There's something inherently exciting about rooting for an underdog, and that's what just about every beer distributor in California has been while sitting in the shadow of Reyes Beer Division—the country’s largest beer wholesaler and the sixth-largest privately held company in the U.S. Reyes controls about half of all beer sold in the Golden State, but this summer, a team-up of wholesalers decided it was time to go full Voltron in order to claw back influence and market share.
There's relatively little known about the consortium of distributors billed as California Beverage Solution outside a vaguely-worded website and a press release announcing its launch, but you could drive an 18-wheeler full of beer through what’s left reading between the lines. Led by Brian Fried (Stone Distributing), Peter Heimark (Heimark Distributing), Mike Lazzerini (Advance Beverage Company), and Laura Markstein (Markstein Sales Company), these middle-tier companies and three others hoped their collective “long history of success, industry expertise and decades of experience” would provide a statewide counter to Reyes’ network of wholesalers, many of which were snapped up by Reyes in recent years.
With a mix of beer-focused distributors and an interest in expanding beyond beer to include spirits and spirit-based products, California Beverage Solution creates an alliance unseen in alcohol distribution. Usually, a merger or acquisition is the way these companies come together, but give businesses a common cause—and a shared foil—and expectations can be set aside. 2023 was the year a collective of distributors planted their flag, ready to hold territory and maybe just win some back from the biggest beer distributor of them all.
Words,Bryan Roth