(Photo courtesy of the Brewers Association)

The Brewers Association welcomed attendees to the 2022 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America from May 2 to 5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. The conference brought together professionals across the industry for educational seminars and workshops led by the top minds in the beer world.

As small and independent craft brewers head full force into 2022, CBC allowed them to connect with their colleagues and comrades to share ideas and learn about relevant topics.

In 2021, the overall craft beer industry grew 8%, lifted by the return of draft and at the-brewery traffic. They collectively produced 24.8 million barrels of beer, giving them a 13.1% market share. The number of craft breweries reached an all-time high of 9,118, the association says.

As 9,500 independent craft brewers poured into Minneapolis to build on this growth, this conference provided the resources to run breweries from top minds in the industry on topics like on-premise sales, packaging, consumer insights, export development and more, it notes.

The first general session on May 3 featured the Welcome Address and the State of the Industry from Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association. Featured speakers that day are were Jennifer Briggs, CEO of Modern Times Beer, and Douglass Miller, lecturer at Cornell University, who discussed leveraging technology to enhance the guest experience.

On May 4, Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner and president of Russian River Brewing Co., opened the general session. The day also featured Tim Wu, special assistant to the President Technology and Competition Policy National Economic Council, as a keynote address.

The 2023 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America will take place May 7-10 in Nashville, Tenn. BI

Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) and Beverage Industry welcomed beverage professionals to the in-person return of The Beverage Forum. Taking place April 28-29, the conference was hosted at the Swissotel Chicago.

Welcoming everyone back, Michael Bellas, chairman and chief executive officer for BMC, presented his opening address “The Wellness and Functional Future: How a Dynamic Beverage Category is Poised to Meet Consumer Needs.”

The two-day conference welcomed speakers from all walks of the non-alcohol and alcohol beverage markets. To kick-off the day was, John Fieldly, CEO of Celsius Holdings Inc., and Kyle Watson, vice president of marketing at Celsius. The two noted how the functional energy brand has found success across a variety of retail channels in recent years.

Later, the event welcomed John Shea, chief marketing officer for Mark Anthony Brands Inc., and Angela Smith, manager of consumer insights and engagement for Talking Rain Beverage Co., for the Transforming Brands and Transcending Categories panel.

Mallika Monteiro, executive vice president and chief growth, strategy and digital officer with Constellation Brands, also took to the stage where she detailed the ways that the total beverage alcohol company is adapting to today’s consumer needs.

Following a lunch break, Steve Pintarelli, publisher of Beverage Industry, and Bellas presented The Beverage Forum awards to Red Bull North America for Large Company of the Year and Celsius Holdings for Small Company of the Year.

After the presentation Mark Rampolla, co-founder and managing partner with PowerPlant Partners as well as founder of ZICO Beverages, joined Bellas on stage to discuss his transition to an angel investor.

The day continued with the Generating the Future Beverage Space panel, which welcomed Stephen Ellsworth, co-founder and CEO of poppi; Joe Peleg, founder and CEO of The Fun Wine Co.; and Jason Shiver, CEO of Waterloo Sparkling Water.

Following their discussion, Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch joined Bellas on stage where he highlighted the steps the company is doing to support the North American beer market.

Finally the day concluded with the panel A Wall Street Perspective on the Beverage Market, which was moderated by Caroline Levy, Founder, Caroline Levy Advisory Services, and welcomed speakers Bonnie Herzog, managing director at Goldman Sachs; Carlos Laboy, managing director of global beverage sector head at HSBC; and Robert Ottenstein, senior managing director at Evercore ISI.

For the second day, the general session began with a keynote conversation with Albert Baladi, president and CEO of Beam Suntory.

The morning then continued with The Driving Forces of Innovation panel with speakers Chris Sinclair, global head of product optimization with NielsenIQ BASES; Jason Cohen, founder and CEO of Gastrograph AI; and Wade Schmelzer, principal food scientist at Cargill.

Following a networking break, the Retail’s Next Steps panel took the stage with moderation from Danny Stepper, co-founder and CEO with L.A. Libations LLC; and Mark Wilkins, director of grocery beverage and beer/wine at Sprouts Farmers Market.

The conference then concluded with a closing keynote from Brad Goist, chief operating officer at Refresco North America.

The Beverage Forum is looking forward to returning next year and will share 2023 with all in the coming weeks. BI

(Photo courtesy of Signode)

The manufacturing and supply chain community came together for a return to in-person trade shows with a record-setting MODEX event, according to show producer MHI. More than 37,047 visitors connected with more than 857 exhibitors across 405,000 square feet of exhibit space at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.

This was the largest MODEX event to date for MHI, with 20% more visitors than the last pre-pandemic show ― MODEX 2018. Additionally, the direct economic impact of this event to the Atlanta area is estimated to be $45 million.

The following are highlights from some of the exhibitors at the show:

(Photo courtesy of DMW&H)

DMW&H, Fairfield, N.J., promoted three new and upgraded warehouse solutions for beverage distributors. For example, its Tailored Warehouse Control System is able to easily integrate with order fulfillment technologies, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and warehouse management systems (WMS). Meanwhile its SURF Dispenser Solution is an automated wave releasing solution that offers high volume fulfillment in a compressed footprint and can be coupled with DMW&H’s Tailored Warehouse Control System. Lastly, DMW&H’s STEPS Palletizing Solution targets inefficient end of line mixed palletizing operations.

Honeywell, Charlotte, N.C., highlighted a strategic collaboration with OTTO Motors, a division of Clearpath Robotics, giving warehouses and distribution centers throughout North America an automated option to handle some of the most labor-intensive roles in an increasingly scarce job market. The collaboration enables Honeywell customers to increase efficiency, reduce errors and improve safety by deploying OTTO’s autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in their facilities, it states.

JBT Corp., Chicago, discussed their ability to provide the correct AGV for beverage applications, with experience delivering custom solutions for both alcohol and non-alcohol beverage manufacturers and distributors.

ORBIS Corp., Oconomowoc, Wis., highlighted the intersection of automation with sustainability in reusable packaging solutions. A prominent feature was reusable containers and pallets optimized for automated systems. The company also highlighted the importance of increasing supply chain sustainability by showcasing reusable packaging solutions that can be manufactured, used, reused and reprocessed without impacting the solid waste stream. In addition to promoting the role reusables play in driving the circular economy concept, the company emphasized the importance in choosing the right container in the design of automated systems.

Ryson International, Yorktown, Va., promoted its wide track spiral systems. These spirals can handle a variety of load sizes, big and small with their 30- or 36-inch wide slats. The Wide Trak Spiral Conveyor can handle double the weight capacity of our standard spirals, and can provide an elevation change of up to 35 feet with only one drive. They are ideal for warehousing, e-commerce and order picking operations, it says.

Signode, Tampa, Fla., presented a wide array of new automation advancements. Among the highlights included, the newly enhanced cart-based StorFast ASRS system now operates at twice the speed, with improved control for acceleration and deceleration of the robotic carts. In addition, StorFast components can now handle pallets weighing up to 4,400 pounds and cold environment applications down to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit. The innovative cart-based solution consists of powered carts and lifts that automatically move pallets in and out of storage positions in the warehouse.

Van der Graaf, Brampton, Ontario, highlighted its beverage initiatives for its drum motors and conveyor drives.

Westfalia, York, Pa., promoted its Savanna.NET, a unique warehousing solution comprised of tightly integrated warehouse management system (WMS) and warehouse control system (WCS) software. WES software is designed with the flexibility to meet each customer’s specific business needs, according to the company. Having been born from automation, Savanna.NET coordinates the work performed by automated material handling equipment, as well as those tasks performed manually, more effectively than many other WES applications, it states.

Wulftec, Ayer's Cliff, Quebec, exhibited its “smart series” pallet wrapping for kegs. A WCA-SMART automatic turntable stretch wrapping system combined with a pallet dispenser, a pallet stacker, an indexing table and a shuttle system to allow the changing of pallets under wrapped loads and also ensure that the products were well secured onto the new pallets. BI