As category definitions shift and consumers reconsider what, when, and where they want to drink, BevNET Live NYC 2026 (June 10+11) will bring together some of the industry’s most consequential voices – including Athletic Brewing co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt and a panel of cannabis beverage leaders navigating a pivotal moment in the category’s future.
Up First: Bill Shufelt on Scaling One of Beverage’s Most Disruptive Companies
Since 2018, the non-alcoholic (NA) beer that Shufelt and partner John Walker launched has flipped the script on the beer segment. Athletic Brewing has become both a tasty reward and a symbol of Americans’ approach to moderating their alcohol consumption, rather than a product built around sobriety. Athletic’s rise reshuffled the deck of beverage categories, energizing the development of a growing cadre of NA adult beverage alternatives while also fracturing category boundaries – broadening menu offerings at bars and restaurants, tapping into concerts and sporting events, reshaping retailers’ approach to their shelf sets and creating new occasions.
At BevNET Live, Shufelt will address how Athletic has navigated explosive growth, what he’s learned about raising capital, and his approach to brand positioning and category creation. In a candid discussion, he’ll share lessons on defending a leadership position within the category he’s championed and offer thoughts on where the beverage business goes from here.
Also on the agenda: ‘The State of Cannabevs: Strategy on Deadline’
This newly added panel – featuring Jill Johnson, co-founder of Daizy’s Social Tonic; distribution executive Justin Ashby of Southern Crown Partners; and Diana Eberlein, chair of the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives – arrives at a critical moment. A November 13 federal deadline could ban products with more than 0.4% THC, cutting off a segment that has gained meaningful retail velocity even as its legal status remains unresolved. The panel will examine what brands, distributors and retailers are doing now, and what the category’s future looks like, depending on the outcome.
Together, the sessions offer a look at where adult beverage is headed — from a category that has already changed the industry to one still fighting for its right to exist.
More than 600 beverage industry professionals are already registered for BevNET Live NYC, taking place next week. Join them for two days packed with speaker sessions, 1:1 meetings, product sampling, and unscripted conversations that can only happen when the whole industry is in the same room.
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About BevNET Live
BevNET Live is the beverage industry’s premier event, bringing together brands, distributors, retailers, investors, and service providers to explore what’s ahead for the industry. Featuring top-tier speakers and the fan-favorite New Beverage Showdown, each event draws hundreds of brands from across the country.