Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits announced today that Ray Lombard, Executive Vice President, Supplier Management and Business Development, has joined the WSWA Access Advisory Council.
WSWA Access, launched by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), serves as a hub for craft, start-up and small production wine and spirits.
The 17-seat Advisory Council structure is comprised of eight craft, start-up or small production wine and spirits brand representatives, seven WSWA wholesaler member advisors to provide counsel and perspective, and seats for other industry partners. The council is tasked with developing relevant content, reviewing strategy and identifying opportunities for industry inclusion and growth.
“Craft and start-up brands drive significant innovation that benefits the entire wine and spirits industry,” says Lombard. “They bring new energy to the marketplace and increase the level of consumer interest in all of our products. I’m proud to be part of this collaborative initiative to support this thriving and diverse sector of our industry.”
The WSWA Access microsite serves as a hub that offers a variety of free resources developed with the help of the WSWA Access Advisory Council. The site features short video tips from successful wholesaler/craft, start-up and small production wine and spirits brand owner partnerships; a repository of resources related to regulation and compliance, which brands can use to jumpstart research and avoid regulatory pitfalls; and all past and future WSWA virtual programming of relevant material and much more.
The WSWA Access Advisory Council will work to develop a playbook designed for craft, start-up and small production wine and spirits brands to use in meetings with wholesalers when attempting to earn a distribution deal, the organization says. The Playbook will answer the call for a best practices industry template. The WSWA Access Hub will also feature case studies in a craft, start-up and a small production wine and spirits brand “Hall of Fame” that identifies brands that went from “craft, start-up or small production wine or spirit” to a million-case brand by way of the Annual WSWA Convention & Exposition, Brand Battle or a successful member wholesaler partnership.
