Ex-Waterloo COO Jeff Arnold in at LALO
LALO Spirits has added experienced firepower to its high-proof expansion plans.
Former Waterloo sparkling water COO Jeff Arnold has signed on as president and COO of the three-year-old blanco tequila company with an eye toward taking it national and beyond.
“LALO is committed to additive-free, blanco only tequila,” Arnold said. “Expanding that product across the country and throughout the rest of the world is our primary focus, and not a small endeavor, at that.”
It’s a long road: LALO is currently only sold in three states, although it is available for sale online in 47 – and on Caribbean island St. Barts. A New York launch is scheduled for this quarter.
LALO is named for co-founder Eduardo “Lalo” Gonzalez, the grandson of Don Julio tequila founder Don Julio Gonzalez. Lalo Gonzalez started the brand in 2019 with partners David Carballido and Jim McDermott, who is currently CEO.
“Jeff brings extraordinary experience to our team,” McDermott said in a press release announcing the hiring. “His unique background in scaling outstanding brands while maintaining product integrity is what sparked our interest in working with him. Beyond that, he is a thoughtful and caring person who embodies all of what makes LALO so special to our team members and consumers. LALO is a company that is story and mission-focused, with an uncompromising approach to quality. The process to identify the right person for this role was reflective of that, and we are so excited to have found everything we were looking for in Jeff.”
Fortunes can be made quickly in tequila – witness the 2017 sale of four-year-old Casamigos tequila to Diageo for around $1 billion – and U.S. tequila sales were up by 30 percent last year, to $5.2 billion, according to a report from DISCUS, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
For LALO, then, the opportunity is there, but the supply chain must be there to meet it, according to Arnold, who says he’s ready for the challenge.
“In alcohol, the biggest inhibitor to growth tends to be working capital and demand planning,” he said. “As we scale, I’ll be actively working to strengthen and streamline our supply chain, and specifically, reduce our cash-to-cash cycle to support our accelerated growth. What I bring to solving this particular challenge is the pattern recognition of scaled processes, as well as taking care of the relationships at each step of the production chain, to ensure smooth delivery.”
“We’re also actively planning for the long-term; building production plans for 10-15 years out, given the constraints of blue agave in Jalisco,” Arnold added. “I’ve dealt with similar capacity and production challenges in the past, specifically aluminum at Waterloo and champagne allocations when I was at Moet Hennessy USA, and even securing high-quality popping corn at SkinnyPop. What I’ve learned is that you have to operate and invest today with the future in mind.”
Arnold was part of the founding team at Austin-based sparkling water company Waterloo, which was sold to New York-based investment group Flexis after just three years of rapid expansion. His career has been marked by operations work with a variety of fast-growth brands, both in food and beverage – with Amplify, Moet Hennessy, and Waterloo – and other brands like Nike and Apple.
Arnold said he brought a lot of due diligence in choosing to work with LALO.
“The way to stand out in competitive fields is to have a story and a vision that is not easily replicable paired with indisputable product quality and market position, just as LALO does,” he said. “If you look at my career history, the one thing LALO, Apple, Nike, Moët Hennessey, Ralph Lauren, SkinnyPop and Waterloo all have in common is that they are the best product in their category. It’s important to me to work with companies I believe in.”
Richard Zeller Elevated to President at 3 Badge Beverage
Sonoma, California-based 3 Badge Beverage Corporation has promoted Richard Zeller to CEO and hired Michael Braga as its Director of Finance, the company reported this week.
The move marks another chapter in Zeller’s long history with wine and spirits entrepreneurs the Sebastiani Family, which began when he was hired as a District Manager at Sebastiani Vineyards in 1991. Zeller was eventually promoted to COO, a role which he continued in 2015 after joining Sebastiani-owned 3 Badge, which markets a variety of wine and spirits brands including Benjamin Chapman Whiskey, La Pivón Vermouth, Uncle Val’s Gin, Kirk & Sweeney Rum, Pasote Tequila and Bozal Mezcal.
“We are excited to announce the long overdue promotion of Richard Zeller to CEO,” said 3 Badge founder and president August Sebastiani in a press release. “For more than 30 years Richard Zeller has been a trusted confidant to my family, our businesses, and notably the 3 Badge Corporation. Throughout his career, Richard has helped to shape the company’s vision and lead us on a trajectory of impressive growth and expansion.”
“I am truly humbled to work for a family who has been a pioneer in the American beverage industry,” said Zeller. “The Sebastianis are not only held in the highest regard, but they’re also driven in their brand development and are known for persistent innovation.”
Meanwhile, Braga’s background includes extensive industry experience, having most recently served as director of accounting at Napa Valley’s Hundred Acre Wine Group.
“[Braga] is a true industry veteran and everything he has accomplished and experienced throughout his career makes him perfectly suited to thrive with us at 3 Badge Beverage Corporation,” said Sebastiani.