Mississippi is in the process of building a brand new warehouse.
for a while that I think causes uncertainty. And people don ' t like uncertainty.”
As examples of these things, he points to the rise of RTDs and cannabis beverages.
“ The states seem to be trying to figure out how they ' re going to regulate those, or if they ' re going to regulate those,” he says.“ The federal government, apparently, is trying to figure that out as well. That creates uncertainty. I think the markets don ' t really like uncertainty; they like to know how things are going to be regulated.”
He also brings up the“ better for you” movement that has made many younger consumers, especially LDA Gen Zers, turn away from alcohol for what they perceive to be healthier alternatives. But he wonders if this is more of a fad than a trend, as the same allegedly health-conscious shoppers also regularly consume questionable products like cannabis and vapes.
“ There has been at least a narrative created about,‘ Hey, I ' m going to avoid [ alcohol ] for these health reasons’. But then you go look at those folks and they ' re not doing it across the board,” he says.
“ And so there are some interesting consumer trends,” he adds.“ I think that that the industry has got to try to figure out where that ' s going. I don ' t know exactly where it ' s going, but you know, this market, this industry, has been around for a long time. It ' s sustained, I think, tougher times for sure. And I think it will be fine. It ' s going to be a matter of time.”
Graham believes it is important to try to meet these younger consumers where they are.
“ You start talking about those people who are under 30 years old; how do you reach them?” he says.“ Is it going to be through some brand that you ' ve got to go create? You know, the proliferation of social media influencers has just
20 StateWays • Summer 2026 www. stateways. com