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Carter Distributing focuses on customer service as import, craft beer popularity grows
Awards just inside the front door of Carter Distributing's beer warehouse at 1305 Broad St. say a lot about the growing role of imported and craft beer in the Chattanooga area market.
On display are national awards the Chattanooga beer distributor won from Corona's parent company two years in a row for boosting sales of the Mexican beer here.
And Carter Distributing's most recent employee of the year is Tony Giannasi, a beer salesman who is a certified "cicerone," or beer expert who is as knowledgeable about beer as a sommelier is about wine.
"He's passionate about beer," said Bob Monroe, Carter Distributing's vice president and general manager. While blindfolded, Giannasi can taste a beer and identify such things as its style and what type of hops were used to make it, Monroe said.
Carter Distributing's big, flagship brands include Miller, Coors and Corona. But craft beer is a growing segment for the business that employs some 80 people and distributes about 1.9 million cases of beer annually from its 100,000-square-foot warehouse, along with a relatively small amount of wine and liquor.
So the company, which got its start in 1959 distributing products from two breweries, Miller High Life and Black Label, has evolved over the years. Today, it distributes some 2,500 "packages" of different beverages from 51 suppliers.
To keep up with the growing popularity of craft beer, all of the sales people at Carter Distributing have been encouraged to take at least the first level of cicerone training.
"The craft beer drinker is like a wine drinker," said Blair Carter, the company's owner, chief operating officer and son of the founder, Bill Carter. "He's not loyal to the brand, anymore. With the craft drinker, it's a loyalty to a style."
Carter Distributing has added new cold storage inside its warehouse to accommodate the flood of craft beer. Racks are set up to ensure kegs are circulated while the beer's still fresh. And company officials court craft brewers around the country - and locally - to encourage them to sign up to have Carter distribute their beer.
For example, to get Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, Monroe pursued a company vice president via email and in person at such events as the annual Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America put on by the Brewers Association.
"I chased that guy all over the country," Monroe said.
When Monroe, the Dogfish Head vice president and Blair Carter were at an event together, "I said please give us Dogfish, or Bob's going to go crazy," Carter remembers saying.
In Tennessee, a beer, wine or liquor can only come from one distributor in a region. In Chattanooga, for example, Carter Distributing has a monopoly on Miller, Coors and Corona ,while Budweiser products come from Budweiser of Chattanooga, a distributor located in Soddy-Daisy alongside U.S. 27. The two distributors are about the same size.
But that monopoly doesn't mean a distributor can rest on its laurels, Carter Distributing officials say.
For example, when a craft brewer is deciding which distributor to pick in Chattanooga, the brewery will call bars, restaurants and stores here and flat-out ask what employees think of this area's distributors, Carter said.
Big suppliers care, too.
Constellation Brands, an international producer of wine, beer and spirits, including Corona Extra and Modelo Especial (the nation's top two import beers), recently announced that Carter Distributing was awarded the brand's Gold Crown–Tier Three Award, taking first place regionally, and first place nationally, for the second consecutive year.
Carter Distributing has boosted the sales of the Mexican beers through its own sign-making department, which currently is putting together Cinco de Mayo signage for the brands to be displayed in such locations as convenience stores.
"We've continued to grow in volume over the past two years - increasing by over 50,000 cases yearly, and we are incredibly proud of what we've been able to accomplish," Monroe said. "In recent years, Mexican import beers have been consistently trending and are even rivaling craft in terms of growth."
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.