August 4, 2025 • 11 mins
Holland, Michigan-based CraftCo. Brands has a diverse portfolio of innovative distilled alcoholic beverages comprised of more than 30 spirits and liqueurs across the bourbon, gin, vodka, rye, and ready-to-drink categories. CraftCo. competes in an industry that is increasingly dominated by consolidation, the speed with which companies can get their products to the shelves, and ever-evolving trends.
Ali Anderson, the company's CEO, discusses the state of the alcohol industry, consumer habits and the potential impact of tariffs for her business. Ali speaks with Tim Stenovec and Carol Massar on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and
Tim Stenovek on Bloomberg Radio. I promise some alcohol, Carol,
So some good news in the world of spirits today
for those investors who are at least long Davide Campari Milano.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
It's been a week.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
It's been a week. Yeah, this is the barent company
of Campari Apparol Grandmagnier. While Turkey and More reported better
than expected profit and revenue for the first half of
the year, shares rose eight percent. Not out of the
woods yet though, and it's because of tariffs. The EU
indicated that wine and spirits will face a fifteen percent
US tariff starting August seventh. That's on an interim basis.
(00:44):
We'll talk to continue about an exemption for the sector.
Can Pari flag today that the impact from tariffs could
range between four point six million dollars to more than
fifty million dollars. That's that's a range.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
I was thinking about Grand Monnier in Margarita. I think
it can make it like a it's just special.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Sorry, yeah, you're so. You didn't listen to any of
that all you were thinking about?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Was that one?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I know?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Which fine?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I know, tariffs and Trader front and center. We're going
to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I want to bring in Ali Anderson. She's CEO of
Craft Co. It's a company that has a portfolio that
includes more than two dozen spirits and liqueurs think Bourbon, Gin,
Ready to Drink, cocktails and more. The company also does
co packing for other brands. Ali's back with us from Alexandria, Virginia. Ali,
how are you.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
I'm doing great today. How are you Caroll and Tim?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
We're doing pretty well. I know Carol wants a drink
after this week. Hey, I want to start with with tariffs,
because you're known as a company that doesn't import, and
you do your own distilling here in the US. As
a result of the tariffs that have been placed on
imports of liquor from around the world, have you seen
an increase in your domestic sales.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Well, I would like to say that I have, but
the reality is that when the tariffs, the threat of tariffs,
especially the back and forth on that, what it did
was it caused us to distributors to use up that
budget to purchase those imports out of fear that they
wouldn't be able to get those going forward or get
those at a different at a higher price. So that
didn't leave a whole lot of budget for craft suppliers
(02:10):
like me to be able to get our products out there.
So I think it's shaking out right now. I think
we have lots of signs of hope on the horizon,
but it definitely constrained things for a long time and
does continue to you know, affect our suppliers as well.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Allie, Ellie, Jill, drill down a little bit. What does
that mean in terms of the restrictions that you guys
have had or your suppliers what specifically.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, things like packaging bottles which we do get overseas,
glass bottles. We actually saw this coming and switched up
our suppliers a little bit, and so imported barrels are
another one. We actually would like to export more of
our barrels. That's not going to be as easy to do,
as you know, but even equipment abroad for us, there's
(02:56):
some changes to our can line that we'd like to
make and some of that means we've got to look
for different suppliers. So you know, we're flexible we're nimble,
We're able to do that. I recognize that not all
suppliers are able to do that, but you know, we're
seeing it and we're feeling it, but we're also adapting
to it as well.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
So you know, it's funny because I always I don't
say I always forget, but you know, when I say
something is actually made in the US, the things that
you're bringing up are a lot of international products. Whether
that's barrels, whether it's parts of the machinery that you need,
whether it's parts of the cans. What is what portion
(03:37):
is actually made in the US?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Well, for us, it's it's it's everything is made in
the US. It's Bourbon we do. We do mainly bourbon.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
And all your ingredients, all your ingredients from the US too.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
The ours are definitely ours are, but that doesn't have
to be the case, right You could import rye from
Europe if you wanted. We don't happen to do that,
but yeah, you absolutely could. Now for us, we're you know,
we get our labels, we keep as much local as
we can from our boxes to our labels, our quarks,
But big things like glass that can be a little tougher.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm also curious about consumer spending. You guys are a
great window into that, and we've gotten a couple reads,
certainly on spending this week. We even got some consumer
sentiment from the Umish University of Michigan. Today. We did
see sentiment actually go to a five month high. A
lot of that had to do with the rally that
(04:33):
we saw recently in stocks. We saw inflation expectations easing.
What's your read on the consumer right now?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I think the consumer is fatigued. The consumer, you know,
they want value, they want bang for the buck. They
expect us to be very transparent with not just how
things are made, but you know, they want to know
if you're selling a four pack, they want to know
what goes into that. They're very savvy and they're tired.
(05:02):
I think of you know, we hear a lot about
shrinkflation as well. I think they're fatigued by that. So
that's one thing that we definitely try to keep in
mind when we're developing new products.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
We had this discussion on our editorial call today about
whether or not we should consider alcohol a staple or
a consumer discretionary item, and I guess it depends on
it kind of depends on the way you think about
a drink after work.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I think it's person dependent. How do you view it
as somebody who creates this product? Do you view it
as something that especially in the part of the market
that you play in. Do you view it as something
that people will buy regardless of how the economy is
or is it a treat.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I think it depends on the situation. It depends on
so many factors, you know, socio political, economic factors. For one.
It depends on how you're raised, where you come from,
what your experience is, and how you view something like alcohol.
Like we're seeing all kinds of trends with the low
and no proof right people trying to make different lifestyle choices.
So I think it's definitely situational with with your relationship
(06:11):
to spirits, to drinking, to alcohol, to how you celebrate,
to how you mourn, to how you transition through life.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Are you doing any no or low right now? We are?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
We are. We've got Thatcher's Organic Liqueurs, which we're super
proud to be organic. That's kind of a hard certification
to get. So we've got organic liquors that are low
proof and personally I like, you know, just a seltzer
like a Lacroix and and a bit of Thatcher's elderflower
is a great way to just have a little bit
of spirit but not have to, you know, drink a
hundred proof whiskey either. Now there's a place for that,
(06:43):
don't get me wrong, but yeah, we do dabble in that.
We recently reduce the proof on our cannon cocktails because
that's what the consumer wanted, right, They're looking to be
more sessionable, to enjoy for a little bit longer, and
so we listen to that and delivered.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. Your portfolio,
as Tim mentioned in the lead to you more than
two dozen spirits and liqueurs, bourbon gin Rae ready to
drink a lot. And you are thinking about the lower
no alcohol market. Where where's the growth? Where are you
spending time in terms of and you want to spend time,
not only time, but money and effort. When it comes
(07:22):
to product development.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
The growth is really in innovation, whatever that, whatever your
category is. What customers want is to be dazzled. They
want something new. Like I said, they're fatigued. Sure, they're
fatigued by price, but they also want something new to try.
So I think if you're you know, if you're primarily
into cannon cocktails, I think you should be innovating around flavors.
(07:45):
What's the culinary scene doing. Are you paying attention to that?
What are you picking up from that? If you're into
high end whiskeys, which we very much are, we're looking
at what kind of different finishes can we do, what
kind of different blends can we do with higher aged whiskeys,
because the consumers definitely want different, they want to continue
to be kind of entertained at the shelf by what
(08:05):
we're doing.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
I mentioned that you do copacking. Can you explain that
side of the business and what you're hearing from clients?
Speaker 1 (08:11):
If you watch Shark Tank, you would know what co
packers do.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
But I know I know what it is.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Sorry, go ahead, Well they always do they like, do
you have a co packer yet? Or I've got a
co packer? Sr?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Carol, No, I.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Know she's mine O rough right, yeah, go packing. Go
packing is Honestly, it's a new part of our business.
But when we looked at what our strengths were, it
was in product development. We've developed products for the Lions
products for the Orlando Magic. We're pretty great at being
nimble and developing new things for When people come to
us and say, you know, I'd like to do this,
(08:49):
we say, great, tell us more. We think we can
help you out with that, and so co packing is
our response to utilizing our capacity. We had a little
bit of access capacity and being able to say, what
do you want to create, we can help you navigate that.
You know, alcohol is one of the most highly regulated
industries in the United States. It's not easy to navigate that,
and so we're able to kind of shirpa new brands,
(09:13):
New the World brand through the process using our experience
in our resources as well.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
You mentioned regulatory how what might the come from the
administration potentially that might help or hurt you guys beyond
maybe what we've talked about tariff cent trade.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, you know, I'm definitely not a policy expert here.
What I'm just looking to do is really urge President
Trump and the negotiators just very quickly resolve the terraffs.
You know, there's one point seven million workers that depend
on a very vibrant US spirits industry. That's farmers, that's
hospitality workers, that's drivers. That's us right, I'm reopening my
(09:50):
tap room here in September, and I want to be
able to do that successfully. I want people to come
through those doors and be able to drink American spirits.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Well, you mentioned workers on a day where we got
some weakness in non farm payroll creation. What are you
seeing when it comes to the US labor market. Are
you guys hiring, are you holding on to workers? Are
you trimming back your workforce? What can you tell us?
Speaker 3 (10:13):
I'm hiring right now? Like I said, I'm opening our
tap room which has been closed now for several months
by our own decision. We really just wanted to reimagine
it to be something that was more in line with
what craft Goo is and who we are. But we're
definitely looking to hire hourly staff. We just hired a
tap room manager, We're hiring line cooks, bartenders, so we're
(10:34):
definitely in a growth mode. But yeah, is it a
little difficult to find to find that right fit in
the labor force yet it is just a little bit.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
What kind of pricing power just thirty seconds do you
have with your product line?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Well, we're very diverse, so we've got very high end
Whiskey's one hundred and fifty dollars plus all the way
down to canned cocktails which are twelve ninety nine for
a four pack. So you know, there's something for everybody
in our line, and I think that speaks to where
everybody is right now economically. You can find something for
a deal for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Gonna leave it there, good stuff. Always appreciate getting some
time with you, Ali. Take care and have a good weekend.
Ali Anderson, she's CEO of Craftco. As you mentioned, they
have quite a portfolio spirits and the course, Yeah, fun stuff.
A great insight into an industry as well as a
smaller business. She joined us from Alexandria, Virginia,
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and
Tim Stenovek on Bloomberg Radio. I promise some alcohol, Carol,
So some good news in the world of spirits today
for those investors who are at least long Davide Campari Milano.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
It's been a week.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
It's been a week. Yeah, this is the barent company
of Campari Apparol Grandmagnier. While Turkey and More reported better
than expected profit and revenue for the first half of
the year, shares rose eight percent. Not out of the
woods yet though, and it's because of tariffs. The EU
indicated that wine and spirits will face a fifteen percent
US tariff starting August seventh. That's on an interim basis.
(00:44):
We'll talk to continue about an exemption for the sector.
Can Pari flag today that the impact from tariffs could
range between four point six million dollars to more than
fifty million dollars. That's that's a range.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
I was thinking about Grand Monnier in Margarita. I think
it can make it like a it's just special.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Sorry, yeah, you're so. You didn't listen to any of
that all you were thinking about?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Was that one?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I know?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Which fine?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I know, tariffs and Trader front and center. We're going
to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I want to bring in Ali Anderson. She's CEO of
Craft Co. It's a company that has a portfolio that
includes more than two dozen spirits and liqueurs think Bourbon, Gin,
Ready to Drink, cocktails and more. The company also does
co packing for other brands. Ali's back with us from Alexandria, Virginia. Ali,
how are you.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
I'm doing great today. How are you Caroll and Tim?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
We're doing pretty well. I know Carol wants a drink
after this week. Hey, I want to start with with tariffs,
because you're known as a company that doesn't import, and
you do your own distilling here in the US. As
a result of the tariffs that have been placed on
imports of liquor from around the world, have you seen
an increase in your domestic sales.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Well, I would like to say that I have, but
the reality is that when the tariffs, the threat of tariffs,
especially the back and forth on that, what it did
was it caused us to distributors to use up that
budget to purchase those imports out of fear that they
wouldn't be able to get those going forward or get
those at a different at a higher price. So that
didn't leave a whole lot of budget for craft suppliers
(02:10):
like me to be able to get our products out there.
So I think it's shaking out right now. I think
we have lots of signs of hope on the horizon,
but it definitely constrained things for a long time and
does continue to you know, affect our suppliers as well.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Allie, Ellie, Jill, drill down a little bit. What does
that mean in terms of the restrictions that you guys
have had or your suppliers what specifically.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, things like packaging bottles which we do get overseas,
glass bottles. We actually saw this coming and switched up
our suppliers a little bit, and so imported barrels are
another one. We actually would like to export more of
our barrels. That's not going to be as easy to do,
as you know, but even equipment abroad for us, there's
(02:56):
some changes to our can line that we'd like to
make and some of that means we've got to look
for different suppliers. So you know, we're flexible we're nimble,
We're able to do that. I recognize that not all
suppliers are able to do that, but you know, we're
seeing it and we're feeling it, but we're also adapting
to it as well.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
So you know, it's funny because I always I don't
say I always forget, but you know, when I say
something is actually made in the US, the things that
you're bringing up are a lot of international products. Whether
that's barrels, whether it's parts of the machinery that you need,
whether it's parts of the cans. What is what portion
(03:37):
is actually made in the US?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Well, for us, it's it's it's everything is made in
the US. It's Bourbon we do. We do mainly bourbon.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
And all your ingredients, all your ingredients from the US too.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
The ours are definitely ours are, but that doesn't have
to be the case, right You could import rye from
Europe if you wanted. We don't happen to do that,
but yeah, you absolutely could. Now for us, we're you know,
we get our labels, we keep as much local as
we can from our boxes to our labels, our quarks,
But big things like glass that can be a little tougher.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm also curious about consumer spending. You guys are a
great window into that, and we've gotten a couple reads,
certainly on spending this week. We even got some consumer
sentiment from the Umish University of Michigan. Today. We did
see sentiment actually go to a five month high. A
lot of that had to do with the rally that
(04:33):
we saw recently in stocks. We saw inflation expectations easing.
What's your read on the consumer right now?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I think the consumer is fatigued. The consumer, you know,
they want value, they want bang for the buck. They
expect us to be very transparent with not just how
things are made, but you know, they want to know
if you're selling a four pack, they want to know
what goes into that. They're very savvy and they're tired.
(05:02):
I think of you know, we hear a lot about
shrinkflation as well. I think they're fatigued by that. So
that's one thing that we definitely try to keep in
mind when we're developing new products.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
We had this discussion on our editorial call today about
whether or not we should consider alcohol a staple or
a consumer discretionary item, and I guess it depends on
it kind of depends on the way you think about
a drink after work.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I think it's person dependent. How do you view it
as somebody who creates this product? Do you view it
as something that especially in the part of the market
that you play in. Do you view it as something
that people will buy regardless of how the economy is
or is it a treat.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I think it depends on the situation. It depends on
so many factors, you know, socio political, economic factors. For one.
It depends on how you're raised, where you come from,
what your experience is, and how you view something like alcohol.
Like we're seeing all kinds of trends with the low
and no proof right people trying to make different lifestyle choices.
So I think it's definitely situational with with your relationship
(06:11):
to spirits, to drinking, to alcohol, to how you celebrate,
to how you mourn, to how you transition through life.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Are you doing any no or low right now? We are?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
We are. We've got Thatcher's Organic Liqueurs, which we're super
proud to be organic. That's kind of a hard certification
to get. So we've got organic liquors that are low
proof and personally I like, you know, just a seltzer
like a Lacroix and and a bit of Thatcher's elderflower
is a great way to just have a little bit
of spirit but not have to, you know, drink a
hundred proof whiskey either. Now there's a place for that,
(06:43):
don't get me wrong, but yeah, we do dabble in that.
We recently reduce the proof on our cannon cocktails because
that's what the consumer wanted, right, They're looking to be
more sessionable, to enjoy for a little bit longer, and
so we listen to that and delivered.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. Your portfolio,
as Tim mentioned in the lead to you more than
two dozen spirits and liqueurs, bourbon gin Rae ready to
drink a lot. And you are thinking about the lower
no alcohol market. Where where's the growth? Where are you
spending time in terms of and you want to spend time,
not only time, but money and effort. When it comes
(07:22):
to product development.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
The growth is really in innovation, whatever that, whatever your
category is. What customers want is to be dazzled. They
want something new. Like I said, they're fatigued. Sure, they're
fatigued by price, but they also want something new to try.
So I think if you're you know, if you're primarily
into cannon cocktails, I think you should be innovating around flavors.
(07:45):
What's the culinary scene doing. Are you paying attention to that?
What are you picking up from that? If you're into
high end whiskeys, which we very much are, we're looking
at what kind of different finishes can we do, what
kind of different blends can we do with higher aged whiskeys,
because the consumers definitely want different, they want to continue
to be kind of entertained at the shelf by what
(08:05):
we're doing.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
I mentioned that you do copacking. Can you explain that
side of the business and what you're hearing from clients?
Speaker 1 (08:11):
If you watch Shark Tank, you would know what co
packers do.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
But I know I know what it is.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Sorry, go ahead, Well they always do they like, do
you have a co packer yet? Or I've got a
co packer? Sr?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Carol, No, I.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Know she's mine O rough right, yeah, go packing. Go
packing is Honestly, it's a new part of our business.
But when we looked at what our strengths were, it
was in product development. We've developed products for the Lions
products for the Orlando Magic. We're pretty great at being
nimble and developing new things for When people come to
us and say, you know, I'd like to do this,
(08:49):
we say, great, tell us more. We think we can
help you out with that, and so co packing is
our response to utilizing our capacity. We had a little
bit of access capacity and being able to say, what
do you want to create, we can help you navigate that.
You know, alcohol is one of the most highly regulated
industries in the United States. It's not easy to navigate that,
and so we're able to kind of shirpa new brands,
(09:13):
New the World brand through the process using our experience
in our resources as well.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
You mentioned regulatory how what might the come from the
administration potentially that might help or hurt you guys beyond
maybe what we've talked about tariff cent trade.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, you know, I'm definitely not a policy expert here.
What I'm just looking to do is really urge President
Trump and the negotiators just very quickly resolve the terraffs.
You know, there's one point seven million workers that depend
on a very vibrant US spirits industry. That's farmers, that's
hospitality workers, that's drivers. That's us right, I'm reopening my
(09:50):
tap room here in September, and I want to be
able to do that successfully. I want people to come
through those doors and be able to drink American spirits.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Well, you mentioned workers on a day where we got
some weakness in non farm payroll creation. What are you
seeing when it comes to the US labor market. Are
you guys hiring, are you holding on to workers? Are
you trimming back your workforce? What can you tell us?
Speaker 3 (10:13):
I'm hiring right now? Like I said, I'm opening our
tap room which has been closed now for several months
by our own decision. We really just wanted to reimagine
it to be something that was more in line with
what craft Goo is and who we are. But we're
definitely looking to hire hourly staff. We just hired a
tap room manager, We're hiring line cooks, bartenders, so we're
(10:34):
definitely in a growth mode. But yeah, is it a
little difficult to find to find that right fit in
the labor force yet it is just a little bit.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
What kind of pricing power just thirty seconds do you
have with your product line?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Well, we're very diverse, so we've got very high end
Whiskey's one hundred and fifty dollars plus all the way
down to canned cocktails which are twelve ninety nine for
a four pack. So you know, there's something for everybody
in our line, and I think that speaks to where
everybody is right now economically. You can find something for
a deal for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Gonna leave it there, good stuff. Always appreciate getting some
time with you, Ali. Take care and have a good weekend.
Ali Anderson, she's CEO of Craftco. As you mentioned, they
have quite a portfolio spirits and the course, Yeah, fun stuff.
A great insight into an industry as well as a
smaller business. She joined us from Alexandria, Virginia,
Hosts And Creators
Tim Stenovec
Carol Massar
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