President Craig Purser tells Food & Drink Digital NBWA members are ready for the challenges and welcome the opportunities ahead of them
Written by Kevin Doyle
At the conclusion of last month’s 72nd Annual NBWA Convention & Trade Show, National Beer Wholesalers Association President Craig Purser says he left Las Vegas heartened by the membership’s positive outlook and unified focus on challenges now confronting the industry.
“In this economic environment, we had about 3700 attendees including more than 1500 distributors. That’s a record. They came together to see how they might meet some of the challenges facing us. What I left with as the hired guy was an incredible sense of a unity of purpose among our members,” says Purser, who has been with NBWA for 13 years and is just wrapping up his fourth year as president. “I’ve never left a convention where there was more positive feedback and a greater sense of working on things together.”
Founded in 1938 in the aftermath of Prohibition, NBWA represents nearly 3,000 licensed, independent beer distributors – and their approximately 95,000 employees – who have operations in every state and congressional district across the United States. The organization works tirelessly to strengthen and maintain the state-based system of alcohol regulation.
Purser’s first industry experience came as a consultant for Anheuser-Busch. “I was working with distributors on such issues as excise taxes and warnings on labels, which tells you how long ago that was,” he says, laughing. “I’ve been with these guys for about 13 years now, and I tell people proudly and humbly that I have the best job in America because I work for great people. We have 95,000 men and women in the industry, and we work so their voices are heard.”
CHALLENGES, CHANGES
Purser cites continued efforts to de-regulate alcohol as the industry’s foremost challenge. Under the 21st Amendment, alcohol is largely regulated by states to reflect local attitudes and culture, a position Purser and the association steadfastly support.
“A number of organized commercial interests are seeking to de-regulate alcohol because it benefits them economically. There are large-scale national retailers and manufacturers interested in a one-size fits all regulatory solution that just won’t work,” Purser says.
“In Boston and across Massachusetts, for example, beer is accepted as very much a part of the culture. However, I grew up in Oklahoma where folks have strong feelings on alcohol in general and those feelings have to be respected. We have to support and maintain a system that allows when beer is available, where it’s available, and how it’s available. It’s a product we continue to need to regulate,” he says.
In the last year alone, Anheuser-Busch was purchased by European giant InBev while Miller and Coors – the No. 2 and No. 3 brewers in the US – formed a joint venture. “These are not bad things, just changes. We have lots of challenges but we also have lots of opportunities. We have a great track record, and we’re bullish long-term on this product,” Purser asserts.
With good reason. Consider that, in 1979, there were fewer than 50 breweries in the United States. And today? “This year we have more than 1500 and we’d like to see that number continue to grow. The industry’s best days are still to come. Whether people are enjoying beer as an accompaniment or as an ingredient, there has been an explosion in the diversity of brands and styles for Americans to enjoy,” Purser says.
WIDE VARIETY
If, as Ben Franklin once posited “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” then Americans have ample reason to smile with approximately 13,000 different labels from which to choose.
Innovators like Jim Koch of the Boston Beer Company, Sam Calagione at Dogfish Head, Kim Grossman of Sierra Nevada and Simon Bergson of Manhattan Beers, along with countless craft brewers, have contributed to a wonderfully diverse market that offers something for every palate.
“Those guys, along with the distributors, are increasingly becoming the face of the industry. They are great innovators and leaders and folks who are creative personalities who recognized a consumer hungry for specialization and personalization,” Purser says.
“What’s so wonderful is the diversity of style. We’re all familiar with pilsners and lagers but now we have ambers, stouts, wheats, and ales – and we’re just scratching the surface,” he adds. “One of the things we’re most proud of is the American system provides this choice and variety in a competitive, yet regulated, marketplace. There is room for these folks on the shelves.”
ADVOCACY
At the end of the day, NBWA’s primary mission is to advocate for state-based alcohol regulation while providing leadership and guidance to America’s beer distributors. NBWA’s website is packed with information about ongoing initiatives under the “NBWA Fleet of Issues” heading.
“It’s all about putting those 95,000 faces out front. All of our employees make great wages and have great benefits. For example, everyone has health insurance. That’s an interesting contrast to some of the things that are going on in Washington, DC right now,” Purser says.
“I really believe we have a great industry because we have good people up and down the line. They’re good folks doing a terrific job against a backdrop of a lot of tough times right now,” he concludes.
To learn more about National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA),
please visit : www.nbwa.org
View Digital Corporate Profile of NBWA in Food and Drink Digital November 2009