and tasting journeys . Among other trends , all three panelists observed the recent explosive growth of tequila .
“ 60 % of men and women had purchased a bottle of blanco tequila ” in the past year , said Bratskeir . “ The American palate has become more umami ; people want to try something new .”
RTDs are in an odd moment , especially with all the nostalgia products hitting shelves .
“ The Sunny D RTD is doing really well . That shocked me ,” observed Randall . “ Monaco RTDs are still on fire for us .” Why all the nostalgia ? “ Demographically , we are a country aging rapidly ,” said Jones . “[ LDA ] kids aren ’ t drinking as much , and there are fewer of them . Now ’ s the time if you want to release a nostalgic brand .”
As for hard seltzer , “ We watched inventories built up , and cans sat around and started disintegrating ,” Jones added . “ RTDs do have a shelf life .”
On the Retailer Panel , participants considered the economic and business state of 2023 versus the Covid years .
“ We are working harder to retain market share ,” said Jacob Heiliger , COO of Wine , Beer and Spirits in Nebraska . “ In 2020 , in the beyond-the-ceiling years , we got spoiled . We ’ ll probably never see that again .”
" It ’ s hard to read : a little up , a little down ,” said Michael Warner , owner of DCanter Wines in Washington DC . “ Overall we ’ re up 10 % year to date . But the share of wallet is being squeezed incredibly . Super-premium sales are decreasing .”
While social media remains a critical marketing tool for beverage alcohol retailers , Anne Dimmick , Director of Retail and Brand Experience for Ohio Liquor , made an important point : “ You own your email list ; you don ’ t own social media follows .”
If your account gets shut down by a social platform , those are followers you cannot easily retrieve . Whereas an email list is under your own control , forever .
The conference led into the final official event , the Top 100 banquet .
This annual event recognized the best of the best in beverage alcohol retailing , honoring attendees with trophies for their industry-leading businesses . Congratulations to all the winners this year !
After the Top 100 banquet , BARC ’ 23 concluded with an attendee-started tradition that will surely become an official conference event next year . Seated in a secluded part of the hotel , participants swapped pours of single barrel picks brought to St . Louis for this very reason . Between pours of Maker ’ s Mark , chato agve mezcal ( so chocolatey !) and Old Forrester Barrel Proof , attendees and hosts clinked classes to another successful BARC , while looking forward to gathering again next year in Chicago . BD
24 Beverage Dynamics • June 2023 www . beveragedynamics . com