Headlines often paint the spirits industry as struggling—and challenges exist—but the situation is far from dire. At industry conventions over the summer, I found a surprising level of optimism. My own feeling is that gatherings like these might be just what the industry needs right now to identify its strengths and see the path forward.
However, feelings don’t balance the books. And while maximizing visibility at trade shows can be a smart strategy, it can also be costly. There are questions to consider: What’s the real return on investment? And how do you choose which event to attend, especially when big brands seem to dominate large conventions such as Bar Convent Brooklyn (BCB) and Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans?
This year’s BCB, an annual trade show for the international bar and beverage industry, welcomed more than 5,300 industry professionals and more than 200 brands, says event VP Jackie Williams. And while vendor participation was down, attendee engagement felt higher than ever, with industry professionals actively exploring new products and stories.
Photo: Sailor Guevara
For small producers, there are many potential benefits to events such as BCB. They can foster a sense of community in the industry while providing a platform to learn from buyers and peers—whether through personal conversations or educational sessions. Such insights are arguably even more valuable in uncertain times, when distilleries and others working in beverage alcohol are looking for any edge they can find.
Visibility is another key benefit, especially for independent brands. Small producers tell me that buyers are spending more time engaging with their brands and stories—a trend supported by current analytics.
Yet travel and accommodation costs have risen, especially in cities such as New York. Ultimately, each business operator must do the math to determine whether the potential benefits—which can be difficult to quantify—outweigh the very real costs.
Indie Spirits
Another large international industry trade show is Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. Often called just “Tales,” it began as a walking tour of the city’s historic cocktail bars but has grown into an annual conference and festival based in The Ritz Carlton every July.
Photo: Sailor Guevara
The show draws thousands of bartenders, hospitality professionals, cocktail enthusiasts, and media. Unlike BCB, which is a two-day show, Tales spans five days and includes several award ceremonies, including the New Orleans Spirits Competition and the Spirited Awards—sometimes called the “Oscars of the cocktail world”—as well as brand activations and events across the city.
For years, independent brands regarded Tales as too expensive and not worth the investment to vend or host an event. Corporate brands tend to dominate the week by hosting events that might feel like the Cirque du Soleil. However, more recently, it’s become more common for smaller spirits brands to send tasting-room staff for some education or their founders to learn the latest trends. Events such as Indie Spirits that Rock, which showcases craft and boutique spirits, have helped them to justify the expense.
The event is an offshoot of the Indie Spirits Expo, which first took place in New York City in 2006 and is now headquartered in Chicago. Expo director Dave Schmier explains the idea behind Indie Spirits that Rock.
“The idea was to create a platform for small brands with small budgets to have an official place at Tales,” he says. “We compressed the format to fit in a small Tales tasting room, giving it extra energy with music.”
The room is always jam-packed with attendees, and buyers know to check it out to discover new and interesting brands.
“It’s hard not to celebrate the joy that the event brings to people who make the industry run daily,” Schmier says, “the bartenders and operators from all across the country and world who look forward to getting together to interact with old and new friends while picking up some knowledge between sips.”
For the biggest brands, the cost to send a couple of people is a rounding error. For craft distilleries and other small businesses, however, it can be harder to justify.
“As Tales has grown and options to participate have multiplied, it’s harder to engage and capture the audience for smaller brands with limited budgets,” Schmier says. Thus, arguably, it’s more important than ever to keep events such as Indie Spirits going strong.
In Schmier’s view, these events offer value for independent brands.
“It's important for a variety of reasons,” he says. “Obviously, to promote your own brand and network with people at all levels of industry—from frontline bartenders who are important to introducing your spirit to consumers to distributors who are essential to delivering the goods,” he says. But it’s also valuable to see what others in the industry are doing—including competitors big and small—what industry trends are emerging, and what’s new and fun.
Schmier also owns Proof and Wood, which ages and develops whiskeys and other spirits. So, beyond organizing the Indie Spirits Expo, he also has to consider costs and potential ROI when traveling for industry events.
“I should note that important does not mean essential,” he says. “You need to evaluate whether spending money at these events is worthwhile. These events can be very expensive, and big-dollar spends from the big guys can drown out small brands.”
For the event organizers, meanwhile, Schmier argues that it would benefit them to find ways to include more, smaller producers.
“It’s important to carve out your audience and figure out efficient ways to connect,” he says. “Events themselves should continually look at ways to integrate smaller brands, obviously minimizing costs but also looking at ways to showcase smaller brands in a way that enhances the overall event.”
Photo courtesy Tales of the Cocktail
The Value of Connection
In any industry, it’s challenging to place a value on making personal connections and collecting ideas. Maybe those connections lead to mutually beneficial partnerships, or even friendships. Maybe those ideas lead to changes that strengthen your business.
While traffic was down at BCB and Tales, organizers say that attendee quality and engagement were both excellent. Amid the industry gloom, there was no shortage of positivity at these events.
Ariana Nester is founder of Remedy Cocktail, a bespoke bitters company based in North Carolina. She says that going to Tales allows her company to plant its flag as a part of the broader industry.
“It’s one of the largest community gatherings for the industry, including bartenders, bar owners, media, spirits brands, and enthusiasts—all there to connect, build relationships, and do business,” she says. “By being present at Tales, we are proclaiming ourselves to be a part of that community, and it allows us to interface in person with those people in our target market in a way that is otherwise difficult to achieve.”
And while the return on attending such an event can be hard to quantify, she says she believes in its value proposition.
“Given the current economic climate, I think attending is more important for a brand of our size because people are more likely to support the brands and individuals they feel a connection with,” Nester says. “ROI can be difficult to measure, but we believe consistency in being present at Tales has helped compound and build ROI year over year.”
She also cites the importance of building interpersonal relationships in an industry that thrives on them.
“Small brands have even more to gain from these because of the access to large brands for collaboration,” Nester says, “as well as influential individuals in the industry who can help build a small brand in ways normal marketing strategies cannot.”
That’s a point that sticks with me. When pitching these events to brands with which I work, I emphasize that connecting with influential people in hospitality can be critical to the marketing efforts of an experiential consumer brand.
Collaborate and Listen
Caitlin Bartlemay, master distiller at Oregon’s Hood River Distillers and Clear Creek Distillery, often travels the country to promote their spirits. She comes back every year for Tales.
“As a portfolio of smaller craft brands,” she says, “it is often difficult to carve out a space to be heard among larger corporate brands. But Tales offers some intimate programming that works for us.”
Considering ROI, however, is especially important for a smaller company, Bartlemay says.
“When considering a strategy for Tales,” she says, “we were selective in choosing the events that made sense for our brands—those that provided a quality platform that was ownable for the participating brands as well as provided access to important gatekeepers, both media and mixologists. We were very pleased with the opportunities we pursued, reconnected with old friends, and introduced our portfolio to important new contacts.”
Sharing a perspective I’ve heard from many other small producers, Bartlemay says she feels industry conventions are more important than ever right now.
“At a time when every spend needs to count, cost-effective opportunities to bring brands together and share ideas, challenges, and best practices can make a big difference,” she says. “Conferences like Tales of the Cocktail are a place where the welcome mat is out—you just need to walk through the door.”
Amid the recent uncertainty and shifting industry tides, it’s clear that connection and community are more vital than ever for spirits producers of all sizes. Despite rising costs, trade shows and conventions remain powerful platforms for learning, networking, and building relationships that can shape a brand’s future.
For independent producers in particular, these opportunities can provide not just hope, but also a tangible path forward. Even in challenging times, innovation and collaboration continue to drive the industry.