Three Trends, One Opportunity: Reflections from NBWA Legislative Conference

Last week was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I had the chance to head to Washington, D.C., for the annual NBWA Legislative Conference. It’s always a great few days in our Capital — a chance to see so many of our customers, prospective customers, and great partners in one place, along with the NBWA team. It’s an intense few days, no doubt, but one that leads to high-quality interactions and meaningful conversations.

And let’s just say: it was an interesting time to be in D.C., to put it mildly.

We’re all acutely aware of the headwinds in the bev-alc market right now, and those challenges were top of mind for everyone at NBWA Leg. But there’s more fueling the fire these days — three topics seemed to come up in nearly every conversation: taxes, tariffs, and technology.

Taxes were front and center for NBWA, and tariffs… well, that’s a third rail I’m going to politely avoid. But technology? That’s where I live — and it was top of mind for everyone at the conference. Whether in breakout sessions or conversations with members, tech was consistently framed as one of the most important levers for wholesalers in the “new normal” we’re experiencing today.

A few months ago, in this blog, I talked about the emerging consensus that we’ve shifted from a growth-at-all-costs mindset into a slower-growth environment focused on operational efficiency. In BUMP’s most recent newsletter, he posed an important question to the wholesale community:

"In light of the changing consumer, how are you rethinking your business strategy or restructuring your organization to address the new world in front of you because “hoping” isn’t going to work."

That struck a chord. It validated what I’m hearing and seeing every day. As growth slows — or even declines in some segments — the spotlight turns to operational discipline. At Encompass, we’re seeing that play out in real time as more and more wholesalers are reaching out to make generational decisions about how they operate. They are looking to retool for the next chapter of beverage.

Ironically, while the market is facing headwinds, those trends are becoming tailwinds for Encompass. We are incredibly fortunate — both in the position we hold in the industry and in our ability to help wholesalers navigate this period of change and prepare for the future.

As we close Q1, we are a bright spot in bev-alc. We saw record growth, with over 70% year-over-year sales growth compared to Q1 last year. That momentum has been powered by wholesalers making real investments in technology — and a large portion of that surge has come from the AB network. It’s exciting to see these wholesalers making forward-looking investments — embracing modernization and taking control of their future.

Another recent highlight was our third session of the Encompass Distributor Customer Council (DCC), a group we launched just over a year ago. I’ve told many folks this little software industry secret: that customer advisory boards are usually more challenging than valuable for vendors. Too often, they are just a chance for your biggest customers to try and twist the product roadmap or gain commercial advantage.

Our DCC is nothing like that.

This group is thoughtful, collaborative, and engaged. They’re helping shape our strategy, creating direct feedback loops into our organization, and working with a collective sense of purpose that benefits everyone. They’ve become a bellwether for our customer base — and frankly, for the wholesaler market overall.

And they are doubling down on technology. We are seeing it firsthand with the introduction of OrderIQ, our next-gen suggested ordering solution now powered by AI. It’s helping put more selling cycles into the field at a time when every extra cycle matters.

We also previewed our new mileage tracking solution, which came out of our technology partnership with Southern Crown Partners. This is a classic Encompass story: a customer used our open platform to build a fully functional application — and now we’re rolling it out to the broader customer base. With the recent acquisition of Everlance by Motus, the no mileage tracking space is undergoing real disruption. Our platform-native, proven solution offers a compelling alternative for wholesalers looking to simplify operations, streamline their tech stack, and consolidate their spend.

You’ll hear a lot more about both of these solutions at Bevage, our annual user conference, just one month away.

On the wine side of our business, we’re headed to the West Coast this week — to Washington and California — for our annual regional user groups. One big topic: our recent acquisition of eVineyard, which brings vineyard management capabilities to our Vintrace platform. It’s a strong signal of our continued commitment to the winemaking market. We’re currently in product integration mode with the eVineyard solution and look forward to sharing more later this year.

Before I sign off, one last takeaway from NBWA Leg.

I’m a bit of a unique animal at these conferences — most of my career has been in enterprise software, not the beverage industry. And with all the change happening in our industry, a lot of people have asked for my take — especially on the VIP acquisition by private equity.

Here’s what I tell them:

First, as a student of business, it’s an incredible transaction. A billion-dollar-plus acquisition of a 50-year-old company, with 350+ employee millionaires created in Northern Vermont? It’s truly amazing. Congratulations to everyone who was part of that journey.

Second, I have real empathy for the VIP team. Why? Because I’ve lived through this transition multiple times in my career — from a long-held, family-style culture to investor ownership. It’s not easy. It’s a massive cultural and operational shift. There’s no question there will be major changes ahead for VIP, and their teams and customers will have to navigate that journey. It’s not impossible, and we have done it over the past 5+ years at Encompass, but it is just starting for VIP.

Third, and perhaps most importantly — this creates opportunity. The market is shifting. Consumer behavior is evolving. Operational excellence is now non-negotiable. With the strength of our platform, Encompass is well-positioned to help our customers and the industry navigate this chapter and come out stronger. Change at VIP adds more uncertainty to the market — and that means more room for us and the Encompass network to grow.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing many of you at Bevage, or out on the road in the coming weeks.

And congrats to Rory McIlroy on the career Grand Slam — what a crazy Sunday that was!

— Patrick