About the Hosts
Looking for a niche podcast in the beverage alcohol industry? The Beverage Information Group Insider podcast looks at the U.S. and global alcohol industries, with a focus on retail trends and best practices. We speak with business leaders in retail, branding and marketing to keep a pulse on the state of the alcohol industry. Download or subscribe to our podcast to remain current in the business of booze.
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Beverage Dynamics Editor Kyle Swartz talks with small-business expert, author and BARC speaker Tom Shay about the importance of beverage alcohol retail mastermind groups.
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Bars and restaurants are where alcohol trends begin, before advancing into the retail industry. So what can we expect for on-premise trends in 2023? For answers, we interviewed Andrew Freeman, founder of the San Francisco-based agencies af&co. and Carbonate. His companies put out an annual trends report, which you can read at afandco.com or Carbonate.com, that has helped guided the industry for many years. What does the report forecast for 2023? Tune in to find out!
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Editors Melissa Dowling and Kyle Swartz look back at some of the freshest and most dominant trends in alcohol in 2022, and talk about what these developments mean for the new year. Can American whiskey continue to expand at such a high clip? Why is tequila suddenly everywhere? And what, exactly, are vegetable cocktails? Tune in to find out!
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Why is the tequila category so hot? In this episode, we speak with Mike Moreno, owner of Moreno's Liquors of Chicago, the largest single-store retailer of tequila in the country. Moreno takes us through the modern tequila boom, explains the agave shortage and also hits on tequila cocktail trends, single barrels, cristalino, celebrity tequilas and other agave spirits.
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
The pandemic changed everything for beverage alcohol retail technology. Suddenly, every store needed a robust ecommerce presence, while a significant number of consumers learned for the first time that they could order alcohol online. But what does this technology landscape look like now, as we (hopefully) emerge from the Covid-19 crisis? For answers, we interviewed Yosi Dediashvili-Drossos, cofounder and chief technology officer at CityHive, and Cathy Lewenberg, chief operating officer at Drizly. Both represent two of the top alcohol retail tech companies currently operating.
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
What are the most pressing trends and challenges facing the on- and off-premise beverage alcohol industries? In this episode, Editors Melissa Dowling and Kyle Swartz are joined by Associate Editor Jamie Stafford to recap what we learned at Beverage Week 2022. Taking place last June at Orlando, this multi-day event included days of panels, speakers, tastings, and awards shows surrounding the industry, providing invaluable networking and educational opportunities.
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Studies have found that the national rate of bars and restaurants or retail stores serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated customer is 80%. That alarming statistic represents a large number of consumers who could potentially harm themselves or someone else due to overconsumption, helped along by business employees who then become liable for any negative outcomes. Looking to help correct this dangerous issue, the Mississippi Alcoholic Beverage Control recently conducted an undercover operation (funded by a NABCA grant) to test state businesses on how they handled visibly intoxicated customers. How did the state perform? And what kind of server training is Mississippi designing following their study? Tune in for our interview with with Pat Daily, Chief of Enforcement for the Mississippi Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau of Enforcement, and Senior Agent Kurt Alexander.
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
In this episode we talk with Seth Goldberg, who serves as team lead for the Duane Morris Cannabis industry group law firm. Seth provides a deep dive into the current state of the legal cannabis industry, why cannabis beverages have taken off, and what's next in terms of federal oversight of legal cannabis. Also in this episode, cohost Melissa Dowling reveals that she's more of an edible person.
Melissa Dowling is the editor of Cheers, the beverage business magazine for full-service restaurants and bars, which also includes the Cheers@Home digital consumer magazine and the Cheers Beverage Summit professional event. Founded in 1990, Cheers reaches more than 130,000 on-premise beverage professionals nationwide with each edition. Prior to joining Cheers in 2012, Melissa was the editor for business-to-business magazines targeting executives in the direct marketing, ecommerce and retail industries.
Kyle Swartz is editor of Beverage Dynamics, the nation’s only trade magazine dedicated to the off-premise alcohol industry. Prior to this position, he covered politics on the editorial board of a daily newspaper in Connecticut. His joke (which is also the truth) is that the politicians drove him to alcohol. Kyle resides in south-central Connecticut with his wife and 1-year-old daughter. His drinks of choice are craft beer and bourbon.