Fundamentals of Building a Cider Brand
Date & Time: Friday, January 19 10:00-11:15 AM
Speakers: Breanne Heuss
Join us to learn the fundamentals of building a successful brand in today’s competitive landscape. During this workshop, you will discover what branding elements help drive success within retail from naming to package development and advertising tactics to connect with your ideal consumer. We will review the basic steps necessary to create a competitive brand from ideation to launch or how to adjust your current brand strategy to reach success in-market.
Moving the Needle with Independent Retailers
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 10:00-11:15 AM
Speakers: Kate Bernot, Matthew Sharpe, Jessie Polin, Rob Petros
Chains can offer sales volume, but indie retailers can be a cider brand’s biggest champions. This moderated panel of independent retailers share examples of how they and cideries have successfully worked together to generate meaningful sales. They’ll also discuss what kind of products and support they want to see from cider brands in their channel, what they’re hearing from shoppers, and which big-picture beverage trends actually matter in their stores.
How to Provide Value to Your Chain Retail Partners
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 3:30-4:45 PM
Speakers: Eric Phillips, Kristi Notz, Celeste Varner, Justin Ray
CiderCon® is a great opportunity to learn directly from chain beverage buyers. This year we are thrilled to have representatives from Safeway Portland Division, Whole Foods, Zupan’s, and Winco joining our chain retailer panel, with moderation from Eric Phillips, CCO of Schilling Cider. The goal of this panel is to pull the curtain back on how to interact and create success in chain stores and be a best-in-class partner for these retailers. This panel will cover the do’s and don’ts of working with chains, how and when to pitch new items, expectations around package and liquid quality, distribution, and more. We will also discuss the strategy for cider working together as a category to build excitement and create educational opportunities that benefit our category as a whole and create more selling opportunities for your brands.
Sustainability in Cider Production and Packaging
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 1:45-3:00 PM
Speakers: Colin Schilling, Nicole Todd, David Racino
This panel of cider industry sustainability champions will cover specific actions you can take to decrease the environmental impact in your cidery through packaging and carbon-reduction choices. Additionally, panelists will discuss leveraging these actions into strong storytelling to connect with consumers. Hear Colin Schilling (Schilling Cider), Nicole Todd (Santa Cruz Cider), and David Racino (American Canning) discuss recent benchmarks and strategies such as the cider industry shifting from 100% bottles to over 60% cans, pioneering small-run digital print cans, rolling out bev alc’s first all EV fleet, and becoming the first carbon neutral cidery in the US among many other sustainable actions. Whether you’re a big or small producer, younger legal drinking-age consumers are putting a very high weight on your sustainability practices when choosing what they buy. This panel will connect the dots between taking real steps towards being more sustainable with brand storytelling and translating doing good into doing well.
Win Hearts & Shelves Using Design and Data to Boost Cider Sales
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 1:45-3:00 PM
Speaker: Shannon Hiller-Webb
Join us as we explore the dynamic intersection of artistry and strategy. Discover the perfect blend of creativity, data-driven insights and how to communicate your brand’s unique story, values, claims and certifications through compelling visuals in your label design. Learn how this approach gives your brand a competitive advantage that also resonates with consumers’ emotions and preferences, ultimately leading to increased sales and a lasting connection with cider enthusiasts, buyers, retailers and investors. We will share grocery merchandising insights, considerations and strategies to inform best practices and how to approach buyers and leverage your in-store presence.
Growing your DTC Cider Sales Through Ecommerce
Date & Time: Thursday, January 18, 10:30 – 11:45 AM
Speaker: Zach Kamphuis
A data-driven presentation on the strategies, tips and best practices that grow e-commerce sales! This presentation will focus on how beverage alcohol brands are performing online and strategies and best practices to maximize e-commerce sales. Hard data will also be presented on the impact that implementation of best practices has on online sales, specifically by increasing average order value, cart conversions and repeat purchases.
Selling to the Cider Curious in the PNW: Strategies from Consumer Research
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 1:45-3:00 PM
Speakers: Jana Daisy-Ensign, Jessica Gutierrez, Amy Wood
Panelists from Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center and the Northwest Cider Association’s staff and Board of Directors share results from new consumer market research. Find out what you need to know about the cider curious drinker to improve direct to consumer marketing and trade education.
Patching Your Leaky Sales Pipeline: Improving The Efficiency of Your Sales Team
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 3:30-4:45 PM
Speaker: Julie Rhodes
Sales team? Pipeline? Yes these concepts apply to you, no matter your production size! The sales team could be just you (the owner/operator) or a single sales rep, but regardless of how many bodies you have representing your brand in the wholesale channel, you need to make sure that time spent in the market is used efficiently and effectively. In today’s competitive craft beer marketplace, selling skills and strategic systems are more important than ever so that you can stand out in the supplier crowd. Up until 2020, the craft beer environment has been one of brew it and they will come drink it, but that’s no the case anymore. As more brands join the wholesale channel every year, shelf and tap space are at a premium, so sales teams have to work efficiently and strategically in the market. It’s not enough just to check the box and show up in front of buyers, brand reps must have an elevated understanding of the buyer decision making process and how they fit into that equation to convert more sales. Join me for a sales bootcamp of sorts where you will learn how to sell by science, be able to build strategic standard operating procedures for your sales team, and understand how to avoid a leaky sales pipeline to improve the efficiency of your sales team.
Pouring Over Trends: Inter-Category Behavior by Consumers
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 10:00-11:15 AM
Speaker: Christian Miller
Using research conducted by the Wine Market Council, this session will explore how consumers across beverage categories overlap, who is drinking them, and for what occasions. This session will also touch on who is switching to or adding cider to their beverage choices.
Pitching Your Cider Brand to Chains
Date & Time: Thursday, January 18, 3:45-5:00 PM
Speaker: Julie Rhodes, Dana Elliott, Ben Williams
Engage with experienced industry experts in a dynamic discussion on the complexities of pitching your cider brand to major retail chains. This session is designed to equip you with the essential preparation strategies, critical data presentation skills, and in-depth knowledge necessary to confidently approach chain retail buyers. We’ll delve into typical dialogues, anticipate common counter arguments, and address potential inquiries you may face. Discover what it takes to succeed beyond getting your product on the shelves and learn what follows once your cider gains approval for distribution.