News Breaking Loose – Working with Non-Franchise Distributors

Untitled Art Brewing Company formed for all the right reasons; following the dream and passion of creating and selling interesting and unique craft beer. It was the “selling” part that became the biggest challenge for partners Isaac Showaki and Levi Funk.

After signing up a large distributor to carry their brand, they soon found out that the distributor was not holding up to their ideals or ideas for how they wanted their beer sold to retailers. But franchise laws supersede the contract between a brewer and the distributor, which means if the distributor isn’t doing a good job for the brewer, the brewer has no way to terminate the distributor. Funk and Showaki became so frustrated with unfair franchise laws that they went franchise-less; seeking out beer distributors who were willing to forgo the state’s franchise laws and work with breweries on an agreed upon contract.

“Our goal is to have a network of distributors that covers the US, and that any brewery can jump in, said Funk in a Forbes interview. “If they want to send beer to their home market, or their neighboring market, there’s a distributor in the network who can help them.”

See the full story and interview here.

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