StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ March/April 2015 4
StateWays
®
Editor
Jeremy Nedelka
Tel: 203-855-8499 x213
jnedelka@specialtyim.com
Associate Editor
Kyle Swartz
kswartz@specialtyim.com
203-855-8499 x225
Art Director
Adam Lane
Contributing Editors
Jonathan Newman
Melissa Niksic
Robert Plotkin
Jack Robertiello
Thomas Henry Strenk
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Bruce Kostic
Tel: 203-855-8499, ext. 215
bkostic@specialtyim.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Mark Marcon
Tel: 248-761-6231
mmarcon@specialtyim.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Debbie Rittenberg
Tel: 215-860-0306
drittenberg@specialtyim.com
Senior Research Analyst
Adam Rogers
Vice President, Beverage
Amy Collins
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Cherri Perschmann
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Circulation and Audience
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Debra Welter
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StateWays is published by
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& Specialty Information
E D I T O R ' S N O T E
Awards Season
Isn't Over Yet
H
ollywood's run of self-congratulating award shows may have ended with Birdman receiving
the Best Picture Oscar, but StateWays has a few more awards to give out.
The beverage alcohol industry can't offer nominees as quirky as Birdman, a fi lm with an
ambiguous ending starring Michael Keaton as an actor looking to shed his superhero-role
past and be taken seriously. But we do have world-renowned brands with centuries of history,
alongside innovative upstarts taking advantage of consumer trends.
This issue reveals the 2015 Growth Brand Winners
(page 15), a set of 163 wine and spirit brands leading
their respective categories. They found the right mix
of marketing, promotions and customer engagement to
increase sales in 2014, earning special recognition.
I look forward to seeing representatives from this
year's winning Growth Brands at the WSWA Con-
vention in Orlando and presenting the awards in
person. In addition to celebrating this year's winners,
we have a few other surprises planned for attendees
at the reception.
For those of you who won't be attending WSWA,
I'll also be attending the NABCA Convention in
Phoenix this May. The last time I was at the show was
during my fi rst stint as StateWays Editor in 2011, so
I'm excited to attend again. The NABCA Convention
provides an insight into the control state system you
can't get anywhere else.
Congratulations to all of this year's Growth Brand winners. Celebrating sales growth and
innovation in the beverage alcohol industry is an important and rewarding part of this job,
even if it doesn't involve a red carpet, celebrities and gold statues.
Jeremy Nedelka, Editor
Growth Brands Awards,
page 15