Question: “What state is LibDib going to next?”
Answer: WISCONSIN!
I have been DYING to answer that question since we launched. It’s been a long time coming and we are very excited to officially expand into our third market!
Wisconsin is now available to ANY Maker who wants distribution in that state. For the near future, LibDib is selling wine and spirits only (no beer) in Wisconsin. Even if you’re a Maker who hasn’t sold with LibDib in CA or NY, you can sign on now and get on our platform. And, if you’re already a Maker on LibDib, you can now start the process to expand distribution into the Badger State. Awesome.
To start, ALL out of state Makers on LibDib need to get a Wisconsin Out of State Shippers Permit (apply using form AB-123) issued by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue
to distribute in Wisconsin. There is a charge for this, so keep that in mind. If you are shipping from a fulfillment house (American Spirit Exchange, MHW etc), check to see if they already have the permit. The permit is required from each SHIPPING LOCATION, not by Maker. And be sure to check our compliance tab within LibDib (or our blog post on compliance) and handle your license and compliance issues so you are good to go.
Now for our next piece of news: The Wisconsin market has a different set of distribution rules, so we are excited to say that we have partnered with long-standing Wisconsin wholesaler, Capitol-Husting Co., Inc. and Allstate Liquor & Wine Co. They will be LibDib’s logistics partners in Wisconsin. They are well-established family-owned and operated wholesale businesses and they are the absolute best possible partners as we expand into their state.
What services will Capitol-Husting and Allstate provide? Wisconsin has a strict “hit the dock” rule where all alcohol must hit the dock of a licensed wholesaler before delivered to accounts. So, LibDib has partnered with them to make this happen. We lease space from their warehouse so it is technically the “LibDib warehouse.” Then, we hire their trucks to make the deliveries. Cool, right? Our technology makes it all easy to track and communicate. All orders in WI will be shipped to the Capitol-Husting warehouse and they will deliver to products the next time they are going to a specific account (usually within 24-48 hours). What’s cool for resellers, is that your LibDib and Capitol-Husting orders will arrive on one truck!
This is an amazing partnership. Any Maker now has the capacity to distribute in WI via LibDib and an amazing delivery infrastructure that is already in place for some of the largest beverage brands in the world. Think of LibDib as an incubator, so to speak. If a Maker “grows up,” Capitol-Husting is there, ready to take over and get those brands into a traditional distribution setting. What’s different here is that our terms of service require that you give them “right of first refusal” to carry your brand should your distribution needs change (i.e., you begin to sell a lot of product). In my eyes, this means you have been so successful, it’s time to graduate to the next level….and that’s a good thing!
If that happens and you move to the big leagues, data transfer of Products, Pricing, Accounts Sold, Sales, History etc. will be SO easy for everyone involved. Win win win! (PS...I have lived through many distributor changes over my time and the ease of data transfer from LibDib to our partner will be SO simplified, it saves DAYS of time).
I should mention that Wisconsin is a super interesting beverage market. It is in the “Top 10” of spirits consumption in the U.S. and Milwaukee has a really cool craft scene happening. There is a ton of opportunity!
3 states down, 47 to go! If you didn’t catch our news last week that we’ve partnered with RNDC to expand to many more states next year, be sure to read my blog post about that exciting news here.
Cheers to moving onward!