Brewbound 2024 Rising Star: Urban South Brewery

Speaker 1 [00:05] I'm here with one of our rising stars, Jacob Landry, founder and president of Urban South. Welcome, Jacob.

Speaker 2 [00:12] Thanks, Zoe. Excited to be here with you.

Speaker 1 [00:15] Our Brewbound insiders are pretty familiar with you because we just did a round with talking about everything that's going on in Urban South. But for folks who didn't get to, to read that, let's start off just what if you had to, you're in the elevator, you met, meet someone, they see Urban South on your shirt, they want to know what it is, what, what's your spiel for them?

Speaker 2 [00:38] Yeah, we're an 8-year-old craft brewery in the heart of New Orleans, the 2nd largest brewery in Louisiana behind Abita, uh, 107th largest craft brewery in the country. Um, we make beers that really meet every occasion for, for every drinker. And then most recently, we're in the THC seltzer business as well. Uh, so we try to, try to cover all of our bases here in Louisiana.

Speaker 1 [01:01] You guys are doing hard tea now too, right? How's that going?

Speaker 2 [01:04] We do a hard tea as well. We do it as a partnership with Juvenile, the rapper. Uh if anyone doesn't know who Juvenile is, uh just remember back that thing up from uh the late 90s, early 2000s. Uh but that's, it's an interesting category, you know, it's dominated by just a few players, so we've had, we had some initial success, so we've certainly seen that kind of slow down a bit as the market consolidates around just a, a few hard team makers.

Speaker 1 [01:32] The THC market is a hot topic, and we'll get to that in a minute here for sure. But first, I just want to talk about Urban South, um, and the, the, the idea of it as like a brand and everything. You guys have a very cool aesthetic, uh, it's very bright, it's colorful, it's vibrant. Uh, what, what is the message you try to convey about urban South, uh, and who you are?

Speaker 2 [01:59] Well, even down to our name, it came about because as I was, yeah, I was born in Louisiana and went to LSU and then left the state for a while. I taught elementary school in Hawaii and then recruited teachers in Seattle, and as my wife and I were trying to figure out where to settle, we thought about cities like New Orleans, like Nashville or Austin, and Um, got to thinking about really what we were attracted, uh, attracted us to all those types of places, and these were places where, uh, folks just kind of, uh, worked to live and didn't live to work, and I really wanted to create a brand that embodied the, the culture and traditions of the urban South. We kind of wrestle with the dark history that, that exists in the South as well as with the, the vibrant excitement that, that is the modern South. And so, we try to do that with the brand, both with the styles of beer that we make. You'll find most of them are, are on the lighter end of the spectrum because in the urban South, it's pretty hot, uh, most of the year in most of our cities. Um, and then also just in terms of the, the welcoming space, atmosphere, and, and branding. Um, we, uh, you know, from both our taproom space and down to the look of our cans, we want it to be really approachable and really welcoming.

Speaker 1 [03:09] For a lot of folks, I feel like they associate, uh, Louisiana and particularly New Orleans, uh, with a pretty robust drinking culture, um, but also might associate a lot with spirits cause I know you got a lot of signature cocktails going on over there, but what's the, specifically the beer scene like in Louisiana?

Speaker 2 [03:31] Yeah, the beer scene, it was a little late to the game compared to a lot of the rest of the country, and so we, uh, when we opened just 8 years ago, we were, uh, only the 2nd brewery in the city. Uh, and so that was, uh, pretty unique and, and pretty cool opportunity to kind of bring what we've seen throughout the rest of the country here. But it's growing. Uh, we do have some of the toughest laws in the country, uh, to operate a brewery under. Uh, and so I've worked for about a decade now to try to change those, but it's a real uphill battle. Um, but otherwise, We're just great spaces to come and drink a beer. One of the changes that we were able to make legislatively at the very start of our, our brewery was, was to allow breweries to have taprooms. It was a novel concept here. Um, so the, even just the taproom culture is only 8 years old, um, and, you know, that we just have a lot to build on and still a lot of room to grow.

Speaker 1 [04:26] You guys have also looked to expanding yourselves in other places. Florida is, is that the most recent market for you all?

Speaker 2 [04:36] Yeah, so, 2 years ago, we purchased a hospitality group in Florida, in Pensacola, Florida that included a brew pub called Perfect Plain. Uh, Pensacola is only 3 hours from New Orleans. It's a big vacation beach destination for New Orleans residents. So it was, it was pretty natural extension. Uh, we also loved the opportunity to build a new craft beer brand in a new market that was, you know, authentically local. And so we've been building out the perfect plain brand and distribution. In Florida. Uh, so now we're able to kind of work on two separate brands, um, in that market and kind of across the Gulf South. Uh, so we'll start bringing that brand back towards New Orleans as well. The other fun thing about the Florida Project was because the brewery laws are a lot better in Florida, we were able to also have, uh, liquor licenses. And so, with the hospitality group came three really cool and distinct bars. So we're now bar owners and Uh, in the cocktail scene, which is a lot of fun for someone like me who really enjoys a great cocktail, just as much as I enjoy a great craft beer.

Speaker 1 [05:38] We're seeing a lot of folks dip their toes in other aspects of Bev E, whether it's doing something with spirits, um, or now a lot of things happening with cannabis. So can you talk through with us what you guys have been doing in that space?

Speaker 2 [05:53] Yeah, so one year ago, uh, well, really, it was December of, of 23, we launched a brand called Drifty. Uh, THC seltzer at 5 mg of delta 9 THC. Louisiana was relatively early in putting a framework together, uh, to, to manage, uh, THC, uh, consumable hemp. Um, so we still have a lot of states surrounding us that still to this day have no state regulations on the books for it. Um, so, when Louisiana did that, it really legitimized the industry. We have a very large independent grocer here called Rouse's that was selling, uh, hemp seltzers. Um, so that, I think even You know, just as much as the state laws, uh, and there being a framework, the fact that Rouse has started selling these really legitimized it and got into the hands of just your average everyday grocery store shopper. Um, so when we saw them get in the game, we, we figured it was a really great opportunity to move early in a new space. Um, and that's gone incredibly well for us. Uh, this, this first year, we focused mostly on Louisiana. Um, in the past few weeks, we've expanded to Mississippi, uh, Alabama. Uh, we are sending beer, I mean, sending seltzer and beer, uh, to Arkansas next week. Um, and then we're working on opportunities in Texas, Florida, uh, Georgia, and the Carolinas. And so, um, for us, it was just You know, seeing the realities of craft beer and kind of the slowdown of growth, uh, there, we thought, you know, diversifying a bit was, would be a smart move, and we thought that the opportunity to get into a, a new category at the very beginning was a unique one, that we really didn't have with some of the others, uh, you know, categories like canned cocktails or seltzers.

Speaker 1 [07:39] Have you found that uh the consumers of these products, are they folks that are also drinking beer or people who maybe drank beer before and are switching? Like what are, what does that consumer base look like?

Speaker 2 [07:53] There's definitely some crossover, but there's absolutely new consumers. Um, I, I like to, you know, when I'm testifying in front of legislators, which we have to, you know, do a lot in this category, uh, I tell them that this is a drink that their moms and daughters are drinking, uh, just as much as, uh, you know, their, their sons might be drinking beer or high noon. Um, and, you know, that's from personal experience. My mom's a fan. Uh, she's a, you know, 64 year old who Uh, likes them to help her go to sleep, and she's absolutely not a beer drinker. Uh, and so that's a, a whole new demographic that we're reaching that we weren't reaching with our beer. Um, and then someone like my sister's a school teacher and, you know, is looking to kind of cut down her alcohol, uh, usage, sees it as a, as an opportunity to also kind of wind down. In the evenings, um, without, uh, the ramifications of alcohol. Um, and so we see it in our own tasting room. Uh, we see folks kind of mixing it up where they might have had two beers, now they might be having a beer and a, a THC seltzer.

Speaker 1 [08:57] You mentioned having to, just to testify in front of some lawmakers. This is a, uh, area that is Constantly changing, it feels like of just what regulations are around it and people's perceptions of it. So, how are you, do you navigate trying to be a leader in that space while also, you never know when 11 state might change uh their rules around it, and it can happen very quickly.

Speaker 2 [09:28] Yeah, on, you know, there is a lot of uncertainty and in Louisiana, this past session, the bill that, that we fought against would have completely outlawed the sale of these products. Um, we ended up with pretty, pretty big restrictions on them, but still a route to market. Um, the, and I think that fight is gonna continue for a few years or at least until the federal farm bill is reauthorized and there's a little more clarity from the federal government. Um, but I think that's given smaller producers a real opportunity because I think the, the Anheuser-Busch's of the world are not getting into the space yet because of that uncertainty and because of the lack of any uniform regulation. So on one hand, it, it's a challenge. On the other hand, I think it's exactly why we wanted to get into the, to the business, uh, before uh we were immediately blocked out by some major and larger producers.

Speaker 1 [10:22] We've named you a rising star, and rising stars, it's typically, typically because you, you're doing something right. You're finding growth, you're finding success in this market, which is particularly challenging right now. Um, I like to ask all of our rising stars if there is a piece of advice or something that you've been told that you think, uh, was really beneficial to Uh, your, your business or that you think folks that are maybe a little smaller that want to get to where you are should know.

Speaker 2 [10:52] When we first opened, there were a lot of breweries growing quickly by kind of going pretty wide and, and pretty shallow, uh, in terms of distribution, and I think the timing was good for us to really see that you really had to own our own backyard. And so that was a, a very deliberate strategy that, that we took, um, pretty early on. Uh, instead of just chasing growth, uh, we decided to own our backyard, uh, to really, uh, you know, put some roots down with some core brands, uh, to really learn how to work with our distributors, and we surrounded ourselves even internally with people who've worked on the distributor side, um, to really focus on off-premise and to focus on. Uh, putting, you know, opportunities, uh, for consumers to grab our products in as many places as possible. Um, so, I think those, I, I attribute a lot of those focuses to our ability to, to grow and to really have sustainable growth. Um, even with a little bit of a retraction, we're seeing relatively minimal, um, retraction of our brands because I think that the, the growth that we've achieved has been really sustainable and really deeply rooted. Um, and so I think, you know, if anything, that's, that's the biggest advice that I'd give.

Speaker 1 [12:12] Final question for you, Jacob. We're coming to the end of 2024, looking into this next year. What is, uh, some targets or like goals that you have for Urban South moving into 2025?

Speaker 2 [12:28] A lot of our targets going forward have to do with uh chain placements in some newer chains for us, so we, uh, on, on one hand, we have this benefit of this large independent. Uh, retailer in Louisiana that loves local and that, that really champions local brands. Um, so we were able to grow on the backs of that. But as we move outside of Louisiana, we're confronted with chains like Publix and HEB that don't have any presence here, that don't know who we are, and we have to start really from scratch building our Uh, reputation with them. And so we had an opportunity to get into some public sets in Florida this past year. I think it's gone really well, and I think that, um, a lot of our growth going forward is gonna be contingent on us getting those opportunities and those big chains. Um, and that's also driving our territory expansion as well because when you're in a state like Florida. It, it almost doesn't, isn't worth the time to go into new territories unless you are in public, uh, because that could easily be, you know, 50 to 60% of your volume.

Speaker 1 [13:32] Congratulations again on Urban South being named a rising star, and we can't wait to see what happens for the next basically decade for you guys.

Speaker 2 [13:41] Thanks a lot, Zoe, I appreciate the opportunity.