Beer makers aren’t the only ones rebranding to embrace beverages. The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) unveiled a new logo and tagline today: “America’s beer and beverage distributors.”
The board of the national trade organization representing the country’s beer distributors began exploring the change three years ago as the lines between beverage companies began to blur, NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser said. In hindsight, that exploration proved to be “ahead of the curve” and “reflects changes in our industry.”
“It conveys a sense of Americana, and it’s a reminder that our industry is fun,” he said. “It’s modern, it’s fresh and it will stand the test of time as our industry continues to grow and evolve.”
Purser called this moment “the most expansive time in our industry” despite a number of challenges over the last 18 months of the pandemic, including a “major reduction in the number of licensed beer retailers,” the closure of restaurants and taverns, and nearly $1 billion in draft beer spoiling. And yet the industry has evolved, including beer wholesalers who moved from “brand-dependent beer wholesalers to independent brand-building distribution companies.”
He also touched on the positive impact of beyond beer offerings, such as hard seltzers, canned wine, hard teas, and canned cocktails on wholesalers’ businesses, recalling Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch’s comments during the 2019 annual meeting.
“We had no idea how prophetic that was,” he said, noting that beer, wine and spirits companies are all now creating products outside of their domains. Add soft drink companies to the mix with PepsiCo’s partnership with Boston Beer to not only make Hard MTN DEW but to distribute it through its own company, Blue Cloud, which he said “creates a whole host of issues.”
“Questions related to public health, the Beer Institute’s Advertising and Marketing Code and federal and state trade practices, as well as three-tier requirements will need to be addressed,” he said. “But clearly, the folks at Pepsi want what you’ve got.”
The theme of outsiders wanting what beer wholesalers offer was present throughout Purser’s speech, including spirits companies wanting to not only hitch a ride on wholesalers’ trucks but also take shelf and cold box space. Despite the expansion and proliferation of products that aren’t traditional beer, Purser reminded the members that beer is the uniter.
“Beer pays the bills and beer drives the bus,” he said.
Purser also listed several challenges facing wholesalers, including:
- Congressional members pursuing policies that would preempt state alcohol laws;
- The “very ambitious spirits industry” pursuing tax equivalence with beer at the state and federal level;
- And efforts by spirits groups to gain direct-to-consumer sales privileges.
Purser also pushed back on a second round of comments from the Brewers Association to the Department of the Treasury as part of President Joe Biden’s executive order on competition in several industries, including alcohol.
“Speaking of ambitious suppliers, we were disappointed but not surprised to see the Brewers Association weigh in with an eleventh hour, no-holds-barred criticism of the state regulatory system of the three-tier system,” he said.
Purser called the comments “the height of irony,” while noting several privileges afforded to craft brewers, including direct-to-consumer sales, self-distribution, and lower excise taxes.
“It is also worth noting that some of the states with the strongest fair competition or franchise
laws are also the states with the highest number of breweries per capita,” he said. “Keeping the beer industry competitive is an on-going challenge. We are fortunate that we have a strong federal framework and effective state laws that work together to maintain competition.”
Without naming names, Purser also criticized the terminations of “highly performing distributors — without cause — merely due to a global pandemic.” Most recently, both Boston Beer Company and Yuengling are engaged in separate legal battles with their New York wholesalers over termination attempts.
“These actions greatly reinforce the validity and need for fair dealing laws that keep the industry competitive and allow distributors to continue to take on new products and build new brands,” he said.
The day started with NBWA chairman Pat Blach continuing the fight against authorization of the U.S. Postal Service to ship alcoholic beverages among the organization’s “absolutely top-notch” advocacy team’s priorities.
“We all know your mail person shouldn’t be your bartender,” he said, paraphrasing one of Purser’s oft-used lines.
In his remarks, Blach included a video clip of Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) withdrawing an amendment to legalize the shipping of alcoholic beverages through the USPS from a piece of legislation earlier this year, drawing applause from the room. However, a pair of standalone bills, the United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act (H.R. 3287 and S. 1663) were introduced in May. In the House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on the Judiciary.
Last month, Brewers Association director of federal affairs Katie Marisic told Brewbound her organization is continuing to push for the bill’s adoption, but it’s lower on the BA’s priority list than direct pandemic-driven aid, such as replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
“We’re seeing broad consumer support for this legislation,” she said. “We are continuing to advocate for it.”
Blach called proposed USPS shipping legislation a “flawed policy” and urged NBWA members to “remain vigilant.” He also likened wholesalers’ role within the three-tier system to that of stewards who keep the public’s health and safety in mind, even when the laws that do so seem unpopular.
“Some people seem to want to get rid of all alcohol rules, arguing it’s more convenient or consumer-friendly,” he said. “But alcohol is not like potato chips or other goods — the three-tier system was designed to protect public health and safety and facilitate regulation.
“That means sometimes limiting sales, when appropriate, to help ensure people are responsibly enjoying alcoholic beverages,” he continued.
To protect the three-tier system, which Blach called “constantly under attack,” the NBWA “has always engaged aggressively” with lawmakers and “maintains an active presence on the judicial front as well,” Blach said. This year, the PAC raised more than $1.8 million in contributions from 694 donors.
Blach also highlighted NBWA members’ service to their communities throughout the pandemic, which they were able to through being designated an essential part of the economy early on when many sectors were forced to shut down.