BUSINESS MATTERS BREWS UP CONVERSATION ON CRAFT BUSINESS
Geoff Dillon (left) discusses what it means to take a craft approach to business with co-panelists Nadia Senchuk, Conrad Davies, Tamara Jensen and moderator Todd Green at Goodman’s annual Business Matters community event.
By Tiffany Mayer
G
eoff Dillon plans on talking a lot in 2019. He has a story to tell, and it’s one as Ontario’s first craft distiller that he hasn’t felt as compelled to share until now.
Since opening the doors of Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers in Beamsville in 2012, Dillon has seen the proliferation of “phony craft” spirits hit the market. It’s liquor produced by a large company on behalf of distillers branding themselves as artisanal. Their bottles are adorned with quaint, eye-catching labels, and the product is sold significantly cheaper than Dillon’s spirits made in small, timeconsuming batches. But consumers willing to pay more for Dillon’s gin, vodka, or peach schnapps get local fruit in every bottle and help to keep 18 people employed at the small business, he explained. “I’m telling that story a lot this year,” Dillon said. “Please listen and care.” The young entrepreneur was part of the annual Business Matters panel discussion hosted by the Goodman School of Business Wednesday, April 10. Moderated by Goodman marketing professor Todd Green, this year’s theme, Crafting the Brand, was intended to shed light on what it means to take an artisanal, authentic approach to running a business. In addition to Dillon, the panel included Goodman alumni Conrad Davies (BBA ’14), general manager at Breakwall Brewing Company in Port Colborne, and Nadia Senchuk (MBA ’07), co-founder of Leaning Post Wines. Tamara Jensen, co-owner of Dispatch restaurant and brand strategist for Form & Affect, a boutique brand development agency in St. Catharines, rounded out the speaker roster. Green noted consumer interest in craft businesses is pushback against big corporations more concerned with the bottom line than building and supporting community by making superior products, much like Dillon and his co-panelists do with their enterprises.
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“Craft has a buzz quality to it but its well-enough established beyond a buzz phenomenon,” Green said about the impetus for the night’s theme. “People really like it and want to support it, and they want to meet the brewmaster at Breakwall or the owner of Dillon’s. There’s an inherent value to saying you’re small and caring about what you’re doing.” That message was echoed by panelists. “The big thing is the story. People want to be part of that story,” Senchuk said. “People tell me I’m living their dream. People want to be part of something bigger. They want to learn more and be part of the journey.” As such, they’re also willing to pay to do it, particularly when that artisanal business is producing a better product than the competition, Jensen noted. “From a consumer perspective, there’s more of a value perception with a craft brand,” she said. “You’re not one of the big guys, and you’re not going to get something for $5.” Still, big isn’t bad, Davies said. In the world of beer, people love to bash big breweries, but he pointed out they make a “good and consistent” product. “It might not be to my taste,” Davies said. “For us, we’re trying to push the limits of what a small town can do. We’re growing the community.” In addition to hearing the panelists’ ideas and challenges with their small businesses, Green was hopeful the evening would help other aspiring entrepreneurs. “Mostly we want to engage the community and put a spotlight on what people are doing in Niagara but also give people the chance to hear how that business grew,” Green said. “Budding entrepreneurs may be wondering ‘What if I opened a craft brewery, a craft winery or a boutique social media agency? Is there room for me?’ ” The Business Matters series is supported by the Willmot Foundation and is part of the D.G. Willmot Leader Series.