Diversity, brand storytelling and investment strategies were hot topics during day two of BevNET Live Winter 2022 on Tuesday. The day’s events included a roster of speakers from around the industry including founders, grocery buyers, investors, and the event’s special guest – Gwyneth Paltrow.
Uncle Nearest CEO Fawn Weaver’s Mission to Diversify Spirits
Fawn Weaver wants the old guard of spirits conglomerates to know she doesn’t compete with them, they compete with her.
Weaver, the CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, took the stage at BevNET Live Winter 2022 today for a sit-down interview, discussing 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 last year it launched a $50 million venture fund 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).
Weaver also touched on the continued difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, noting that Uncle Nearest’s leadership team is composed of women, which has posed difficulties in securing deals. She recalled one incident where – after receiving rejections from numerous suppliers and distributors – she asked her husband to make calls instead, where the same companies suddenly accepted the brand once they spoke with a man.
But while some may hear that story and either lament or get angry at institutionalized sexism, Weaver instead used it as an opportunity.
“I was never bothered by that, because it allowed for me to fly under the radar and to build the company that everybody’s looking at today – because everybody was looking at him so they weren’t taking shots at me.”
Equitea Co-Founder Talks Integrity, Brand Building with Investor Gwyneth Platrow
BevNET Live Winter 2022’s much touted 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 having 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.”
Ultimately, Paltrow and Vennie said the most important pillar in building Equitea is the story behind the brand, which they hope will resonate with consumers and expand the presence of better-for-you products in underserved communities.
“Growing up, being a black male in West Baltimore, I was always taught that vulnerability was weakness and I couldn’t share it, and I lived the majority of my life holding on to that,” Vennie said. “I was trained to be tough. Now I train my children to understand that true vulnerability is the ultimate strength in knowing who you are, it enables you to share your humanity with other people. And I think that resonates better than any marketing campaign.”
Also on day two…
- Daniel Lourenco, CEO of energy drink brand GHOST, discussed how his company’s ethos on transparency and authenticity translates beyond its ingredients label and extends into everything it does from which brands it partners with for licensed flavors to its online marketing strategy of posting behind-the-scenes videos showing how the company operates.
- A panel consisting of DRY Soda CEO Sharelle Klaus, Thaiwala CEO Heather Howitt and LEK managing director Claire Davies broke down modern brand strategy, including pricing under inflation and competing with copycat products.
- Sprouts senior category manager for grocery Brian Albert talked about how the retailer selects and works with the brands it brings on, including how sustainability increasingly factors into its decision making.