Michael Handman

Loyalty programs are so important. Think about Starbucks program or this new CAVA program. I’ve had loyalty programs before where I bank rewards and then they disappear or can’t use them. Who could an emerging brand use to help create the best loyalty programs?

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Today, I made our first step toward getting Currently carried by 23 locations of Whole Foods Market in Florida. The process is a bit convoluted (as I'm learning many things are in wine...), but here's generally what's going to happen: -We're already an approved vendor and need to update our new Currently Wine Co. Sauvignon Blanc into the Amazon vendor portal, which I did today -This process is now vendor-led, instead of distributor led, which ensures the accuracy of the information (since I won't mess it up but distributors might) -Next steps will be to schedule meetings in October with each store manager, who my Florida distributor has relationships with and update them on our new packaging, design and brand. -Because our story has continuity around environmental cause and goes farther now with being 2x lower carbon footprint and Certified Sustainable grapes, I'm hoping that will be a differentiator -There are in-store display opportunities, and I'm going to work on having our wine setup next to the oysters and seafood. Any WFM general manager selling suggestions are welcome-- I'm new to this! #wine #founderjourney #wholefoodsmarket

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In recent years the beverage industry has witnessed a remarkable shift driven by the preferences of younger consumers. Two emerging trends, non-alcoholic spirits, and boba, have captured the attention of younger folks and are experiencing significant growth as a result. According to the article, one-third of consumers ages 18 to 24 abstain from alcohol altogether. This shift in drinking habits has paved the way for the emergence of non-alcoholic drinking options, providing consumers with sophisticated and flavorful alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages. #DrinkingTrends #YoungConsumers #Boba #NonAlcoholicSpirits

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A deep dive into CAVA... Everything from our full-service origins to our fast-casual founding, Zoes Kitchen acquisition, IPO, current strategic initiatives, and more... Thanks to Danny Klein, Sam Danley, and QSR for the coverage and telling our story. #restaurants #fastcasual #mediterranean #ipo #categorydefining Take a read here 👇 https://lnkd.in/euKkTdbi

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Checkout this article about our sushi that we make in-house for our retail shops. We are using technology in a way that allows us to have the highest quality seafood and rice available for our sushi. My big business bet is that people will eat more sushi when it is: quality, transparent, and free of carbon dioxide gas. What do you think?

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Build in Public Update: We have a distributor! This means we can sell Currently into retail and restaurant locations in MA, RI and CT. Distributors are legally required “intermediaries” that are basically like a channel partner (and you can only sell through a channel partner). So the distributor buys the wine from the supplier (me). They then legally own it, and then they sell it to retail and restaurant. Which means that today we’re celebrating our first sales: a pallet of Currently (70 cases). It means nothing if we don’t create “pull through” of the product, but it does technically mean we have our first “check” of revenue. Celebrating the wins. Oh, and already have sold it into 6 accounts. That helped convince them to buy :-). Here we go, team! Wish me luck on my sales calls! #wine #distribution #sales

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The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America's SipSource data tracker forecasts that consumers will continue to shift to spirits brands in the "affordable luxury" segment—mainly in the $18-$25 and $25-$50 price bands—amid challenging conditions for the industry. #AffordableLuxury #SpiritsTrends Overall, SipSource projects a decline for spirits in the U.S. through the rest of this year and at least the first half of 2025, with the group projecting depletions to decline 5.65% by the end of the year and by 5.59% for the first half of 2025. #MarketInsights #IndustryForecastAt the individual category level, SipSource is projecting declines in vodka to broadly remain in line with the overall industry but says American whiskey could be in for a sharper drop, potentially 6.82% by Q2 2025. #VodkaTrends #WhiskeyMarket SipSource attributes the overall decline to a variety of factors, including the rise of lower-priced RTDs, the U.S.'s growing cannabis market, and post-pandemic consumption normalization. #RTDCocktails #CannabisImpact #PostPandemicConsumptionThe projections are based on models leveraging depletions from 19 WSWA member wholesalers, more than 10 macroeconomic indicators, and other data. #WSWAInsights #SipSource #IndustryAnalysis —Shane English #AlcoholIndustry #BeverageIndustry #MarketProjections

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Not quite West Coast or New England–style, the reemerging label is confusing at best … For a long time, two regionally termed IPA subcategories have dominated U.S. beer cans: “West Coast” signaled clear and bracingly bitter with a piney, citrusy, resinous hop profile, and “New England” meant juicy, hazy and sweeter with tropical hops. Suddenly, however, a label that’s maintained alower profile since craft beer’s early days is showing up on more tap lists … muddying that understanding: “American IPA.” What even is this style? The name suggests some overarching combination of the two coastal substyles, a less-than-helpful and vague umbrella term, or, potentially, its own new thing. The answer, it seems, is all of the above. From the late 1970s into the 1990s, brewers started making IPAs based on their knowledge of English IPAs, but with an American twist. Thus “American IPA” made sense. But two things happened to erode that simple definition. For one, American craft beer took off, and American-brewed IPAs overtook English-style ones. For another, West Coast and New England substyles appeared, further delineating the category. “American IPA” all but disappeared as a label. Now, we’ve started to see the ‘American IPA’ return as a ‘style.” Yet did it ever really leave? While it’s agreed that an American IPA should not be hazy or as sweet as a New England IPA, an American IPA can still capture certain NEIPA notes with tropical fruit characteristics. “It can embody the West Coast’s visual clarity while incorporating the hop profile typical of the East Coast,” says Daniel Sickmen, head brewer at Virginia’s Lost Barrel Brewing, where an American IPA is a menu staple. The “American IPA” label leaves the door open for people to explore some range in terms of bitterness, sweetness, malt character and hop character, and learn what they like. For that reason, American IPA might at this point be more of a vibe than a style. It’s an IPA living in the middle of the tropical-sweet and piney-bitter extremes, open to brewer interpretation as well as to consumer discovery. It’s big, it’s bold, it’s intense. And you know it when you taste it. “The best IPAs are ones we drink with friends.” — Stephen Carter King Read the entire article at: Punch Drink .com Cheers🍻! #ConsumerBehavior #EmergingTrends #BrandAwareness #BusinessIntelligence #Beer #CraftBeer #IPA #AmericanIPA #Microbreweries #Pubs #Taprooms #Brewpubs ✦✦✦ Stephen Carter King Chief of Growth and Marketing and Strategy • Beer Market Analyst • Beerconomy & Co. CEO • Thought Catalyst • Sherpa • Advisor & Speaker sharing beer market trends, insights, forecasts and scoop via The Beerconomist

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Interesting take on the battle for consumers during months like Sober October and Dry January from Stephanie Cain 👇 Her commentary below with link in comments 🍻🥂🍹 The wine industry has launched an assault on #SoberOctober and non-alcoholic beverages as if the sole existence of the booze-less category is to put a hit against wine. With its new campaign, Come Over October, wine folks are declaring you should grab a glass instead of going sober, because wine brings people together. Instead, #wine should really be looking at their core messaging because that's why wine is declining. At the #ComeOverOctober kick-off party, I had a conversation with a salesperson of a wine distributor. He attempted to be ok with the evolution of wine by explaining that ready-to-drink, single-serve wine brand, BeatBox, marketed to the 21 to 25-year-old set, was crushing the market. He was all for it. While the brand has wacky flavors like blueberry lemonade wine, he felt that every wine consumer “starts somewhere.” It was promising to him because he said they would “continue their wine journey” and start “drinking real wine.” So many problems here but here is the big one: They don’t often continue the wine journey. News flash, wine people! Consumers don’t have time. We don’t desire it. We want to build connections, not spend the evening only discussing what we want to drink. We have jobs and travel and bills to pay and kids and dogs and aging parents and hell, we just want to buy a house. We have no job security. We have been hit with recession after recession. Right now, inflation is making our groceries cost some 40% more. You really think we are jumping at the time-consuming task of learning about wine? Get real. We’ll grab a #Martini. And start ranting. Which is exactly what I'm doing in today's The Mad Ones 👇 Link in comments. #health #wellness #marketing #alcohol #alcoholfree

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Tequila!   Many large players such as White Claw, and The Boston Beer Company (maker of Truly) are expanding their offerings and releasing tequila-flavored ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails as consumers are increasingly turning to tequila offerings in the beverage alcohol sector.   I had the opportunity to share my insights and thoughts on this surging trend with The Food Institute. In the article, I emphasized how innovations in ready-to-drink (RTD) formats, including tequila-based seltzers and margaritas, are meeting consumer demand for novel flavors. Additionally, I pointed out that tequila production has remained stable despite global supply chain disruptions and highlighted the increasing consumer preference for high-quality artisanal spirits.   Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gB9f-3Ci   #Tequila #BeverageIndustry #MarketTrends #ConsumerInsights #RTDCocktails

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🍸📊 Feeling the squeeze of rising cocktail prices? Our F&B Insights platform has the data and strategies to help bars and restaurants beat boozeflation! From menu optimization to brand partnerships, we’ve got the tools to keep your profits flowing without turning customers away. Let’s chat about how to make your beverage program work smarter, not harder. 💡 https://lnkd.in/gUt8-JU5

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Value of U.S. Wine, Beer, and Spirits Imports, 1992-2023. 2023 values: Spirits $11,122m, Wine $6,684m, Beer $6,866

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Pennsylvania's new Senate Bill 688, effective September 15, 2024, modernizes alcohol sales by allowing a broader range of retailers to sell ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails. With this change, businesses like grocery stores and restaurants can now sell canned cocktails made with spirits. But compliance is key—SB 688 mandates age verification through ID scanners for customers under 35, offering legal protection for retailers using the technology properly. Minor Decliner’s ID scanners are the perfect solution to this new requirement. Our mobile and countertop solutions ensure fast, accurate age checks, reduce human error and help you stay compliant. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/efxUG8_r #IDScanners #SB688 #RTD #AgeVerification #Compliance

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It looks like the talks about the alcohol drinks sales recovery were premature. Wine sales from wholesalers to retail stores, restaurants and bars dropped 8 % in the 12 months that ended August 2024. Spirits sales dropped 3.9 %. Also, it looks like the days of super premium tequila (over 100$) are over. The only category doing relatively well is Prosecco with its 2% growth. #drinks #drinksindustry #wine #spirits #prosecco #tequila #superpremium #markets #usa https://lnkd.in/dBbwfpCi

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Value of U.S. Wine, Beer, and Spirits Exports, 1992-2023. 2023 values: Spirits $2,533m, Wine $1,231m, Beer $334m

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September 2024 Control States Results Total Control States spirits sales 9L volume declined by -1.8% compared to September of last year leading to a -3.5% $Vol reduction with a negative -1.7% price mix. Over the past 12 months, the 9L volume declined by -1.0% with a +0.3% gain in $Vol providing a +1.3% price mix. September 2024 had the same number of selling days to last year with 2 additional days in Michigan and New Hampshire and 1 fewer day in Alabama, Mississippi, Montana and North Carolina. The large increase in West Virginia came from their annual trade show sale with the sales occurring in September vs October in 2023. Wyoming's increase in sales was attributed to lower sales due to the state's ERP implementation in September 2023. With negative volumes across most states all major categories were down except for Cocktails driven by a +51.4% 9L volume increase in Canned Cocktails. Interestingly the $Vol increase for this sub-category was only +45.5% resulting in a negative -5.9% price mix. Wines declined at -6.3% in 9L Volume with -7.3% in $Vol returning a negative -1.0% price mix . Rolling 12-month 9L volume was -6.5% with $Vol at -2.8% resulting in a positive +3.7% price mix.  The on-premise spirits channel declined by -5.2% in 9L volume with a -5.9% decline in $Vol resulting in a negative -0.7% price mix. The on-premise wine channel declined similarly in 9L volume to retail sales at -7.0% and at a -5.4% $Vol decline but showed a more favorable positive +1.6% price mix.   Full details by state are available at https://lnkd.in/eWKrCa_v

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Shanken News Daily Impact Databank: RTDs And Tequila Resilient As Spirits Market Slows .........Tequila is another bright spot. While growth has slowed into the single-digits, agave-based spirits are expected to surpass vodka for the first time and become the industry’s largest category in dollar value terms by sometime next year. Tequila marketers are investing in innovation to keep the momentum going. Jose Cuervo, the nation’s largest-selling Tequila, recently released Devil’s Reserve, a spicy-flavored 30% abv offshoot, retailing at a suggested price of $21 a 750-ml.................... Passing Vodka????????? Thats impressive. If you arent in the tequila or mezcal game you should be. Beverage Solutions || Big Dog New York LLC can help. I think quality flavored tequilas and different expressions will be the next wave of growth within the agave category. Jose Cuervo Proximo Spirits

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