Brewbound Awards 2025: Rising Stars - Best Day Brewing

Speaker 1 [00:00] Our next interview is with one of this year's rising stars. You might be familiar with seeing their brightly colored cans of non-alcoholic beer out and about. It is Best Day Brewing. They are a non-alcoholic brewery that is really focused on. I guess the best phrase is, as you all would say, having your best day yet, um, and here to talk about it, we have CEO and founder Tate Huffard. Welcome, Tate. Thanks for having me. Welcome. And then we also have President Jane Armstrong Hackman. Welcome, Jane.

Speaker 2 [00:35] Thank you for recognizing us and thank you for having us. Yes,

Speaker 1 [00:38] thank you for taking your time out of the very busy time of year that this is to, to talk to us about what you all have going on. Um, so for anyone who is unfamiliar, say someone walks up to you, sees a Best Day shirt on, sees the best day can in your hand, what would you guys say is, what's the elevator pitch for, for who you all are?

Speaker 3 [01:00] Um, well, it's a great question, and I, and I think, you know, we've got a fairly consistent but, but simple and ambitious answer, and that's, you know, that we're the voice and the emblem of a tectonic shift in consumer behavior. And uh we really go about that um by flipping what has been the NA beer category completely on its head. And Uh, again, pretty simplistically, we think about that like brand and product, right? We take what was perceived as, um, let's generally say lackluster beer in the NA category, and we make Uh, beer that, um, Unless you knew that there was none, that there was no alcohol in it, you would, you would be shocked. You would think it was just a regular great tasting beer. That's our standard, right? And then from a brand perspective, uh, again, let's just think about the world of non-alcoholic beer before, and I think generally, gene generously, you would say those are um lackluster brands, and we bring fun and levity and optimism and excitement and Uh, and that's transformative, right? And it turns out that if you do those two things, um, you can really tap into something exciting.

Speaker 2 [02:33] Yeah, I absolutely agree with Tate. I would reply by saying that we are a beer brand first that happens to be non-Elk, and we're meeting the beer consumer in the exact moment that they're at today. And we are a brand that's built on two things. One is optimism, with our ethos being best day yet. And what non-AC brings to the consumer, not what it takes away from their beer experience, and to a beer based on options and how we can broaden, broaden the spectrum and options of beer for those consumers.

Speaker 1 [03:04] We have certainly seen the non-alcoholic beards landscape change so quickly in the past few years. I, what, how would you all describe just what the state of that marketplace looks like today?

Speaker 3 [03:19] It looks a whole lot different than when I started this thing. Uh, yeah, I mean, non-alcoholic beer used to be relegated to like the, the dustiest, darkest corner of the beer aisle. And now, you know, it's, it's really front and center, and the, the beer sets have completely transformed, uh, and I, I think that is nothing but exciting, right? If you're going to build a category, you've got to take a big swig, you've got to change things up and uh Yeah, the beer aisles are completely changed now, and it's really fun to see and be a part of that.

Speaker 2 [03:55] Yeah, I'm really lucky. I've had a full career in beer, so I've been in the beer industry for over 2 decades, and watching the industry transform with consumer needs has been a really fun and wild ride. But Tate had a great vision when he created Best Day, and it was around how consumers were going to engage with non-op, and it wasn't a story about sobriety, it was about options for consumers in different moments throughout their beer journey. And so we're seeing that come to life real time right now, and we're seeing consumers that drink full strength beer on a Friday, maybe reach for a non-o beer on a Saturday, and Best Day's positioned itself authentically to be exactly there in that moment.

Speaker 1 [04:35] Yeah, it's not just like you're a non-alcoholic beer drinker or you're a full strength beer drinker anymore. It's a lot more folks are mixing it up all the time.

Speaker 3 [04:43] Exactly. Yeah, totally. I mean, I, I, I think that it's such a good point, and, and I think the numbers there are really shocked people when they understand what's going on, cause I think, you know, even to this day, despite all the, the, the, the Changes and evolutions that we mentioned, I think the perception is still like, man, am I a drinker or am I not a drinker, right? Am I on this side of the fence, or am I on that side of the fence? And, you know, something like 92% of the people that drink non-alcoholic beer still drink. They're just drinking differently, right? And I think, you know, that, that, that's pretty magical, right, in an industry that is, you know, generously flat to down. And, you know, what we're tapping into here, right, is getting rid of that fence altogether, right? And, and people thinking about this as an extension of the spectrum, and what that leads to is opening up tons of new occasions. And you know, you, for, for, for all of the, you know, swapping out of beer and for, for non-alcoholic beer, there's actually more swapping out of water and sparkling water, and energy drinks, and sodas. And it is as lovers of beer. That's a pretty magical thing, cause you get to bring all the things that you love about a beer to these new occasions, and it's been amazing to see that kind of growth. Yeah.

Speaker 1 [06:12] Totally. So, folks are noticing that this is opening up opportunities, including some of the really big beer guys, celebrities are paying attention. We've seen a lot of new entrants come in this past year. How has that changed that in a marketplace and how are craft brands like yourselves really sticking out among all those new, new folks in?

Speaker 2 [06:36] Yeah, I think when big brands and celebrities come into the space, we get excited about it. It brings more attention to the category, it brings more of a foundation to the category and more education to consumers, and so we love to see the category expand and it's expanded in a big way in 2025.

Speaker 3 [06:54] Yeah, again, like in the beginning, you know, when I told people about this idea of non-alcoholic beer, they look at me like I had 3 heads, right? And now George Clooney's wants in, and that's a, that's a pretty powerful transformation, um. Yeah, I, I, I, I think about it in the same way Jane does, like this is a rising tide, and, uh, you know, from the top on down, like having The kind of uh intention and level that, that, you know, Heineken zero can invest in this category um is amazing, right? For we, we spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the category and we can, I think a lot of times feel like, oh my God, like, you know, where do we go from here? This category is in its infancy, right? And I think to continue to grow at the pace it does, um, requires a, a ton of brand awareness, right? And a ton of category awareness too. And, and I think with the, with the, you know, level of um newness that you're seeing from big names out there, both, you know, as you, as you mentioned, both celebrities and, um, you know, big, kind of big beer players, it's bringing a whole lot of people into this category that we need in order to continue to grow, right? And then, you know, once, once they're in, assuming that they've had a, a, a, a, a good beer, They want to see what's around. They want to explore, right? And, and then they get to engage with Best day and the philosophy that we have and um we see that, that oftentimes we can, we can give them, you know, a variety of options on the, on the beer side of things, and we can give them a unique perspective on the brand side of things and, you know, that leads to a lot of brand love.

Speaker 2 [08:51] Yep. And having a career in beer, I'm passionate about the tradition and history around brewing a beer. And we are very proud of our brewer and of our products, and sitting in the craft area enables us to brew our beer full strength, and then remove the alcohol, which unlocks all kinds of styles of beer that we can give to consumers. And so we can provide these beautiful styles like koshas and imperials that consumers are looking for, to let them be in this category without giving up the styles that they love.

Speaker 1 [09:24] For sure. One of my favorite just non-oak stories in general is just I was out with a bunch of friends and we had just done a Spartan like stadium race and we wanted a beer, we didn't necessarily want to drink alcohol, um, and there were styles now available that all each of us want. We all like different kinds of beer and we're able to have those options now, so it's just, it's a. Entirely different landscape and it's so great to have those opportunities because otherwise we would have been drinking a water or a Gatorade maybe and

Speaker 2 [09:57] that's one of the best parts about Tate and I's job. We get to talk to consumers all the time about the different occasions that they're enjoying Best Day in and then also what style is meeting them in that moment and which one they love and get insight from them and excitement coming back from them on the great beers that we're making for sure.

Speaker 1 [10:15] So investors are also paying attention to this category, and they are putting their money in it. You guys closed multiple funding raises last year. What has that allowed you to do in 2025? How did that help you level up this year?

Speaker 2 [10:30] Yeah, I think the key thing that it did was position us in a place that we could meet the demand that we're getting with our products right now. And so we scaled our production, um, we enhanced our portfolio offerings, we expanded distribution, and we also were able to hire leaders and a team to come and help us, you know, really continue that growth story.

Speaker 3 [10:52] Yeah, as someone who doesn't come from the world of beer, um, I, I, I, you know, the, what that has allowed me to do, uh, and, and this goes for the, you know, the, the capital that we raised. Uh, last year, and it goes for the first dime that came to the business, is, you know, surround this business with an exceptional team, right? Cause I certainly didn't know what the hell I was doing. And, uh, and, and, you know, I have a mentor who, you know, in the early days said, you know, it's, it's who, not how, and that message has stuck and resonated and, you know, all of those things that Jane listed off, I, I view first and foremost as the byproduct of having a great team on board. So, a lot more of that.

Speaker 2 [11:42] Yeah, we have a really smart, talented, and hardworking team, and I think as leaders, we do a great job of really listening to them, and that's been one of our secrets to our great growth.

Speaker 1 [11:55] So, it really expanded on your leadership this year, expanded distribution, looking ahead to 2026, what are some of the, the key things that you all are looking forward to?

Speaker 3 [12:06] Well, I can, uh, I can start on that because I, I, I think that, um, You know, the, the, the business that we're in is, is one of storytelling, and, you know, it, it's It's been a, quite a journey from, you know, the, the reach that we've been able to tell that story from the beginning to where we're going in 2026. And you know, Jane alluded to some of the, you know, the, the retail opportunities that we have coming next year, and that's across the, the whole entire country. And you know, as this trend, um, you know, really takes root and sprouts all over the country, you know, we see an amazing opportunity to storytell in all those venues and to reach that consumer. And, and we're reaching that consumer with a really unique Uh, story, right? And it's one that I think will fuel compounding growth, uh, for us, of course, but also for the category, right? And, and we talked about it at the, at the top of the, the, the podcast, but you know, this is, this is, it's not about either or, right? And the more that we can get out there, the more that we can tell consumers what's actually happening here, I think it's gonna lead to big things for the category for best day.

Speaker 2 [13:25] Yep, I think 2025, we knew that we would have great growth, and we even exceeded our own expectations, and Bestte has always believed that non-alk isn't a trend. It's a shift in how consumers are interacting with beer, and it's something that's going to continue on and continue to grow, and we are a leader in that category. And so we're going into 2026 with a really strong foundation. As we've grown, we've made sure that we did that in a really strong way that we can scale with time. And we plan on doing that. Um, 2025 growth is placing us as one of the third fastest growth brands in US adult beverage right now, and we are going into 2026 with that momentum behind us and a really strong foundation of growth that we're on top of, and we're really excited to continue to move the category forward.

Speaker 1 [14:16] That's quite impressive. I mean, with the amount of adult beverage products that are out there right now to be in that top, and that's why we wanted to name you guys one of our rising stars for this year. It's just finding that growth is incredible. My final question for you both, which I love to ask our rising stars, is, If you're here, you're doing something right, so is there a piece of advice that you could, uh, either you could give to folks that are hoping to, to be where you are one today or, um, that has been given to you that you think is really useful to your business?

Speaker 3 [14:49] Well, I guess I already mentioned mine, and that's who, not how, you know, find people like Jane, find people, uh, you know, that can, that can take, um, a vision and make it into a reality.

Speaker 2 [15:03] Yep, and I think, you know, for me, it's building a brand that's really authentic to who it is and meeting consumers in an authentic moment. Tate did that really well with Best Day and the Etho's Best Day Yet, and it's staying really consistent with that and talking to consumers where they are and making sure that it's aligned with where the brand's going.

Speaker 1 [15:24] Well, really, really appreciate you all taking the time to chat with me today and congratulations on being a rising star.

Speaker 2 [15:30] Thank you for the recognition. It was great to talk to you and we're looking forward to seeing you in LA.