Posts Tagged ‘home’
Urge Congress to Support the USPS Shipping Equity Act
On May 23 Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) once again introduced the USPS Shipping Equity Act in Congress alongside Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and 8 other House co-sponsors. Currently, the U.S. Postal Service is not allowed to ship cider, beer, wine, or distilled spirits, because of a leftover, outdated ban put into effect during the Prohibition era. The USPS Shipping Equity Act would give parity to the US Postal Service, allowing it to ship licensed alcohol for commerce just like FedEex or UPS. Additionally, the USPS Shipping Equity Act gives rural producers access to another option for shipping alcoholic beverages. This bill is critical in leveling the playing field and increasing consumer and manufacturer choice while bringing in millions of dollars in revenue per year that will support small businesses, rural communities, agricultural enterprises and the US Postal Service.
We encourage you to email your Congressional representatives and urge them to cosponsor the USPS Shipping Equity Act. We have set up a campaign with an email template that you can use. Click the button below to be taken to the campaign. After you’ve emailed your reps, we encourage you to take a moment to share your actions on social media and via email to inspire others to reach out to their representatives as well.
Have questions? Please email ACA CEO Michelle McGrath.
Celebrate World Cider Day on June 3!
Saturday, June 3, 2023 is World Cider Day! We hope you’ll join us in the international declaration of love for the beverage we all hold dear. Whether you’re sipping on a crisp apple driven cider or a unique botanical cider, take a moment to snap a photo and share it on your social channels this Saturday. Posting about your favorite cider can help raise awareness about this beautiful beverage and also gives you a chance to connect with other cider enthusiasts and cidermakers around the globe. Show your support for cidermakers and small businesses, and join the conversation using the hashtags #WorldCiderDay and #WCD2023 and tag us @pickcider. Let’s raise a glass to cider and cheers to a great day!
A Little History on World Cider Day
World Cider Day was launched by the members of the Association of Apple Wine and Fruit Juice Press Houses in Hesse, Germany in 2013 to promote cider and the meadow orchards in the region. Since then it has been embraced by cideries, bars, restaurants, cider associations and cider lovers all over the world. Learn more and find resources on the World Cider Day website.
New ACA Member Benefits!
We’re excited to share some new ACA member benefits with you this spring. Read on to learn more about our brand new resource hub, the new 3 Tier Beverages dashboard just released with Nielsen Q1 2023 data, and a free Crafted for All account now available to all members.
Resource Hub
We’re so excited to share that our new digital Resource Hub is now live! The resource hub is exclusively for ACA members and is filled with items useful for cider businesses of all sizes. The resource hub already includes a wealth of information and members can expect a quarterly release of new resources and will be notified via email when these updates occur.
Nielsen Q1 2023 Data on New 3 Tier Beverages Dashboard
3 Tier Beverages, in partnership with NielsenIQ, is proud to be the official data supplier of the American Cider Association. Part of this partnership brings you quarterly dashboards with key market data and insights to help you drive your business forward. The first dashboard is now available with data through Q1 2023 (3/25/23).
Crafted for All Account
We’ve had the privilege of working with Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham and her organization Crafted for All for several years now and we’re so pleased to be able to expand our partnership and offer all ACA members the opportunity to create an account with Crafted for All where you’ll find a wealth of resources.
We’re Looking for Vendors for CiderCon® 2024
Did you know that the largest gathering of cider producers in the world is coming to Portland, Oregon next January for CiderCon® 2024? In addition to a wide range of educational sessions and events for cider producers, we also host an extensive trade show where our attendees can meet vendors with products and services that can help them thrive. CiderCon® 2024 will be held at the Oregon Convention Center from January 17-19 and the trade show will be right in the middle of it all. We haven’t been back to Portland since 2016, so we’re anticipating a great turn out!
If you haven’t been a vendor at CiderCon® before, now is the time to get involved and showcase your products and services to the rapidly growing cider industry. Our attendees always appreciate the chance to meet new vendors.
Have you already been a vendor at CiderCon®? Then you already know how much our attendees love the trade show and seek it out to connect with you!
Booth prices for CiderCon® 2024 are $3000 for a 10’ x 10’ space – and that includes 3 passes to the conference as well as lunch on Thursday and Friday!
Interested in joining us? Email our Trade Show Coordinator Ellen Husch for more information!
Know a company that you think would be a great fit? Send their contact information to Ellen.
There are also numerous sponsorship opportunities available for vendors. Supporting the American Cider Association is a great way to gain brand visibility at CiderCon® and beyond. There are a myriad of reasons why sponsoring the ACA works in your favor. We shout out our appreciation for our sponsors far and wide at CiderCon®, on our website, on social media and our members hear us. Our Executive Director Michelle McGrath is eager to work with you on creating a custom sponsorship experience that meets your brand’s personality and needs. Email Michelle to schedule a meeting.
Webinar: How Cideries Like Santa Cruz Cider Are Preventing Catastrophic Climate Change
There are a significant number of reasons why cideries like Santa Cruz Cider are looking to become more sustainable. Agriculture health, ingredient accessibility, customer engagement, preserving the bottom line, and protecting the planet are all driving cideries to focus on sustainability.
Join Jenny Morgan from Tradewater and Nicole Todd of Santa Cruz Cider Co. on June 6 at 10:00 AM Pacific for a discussion of the ways that Santa Cruz Cider committed themselves to sustainable action and how they came to partner with Tradewater.
We will also dive deeper into the high-impact climate projects that Tradewater leads and how each cidery can do their part to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Interested in learning how you can take action on sustainability in your cidery? Download this PDF with suggestions from Tradewater.
Our Speakers
Jenny Morgan joined Tradewater in 2022 as the Market Development Manager. In her role, she partners with organizations to help achieve carbon neutrality through sustainability consultation, emissions reduction, and the purchase of carbon credits. She operates under the belief that our most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone – it requires a collective effort. She is passionate in changing the way we view business and industry to be both profitable and purposeful. Prior to joining Tradewater, Jenny has worked within the technology and hospitality sectors, and comes with 15+ years of experience in Business Operations, Market Development, Events, and Community Engagement. Outside of work, Jenny enjoys spending time with her family and friends hiking, running, swimming, and planning themed celebrations.
Nicole’s love for cider started with a truck bed full of ‘found’ apples in a nearby orchard. Having a passion for fermenting anything she could get her hands on, she started Santa Cruz Cider Co. in 2013 with the help of her husband and her sister. They have built the company from the ground up on a shoestring budget with a hands on approach. Nicole lives on a historic apple orchard in Santa Cruz county with her husband and two dogs.
Resource Hub Now Available to ACA Members
The American Cider Association is pleased to announce the launch of a new digital Resource Hub. This resource hub is exclusively for ACA members and is filled with items useful for cider businesses of all sizes. There are several categories available to help members locate the resources they need. These categories include:
- Compliance & Taxes
- Market Data
- Marketing
- Making Cider
- Human Resources
- Sales
- Business
- Cider Pairing & Evaluation
- Apple Growing
The resource hub already includes a wealth of information and ACA staff will be continuing to add already created resources in the near future. In addition, members can expect a quarterly release of new resources and will be notified via email when these updates occur.
The resource hub also features a contact us button so that members can reach out to the ACA with suggestions for new resources they think would be helpful to them and fellow members.
You must be an active ACA member to access the Resource Hub. Click here to learn more about becoming a member today. Need to renew your membership? Login here to renew.
Declaration of Appreciation for Founding Members
Webinar: The Story Within the Story of Cider
You’ve heard the headlines and the general trends for Cider. Join Brian “BK” Krueger and Dave Williams from Bump Williams Consulting on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 11:00 AM Pacific to dive in a little deeper and really take a look at the KPI’s that matter and how you can apply them to your own situation, presentations, insights, and decisions.
You can expect to hear more of the story on Cider Velocity, Runway for the Future, the Role of Flavor, Pack Size and Type, Innovation, Regional Power, and the Modern Bev Alc Consumer.
This webinar is for active ACA members only. Not a member? Join now!
Our Speakers
Brian “BK” Krueger graduated from the University of Texas, Austin in 1996 with a degree in Marketing – focusing on Strategic Marketing & Promotional Strategies. BK is a 24-year Industry Sales Leader with a distinguished and accomplished history of growth and development across multiple National and Regional Craft Breweries. Rising from New Belgium’s first “Texas Beer Ranger” in 1999, BK spent 17 years growing in parallel with New Belgium’s success and expansion and held the role of Assistant Director of Sales for 5+ Years. Leaving New Belgium in 2015, BK spent the next 4 years applying his knowledge, experience, and skill set to an extended selection of National and Regional Craft Breweries helping to evolve them into the modern and future world of Craft Beer. Joining Bump Williams Consulting in 2020, BK now applies his talents and expertise on Sales Systems and Structure, Portfolio Development, Distributor & Retailer Partnership, and Sales Strategy & Growth across the broad spectrum of Beverage Alcohol clients.
Dave Williams graduated from Penn State University in 2006 with a degree in Marketing. Dave began his career at Marketing Management Analytics (Ipsos MMA) as a Data Analyst, running sales regression models and market level analytics across various Retail and CPG clients. He left MMA and joined Nielsen in 2010, working up to the role of Client Manager. In this role, Dave led a team dedicated to Market Mix, Price/Promo and Consumer analysis for Procter & Gamble globally, spanning multiple categories and brands across their wide portfolio. In 2015, Dave left Nielsen to join Bump Williams Consulting where he currently runs high-end analytics across the Beverage Alcohol universe. His key focus areas include Consumer Behavior, Pricing, Promotion and Retail Landscape for BWC’s Supplier, Distributor and Retailer clients.
Live Sensory Webinar with Artifact Cider Project
Join our Certified Pommelier™ panel in a live practice sensory webinar on May 4 from 4:00-6:00 PM Pacific featuring cider from Artifact Cider Project. This webinar will also be available to rewatch and practice as a prerecorded event.
Cider must be purchased separately. Please be aware that it may take several days to receive your cider order, so we encourage you to purchase your ciders as soon as possible. Also, please verify that cider can be sent to your state before purchasing ciders. Order the Certified Pommelier Study Sample Pack from Artifact to participate along with the webinar here.
Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email. This email is a placeholder for the event. The evening before the event you will receive an email with a Zoom link to the webinar. Please note this link will be sent to the registered email.
Three Upcoming ACA Webinars
The American Cider Association is pleased to share that we have several upcoming webinars in the next month and we hope you’ll join us at one or all of them. Read on to learn more about these webinars and to find links to register!
March 22 – 11:00 AM Pacific: 3 Tier Beverages Dashboard Orientation for ACA Members
3 Tier Beverages, in partnership with NielsenIQ, is proud to be the official data supplier of the American Cider Association. Part of this partnership brings ACA members quarterly dashboards with key market data and insights to help you drive your business forward. This webinar will walk ACA members through these dashboards so you can make the most of this unique offering. This webinar is for active ACA members only. Join now or renew your membership by clicking here.
March 24 – 9:30 AM Pacific: Coffee Chat with Vinoshipper: 2022 Cider Trends for Online Sales
Vinoshipper Senior Analyst Taylor Harrison will lead us through a look back at their data from 2022 and also provide a quick snap shot of what they’re seeing at the beginning of 2023 with regards to sales, packaging, and demographics! Want to check out some of the data before Taylor’s presentation? You can download it here. This webinar is open to all.
April 18 – 11:00 AM Pacific: ACA Annual Membership Meeting
The American Cider Association is pleased to invite our members to join us for the Annual Membership Meeting. We will review last year’s accomplishments, examine our strategic plan, and share what’s in the works for the year ahead. We look forward seeing all of you virtually and hearing your ideas for how we can promote the US cider industry. You must be an Active ACA Member to participate in the Annual Membership Meeting. You can join or renew your membership here.