BRAND BATTLE MAKES A SPLASH AT WSWA’S ACCESS LIVE CONVENTION IN ORLANDO, FL
story by Kate Newton / photos by Cassidy Earney
As the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America hosted its first in-person convention since 2019 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, its marquee Brand Battle event—a Shark Tank–esque competition for emerging brands representing eight wine and spirits categories—made a triumphant return with the victory of North Carolina–based brand Sunshine Punch, a ready-to-pour blend of rum, citrus, and cream.
Emceed by well-known mixologist and cocktail consultant Jonathan Pogash, Brand Battle unfolded April 3 on the main stage at the convention, rebranded this year as Access LIVE. Since its inception, the competition has aimed to serve as a showcase where brand leaders can raise the profile of their product as they tout the qualities that make it an innovative and inventive member of its respective category. The competitors receive both vital promotion throughout the convention and insight from esteemed members of the industry serving as judges both in their preliminary category round and the championship. Recent winners include Campesino Rum, which took home the trophy at the virtual convention in 2021; Seaside Grown Bloody Mary Mix and Boukman Rhum, both of which claimed victory in 2019; and 2018 victor Gray Whale Gin.
At this year’s battle, Pogash emphasized that the key qualifications of a potential winner would be not only how well it embodies its status as an innovator in its category but how it makes a first impression via its packaging. In that respect, Sunshine Punch certainly delivered with its bright-orange bottle sporting a wood stopper and a navy label with ready-made instructions for indulgence: “A citrus, crème, and rum cocktail designed for sunny days, sparkling nights, and fast friends. Enjoy over ice.” Noted Sunshine Punch co-founder Brian Thomason, “This bottle is our hero—it’s going to pop on your retail shelf and on your backbar.”
Judge Dina Opici, president of Opici Family Distributing, also noted the importance of a compelling brand identity: “We’re very focused on the story, because we [as distributors] have to tell that story,” she said. Thomason and fellow co-founder Matt Hemmings had a chance to share theirs during their pitch, recounting how they met in a dorm while studying at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and maintained a close friendship in the ensuing decades. In partnering to create “a nostalgic, fun, and inclusive brand,” as Pogash described Sunshine Punch in his introduction, the pair decided “it was only natural” to channel their years of shared memories of “road trips, days on the beach, [and] long chats by the firepit” into a product that would “capture the spirit of [that] lifestyle,” Hemmings said.
The brand is designed for drinking both straight and in craft cocktails like the Sunburn, a take on the Painkiller that combines Sunshine Punch with pineapple juice and Malibu Rum. Regardless of how it’s served, “it goes down so easy,” noted Opici, who praised how “delicious” the product was (a future issue of The Tasting Panel will include our own high-scoring review of the brand). As the Sunshine Punch team seeks to expand its presence in bars, restaurants, and retail shops, they aim to place multiple brand ambassadors in every market while using what Thomason called their “very healthy marketing budget” to explore various consumer-outreach strategies. Those ambassadors “have one job: liquor to lips,” Thomason said. “Everybody knows the best way to sell a new product is to let them taste it for free.” He added that they’re also looking forward to more on-premise applications of their product: “One of the things we’ve been finding out as we work more and more with mixologists is that they’re excited, because this is a flavor profile that’s [new] behind the bar.”
Among the eight contestants vying for the top spot were two Florida-based brands: Munyon’s Paw-Paw Premium Florida Liqueur, presented by co-founders Paul Massey and Joe Colucci, and Tigo Tequila Soda, presented by owner Anita Parikh and founder/head of brand Geoffrey Harris. The former, based on an elixir originally created by Dr. James Munyon in 1903 for his line of homeopathic remedies, marries a spirit made from American grain with papaya—known as “paw-paw” in old Floridian slang—as well as allspice, angelica, anise, bitter orange, cane sugar, elderflower, Florida orange, gentian, ginger, hibiscus, orange blossom, passion fruit, and pink grapefruit. Tigo Tequila Soda, meanwhile, is available in four-packs of four different flavors, all of which are made with 100% blue agave tequila, freshly squeezed fruit juice, and sparkling water: Passion Fruit Orange, Limón, Peach Paloma, and Pineapple Coconut.
Rounding out the group were Inspiro Tequila, a women-led brand geared toward female agave aficionados; Ron Millonario, a premium Peruvian sipping rum looking to expand its footprint to the U.S.; The Busker Irish Whiskey, whose contemporary packaging aims to “bring Irish whiskey forward . . . to the people of today,” in global brand ambassador Woody Kane’s words; Harridan, an ultra-premium sipping vodka made with 100% organic corn meant to appeal to consumers with an affinity for the occult (one limited-edition release comes in a wooden case whose lid functions as a Ouija board); and Maivino, a line of organic and vegan-friendly wines packaged in airtight bagnums that not only stay fresh a month after opening but have a greatly reduced carbon footprint compared to that of glass bottles. For more information, visit accesslive.wswa.org/brand-battle.
