufactures and sells a line of eight craft cocktail syrups — Orgeat, Gum Syrup, Pineapple Gum Syrup, Raspberry Gum Syrup, Passion Fruit Syrup, Grenadine, Ginger Syrup, and Tonic — produced in small batches using traditional 1800s methods and real, whole food ingredients with no high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or artificial additives. The syrups are sold to professional bars and restaurants through wholesale channels and to individual consumers through Amazon, Total Wine & More, BevMo!, and over 100 independent retailers across five U.S. states.
Product overview
Small Hand Foods is a craft cocktail syrup company offering eight distinct bar syrups made from real, all-natural ingredients without high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or artificial ingredients. The product line centers on classic cocktail ingredients including Orgeat (almond syrup), Gum Syrup, Pineapple Gum Syrup, Raspberry Gum Syrup, Passion Fruit Syrup, Grenadine, Ginger Syrup, and Tonic. These syrups are cooked using 19th-century methods and are sold to both consumers (via Amazon, Total Wine, BevMo!) and wholesale customers (bars, restaurants, retailers).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Orgeat French almond syrup made from California almonds blended with apricot kernels for marzipan flavor, sweetened with organic cane sugar, and flavored with orange flower water and biodynamic California brandy. Used in classic cocktails such as Mai Tai and Japanese Cocktail.
- Gum Syrup Sugar syrup incorporating gum arabic (resin from the Acacia tree), made with organic cane sugar for amber color and light molasses flavor. Adds viscosity and richer mouthfeel to spirit-forward cocktails such as Sazeracs, Old-Fashioneds, and Juleps.
- Pineapple Gum Syrup Pineapple-infused gum syrup produced by pressing fresh fruit and blending with gum syrup. Features golden amber color, high viscosity, bright acidity, and rich mouthfeel; a key ingredient in Pisco Punch.
- Raspberry Gum Syrup Raspberry-infused gum syrup with intense bushberry and candied flavor plus mouth-coating viscosity. Used in classic cocktails such as Clover Club, Maiden's Blush, and various fizzes.
- Passion Fruit Syrup Tropical syrup made from passion fruit, used in tiki-style cocktails including Hurricanes, Sidewinder's Fang, and Zombies.
- Grenadine Authentic pomegranate grenadine made from pomegranates and cane sugar only, with no water, high-fructose corn syrup, or artificial coloring. Bright acidity and tannic backbone; used in Jack Rose, Ward Eight, and Shirley Temples.
- Ginger Syrup Fresh ginger syrup produced by pressing fresh ginger and sweetening with organic cane sugar. Used in Moscow Mule, Dark & Stormy, and other spicy cocktails.
- Tonic Syrup Tonic syrup containing quinine from cinchona tree bark, simmered with finely cut bark and spices in organic cane syrup for earthy flavor and amber color. Historically called quinquina or calisaya.
Companies that use Small Hand Foods
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Small Hand Foods technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Small Hand Foods partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Small Hand Foods competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Powell & Mahoney: Powell & Mahoney produces premium craft cocktail mixers including tonic, ginger beer, and syrups sold through retail and foodservice. It targets the same craft-bar and specialty-grocer channels as Small Hand Foods.
- Q Mixers: Q Mixers makes premium, real-ingredient tonic and ginger beer for cocktails and is a category-defining craft mixer brand. It competes for the same craft bartender and home enthusiast customer and for retail shelf placement in cocktail mixers.
Direct peers
- Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. Jack Rudy makes small-batch cocktail mixers and syrups targeting craft bars and home enthusiasts. It shares the founder-led, real-ingredient positioning of Small Hand Foods and competes on similar retail shelves and bar back bars.
- Stirrings Cocktail Mixers: Stirrings manufactures a broad line of bottled cocktail mixers (margarita, daiquiri, mojito) and bar syrups sold through retail and bar channels. It is a direct competitor in flavoring-syrup and mixer categories, though at a slightly more mass-market position.
- Liber & Co. Liber & Co. produces a curated line of premium cocktail syrups and cordials (including orgeat, grenadine, gum syrup) made with real ingredients for craft bartenders and home enthusiasts. It is the most direct craft-cocktail-syrup competitor to Small Hand Foods in product, channel, and customer.
- Royal Rose Organic Syrups: Royal Rose makes organic, fair-trade cocktail syrups (orgeat, grenadine, tiki blends) used by bartenders and home enthusiasts. It competes in the same craft-mixer niche and overlaps on retail placement at cocktail-focused stores.
- Tait Farm Foods: Tait Farm Foods produces small-batch shrub-style cocktail syrups and drinking vinegars from real fruit and herbs, sold through farmers markets, specialty retail, and direct to consumers. It is a comparable craft cocktail syrup producer with overlapping customer profiles.
- Morris Kitchen: Morris Kitchen produces craft cocktail mixers and syrups from real, seasonal ingredients and sells through cocktail-focused retail and bar channels. Its product mix and channel strategy closely parallel Small Hand Foods' specialty-syrup approach.
Broad incumbents
- Monin: Monin is the largest global manufacturer of flavored syrups for beverages, including many cocktail syrups. While mass-market and far broader in portfolio, Monin is the incumbent that every craft syrup maker, including Small Hand Foods, competes against on shelf and behind the bar.
- Fee Brothers: Fee Brothers produces a wide range of bitters, cocktail syrups, and mixers sold to bars and retailers worldwide. It is an established incumbent in the specialty cocktail ingredients category with significant overlap on bar back-bar and retail shelf with Small Hand Foods.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Small Hand Foods social profiles
Digital presenceSmall Hand Foods financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Small Hand Foods leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Small Hand Foods funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Small Hand Foods M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Small Hand Foods
What does Small Hand Foods do?
Small Hand Foods manufactures and sells a line of eight craft cocktail syrups — Orgeat, Gum Syrup, Pineapple Gum Syrup, Raspberry Gum Syrup, Passion Fruit Syrup, Grenadine, Ginger Syrup, and Tonic — produced in small batches using traditional 1800s methods and real, whole food ingredients with no high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or artificial additives. The syrups are sold to professional bars and restaurants through wholesale channels and to individual consumers through Amazon, Total Wine & More, BevMo!, and over 100 independent retailers across five U.S. states.
Is Small Hand Foods a public or private company?
Small Hand Foods is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Small Hand Foods founded?
Small Hand Foods was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Small Hand Foods based?
Small Hand Foods is headquartered in Hayward, United States, in the North America region.
How does Small Hand Foods make money?
One revenue line is on record: syrup Product Sales.
Who are Small Hand Foods's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Powell & Mahoney and Q Mixers. Direct peers are Jack Rudy Cocktail Co., Stirrings Cocktail Mixers, Liber & Co., Royal Rose Organic Syrups, Tait Farm Foods and Morris Kitchen. Broad incumbents are Monin and Fee Brothers.
Does Small Hand Foods have an API?
No public API is recorded for Small Hand Foods.
What industry is Small Hand Foods in?
Small Hand Foods's product category is Craft Cocktail Syrups. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAFAGAH, Cocktail Mixes & Alcoholic Beverage Bases (non-alcoholic mixers, RTD spirit bases), with a secondary code of AFAFABAM, Non-Alcoholic Beverage Concentrates, Syrups & Bases Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 31193 and its SIC code is 2080.