FEATURED PHOTO: Kristina Henderson, Owner & CEO of Henderson Promos

In 2017, Kristina Henderson took the helm at a promotional products company, tripled sales in one year, and rebranded the company known today as Henderson Promos. Her ownership and efforts resulted in the company’s recognition as both a certified Women’s Business Enterprise and SBA Woman Owned Small Business. Kristina grew up in Colts Neck and credits her versatile background in preparing her for the many roles involved in managing a business. Perhaps most striking is Kristina’s ability to engage with people. She was awarded the titles of Miss Congeniality and Most Photogenic as a finalist in the Miss Massachusetts USA Pageant in 2016, and the Best Interview Award in the 2012 Miss New Jersey USA Pageant. She has a sense of adventure, sparked by her stint as a flight attendant at age 19, and an appreciation of service from her time in the restaurant industry. She studied journalism while living in Hawaii, finished her degree at Boston University, worked as a news producer in New Hampshire, fund-raised for the Human Rights Campaign in DC, and volunteered as a “discharge buddy” at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Kristina enjoys working with her husband Barton, co-founder and CBDO of Henderson Promos. He is an attorney admitted in New Jersey and New York and handles sales and community relations for the company. As she describes it, she “wakes up every morning and is blessed to have a job she absolutely loves.”

CM: What type of services/products does Henderson Promos offer?

Kristina Henderson (KH): We offer our experience in focusing on industry-specific on-trend promotional items and promotional apparel needs. Whether a customer is looking for a specific item like mugs, pens, t-shirts, tote bags, awards or just browsing our website for ideas, one of our 700,000 products is sure to boost any marketing plan.

CM: What tasks do you undertake in the business and which do you enjoy most?

KH: As the owner, my primary role is overseeing operations, from client intake to order fulfillment. I enjoy helping customers grow their business through branded item campaigns, gifting, and giveaways. When I see someone in the street or on social media wearing a t-shirt we made from an event it brings a smile on my face knowing we’re helping our clients amplify their message.

CM: Is there a particular promotional order that stands out?

KH: We always take a unique, clever, and impactful approach with our branding. While some clients know exactly what they’re looking for, other clients give us artistic liberty to broadcast their message. For instance, if a company in healthcare comes to us for ideas, rather than just suggest mugs or t-shirts, we give them tailored products like customized band aid and tissue packages. I love being a part of every order and making sure it’s exactly what my customer is looking for, from the logo design to the quality.

CM: What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

KH: I enjoy spending time with my husband, Barton, and my two dogs, Gatsby (a Paptese) and Kona (a miniature Australian Sheperd). If it’s summertime, you can find me on my boat on the Jersey shore; if it’s the winter, I will be traveling somewhere warm. We love spending time in Hawaii, where we take a break from our busy lives and focus on gratitude and living with the aloha spirit.

CM: Do you have a favorite quote or philosophy?

KH: “Make Your Dreams of Today Become Your Opportunities of Tomorrow.” I know it sounds cliche but that quote was on a poster above my bed growing up and every day I would say to myself that I would make my dreams come true. With that said, I am living the life now that I have always dreamt about and I believe that is through the law of attraction, hard work, and never giving up.

CM: Is there a success story that stands out to you?

Christina: (Laughs) I’ve had husbands call and tell me to keep doing whatever I am doing for their wives, because it is helping, and I tell them not to forget they can always purchase gift certificates. Women joke and tell me they “used to be ugly.” But one client who stands out is a young woman who came to me with severe acne. Within 18 days after starting treatment she looked like a completely different person. A man at the gym where she attended for three years didn’t recognize her. She broke my heart when she reflected that she felt the acne was a type of handicap, that she never realized she had gotten used to the way people looked at her differently. Now she is more confident.

CM: What are the advantages of using Scheál products?

Christina: Unlike manufactured products, which are made months in advance with preservatives, I personally make fresh batches of Scheál products each week. They have a distinct vitality, and the beneficial results on all types of skin are noticeable very quickly. I use only organic ingredients based in aloe, cucumber and chamomile, and they are extremely healing. They calm the skin and allow the skin to heal. Skin is alive and wants to be our best friend. But we tend to fight against it, and try to rip it off, or mask it or laser it. When skin is calmer it will look softer. As we age, and from sun damage, we get more dead skin which makes our skin appear thicker and makes us “turn into a raisin”. I help get rid of spots and the thick skin. I love to make the skin glow!

Scheál Organics are available for purchase. Visit scheal.com and Facebook for more information on services and products.

LIFE BEFORE SOURCE

Greg: I was fortunate enough to do some traveling throughout Europe in my late teens and then again while studying abroad in college.  I got a taste of some world class beer that shocked my senses and opened my eyes to the possibilities of what beer could be.  I was instantly bitten by the curiosity bug that ended up sending me down the craft beer and brewing rabbit hole that I am still delving deeper into each passing day.  I studied business management at Penn State then decided to enroll in the oldest brewing school in the US, the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago.  I went on to get my master brewers degree at the Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany and began brewing at Weyerbacher Brewing company in Easton, PA shortly thereafter. (Greg is an advanced level beer “Cicerone”; comparable to a wine sommelier).

Phil: I have an untraditional path to brewery ownership. I spent twenty years in tech, and while Chief Product Officer for a global biometrics company, I developed and successfully commercialized a technology that focused on beer dispensing at home or on the go called Fizzics. In the beginning, there was a lot of socializing the technology directly with consumers at beer festivals and trade shows. During those days at Fizzics, I also visited a lot of breweries to introduce Fizzics and Greg was the brewer at one of them, Weyerbacher Brewing in Easton, PA. Shortly after my meeting Greg, he called and asked to join me on my Fizzics journey, and we’ve been coworkers ever since.  We also immediately started brewing in the office, I think subconsciously I wanted a professional brewer in the office (laughs).

Greg: I’m glad I was working that day!

THE SHARK TANK EXPERIENCE

Phil: Shark Tank had strong interest in Fizzics because we were a key example of how you could democratize innovation and bring products to market.  Fizzics had raised over 1.5 million dollars through crowdfunding platforms Indiegogo and Kickstarter, and successfully scaled sales to national retailers Target, Best Buy and Amazon in one short year in business. It was an amazing success story under my leadership. We ended up facing all six sharks and received a two-million-dollar deal from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. Lori was influential in getting Fizzics into Bed Bath and Beyond and we appeared together on QVC several times. In minutes we would sell out of all the product we had. Lori was an amazing Shark and businessperson to work with, and I’m grateful for her support and friendship. But, as internal struggles with my partner grew, it was decided that I would follow my true passion, the beer, and focus my efforts on making Source a reality. On my exit from Fizzics, I asked Greg to join me, and as you can see, he was right behind me.

UNIQUE ASPECTS

Greg: We focus each day to deliver a truly one-of-a-kind drinking experience at Source. Beer to us isn’t just flavor and aroma in a vacuum. I can’t separate my favorite beer drinking memories from the places and details of the surroundings of where I was when I was drinking them.

Phil: The design of our draft system and overall curated experience was influenced from our past study of the way the body perceives texture, aroma and flavor. Every single beer is poured in its own curated glassware, at its designated temperature, carbonation level, and most importantly the ideal amount and density of foam.  Although we are in a 19th century barn, we are brewing on an oversized ten-barrel automated brewhouse with rakes, and the cold side of the brewhouse features 120 barrels of fermentation with dedicated lagering tanks, serving tanks, and an American Oak Foeder. We are state-of-the-art.

Greg: When designing a beer, I typically envision the flavor profile I’m looking for in the finished product and then work backwards to put all the pieces together. We focus on four main categories of beer at Source: Lagers, IPAs, Farmhouse styles, and Stouts. There are many people trading up from mass produced, commoditized beer to local craft beer every day, and we want our community’s first experience at Source to be positive to help encourage that trend.  We want all of the other breweries in the area to do well so we can all collectively elevate the craft in New Jersey.

Phil: (laughs) We live beer.  We put people and beer before profits; if we do a good job, the latter will come. So far, the support has been amazing and we are truly grateful.

Soon, visitors will be surprised by the variety of spirits being created at The StillHouse. While bourbon and other whiskeys are certainly a focus, guests will also enjoy rum, several styles of gin, vodka and flavored “moonshines”, such as apple and pecan pie for the holiday season. Distilling will be on premises and, where possible, using local ingredients. Area farms have already been enlisted to grow the necessary corns, ryes and other grains. Geoff noted that there are approximately 250 styles of bourbon made by about thirteen major manufacturers currently. This mass production is accomplished in a very commercial way using column stills. Geoff acknowledged that while they make a great clean spirit, The StillHouse products will be distinctive. Distilling truly is an art.“Mine are going to taste a little different. They are made with a single pot still, a 250-gallon pot still made in Kentucky. Our gin will have a unique flavor too. Gin has to be juniper forward to be labeled as gin. We will use hints of local botanical flavors, including local cranberry and rosemary.”

The StillHouse is permitted to serve cocktails in its tasting room and to sell up to six bottles to an individual. It also is allowed to sell to liquor stores and restaurants. Only its own products may be served and sold and this suits the Karches just fine. Geoff emphasized, “Our philosophy is really hyper local. The main aim is to service the local community and be a quality artisanal experience.”

The StillHouse will surely become a destination. “We want to make it a truly memorable experience so people will be transported back to a time, pre- prohibition, when there were about 10,000 small distilleries in the U.S., all making their own local products. We are using pots similar to those used 100 years ago. Visitors will come to see the essence of how that all happened, and will taste the products they learn about. We want them to experience the distillery and just have fun.”

For more information, visit coltsneckstillhouse.com.