Today Harry is joined by Chelsea Phillips, the vp at Anheuser-Busch of Beyond Beer - Launchpad, and Wine & Spirits senior editor Sarah Barrett.
--time-stamped contents--
00:00 Intro - fighting with the internet.
01:25 Chelsea joins us
02:30 beyond beer and now launch pad
05:20 babe wine - adjacent to ab's core comp but not completely.
06:20 blessing and curse of being in AB network: amazing distribution capabilities, but some brands like babe need to choose accounts/geographies more surgically.
06:40 brands in graveyard being victim of "too far too fast".
07:00 mich ultra is good example of that.
07:45 harry: are you discouraged by ab's huge scale compared to running smaller brands? "these are important brands" learning how to execute them, "nuture them" like boarding school.
08:50 sarah: did babe inspire launchpad?
09:00 budweiser playbook not always great for smaller brands. measure success based on investment, managing expectations.
10:20 getting the route-to-market mix right
11:00 drilling down to consumer-centric behavior.
12:40 targeting accounts for babe.
13:20 sarah: what are new plans for babe? retailer decision points that look like target.
14:30 leaning into holidays with babe.
15:40 transitioning babe from personality driven of founders to lifestyle brand but keeping the founders' voice.
17:20 taking the voice to retail.
19:40 it's okay to say no.
20:20 focus is key. choose what's best for you, distributor/retailer/market.
21:00 chelsea: bet on rtds.
21:30 talking wholesalers, how to lean into these brands.
23:25 using data to find what works best in market. not souring market with brands/categories too soon.
25:40 sarah: what categories are you keeping an eye on?
27:10 chels loves to work on a portfolio of brands.
30:00 sarah: do alc bases matter? (malt, sugar, liquor, wine?)
31:00 babe wine cocktails coming soon, in limited locations.
31:45 supporting the brewers collective with spirit-based products.