The multi-brand business model has grown in popularity for years, but in 2025, craft brewers’ “safety in numbers” mindset has come into its own.

Hendler Family Brewing Company and Wilding Brands have been at the forefront of these regional partnership strategies.

At Brewbound Live 2025, Hendler Family Brewing co-founder and CEO Sam Hendler and Wilding Brands chief development officer Charlie Berger will share their strategies, the advantages and pitfalls of these transactions and how they’re approaching future deals.

Hendler will explain why Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers bolted on Massachusetts craft breweries Wormtown and Night Shift and then entered into a production, sales and marketing partnership with New York’s Sloop Brewing.

Berger will lay out Wilding’s ambitions after acquiring legacy craft brand Great Divide and Station 26 this year to a portfolio of brands that includes Denver Beer Co., Stem Ciders, Howdy Beer, Funkwerks, Formation Brewing, Venga, Easy Living Hop Water and Ghost Box Pizza.

They’ll get into how building scale changed their businesses’ trajectory, as well as discuss hospitality and distribution tactics.

Tickets are available now for the gathering of founders, entrepreneurs, sales leaders, marketers, c-suite executives, retailers, distributors and suppliers from across the industry.

The 2025 speaker roster includes:

• Rebecca Dye Yonushonis, CMO, New Belgium Brewing;
• Leah Wong Ashburn, owner and CEO, Highland Brewing;
• Kaleigh Theriault, director of bev-alc thought leadership, NIQ;
• Andrew Hummel, director bev-alc vertical, CGA;
• Bourcard Nesin, analyst – beverages, Rabobank;
• Rudy Kellner, co-founder and CEO, pFriem Family Brewers;
• Nick Firestone, CEO, Firestone Walker;
• Mike LaRosa, owner and brewer, New Trail Brewing;
• Rosalie Kennedy, director of marketing, Athletic Brewing;
• Sophia D’Angelo, founder and CEO, Boston Experiential Group;
• Jesse Ferber, chief strategy officer, Columbia Distributing;
• Jon Halper, owner and founder, Top Ten Liquors;
• Adam Charnack, co-founder, Hi-Wire Brewing;
• Tiago Carneiro, founder, Novo Brazil;
• Whitney Stevenson, president, JuneShine Brands;
• Kevin George, CMO, Garage Beer;
• Van Sharma, co-founder, Rupee Beer.

Additional speakers will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Conversations will cover the state of the bev-alc market, creating experiences and consumer connections across generations, the growth of the intoxicating hemp beverage market, strategies for platform building and much more.

Bev-alc companies will have the opportunity to book 1:1 conversations with Whole Foods Market, Top Ten Liquors, Breakthru Beverage California and Heimark Distributing. Additional retailers and wholesalers will be added in the coming weeks. Interested retailers and wholesalers can reach out to Brewbound at news@brewbound.com.

Register for Brewbound Live 2025 >>

Brewbound Live is presented by Powered by Sorse, Firestone Walker, Vulcan Packaging, Fast Track Packaging, Strike Visuals, John I. Haas, Can-One, Twenty20 Systems, Abstrax Tech, Vita-Pakt, Deluxe, LUMI and Tripleseat Software LLC. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for those seeking to elevate their presence beyond participation.

About Brewbound

Published by BevNET.com Inc., Brewbound is a leading multi-media industry trade publication providing comprehensive information about the beer category, analysis of industry trends and in-depth interviews with industry leaders. In addition to providing daily news coverage, Brewbound also gathers entrepreneurs and executives to exchange ideas, discuss the state of the industry and hear strategies for succeeding in the alcohol beverage industry via a series of nationwide meetups, multi-day business conferences, live-streamed shows and podcasts.

About Brewbound Live

Brewbound Live is a strategic two-day business conference for the beer and beyond industry. Brewbound Live 2025 takes place on December 10 + 11 in Marina del Rey, California. Join founders, top-level executives, investors, and experts for networking opportunities, an all-star speaker lineup, and impactful industry insights.