M&A, Marketing Org Design, and Why the Taproom Still Wins | Corey Dickinson, Wilding Brands

On this episode, we're joined by Corey Dickinson, VP of Marketing at Wilding Brands - the Colorado-based craft beverage platform that's brought together Denver Beer Co, Great Divide, Upslope, Stem Ciders, Funkwerks, and more under one roof. Corey spent over a decade building leading marketing at some of Colorado's most well-known craft breweries before stepping into the VP role across the full Wilding portfolio.We dive into how Wilding came together through a series of mergers and acquisitions in 2024, and what it actually looks like to integrate legacy craft brands with decades of history and loyal consumer bases. Corey shares how his team shifted from brand-specific managers to channel-based silos - wholesale, retail, and partnerships - after realizing the original structure wasn't leveraging the full portfolio. He breaks down why the taproom experience is still the highest-margin, highest-loyalty channel for craft brands, and how that firsthand experience becomes a flywheel into off-prem distribution.We also cover the launch of Formation Brewing in Phoenix's Roosevelt Row neighborhood, a brand built from scratch to fit the Arizona market rather than exporting Denver Beer Co's identity. ---------------Episode Highlights:🍺 How Wilding Brands came together (Denver Beer Co, Great Divide, Upslope, and more)🏭 Integrating legacy craft brands without losing their identity🧪 Pausing Hop Boosted when the liquid wasn't ready (and why that matters)🎨 Restructuring marketing from brand-specific to channel-based silos🛒 Why the taproom is your highest-margin, highest-loyalty channel🤝 Leveraging a multi-brand portfolio for festival and event partnerships📊 The distributor landscape and what it means for smaller craft brands🍻 Launching Formation Brewing in Phoenix from scratch📦 Building DTC e-commerce around merch and non-alc (not beer)🏪 Why Wilding stays behind the scenes as a non-consumer-facing brand👀 What's coming up across the Wilding portfolio---------------Table of Contents:00:00 – Intro00:59 – The origin story of Wilding Brands03:35 – Mergers and acquisitions in 202406:33 – Hop Boosted innovation and the decision to pause09:39 – Evaluating and repositioning acquired brands13:46 – Marketing org structure across a multi-brand portfolio19:03 – Allocating time and priorities across brands21:06 – Why the taproom experience still matters most23:53 – The distributor landscape for craft brands29:27 – THC beverages and where Wilding stands30:43 – Launching Formation Brewing in Phoenix34:43 – Building DTC e-commerce in craft beverage37:14 – What's coming up across the portfolio---------------Links:Wilding Brands – https://wildingbrands.com/Follow Corey on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreydickinson4/Follow Wilding Brands on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wilding-brands/Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out https://www.kitprint.co/Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees.