RPC Brands – Redefining the Adult Beverage Industry: Challenging the 3-Tier System with a ‘Win from Within’ Sales Strategy

The adult beverage landscape is facing barriers that obstruct streamlined distribution from wineries and distilleries straight into the hands of keen consumers. These challenges are centered around the three-tier system, the cornerstone of the US alcohol regulatory structure that funnels down from producers to wholesalers to retailers, then ultimately reaches the consumer.

In other words, if someone establishes a whiskey firm, they are required to sell it to a wholesale representative in a specific market who is then responsible for distributing the product to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores. But that whiskey brand is only one of many in the wholesaler’s portfolio; if it’s not driving a major share of revenue for the distributor, it gets lost in the shuffle. In this dynamic, owners lose the opportunity for their brand to reach its full potential.

In that scenario, owners have two alternative options; the first one is to hire their own salespeople to ensure the product finds prominence in the market. However – because of the inherently high costs of hiring – this decision carries immense risks and uncertainty, especially for emerging businesses without an extensive portfolio or an established baseline. The second one is to find a different way at a fractional rate. To answer this dilemma that every adult beverage brand faces, Marshall Bush, Bobby Barton, and Ryan Coyne, co-founded RPC Brands – a unique solution at a fractional rate that puts control back into the hands of suppliers and brand owners vs relying on distributors.

A national sales and execution platform designed to add value to a brand in the form of market sales reps, RPC’s offerings span cost-effective sales, account management, national & regional chain capabilities, distributor management, marketing, and expansion. When working with brand owners – who are more like family, not clients – RPC adds their product to its portfolio, which is then represented by an in-house team of sales experts who leverage individual account bases and networks to drive growth.

With a team of 20 salespeople and growing – specializing in the alcohol beverage industry – RPC balances efficiency with a personal touch, leveraging the staff’s market expertise while maintaining a crucial element of intimacy that wholesalers with hundreds of products cannot offer. Shattering the status quo, RPC’s reach extends beyond local or even regional markets, with the company on a trajectory to operate on a national scale.

“We aren’t reinventing the wheel; we’re just elevating what brokers have been doing since the industry was born,” says Bobby Barton, Chief Sales Officer & Co-Founder. “While most brokers knock on wholesalers’ doors, asking them to do more, we have trained sales reps calling on accounts five days a week and physically presenting the item. Instead of relying on the traditional strategy that is often purely transactional, we do the blue-collar work, ultimately driving long-lasting results.”

Enhancing RPC’s romantic notion of an equal industry is tech-savviness, unparalleled transparency, and a relentless focus to enhance the equity of the brands they represent. By investing in industry-specific data analytics, the company can make data-driven decisions that inform market entry strategies and deliver value back to brands.

For RPC’s team – professionals with decades of experience in the adult beverage industry – the motivation behind the enterprise is personal, dating back to a time when the three innovators owned a wine brand. “When we realized how difficult it was for us to gain enough traction from distributors, we decided to take over our sales process,” recalls Marshall Bush, President & Co-Founder. “It was an expensive decision to make, but it worked.”

To help others repeat their success, the three entrepreneurs evolved their idea into a shared service model, fostering a culture of mutual benefits. “Bringing different brands on board alleviated some of our costs while fueling the growth of others. It was the perfect win-win scenario, and it all started from a daunting realization and witnessing the impact of industry consolidation firsthand,” shares Marshall Bush, President & Co-Founder.

From a solution to a personal problem to a platform that redefines the landscape on a national scale, RPC Brands’ journey is centered around empowering owners to regain control over their products and filling wholesaler gaps. Looking into the future, RPC strives to become the go-to destination for adult beverage brands seeking alternative solutions at a fraction of the cost, promising to maximize value output for customers across the US.

“By leading the sales process and filling the gap of time, energy, and money that is required to build these brands, we are adding value to our brand partners and the distributors we are aligned with. By leveraging this strategy everybody is winning, and each party involved is making their margin and building their business,” adds Bobby, reflecting on the company’s mission. “We are always investing, innovating, and actively searching for the right brands to join us. There are too many incredible brands that get lost in this vast and deep ocean, simply not getting the recognition they deserve. At RPC, that’s what it’s all about; finding these hard-working owners, telling their stories, and helping them turn brilliant ideas into forever-lasting legacies.”