For Windsor, Ontario-based Bill Davidson and Jim Kiss, that lag between what’s happening in store and what suppliers can see captures the philosophy behind Spirits Wine Information Group (SWIG): take complex liquor board data and turn it into information suppliers can actually use, fast.

SWIG was established in 2008, initially to offer technical support for the Association of Canadian Distillers (ACD). At that time, the ACD managed provincial liquor board sales data and provided hard copy sales reports to its members. However, the timing was consistently a challenge. Davidson says reports were arriving long after they were useful. “You’d have access to the books a month after the period had ended,” he said.

From reports to real-time data

SWIG’s first major project was to put those reports online and significantly reduce the turnaround time, often releasing information within a day or two. The impact was immediate. Although the ACD work was essential, another issue was present: inventory data existed, but it wasn’t reaching the sales representatives and logistics team who needed it most in a way that supported everyday decision-making.

SWIG Alerts, the company’s flagship product, was initially built in 2011 to deliver inventory and product status alerts directly to sales reps. It has evolved into a cloud-based platform that encompasses inventory and sales data across multiple boards, including the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), SAQ and The Beer Store, to name a few.

The alerts are customized around each business and delivered at the product-store level. Inventory alerts, product listing changes, stagnant inventory notifications and Top 20 stock out instances all surface automatically. Behind the scenes, SWIG recalculates days of supply for each product at each store every day and even forecasts days of supply at LCBO warehouses. For companies with large portfolios, that filtering is crucial.

If it’s not on the shelf, you can’t sell it.

Bill Davidson, Spirits Wine Information Group

“Because companies with large portfolios can be inundated with data, daily alerts let them focus on the highest priority issues,” said Kiss. In Ontario, for example, the LCBO provides inventory quantities at more than 600 stores across the province daily. Agents can access their own data, but raw data alone doesn’t solve problems. “Agents can see which stores or warehouses are stocked out each morning,” said Kiss. “Almost as important, they can see which stores are low in inventory and approaching a stock out. They can take action to prevent a stock out.”

For producers who may not consider themselves data experts, SWIG keeps it simple. Clients can log in from a desktop, download the SWIG mobile app or simply rely on email, which is still one of the most popular channels.

“Every morning, after we load inventory, we send emails to our users, basically saying, ‘Here are your inventory alerts for the day,’” said Kiss. “By 6 a.m., many sales reps already know where they need to focus.”

Quantifying the cost of empty shelves

The real-world implications are tangible. For example, during the explosive growth of cider several years ago, one client found itself shipping pallets of product to stores to keep up with demand. “There was no bigger issue than keeping that product on the shelves. An empty shelf meant lost sales and lost market share,” said Kiss.

However, despite daily monitoring and co-ordination, stock outs still occurred. Using SWIG’s Stock Out Impact report, the company quantified lost unit and dollar sales by store. Armed with that data, senior management escalated the issue to the liquor board. The board agreed to increase order minimums, reducing stock outs and recovering lost sales.

As the Canadian market shifts, that kind of agility is critical. The ready-to-drink category continues to grow, appealing to younger consumers. At the same time, “people are drinking less and as a result, competition is a lot tougher,” Davidson says.

Non-alcoholic and lower-alcohol products are gaining traction. Further, recent trade changes have altered shelf mixes in many provinces, prompting more Canadians to purchase Canadian-made products. In that environment, access to real-time information strengthens the relationship between suppliers and boards. “Information is now at suppliers’ and agents’ fingertips, allowing better communication between them and the boards,” Davidson said.

“Our systems often tell clients more about their businesses than liquor board systems can provide,” Kiss said. “We deliver the most current data in business-friendly formats, on multiple platforms, using intuitive tools. We now have solutions that work with liquor boards in Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In the coming months we will be launching a system for the B.C. market.”

The company is also exploring the use of AI. “AI has tremendous potential…. We are looking for ways in which it will benefit our clients and grow the business,” Kiss said.

As it expands, SWIG’s value proposition remains grounded: data is only powerful if it’s timely and actionable. With tighter margins, shifting consumer behaviour and increased competition, blind spots are expensive. The difference between a strong quarter and a missed target can come down to something as simple as whether a product was available when a customer reached for it.

For Davidson, the principle hasn’t changed since Day 1. “If it’s not on the shelf, you can’t sell it,” he said.

A patchwork market, not a national one

“Every province runs on its own system [of beverage trade], with different fees, tax structures, listing requirements and even different label regulations,” said Ontario’s Laneway Distillers founder and co-CEO Jessica Chester. “This fragmented approach creates significant cost and administrative burden for suppliers.”

For beverage producers, the challenges of getting their products to local markets, let alone out-of-province ones, are frustrating. “Depending on the province, the system can be prohibitive. In many cases, customers can simply choose to order directly from another province and ignore the provincial regulation. There is no free trade of beverage alcohol in Canada, and direct-to-consumer sales across provincial borders remain highly restricted on paper,” she said.

As producers of quality spirits, including several varieties of artisanal vodka and gin, Laneway Distillers is proud to source its ingredients from across Canada. However, Chester does not hold back in expressing her frustrations upon seeing Laneway on store shelves in other provinces. “The federal government did not include alcohol and food in its push for interprovincial free trade, once again costing billions in lost domestic trade and limiting opportunities for local producers,” Chester said.

New doors, same red tape

“When the gatekeepers at the grocery stores finally relaxed the rules, that was a real opening – that grocery channel,” said Chris Warwaruk. As co-founder, co-owner and now vice-president of sales at Farmery Estate Brewing in Neepawa, Man., Warwaruk has seen many changes in the trade and the associated barriers, both within Manitoba and beyond its borders, particularly in Ontario.

With a vast selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in its portfolio, Warwaruk and Farmery Estate Brewery have always sought to expand into markets beyond its home base. “Looking at Ontario, we saw how the [Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO)and its associated provincial liquor store retailers]’s Beer Store handcuffed themselves by limiting the sales of out-of-province products. This was before COVID-19, and we were the first craft brewery to enter the Ontario market.”

Many Ontarians and British Columbians recall the mid-2010s as the first time grocery stores were able to sell beer and wine on their shelves. Albertans saw their liquor sales move to a privatized model as early as 1993. While this brought some satisfaction to consumers in terms of new availability and accessibility, beverage producers were often confronted with new rules and regulations when moving their products into Ontario.

“If you are a smaller beverage producer in one province and have to deal with a tariff on your grain producer for the beverage itself going to another province, it will affect your decision and ability to send that product to the next province. That’s what we saw with Ontario. Saskatchewan had fewer barriers and was more of a wide-open market. These smaller rules and costs hurt provincial trade and Canada as a whole,” he said.

Warwaruk’s engagement with interprovincial regulation has given him a clear understanding of the Canadian beverage industry overall. He views it as a large economic system that has the potential to thrive more if the right opportunity arises. “It’s about easier trade. We are trying to stimulate the economy and give choices to those who like our products. Whenever you add … these interprovincial taxes and tariffs, there’s more added burden. Overall, if there was more governmental reception to interprovincial trade, there would be more trade,” he said.

The fine print of crossing provinces

Like Warwaruk, co-founder and brand director of The Craft Brand Company, Michael Laba, has kept a close eye on interprovincial barriers for the beverage trade.

While The Craft Brand Company began as an agency importing international craft beers into Ontario over a decade ago, Laba has handled many related trade issues through international product offerings and by adhering to regulatory requirements. It’s a balancing act that involves specifics, intricacies, fine print and a checklist of duties, right down to the product’s label.

It is costly and extremely slow to move product across Canada, whether by rail or truck, and each provincial liquor board operates under a different system. The lack of consistency and efficiency makes national distribution unnecessarily complex and burdensome for suppliers.

Jessica Chester, Laneway Distillers

“Any product coming in [to Ontario] needs to be label compliant,” he said. “For example, it requires English and French text, it must have an accurate ingredient or allergen list and it has to be registered and ordered by the LCBO.”

Laba emphasizes the importance of partnership in beverage logistics as a way to overcome some interprovincial trade challenges faced by Canadian beverage producers. “What we’ve seen is that [beverage producers] would also need a reliable and licensed freight partner,” Laba said. “A good freight partner with the right staff would be key to helping move your product across provinces, [getting] it in clients’ hands and [helping] you be competitively priced on the shelf.”

Beverage producers owe it to themselves to stay up to date on changes to provincial beverage regulations, new statutes and industry communications. Laba has been monitoring the regulatory changes occurring within the province that could have an impact. On April 1, the LCBO moved to a wholesale pricing model to streamline pricing for wholesale beverages. “… the hope is that it will create a competitive retail landscape without additional mark-ups to suppliers or consumers,” Laba said.

Where the lines should fall next

Some beverage producers take a firm stance on addressing Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers for their products. “Dismantle the regulations as soon as possible,” Warwaruk said. “Policy-makers need to support businesses, and if we get away from all the regulations, taxes and related obstacles, there will not only be more Canadian product options, but non-Canadian ones as well.”

Chester emphasizes the importance of easing regulatory financial burdens on smaller beverage producers and improving interprovincial liquor board relations. “It is costly and extremely slow to move product across Canada, whether by rail or truck, and each provincial liquor board operates under a different system. The lack of consistency and efficiency makes national distribution unnecessarily complex and burdensome for suppliers,” she said.

With so many localities producing prize-winning beverages, Laba says regulators and policy professionals should always keep fundamental practices and observations in mind. “Craft brewers are 10 per cent of the marketplace and employ 80 per cent of brewing jobs,” he said. “Any time a craft brewer can make more, there are more jobs and a better community economy. Reducing the barriers would be good for producers and communities all around.”

It would be no surprise that some may find him a familiar face and name, because for almost 40 years, Westcott has played a critical role as a relentless and passionate policy and public affairs leader within the beverage alcohol industry. His leadership has spanned from serving as the president and CEO of the Canadian Wine Institute in 1984 to then becoming the founding CEO of the Brewers of Ontario, a provincial body representing both licensed brewers and their distribution channel, Brewers Retail Inc. (The Beer Store), in 1989.

“I am eternally grateful to have had this opportunity; it has been the experience of a lifetime.”

Jan Westcott, Spirits Canada

Over the years, Westcott has forged strong relationships with industry and government partners from all over the world, emphasizing the importance of the spirits sector as a wealth creator contributing to strong and continuous economic growth across Canada for those involved in the “grain to glass” process.

Westcott’s thought leadership in the public affairs space did not go unnoticed. In October 2023, he received the Award of Distinction from the Public Affairs Association of Canada (PAAC). PAAC presents the Award of Distinction to a member of the public affairs community who, over their career, has made a significant contribution to public affairs in Canada.

“At Spirits Canada, I’ve had the privilege of working with fantastic people across the spirits industry, all while representing great companies alongside incredible world-renowned brands,” said Westcott. “I must also thank my talented Spirits Canada colleagues who, over the decades, contributed hugely to what the association achieved. I am eternally grateful to have had this opportunity; it has been the experience of a lifetime.”

Spirits Canada welcomes Cal Bricker, incoming president and CEO

The board underwent a diligent and extensive search, and was delighted to announce Cal Bricker’s appointment as incoming president and CEO of Spirits Canada on Jan. 1, 2024.

“I am honoured to lead Spirits Canada and contribute to the continued success of Canada’s distilled spirits industry,” said Bricker. “I look forward to working collaboratively with our members, stakeholders and government partners.”

He is no stranger to the beverage alcohol industry, having worked in the beer industry for over 13 years as director and VP of public affairs for large Canadian brewers.

Bricker brings with him a wealth of knowledge and has held prior positions in regulated industries as former CEO of Ontario Cannabis Stores and former senior vice president of horse racing at Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. He is also a senior fellow at the Munk School for Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, serves as a captain (naval) in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve, and sits on the boards of the Royal Canadian Navy Benevolent Fund and the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy.

His experiences and leadership over the years make him a uniquely qualified leader for Spirits Canada.

“On behalf of the board of directors, we are tremendously grateful for [Westcott’s] contributions to Spirits Canada over the years,” said Nicolas Krantz, president and CEO, Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. and president of the board of directors, Spirits Canada. “His work has led him to become one of the most respected public affairs leaders in the beverage alcohol space, and we thank him for his institutional knowledge that places Spirits Canada on a path for growth and innovation for the years to come. We thank [Westcott] for everything that he has helped us achieve and wish him the very best in his retirement.

“I am delighted to welcome [Bricker] as our new CEO. His diverse background and proven executive leadership make him the ideal choice to guide our industry into its next chapter of growth and innovation.”

With this organizational change, the staff at Spirits Canada kick off a new year with the same passion to advocate for grain farmers, distillers, liquor boards and government agencies to promote the economic growth of the industry, and to encourage moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol.