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Deborah Brenner Women of The Vine & Diverse Power Brands

• Season 1 • Episode 49

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I’m speaking🎙️ with Deborah Brenner, Social Entrepreneur - Founder & CEO, Women of the Vine & Spirits and Diverse Powered Brands.

Deborah spent 20 years in TV and technology and on a trip to Napa and Sonoma she became enamored with the women winemakers excelling in a male-dominated field. She was so taken by their stories she wrote a book about them called “Women of the Vine: Inside the World of Women Who Make, Taste and Enjoy Wine”, which Wine Spectator named a Critical Read.

Little did she know it would become the precursor to the two organizations she has today.

To further foster education and increase pathways for more women to enter or excel in the industry, Deborah launched the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation 501(c)3 in 2017 to great success industry-wide.

Launched in April of 2023 at Access Live, Diverse Powered Brands is the premier centralized B2B global marketplace connecting diverse-owned, diverse-led, and diverse-made brands to buyers, wholesalers, and supplier diversity managers across the beverage alcohol and hospitality industry.

I’m so thankful for Deborah’s contribution to women and now her DEI initiatives for our industry. What one person in a room can do for so many people is amazing. 

Questions we didn't get to in the Podcast:
What is your outlook for the industry in 2024?
Outlook for Diverse Powered Brands, greater B2B interaction 

  1. Gartner predicts that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur through digital channels by 2025, making digital product catalogs necessary to deliver the digital options buyers demand.
  2. Continued emphasis on socially conscious consumerism 
    • In 2021, 58% of American consumers considered themselves socially conscious consumers. I expect this number to grow.

Passions Outside of Work?
My husband and I love to sail. We spend the summers out on the Long Island Sound exploring the Northeast. I am a science geek, and I love to read non-fiction.

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Host Jessie Ott's Profile on LinkedIn





00;00;03;07 - 00;00;15;12
Jessie
Welcome to Thursday, Thursdays at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. My name is Jessie Ott, the host of this podcast, which is all about beverage innovation. I talk with innovation pioneers from agriculture to glass.

00;00;15;12 - 00;00;16;08
Jessie
This week.

00;00;16;08 - 00;00;21;07
Jessie
I'm speaking with Deborah Brenner, social entrepreneur, founder and CEO

00;00;21;07 - 00;00;21;16
Jessie
of

00;00;21;15 - 00;00;24;16
Jessie
Women of the Wine and Spirits and diverse powered brands.

00;00;25;01 - 00;00;27;19
Jessie
Deborah spent 20 years in TV and technology

00;00;27;25 - 00;00;34;01
Jessie
and on a road trip to Napa and Sonoma. She became enamored with the women winemakers excelling in a male dominated field.

00;00;34;10 - 00;00;41;16
Jessie
She was so taken by their stories, she wrote a book about them called Women of the Vine Inside the World of Women who make

00;00;41;16 - 00;00;43;17
Jessie
taste and enjoy Wine,

00;00;43;17 - 00;00;50;03
Jessie
which is a wine spectator. Critical read. Little did she know it would become the precursor to her

00;00;50;03 - 00;00;52;06
Jessie
two organizations she has today

00;00;53;22 - 00;00;54;16
Jessie
Deborah launched

00;00;54;17 - 00;01;03;10
Jessie
the Women of the Vine and Spirits Foundation in 2017 to further foster education and increase pathways for more women to enter or excel in the industry.

00;01;03;10 - 00;01;17;28
Jessie
Launched in 2023, diverse Power Brands is the premier centralized B2B global marketplace connecting diverse, diverse, LED and diverse made brands to buyers, wholesalers and supplier diversity managers across the beverage, alcohol and hospitality industry.

00;01;17;28 - 00;01;23;08
Jessie
I am so thankful for Deborah's contribution to women and our DIY initiatives for our industry.

00;01;23;08 - 00;01;28;09
Jessie
It's amazing what one person in a room can do for so many people.

00;01;28;09 - 00;01;33;09
Jessie
Thank you for listening and be sure to subscribe to be notified of all new episodes.

00;01;44;13 - 00;01;48;28
Deborah
Wonderful. Thank you so much, Jesse, for inviting me here.

00;02;00;27 - 00;02;01;25
Speaker 1
your team.

00;02;01;25 - 00;02;16;19
Deborah
Thank you. Yes, it has been busy and I can't believe we're going into 2024 or very shortly.

00;02;16;25 - 00;02;37;21
Deborah
So I'm actually just about 15 miles north of New York City. For anybody that knows if you follow up the Hudson River, you would be in like Piedmont, Nyack, by the bridge area. That's that's where I reside, working in my home office. Yeah,

00;02;37;21 - 00;03;03;26
Deborah
absolutely. And close to New York City. But outside enough to be in nature, which is what I definitely need.

00;03;03;28 - 00;03;16;21
Deborah
Yes, definitely. Now, it's been a great a great whole base for me.

00;03;16;23 - 00;03;52;12
Deborah
You know, it's so interesting because we have been remote since I started Women in the Band in Spirits in 2015. So the team is everywhere. We have from Washington State to California to New York, Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey. So we've actually we're using Zoom since 2015. So, yeah, we've we've been a real remote company all along, and it's actually worked out really well for us because our members are everywhere.

00;03;52;15 - 00;04;26;20
Deborah
So absolutely. So, you know, when when the pandemic hit and everybody was pivoting to go online, fortunately, we had already been doing so many of our programing for women in the Valley and Spirit's online already. So we were able to mobilize very quickly as a group and to support our community. So we're very grateful for that. And the technology I mean, it was I don't know what we would have done without it.

00;04;26;23 - 00;04;37;20
Deborah
I actually worked in the tech industry before I came into Bev Elk, so I'm a techie at heart.

00;04;37;22 - 00;05;20;00
Deborah
Yeah. So born in the Bronx where my parents grew up and grandparents, and then at a very early age, they moved out like many did, into more of the suburbs of New York City and grew up in in Rockland County. And yes, so I'm born and bred in New York, but I had the fortunate opportunity to work in travel in my early career, in my in my technology career.

00;05;20;03 - 00;05;50;08
Deborah
My dad was in I.T., He was in the Air Force. And he got involved in information technology very early on. I mean, showing my age and his he was doing punch cards at the time. So I think I got the bug from him. And when I came out of college, I went to University of Delaware and I got hired at a TV station and then hired for a tech company that was making equipment for television and film studio.

00;05;50;08 - 00;06;14;04
Deborah
So I and this was, you know, the early 1990s, and I was working in high definition television back then. Most people didn't even hear about it. So it was like being a kid in a candy store. my God, I would seen stuff that. Yeah, I mean, it was light years ahead. I was working on what's today is the, you know, DVRs.

00;06;14;04 - 00;06;42;12
Deborah
We were working on that technology in the mid-nineties, so it wasn't even, you know, available in the household. So, yeah, it it was it was phenomenal. It was a great career work for great people. But it was a very male dominated industry and as I started getting older and in the ranks, I just never felt I could fully thrive in the industry.

00;06;42;16 - 00;07;35;01
Deborah
So that was a big reason why I, you know, started to pursue my passion, which was in agriculture and farming and wine. And that's what led me to the our industry. So yes, so I actually worked coming out of college. I worked for CNBC at the time and then NBC, but then I got recruited for the manufacturer that was making nonlinear linear editing equipment.

00;07;35;03 - 00;08;12;15
Deborah
The it was a competitor at the time. It was the leader and there wasn't any Photoshop at the time. So they were cutting edge. They were a British company and I was working on some of their technology in the graphics room for television and they recruited me to work in business development, work with salespeople and help train. So then I spent ten years really traveling all over and internationally, where I would go into film studios and television studios as these companies were adopting this new technology.

00;08;12;15 - 00;08;20;02
Deborah
And so it was really an extraordinary time of being in the industry when it was cutting edge.

00;08;20;08 - 00;08;22;09
Speaker 1
being young and traveling and seeing the

00;08;27;16 - 00;08;50;12
Deborah
Well, I think, I mean, showing my age to your audience, Jesse, I mean, I'm impressed in the sense that I can't believe I was doing this without cell phones. So I was a young woman traveling. You know, I'd have to have my AT&T card to dial. And, you know, I didn't have G.P.S. and Google Maps. And I'm thinking, I think back now, how did I do it?

00;08;50;12 - 00;09;22;26
Deborah
You know? But, you know, let's we didn't know any different. But now when I travel today, it's so much easier. But it was incredible career. I loved it. And actually I have my ex CEO to thank for my passion in wine. He was a huge wine connoisseur and my dad, my dad was also into wine and but working with Richard Taylor and stuff really introduced me to so high end wine and Napa Valley and things like that.

00;09;22;26 - 00;10;02;09
Deborah
So, yeah, I have I have him to thank for inspiring me to, to explore further when I was looking to make a career change. Yeah. I mean, that's really, you know, I work for a British company and I hadn't and then traveling around I, you know, spent time internationally and domestically and they were wining and dining clients because the equipment was going into, you know, the Paramount's and the Warner Brothers and, you know, NBC.

00;10;02;12 - 00;10;33;15
Deborah
I mean, it was just remarkable to be a young person and be exposed to that at a young age. And yeah, I mean, I remember like, you know, the a lot of my British counterparts, they loved port. I had never tried port wine before. You know. So, yeah, this was it opened up a whole new world. And then, of course, when you travel to Europe, there would be wine at lunch and, you know, different things and so, yeah, now I know how I was bitten by the bug because.

00;10;33;17 - 00;11;12;05
Deborah
And it was the people, the people that you meet in this industry, right, that Alex and Jesse you get to interview. But that's the thing that got me really wanting to get into the the industry was was it's like people place and and thing right it's history and it's it's terroir and it just I loved everything about it and you know started really looking if I can make the transition over to it and actually you know I was a journalist early on and I entered the industry not by just getting a job.

00;11;12;05 - 00;11;34;12
Deborah
I actually wrote a book called Women of the Vine, and that was 20 years ago. And at that time, nobody was talking about women in wine. So that I that's how I entered the industry, right? It wasn't like somebody said, you know, come work for us or I applied for a job. I just was crazy enough to want to interview like yourself.

00;11;34;12 - 00;13;07;29
Deborah
Then I started reaching out to trailblazers in the industry in California and, you know, started writing their stories. And then I got I got published from there. I was like, There's no going back to my tech world. I started actually marketing and helping them sell their wine here in the New York and New Jersey area. So I put on my sales hat, started working with wholesalers, worked on an off premise, and that was that was really the start of my career back in 2006, 2007, I guess.

00;13;08;02 - 00;13;26;22
Deborah
Yeah. And I think it's that, you know, I've always been curious why I love journalism. I've always wanted to know more and I have the women to thank because I couldn't believe when I was reaching out to them and I was a nobody. And they they were so willing to share their stories with me and to talk with me.

00;13;26;22 - 00;13;46;25
Deborah
And I think a lot of it was that nobody ever asked them, you know, 20 years ago, nobody was picking up the phone and and calling some of these incredible trailblazers in the industry, you know, And and here I was just reaching out to them saying, listen, I want to tell your story. I want to grow to know your story.

00;13;46;27 - 00;14;26;14
Deborah
And at that time, people really weren't even looking at it. So I think for them, it was a way for them to also celebrate their own success because nobody had really asked them. And then when you tell your story, you realize like, Wow, I can't believe I accomplished that, you know, and and that that was, I think, the most proud moment for me and why I knew I had to continue championing the underrepresented, which 20 years later led me to start Women of the Vine in Spirits.

00;14;26;14 - 00;15;38;23
Deborah
And then recently this April, I started a new, you know, company with diverse power brands. So I think it's always been kind of in my in my blood to want to put the inequity for diversity, equity and inclusion, just helping to level the playing field and give people an opportunity to be seen and heard, know.

00;15;38;25 - 00;15;42;24
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah.

00;15;42;26 - 00;16;08;03
Deborah
Absolutely. Jesse I mean, I'd be honest with you, I and you interviewed Ben Salisbury. I mean, I had a conversation with Ben. He was going out, you know, he was at Constellation at the time, and I was like, I don't know what to do, Ben. I mean, people are coming up to me because my book was called Women on the Vine, and then like, My sister's a woman of the vine.

00;16;08;03 - 00;16;41;04
Deborah
I'm a woman of the vine. How can I be part of women on the vine? And it was a book, and it wasn't something and and Ben really was the one who encouraged me and said, you know, there was a sense that they wanted community, they needed community, and it didn't exist at the time. And so throwing caution to the wind, I was still working full time in sales and marketing and started organizing with Ben's help on sponsorships and things.

00;16;41;04 - 00;17;08;11
Deborah
The first ever symposium to do this. And yes, it sold out immediately. It wasn't until the second one that I actually left my day job because I was I thought maybe this would be a one off. I didn't know if anybody get behind it. And and so, you know, I had to I had to keep working in my day job while I was trying to do this.

00;17;08;13 - 00;17;56;22
Deborah
But it was remarkable. And the companies did get behind it. But I think one of the reasons why the companies got behind it so quickly was because they the women in those companies were just like, wow, there's a community and a forum built for us and we're built. And it was designed intentionally. Just see from the beginning to invite and encourage all of our male allies to be a part of the discussion, not just women speaking to women, which we've done, you know, historically, forever, but to have these conversations together, celebrate together, and also tackle some difficult conversations about advancement, succession, sponsorship and mentorship.

00;17;56;24 - 00;19;01;26
Deborah
And it also was really important, since I had worked in on premise, off premise and, you know, wholesale and supply, that we invited all industry sectors because this industry, with a three tiered system and supply chain is really unique. So if we want to empower, it's kind of like the tide rises all boats, you know. So that was really something that I think set us apart from the beginning and what really made the the companies get behind the initiative, what?

00;19;01;29 - 00;19;04;16
Deborah
Yeah,

00;19;04;16 - 00;19;39;01
Deborah
the incredible thing was being at the first conference, right, The first symposium. And you could, you know, after being in the industry for so long and Jesse, before we got on this, you and I were just chatting a little bit about being the only in the room, you know, where for so long we would go to conferences or go to meetings and, you know, there would you would be the only female in the room or, you know, the only in, you know, in the conferences and how difficult that can be.

00;19;39;03 - 00;19;44;04
Deborah
Well, we just created a conference that flipped it on its head.

00;19;44;04 - 00;19;50;25
Deborah
And now all of a sudden, the women were the majority and the men were the minority. And I think what was so incredible.

00;19;50;25 - 00;19;52;12
Speaker 2
With the women.

00;19;52;14 - 00;20;14;07
Deborah
Are executive men. God bless them. They were so brave to be there with me. But well, some of the incredible things from them were I remember Steve Slater at the time from Southern coming up to me and saying, Wow, is this how you guys feel when you come to our conferences? And I said, Exactly.

00;20;14;07 - 00;20;15;21
Speaker 2
That's how we feel.

00;20;15;25 - 00;20;42;11
Deborah
Because he was like, Wow, I am like, I stand out of the crowd. These like, the men would have to try to find each other to huddle, you know, to like, be in good company. And that was remarkable to me. And I thought, you know, this in itself is a teachable moment because they were now in an environment in peril that they had never experienced.

00;20;42;11 - 00;21;04;26
Deborah
What we have experience since then. So that, I think, was really a turning point. And it also was a turning point with the our speakers and our attendees and everybody that got behind it because we realized it couldn't be a one year conference. You know, when you have selling shows and other shows that you're bringing, launching new products, that's great.

00;21;04;26 - 00;21;43;22
Deborah
You could do it once a year, but the work that we're doing needed to be year round. So that summer changed my life because after the first conference of March 2015, I spent the entire summer building out the platform working with, you know, software and everything to create the membership organization so that in September 2015, we actually had a global membership community that that companies and individuals could join and we could keep the dialog going year round.

00;21;43;24 - 00;22;06;07
Deborah
You know, that was where I think the light bulb went off is, you know, the work we were doing was not just an annual conversation, but

00;22;06;07 - 00;22;19;28
Deborah
now we have a week. We have programs going on, you know, and And the programing is designed to really satisfy women and wine and spirits. Two pillars. Our main pillar, of course, is diversity, equity and inclusion.

00;22;19;28 - 00;22;47;01
Deborah
And just, you know, always looking to have our members take off their competitive hats for the greater good of the industry. Right. So we share a lot. We educate, we learn, you know, best practices, how we could be doing things better, what can the industry be doing? And then the other pillar is business development and innovation, because we're over 11,500 strong now in members.

00;22;47;01 - 00;23;20;22
Deborah
And you know, the networking is phenomenal. And just being able to have a community where we can network and share and and, you know, that's the number one thing I think that women often lack is to build your network to help you in your in your career. And it's not about changing jobs, but doing your job right. And because who, you know, allows you to have more opportunities in the job that you have.

00;23;20;22 - 00;23;36;03
Deborah
So it's not about, you should not be networking when you're thinking about making career moves. You should be networking 24 seven to increase, you know, your productivity and and your success in whatever you're doing.

00;24;05;11 - 00;24;07;01
Deborah
Absolutely. And I always

00;24;07;01 - 00;24;37;23
Deborah
you know, I always tell people not to underestimate the power of education, because more than knowledge, it's about gaining confidence. And I think especially in women, you know, statistics show that women, you know, on average wait until they feel 90% qualified to apply for a job and men will apply when they feel 60% qualified because they're confident they can learn on the job.

00;24;37;26 - 00;24;54;12
Deborah
That's a big thing that we try to get role models and really talk about because if we're going to empower and advance all women, we need them to to feel confident that they can they can learn on the job and to apply for them. And

00;24;54;12 - 00;25;08;01
Deborah
so there's lots of different nuances in the work that we do, everything from unconscious bias to professional and individual development to leadership, and then to never underestimate the power of role models.

00;25;08;01 - 00;27;12;13
Deborah
So we have male and female senior executives that give us an hour of their time, which is like an hour of mentorship. And I think that's one of our most popular series that we do, and that is really encouraging people to sometimes you get to step out of your comfort zone, right? But there's a whole reason why they call it a comfort zone, because it doesn't feel very comfortable when you have to step out there.

00;27;12;16 - 00;27;17;21
Deborah
Well, thank you for your service, Jessie. I didn't know you were in the military. So happy Veterans.

00;27;17;21 - 00;27;22;15
Speaker 2
Day. okay. I thought you were.

00;27;22;15 - 00;27;58;29
Deborah
In the military. You called on the military and panel. Got it. Got it. no, that's. Yeah, Well, you bring up a good point about the barriers to entry, right. And the barriers of growth, that is that's a big thing that, you know, because the pressure and sales especially in this industry and the highly competitive nature, these are the things that that could be barriers to advancement.

00;27;59;02 - 00;28;34;12
Deborah
And and also there's many other barriers. Right. And a lot of advancement is that a lot of you know, when we talk about diverse candidates now, they may not have had the experience to run a panel, to manage a panel, to manage budgets and other things. These are things that we do have those conversations and also try to provide educational outlets for our members because they they are some barriers that could prevent from getting promoted and also from getting hired.

00;28;34;14 - 00;29;02;27
Deborah
But, you know, yeah, the the industry has been changing over the last ten years dramatically from when I started 20 years ago. There's more and more consolidation that's happening in mergers and acquisitions. So really to your point, right, is how to stay current and how to make sure and there's a lot of turnover. So even like myself, I had all these contacts with certain buyers and now they're gone or another department.

00;29;02;27 - 00;29;36;03
Deborah
So I'm like, no, you know, there's a lot of movement. Yeah, it could be challenging. I think the most important thing has been the

00;29;36;03 - 00;30;10;22
Deborah
the trail. The women that have trail blazed before. I want to see like the Maggie Enriquez from Kruger and Cynthia Law from Jane Law and Beatrice Quantrill and my God, I could just name so many of them, you know, the Maria, Lisa greenies and Clearasil that these and Laura Catena, they have been, I think, some of the most encouraging role models for me because they were trailblazing in a time that nobody was really, you know, supporting them.

00;30;10;27 - 00;30;40;14
Deborah
They were paving the way and, you know, the carousel, the Merry Edwards and the, you know, the the the pioneers of our industry and the Jeanie Gallo's. So I feel like for me, it's it's really those that that had to pave the way that we can be what we're doing today and that has been the most incredible thing for me is to get to I like yourself.

00;30;40;14 - 00;31;19;11
Deborah
I've had the pleasure of meeting them and, you know, hearing about their background and what they're doing. And I just feel in a sense that what motivates me and keeps me learning is wanting to make sure that the hard work is going to make a difference for the next generations. And that that I think is really the keys is to pave, you know, the desire to make the industry more diverse, more equitable, more inclusive is really, you know, it's a business imperative because our consumer is.

00;31;19;14 - 00;31;36;12
Deborah
But it's also going to be the succession for the future because we have to entice the younger generations to to see how amazing this industry is.

00;31;36;12 - 00;32;02;07
Speaker 1
Yeah. That's super important, too, you know, And a lot of these women and I, you know, there's some of them I know some of I don't I'm so appreciative of all their efforts and what they've done because they've kind of set the ground and set set us up for where we're where we were at. And then you you had this book that just created this momentum right behind them.

00;32;02;14 - 00;32;29;18
Speaker 1
And it just kind of grew into something that kind of just it all kind of came together. And then you were able to put together this fabulous event and then it was just a done deal, like, right, right. Then and in there. I bet the energy of that first event is like none, none other than then. Then that one, I mean, just because it's so unique and it was the first one, it was so.

00;32;29;18 - 00;32;49;13
Deborah
Yeah, absolutely. And every year, you know, until the pandemic hit, it was growing and it was the excitement

00;32;49;13 - 00;33;05;19
Deborah
we have been virtual for the last three years, but I am excited that March 4th through six, 2024, we will be taking our Virtual Women and Vine Global Connect conference and bringing it back to being live.

00;33;05;22 - 00;33;08;05
Deborah
So in Diego. Yes

00;33;08;05 - 00;33;38;17
Deborah
so and regional events are starting to happen again. You know it's been we can't wait to get back out and be in-person with with our community. But I do have to say that during the pandemic, you know, some of the best ways to get through a crisis is through community. So extremely grateful that, you know, our corporate members were backing us and we know that things are tough.

00;33;38;17 - 00;34;07;06
Deborah
You know, right now there's supply chain issues again, there's inflation again. And, you know, what we really are working hard is to, you know, ensure that we're supporting our corporate members and employees, that diversity, equity and inclusion and community is something that actually can help you get through some of the difficult times when it seems like you need to, you know, focus on other areas.

00;34;07;09 - 00;34;41;04
Deborah
So, you know, there's challenges. Jesse, You know, things that we're doing because at the end of the day, our members have to sell their product. And there's a lot happening right now in the world. But I think the beauty is that with with the organization and with diversifying our brands and women independent spirits is the fact that we have a community culture and a workplace culture which is collaboration, sharing and really supporting.

00;34;41;04 - 00;35;39;06
Deborah
And I think that's, like I said, taking your competitive hat off for the greater good. And I think it's a breath of fresh air when our members can come and do that, because most of the day they're in a competitive environment. I think for women and wine and spirits, as as our DTI focus, I really feel for that is, you know, just wanting to get more companies to join us and get involved because I think one of the pain points is that and I hear from senior leaders is the when the pace is very slow and they'd like to accelerate the pace.

00;35;39;08 - 00;35;57;27
Deborah
So the more of us that can get involved, the more we can look at ways and how do we accelerate that pace. Because, you know, even studies have shown we we can't wait 100 years. You know, we we got to move on this now. Yeah. So I think I think the more we can get together, we're stronger and together.

00;35;57;27 - 00;36;29;03
Deborah
I that's the biggest thing is and then now that you know, everybody that I've spoken to thinks, okay, we've done a lot of DTI practitioner work where we've changed the interview process. We change our how we're getting candidates, we're doing that, but then we're still losing them. They're not returning. So I think now we're ready to take our work into the next phase, which is company culture, industry, culture.

00;36;29;08 - 00;36;52;05
Deborah
Right? Let's now address the culture because that's what's going to change for people to feel included and to retain them, not just to recruit them. So I think that's a big of our next step of really getting people to say, Have you done a deep dive? You know, you doing great things with unconscious bias and resumes, but what about now?

00;36;52;08 - 00;37;28;20
Deborah
What's happening internally for retention? And I think the other pain point is for diverse suppliers to get visibility because it's so competitive. And that's where diverse power of brands is really to help supplier diversity programs and buyers to identify and explore brands that are diverse, whether it's Bipoc, LGBTQ, plus women, disabled veteran, because it's something that currently the socially conscious consumers looking for.

00;37;28;20 - 00;38;06;03
Deborah
And we want to create a centralized, you know what we did? We've created a centralized B2B catalog to easily find them. So I think that's the next step of the work that we're doing is the inequity. And then, of course, our foundation in which we just awarded scholarships, which, you know, everybody and thank you to all of our donors, because that's the inequity Not everybody has the financial ability to, you know, continue education for their career paths.

00;38;19;15 - 00;38;52;13
Deborah
no, thank you For us. So Diverse Power Brands is a centralized B to be, you know, global digital catalog. What that means is that the supplier, the benefit to the suppliers that the supplier pays in annual subscription fee, just like a marketing, you know, fee based on their production volume starting at $500 a year. So even the smallest emerging brands makes it affordable and then it caps at the margins.

00;38;52;15 - 00;39;20;03
Deborah
It's it's designed for diverse, owned, diverse, led and diverse made across the entire without category suppliers. What they're getting for this subscription is the ownership of their company and brand story and pages, which they can maintain 24 seven. And that means every wholesaler and every buyer anywhere in the world is seeing the brand story that they want to be told.

00;39;20;03 - 00;39;43;11
Deborah
That's the hardest thing, right in the three tier system is that it's hard for the suppliers to make sure they're unique. Brand story and unique brand differentiators are getting out to the wholesalers and buyers. So this is the first of its kind to be able to something like that. And then it's a hybrid sales tool for wholesalers and for buyers.

00;39;43;14 - 00;40;11;26
Deborah
You if you qualify as as a buyer on or off premise retail, then you can request access. So if you go to diverse powered brands dot com, that's that's where you'll be able and where we're onboarding more and more suppliers every day. We just finished a pitch day with Target. They had, they just selected seven diverse brands for their Spring 2024 set.

00;40;11;29 - 00;40;57;17
Deborah
So we're really excited about working with suppliers, diversity, procurement and kind of closing that gap in the bridge between developed buyers and supplier diversity with diverse power brands. So basically, if you're between one in 101, in a thousand cases, you're paying that a year and then it goes up to like 950 and 12 because the whole idea of the equity, you know, pricing model is that some of the larger brands will be offsetting for smaller brands to be able to make it more affordable.

00;40;57;17 - 00;41;22;24
Deborah
And then when that smaller brand becomes bigger, they'll be they'll pay more and help offset for the next ones to come in. So it's it's a you know, and we'll be onboarding wholesalers in January and but it's open to suppliers and buyers right now. And we are currently working with a lot of wholesale, you know, wholesalers now in just getting all of the systems set up.

00;41;22;24 - 00;41;52;28
Deborah
So it can it will take the the buyers in the salespeople, right to the wholesalers e-commerce platform and all of the processing and orders will take place a compliantly three tier through each wholesalers sales platform. So that's a pilot like tech stuff again. Jesse This was so fun for me. It was like I got to bring my background and I, you know, I self-funded the project.

00;41;52;29 - 00;42;32;15
Deborah
I hired a systems architect, engineering and creative director and programmers that work for him, and it's been super fun to be working with, with, you know, tech stuff. Again. It was like, you know, getting to bring both my worlds to collide together and and bring a tech platform to market. And yeah, so we're, we're live up and running the officially launched this past April at Access Live and development continues we'll be releasing more and more features as we go.

00;42;32;16 - 00;42;43;10
Speaker 1
be where if I'm a restaurateur or if I manage chain restaurants, I mean I guess that would kind of be considered a buyer at that level. But would they will they be able

00;43;01;23 - 00;43;30;01
Deborah
So, so good. Good question. Jesse So two things. If you're a buyer that you know, a brand manager you're sorry by a bar manager on or off premise, if you have a single unit or multi-unit or chain, you can simply go to diverse power brands where it says, you know, a buyer access, or if you're a supplier diversity procurement manager.

00;43;30;03 - 00;43;58;18
Deborah
So you may work for like a a Costco or Wal Mart or Target. That's supplier diversity. You can request access. We ask some questions, make sure you know the preserve the integrity that that you are who you are and then you can have access to explore the the catalog, to discover and learn about these products. For each one of those brand pages the supplier has, they're a wholesaler.

00;43;58;18 - 00;44;25;17
Deborah
So if you're with any wholesaler or self distributed, all that will be on your brand pages. And we do have a demo that you can watch a demo on the website as well. We do have a section in the brand portfolio that says I'm I'm distributed in Florida, but I'm also seeking distribution in, Ohio or Illinois or whatever.

00;44;25;22 - 00;45;20;26
Deborah
And that is because if wholesalers are looking as well to explore brands, they'll see which brands are looking for new markets. So it really is connecting the whole three tiers. So we have suppliers that are seeking wholesalers. So like when we did the target pitch day, Target actually utilized diverse power brands to discover research and select. They selected 13 companies, 13 companies, diverse power brands invited to Minneapolis in June, and they got to pitch in person and out of that in-person pitch, Target just selected seven for their spring set and their women owned black an API, so we couldn't be more thrilled of our first time out of of success that we just launched in

00;45;20;26 - 00;45;48;29
Deborah
April. So that definitely and I have to say that one of the women owned brands, because we did have R&D, see Southern and Johnson Brothers at the Pitch. Stay with us. They just got picked up by R&D three. They're just finalizing contracts. So talk about like helping to make those connections. And this was just, you know, the start.

00;45;49;01 - 00;46;37;00
Deborah
This is where wholesalers, you know, they have to be descriptive discretion of what they're bringing on with new products. But they got to explore using diverse power brands. They get to founders. And so that's the holistic commercial side. So we were there's a lot of wonderful incubators out there and programs that are doing great work. What we're trying to do is now give the gateway to the commercial strategy so we don't incubate we don't invest money, we don't what we're trying to do is bridge the gap of the wholesalers and the buyers to be able to find most most of them will not know that these brands have veterans behind them are LGBTQ plus or

00;46;37;00 - 00;47;20;03
Deborah
disabled, and it's not easy in one stop shopping all under one platform to discover them and their brand stories and their founders story. So and that's that's with diverse power brands, you know, so women in the wine and spirits filled a void where the industry needed a forum for conversation about diversity, equity, inclusion, business development. And and we're so pleased we were able to, you know, create that now diverse power brands is filling a void where supplier diversity procurement have big goals that their companies have set for them to spend and of.

00;47;20;04 - 00;47;55;09
Deborah
Out buyers are trying to find brands that you know are going to resonate with their diverse customers. And we think, you know, this will help our wholesalers, you know, because as a trusted resource, we're doing the heavy lift and that allows the wholesalers to do what they do best. You know, So we're excited to see as we go into 2024 will be this will be our first full year in business.

00;47;55;09 - 00;48;03;06
Speaker 1
and I've we've talked on this podcast several times about, you know, the challenges it challenges that these smaller brands

00;48;03;06 - 00;49;13;23
Deborah
well, absolutely. And on point, Jesse, we work with MH W, we work with lived in. We're thrilled to see that there's other three tier compliant ways to get brands to market because, you know, and then of course smaller wholesalers as well, right? The lot of small wholesalers that we want to work with and and there's also diverse owned wholesalers that are small, that are out there that are women owned or minority owned.

00;49;13;26 - 00;49;54;00
Deborah
So yeah, we we also think this is a going to help educate smaller brands that there's other three tier compliant ways to get to market and and then utilize diverse power brands as a way to get visibility that you normally wouldn't be able to get. And I think that that that's the key. You know, if I was selling my brand again, I easily could walk in if I was a supplier and I was on diverse power brands, I could walk into any my local on or off premise and say, How about we build a diverse program together?

00;49;54;02 - 00;50;17;17
Deborah
How about dedicating a shelf space that you can have my my brand and look at all these other diverse brands in diverse power brands and that's going to help me. So my brand, because I'm going to be amongst a shelf or maybe we create like cool wine lists or a cocktail menu that has, you know, all diversities and things.

00;50;17;24 - 00;50;58;27
Deborah
That's my vision, right? And so I want the suppliers don't just think that it's going to go through wholesaler, use it also as your selling to walk in and help some of your smaller on and off premise create unique offerings. That's going to separate them from, you know, the wine sales in grocery or your big chain, you know, because a lot of the small mom and pop, you know, wine and spirits shops have incredible following and now they can offer something unique to their customers, you know, or your restaurants can offer.

00;50;58;27 - 00;51;58;10
Deborah
Or if you know that you have a VFW down the street, go in and show them all your your veteran owned brand. So that that's how I envision diverse power brands. I want it it's a sales and marketing tool that never existed in without before. Absolutely. I be more than happy to. Thank you. Happy holidays to you. Thank you so much for inviting me on your podcast and I'd be more than happy to answer else and hopefully come back on someday soon.

00;51;58;13 - 00;52;05;14
Speaker 2
So we're going to have to do another one.

00;52;05;16 - 00;52;15;06
Deborah
Yeah. Thank you. I really appreciate you. Got it. Thank you. Bye.

00;52;15;16 - 00;52;16;10
Speaker 1
Next Thursday.

00;52;16;14 - 00;52;31;16
Speaker 1
I'm speaking with Todd Bellamy, founder and Brewer at Father Star Socket Base in Medfield, Massachusetts, located in the Boston area. Todd has spent a great deal of time in Japan where his love for soccer began. He was sword making apprentice to an intern at

00;52;31;16 - 00;52;38;03
Speaker 1
Asahi Shoes Osaka Brewing Company before working for Boston Beer Company for eight years.

00;52;38;03 - 00;52;47;06
Speaker 1
He then jumped over to soccer again in 2014 and has never looked back. He now owns a warehouse where he brews two types of soccer and serve them at the taproom.

00;52;47;11 - 00;52;58;27
Speaker 1
In a strange land their flagship gen. My suck is made with Yamada Nishi Rice, grown by Isabel Farms in Arkansas. It has fruit flavors and a peppery medium dry finish.

00;52;58;27 - 00;53;11;24
Speaker 1
Mountains on the moon, the flagship nagari or unfiltered sake is made from the same rice and is fruity and sweet with clean acidity. I love wandering about saké in the new world of saké brewers outside of Japan.

00;53;11;24 - 00;53;20;04
Speaker 1
And Todd, well, he knows many of them. I'll be leaning in on Saké next year and I look forward to building my relationship with Todd and Beer

00;53;20;04 - 00;53;22;10
Speaker 1
MPI.

00;53;22;13 - 00;53;25;28
Speaker 1
Tune in next Thursday and have a great week.

00;53;25;28 - 00;53;31;26
Jessie
This week's episode was Produced by Fedora J Productions.