December 24, 2024 • 32 mins
For the final MHW Mark Podcast episode of 2024, we’ve assembled our largest group discussion ever. A dream team of MHW’s Sales and Marketing experts come together to share their insights on trends and data from this past year, and what we might expect in the industry as we look ahead into 2025.
Host Jimmy Moreland welcomes returning guests Cassidy Poe, Brigid McCabe, Michelle Street Beaudette, and Misha Monticciolo, as well as new friends Joe Nunnink and Brad Buchman.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the MHW Mark podcast, where we take deep
dives into various aspects ofthe alcohol industry.
My name is Jimmy Moreland.
Mhw is a US and EU beveragealcohol importer, distributor
and service provider.
Today we have a very specialend-of-year episode for you.
We are bringing quality andquantity today with the largest
team of experts we've ever hadon the podcast.
(00:28):
Courtesy of MHW's sales andmarketing team, we have some
familiar faces.
Welcome back Cassidy Poe,bridget McCabe, michelle
Street-Bodette and MishaMonticello.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Thank you, jimmy.
Thanks, jimmy, happy to be here.
Thank you, jimmy.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
And we have some new friends.
Can we get a quick introductionfor each of you, joe and Brad?
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Joe, if you want to start, yeah, absolutely Good to
be here, Jimmy.
Thanks for having me on.
Yeah, my name is Joe Nunnock.
I work in business developmentwith MHW, Been with the company
for gosh three and a half yearsnow, so happy to be on the pod.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Great to have you here, brad, welcome, thank you.
Thanks as well for having me on.
I'm excited to be here.
This is my first podcastingexperience, so that's exciting.
I've been with MHW now forabout a year and four months, so
still learning, but thetraining wheels have been taken
off.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I'm glad that we've got you on the podcast.
We'll be gentle Now.
Every podcast out there,regardless of category, they all
handle the end of the year gap,if you will, a little
differently.
Some do a mailbag, some do likea clips episode.
We have gathered the MHW salesand marketing brain trust here
to share insights and takeawaysfrom 2024.
(01:39):
Now, as we all know, I am theindustry outsider here, so I'll
do my best to step out of theway and let this conversation
take place naturally.
So let's start with Michelle.
Can you share your thoughts ontrends and changes you observed
in 2024?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Sure, I would say the biggest trend I have seen has
been the surge of additive-freetequilas.
You know there's been a lot oftequila purists who have said
that additive-free tequilas are.
You know there's been a lot oftequila purists who have said
that additive-free tequilas arethe best tequilas out there.
And there have been very, veryyou know popular brands such as
Fortaleza Tequila, tequila Ocho.
A newer brand is Lalo Tequila,which was founded by the
(02:20):
grandson of Don Julio.
So that's very exciting too andthat brand has been really
taking off.
We also have two clients HumanoTequila, which launched this
year, and then One With LifeTequila.
So what makes these brandsdifferent from a lot of the
other tequila brands out thereis that they're made with fewer
ingredients.
Basically, it's just agave,water and yeast, versus having
(02:44):
the added chemicals, flavorings,sweeteners, anything like that.
There's so many brands outthere that have these added
ingredients in there that helpwith the taste, which I think
allows it to be drank by abroader audience.
However, people who reallyindulge in the taste of tequila
love to really taste the trueagave flavoring.
(03:07):
So that's a big difference withthe additive-free type tequilas
and some would say it's acleaner way of drinking, which a
lot of consumers nowadays arelooking for more of those
cleaner options where they feellike not necessarily healthy,
because you know, we can'tnecessarily say that when we
talk about alcohol but maybe ahealthier style of drinking,
which, again, fewer ingredients,less additives.
(03:30):
So that's something that Ithink that's been really cool
that we're seeing with.
You know some of these brands,especially since tequila is the
hottest category out there.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Is that the only category you're seeing, that
sort of trend of sort ofreducing the ingredient count?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
if you will.
No, definitely.
It spans across othercategories and I know the group
is going to be covering, youknow, some of those other
product types as well, so Ithink it's an overarching trend
just across the beverage spacein general.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
That's a great point, michelle.
I'm going to hop in herebecause I feel like my trend
builds off of hers very nicely.
So, in addition to thatadditive free we're seeing the
global organic wine marketreally increase in size.
So in 2023, they were clockingat around 10.8 billion USD and
the CAGR is expected to grow atleast 10 points from 2024 to
(04:22):
2030.
So this year we've really seensort of like the apex of that,
and it's only going to continuegoing.
There is something that we'redoing more this year, which is
we have our organic winecertification.
So previously, it was onlynecessary for the vineyards and
the winery that produced andbottled that wine to be
certified as organic.
However, there are new rulesunder the Strengthening Organic
(04:45):
Enforcement Regulations, whichwe call the SOE, which were
first announced in January 2023.
They gave us about six monthsgrace period and all importers
to basically have thisrequirement apply to importers
ourselves.
So, even though we're nothandling in the wine or bottling
it ourselves, we need to ensurethat we're meeting the
standards that the actual wineproducers face themselves.
(05:07):
And the reason that the USDAdid this was to really protect
organic businesses and consumers, to prevent fraud, to create a
level playing field, make surethat we're all kind of operating
under the same regulations, andso these went into hard
regulation September 19th aftera six-month grace period, and
it's, you know, I think it'ssomething that all importers now
(05:28):
have to.
There's a lot more paperworkthat goes into it and a lot more
, you know, certifying andprocess with our organic wine
producers.
But it's also been welcome inthe space too, because it's
keeping up with the standard ofhow the organic wine category is
really accelerating.
And, to Michelle's point, we'rereally seeing that in wine too,
it's not just, you know,additive-free tequilas, but
(05:51):
there's also additive-free wineslike lower sulfate, or sulfate
wines are a big one, and I thinka lot of times you're seeing
the two kind of coupled together.
If something's produced asorganic with the regulations of
the USDA, a lot of times they'realso taking a look at like what
they're including from like asulfate and additive perspective
as well, so that we're onlygoing to continue to see grow.
(06:13):
And I know, you know, the winecategories had a tough go of it
the last decade or so, but thisis one area within wine that
we're seeing absolutely justdouble within the last five
years.
So all in all, it's been areally encouraging time for wine
and I think that you know, eventhough the category itself has
had some downwinds over the lastdecade, we're seeing areas of
(06:33):
wine pick up, and that includesorganic wine.
I know Brad has also had someideas that he was going to talk
through about what he's seen inthe wine space, so I'll go ahead
and pass that over to you.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thanks, bridget.
So I've spoken to a fewpotentials, and obviously the
big thing is following some ofthe health trends that have been
mentioned, and one inparticular that I'm actually
talking to thoroughly right nowis a wine brand that's found a
way to make it completely trulyzero sugar.
It's based out of the UK andsome of their requirements
(07:06):
around saying zero sugar, haveyou know, require that there's
no added sugars, no artificialsweeteners, anything like that,
and so they're trying to comeinto the, you know, into the US
market now, following that trend, and actually a lot of their
focus was surrounding thediabetic rate in the UK and
noting that I think it wasaround 7.4 and that in the US
(07:30):
it's significantly higher thanthat, and so therefore, that's
part of their solution and theircompetitive edge in going into
that side of things.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So that's great, covering the health conscious
front.
I am a well-known I don't wantto say hater, non-enjoyer of
agave-based spirits, but isthere any other news out there
for the people out there who,despite what their taste buds
tell them, they do somehow enjoyagave-based spirits?
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Well, jimmy, I love all things agave spirits.
I'm a big mezcal on the rocksguy.
But what's interesting is atrend that I've seen this year
is that category kind ofexpanding past tequila and
mezcal and just incorporating alot of other agave spirits I
think are coming into the USright now, things like ricea
(08:21):
sotol and then just inventivethings.
We had a client who signed withMHW recently called Lunoir, and
they don't want to think oftheir product as a tequila or a
mezcal or even an agave spirit,which is what it is at its base,
but they want to think of it asLunoir.
So thinking of brands, justgetting really into the brand
(08:45):
identity and less about thespirit category and just getting
very inventive.
So you know what they did.
That's different is it'sbasically a botanical agave
spirit, so they're looking at itas more like a gin and I got a
chance to try it.
It's amazing.
It's got a lot of you know, gota bit of a spice to it but a
(09:05):
sweetness as well.
But I'm seeing that a lot morebrands, you know, thinking less
about the category and when youdo that you don't have to worry
so much about you know, tequilaneeds to be made in Mexico, for
example, but in this case youcan import agave spirits perhaps
they're finished within the USformulated here and bottled
(09:28):
domestically.
You don't have to worry aboutputting tequila on the label.
We can call it, you know, justgetting behind the name of the
brand.
So I've seen that as kind of atrend, and a lot of these things
are really amazing, productsthat are coming to market too,
and things that I haven't reallytasted before.
So I think that's exciting.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Definitely, and I think there are some too that
are new to the US but may havelike a long history line in the
country of production.
So, like Bacanora was one thatI had the opportunity to work on
.
Kalinga is the brand thatbrought it into the US.
Land meets the sea on the westcoast and they actually were
(10:13):
like a very christian community.
So bacanora got outlawed.
There was like a prohibition inthat area for a very long time
and it wasn't until the 90swhere bacanora was, like you
know, able to be made again andso all these folks that had kind
of kept the family mystery andkept the recipe, kept allowing
these uh plants to to grow intheir backyard and things like
that.
It really enabled them to cometo market and come back with
(10:34):
Bacanora, which people hadthought had been like wiped from
the history map.
So Kalingo was another reallyexciting one coming out of
Sonora and I'm excited to see.
I think it's going to usher ina few more Bacanoras as well.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Yeah, I think people are always excited to try
something new.
I think there's like a realthirst for, like novel.
You know, peanut butter agavespirit, right, like that's not
something that we've seen, thepeanut butter bourbon, but
that's.
You know, there's always goingto be a market for those new
kind of niche products.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Generally speaking.
I know this is a little bit offthe retrospective topic here,
but I'm interested in this ideaof the tension, if you will,
between innovation and this sortof traditional and sort of I
don't want to call it hard line,but like.
(11:26):
There's a definition where,like, if you are making this
spirit or this beer or this wine, it must adhere to this
definition and if you'reinnovating, well, that goes
against this definition andtherefore we're not going to
allow it to be labeled as X, yor Z or to be sold as X, y or Z.
You know, I'm sure this debate,this argument, is literally
hundreds of years old.
What's the current sense ofthat tension?
Does it vary by industry andcompany and person to person
(11:48):
Like?
What's that sense?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, I think it definitely varies.
I talk to folks who are very,you know, very adamant that it
still says tequila on the bottle.
You know that could be a hugething for them.
Even though they might havesome, they're trying to do
something a little bitdifferently and that could, you
know.
Maybe that's going to be apotential challenge for them.
But then there's other folkswho that's the least of their
concern, you know, maybe that'sgoing to be a potential
(12:10):
challenge for them.
But then there's other folkswho that's the least of their
concern, you know, and it'sreally much more about, like
that, brand name recognitionrather than having that
classification still be in place.
But I think there's alwaysgoing to be people who want to
have great tequila, great scotch, whatever it is.
So there's always going to be.
(12:32):
You know, that market's alwaysgoing to exist for just the very
traditional old-schoolcategories.
But then there's also acompletely different market for
peanut butter, whatever you know, and just the crazy inventive
stuff.
Speaker 7 (12:45):
I'm definitely seeing the same thing Lots of people
wanting to stand out, be unique,be different, to get vision
from others to be seen.
I'm seeing a lot of that Also.
I'm seeing this is not going tobe a surprise to anyone, but
still a ton of RTDs, a lot ofpackaging designs changing the
(13:06):
category, I think everythingfrom vodka-based, wine-based,
just.
Everyone's still making theseto-go kind of containers to
bring to the market.
So that's been a big trend andeven a lot of the current
clients who were bottling in750s are now looking for
alternative ways to get intothat space.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
I've got perhaps a dumb outsider question Are there
special concerns for brandslooking to do RTDs sort of state
by state?
I recall this was years agogoing into a gas station in
Oklahoma and if your beveragewas cold there was a different
limit on the ABV versus if yourbeverage was warm, sort of out
(13:50):
in the middle on the aisle Samebeverage, same can or whatever.
But they would actuallyformulate and ship two different
versions of basically the samebeverage, two different ABVs.
One was destined for the fridgeand one was destined for the
shelf out in the middle of theaisle there.
Are these the kinds of thingsthat brands have to worry about
(14:10):
with RTDs, based on the 50different markets that we have
here in the United States?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, that's exactly right, jimmy.
I think that highlights thevalue of MHW and our compliance
team, because even after COVIDhit, the RTD regulations were
changing.
It seemed month to month, Ithink two years ago.
Ohio is now allowing RTDs to besold in gas stations and areas
where previously they weren'tallowed.
(14:37):
So with this wave of innovationwithin the space comes new
regulator conversations and newlaws that are passed every day,
and so MHW's compliance team,and especially you mentioned
some control states.
We have to stay on top of thatand that's something that you
know.
If a client is developing a newSKU or maybe they come in as an
RTD, they need to understandwhat markets make sense to
(14:59):
launch in.
What needs to happen in termsof, as you mentioned, like
refrigeration, is a key point inthat state.
So those are all areas where,as brands are developing this,
it's kind of good to talk toyour service provider and
importer in advance so that youcan understand where you're
carving out a market for them.
And we try, cassidy and I, onthe end of the newsletter we're
(15:21):
always sending up updates interms of what states have
approved what in terms of RTDsand legislation there.
So even if you're not a client,it'd definitely be beneficial
to sign up for the MHW Marknewsletter so you can kind of
get access to all of that.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
We'll drop a link to the newsletter in the show notes
.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Awesome.
Thanks, jareen.
Just one thing I wanted to addtoo, something Misha was
covering, about the differentbases of RTDs, because I think a
lot of times people think ofRTDs as one category and the
base of it whether it's spirit,wine or malt dictates where you
can sell those products by state.
So, like a great example is NewYork, where most of us are
(15:57):
based, in order to sell aspirit-based product, no matter
what the ABV is, it has to besold in a liquor store.
So you'll never be ablecurrently unless there are
regulations that change be ableto sell a spirit-based RTD, even
if it's for 5% alcohol, at aconvenience store, grocery store
, gas station.
It must be malt-based, like abeer, in order for you to sell
(16:18):
it in those types of stores.
So that's what's veryinteresting when you have a
brand that is in the developmentphase and we provide this
consultation not just with ourteam, but we also have a program
called Brand Arc that we helpbrands with developing their
products, whether it be fromconcept to commercialization or
(16:38):
procurement, whatever it mightbe.
But we'll go over their optionsout there based on what their
strategy is when do they want tosell these products, what's the
ultimate goal and also what isthe price point they're looking
to hit, because a really bigpiece that they should be
thinking about, too, is taxes.
There is a very big differencebetween the three different
(16:59):
categories in taxes and, youknow, a spirit-based RTD is
definitely going to be moreexpensive than like a malt-based
RTD.
So just all like reallyimportant things for people to
be thinking about, and that'ssomething that our team, our
BrandArc team, will help, youknow, clients in those early
stages and then, as Bridget hadsaid, our compliance team is
very close to all theregulations state by state, so
(17:20):
we're able to help currentclients navigate, you know, as
they start expanding intodifferent markets.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
I think this ties a lot into innovation, like we
were talking about before,obviously, with our BrandAr Dark
programs.
That's what they do.
They help people innovate andcreate products that they maybe
didn't think they could, orsomething that was a distant
(17:46):
dream recently about certain newtypes of ingredients that
people want to include in theirproducts that maybe aren't
approved by the FDA or needcertain compliance help that our
team is also capable of helpingthem do as well.
So I know Bridget has beenlooking into that a lot recently
.
I don't know if you hadanything.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's such a good point, cassidy, and I think just
having a conversation with ourexecutive vice president, I'm
going to give a shout out toScott Saul here.
He was one of the first tointroduce Absinthe into the US.
I mean, we were the firstimporter service provider to
bring the first Absinthe here.
We have worked with manyclients that have needed to get
something on the FDA generallyrecognized as safe list, which
(18:28):
they call GRAS, g-r-a-s, so thatcould be.
You know we've had somethingdistilled from pine cones before
that wasn't currently on theGRAS list, that our compliance
team helped get on there, andthen even things like Kachasa.
You know Kachasas are so widelydistributed now in the US but
MHW and Scott was one of thefirst to bring Kachasa in and
(18:49):
really like carve that niche out.
So you know that's, of course,past and we're talking about
sort of where we're up to withinnovation.
But we experienced this all thetime where we get contacted.
I think there was, you know, abrand that we spoke with at
Barcom in Berlin that I thinkit's called like Pandong and
it's made from a Thai herb, andso that I don't know if that's
(19:10):
currently on there yet, butwe're constantly looking into
this as we're talking withpotentials, and I always say,
like if there's a mystery or aproblem that you have that you
need to solve, mhw is going tobe there to kind of help you
solve it, and you know there's alot of great FDA attorneys out
there as well that can help youget something.
On the GRAS list there's a lotof like testing and you know
(19:30):
formulas that you need toprovide for that, but innovation
is something that the USconsumer is always looking for.
They want to know that they'rethe first to try something.
They want to know that there,you know, there's nothing else
like that in the category, andso we love seeing brands kind of
push the label as it relates tothat.
Speaker 6 (19:52):
I think in such a crowded market too, that's
what's making people stand out.
And this kind of leads into mytrend from the past year
marketing related, of course.
I have seen a lot of a kind ofa bigger focus on community
building as a marketing tactic,which we've talked about on the
podcast before, but it's come upso often that I think it was
important to touch upon.
(20:13):
We've seen a lot of brands kindof using their customers and
their like most loyal fans asbrand ambassadors and kind of
turning away from influencermarketing, which is still big
too.
But one of the examples we'vetalked about before was Juliet
Wine.
They had a great program thatthey did, basically, like I said
(20:36):
, bringing their customers in,hosting events and like
encouraging them to post onsocial media, and that's also a
way that them and other brandshave gotten content to post on
their own social media or repostfrom other people's stuff,
which makes it a lot easier tokind of be consistent with that
kind of marketing.
(20:57):
And then, in general, I thinkbrands are recognizing the
importance of marketing overall,but also making sure that they
kind of niche down to the typesof marketing that would work
best for their brand.
So I mean, we've talked aboutall the different types.
Some brands find popping up atevents is really important to
(21:18):
them.
Some finds like we talked toSpencer from Gaywater this year
on the podcast about organicsocial media marketing.
So I think people are kind ofrealizing that marketing, the
marketing world, is alwayschanging in customers because
this is such a crowded industry,they want to see new things and
you have to figure out what'sgoing to work best for you.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I know that we're supposed to be doing a
retrospective of 2024, but giventhe tone of your comments just
there, cassidy, do we have any?
I don't want to say predictions, but what are we looking
forward to in 2025?
Speaker 7 (21:53):
I think, like the story behind things is becoming
a big, a really big part of kindof what Cassidy was just
talking about with Juliet, butalso just in community, New Dawn
, Distill.
I mean the way these brands aretelling their story and making
that.
What it's all about, I think,is another way to find
uniqueness.
Instead of being just anotherone in the market.
(22:15):
They are standing out orfinding ways to stand out from
the others.
That story is becoming a bigpart of the emerging brands.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Misha, do you think the founder has to be a key part
of telling that story, or canthey find a way to take a back
seat and let someone else, whoperhaps is more eloquent, tell
that story?
Speaker 7 (22:33):
I think it's a combination of both.
I've seen it successful bothways, but definitely having the
founder there is just kind oftouches a person, I think, when
they hear the story comingstraight from the founder's
mouth per se.
But I definitely see trendswhere they're utilizing the
broader market.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Consumers definitely care about the story and wanting
to know how a brand was founded, even if maybe they didn't meet
the founder themselves.
I even find myself nowadaysI'll be ordering clothes and,
while I'm on the website, ifthere is an About Us section, I
want to know what the story isand if there are, you know,
charitable, you knoworganizations that you know that
(23:14):
brand is involved with, itmakes me feel good, too, that
I'm now, you know, not justsupporting this brand but also
supporting another organization.
So these are very importantthings that brands are
definitely thinking aboutnowadays because they know just
people are looking for, you know, those types of stories and
information.
Speaker 6 (23:31):
At the end of the day , people like to feel like
they're a part of something, andI think that ties back into the
community point I was making.
But if they're a part of makinga difference by purchasing this
brand or they're just a part ofa community that a brand
creates themselves, that's kindof one of the big things that's
going to drive what consumersare more drawn to in the store.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I am personally excited for more low alcohol
products.
I mean, there's so many outthere already, but it is
something that, as our lifestyleshifts, as we get older, you
know the ultra premium aspect ofit is never going to go away.
I don't think people loveinvesting in a, you know, nice
bottle, but I think that havingthe lower ABV, consumers are
(24:14):
more aware of what ABV is.
They're more aware of theingredients and kind of what
goes into it from a productionperspective.
And I think you know peoplewant to be able to enjoy a glass
or two of something or acocktail without feeling like,
okay, this is my one, that I'mgoing to have.
You know, and I can speak fromexperience, just having had a
baby earlier this year, I wantto be able to, you know, still
(24:35):
have a glass of something withdinner, but I need necessarily
to have something high proof.
So it just gives, you know,consumers who are looking for
that different alternative,other options where they don't
feel like, you know, I don'twant to have to trade down to,
like, a soda or a seltzer orsomething like that, but I still
want that lower ABV.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more, bridget.
It's so great to go to so manyrestaurants where they have a
zero proof or a non-alcoholiccocktail menu, and it's just
really cool to see how creativethese restaurants are making
these drinks and it's not justlike, like you had said, like
soda or juice, you know, it'ssomething that like, no matter
what a person's like situationis like, if they just don't want
(25:15):
to drink that night or theycan't drink, they still feel
like they are part of thecommunity.
It goes back to literally whatCassie had said At the end of
the day, people want to feellike they're part of something
and it doesn't mean that theyhave to indulge in exactly the
same thing as what someone elseis drinking.
But it's like really great tosee, like you know, what brands
are putting out in the market.
You know, when we were atBarcom in Berlin, we were able
(25:40):
to see a lot of those brands.
One in particular our client,casa Lumbre.
They launched this year Al MalveAgave Spirit and they have to
call it Agave Non-alcoholicspirit too, because it is not
tequila.
Like, going back to what youhad asked before, jimmy, a lot
of these particular categories,whether they be tequila or
mezcal or scotch whiskey orchampagne in the wine category,
(26:00):
they're all protected by thegovernments in the particular
countries where they're from.
So it's not just about likesomeone wanting or not wanting
to call it a particular.
You know, call it tequila orwhatever.
It has to fit certainrequirements and be approved by
that government in order to doso.
So, using this one as an example, al Mave, while it's made from
(26:20):
agave, it doesn't have alcohol,which is a requirement for
tequila.
So that's why you know it'scalled a agave spirit and it's
non-alcoholic.
But you know, that product isamazing.
It's incredible, and I actuallyhave the two bottles out on my
bar over there.
They have a Blanco and aReposado but it really captures
the flavor of agave for someonewho still likes to enjoy a
(26:43):
margarita, or maybe they justwant to pour it on the rocks,
but without having the alcoholin it.
So no matter like what occasionyou're using it for, it's just
great to have something that'slike just as premium as actually
having a alcohol-based typespirit.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Shout out to all my fellow socially awkward
introverts where, if you're at abar and you want a drink in
your hand, but you don'tnecessarily want that alcohol,
it's great to have that.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Absolutely, and you can't tell a difference.
Some you know, these times,like my husband, didn't realize
he was drinking.
Um, we had a holiday party thispast weekend and, uh, what was
it?
It was the Stella, uh,non-alcoholic beer, and I think
he was like three or four in andsomeone walked up to him and
they're like, oh, how do youlike non-alcoholic beer?
Cause they saw him with it andhe was like, oh, I would never
drink that and I was likelaughing later because I was
(27:29):
like Joe, do you realize thatyou're drinking non-alcoholic
Stella?
And he's like, oh, I didn't evenrealize.
So they're getting very good interms of giving you that full
experience and the full flavorprofiles that you know.
If you are looking to not drinkalcohol anymore, you could
still get almost the sameexperience.
Speaker 7 (27:48):
Yeah, that's what I was going to ask.
I'm seeing such an improvementin that category over the course
of the year probably just moreto come.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Oh, absolutely, it'll be exciting for 2025.
Like Jimmy, as you said, as welook forward, I think that
category is going, or we're notgoing to slow down for sure.
That is something that I thinkis going to start taking a
bigger share of the beveragespace.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
All right.
Well, it's now time for ourfavorite closing question.
Now, four of you have certainlyanswered this question before,
but if your answer has changed,feel free to chime in.
But we certainly want to hearfrom Joe and Brad, and that
question is what is yourfavorite adult beverage?
And Brad will let you go first.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
I'm more of a dark liquor person myself, so I will
enjoy a good glass of cognac,whether it be Hennessy, Conjure
or, if you want to go up alittle bit and go to, like you
know, Courvoisier.
But if I'm looking to mix itwith something, there's nothing
wrong with a little KCT andthrowing some Sprite and lemon
(28:53):
or lime in with the Hennessy.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Very good Joe.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
I've been on a Mezcal kick lately.
I have Mezcal on the rocks islike my go-to right now.
As far as cocktails go, I lovelike a French 75.
Something about the littlesparkling wine in with the gin.
That is like my all-timefavorite cocktail.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Very fancy.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
What about mezcal old-fashioned Joe if you're on a
mezcal kick?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Probably mezcal old-fashioned.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
That's a trending cocktail right now.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Yeah, a little too much sugar.
That tends to give me aheadache, you know.
So I can do like one, but Ifeel like I can sip mezcal, you
know, and it doesn't, you know,affect me the same way that
having like a higher sugarycocktail tends to affect me.
Speaker 7 (29:40):
I did not get to answer this last time, so I will
.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Oh, no, misha, please .
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I haven't either, even though I've been on so many
podcasts.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Oh, no, well, okay, well, I have so many.
I'm not going to rerecord thequestion, but we'll just.
Let's get answers from Mishaand Bridget.
Let's go.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
I have so many here, but I mean with my meals.
I do like a really good glassof wine of different varieties,
but my cocktail to go would beprobably a Negroni is my go-to
cocktail.
I love good gins and I usuallywill ask the bartender to give
me their recommendation on a gin.
I don't want just the standardone, I want something special.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Bridget.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
My favorite cocktail has remained the same for many,
many years.
It is purity vodka, martini,blue cheese stuffed olives,
ideally served with a bed ofoysters raw.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
That sounds incredible.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
That is my all-time favorite.
That's what I love to get whenI'm out at dinner, and then I'll
say when I am hankering for aglass of wine.
Our former CEO, gabe Barkley,actually turned me on to Barnett
Vineyard, so I am a club memberand I love their cab, their
rattlesnake edition, so that iswhat I will do with dinner if
I'm sitting down at homeaddition.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
So that is what I will do with dinner if I'm I'm
sitting down at home a glass ofwine.
So many high class refinedpalates show up on this podcast.
It's so rare that someone'sjust like I.
Just like a beer.
We've had a couple.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
I do just like it that was my husband well, it's
great and non-alcohol beer andnot even realizing it and he was
like I would never drink anon-alcoholic beer and not even
realizing it, and he was like Iwould never drink a
non-alcoholic beer, as he'sholding one.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Well, it's great.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
That actually should be an advertisement for them,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Well, good answers all around.
I'm glad that we finally gotanswers from Misha and Bridget.
I apologize for leaving you allout, but listeners out there,
you let us know what are youdrinking these days and, as we
move into January, are you goingto be on that low, no-alcohol
kick as well?
Let us know.
There'll be some nice links forus in the show notes, but we
want to say thank you to thewhole grand panel for stopping
(31:49):
by and sharing your insights for2024.
And we look forward to havingyou folks back here, maybe all
together or maybe piecemeal in2025 and beyond.
And thank you, listeners, forjoining us on the MHW Mark
podcast and thanks for stoppingby.
If you have a question for theteam, we'll drop a contact link
in the show notes.
This podcast is produced by me,jimmy Moreland, with booking and
(32:11):
planning support from CassidyPoe and Bridget McCabe.
It's presented by MHW.
Find out more at mhwltdcom orconnect with MHW on LinkedIn.
Lend us a hand by subscribing,rating and reviewing this
podcast wherever you listen.
We look forward to another yearof great conversations and we
hope you have a safe and happyholiday break.
We'll be back in your feed intwo weeks.
(32:32):
Cheers and Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
Welcome to the MHW Mark podcast, where we take deep
dives into various aspects ofthe alcohol industry.
My name is Jimmy Moreland.
Mhw is a US and EU beveragealcohol importer, distributor
and service provider.
Today we have a very specialend-of-year episode for you.
We are bringing quality andquantity today with the largest
team of experts we've ever hadon the podcast.
(00:28):
Courtesy of MHW's sales andmarketing team, we have some
familiar faces.
Welcome back Cassidy Poe,bridget McCabe, michelle
Street-Bodette and MishaMonticello.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Thank you, jimmy.
Thanks, jimmy, happy to be here.
Thank you, jimmy.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
And we have some new friends.
Can we get a quick introductionfor each of you, joe and Brad?
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Joe, if you want to start, yeah, absolutely Good to
be here, Jimmy.
Thanks for having me on.
Yeah, my name is Joe Nunnock.
I work in business developmentwith MHW, Been with the company
for gosh three and a half yearsnow, so happy to be on the pod.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Great to have you here, brad, welcome, thank you.
Thanks as well for having me on.
I'm excited to be here.
This is my first podcastingexperience, so that's exciting.
I've been with MHW now forabout a year and four months, so
still learning, but thetraining wheels have been taken
off.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I'm glad that we've got you on the podcast.
We'll be gentle Now.
Every podcast out there,regardless of category, they all
handle the end of the year gap,if you will, a little
differently.
Some do a mailbag, some do likea clips episode.
We have gathered the MHW salesand marketing brain trust here
to share insights and takeawaysfrom 2024.
(01:39):
Now, as we all know, I am theindustry outsider here, so I'll
do my best to step out of theway and let this conversation
take place naturally.
So let's start with Michelle.
Can you share your thoughts ontrends and changes you observed
in 2024?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Sure, I would say the biggest trend I have seen has
been the surge of additive-freetequilas.
You know there's been a lot oftequila purists who have said
that additive-free tequilas are.
You know there's been a lot oftequila purists who have said
that additive-free tequilas arethe best tequilas out there.
And there have been very, veryyou know popular brands such as
Fortaleza Tequila, tequila Ocho.
A newer brand is Lalo Tequila,which was founded by the
(02:20):
grandson of Don Julio.
So that's very exciting too andthat brand has been really
taking off.
We also have two clients HumanoTequila, which launched this
year, and then One With LifeTequila.
So what makes these brandsdifferent from a lot of the
other tequila brands out thereis that they're made with fewer
ingredients.
Basically, it's just agave,water and yeast, versus having
(02:44):
the added chemicals, flavorings,sweeteners, anything like that.
There's so many brands outthere that have these added
ingredients in there that helpwith the taste, which I think
allows it to be drank by abroader audience.
However, people who reallyindulge in the taste of tequila
love to really taste the trueagave flavoring.
(03:07):
So that's a big difference withthe additive-free type tequilas
and some would say it's acleaner way of drinking, which a
lot of consumers nowadays arelooking for more of those
cleaner options where they feellike not necessarily healthy,
because you know, we can'tnecessarily say that when we
talk about alcohol but maybe ahealthier style of drinking,
which, again, fewer ingredients,less additives.
(03:30):
So that's something that Ithink that's been really cool
that we're seeing with.
You know some of these brands,especially since tequila is the
hottest category out there.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Is that the only category you're seeing, that
sort of trend of sort ofreducing the ingredient count?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
if you will.
No, definitely.
It spans across othercategories and I know the group
is going to be covering, youknow, some of those other
product types as well, so Ithink it's an overarching trend
just across the beverage spacein general.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
That's a great point, michelle.
I'm going to hop in herebecause I feel like my trend
builds off of hers very nicely.
So, in addition to thatadditive free we're seeing the
global organic wine marketreally increase in size.
So in 2023, they were clockingat around 10.8 billion USD and
the CAGR is expected to grow atleast 10 points from 2024 to
(04:22):
2030.
So this year we've really seensort of like the apex of that,
and it's only going to continuegoing.
There is something that we'redoing more this year, which is
we have our organic winecertification.
So previously, it was onlynecessary for the vineyards and
the winery that produced andbottled that wine to be
certified as organic.
However, there are new rulesunder the Strengthening Organic
(04:45):
Enforcement Regulations, whichwe call the SOE, which were
first announced in January 2023.
They gave us about six monthsgrace period and all importers
to basically have thisrequirement apply to importers
ourselves.
So, even though we're nothandling in the wine or bottling
it ourselves, we need to ensurethat we're meeting the
standards that the actual wineproducers face themselves.
(05:07):
And the reason that the USDAdid this was to really protect
organic businesses and consumers, to prevent fraud, to create a
level playing field, make surethat we're all kind of operating
under the same regulations, andso these went into hard
regulation September 19th aftera six-month grace period, and
it's, you know, I think it'ssomething that all importers now
(05:28):
have to.
There's a lot more paperworkthat goes into it and a lot more
, you know, certifying andprocess with our organic wine
producers.
But it's also been welcome inthe space too, because it's
keeping up with the standard ofhow the organic wine category is
really accelerating.
And, to Michelle's point, we'rereally seeing that in wine too,
it's not just, you know,additive-free tequilas, but
(05:51):
there's also additive-free wineslike lower sulfate, or sulfate
wines are a big one, and I thinka lot of times you're seeing
the two kind of coupled together.
If something's produced asorganic with the regulations of
the USDA, a lot of times they'realso taking a look at like what
they're including from like asulfate and additive perspective
as well, so that we're onlygoing to continue to see grow.
(06:13):
And I know, you know, the winecategories had a tough go of it
the last decade or so, but thisis one area within wine that
we're seeing absolutely justdouble within the last five
years.
So all in all, it's been areally encouraging time for wine
and I think that you know, eventhough the category itself has
had some downwinds over the lastdecade, we're seeing areas of
(06:33):
wine pick up, and that includesorganic wine.
I know Brad has also had someideas that he was going to talk
through about what he's seen inthe wine space, so I'll go ahead
and pass that over to you.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thanks, bridget.
So I've spoken to a fewpotentials, and obviously the
big thing is following some ofthe health trends that have been
mentioned, and one inparticular that I'm actually
talking to thoroughly right nowis a wine brand that's found a
way to make it completely trulyzero sugar.
It's based out of the UK andsome of their requirements
(07:06):
around saying zero sugar, haveyou know, require that there's
no added sugars, no artificialsweeteners, anything like that,
and so they're trying to comeinto the, you know, into the US
market now, following that trend, and actually a lot of their
focus was surrounding thediabetic rate in the UK and
noting that I think it wasaround 7.4 and that in the US
(07:30):
it's significantly higher thanthat, and so therefore, that's
part of their solution and theircompetitive edge in going into
that side of things.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So that's great, covering the health conscious
front.
I am a well-known I don't wantto say hater, non-enjoyer of
agave-based spirits, but isthere any other news out there
for the people out there who,despite what their taste buds
tell them, they do somehow enjoyagave-based spirits?
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Well, jimmy, I love all things agave spirits.
I'm a big mezcal on the rocksguy.
But what's interesting is atrend that I've seen this year
is that category kind ofexpanding past tequila and
mezcal and just incorporating alot of other agave spirits I
think are coming into the USright now, things like ricea
(08:21):
sotol and then just inventivethings.
We had a client who signed withMHW recently called Lunoir, and
they don't want to think oftheir product as a tequila or a
mezcal or even an agave spirit,which is what it is at its base,
but they want to think of it asLunoir.
So thinking of brands, justgetting really into the brand
(08:45):
identity and less about thespirit category and just getting
very inventive.
So you know what they did.
That's different is it'sbasically a botanical agave
spirit, so they're looking at itas more like a gin and I got a
chance to try it.
It's amazing.
It's got a lot of you know, gota bit of a spice to it but a
(09:05):
sweetness as well.
But I'm seeing that a lot morebrands, you know, thinking less
about the category and when youdo that you don't have to worry
so much about you know, tequilaneeds to be made in Mexico, for
example, but in this case youcan import agave spirits perhaps
they're finished within the USformulated here and bottled
(09:28):
domestically.
You don't have to worry aboutputting tequila on the label.
We can call it, you know, justgetting behind the name of the
brand.
So I've seen that as kind of atrend, and a lot of these things
are really amazing, productsthat are coming to market too,
and things that I haven't reallytasted before.
So I think that's exciting.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Definitely, and I think there are some too that
are new to the US but may havelike a long history line in the
country of production.
So, like Bacanora was one thatI had the opportunity to work on
.
Kalinga is the brand thatbrought it into the US.
Land meets the sea on the westcoast and they actually were
(10:13):
like a very christian community.
So bacanora got outlawed.
There was like a prohibition inthat area for a very long time
and it wasn't until the 90swhere bacanora was, like you
know, able to be made again andso all these folks that had kind
of kept the family mystery andkept the recipe, kept allowing
these uh plants to to grow intheir backyard and things like
that.
It really enabled them to cometo market and come back with
(10:34):
Bacanora, which people hadthought had been like wiped from
the history map.
So Kalingo was another reallyexciting one coming out of
Sonora and I'm excited to see.
I think it's going to usher ina few more Bacanoras as well.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Yeah, I think people are always excited to try
something new.
I think there's like a realthirst for, like novel.
You know, peanut butter agavespirit, right, like that's not
something that we've seen, thepeanut butter bourbon, but
that's.
You know, there's always goingto be a market for those new
kind of niche products.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Generally speaking.
I know this is a little bit offthe retrospective topic here,
but I'm interested in this ideaof the tension, if you will,
between innovation and this sortof traditional and sort of I
don't want to call it hard line,but like.
(11:26):
There's a definition where,like, if you are making this
spirit or this beer or this wine, it must adhere to this
definition and if you'reinnovating, well, that goes
against this definition andtherefore we're not going to
allow it to be labeled as X, yor Z or to be sold as X, y or Z.
You know, I'm sure this debate,this argument, is literally
hundreds of years old.
What's the current sense ofthat tension?
Does it vary by industry andcompany and person to person
(11:48):
Like?
What's that sense?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, I think it definitely varies.
I talk to folks who are very,you know, very adamant that it
still says tequila on the bottle.
You know that could be a hugething for them.
Even though they might havesome, they're trying to do
something a little bitdifferently and that could, you
know.
Maybe that's going to be apotential challenge for them.
But then there's other folkswho that's the least of their
concern, you know, maybe that'sgoing to be a potential
(12:10):
challenge for them.
But then there's other folkswho that's the least of their
concern, you know, and it'sreally much more about, like
that, brand name recognitionrather than having that
classification still be in place.
But I think there's alwaysgoing to be people who want to
have great tequila, great scotch, whatever it is.
So there's always going to be.
(12:32):
You know, that market's alwaysgoing to exist for just the very
traditional old-schoolcategories.
But then there's also acompletely different market for
peanut butter, whatever you know, and just the crazy inventive
stuff.
Speaker 7 (12:45):
I'm definitely seeing the same thing Lots of people
wanting to stand out, be unique,be different, to get vision
from others to be seen.
I'm seeing a lot of that Also.
I'm seeing this is not going tobe a surprise to anyone, but
still a ton of RTDs, a lot ofpackaging designs changing the
(13:06):
category, I think everythingfrom vodka-based, wine-based,
just.
Everyone's still making theseto-go kind of containers to
bring to the market.
So that's been a big trend andeven a lot of the current
clients who were bottling in750s are now looking for
alternative ways to get intothat space.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
I've got perhaps a dumb outsider question Are there
special concerns for brandslooking to do RTDs sort of state
by state?
I recall this was years agogoing into a gas station in
Oklahoma and if your beveragewas cold there was a different
limit on the ABV versus if yourbeverage was warm, sort of out
(13:50):
in the middle on the aisle Samebeverage, same can or whatever.
But they would actuallyformulate and ship two different
versions of basically the samebeverage, two different ABVs.
One was destined for the fridgeand one was destined for the
shelf out in the middle of theaisle there.
Are these the kinds of thingsthat brands have to worry about
(14:10):
with RTDs, based on the 50different markets that we have
here in the United States?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, that's exactly right, jimmy.
I think that highlights thevalue of MHW and our compliance
team, because even after COVIDhit, the RTD regulations were
changing.
It seemed month to month, Ithink two years ago.
Ohio is now allowing RTDs to besold in gas stations and areas
where previously they weren'tallowed.
(14:37):
So with this wave of innovationwithin the space comes new
regulator conversations and newlaws that are passed every day,
and so MHW's compliance team,and especially you mentioned
some control states.
We have to stay on top of thatand that's something that you
know.
If a client is developing a newSKU or maybe they come in as an
RTD, they need to understandwhat markets make sense to
(14:59):
launch in.
What needs to happen in termsof, as you mentioned, like
refrigeration, is a key point inthat state.
So those are all areas where,as brands are developing this,
it's kind of good to talk toyour service provider and
importer in advance so that youcan understand where you're
carving out a market for them.
And we try, cassidy and I, onthe end of the newsletter we're
(15:21):
always sending up updates interms of what states have
approved what in terms of RTDsand legislation there.
So even if you're not a client,it'd definitely be beneficial
to sign up for the MHW Marknewsletter so you can kind of
get access to all of that.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
We'll drop a link to the newsletter in the show notes
.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Awesome.
Thanks, jareen.
Just one thing I wanted to addtoo, something Misha was
covering, about the differentbases of RTDs, because I think a
lot of times people think ofRTDs as one category and the
base of it whether it's spirit,wine or malt dictates where you
can sell those products by state.
So, like a great example is NewYork, where most of us are
(15:57):
based, in order to sell aspirit-based product, no matter
what the ABV is, it has to besold in a liquor store.
So you'll never be ablecurrently unless there are
regulations that change be ableto sell a spirit-based RTD, even
if it's for 5% alcohol, at aconvenience store, grocery store
, gas station.
It must be malt-based, like abeer, in order for you to sell
(16:18):
it in those types of stores.
So that's what's veryinteresting when you have a
brand that is in the developmentphase and we provide this
consultation not just with ourteam, but we also have a program
called Brand Arc that we helpbrands with developing their
products, whether it be fromconcept to commercialization or
(16:38):
procurement, whatever it mightbe.
But we'll go over their optionsout there based on what their
strategy is when do they want tosell these products, what's the
ultimate goal and also what isthe price point they're looking
to hit, because a really bigpiece that they should be
thinking about, too, is taxes.
There is a very big differencebetween the three different
(16:59):
categories in taxes and, youknow, a spirit-based RTD is
definitely going to be moreexpensive than like a malt-based
RTD.
So just all like reallyimportant things for people to
be thinking about, and that'ssomething that our team, our
BrandArc team, will help, youknow, clients in those early
stages and then, as Bridget hadsaid, our compliance team is
very close to all theregulations state by state, so
(17:20):
we're able to help currentclients navigate, you know, as
they start expanding intodifferent markets.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
I think this ties a lot into innovation, like we
were talking about before,obviously, with our BrandAr Dark
programs.
That's what they do.
They help people innovate andcreate products that they maybe
didn't think they could, orsomething that was a distant
(17:46):
dream recently about certain newtypes of ingredients that
people want to include in theirproducts that maybe aren't
approved by the FDA or needcertain compliance help that our
team is also capable of helpingthem do as well.
So I know Bridget has beenlooking into that a lot recently
.
I don't know if you hadanything.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's such a good point, cassidy, and I think just
having a conversation with ourexecutive vice president, I'm
going to give a shout out toScott Saul here.
He was one of the first tointroduce Absinthe into the US.
I mean, we were the firstimporter service provider to
bring the first Absinthe here.
We have worked with manyclients that have needed to get
something on the FDA generallyrecognized as safe list, which
(18:28):
they call GRAS, g-r-a-s, so thatcould be.
You know we've had somethingdistilled from pine cones before
that wasn't currently on theGRAS list, that our compliance
team helped get on there, andthen even things like Kachasa.
You know Kachasas are so widelydistributed now in the US but
MHW and Scott was one of thefirst to bring Kachasa in and
(18:49):
really like carve that niche out.
So you know that's, of course,past and we're talking about
sort of where we're up to withinnovation.
But we experienced this all thetime where we get contacted.
I think there was, you know, abrand that we spoke with at
Barcom in Berlin that I thinkit's called like Pandong and
it's made from a Thai herb, andso that I don't know if that's
(19:10):
currently on there yet, butwe're constantly looking into
this as we're talking withpotentials, and I always say,
like if there's a mystery or aproblem that you have that you
need to solve, mhw is going tobe there to kind of help you
solve it, and you know there's alot of great FDA attorneys out
there as well that can help youget something.
On the GRAS list there's a lotof like testing and you know
(19:30):
formulas that you need toprovide for that, but innovation
is something that the USconsumer is always looking for.
They want to know that they'rethe first to try something.
They want to know that there,you know, there's nothing else
like that in the category, andso we love seeing brands kind of
push the label as it relates tothat.
Speaker 6 (19:52):
I think in such a crowded market too, that's
what's making people stand out.
And this kind of leads into mytrend from the past year
marketing related, of course.
I have seen a lot of a kind ofa bigger focus on community
building as a marketing tactic,which we've talked about on the
podcast before, but it's come upso often that I think it was
important to touch upon.
(20:13):
We've seen a lot of brands kindof using their customers and
their like most loyal fans asbrand ambassadors and kind of
turning away from influencermarketing, which is still big
too.
But one of the examples we'vetalked about before was Juliet
Wine.
They had a great program thatthey did, basically, like I said
(20:36):
, bringing their customers in,hosting events and like
encouraging them to post onsocial media, and that's also a
way that them and other brandshave gotten content to post on
their own social media or repostfrom other people's stuff,
which makes it a lot easier tokind of be consistent with that
kind of marketing.
(20:57):
And then, in general, I thinkbrands are recognizing the
importance of marketing overall,but also making sure that they
kind of niche down to the typesof marketing that would work
best for their brand.
So I mean, we've talked aboutall the different types.
Some brands find popping up atevents is really important to
(21:18):
them.
Some finds like we talked toSpencer from Gaywater this year
on the podcast about organicsocial media marketing.
So I think people are kind ofrealizing that marketing, the
marketing world, is alwayschanging in customers because
this is such a crowded industry,they want to see new things and
you have to figure out what'sgoing to work best for you.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I know that we're supposed to be doing a
retrospective of 2024, but giventhe tone of your comments just
there, cassidy, do we have any?
I don't want to say predictions, but what are we looking
forward to in 2025?
Speaker 7 (21:53):
I think, like the story behind things is becoming
a big, a really big part of kindof what Cassidy was just
talking about with Juliet, butalso just in community, New Dawn
, Distill.
I mean the way these brands aretelling their story and making
that.
What it's all about, I think,is another way to find
uniqueness.
Instead of being just anotherone in the market.
(22:15):
They are standing out orfinding ways to stand out from
the others.
That story is becoming a bigpart of the emerging brands.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Misha, do you think the founder has to be a key part
of telling that story, or canthey find a way to take a back
seat and let someone else, whoperhaps is more eloquent, tell
that story?
Speaker 7 (22:33):
I think it's a combination of both.
I've seen it successful bothways, but definitely having the
founder there is just kind oftouches a person, I think, when
they hear the story comingstraight from the founder's
mouth per se.
But I definitely see trendswhere they're utilizing the
broader market.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Consumers definitely care about the story and wanting
to know how a brand was founded, even if maybe they didn't meet
the founder themselves.
I even find myself nowadaysI'll be ordering clothes and,
while I'm on the website, ifthere is an About Us section, I
want to know what the story isand if there are, you know,
charitable, you knoworganizations that you know that
(23:14):
brand is involved with, itmakes me feel good, too, that
I'm now, you know, not justsupporting this brand but also
supporting another organization.
So these are very importantthings that brands are
definitely thinking aboutnowadays because they know just
people are looking for, you know, those types of stories and
information.
Speaker 6 (23:31):
At the end of the day , people like to feel like
they're a part of something, andI think that ties back into the
community point I was making.
But if they're a part of makinga difference by purchasing this
brand or they're just a part ofa community that a brand
creates themselves, that's kindof one of the big things that's
going to drive what consumersare more drawn to in the store.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I am personally excited for more low alcohol
products.
I mean, there's so many outthere already, but it is
something that, as our lifestyleshifts, as we get older, you
know the ultra premium aspect ofit is never going to go away.
I don't think people loveinvesting in a, you know, nice
bottle, but I think that havingthe lower ABV, consumers are
(24:14):
more aware of what ABV is.
They're more aware of theingredients and kind of what
goes into it from a productionperspective.
And I think you know peoplewant to be able to enjoy a glass
or two of something or acocktail without feeling like,
okay, this is my one, that I'mgoing to have.
You know, and I can speak fromexperience, just having had a
baby earlier this year, I wantto be able to, you know, still
(24:35):
have a glass of something withdinner, but I need necessarily
to have something high proof.
So it just gives, you know,consumers who are looking for
that different alternative,other options where they don't
feel like, you know, I don'twant to have to trade down to,
like, a soda or a seltzer orsomething like that, but I still
want that lower ABV.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more, bridget.
It's so great to go to so manyrestaurants where they have a
zero proof or a non-alcoholiccocktail menu, and it's just
really cool to see how creativethese restaurants are making
these drinks and it's not justlike, like you had said, like
soda or juice, you know, it'ssomething that like, no matter
what a person's like situationis like, if they just don't want
(25:15):
to drink that night or theycan't drink, they still feel
like they are part of thecommunity.
It goes back to literally whatCassie had said At the end of
the day, people want to feellike they're part of something
and it doesn't mean that theyhave to indulge in exactly the
same thing as what someone elseis drinking.
But it's like really great tosee, like you know, what brands
are putting out in the market.
You know, when we were atBarcom in Berlin, we were able
(25:40):
to see a lot of those brands.
One in particular our client,casa Lumbre.
They launched this year Al MalveAgave Spirit and they have to
call it Agave Non-alcoholicspirit too, because it is not
tequila.
Like, going back to what youhad asked before, jimmy, a lot
of these particular categories,whether they be tequila or
mezcal or scotch whiskey orchampagne in the wine category,
(26:00):
they're all protected by thegovernments in the particular
countries where they're from.
So it's not just about likesomeone wanting or not wanting
to call it a particular.
You know, call it tequila orwhatever.
It has to fit certainrequirements and be approved by
that government in order to doso.
So, using this one as an example, al Mave, while it's made from
(26:20):
agave, it doesn't have alcohol,which is a requirement for
tequila.
So that's why you know it'scalled a agave spirit and it's
non-alcoholic.
But you know, that product isamazing.
It's incredible, and I actuallyhave the two bottles out on my
bar over there.
They have a Blanco and aReposado but it really captures
the flavor of agave for someonewho still likes to enjoy a
(26:43):
margarita, or maybe they justwant to pour it on the rocks,
but without having the alcoholin it.
So no matter like what occasionyou're using it for, it's just
great to have something that'slike just as premium as actually
having a alcohol-based typespirit.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Shout out to all my fellow socially awkward
introverts where, if you're at abar and you want a drink in
your hand, but you don'tnecessarily want that alcohol,
it's great to have that.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Absolutely, and you can't tell a difference.
Some you know, these times,like my husband, didn't realize
he was drinking.
Um, we had a holiday party thispast weekend and, uh, what was
it?
It was the Stella, uh,non-alcoholic beer, and I think
he was like three or four in andsomeone walked up to him and
they're like, oh, how do youlike non-alcoholic beer?
Cause they saw him with it andhe was like, oh, I would never
drink that and I was likelaughing later because I was
(27:29):
like Joe, do you realize thatyou're drinking non-alcoholic
Stella?
And he's like, oh, I didn't evenrealize.
So they're getting very good interms of giving you that full
experience and the full flavorprofiles that you know.
If you are looking to not drinkalcohol anymore, you could
still get almost the sameexperience.
Speaker 7 (27:48):
Yeah, that's what I was going to ask.
I'm seeing such an improvementin that category over the course
of the year probably just moreto come.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Oh, absolutely, it'll be exciting for 2025.
Like Jimmy, as you said, as welook forward, I think that
category is going, or we're notgoing to slow down for sure.
That is something that I thinkis going to start taking a
bigger share of the beveragespace.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
All right.
Well, it's now time for ourfavorite closing question.
Now, four of you have certainlyanswered this question before,
but if your answer has changed,feel free to chime in.
But we certainly want to hearfrom Joe and Brad, and that
question is what is yourfavorite adult beverage?
And Brad will let you go first.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
I'm more of a dark liquor person myself, so I will
enjoy a good glass of cognac,whether it be Hennessy, Conjure
or, if you want to go up alittle bit and go to, like you
know, Courvoisier.
But if I'm looking to mix itwith something, there's nothing
wrong with a little KCT andthrowing some Sprite and lemon
(28:53):
or lime in with the Hennessy.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Very good Joe.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
I've been on a Mezcal kick lately.
I have Mezcal on the rocks islike my go-to right now.
As far as cocktails go, I lovelike a French 75.
Something about the littlesparkling wine in with the gin.
That is like my all-timefavorite cocktail.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Very fancy.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
What about mezcal old-fashioned Joe if you're on a
mezcal kick?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Probably mezcal old-fashioned.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
That's a trending cocktail right now.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Yeah, a little too much sugar.
That tends to give me aheadache, you know.
So I can do like one, but Ifeel like I can sip mezcal, you
know, and it doesn't, you know,affect me the same way that
having like a higher sugarycocktail tends to affect me.
Speaker 7 (29:40):
I did not get to answer this last time, so I will
.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Oh, no, misha, please .
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I haven't either, even though I've been on so many
podcasts.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Oh, no, well, okay, well, I have so many.
I'm not going to rerecord thequestion, but we'll just.
Let's get answers from Mishaand Bridget.
Let's go.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
I have so many here, but I mean with my meals.
I do like a really good glassof wine of different varieties,
but my cocktail to go would beprobably a Negroni is my go-to
cocktail.
I love good gins and I usuallywill ask the bartender to give
me their recommendation on a gin.
I don't want just the standardone, I want something special.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Bridget.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
My favorite cocktail has remained the same for many,
many years.
It is purity vodka, martini,blue cheese stuffed olives,
ideally served with a bed ofoysters raw.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
That sounds incredible.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
That is my all-time favorite.
That's what I love to get whenI'm out at dinner, and then I'll
say when I am hankering for aglass of wine.
Our former CEO, gabe Barkley,actually turned me on to Barnett
Vineyard, so I am a club memberand I love their cab, their
rattlesnake edition, so that iswhat I will do with dinner if
I'm sitting down at homeaddition.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
So that is what I will do with dinner if I'm I'm
sitting down at home a glass ofwine.
So many high class refinedpalates show up on this podcast.
It's so rare that someone'sjust like I.
Just like a beer.
We've had a couple.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
I do just like it that was my husband well, it's
great and non-alcohol beer andnot even realizing it and he was
like I would never drink anon-alcoholic beer and not even
realizing it, and he was like Iwould never drink a
non-alcoholic beer, as he'sholding one.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Well, it's great.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
That actually should be an advertisement for them,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Well, good answers all around.
I'm glad that we finally gotanswers from Misha and Bridget.
I apologize for leaving you allout, but listeners out there,
you let us know what are youdrinking these days and, as we
move into January, are you goingto be on that low, no-alcohol
kick as well?
Let us know.
There'll be some nice links forus in the show notes, but we
want to say thank you to thewhole grand panel for stopping
(31:49):
by and sharing your insights for2024.
And we look forward to havingyou folks back here, maybe all
together or maybe piecemeal in2025 and beyond.
And thank you, listeners, forjoining us on the MHW Mark
podcast and thanks for stoppingby.
If you have a question for theteam, we'll drop a contact link
in the show notes.
This podcast is produced by me,jimmy Moreland, with booking and
(32:11):
planning support from CassidyPoe and Bridget McCabe.
It's presented by MHW.
Find out more at mhwltdcom orconnect with MHW on LinkedIn.
Lend us a hand by subscribing,rating and reviewing this
podcast wherever you listen.
We look forward to another yearof great conversations and we
hope you have a safe and happyholiday break.
We'll be back in your feed intwo weeks.
(32:32):
Cheers and Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
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