Park Street Insider Podcast

Send us a textOn the Park Street Insider Podcast, we often explore the underlying ethos that guide a brand concept to concrete success. For Richard Betts, the founder and  CEO of Casa Komos Brands Group, the brands he's developed throughout his career—including Betts & School, Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal, and Tequila Komos among others—have always lived at the intersection of enthusiasm and opportunity. On this episode, the Park Street Insider Podcast's Emily Pennington is joined by Betts to dive into his entrepreneurial journey. Betts got his start in restaurants, eventually becoming a wine director in Aspen and then certified as a Master Sommelier in 2003.  He then went on to found both Betts and Scholl Wine and Scarpetta Wine before getting into the world of spirits where he helped develop Sombra Mezcal. Betts now runs Casa Komos Brands Group handling  Tequila Komos and Superbird, plus a couple of impending brands he shares in this interview. Having worked closely in both wine and spirits, Betts breaks down the primary differences and overlaps between operating brands in these two spheres.  You'll also hear about Bett's values as a leader, outlining how to build healthy and effective company cultures. Episode Breakdown: 0:12 - Introduction to agave spirits in the U.S. market 6:05 - Richard Betts Background 11:00 - Founding  his first  wine brand 15:50 - Sombra Mezcal 19:50 - Partnership with Davos Brands21:20 - Difference between wine and spirits industries 25:00 - Founding Casa Komos Brands Group 30:11 - Route to market for CKBG brands 32:07 - Tequila Komos partnership with E&J Gallo  33:35 - Betts' values as a leader: 37:12 - Health and wellness for entrepreneurs: 39:30 -Tips for aspiring entrepreneurs:  Key Quote:"We make things that we love and that we think have a chance of being loved by others. So we live at the intersection of enthusiasm and opportunity. And I think when you show up with that sincerity you'll also show up with a willingness to work hard."In this episode you'll hear from:Richard Betts, CEO, and Founder, Casa Komos Brands GroupMentioned in this episode:Casa Komos Brands Group Tequila Komos Davos Brands: What It Takes— Davos Brands Co-Founders Andrew Chrisomalis and Guillaume CuvelierLearn More About Park Street Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter.Follow us for more industry insights onLinkedIn FacebookTwitterInstagram

Send us a text On this episode of the Park Street Insider Podcast, we're taking a dive into a trending category that’s been picking up steam over the last few years and now sits on the edge of mainstream consumer adoption. We’re talking of course about low-and-no alcohol.What was once a fringe category adopted by abstainers is slowly being incorporated into the weekly practices of alcoholic drinkers as well who are more concerned with what goes into their products and how they’re imbibing. We’re seeing both young adults who are generally less inclined to drink than previous generations and middle-aged adults becoming more concerned with their health, all age brackets seem to be jumping aboard the low and no movement.At Bar Convent Berlin, Park Street University's Emmett Strack sat down with some of the global leaders in the Low and No to break down the status quo of the category.  Joined by Mark Livings of Lyre's Spirit Co., Ellie Webb of Caleño Drinks, and Morten Sørensen of ISH Spirits, the discussion will cover where the category is at now in terms of consumer adoption, how to educate consumers about the category and what's next for Low & No in the coming years.  Episode Breakdown:Founder backgrounds - 8:00 Defining what Low & No alcohol is - 17:45 Consumer adoption of Low & No - 21:41 The next milestone of acceptance for Low & No - 27:10The accessibility of Low & No products - 31:12How to educate consumers about the category - 34:57  What's performing well and what's up next in Non-Alc? - 39:40Key Quote:"Our bet was the right one: people wanted to drink the flavors that they knew and loved. We now know, after years of research, that the people coming into our category and enjoying the products from the category also consume alcohol. The early adopters were the abstaining parts of the population but people moderating is where this is going to inflect from early adoption into the mainstream." -Mark Livings In this episode you'll hear from:Mark Livings, Founder & CEO, Lyre's Spirit Co.Ellie Webb, Founder, Caleño DrinksMorten Sørensen, Founder, ISH SpiritsMentioned in this episode:Lyre's Spirit Co. Caleño DrinksISH SpiritsThis episode was recorded live at Bar Convent Berlin in October of 2022 as part of the Park Street Insider Podcast's "What's Trending" series.Learn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram

Send us a textAny beverage alcohol brand owner developing a model for long-term growth is likely looking for more insight into the world of mergers and acquisitions.  In this episode,  Jeff Menashe, CEO of Demeter Advisory Group, takes you through the mindset of prospective buyers when sizing up acquisitions. Menashe explains why the traditional business model beverage alcohol brands have used to position themselves as an attractive investment may no longer apply in the current market. Instead, he makes the case for his own 2.0 model and gives a sense of how today’s brands can get investors like him at the table.  Menashe shares his insights on the trajectory that brands will need to follow in order to secure investment or acquisition, and outlines the best strategies for brands to scale their growth long-term. You’ll also hear about how shifting distribution models in the current market can help brands achieve a positive cash flow in less time than it might have historically taken them. Listeners will hear about the attributes necessary to position their brand as an appealing investment, how to generate brand awareness, and learn more about the value of building a community with your target consumers through engagement.Episode Breakdown:Menashe's criteria for attractive investments - 2:07Building brand awareness in the on-premise - 3:55Menashe's model 2.0 for attracting investors - 4:50Path to profitability for brands - 7:00Key Quote: "What you're ultimately doing is building a community. If you're asking "what is somebody looking for in a brand?" the way you find those characteristics would be by having built a community." In this episode you'll hear from:Jeff Menashe, Founder & CEO, Demeter Advisory Group  Mentioned in this episode:Demeter Advisory Group: https://www.demeteradvisorygroup.com/Learn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkstreetcompanies/?hl=en

Send us a textAlfonso Morodo, the founder of Gin Mare and CEO at Vantguard, was quick to find success when he brought the brand to market in 2010.  A well-differentiated product and an engaged founder team meant that Gin Mare had the foundations to make the brand a profitable venture but Morodo's team had another thing on their side: timing. In a period where gin was starting to blow up across Europe, Morodo saw an opportunity to leverage the buzz within the gin category by bringing a unique, super-premium product into the market. On this episode of the Park Street Insider Podcast, Andres Correa sits down with Alfonso Morodo at Bar Convent Berlin to break down the path that led to Gin Mare's recent sale to Brown Forman.  As the CEO of Vantguard, a spirits portfolio with brand distribution in over 60 countries, Morodo brings his vast experience developing brands to the show.  In their conversation, Morodo explains how much of the early success of Gin Mare had to do with the timing of bringing a unique product into a category that was on a natural upswing.  Morodo will get into the process of getting the brand off the ground. He shares why breaking into the U.S. market was a major milestone for Gin Mare and outlines what he learned about entering the U.S. in general. He even gets into how the brand's strategy to succeed in the California market developed over time. Episode Breakdown:Alfonso's background - 3:15Formation of the Vantguard portfolio - 5:50 Gin Mare's current presence - 6:32  Breaking into the U.S. market - 9:05Identifying a target demographic - 11:02Gin Mare's biggest milestones - 20:00 24:08 - Gin Mare's Acquisition by Brown Forman Key Quote: "You can only get to success with a lot of work and by being very close to the market to get those things at the right time. Listening to bartenders, listening to consumers, and understanding how the brand adapts to  different markets is the key." In this episode you'll hear from:Alfonso Morodo, CEO and Founder, Vantguard Mentioned in this episode:Gin Mare: https://www.ginmare.com/Vantguard: https://www.vantguard.com/Learn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkstreetcompanies/?hl=en

Send us a textClub membership programs were once a boutique service for luxury products, but the rise of direct-to-consumer models now has many brands opting to implement club membership programs as a new way of engaging consumers.  Enter, Theresa Dorr,  a strategic relationship & business development leader known  as "the Queen of Clubs" for her extensive experience setting up club membership programs across multiple industries. Through her work with Vinoshipper and Activ8, Dorr successfully leveraged membership programs to drive brand growth in both tech and beverage alcohol. Now, Dorr joins the Park Street Insider Podcast to make the case for spirits brands to get started in this arena.  In this episode, Dorr will offer a roadmap for implementing a direct-to-consumer shipping program. She explains how the pandemic served as a foil to underscore the value of club membership programs, giving smaller brands a viable revenue stream. But beyond providing just monetary utility, listeners will also learn about how club membership programs can create additional value for brands by helping indoctrinate consumers into their culture. Dorr will also cover the legal landscape of complying with cross-state shipping regulations.  She'll also share her best practices for keeping consumers engaged and the best pricing models to use.  Episode Breakdown:Dorr's background - 4:16 How the pandemic changed the DTC landscape - 7:44 What are club programs? - 9:13  Strategies for setting up club memberships - 13:48Considerations for cross-state shipping - 16:03 The value of membership programs - 20:30Best options for pricing models - 30:53How to market club memberships to consumers - 35:52Key Quote:"I want the consumer to ask questions and engage with us.  You get invested in us because you learn about the spirits makers and we get invested in you because we love the data and feedback. The club is really in part to engage on an ongoing basis:  letting people learn about you and come to care about you."  In this episode you'll hear from:Theresa Dorr Strategic Relationships & Business Development. Customer Experience (CX), Process Mgmt & SpeakerMentioned in this episode:This episode was recorded live at the ACSA Convention in July of 2022 as part of the Park Street Insider Podcast's "What's Trending" series.Learn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram

Send us a textImpact investing is an investment strategy that is built on the intention to generate positive social or environmental impact through business investments.  On this episode of the Park Street Insider podcast, Andrew Merinoff, the founder of DisPact Ventures and Co-founder and Chairman of Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur, sits down with Emily Pennington to discuss the intersection of impact investing and brand development. He'll take listeners through his investment strategy and help them understand the decision-making process behind how he allocates funds. He also covers the values his company operates under and the types of change he hopes to inspire in the wider bev-alc market. Merinoff will also get specific about the models brands should adopt to succeed in the long term.  He offers his perspective on the importance of building the right team, what he wants to hear from brands when sizing up a potential investment and how brand owners should approach an exit strategy. Listeners will also hear how his experience in the impact investment sector helped inform the brand development strategies he adopted when founding Chinola. He'll dive into his motivations for starting the brand, how his team brought the brand to market, and the models he thinks brands. Episode Breakdown: Merinoff's background - 3:36 Merinoff's principles of team building - 11:05 Investment strategy at DisPact Ventures - 13:55 Merinoff on industry disruption - 23:09Brand exit strategy - 34:24 The founding of Chinola - 36:50 Route to market strategy - 41:51 Key Quote:"I think there are certain brands that need to chase top-line revenue, but most brands don't need to do that. They need to find their path for organic growth because companies will not buy you if there is no route to eventual profitability. If you can't leave a piece for acquisition that allows them immediate growth, you're going to fall short of that target."   In this episode you'll hear from:Andrew Merinoff  Founder, DisPact Ventures Co-founder and Chairman of Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur Mentioned in this episode:DisPact Ventures: https://www.dispactventures.com/Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur: https://chinola.com/This episode was recorded in September of 2022 as part of the Park Street Insider Podcast's "What's Trending" series.Learn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram

Send us a textWith as much as 50% of retail sales—both on and off-premise—influenced by the experience consumers have online, e-commerce marketing serves as a viable brand-building opportunity. In the latest edition of Park Street University's Essential Talks series,  Andrea Sengara, Head of Marketing at Campari America, shares her best tips for brands to harness the power of e-commerce.   Sengara delivers a comprehensive overview of the key pillars to building out a robust e-commerce marketing strategy. She shares her insights on choosing a digital platform that works best for your company, the best ways to improve your digital performance and how to drive online conversions. She also covers strategies for creating a compelling digital shelf that will drive engagement.  Sengara encourages brands to avoid dead ends in their digital ecosystem by making it as easy as possible for consumers to make purchases online. Key Quote: "Recognize that e-commerce platforms and partners, yes they're a sales channel, but they're also a brand-building channel that critically influence purchase in that moment as well as outside that in the offline world as well."  Sengara's talk was recorded at Bar Convent Brooklyn in August of 2021. In this episode you'll hear from:Andrea Sengara, Head of Marketing at Campari AmericaMentioned in this episode:Campari Group: https://www.camparigroup.com/enInstacart: https://www.instacart.com/Watch the full video on Park Street University's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=282RW25qEY8&t=11sLearn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram

Send us a textOn the latest episode of the Park Street Insider Podcast, Andres Correa sits down with Dave Smith, Head Distiller at St. George Spirits to break down his distillery's whiskey-making approach.  Recorded just before the TTB issued its official definition of American Single Malt Whiskey, this episode traces the history of this category from the perspective of one of its earliest adopters: St. George Spirits. Smith offers his interpretation of what American Single malt should be and how St. George approaches this still developing segment.  He'll also get into where he sees the American single malt category heading in the coming years.Smith will get technical about the production methods his brand uses to create its products, their approach to responsible ingredient sourcing, and his insider tips for a great tasting.  Our conversation with Dave Smith was recorded live at this year's ACSA Convention in New Orleans. In this episode you'll hear from:Dave Smith, Head Distiller at St. George SpiritsLearn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkstreetcompanies/ new ca

Send us a textIn this episode of the Park Street Insider Podcast, Heather Boyd, Managing Director of U.S. RTD at Beam Suntory, overviews the paradigm shifts that the ready-to-drink space is causing in the beverage alcohol industry.  Boyd breaks down the major players and innovations driving the RTD segment, the guiding forces behind the trends in the category, and how emerging brands can navigate this new regulatory environment. She shares Beam Suntory's RTD innovation strategy from a legal compliance perspective, something she considers key in a category where regulatory lines are often blurred.Boyd's talk was recorded at Bar Convent Brooklyn in June of 2022. In this episode you'll hear from: Heather Boyd, Managing Director of US RTD at Beam SuntoryMentioned in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVzGdSBZXcU&t=60sLearn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkstreetcompanies/

Send us a textIn recent years, we’ve seen an increased focus on diversity conversations in the wider beverage alcohol industry, but have these calls for equality moved the needle from a sales and funding perspective? In this episode, a group of esteemed industry members tackle the impact of diversity in drinks, and how to continue to effectively market and share the stories of diverse founders. They cover the line between authentic marketing and cultural appropriation, creating transparency around where work cultures need to improve and what work needs to be done to create a more inclusive industry. In this episode you'll hear from: Lia Jones - Executive Director, Diversity In Food and BeverageTuan Lee - CEO + Co-Founder VERVET Kamuti Kiteme - Managing Director - Inclusive Investment Programs, Distill VenturesJomaree Pinkard - Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Hella Cocktail Co.Mentioned in This Episode:The Diversity Wheel: https://community.astc.org/ccli/resources-for-action/group-activities/diversity-wheel Learn More About Park Street: https://www.parkstreet.com/Sign up for our Daily Industry Newsletter here.Follow us for more industry insights on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkstreetcompanies/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkStreetCompanies/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParkStreetNewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkstreetcompanies/