BevNET Live Winter 2022 Recap: Adapt to Survive

After a year of upheaval and uncertainty, beverage brands and entrepreneurs must be more active, adaptable, and careful than ever before as they seek to reach consumers with their unique products. That theme permeated the presentations and discussions across drink categories during BevNET Live Winter 2022, held December 5-6 in Santa Monica, California.

At the start of 2022, the world was still emerging from two years of living with COVID-19, and still grappling with fears of more variants bringing new waves of infection. But after the invasion of Ukraine sparked a global inflation crisis and concerns over spiraling costs-of-living, beverage brands have new challenges to take on.

During the opening day’s first presentation, Janica Lane, managing director at Piper Sandler, cited the impact of a potential forthcoming recession as a chief macroeconomic stressor of food and beverage companies today. Within an interconnected economy, that has had knock-on effects on the stock market and companies’ ability to access growth financing. And while economic cycles are nothing new, Lane noted that “it feels like every year since 2020 has been more uncertain than before.”

“If you guys are looking at the sell-through data and looking at growth from pricing versus volume in almost every single category, it’s price and not volume that’s driving the growth,” she said.

Examining how pricing has influenced his brand’s recent gains, Sanzo founder and CEO Sandro Roco explained how his product has benefitted from intentionally starting from a higher price point ($2.49 per 12 oz. can). That decision was partly driven by margins, but also helped to stress test the brand’s potential.

“It was also a challenge to say hey, is this product, is the brand unique enough? Can we build a community around this that justifies that level of premium, so that we aren’t having to have these conversations that other brands may be having?”

Later, Fawn Weaver, the CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, discussed her personal and corporate mission to diversify and disrupt the primarily white, primarily male spirits industry.

Founded in 2017, Uncle Nearest is named for Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first Black American master whiskey distiller. The company is on track to report $100 million in revenue for 2022 and launched a $50 million venture fund in 2021 to support BIPOC and women-owned alcohol brands. So far, Uncle Nearest has invested in bitters producer Hella Cocktail Co. and The Equiano Rum Co., with a third investment expected to be announced in the near future, Weaver said on stage.

“When I look at the industry overall, there have been six spirit conglomerates that more than 90% of the volume – at least in our country – is controlled by,” Weaver said. “They are all white male founded, owned and most continued to be led, at least at the highest level they’re still led [by white men]. There has never been an opportunity for a spirit conglomerate to be built by someone who wasn’t a white male – until now. I don’t have a whole lot of time to get that done in my lifetime, so I don’t have the flexibility or the luxury of not being this energized.”

As both a brand owner and an investor, Weaver said she’s not interested in quick exits and will likely never sell Uncle Nearest, having repeatedly turned down past offers from various suitors. Likewise, for her investments she has no requirement for brands to exit, preferring to instead nurture them into large independent companies with the potential to exist indefinitely (although, she clarified, she is not opposed to her portfolio brands selling should they choose to).

After much anticipation, BevNET Live Winter 2022’s mystery guest was revealed to be actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, who sat down alongside Equitea co-founder Quentin Vennie to discuss the canned tea brand’s mission to make better-for-you products available to consumers of all backgrounds.

Vennie discussed founding the brand after his own years-long health and wellness journey, which began after surviving a drug overdose and multiple suicide attempts. Vennie said he embraced exercise, clean eating and meditation, helping him to find a new balance in life. But it was when his son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 7 that Vennie said he set out to create Equitea in order to provide a natural aid to mental health struggles so his son wouldn’t one day experience the same crises he did.

“There’s no separation for me between self care and survival,” Vennie said. “As someone who lives with debilitating anxiety, someone who was struggling with a life-threatening addiction, showing up for myself better prepares me to show up every day for my family, for the people I love, for my business, and for those that I serve.”

Paltrow came on board Equitea as an investor while seeking to support minority-owned businesses during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. After connecting with Vennie through social media – “I believe I slid into his DMs,” Paltrow said — she is aiming to support the brand however she can, but is cautious not to overshadow Vennie or the brand with her celebrity name recognition.

“I think I’m just like, kind of a – I don’t know – fairy godmother in the corner,” Paltrow said. “Quentin is the most incredible founder, the brand is incredible, and for me it’s really just about Quentin being able to have a platform to tell his story. Watching the way he works and goes store by store, telling the story, I’m just in the reserves to kind of help out where needed.”

During the event’s Best Of Awards presentation, Liquid Death was recognized as Brand of the Year following a breakout 12 months which saw the company expand its distribution, secure growth capital, bring on new key partners and reveal its ambition to evolve into a bigger, broader beverage platform. Accepting the award on stage, Liquid Death founder and CEO Mike Cessario attributed much of the brand’s success to its team.

Also honored during the show was Seth Goldman, co-founder of Eat the Change and the driving force behind Just Ice Tea. Having watched his former brand Honest Tea get discontinued by Coca-Cola over the summer, the CPG veteran quickly assembled a new supply chain and route to market for his second foray into the tea category, going from concept to launch in a matter of months. That decision proved fortuitous for consumers seeking a lightly sweetened organic tea option, but also retailers and growers who had been blindsided by Coke’s decision.