As we reach the end of an eventful General Assembly session, I am proud of the work our Board and members have done to promote our industry’s interests at the Capitol. Your efforts and support helped us play a part in promoting some bills, making the case for more study for others, and playing a role in defeating legislation that would have harmed our members and run counter to the Three Tier System.
Thanks to your efforts, consumers in 2022 enjoy plenty of choices when shopping for an alcoholic beverage to quench their thirst or raise their spirits. Even as consolidation of brewers continues apace, you would be hard-pressed to find any consumer product outside of the beer aisles where customers enjoy such a vast array of options.
> View and Download our Year In Beer Infographic
And today, of course, you won’t just find beer in that aisle, but ciders, seltzers, and canned cocktails, too. That product, and choice you enjoy, is provided by the distributors.
The Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association has seen a lot of change in our industry as we’ve evolved from working in the beer distribution business, to working in more of a wholesale beverage business. It’s a shift that continued through this past year while we’ve seen more women take leadership roles in our increasingly diverse industry that has long been a male-dominated field.
Amid these changes, one constant that remains the same for the VBWA is our independent family ownership. Every one of our members is an independent business. It doesn’t matter how large their company is, each organization brings local control to the table. That rock solid foundation will continue well beyond 2021.
Our members made strides this year despite a pandemic that continues to disrupt the economy and upend the lives of our business partners.
VBWA members distribute nearly 6,000 products from more than 40 warehouses located throughout Virginia in places like the Northern Neck and Danville. We pay more than $350 million in wages to more than 4,500 employees, and we provide more than $2 billion in economic impact.
Last year, VBWA returned to our first in-person convention since COVID-19 canceled our 2020 gathering. June’s in-person convention in Williamsburg offered a chance for members to reconnect — and yes, commiserate — and celebrate the retirement of Shelley Gravatt, a fixture at VBWA for nearly 35 years. We all thank Shelley for her service.
Beyond our convention, we held more than 50 meetings this past year, including warehouse tours, local events, and virtual gatherings. Amid the pandemic, we called on our members to engage through Zoom meetings and saw great participation. Our members also made an investment in renovating and restoring our historic Cary Street headquarters, and for that we are very grateful.
We are looking forward to continuing to get to know the newly elected legislators, as well as working with Gov. Youngkin, Lt. Governor Sears, Attorney General Miyares and their teams.
This past year, we adopted new Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles documents outlining our support for beverage alcohol policies that boost consumer choice within a well-regulated marketplace in Virginia.
The foundation for those goals rest on our Commonwealth’s Three Tier System where brewers and vintners must sell through a licensed wholesalers who then sell and distribute to licensed retailers. It’s a successful model where each tier is independent of the other. Except under limited circumstances, the system prevents manufacturers from selling directly to retailers or the public, and it allows new products to enter the market through independent distributors like our members.
It’s a recipe for consumer choice that prevents beverage conglomerates from monopolizing the alcoholic beverage market. It also boosts Virginia’s tax receipts because businesses that distribute alcoholic beverages are located here in the Commonwealth and pay their fair share in state taxes that support Virginia’s budget. Under the Three Tier System, the number of craft brewers in Virginia has jumped over the past decade from less than 20 brewers to more than 300.
Coming up in 2022, our Board of Directors will embark on a strategic planning process that will guide our Association for the coming four years.
But for now, as we get deeper into the New Year and wrap up the Legislative Session, let’s all raise a glass and make a toast to the opportunities ahead as we look forward to the economic benefits that flow from boosting consumer choice and protecting the Three Tier System.
Philip H. Boykin
President & CEO
Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association
By the way: Check out The Tap Line, the new podcast from the VBWA.
You can listen on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
