Author: Bill Sipper

Bill Sipper is Managing Partner at Cascadia Managing Brands. He founded Cascadia Consulting Group in 2003 and merged with Managing Brands to form Cascadia Managing Brands in 2012. He has held senior-level sales, marketing, operations, as well as c-level positions at several of the top beverage marketers in the world including Evian, Clearly Canadian, Nantucket Nectars, Fresh Samantha/Odwalla, and Ultimate Juice Company which owned Naked Juice and Zeigler’s Apple Cider, before selling to Pepsico. Fresh Samantha Odwalla was sold to Coco Cola. Nantucket Nectars was sold to Ocean Spray. Bill has been helpful in acquiring and selling companies and has often led the transition from one to the other. Bill served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Tear of the Clouds. A for profit environmental charity that has donated over $1,000,000 to environmental charities. His market reach and depth of knowledge of the food and beverage industry includes the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Sipper's track record for helping develop rising brands is unparalleled and will be key to any brand's development and deployment. Bill has been featured on several episodes of the TV Food Network's "Unwrapped" and in a PBS documentary called "The Water Wars." He has been a guest speaker at Columbia University School of Business, and has given many speeches throughout the world including addresses at the Third Annual Bottled Water Congress in Torino, Italy, the Pan Arab Congress on Osteoporosis in Tunisia, Natural Products Expo East (Baltimore), Natural Products Expo Asia (Hong Kong), Innobev US (New York), BevNet Live (NY and CA) and others. He has been quoted in several trade and consumer publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal, Beverage World, Barrons, New York Times and even Playboy Magazine. Bill's articles have been printed various industry publications throughout the world. He is a frequent contributor at BevNet Live and Project Nosh and is a Judge for FoodBev Media’s Innovation Awards. Bill was an original Advisory Board Member of The Walden Woods Project (www.walden.org) for 18 years and a two time member of the Board of Directors of the National Osteoporosis Foundation (www.nof.org). He remains active in philanthropic and political causes. Cascadia Managing Brands have helped many brands successfully navigate sales and marketing in the food and beverage space. Brands include Zico Coconut Water, Hint Water, C2O Coconut Water, Rubicon Exotic Fruit Juices (UK), WOW Nutrition (Brazil), The TH Company (Vietnam), Steaz, Pre Antioxidant Drink (Dubai) and more. Cascadia Managing Brands consults for preeminent beverage companies worldwide.
Posted on

Drink Consumption in Philadelphia Drops

Drink Consumption in Philadelphia post by Bill Sipper

Sugary Drink Consumption in Philadelphia Drops

A Drexel University study has found that the tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on soda and sweetened beverages in Philadelphia has meant that residents are about 40% less likely to drink soda every day. The researchers surveyed 900 Philadelphia residents before and after the tax took effect.

They also compared responses with those from residents in places near Philadelphia without such a tax. The findings of the study were published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

A co-author of the study, Amy Auchincloss, said the tax was in the interest of public health. She believes that sugary drinks have been under-priced in comparison with healthy beverages.  This tax has helped to level the playing field.

The study only reflected drinking patterns for two months after the tax took effect. Whether consumption of sugary drinks will continue to remain lower is yet to be seen. When Mexico imposed such a tax, soda consumption declined for at least two years.

Effects of the tax

The health costs of drinking sugary drinks are undeniable.  Weight gain, heart disease, higher risks of developing type 11 diabetes, tooth decay and other ills.

Whether a tax can change human behavior is questionable. Despite the fact that unhealthy drinks have become less competitive, 30% of Philadelphians continue to drink one sugary beverage a day.

The surveys for the study also showed that consumption of sugary fruit drinks like Koolaid did not go down, even though they are also taxed. Auchincloss believes that this could be due to the false perception of these drinks.  The thought is that these drinks are healthy, even though they contain very little fruit and about the same amount of added sugar as soda.

Reduced Projected Revenue

Philadelphia was the first major city to impose such a tax, and the revenue was to be used for public projects such as libraries, schools, recreation centers, and parks.  Projected revenues have not been as expected.  No one was surprised when Mayor Jim Kenney’s budget proposal reduced projected revenues from the tax by about 15%.

After Philadelphia passed its 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on the supply of sweetened beverages in January 2017.  Other jurisdictions like Seattle, San Francisco, and Cook County did the same.

The Cook County tax was quickly repealed.  Also, none of the others have worked out as expected. It has been found that consumers shift to other beverages or buy the higher-priced items in other jurisdictions.

One of the main reasons the beverage tax passed was it was tied to popular programs. These programs are now facing serious shortfalls.

Some pending legal challenges from retailers and the American Beverage Association as to the legality of the tax, add further uncertainty. One thing seems sure – beverage taxes are not a reliable way to fund public programs.

Check out my Crunchbase profile to view all my press releases and articles.

 

Posted on

Philly’s Soda Tax Falls Flat

Philly's soda tax post by William Sipper

Other cities are watching as Philly’s soda tax falls flat

All eyes are on Philadelphia as the results of 1.5 cents per ounce excise tax being imposed on beverages sweetened with sugar start becoming apparent. Philly’s soda tax was the first tax of this nature to be introduced in a major city.

The idea was to use the revenue to fund prekindergarten programs, libraries, parks, recreation centers and community schools. This seemed like a very good reason for imposing such a tax to some Philadelphians. However, it appears that the fears of many of those in the beverage industry are coming to pass.

Driving Far For Soda

Firstly, the revenues collected since the tax was introduced in January 2017 have fallen short of what was expected. City officials are quick to point out that there may be many reasons for this such as retailers stocking up on products before it came into existence and the fact that figures relate only to the first half of the year when soda sales are seasonal.

A study by market research firm, Catalina, who analyzed millions of transactions at grocery and drug stores, showed that customers were driving outside of the city to buy their sugary drinks. The study showed that sales of fizzy soft drinks fell inside the city limits and increased outside of it. A city spokesman reacted to this by saying that it was expected that this would happen initially.

Employee Lay Offs

Stories have also been coming out about the harm being caused by the tax to those in the beverage industry. Manufacturers like PepsiCo and Canada Dry are blaming the tax for big falls in sales and they have had to lay off employees. Retailers have also felt the pinch, and have had to lay off staff.

Cook County followed Philadelphia’s example and introduced an excise tax on sugary beverages in August. In turn, barely two months after it came into effect, public outcry has caused commissioners to revise their views. There are enough commissioners that are now are backing its repeal and it is likely to fall away in December.

Philly’s Soda Tax Remains Firm

However, city officials of Philly remain firm in support of the tax, despite the shortfall in revenue collection and apparent harm to manufacturers and retailers. Opponents of the tax will be keeping a close watch over the next while to see how it the battle plays out. If many other cities levy such a tax, it could have serious economic consequences.

Posted on

Generation Z Most Connected Generation Ever

Generation Z Connected post by William Sipper

Generation Z – Marketing to The Most Connected Generation Ever

Generation Z, or Gen Zers, are born after 1995, and they grew up with internet access and mobile technology. This makes them harder to market to than other generations in that they have developed very selective filters. They have a very short attention span! But it also offers marketers plenty of new and interesting opportunities.

Gen Zers are called digital natives – they are used to using five different digital devices. In turn, if you want to market to them, you need to have a strategy.  This strategy should utilize these devices and unified across all platforms.

Entrepreneurs From The Start

They are often entrepreneurial because they start building up their online presence from a young age. If they find they have attracted an audience, they are likely to want to leverage it to create their own income.

As such they are not just consumers and they cannot be treated as such. Companies need to think about ways to collaborate with them rather than simply marketing to them.

An example of this is the collaboration of Wat-Ahh! With Ariana Grande. She is a Gen Zer who is living out her dreams and wants to have an influence on other young people.

Ariana Becomes A Face to a Product

Ariana was signed up as a spokesperson but also as an equity partner. She was happy to do so because she could put her heart behind the product.  She loves drinking water, enjoys a healthy lifestyle and would like to get other young people to do so too. Humanizing your brand by giving it a face is important to Gen Zers.

Thoughtful Marketing Pays

Gen Zers want to make a difference in the world and are prepared to work with brands in order to facilitate such change. They are also more open-minded and inclusive than previous generations.  This being a point that marketers need to remember as they are likely to respond to inclusive, thoughtful marketing.

Engaging with Gen Zers on social platforms is very important. If you can establish a conversation with them that’s beneficial to you and them, they will listen. If you can initiate a two-way conversation online, and address trends and issues that interest them, you will be more successful than if you continue to use more traditional marketing methods.

Posted on

Amazon’s Strategy Changed the Marketplace

Amazon's Strategy and Your Brand post by William Sipper

Strategy And Your Brand

Amazon has been a game changer in the digital marketplace where it has redefined the customer experience. Traditional brands are fighting to stay relevant as they compete with new, digitally experienced companies.Your brand needs to understand Amazon’s strategy.

Prime, Amazon’s membership program, is helping to accelerate its forward momentum.  Over 40 million people in the US have a Prime membership. Customers want to know ‘Do you have what I want and how quickly can you get it to me?’ Amazon has been working hard giving a positive answer to these questions.

They want users to keep renewing their membership and buying more products. The more products they purchase, the more data Amazon can use to establish what they want to buy next.

Understand Its Use

Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, has created an on-demand, personalized experience for users. They can simply give Alexa a voice command, such as for toothpaste to be reordered, and it happens.

Your brand, no matter how big or small, can’t afford to ignore the extraordinary growth of Amazon. You can learn from them to understand more about how customers are using the platform.  Work at creating a more customer-centric experience for your own customers.

You need to know more than just what they are buying.  In turn, you also need to be aware of the other ways in which they are using the platform, such as using Alexa or Prime Video. You should also be familiar with Amazon’s different selling models to find out what may work for your products.

Connecting with Customers

Amazon has accumulated large amounts of data that can be used to gauge more about customer behavior.  Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) and Amazon Retail Analytics (ARA) offer enlightening reports.

Some brands are using third-party apps and other skills to find new methods of connecting with customers. Companies like Uber and Domino’s are enhancing their existing services this way.

Technology can be game changing.  It shouldn’t be used just for the sake of using it. Should be used where it can make an improvement to the customer experience.

All brands need to think about making whatever changes are necessary to their marketing strategies in order to thrive in a world that is digitally driven.