There may be no more enjoyable way for a craft beverage company to grow their audience than a collaboration project. Whether the partner is a fellow producer, a top account, or a favorite artist, a well-designed collaboration can be a fun and mutually beneficial project.

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden asks Philip Runco, who currently oversees social media and coordinates special projects for one of the DC area’s leading breweries, about some of the best practices for teaming up.

There’s no two ways about it: if you decide to manufacture alcohol, you’re going to be subject to a significant degree of regulations.

In this webinar, Craft Beverage Initiative Manager Chris Van Orden asks Kevin Anderson of Alcohol Industry Associates about the key Federal, state, and local agencies that oversee alcohol production and the ways in which producers can lay the groundwork for productive relationships.

Episode 1 of the Global Potential for American Craft Beer series, hosted by the Virginia SBDC, the US Small Business Administration, and the Brewers Association – with special guest speakers.

American craft breweries are respected around the world for their quality and innovation, yet it can be difficult for a small independent producer to know how to approach potential international sales.

In this initial episode, we discuss what it means to be an export-ready brewery and what a brewery needs to know in the key areas of compliance.

In addition, the Brewers Association shares some insights into the contours of top foreign markets for American breweries.

When public-facing events are done well, they seem effortless, but it takes careful planning, intelligently allocated resources, and a strong team to build a successful craft beverage events program.

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden speaks with industry consultant Kathy Artus about how to design and execute a range of event formats, from major festivals to privately booked events and beyond.

Growing a craft beverage business requires significant capital, even for companies with strong balance sheets. Without adequate resources, producers looking to grow into new foreign and domestic markets can hamper their potential or potentially jeopardize their financial position.

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden asks Dan Pische, National Director of Trade Finance at the Small Business Administration’s Office of International Trade, how expanding craft beverage producers can determine their capital needs and leverage the SBA’s finance tools to support that growth.

With distribution tightening, many alcohol producers are looking to direct-to-consumer sales as a high-margin strategy for driving profits. But there’s a limit to the volume achievable via the tasting room. That’s why it’s important to build and grow effective membership clubs – they extend DTC sales beyond the TR and create strong customer bonds.

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden asks Janine Aquino, Senior Consultant at Aquino Baron Consulting, how producers can make the most of their membership clubs.

 SPEAKER: Janine Aquino is a business consultant and entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the craft beverage industry. Raised on a vineyard in the Hudson Valley by a family of wine importers, Janine is the fourth generation to work in the beverage industry. With her experience at the helm of multiple wineries, Janine has deep expertise across a range of topics, including start-up management, ROI analysis, and market strategy, to name a few. Today, Janine serves craft beverage producers in Virginia and beyond through her firm, Aquino Baron Consulting.

Most craft beverage companies, no matter their size or model, recognize the importance of marketing, but too many ignore a high impact strategy: earned media. 

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance program manager Chris Van Orden asks Lisa Archer, Editor and Publisher of Edible Blue Ridge, about her experience working with the craft beverage sector, the media’s process for sourcing stories on local producers, and what makes a good subject.

Speaker: Lisa Archer is the editor and publisher of Edible Blue Ridge, a quarterly magazine dedicated to celebrating Central & Southwestern Virginia’s unique regional food scene, with a focus on our many farms, orchards, wineries, farmers markets, specialty shops, eateries, food artisans and home cooks. Edible Blue Ridge distributes 10,000 copies of each issue through more than 200 select grocers, restaurants and retailers across their territory. 

There are many avenues by which breweries can seek out efficiencies, but only environmental improvements have the added benefit of making Virginia a bit greener. 

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance program manager Chris Van Orden asks Meghann Quinn, Manager of the Office of Pollution Prevention at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, about the strategies and resources available to breweries looking to sharpen operations in an eco-friendly way.

Speaker: Meghann Quinn has managed the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Pollution Prevention for the past 8 years. The Office of Pollution Prevention promotes green practices that go beyond regulatory requirements through programs including the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program, Virginia Green, and the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards. Prior to working with DEQ, she gained experience working with industry and municipalities on compliance and environment management systems.  Ms. Quinn has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Mary Washington.  She grew up on Long Island. In her free time you can find Meghann running or chasing her 2 young boys around.