BY KYLE SWARTZ
From left : NABCA President and CEO Neal Insley , Fortune Senior Editor-at-Large Geoff Colvin , Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal CEO Dia Simms , Campari America Managing Director Ugo Fiorenzo and Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services Director Tiffany Clason .
ity distribution list for retail to order . But when we know we ’ re going to be short on something , we communicate it in advance with our licensees . That helps them shift consumers from some of their favorite brands that might be out of stock . People still want to experiment .”
This view of collaboration as critical means of navigating Covid obstacles was shared by the first tier .
“ Enhancing our partnerships through communication and collaboration can help us deal with warehousing and distribution problems ,” said Vice President of Branded Spirits Sales at MGP Ingredients .
Representing the middle tier , Christina Desmond , EVP Pennsylvania for Breakthru Beverage , agreed with her fellow panelists . “ Collaboration among tiers has never been better as we deal with our supply chain problems ,” she commented . “ We have closed the data gap with real-time reporting . Seeing data in real time allows us to respond better .”
This has also benefited newer products in the early phases . “ When launching a product in a control state , we have more insight that can really help measure how successful that product is ,” Desmond said . “ We ’ re seeing the consumer takeaway . We can see regionally , and down to the zip code and account , where that product is performing .”
In Montana , the battle continues against beverage alcohol products being sent illegally through the mail . As more consumers discovered during the pandemic that they could purchase alcohol online , unlawful shipments increased significantly . This activity risks underage consumers receiving unmarked alcohol packages , and also saps revenue away from local , legal retailers .
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NABCA President and CEO Neal Insley . | All photos courtesy of NABCA and Michael Chansley Photography .
“ We ’ re trying to make sure that products coming into the state are being shipped from people who are licensed to do so ,” said Becky Schlauch , Division Administrator , the Montana Alcoholic Beverage Control Division . “ It ’ s a big resource consumption , so we ’ re trying to do what we can .”
At the same time , Schlauch and her colleagues remain vigilant of actions that might hamper licensees — particuarly as the industry grapples with lingering Covid challenges .
“ We ’ re going through our laws to make sure that nothing is overly burdensome to small businesses ,” she said . “ We ’ re trying to be more proactive with licensees . If they ’ re successful , then we ’ re successful .” •
StateWays | www . stateways . com | Fall 2022