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Since Eagle Rock bought Anheuser-Busch's company-owned distribution branch in Colorado in late 2020, more than doubling size of its biz (which started and continues in Georgia), it has gone thru a series of big changes and challenges. Those include pandemic impacts into 2021, Bud Light crisis in 2023, implementing a new culture and model, law changes that allowed strong beer and wine to be sold in supers, winning right to sell Sazerac portfolio statewide starting in 2023 and adding millions of cases of NA beers this year. Yet Eagle Rock now emerging from all this stronger than before, as our flagship letter Beer Marketer's Insights outlined this morning. This article is adapted from that. Earlier this mo, it opened a brand-new 280K-sq-ft warehouse near Monument, Colo, that's also intended as a showcase for its suppliers and retailers. At opening, beer (mainly A-B), wine, spirits and NA suppliers all manned their own tables in supplier showcase set in modern facility with huge screens, stylish bars with long counters and lotsa space to host events. Eagle Rock will also expand its Loveland warehouse substantially. In all, Eagle Rock will have over 500K sq ft of warehouse space in Colo as it consolidates from 7 warehouses down to 3. Company will invest over $100 mil in these facilities. That big investment shows Eagle Rock's commitment to the biz it bought and that it's in Colorado for the long haul.Eagle Rock, owned by the Economos family, now sells about 25 mil cases, including its beer volume, spirits and NAs in both states combined. It has about 900 employees in the 2 states. Co only formed at the turn of this century. But Economos family goes way back with A-B. Grandfather Gus was a sr A-B sales exec for over 20 yrs. Father John Economos also worked for A-B for yrs before becoming gm of Atlanta Bev. When that was split in 2000, John formed then 5-mil-case Eagle Rock with Steve Craine (another ex-A-Ber with family roots as son of sales exec there). John is still chairman of Eagle Rock; spends much of his time on a family ranch in NW Colo. John's 4 sons are in the biz, all approved by core supplier, 3 as equity agreement managers, 1 as successor manager. Steve Economos is CEO of Eagle Rock in both states, Mike is prexy in Colo, Andrew prexy in Georgia and Nick is COO of both locations. A-B very much in their blood, but their biz has evolved.Over a decade ago in Georgia, Eagle Rock turned unused portion of its 440K-sq-ft warehouse into Eagle Rock Studios for tv/film production that became a real business. Its website sez Eagle Rock is the "largest stage complex under one roof" in US. Eagle Rock also long ago went non-exclusive. It gradually added Yuengling, New Belgium and also wine, spirits and NA brands in Georgia. So when family bought biz in Colo, Eagle Rock already committed to offering "diverse" portfolio to add "value at retail," including with other suppliers, Steve said at time. And getting Sazerac "instantly made us the most valuable partner to our retail customers," Steve told Beer Insights Seminar in 2022. That was "a game changer," he reflects now. Sazerac up double-digits in Colo scans, most other spirits suppliers down. And strength of Sazerac makes family's A-B biz better, the Economos brothers contend. It enables them to get A-B into more accounts and their overall enterprise is more valuable to retailers. A similar story has played out for A-B distribs in many other locales. "We want to maximize the value we bring" to customers "by bringing them the best brands across all beverages and beyond. . . Selling customers with a full portfolio approach allows all brands to succeed," said Eagle Rock CEO Steve Economos.Earlier this yr, Eagle Rock also started selling about 4 mil cases of NA bevs in Colo, building on longtime mainstay at New Age Beverages and its successor entity Legacy. New Age, recall, was founded by the bros Tom and Scott Lebon, who launched their own brands too like Xingtea and Aspen Pure water before being acquired by publicly traded player that adopted New Age name, veered into multilevel marketing biz and subsequently imploded. Thru turmoil, New Age prexy Josh Hillegass kept distro arm viable as it was spun out of carnage to Legacy, a small-cap cannabis player, before ending up with Eagle Rock. Josh, whose 22 years at New Age include 8 yrs as prexy, now is director of NA sales for Eagle Rock. Portfolio includes such brands as Electrolit, Poppi, Talking Rain, Essentia, Liquid Death and Jarritos, most of which Eagle Rock also sells in Georgia. In some food stores, Eagle Rock already sells more NAs than alc bevs. Those cases come in handy as total beer biz down 230K bbls, -6% last 2 yrs in Colo and A-B down steep double-digits, largely because of Bud Light crisis and because co sold Breckenridge to Tilray. Eagle Rock sells about 750K cases of Breck. Tilray is its only other sizable beer supplier, with its collection of acquired craft brands. So even as Eagle Rock invests heavily in Colo mkt and beer portfolio heavily focused on A-B, it's also building out its capabilities as a total bev distrib as it aims to be ready for whatever comes next.

DISTRIBUTION: How A-B Partner Eagle Rock Is Evolving into Total Bev Distributor in 2 States; Builds NA Biz in Colo on Former New Age House

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