Business of Drinks

Welcome to the Business of Drinks podcast. Today we're joined by Erik Segelbaum, founding partner of SWIG Partners, to discuss the complex world of beverage alcohol distribution in the United States. 

Erik brings over 20 years of industry experience, having worked his way up from chef to sommelier overseeing $100 million in annual beverage sales across 42 restaurants. Now, as a leading beverage consultant and co-founder of SWIG Partners, he helps brands navigate the challenging three-tier distribution system in the U.S.

But before we get too far, a declaration of conflict of interest. SWIG Partners will be coming on as a sponsor for future episodes of Business of Drinks. Just to be clear, though, this episode was BOD’s idea, and was in the works before that agreement.

In this episode, we explore:

Erik shares invaluable insights on what distributors and importers are looking for in brand partnerships, common pitfalls to avoid, and how SWIG acts as a matchmaker between brands and distributors. 

Whether you're a foreign brand looking to enter the U.S. market or a domestic producer seeking wider distribution, this episode offers a ton of insights on strategically growing your brand's presence. 

SPONSOR: SWIG Partners is exclusively offering $100 off their service fee when you mention the Business of Drinks podcast, or inquire via this link: https://www.swigpartners.com/businessofdrinks

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on October 16. 

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes. It really does help us find new listeners. Thank you

 Looking to raise funds? You’re in luck. Today we’re talking with Kat Weaver, co-founder of Power To Pitch. She’s a top pitching coach who’s helped hundreds of startups raise capital. 

Kat was able to scale and sell her first company she started out of her college dorm room. After winning 22 of 23 pitches she entered, she founded Power To Pitch to help founders build a winning pitch, deck, and fundraising strategy to help them get funded faster. To date, Power To Pitch has helped founders raise over $25 million in grants and venture capital.

As we discuss, there are so many mistakes founders make when raising funds — from failing to discuss monetization to pitching investors as if they were potential customers. Understanding what’s important to investors is key to Power to Pitch’s program. Kat and her business partner Katie Dunn help bridge the gap by helping startups learn the art and science of pitching. 

Get a leg up on the competition with these key insights!

We discuss: 

And Power To Pitch has extended a discount code for Business of Drinks listeners:

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on Oct. 2. 

Show links:

https://www.numerator.com/resources/blog/non-alcoholic-beverage-trends/

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes. It really does help us find new listeners. Thank you!

Today, we’re talking with Justin Fenchel, a co-founder and the CEO of BeatBox Beverages. For those unfamiliar with the brand, it’s an 11% ABV, wine-based RTD party punch in flavors like Blue Razzberry, Pink Lemonade, and Fruit Punch.

Sound like fun? Well, fun — and fun flavors — are its main selling points, and this brand is on fire, especially with Millennial and Gen Z audiences. BeatBox did more than $100 Million in sales last year, and is on track to double that again this year. 

The brand first made headlines in 2014 for getting one of the biggest investments on Shark Tank’s history, with a $1 Million dollar investment from Mark Cuban. But lest you think it was smooth sailing from there on, that wasn’t the case.

BeatBox toiled away for years, with sales flatlining as the brand tweaked its product and systems in real time, changing formats (moving from 5L bag-in-box to single serve) and distributor networks ( moving from liquor/wine to beer distributors). With dedication, the team kept pushing, until it landed on the winning formula that unlocked exponential growth. 

Now, a decade after that first Shark Tank appearance, BeatBox is running on a few years of +100% sales growth. Justin shares his hard-won insights on how to persevere despite product-market fit issues and funding challenges. And then, how to support hockey-stick growth from strategic, operational, and human resources standpoints.  

We discuss:

Links: 

Episode 33: Fundraising Masterclass with Giuseppe Infusino (with Last Call discussion of Dan Petroski / Massican Wine)

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on Sept. 18. 

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes. It really does help us find new listeners. Thank you!

Today we’re talking with Issamu Kamide, co-founder of the LA-based Wonderwerk House of Fermentation. What the heck is that, you might ask? "We are primarily a flavor-forward, progressive wine company," Issamu explains. 

Wonderwerk is innovating with new-to-world wine products by focusing on flavor and occasion. In doing so, they’re making wine more accessible and appealing to younger consumers, who are less concerned with traditional markers like appellation, vintage, and varietal. In fact, most of Wonderwerk’s audience is Gen Z and Millennials.

Wonderwerk’s breakout hits include Lite Werk, a line of 7% alcohol sparkling wines flavored with yuzu, hibiscus, and lemons; and Marinara, a lively red with a label sporting a big bowl of pasta. The latter is a fantastic example of a product that clearly articulates “here’s how and when to drink this wine.” 

And they’re one of wine’s latest success stories, bucking the trend of sales decline among smaller independent producers. Wonderwerk has shown the opposite: 50% YOY sales growth for the past two years running, now at 11K cases and distribution in 23 states. Wonderwerk’s biggest challenge? Keeping up with demand.

In this interview, we discuss:

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on 9/4. 

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

Today we’ve got a true innovator in the house. We’re talking with Britt West, executive vice president and general manager of Spirit of Gallo. If you’re not familiar with Gallo’s spirits division, it has quietly become one of the most formidable portfolios in bev alc. Over the past 6 years, Britt led the division up the ranks from the No. 8 spirits supplier by volume to No. 3. And that’s largely due to its innovation program, with products like High Noon. 

As many listeners will know, High Noon is now the top-selling spirits brand by volume in America, just 4 years after its launch. And that’s rounded out by Gallo’s other innovation products like New Amsterdam Vodka, Pink Whitney, and Camarena Tequila, all of which have new-to-category angles. Add to that Gallo’s investment and acquisition brands like Condesa Gin and Don Fulano Tequila, to further fuel the flames.

Britt is a rare talent in the spirits biz, with a broad yet super focussed background. He has a Master’s in Hospitality from Cornell and an MBA — as well as a background managing nightclubs. He was a successful entrepreneur who created a brand, Eppa Sangria, which got acquired; now he looks for brands to acquire. Today at Gallo, he makes multi-billion dollar decisions but still visits bottle shops in Brooklyn and bars in Mexico City to keep his finger on the pulse of trends.   

This unique background has helped him instill a creative and entrepreneurial ethos at Spirit of Gallo, where the team is encouraged to take big swings and fail. Importantly, we discuss why failure matters. As Britt says, “When you know what not to do, it becomes clear what to do."

Key takeaways:

Stay tuned for our next episode on 8/21. 

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

Ready for a meteoric growth story?! Today we talk with Clement Pappas, co-founder and CEO of Stateside Brands, the maker of Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka, and Stateside Vodka and Stateside Vodka Sodas. 

For listeners who are not on the East Coast, this brand is suddenly everywhere. Last year, the Surfside line alone grew by 1 million cases to 1.3 million cases. And they’ve already surpassed that amount this year — by mid summer! 

In fact, year-to-date Surfside is the No. 1 fastest-growing spirits RTD brand in the U.S. with top velocity rates and dollar share gains (via BWC data).

This story illustrates the transformative effects an RTD line extension can have for an alcohol brand. In this case, the core brand was Stateside Vodka, which launched in 2015 as a local Philly alternative to Tito’s Vodka.

During the pandemic, Clem and team identified that consumers were hitting seltzer fatigue and looking for alternatives — i.e. an emerging white space for premium, vodka-based hard teas and lemonades. Stateside was an early mover, building up a strong core market in Philadelphia, and expanding throughout the mid-Atlantic before exploding onto the national stage. 

They leaned into label transparency — positioning their products at the 100 calorie per can level with 2 grams of sugar and 3 grams of carbs. And they developed fun and cheeky marketing, positioning the brand as a “0 bubbles” alternative to hard seltzer. And it turns out that these things resonate with younger consumers! 

Key Takeaways

-What led Stateside to identify an innovative new white space in RTDs

-The thought process that went into developing two hit RTD lines — carbonated and non-carbonated

-How Surfside landed on its simple, effective branding and messaging strategy

-The extensive flavor and formulation process that yielded a line of crisp, sessionable — and craveable — RTDs

-How Stateside leveraged Covid restrictions to double its volumes

-Local partnerships (baseball teams!) that drove early brand awareness and growth

-How Stateside partnered with NJ distributor Fedway to build out the distribution and marketing plan that enabled exponential growth

-How Stateside quickly scaled its sales and marketing machine 

-The brand’s most successful accounts (think stadiums and golf clubs!)

-The demographic that’s consuming the most Stateside products

-How Surfside’s on-premise sales strategy is driving high velocity 

-How the brand is fueling growth from an investment perspective

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on Aug. 7. 

Episode Links:

Caroline + Scott’s Last Call playlist: ​​https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2AB1nSC0OVoy6LNa5VizT1?si=25659372344e43de

For the latest updates, follow us:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes.

Thank you!

Is your beverage brand in fundraising mode? If so, this is the episode for you! We talk with Giuseppe Infusino, a partner and the chief investment officer at InvestBev, a private equity firm that deploys growth capital to drinks brands. He leads InvestBev’s investment sourcing, diligence, and structuring processes, and partners with portfolio companies to increase their likelihood of success.

In this masterclass, Giuseppe shares his proprietary, 4-part framework for fundraising success — Plan, Path, Pitch, and Process. By the end of the episode you’ll have answers to these questions: 

In the PLAN stage:

In the PATH stage:

At the PITCH stage:

In the PROCESS stage:

If you want an edge on pitching to investors in today’s challenging fundraising climate, listen in. 

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on 7/24. 

Links:

Resilient Wine by Stevie Stacionis: ⁠https://resilientwine.substack.com/⁠

Massican Wine: ⁠https://www.massican.com/

Ep 22: Cann’s Jake Bullock on Growing a THC Beverage Brand: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/business-of-drinks/episodes/22-How-THC-Drinks-Brand-Cann-Grew-to-36-Million-in-Sales--with-CEO-Jake-Bullock---Business-of-Drinks-e2g5r00/a-ab0ba9k

Ep 7: InvestBev’s Brian Rosen on Fractional Sales: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/business-of-drinks/episodes/07-Beverage-Alcohol-Sales-Strategies-with-Brian-Rosen---Business-of-Drinks-e25ljjj/a-ab64i9u

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes. It really does help us find new listeners. Thank you!

Today we’re talking with Allison Luvera, co-founder and CEO of Juliet, a wine company that’s reshaping the narrative around boxed wine. 

Allison has a really interesting background having worked in fashion advertising for Vogue and InStyle magazines, then later as director of Pernod Ricard’s luxury marketing division, as brand marketing lead for Perrier-Jouet Champagne, Martell Cognac, Tequila Avion, Absolut Elyx, The Glenlivet, and Chivas.

Juliet is an interesting product because it forged new territory in the boxed wine category, with very stylish branding and packaging. It’s a cylindrical carton with a velvet rope handle, and really stands out on the shelf as a premium pick. 

Juliet is having phenomenal traction in hospitality venues — it’s now being served poolside at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and several Auberge resorts. Customers are ordering the whole box and perching it on tables to keep refilling their own glasses. And at retail, the brand has defined itself as a go-to for gatherings, from bachelorette parties to PTA meetings.

We discuss how Allison and co-founder Lauren DeNiro identified the whitespace in the boxed wine category, and pursued a solution — and a specific customer — with laser-like focus. Juliet has now raised more than $5 million in funding, and has surpassed 10,000 cases of 1.5 L cartons. 

Some key takeaways from the episode: 

Links Referenced in Show

Juliet Wine: https://drinkjuliet.com/ 

IWSR’s ​​Key trends for the US wine market in 2024: https://www.theiwsr.com/key-trends-for-the-us-wine-market-in-2024/#:~:text=IWSR%20forecasts%20that%20US%20wine,2022%20falling%20by%20%2D3%25 

Future Market Insights’ Wine Box Market Outlook: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/wine-box-market 

1,000 True Fans: https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ 

The ‘Drinks of Summer’ that Never Were (Vinepair): https://vinepair.com/articles/drinks-of-the-summer-that-never-were/

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on July 10. 

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks, and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks, and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. He currently serves as North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. He was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes. It really does help us find new listeners. Thank you!

Some exciting news to share! The Business of Drinks podcast is growing by leaps and bounds, and with it — some new voices are coming onto the airwaves. 

First up, Scott Rosenbaum is joining as the show’s new co-host. If you’re not yet acquainted with Scott, he’s a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Currently, he is the North America search manager at Distill Ventures, the world’s first drinks industry accelerator. He was formerly vice president at T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. While there, Scott created T. Edward’s craft spirits portfolio, which represented over two dozen distilleries, including Arette Tequila, High Wire Distilling Co., La Gritona Tequila, and others. 

And next up, Caroline Lamb joins as producer and on-air talent overseeing the newly revamped Last Call segment. Caroline is a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits, based in Detroit, Michigan. She has worked in myriad beverage roles, from bartender to wine cellar assistant. 

Scott and Caroline bring an exciting new dimension to the podcast, with their cross-functional, cross-generational — and even cross-country — perspectives. With these additions, Business of Drinks is becoming even more of a ‘must-listen’ for leaders and stakeholders from throughout the drinks industry.

In this debut episode, Erica and Scott discuss mid-year drinks trends. They take a data-backed approach to discuss how fears around the “end of alcohol” are overblown. Then, they dive into the emerging trends of non-carbonated alcohol waters and its counterpart — the OG and new wave of hard tea and hard lemonades. Finally, they move on to discuss the emergence of spicy drinks across categories — including new spicy wine brands (yes, you read that right!).

Caroline wraps us up in Last Call, hopping into a lively debate with the team about gender-based marketing — yay or nay? Plus, which brands are doing it well, and which are falling flat.

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on 6/26. 

For the latest updates, follow us:

Business of Drinks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/

Erica Duecy, co-host:

Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies. 

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/

Scott Rosenbaum, co-host:

Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks and North America Search Manager at Distill Ventures. Scott was formerly the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor. While there, he created their craft spirits portfolio which represented over two dozen distilleries including Arette Tequila, High Wire Distilling Co., and La Gritona Tequila, among others.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/

Caroline Lamb, contributor: 

Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a sales representative at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits, based in Detroit, Michigan. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bork-lamb/

If you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks wherever you’re listening, and rate and review our episodes. It really does help us find new listeners. Thank you!

Today, we’re talking shop! That is, how to work with mass-market retailers. For those who are new to the industry, mass retail refers to big-box stores like Target, Costco, and Walmart as well as supermarket chains like Safeway and Kroger. And what most people don’t realize is that these types of stores have their own ways of doing business, and even their own terminology (do you know what a cut-in is? Or a reset?). So it’s important to get up to speed before trying to pitch your product into this channel. 

Over the past few months, several Business of Drinks listeners have reached out, asking me to do an episode on best practices for working with big-box stores. So today, I’ve got answers! 

I talk with Mike Percic, a mass retail veteran who recently concluded a 16-years career working with Target, most recently leading its Adult Beverage business — and he now advises brands on how to work effectively with mass retailers. 

We’ve structured this conversation as a masterclass, going from how to pitch mass retailers and how to land an order, to how to stay on the shelves once you’ve fulfilled that first order. 

Key Takeaways

-How big your production capacity should be before pitching to mass retail

-Who to pitch and what the pitch process entails

-The business metrics most mass retail buyers will want to know before signing your brand

-How (and when) to ask the right questions — without annoying your buyer

-How (and why) some brands work with sales brokers

-Product placement lead times and lifecycle

-How to get favorable merchandising, like end caps and display assets

-What competitive pricing and favorable margins look like

-Logistics and distribution considerations

-How mass retail buyers will be analyzing your brand’s performance

-How to be a proactive partner to avoid getting kicked off the shelf

This one is chock-full of useful information to help you land some key accounts. Enjoy!

Plus, FREE tickets to Vinexpo America

And an exciting announcement about Vinexpo New York, which is just two weeks away. If you don’t yet have a ticket but were hoping to attend, you’re in luck! Vinexpo has made available 50 free passes to the two day conference exclusively for Business of Drinks listeners — and that includes all of the tastings and masterclasses. When checking out, use the code ERICANYC for your free pass.

And please come and join me — I’ll be closing out the conference on Tuesday, 6/25, at 4:50 pm with a talk about optimizing your marketing and sales to better connect with Millennial and Gen Z audiences. It’s a great way to end the event, with a look ahead at the best ways to move your business forward. Here’s more info: https://vinexpo-america.com/newfront/sessions/10318

Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on June 19. 

About Erica Duecy, host:

Erica Duecy is founder and host of Business of Drinks, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies. She also has led digital editorial teams at Architectural Digest and Saveur magazines. Her content, podcast, and video programs have won more than 40 digital and editorial awards. She is a WSET Advanced-certified wine and spirits communicator, and author of the cocktail book Storied Sips (Random House), about the real-life stories behind the world’s most famous cocktails. 

To learn more about Erica Duecy:

https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/

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https://twitter.com/ericaduecy

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