The spirits industry is witnessing a fundamental shift where scrappy innovation often trumps deep pockets, and creating a brand story can outperform traditional marketing budgets by orders of magnitude. These success stories from Bar Convent Brooklyn 2025 demonstrate that in today’s market, strategic creativity and authentic consumer connections matter more than massive advertising spends or established distribution networks.
Building Spirits Branding That Sells
In this Bar Convent Brooklyn 2025 presentation, Margaret Kerr-Jarrett & Emunah Winer—Co-Founders of Nihilo agency and Esther Rum—reveal how to create spirits branding energy that drives cult followings and why stunning packaging alone fails. Learn from their journey launching spirits brand Casa Malca Tequila (with just a render) to building Esther Rum’s branding in public with bartender feedback.
Building a 200K-Case Alcohol Brand Without Big Money
John King, the founder behind America’s fast-growing Pickle Shot reveals how he built his alcohol brand and turned $40K into 250K annual cases.
How a Small Norwegian Distillery Outperformed Global Spirits Brands
Jason Dobson, Partner & Business Director at Contagious, reveals how Fedi Distillery—a small Norwegian distillery brand—defied the odds to outsell global giants in one of the world’s most restrictive markets.
Why Beverage Alcohol Awards Actually Drive Sales
Amanda Herbert, Senior Manager at The Tasting Alliance, reveals how smart brands transform beverage alcohol awards from vanity metrics into real sales and revenue drivers – with proof from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and other global events.
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