Brewbound Live Focuses on Culture, Fortifying Businesses for the Road Ahead

With economic uncertainty on the horizon and an industry in flux amid convergence and consolidation, fortifying businesses and fostering people-first workplaces were among the focuses of the 2022 Brewbound Live business conference in December.

Bell’s Brewery EVP Carrie Yunker opened the event with a keynote speech on the opportunities and challenges created by people-focused businesses. One simple question -- “What do you think?” -- can unlock a new level of engagement with your workforce, Yunker said.

Yunker shared her nearly 20-year journey from receptionist to heir apparent to founder Larry Bell.

“I don’t come from an MBA program. I don’t come from the sales and marketing side of the business. I didn’t start or inherit the business,” she said. “I came from the people side of the business.”

The work of creating an inclusive business can be challenging, “hard” and “scary,” Yunker acknowledged, even for companies with dedicated resources. And “there is no finish line.” She encouraged leaders to set aside their fears, “be brave and willing to take action” and “commit to practice over perfection,” acknowledging that sometimes they’ll get it wrong.

Beyond being the right thing to do, leading with a people-first mindset is the best way to drive revenue and hit business targets, Yunker added. This type of work is noticed by consumers, who are as focused on who they buy from as what they are buying.

“People power your business, and your business will only thrive as your people

Standing Out Among 9,500 Breweries

With nearly 9,500 breweries operating in the U.S., the surest way to stand out is to have a strong and authentic brand identity.

Talea Beer Co. co-founder LeAnn Darland, Funkytown Brewery co-founder Rich Bloomfield and Shojo Beer Co. co-owner and head brewer Haidar Hachem shared how they’ve each created strong brand identities to fill the gaps for underrepresented groups in craft beer.

Hachem and his wife Marilyn Orozco launched Shojo Beer Co. in 2021 as a Japanese-inspired craft brewery with influences from the couple’s Lebanese and Nicaraguan heritages.

thrive,” she said.

Schilling Cider CEO Colin Schilling bookended Day One with a talk stressing the importance of workplace culture in hiring and retaining employees. Toxic workplaces are more than 10 times more powerful of a factor in predicting employee turnover than any other factor, including compensation, Schilling said. As a result, companies must look at their workplace culture and determine what adjustments need to be made to improve and become more profitable.

Schilling Cider recently transitioned from a “strategy-driven” to a “people-first” organization, and while Schilling doesn’t consider himself a “culture expert,” the shift provided him with a “roadmap” that he shared with conference attendees. A key to that map is knowing that cultural change has to “be driven from the very top.”

“This is not a process that you can toss over to HR and say ‘Hey, let me know when this is done so I can come up and give a speech about it,’” Schilling said. “The CEO has to drive this conversation; the entire executive team has to be very aligned on this.”

Also important is distinguishing between culture and morale, he said.

“Culture is something that’s much more lasting and enduring,” Schilling added. “And it’s really one of those things that is harder to change.”

“The biggest thing that we try to accomplish is there’s the difference between appreciation or appropriation,” Hachem said. “Appreciation, you try to share a story and build cross-cultural connections with other people by broadening the general public’s knowledge of other heritages and cultures and all those things. Versus appropriation, where I’m taking everything that’s either Nicaraguan or Lebanese or Japanese and just like, ‘Hey, this is mine.’”

Darland and co-founder Tara Hankinson started Talea in Brooklyn, New York, to create a winery-style experience for craft beer that is approachable for new consumers.

“The physical space is key for us: It’s bringing our brand to life,” Darland said. “That’s on top of the liquid that we’re putting in the cans and the packaging design. It’s all a huge effort and strategy to speak authentically to non-beer bros.”

Funkytown Brewery, a Chicago-based Black-owned brewery, has focused heavily on establishing its local presence with community events and other engagement opportunities. The company seeks out consumer feedback on brand styles and flavors when creating its offerings, which include a variety of styles such as an Irish red ale, Belgian witbier and oatmeal milk stout.

“You have to show how it fits into their lifestyle,” Bloomfield said.