Brands are often founded with the purpose of aligning with a given trend and exploiting a perceived white space in the market. In the mid-2000s, introducing a premium bourbon may have seen high growth, likewise for rolling out a specialty high-end tequila in the early to mid-2010s. But when founders really get it right, and their offering is able to align with multiple trends at once, it's possible to see uniquely explosive growth. Such was the case for Surfside, which saw over a million cases sold over the course of a year between 2022 and 2023.

Surfside is a Philadelphia-based ready-to-drink brand rolled out by the creators of Stateside Vodka. With RTDs taking center stage as the spirits industry's spotlight category, Surfside was able to build on this platform to leverage consumer interest in flavor variety, health consciousness, and convenience into the highest-growth brand in the United States.

On this episode of the Park Street Insider Podcast, Emily Pennington is joined by Clement Pappas, CEO of Stateside Brands. The two discuss how Surfside went from concept to can to achieving astronomical sales in just a few years. They'll explore the brand's unique route-to-market strategy and how they dealt with demand and scaled the business.

Featured Guests:

• Clement Pappas, CEO, Stateside Brands

Mentioned in this episode:

Stateside Vodka
Surfside

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The landscape of on-premise spirits consumption has undergone significant shifts in the past few years, challenging the long-held view that primary drivers of growth for spirits brands take place on-premise. The aftermath of the pandemic has seen consumers engage differently with bars and restaurants, learn to be at-home bartenders, display increased health consciousness, and grapple with inflationary pressures that affect their spending habits. These macro-level changes have affected brands’ approaches to on-premise strategies.

Despite the challenges, on-premise continues to offer unique opportunities for brands to educate consumers, facilitate product sampling, and drive sales. The question now is how brands can best leverage the opportunities presented by bars, restaurants, and other venues in this evolving landscape. To explore this topic, Emmett Strack sat down with prominent players in the New York City on-premise scene at Bar Convent Brooklyn this past June. This in-depth conversation delves into strategies for fostering meaningful relationships between brands and bars in 2024 and beyond, addressing the changing dynamics of the industry and exploring approaches to on-premise engagement in a post-pandemic world.

Featured Guests:

• GN Chan, Co-Founder, Double Chicken Please
• Sebastien Derbomez, Manager of Brand Advocacy, William Grant & Sons
• Jason Hedges, Director of Beverage, Laurent Tourondel & Founder, Bar IQ

Mentioned in this episode:

Double Chicken Please
William Grant & Sons
Laurent Tourondel
Bar IQ

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At one point or another, every person in the spirits industry is almost certain to have their career altered, influenced, or shaped by personal relationships. On a business-to-business level, many brands the Park Street Insider Podcast has hosted over the years echo similar sentiments around the crucial role partnerships have played in their trajectory. No brand is constructed in a vacuum, and the long-term success of each is often tied to the quality of partnerships they form with the companies around them at every stage of development.

The value of strong brand partnerships is perhaps no more evident than through the brand-building journey of Chris Montana, co-founder of Du Nord Social Spirits. Hailing from Minnesota, Du Nord’s growth was boosted by its ability to carefully align with the right partners. Being the first business to graduate from the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, a partnership between Jack Daniel's and Uncle Nearest to increase diversity in the American whiskey industry, Chris was able to leverage this partnership into another: a deal with Delta Airlines.

So land a deal with the number one airline in the U.S. and you’ve made it, right? For Chris, Du Nord found itself in a scenario a bit like when the dog catches the car, having attained a major value-add and needing to learn on the fly how to navigate it. Chris is joined by Andres Correa to piece together how Du Nord was able to attract and navigate the challenges that came with a major partnership with Delta Airlines.

Featured Guests:

• Chris Montana, Co-Founder, Du Nord Social Spirits

Mentioned in this episode:

Du Nord Social Spirits
Delta Airlines
Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative

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In the late '90s, Joe Magliocco made a small investment to become the sole owner of the Michter's whiskey trademark, a historic brand originally founded by a Swiss Mennonite farmer in the 1700s that had since fallen into obscurity. The trademark only cost Magliocco $245 to snap up at a time when consumers and distributors wanted nothing to do with the category. Thanks to a sound strategy, great team building, and a meticulous method of production, the revitalized brand was named The World's Most Admired Whisky by Drinks International.

The Park Street Insider Podcast is pleased to welcome one of the industry's top-tier brand-builders, Joeseph Magliocco, to discuss his journey developing a forgotten entity into a global phenomenon. The two discuss the key decisions that helped to elevate the brand, and development of the whiskey segment in the U.S.

Featured Guests:

• Joeseph J. Magliocco, President, Michter's

Mentioned in this episode:

Michter's

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From the start of the 2020s, beverage alcohol's merger and acquisition sector has proved to be a dynamic lens through which the wider spirits market can be evaluated. The last four years have seen the M&A market go through phases of high growth, diversification, and contraction.

At this year's American Craft Spirits Association Convention in Denver, Emmett Strack was joined by a group of experts within the M&A landscape to discuss the ebbs and flows of investment activity in recent years. The group offers insight into the market conditions, performing categories, and underlying consumer behavior driving investor decision-making in 2024.

The conversation gives a unique window into the criteria brands need to satisfy for strategic acquirers to consider making an investment. It examines Black Button Distilling's journey of initial investment and subsequent divestiture by Constellation Brands.

Featured Guests:

• Kevin O'Brien, Managing Director, BMO Capital Markets
• Ryan Lake, Managing Director, Arlington Capital Advisors
• Jason Barrett, CEO & Master Distiller, Black Button Distilling

Mentioned in this episode:

Constellation Brands
Black Button Distilling
Zepponi & Company
Arlington Capital Advisors

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The spirits market is constantly driven by new trends that rise, fall, and reinvent themselves. While brand success is relative to the goals of each founder, the extent to which a business can commercially blossom in the spirits category is often determined along the lines of good timing and a laser focus on aligning with the trends of the moment.

Of the many positive elements John Rexer, the founder of Ilegal Mezcal, had going for him when he formulated his brand in the mid-2000s, good timing and aligning with the trends of the time were paramount to his brand's long-term success. Now a global leader in the mezcal category, Rexer took the time to chat with Park Street's Emmett Strack at Bar Convent Brooklyn last month.

The two dive into how Rexer turned an experimental passion project in Guatemala into a global supplier owned by Bacardi. They chat about how Ilegal's punk-rock ethos helped them to win over business in New York's on-premise, his advice for brands, and the challenges of introducing an artisanal spirit to the international market.

Featured Guests:

• John Rexer, Founder, Ilegal Mezcal

Mentioned in this episode:

Ilegal Mezcal

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Beverage alcohol distributors sit at the epicenter of a cluttered product landscape where, according to Mark Harmon of the Independent Distributor Network, “God isn’t making any more shelf space.” Distributors only have so much time and attention they can give to each spirits brand. What’s left is for brands to do everything in their power to make a compelling case that their products deserve to take up a meaningful share of a distributor's attention.

Emily Pennington sat down with key figures at Southern Glazers, Breakthru Beverage Group, Skurnik Wines & Spirits, and the Independent Distributor Network at Bar Convent Brooklyn this month to discuss the current state of beverage alcohol’s second tier. This diverse cast of key wholesalers offers a window into how distributors are viewing and operating the market for spirits brands in 2024.

They'll explore the evolving dynamics within distribution in the wake of the pandemic and uncover what distributors are looking for when considering a new brand partnership. They'll also highlight the red flags that can derail a brand's chances of securing distribution.


Featured Guests:

• Ray Lombard, Executive Vice President of Craft Spirits, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
• John Oliver, Sr. Director of Supplier Business Development, Breakthru Beverage Group
• Adam Schuman, Spirits Portfolio Director, Skurnik Wines & Spirit
• Mark Harmann, National Sales Director, Independent Distributor Network

Mentioned in this episode:

Southern Glazers
Breakthru Beverage Group
Independent Distributor Network
Skurnik Wines & Spirits


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The rate of change seen in beverage alcohol over the last couple of years has been nothing short of impressive. We’re fast approaching the midway point of 2024 and have started to see some trends that emerged over the last two years begin to cement themselves.

In this speech given at Bar Convent Berlin, Spiros Malandrakis, International Head of Research—Alcoholic Drinks at Euromonitor, discusses the top trends shaping the alcohol industry in 2024. Malandrakis touches on issues like premiumization, RTDs, and e-commerce and how they are affecting the industry.

Featured Guest:

Spiros Malandrakis, Head of Alcoholic Research, Euromonitor International

Mentioned in this episode:

Euromonitor International

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