what’ s happening at retail with consumer trends,” he says.“ So, one of the things that we try to focus on through our distributor partners is to work closely with them to help make brands like Moretti and Airbender readily available for consumers’ discovery.”
Being close with distributors is key to getting the right distribution in the right accounts. Once US Beverage has that, they’ re then able to create customized marketing programs to active consumers at the retail level.
“ One of the things we do very well here at USA is not being a one-size-fits-all for our brand partners,” DeLuca says.“ Our programs are fully customizable to really help brands drive additional revenue during difficult times. Consumers have a plethora of beverages to choose from, and we want to make sure that we’ re diligent in giving our brands that opportunity.”
THE GATEWAY TO EXPANSION
Continuing its legacy of success, US Beverage just launched a subsidiary company called Gateway Beverage Group. This new independent organization helps domestic and international brands efficiently enter, operate and scale within the U. S. market.
Freshly launched in January of this year, Gateway Beverage is a beverage services and consulting platform that helps brands with all their regulatory infrastructure, logistics and strategic advisory service’ s needs.
“ If we are approached by a potential partner that isn’ t a fit for our broader sales team to be selling to distributors and retailers, or maybe they’ re just looking for back-office services, Gateway Beverage Group can now service those companies,” Fisch says.“ We will do all of the back-end work to help get the brand to a sizable volume position, and then eventually we would consider folding them into the US Beverage portfolio.”
Leading Gateway Beverage is Ken Aufiero, vice president and general manager, who was previously the director of spirits at US Beverage. Aufiero brings more than two decades of sales, marketing, distributor and supplier experience in the wine and spirits industry, working for companies such as Bacardi, Fedway Associates and Proximo Spirits.
“ The team has been discussing this concept for quite some time because there is definitely a need in the marketplace for something like this,” Aufiero says.“ This is an opportunity for us to offer additional services to brands. Especially when dealing with foreign-based producers, we bring that expertise to help them with the registration processes in each state.”
Brands partnering with Gateway can choose from modular services that scale by market and brand maturity to customize their launch and rollout in the U. S. The independent organization also offers a host of on-demand consulting services, which brands may engage individually or as part of an integrated solution.
“ Gateway will be the ideal incubator for brands seeking to enter and grow in the all-important US market,” Aufiero says.“ We take the complexity out of the process and enable brands to focus on what they do best. Then, when the time is right, we can make the introduction to the broader USB portfolio and national network.”
EXPANDING BRAND REACH
While helping brands scale is US Beverage’ s chief focus, adding Gateway Beverage under its umbrella also allows the company to tap into additional popular markets, such as alcohol-free and delta−9 hemp-infused beverages.
“ We’ re currently expanding our outreach in the ready-to-drink( RTD) space, which continues to grow,” Fisch mentions.“ We’ re also looking to be aggressive in the no-alcohol, THC and CBD space, as well. There are a lot of great brands and beverage companies out there looking for service, and I hate turning down brands because they’ re not a good fit for our US Beverage services. Gateway Beverage is the solution that allows us to help some of these great brands.”
Two of US Beverage’ s alcohol-free brands include Daura Non-Alc and Erdinger Non-Alcoholic. Due to this category’ s increasing popularity, Fisch says they plan on adding more brands to the company’ s portfolio.
“ The better-for-you beverage category is skyrocketing, especially the gluten-free category. It doesn’ t slow down,” he notes.“ Part of that better-for-you trend is gluten intolerance alongside gluten-free diets, which continue to expand, especially in high-end grocers like Whole Foods.”
And because of US Beverage’ s diverse portfolio, they have the ability to get smaller
“ The diversity in our portfolio is what makes
distributors attracted to us and want to do business with us. Instead of needing to work with different suppliers for different beverages, we
are their onestop-shop.”
– Dan DeLuca, EVP of beer and spirits sales and marketing at US Beverage www. beveragewholesaler. com Spring 2026 • Bevearge Wholesaler 15