Florida breweries, wineries, and distilleries can make food and non-alcoholic beverages as well, but the rules are different. Whether its soda, juice, bottled water, or bread, a different set of requirements and opportunities exists beyond alcohol.
Continue ReadingVisit the website of any US brewery, winery, or distillery, and you’re likely to be asked to confirm your age–either by entering your date of birth or confirming that you are over the age of 21. These are known as age gates. Are age gates required? Age gates are not legally required. However, website age-gates are required for manufacturers...
Continue ReadingEach municipality (city and county) imposes an annual tax on the opportunity to conduct business within the municipality’s limits. Local business taxes (formerly known as occupational licenses) vary depending on the nature of business. A receipt is required for each place of business and for each separate classification at the same location.
Continue ReadingThink before you post, tag, tweet, or instagram. Florida beverage manufacturers want to maintain good relationships with the bars, tasting rooms, and restaurants that sell their products. As a manufacturer, it’s natural to want to support the vendors that support you. But when it comes to promoting vendors on social media, Florida beverage manufacturers must use caution.
Continue ReadingThere are only so many hoppy, reserve, barrel-aged names to go around. This means that more and more otherwise happy, brotherly-loving brewers, vintners and distillers are taking aim at each other over company names and product names that may or may not be infringing on one another. Before deciding your next beer MUST be named Brewers’Law Lager, or whatever,...
Continue ReadingStarting a new beverage manufacturing business takes more than a good beverage, it takes money. Selling ownership shares in your business is an attractive source of start-up funding, but it’s risky. When you take money from investors in exchange for ownership, two things are true. First, your investors expect you to deliver on your promises about the success of...
Continue ReadingNothing lasts forever, and that is particularly true in the fickle alcoholic beverage industry. While Florida has seen tremendous growth in the number of craft breweries, wineries, and distilleries in the last 10 years, not all of them remain in business. The decisions that business owners make about when and how to close can have lasting effects for everyone...
Continue ReadingAs Florida-made craft beer, spirits, and wine continue to grow in popularity, Florida beverage manufacturers may find it hard to keep up with demand. Every growing manufacturer must ask: Should we expand? Deciding to expand involves answering a slew of questions, all while keeping existing production on track. This article reviews four primary questions a manufacturer must answer when...
Continue ReadingIt’s budgeting-season again for many business owners. As you’re putting together the budget for your brewery, don’t neglect to include legal expenses. A legal budget gives yourself advanced permission to call us for the legal needs of your brewery. Your brewery’s legal budget should have two parts:
Continue ReadingBeverage manufacturers–breweries, wineries, and distilleries–are often the creation of a core group of owners. One of the owners might be the mad-scientist brewer, who loves to create new style-busting beers. Another might be the marketing genius, who believes that a beer can be sold with the right branding and marketing. Still another might be the financier, who knows a...
Continue Reading