“ Last year exploded for us with the acquisition of Sazerac in October , which put us on the map in a big way . The second largest spirits supplier in the country is now with us , giving us a chance to show what we can do . We know that we won ’ t be everything to everybody , but these suppliers have given us the ability to showcase what Columbia can really do ,” states Renney .
Launched in July of this year , Meili Vodka is a new brand that Columbia started distributing and has been doing very well . The brainchild of Jason Momoa and Blaine Halvorson , as a great product with great packaging , Columbia knew this would be a hit .
Both Momoa and Halvorson came to Columbia Distributing ’ s area recently because of the actor strike and signed bottles for customers — which was a complete knockout . Over 4,000 people were in line at the Vancouver , Washington location , and Seattle came close to that .
“ We were there to sell products to customers and went through an average of 350 cases an hour at these signings . It ’ s off to a great start , and we really think it ’ s got a future ,” Renney says about Meili .
SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Columbia Distributing ’ s incredible growth has allowed it to be very charity focused . Currently , it is partnered with the American Cancer Society in Washington and Oregon , as well as the Ronald McDonald House and Wings for Life with Red Bull .
“ Charity is part of the foundation of our culture . We have 3,000 amazing employees , and we always want to be great corporate citizens . Giving back to communities has always been important for us ,” says Steffanci .
One major charity Columbia also sponsors is Stolen- Youth , an anti-child sex trafficking organization . Once the company got involved with StolenYouth , Steffanci realized the importance of human trafficking and how it impacts so many people around the world . Because of this realization , he wanted all of Columbia ’ s employees to get trained on human trafficking .
“ As a distributor business , we have hundreds of employees out in the market every day , so we provide anti-human trafficking training for all current and new employees that helps them to just be more present and take notice of what ’ s going on in the community ,” Steffanci explains .
This anti-human trafficking training came very handy for a Columbia Distributing driver one day . As they were in a convenience store dropping off some products , they noticed a young child , maybe five-years-old , wandering in and out of the store . With their training , the driver then notified the police , approached the young child to keep them engaged and in the area , and the police came and reunited the child with their mom . Without the proper training , the driver may not have known what signs to look out for in this type of situation .
With all that they do , Steffanci says Columbia ’ s ultimate
Columbia Distributing ' s Warehouse in Kent , WA .
goal is to aggressively continue to grow and disrupt the traditional distribution industry .
“ We are a total beverage company and look at things outside of distribution , so we stay super active in our M & A strategy and find creative ways to utilize our logistics model that supports the industry more fundamentally than you think . We are more than a beverage distributor — we are a beverage company . When you can leverage a logistics model like we have , it opens a lot of opportunities for us . Our goal is to double our revenue over the next five years ,” says Steffanci . • www . beveragewholesaler . com Winter 2023 • Beverage Wholesaler 11