The annual Women’ s Leadership Breakfast featured( left to right) Monika Figura from City Hive, Jocelyn Rawat from the Montgomery County ABS, Meghan Hamilton from Breakthru Beverage, and moderator Maggie Barchine from NABCA.
into play, making these beverages more relevant.” According to Mollica, over the last six months, the NHLC has added additional sections in their stores for no- and low-alcohol products.
“ We have some end caps here and there, but now that the trend has become huge, we asked our partners and suppliers to bring in the products that they’ re seeing national growth with so we can complete our sections,” he said.“ There’ s a massive amount of interest in the space right now and we want to be a part of it.”
The Opening Keynote ended with the retailers sharing their thoughts on the beverage alcohol industry in the year ahead.
“ I think there’ s going to be a continuation of uncertainty as we move forward,” Mollica said.“ We like to get new ideas and innovations from customers, as well as to ask questions internally. People in the industry have a great feel for what’ s going on, so we benefit from that.”
THC-infused beverages were discussed in quite a few panels throughout the entirety of BARC. Due to their increasing presence on retail shelves across the country, we dedicated an entire panel to cannabis beverages on Monday, June 16.
Here, Michael Cooper from MadisonJay Solutions LLC and the National Cannabis Industry Association was joined by Kim Stolz with Keef Brands. Both discussed how these products fit into the lives of beverage consumers, the necessary education surrounding infused beverages, what ' s legal and not in certain states and how beverage brands and retailers can get involved in the industry.
REGULATIONS AREN’ T RECOMMENDATIONS
Monday also included a Regulatory & Legal Update panel, bringing in Jaci Flug with Greenspoon Marder LLP, and Hannah Becker with GrayRobinson Law Firm, who discussed the legal and regulatory topics impacting the beverage alcohol industry.
Between RTD taxation and regulation, cannabis and CBD beverage laws and regulations, changes to DTC and e-commerce sales rules and staying compliant when selling private label brands, they covered a little bit of everything.
Much of their discussion focused on alcohol delivery regulations and what retailers need to do to stay compliant with their state.
“ If you’ re interested in looking into whether or not you can legally ship products to customers, there are only four states that allow all beverage types to be
Bacchus Wine & Spirits owner Quinton Jay.
sold,” Becker said.“ D. C. is one, and then there’ s North Carolina, North Dakota and Nebraska. With regards to quantity limitations, that’ s usually tied to shipments.”
Retailers also need to keep in mind that some states and localities have restrictions on whether you can ship to a school campus or government buildings, according to Becker.“ If a consumer is inputting an address online, you need to make sure you can deliver there,” she said.
“ Vermont conducted a study where they went online and placed over 150 orders to see who was shipping illegally, and businesses were caught shipping to Vermont regulators themselves,” Flug noted.“ It was amazing to see how many companies were doing this, both wine and spirits. Some were third-party providers, but some were from retailers themselves.”
Both Flug and Becker stressed the importance of following all the shipping regulations within your state, especially since each state has different requirements. One wrong move, and your business could be shut down.
Another area of importance is making sure your employees do not sell alcohol to consumers under 21.
“ You need to ensure that your employees are properly trained in ID verification policies, even if your state doesn’ t require it. It’ s definitely a recommended
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