| Beverage Wholesaler - January 8, 2018 |
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| Expansion at Glazer’s Beer and Beverage |
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Glazer’s Beer & Beverage is a leading distribution company centered in Texas, and also serves the surrounding states. In December the company broke ground on a new 115,000-square-foot distribution facility on 20 acres in Odessa, Texas. It will employee about 110 people.
I recently spoke with Matt Swilling, Glazer’s Beer & Beverage VP of operations, about that new facility, along with modern technologies, operational efficiencies and what’s affecting the modern beer distribution industry.
Beverage Wholesaler: What has allowed Glazer’s Beer & Beverage to continue growing?
Matt Swilling: It comes down to people. We have good people, and we put them in positions to succeed. Distribution is a people business: we don’t have any intellectual-property products. It’s about what people can do to promote our brands and connect with distribution networks.
We’ve had some pretty extensive growth and have acquired some good businesses. That brought in more leaders, more good people with a lot of skill and experience. We always try to make collaborative business decisions.
BW: At the same time, your company is spread out across five states. How do you address that challenge?
MS: In our large network we want to give the correct amount of decision power to the individuals at those branches in the different states. We want process, and we understand that there are unique, different challenges at each branch based on their region and state.
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| Marketing Strategies for Selling Organic Beverages |
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To keep pace with consumers’ evolving demands, off-premise retailers continue to tinker with marketing strategies for organic and sustainable wine, spirits and beer. As many stores are grappling with whether to bump up consumer-education efforts or leave it to the brands, suppliers are considering whether they should be more vocal about their eco-friendly efforts.
By definition, distilleries produce huge amounts of wastewater — up to 92 percent of what they use, says Roberto Serralles, a distiller and sixth-generation rum maker at Destilería Serralles. While he won’t label his company — “I have never seen a distillery that is 100 percent sustainable, including my own,” he says — it focuses heavily on turning its wastewater, a staggering 350,000 gallons a day, into fuel to run its boiler. Eventually, it can become irrigation-grade water, he says.
“It’s not a destination, but a process,” Serralles says. “We have invested almost $20 million, so it makes our rum more expensive to do the right thing. We don’t have any sustainable certifications, but we have invested a lot of money in making sure we do the best thing for our community and our business.”
Indeed, what makes a product or company sustainable, or its products organic or biodynamic, has been difficult to lock down. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sets standards for what can be classified organic, but things can quickly get murky: A wine might be produced in a sustainable manner but not be technically organic because it contains added preservatives or sulfites. And when it comes to pesticide use, elements like copper can be used as an additive -but it is considered an organic one, and thus sustainable.
Biodynamic is a close cousin of organic (farming without chemical fertilizers or pesticides), and also often uses lunar cycles and dry farming techniques. Sustainability is broader, generally referring to farming practices and packaging, and often including details about a product’s ecological footprint on the label. Such confusing standards, however, have made some retailers scratch their heads when it comes to introducing their shoppers to store signage and separate sections for products using these methods of production.
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ONE MORE THING
California legalized recreational cannabis sales last week, at the same time that the Justice Department indicated it may begin enforcing federal laws against marijuana sales that had been de-prioritized in recent years. |
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JOBS BOARD
Spirits Program Manager
Wholesaler: Empire Distributors
Location: Atlanta, GA
Requirements: College degree or 2-4 years relevant experience.
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