Today we speak with Bill Moses, the founder and CEO of Fermented Sciences, maker of Flying Embers hard kombucha - (he was also the co-founder of non-alc probiotic brand Kevita, which was sold to PepsiCo in 2016 for ~$250 mil), and chief growth officer Liz Tomic to discuss the fast-growing hard kombucha and the difference between scaling a non-alc vs alc brands, the recent Beam investment, following the consumer's needs for clean ingredients and transparency, and more. 

Harry is joined by editors Jenn Litz-Kirk and Jordan Driggers. 

Show starts at 08:00

---time-stamped contents---

00:00 Intro - the usual technical difficulties - but moreso today, hilarious banter. 

03:00 jenn shows off her new neon introducing a new segment, jenn's jams.

07:20 the big reveal of new neon.

08:00 SHOW STARTS:  Bill Moses joins the podcast, the party starts. 

08:30 bill: underestimated the "amount of touch" needed in alc compared to non-alc.  more strategies to manage wholesalers and retailers.  "gotta forward spend."

10:15 chief growth officer Liz Tomic joins the call. 

11:00 why beam for investment?  chemistry important. 

12:45 could lead to something more perhaps. 

13:35 portfolio breakdown and new product testing - all about premiumization, ingredients and transparency. 

18:30 sales vs marketing mix spend (including taprooms in that mix, "beacons of the brand"). 

20:45 liz comes from a-b's zx ventures, transitioning to a more entrepreneurial culture. 

23:10 booch vs seltzer, not comparable.  more comparable to craft. 

25:20 grokking dtc space. 

26:10 wholesaler mix: reyes, sheehan, hand, ben e. keith, columbia, etc.

27:00 flying embers expansion beyond west coast. 

28:30 hard booch competition expanding fast. 

30:00 hard booch is starting point for more to come in adjacent categories. 

---About---

Beer Business Daily publisher Harry Schuhmacher joins his editors and other guests once or twice a week as they grok the industry issues of the day.  

-Podcast Hotline: Text or call Harry in confidence at:‪ (262) 345-2501‬

-Audio/Video feeds at https://linktr.ee/beernet

-Articles referenced at beernet.com

-Twitter / IG / TikTok:  @beerbizdaily