Episode 15: Read the Room — Turning Data Into Strategy with Kate Bernot of FeelGoods Insights

The last two episodes covered chain sales and scan data: what they are, how they work, and why they matter for brands trying to compete on shelf. This episode brings in the person who makes sense of what the numbers are actually saying. Kate Bernot is a journalist and analyst covering the craft beverage industry for FeelGoods Insights, and she has a rare ability to translate complex data trends into plain-English strategy for brands that don't have a full analytics team on staff. In this conversation, Julie and Kate dig into what the macro numbers are telling us right now about consumer behavior, how small brands can actually use trend data without getting buried in it, and how to bring the satellite view all the way down to your specific market, your taproom, and your shelf.Best For: Craft beverage brands— beer, cider, spirits, hemp, and NA— who want to make smarter decisions using the data they already have access to, and who want to understand what the bigger industry trends actually mean for their specific operation.Brands of all sizes who want to leverage their sales data to sell even more. What you'll learn in this episode:The macro trends in craft beverage right now that small brands should actually pay attention toWho should be buying syndicated data— and who probably doesn't need it yetHow long you can realistically lean on a data report before it becomes more misleading than usefulThe most common mistakes brands make when trying to act on trend dataWhere a small brand with zero data experience should actually start— this week, not somedayHow to find the story inside the numbers and connect it to a real decisionWhat separates the brands that figure out data from the ones that get left behindMentioned in this episode:FeelGoods InsightsNIQ (NielsenIQ)CircanaSPINSChris Farmand's free all-day financial workshop at CBC — Monday April 20th, 9am–5pm (Philadelphia)Craft Brewers Conference 2026 — PhiladelphiaSubmit your BottlenecksJoin The Bottleneck email communityBarrel 2 Business CollectiveAll podcast episodes