Flashpoint Strategy

"Don't mess this up or else I will box your ears!".

These words of wisdom (delivered in stern yet loving jest) were given to me by Tom Carpenter Jr. when I took over the marketing helm at Yakima Chief Hops and built out a new brand identity for the multi-generational family hop farms in Yakima Valley.

Tom was the kind of farmer that, I believe, Paul Harvey was reflecting in his poem "So God made a Farmer". Tom was kind hearted and sharp-witted, he loved his family, his hops and the land. He wore his signature red suspenders and straw hat with a flare and unique style all his own and possessed a bold and booming voice that commanded any audience.

Tom departed this world yesterday and the hop growing community lost a legend while the Carpenter family lost a patriarch. For those who knew Tom, we feel this loss in our hearts and souls. For those who didn't know Tom, just know that there is probably not an IPA beer that you drink today that does not have his passion and influence ingrained into that brew in some way.

Go rest high on that mountain, Tom. And thanks for all you gave this world.

Looking forward to seeing my friends and professional colleagues at next week. Please let me know if you will be attending as it would be great to catch up.

And stop by Booth #3489 to see some of the exciting new supplement products we have been working on with NuTraditions

Happy Mother’s Day! Great day to release the “Tough as a Mother IPA”. Stop by to pick up a pint, a 4x and/or a t-shirt (the artist who deigned the cans is there with her mom!). A portion of the proceeds go to helping women the the fermentation and brewing industries! 🏋️‍♀️💥🍻

🤤 Enjoying some fabulous fresh bread 🍞 this morning ☀️ made easily with bread mixes. These mixes are made with heritage wheat varieties that are grown with and practices to create breads that are better for you, the planets and farmers.

Travel Essentials: Neck Pillow ☑️ Sleep Mask ☑️ Sleep Strips ☑️ Place one quick-dissolving, minty strip on your tongue 👅, swallow, and drift off into a deep and restorative sleep 😴 whether you are on a long-haul flight ✈️, noisy hotel 🏨 or just need to change your sleep clock ⏰. . www.NuTraditions.com

Interesting article about the state of the hemp-derived CBD industry.

www.nutraceuticalsworld.com

How will the events of 2020 impact the Food & Beverage Industry? Our CIO, Kate Ruffing weighed in, alongside other big thinkers in the industry, at BevNet's Office Hours. They shared insights and trends that are the result of the COVID pandemic and social injustice and will impact brands and design for years to come.

Office Hours: Design Workshop - Current Trends in CPG Package Design - YouTube

No surprise, but our shopping habits for groceries have changed. Moving past the pandemic, trends like reduced variety, online shopping and spacious store layouts will remain.

7 Ways the Pandemic Has Changed How We Shop for Food Oranges and frozen foods are being snapped up. Shelves have fewer choices. And customers are steering their carts in surprising new directions.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s true about everything - including leadership. The naturals industry (food/beverage/wellness/fitness) is having the most extensive set of disruptions the industry has seen in a long time -- maybe ever. And while you can hope your way through this time, leadership is what will guide you company and brand through the hurdles and hopefully catapult into a better place than you are in now.

In this episode of "Gooder" listen to the life lessons and learnings of Kate Ruffing (Flashpoint Strategy's Chief Innovation Officer), and how her path to leadership coaching started, and is founded on the principles of rowing and team culture.

Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and here...

Kate Ruffing - Leading Through Times of Changes The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s true about everything - including leadership. The naturals industry (food/beverage/wellness/fitness) is being impacted by the most extensive set of disruptions the industry has seen in a long time...

Rose Ann paved a path for so many women in the brewing industry. Her energy and passion for life and all things food and beverage will be missed.

Remembering a Vibrant Les Dames Pioneer: Rose Ann Finkel

Sparkling smile and warmth. Innovative and instigator. Bursts of unabashed laughter. Always welcoming and aware of the world. A legend in her own time as Seattle’s first, and probably first in the U.S., woman in the craft brewing industry, Rose Ann Finkel passed on June 16, 2020. A longtime Dame, she leaves many full glasses raised and a vibrant life to remember and celebrate.

Rose Ann’s beverage industry involvement dates to 1989 when she and her husband, Charles Finkel, esteemed for his in-depth knowledge of wine and beer around the world, founded Pike Brewing Company, the city’s third craft brewery to open in this early local beer-brewing era. The brewery was a natural expansion of Rose Ann and Charles’ shared passion for wine, beer and specialty foods, a passion inspiring the dynamic duo to launch Bon-Vin in 1969. With its offering of specialty wines from small, typically family-owned wineries in Europe, California and Washington State, their company attracted the attention of Chateau Ste. Michelle, which bought the firm in 1974, prompting the couple’s move from Houston to Seattle. Once in Seattle, Rose Ann opened Gourmet Grocery and started Truffles in 1977, partnering with Marjorie Danz, as an acclaimed specialty food store and delicatessen in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. Both were two of Seattle’s first women-owned businesses.

Still enchanted with the beverage side of the food world, in 1978, Rose Ann and Charles founded Merchant du Vin to import craft beers from around the world, especially those from Germany, England and Belgium. In true style, Rose Ann developed menus and drink lists to assist vendors selling imported beers to their customers, plus sold the unusual brews in her retail stores.
The success of Merchant du Vin business inspired Rose Ann and Charles to establish Pike Brewing (its original name was Pike Place Brewery) in Pike Place Market in 1989. This was after purchasing Liberty Malt Supply, a supply store for home brewers established in 1921. On a lower level of the Market, their new brewery featured a four-story high copper kettle, plus a public house featuring classic pub fare selected for beer pairings. Guess who was behind the menu selections?

Taking a break from the brewery business, Rose Ann and Charles stepped away in 1997 for multiple travel adventures ranging from Italy to China, returning in 2006 to reacquire the Pike Brewery and Pike Pub. Under their direction, the brewery boosted production to offer more than a dozen award-winning seasonal brews, plus year-round stalwarts ranging from classic IPAs to pale ales and an extra stout brew. In summer 2017, Pike Brewery opened the Tankard & Tun restaurant on the ground floor of Pike Place Market, another showcase for beer and seafood from the Pacific Northwest. In 2018, when Rose Ann was diagnosed with MDS, a leukemia-related blood disorder, she and Charles elected to turn brewery ownership over to three longtime employees.

As a key player in establishing Seattle’s vibrant food scene, Rose Ann was also an early member of the Slow Food movement, kickstarting its launch and ideals in Seattle, plus judging at the biannual Slow Food Awards in Turin, Italy; serving on the board of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and actively engaged with the Seattle Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Always ready with a warm question of “How can I help?” Rose Ann will be celebrated as exceptionally unique and wonderful—and deeply missed.

An amazing woman that will be missed across the brewing and food world. She was a beloved friend to so many across the industry and will be missed. A life, well lived.

Pike Brewing Cofounder Rose Ann Finkel Dies Eight Months After Getting A Bone Marrow Transplant Together with her husband and business partner, the Seattle icon helped bring slow food and good beer to America.