VIBE Conference 2021 Recap

2021

Remains the Beverage Industry’s Most Influential Event of the Year

VIBE Conference, a Questex event, is the premier education event for on-premise beverage executives and their supplier partners. Held annually, the exclusive event includes a robust conference program, key networking opportunities, latest beverage tastings and industry fundraising. This September, Questex’s annual VIBE Conference, the number one education program for on-premise beverage executives and their supplier partners, returned to the beautiful Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. The event successfully brought together 185 operators representing 112 chain restaurants, hotels and cruise lines, as well as 365 sponsor attendees representing almost 100 companies, including American Beverage Marketers, Anheuser-Busch, Beam Suntory, Boston Beer Co., Campari Group, E. & J. Gallo Winery, Red Bull and Sazerac.

Even the overcast weather couldn’t put a damper on the day, as these industry leaders gathered in person again – many of them reunited for the first time since COVID-19 began. As part of Questex’s comprehensive “Be Safe” commitment, this was a vaccinated and fully masked event, to ensure everyone’s safety. VIBE Conference welcomed leading research organizations including Datassential, IWSR, Nielsen, NPD and Technomic, and industry experts from Applebee’s, Brinker, Buffalo Wild Wings, Darden, Delta, Landry’s and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to present on the most pressing industry-related topics, like latest trends and the post-COVID consumer landscape. The energy was electric. Everyone in attendance had one goal in mind: getting back to business. Throughout the two days of conference programming and networking, the one thing that became striking clear was it’s time to leave the pandemic behind and start looking toward the future. As Todd M. Schuessler, Director of On-Premise National Accounts for Campari America said, “I have been attending the VIBE Conference for the past 10 years and there is no other industry conference that attracts as many of today’s key operators. Simply put, VIBE is a must for today’s onpremise beverage decision makers!” Group President of Travel & Hospitality at Questex, Alexi Khajavi, officially opened the ceremony, before passing the microphone over to Emcee Charlotte Voisey, Global Head of Brand Ambassador Advocacy for William Grant & Sons.

Brandy Rand, IWSR-Global

Voisey was masterful in leading the event’s activities, introducing speakers and encouraging attendees to support our longtime charity partner, Children of Restaurant Employees, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting food and beverage operations employees with children facing health crisis, injury, death or disaster. Through the generosity of our attendees, sponsors and even supporters at home, CORE’s silent auction and happy hour event raised $94,374. Brandy Rand, COO, Americas at IWSR-Global opened the conference program with her session, “The Road to Recovery: 5 Factors for Future Growth in Beverage Alcohol,” in which she touched on the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and how consumer behavior has changed over the past year. She broke down five key factors for future growth in the BevAlc industry, including at-home consumption, digital demand, premiumization, convenience, and health and wellness. And of course, the rise of the RTD. Donna Hood Crecca and David Henkes, senior principals at Technomic, presented their research during the “Now & Next: Reinventing the On-Premise Drinks Business” session, demonstrating how the ways in which consumers engage with bars and restaurants has changed. Going out is more of a special occasion than ever before, and standards are high. To meet their expectations, venues have to provide a phenomenal product. Kathy Casey of Liquid Kitchen and Maeve Webster of Menu Matters then discussed how operators can cater to those high expectations, and delved into the latest industry trends. The two also discussed value propositions operators can offer their consumers, like high quality cocktail mixers available to go. Elizabeth DeConti of Gray Robinson led a fascinating session entitled “Legal Issues in the Post-COVID World” that focused on to-go alcohol programs and tied-house laws. She was followed by two panels, “Doing More with Less in the ‘New Now’” (moderated by Ken Ruff of Beam Suntory) and “The Style Trends That Will Drive the

Future of Hospitality” (moderated by Ken Taylor of MarkeTeam Inc.). Patrick McGinn, Director of Account Management of IMI, and Adam Billings, Founder of Paybev, presented about ‘SMART’ (Simple, Manageable, Actionable, Revolutionary, Technology) methods of technology for the OnPremise hospitality industry. Through strategic partnership and planning, these technology applications can help drive guest satisfaction, operational success and streamlining processes during the current environment. The day’s conference program ended with a statistics-heavy report by David Portalatin of NPD, “The Return of the Experience,” which outlined consumer spending habits and how they relate to the on-premise. On Wednesday morning, Colleen McClellan, Director at Datassential, joined remotely to present a session on consumer trends, “Looking Forward – Innovation and the Trends That Will Power Our Industry into 2022.” According to her findings, digital presence, premiumization and wellness are all here to stay, while concepts like brand loyalty and outdated approaches to service and staffing are out. McClellan’s session was followed by David Commer, President at Commer Beverage Consulting, and his panel, “Masks On or Masks Off?” Commer hosted a candid discussion with representatives from Dave and Buster’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Brinker International and Marriott International. The panelists offered creative solutions and takes on today’s most pressing problems, including ghost kitchens, e-commerce, labor shortages, trends and supply chain disruptions. To quote Jamie Carawan, VP of Brand Menu & Culinary at Buffalo Wild Wings, “I’m a guy who sells chicken wings, without any chicken wings. So that’s a challenge!” The much anticipated “2021 Annual VIBE Consumer Trend Survey” run by Nielson CGA-global on-premise consultants Andrew Hummel and Matt Crompton, drew a crowd at the end of the day. And the program concluded with a deep dive into the emerging cannabis market, led by Lucia Cifonelli, co-founder of Cannabis, USA.

Jim Flaherty’s family and friends

Despite a packed conference schedule, there was still time for important networking and celebration. The happy hour on the first evening and CORE fundraiser on the second provided ample opportunities for connection, while showcasing the creativity of our sponsors, including Cincoro Tequila, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Monin, Nespresso, Ste Michelle Wine Estates, White Claw, Bacardi, Darco Spirits, Fever Tree Tonic, Liquid Death Mountain Water, Pernod Ricard USA and so many more, all of whom came prepared with beautiful booths and enticing libations. Each year, VIBE Conference recognizes leaders in the industry for their outstanding contributions, innovations and development. This year, the VIBE Legend Award was renamed the Jim Flaherty Award after James “Jim” Flaherty, who passed away in January. His daughter, Erin, and Donna Fredrick took the stage to remember Jim and comment on Jim’s storied 41-year career. Scott Hempstead of Boston Beer Company was the first recipient of the new award. This year’s VIBE Innovator Award was awarded to Bruce Skala, Senior Vice President of Marketing, HOA Brands, who was recognized for his storytelling through social media. VIBE Conference Event Director, Laddie Weiss, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award (right)and touching video tribute by his

colleagues from throughout the years. The VIBE Supplier Awards, now in their 10th year, invite beverage operators to rate their respective supplier companies on key attributes, including business-building support as well as service and support performance through an online survey. To ensure efficient, fair and unbiased balloting and analysis, survey results are analyzed by food and beverage industry research and consulting firm CM Profit Group. Winners are identified in four categories including beer, wine, spirits and non-alcohol beverages, categorized by total annual case volume.

BEER

WINE

• Large company: Anheuser-Busch and Constellation Brands (Tie) • Medium company: The Boston Beer Company • Small company: Lagunitas Brewing Company

• Large company: E. & J. Gallo Winery • Medium company: Ste Michelle Wine Estates • Small company: J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines

SPIRITS

• Large company: Bacardi USA Inc. • Medium company: Sazerac Company • Small company: Tito’s Handmade Vodka

NON-ALCOHOL

• Large company: Red Bull • Medium company: Monin Gourmet Flavorings • Small company: Q Mixers

Bar & Restaurant Group is excited to announce that next year’s VIBE Conference will be held April 25–27, once again at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.