WEBVTT - Businessweek Extra- Bill Shufelt

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio, a Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>News team writing during the pandemic that after long days

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<v Speaker 1>of zoom calls and homeschooling, people are finding ways to

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<v Speaker 1>keep their spirits up to him literally with spirits. And

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<v Speaker 1>we know this has been one of the big stories

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<v Speaker 1>of the pandemic. We've talked a lot about alcohol and

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<v Speaker 1>the consumption of it. Yeah, and look, I think that

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<v Speaker 1>January is a time when we think about ways to

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<v Speaker 1>reset and dry. January is something that we've certainly seen

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people attempt to do exactly right. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a time to kind of maybe cleanse the head, the

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<v Speaker 1>bind all of it. Someone who knows about that is

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<v Speaker 1>our next guest, Bill Shufelt. He is co founder and

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<v Speaker 1>CEO of Athletic Brewing. He's maker of craft non alcoholic beers,

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<v Speaker 1>and he joins us on the phone in San Diego. Um, Bill,

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<v Speaker 1>so good to have you here with Tim and myself.

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<v Speaker 1>First of all, Happy New Year. How are you hi, Carolinton?

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, trying me Happy dry January, doing wild

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<v Speaker 1>dry January. So tell us about that, because it's often

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<v Speaker 1>it follows what is often a busy holiday season where

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<v Speaker 1>there is lots of beverages of the alcoholic kind. Uh

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<v Speaker 1>this year maybe a little bit differently because of or

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<v Speaker 1>it was a little bit different because of COVID. Tell

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<v Speaker 1>us about dry January and what it means. Yeah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>exactly that. I mean. Going into the new years such

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<v Speaker 1>a great time for people to kind of hit pause

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<v Speaker 1>goal toe and thinking about what they want to achieve

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<v Speaker 1>in the year ahead. That could be professionally, it could

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<v Speaker 1>be with their diet, it could be workouts, it could

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<v Speaker 1>be sleep, mindfulness, relationships, anything. And there's one pretty consistent variable.

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<v Speaker 1>If you pull alcohol and some unhealthy eating out of that,

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<v Speaker 1>it makes it really easy to focus on what your

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<v Speaker 1>goals are and like really kick start the year in

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<v Speaker 1>a productive way. And it's a trend that's been increasingly popular,

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<v Speaker 1>like exponentially so over the past few years. UM over

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<v Speaker 1>US adults participated in dry January last year, and anecdotally

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<v Speaker 1>it feels much higher this year. Bill, I know the

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<v Speaker 1>company's in sort of growth mode right now. Um do

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<v Speaker 1>you see a big uptick in sales in January? Typically

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<v Speaker 1>we do, um YEA. So the average uptick month over

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<v Speaker 1>month from January to December the past two years has

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<v Speaker 1>been about thirty UM. I will say this year, our

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<v Speaker 1>website traffic is up about month month over months even Wow.

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<v Speaker 1>So what does that mean in real numbers? UM? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so in terms of so it's estimated that over fifty million,

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<v Speaker 1>So over fifty million Americans specifically participate in Drive January.

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<v Speaker 1>But in the broader population of US adults have point

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<v Speaker 1>one drinks or less per week. So there's a big

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<v Speaker 1>misconception about the like the pool of adults who don't

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<v Speaker 1>drink on any given week, UM, where non alcoholic beverages

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<v Speaker 1>has always been thought about these really small penalty box

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<v Speaker 1>markets like people in recovery, people who are currently not

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<v Speaker 1>drinking first very specific medical reason, where really it's actually

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<v Speaker 1>the majority of adults and the majority of the days

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<v Speaker 1>of the week where not drinking may make sense. And

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<v Speaker 1>then at the beginning of the year almost more south

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<v Speaker 1>where like those markets triple basically UM in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>the category growth for non alcoholic beer, non alcoholic gear

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<v Speaker 1>as a whole, including all the big macro brands that

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<v Speaker 1>have been out forever UM it for so Athletic bring

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<v Speaker 1>launched in two thousand eighteen, UM non alcoholic beer grew

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<v Speaker 1>six in two thousand, two thousand nine, and in it

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<v Speaker 1>grew over across the country. UM were but like as

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<v Speaker 1>our company goes, were having a bigger and bigger impact

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<v Speaker 1>on those numbers. UM the craft segments specifically grew three

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and nine percent last year in craft non alcoholic beer,

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<v Speaker 1>and athletic had a sixty one percent share of that market. Tim,

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<v Speaker 1>you're a non alcoholic I am, and and it's interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not exclusively a non alcoholic beer drinker. But that's

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<v Speaker 1>the reason why I wanted to get Bill on our

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<v Speaker 1>show is because the way that my own habits have

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<v Speaker 1>changed during the pandemic and also with with starting this

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<v Speaker 1>new job, which requires me to get up so much earlier.

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<v Speaker 1>So what I've decided to do is actually not drink

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<v Speaker 1>alcohol during the week. A friend of mine made the

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<v Speaker 1>recommendation to me, who hosts radio very early in the morning,

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<v Speaker 1>and he said, that is the key to a good

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<v Speaker 1>night's sleep. Um. And I actually drink. I do drink

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<v Speaker 1>athletic athletic brewing beer. UM. But it's also interesting because

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<v Speaker 1>I've noticed that the marketing is is not traditional beer marketing, right.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a company that that seems to embrace the

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<v Speaker 1>idea of UM. It's sort of like you know, Bill,

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<v Speaker 1>I think of Patagonia, like the company Patagonia. When I

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<v Speaker 1>see your marketing, it's very focused on like the outdoors

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<v Speaker 1>and skiing and mountain biking. UM environment tied to the environment.

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<v Speaker 1>What is the message that you're going for, because, as

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<v Speaker 1>you mentioned, it does seem like non alcoholic beer has

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<v Speaker 1>has gotten a really bad rap because in the past,

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<v Speaker 1>bad taste has been associated with it. Yeah, it's so funny,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's like what the company was born out of.

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<v Speaker 1>It's exactly the occasion set that you're talking about. I

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<v Speaker 1>was a huge foodie, craft beer guy. I loved all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of social family every like all sorts of normal occasions.

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<v Speaker 1>But I also had this very serious stage job at

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<v Speaker 1>a large hedge fund. I loved waking up at five o'clock,

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<v Speaker 1>working out, being on point all day. I was starting

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<v Speaker 1>to run ultra marathons on the weekend and really in

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<v Speaker 1>that alcohol had a smaller and smaller place, but I

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<v Speaker 1>still wanted a great beer I could have during the

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<v Speaker 1>week and wake up at five o'clock. And I quickly

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<v Speaker 1>realized in cutting back on alcohol, I was sleeping right

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<v Speaker 1>through the night for the first time in years. I

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<v Speaker 1>was on point all day. My workouts were great, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was like the best life pack I'd ever uncovered.

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<v Speaker 1>And so like my very normal modern adult lifestyle led

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<v Speaker 1>us in this direction to discover non lcohol beer. And

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<v Speaker 1>then when I got there, I found out non alcoholic beer.

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<v Speaker 1>If you take out the alcohol, which is a diuretic

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<v Speaker 1>and super dehydrating, non alcoholic beer is actually full of electrolytes,

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<v Speaker 1>it's anti inflammatory, it's super low in calories. Our flagship

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<v Speaker 1>Goldenhil's fifty calories and removed um, so you can kind

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<v Speaker 1>of have your cake and eat it too and get

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<v Speaker 1>a great night sleep, not of all the calories in

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend and stuff. Um. In terms of the brand

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<v Speaker 1>ethos um, we really want to make non alcoholic beer

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<v Speaker 1>positive and aspirational for the first time. And we're all about.

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<v Speaker 1>The thing that made me go from like even considering

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<v Speaker 1>quitting a very stable financial job was the positive impact

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<v Speaker 1>we could have. And that's all positive impact on our

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<v Speaker 1>customers health, activity, fitness, and ultimately then their communities in

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<v Speaker 1>the environment. And yeah, we donate two percent of all

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<v Speaker 1>sales the trail and park cleanups. And it's like in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of being all about being healthy, active, outdoors and inclusive. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>we only get one chance at this environment, and we

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<v Speaker 1>are making a huge den as a company having it

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<v Speaker 1>hard coded in our ethos from the start, and we'd

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<v Speaker 1>really like to see more companies do that, honestly, Like

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<v Speaker 1>two of sales isn't the biggest number in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>but it makes a huge den But if you get

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<v Speaker 1>enough people doing it, that two percent becomes something significant

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<v Speaker 1>and impactful. Hey, but one thing I want to ask you.

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<v Speaker 1>When I said, like, give me some more of the numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>you said, website traffic up month over month. So are

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<v Speaker 1>you guys profitable? And I'm trying to just get an

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<v Speaker 1>idea because the non alcoholic beverage market, um, whether it's

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<v Speaker 1>beers in spirits and things like that or just water

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<v Speaker 1>and juices, I mean, it's massive. We have so many

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<v Speaker 1>choices nowadays. So I'm just trying to get an idea

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<v Speaker 1>of the financials for you. I'm thinking about our audience

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<v Speaker 1>who are like certainly into this and they're looking for

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<v Speaker 1>alternatives and disruptions, certainly in the beverage market. So give

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<v Speaker 1>me an idea. Are you profitable? What kind of sales

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<v Speaker 1>are you seeing? And where are you selling? Yeah, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>so we are nationwise on our website. Um, we're pretty

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<v Speaker 1>much the only true e commerce care platform there is

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<v Speaker 1>because not alcoholic beer, we can ship direct the customer

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<v Speaker 1>nationwide off our website, which is a huge advantage and

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<v Speaker 1>that's been soaring during covid UM and with everyone shopping

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<v Speaker 1>from home in we grew over despite having pretty much

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<v Speaker 1>our marketing ideas taken off the table. Um. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we finished in the mid double digit millions in revenue UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're planning to do over three times that year ahead. UM. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>So we're super excited that we're basically able to exceed

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<v Speaker 1>our goals for the year, even even with the environment

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<v Speaker 1>we're currently and and in terms of profitability, we weren't

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<v Speaker 1>profitable last year, but a big part of that is

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<v Speaker 1>we purchased a big facility in southern California where we

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<v Speaker 1>could connects our production and really go national. Well let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about this production. Um, what are the what is

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<v Speaker 1>the product lineup that you have right now? And how

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<v Speaker 1>are you thinking about expansion? Yeah? So we have two

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<v Speaker 1>flag three flagships that have won awards all over the

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<v Speaker 1>US and internationally. UM World Beer Awards, International Beer Challenge.

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<v Speaker 1>Our flagship run Wild ip A just won the gold

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<v Speaker 1>in the US Beer Championship. They're all very approachable. UM

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<v Speaker 1>are so our upside don golden nails, fifty calories crafted

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<v Speaker 1>to remove gluten. It's incredibly like drinking slightly hotty pills

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<v Speaker 1>are basically UM a great crisp beer for any occasion.

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<v Speaker 1>Our run Wild i p A is a super approachable

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<v Speaker 1>West Coast I p A seventy calories crafted U made

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<v Speaker 1>with all organic grains. UM and that's probably our top

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<v Speaker 1>selling beer. And then UM, probably our hardest to get

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<v Speaker 1>beer is our freewave Hazy I p A, which is

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<v Speaker 1>now year round as well. UM that's available for subscription

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<v Speaker 1>on our website. Do you have UM plans to continue

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<v Speaker 1>to add to the product lineup and and how do

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<v Speaker 1>you also make sure that you you don't keep running

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<v Speaker 1>out of these beverages that people want. Yeah, so capacity

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<v Speaker 1>always was our biggest problem, especially in two that's nine

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<v Speaker 1>UM and through we have limited releases where they sell

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<v Speaker 1>out online in thirty seconds and people would be extremely

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<v Speaker 1>frustrated by that. Yeah, that's good. It's kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>good problem to have. I think it's good, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>super frustrating. If people are actually on the website refreshing

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<v Speaker 1>it and can't buy it, it's it's not a great

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<v Speaker 1>outcome because they move on. They can move on. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that is a big part of why we

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<v Speaker 1>increase production this year is just to better serve our customers. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, it's we own the only two facilities in

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<v Speaker 1>the country that are dedicated entirely to non alcoholic beer. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>so we can pretty much right now make as much

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<v Speaker 1>beer as the entire category is. So we are definitely

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<v Speaker 1>investing for the future. Are huge believers in it. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>Relative to the rest of the world, the US has

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<v Speaker 1>an enormous non alcoholic beer gap um. The European non

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<v Speaker 1>alcoholic beer market is over thirty times as big as

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<v Speaker 1>the US non alcoholic beer mark. UM. So there's a

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<v Speaker 1>ton of potential for a very durable growth trends here. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>last question, can you go it alone? And Haser Buscher,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the big guys, calls you and said, listen,

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<v Speaker 1>we want you as part of our portfolio. Can be

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<v Speaker 1>a good thing. Um, But I don't know if that's

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<v Speaker 1>the kind of identification you want, because you guys seem

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<v Speaker 1>like you're going your own way here. We're so focused

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<v Speaker 1>on our own growth and goals and we've been laying

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<v Speaker 1>bricks forever UM for like a break that year, like

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<v Speaker 1>it's coming ahead. UM. We feel like we're in the

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<v Speaker 1>second or third anything I could see an I t

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<v Speaker 1>o at some point. Our team is super proud of

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<v Speaker 1>what we've built UM and behind that, like we have

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<v Speaker 1>an incredible investor team who we haven't even gone public with. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>do you want to do you want to go public now?

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<v Speaker 1>Because I was going to ask you who's behind you guys?

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<v Speaker 1>Is it Angel investing? It doesn't sound like you guys

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<v Speaker 1>are only you're not bootstrapping it. Yeah. So I've actually

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<v Speaker 1>never talked about this publicly, but we do have a

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<v Speaker 1>We have been incredibly fortunate about the people who have

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<v Speaker 1>found our beer in the world and reached out UM.

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<v Speaker 1>Some huge names in that including J. J. Watt isn't

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<v Speaker 1>the early investor of ours supporter he posts sometimes he

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<v Speaker 1>like sneaks it into his Instagram stories sometimes Lance Armstrong

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<v Speaker 1>UM who Lance was famously a very early Valtra and

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<v Speaker 1>has become a huge fan of athletic growing UM. David Chang,

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<v Speaker 1>the famous chef, he just like a huge foodie and

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<v Speaker 1>the big beer guy, and he got it right from

0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.480
<v Speaker 1>the start. And then we've been super lucky to have

0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.440
<v Speaker 1>Justin Tuck, the New York Giants defensive end, multiple Super

0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.920
<v Speaker 1>Bowl winner. He he's been a super early investor and advocate.

0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.240
<v Speaker 1>I met him last year actually at the Super Bowl.

0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:07.440
<v Speaker 1>So I mean, these guys are fascinating in terms of

0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:12.160
<v Speaker 1>where they end up investing their money. Yeah, and most chance,

0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:15.319
<v Speaker 1>most times they've found us, which is like they are

0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.680
<v Speaker 1>on it and super and like ready to support things

0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:22.520
<v Speaker 1>they believe in. And along those lines, Blake Makowsky the

0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.520
<v Speaker 1>founder of People Our First. He was one of our

0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:29.400
<v Speaker 1>first investors and a long time board member and advisor UM.

0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:32.760
<v Speaker 1>The common thread through that whole group really is that

0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.000
<v Speaker 1>our tooth of the Trails and Impact program really spoke

0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.480
<v Speaker 1>out to them, like the impact we're having. All those

0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:42.160
<v Speaker 1>guys are hugely charitable and like from j J and

0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:44.800
<v Speaker 1>his Hurricane Harvey relief to what David Chang has done

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.839
<v Speaker 1>for mental health. Blake Makowsky was Tom's UM lance with

0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.679
<v Speaker 1>with Strong, It's like a hugely charitable group and that

0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:56.439
<v Speaker 1>has been a big threat. So we're really excited to

0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:58.680
<v Speaker 1>start doing some time and stuff publicly with them in

0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.880
<v Speaker 1>their head. But first place I've talked about that, well,

0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.160
<v Speaker 1>thank you so much for sharing that with us, because

0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:06.120
<v Speaker 1>it really does. I love getting an idea of who's

0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:08.160
<v Speaker 1>all behind it because it does give an idea of

0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.840
<v Speaker 1>what they're thinking in terms of future trends. And Tim, yeah,

0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:12.560
<v Speaker 1>just before we go, how much money in total? Have

0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:18.199
<v Speaker 1>you guys raised a good amount? Are we talking tens

0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:22.240
<v Speaker 1>of millions or you know? Well, yeah, publicly we have

0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:26.680
<v Speaker 1>raised four million through last March UM, but we are

0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.440
<v Speaker 1>definitely stacking bricks for a huge year ahead and have

0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:32.920
<v Speaker 1>some exciting plans will be breaking around in the middle

0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:35.800
<v Speaker 1>of this year. Probably we'll come back in UK with

0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:40.640
<v Speaker 1>us we have We have just launched our first of

0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:44.840
<v Speaker 1>five overseas countries too. We are shipping UM nationwide to

0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:48.560
<v Speaker 1>Canada with free shipping now also um yeah, like Tim said,

0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.480
<v Speaker 1>definitely come back bail and share with us. We love

0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:52.880
<v Speaker 1>these kinds of stories, We love these kind of growth stories.

0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.200
<v Speaker 1>And I do also feel like you guys are tapping

0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:58.200
<v Speaker 1>into that wellness craze in a big way that has

0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.480
<v Speaker 1>I think certainly gotten a gonna pants because of COVID,

0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:03.960
<v Speaker 1>and we're all just focusing on both our mental wellness

0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.560
<v Speaker 1>but definitely our physical health as well. So great stuff,

0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:08.840
<v Speaker 1>good luck, happy New Year, and uh I know Tim

0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:10.080
<v Speaker 1>and I will be reaching out to you again in

0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:10.920
<v Speaker 1>the future. M