In today’s hyper-competitive and crowded beverage world, there are a few entrepreneurs who clearly have a kind of magic pixie dust.  Beverage people I have been speaking to recently understand this and nod their heads.  It’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it.  It’s not scientific, it’s purely qualitative.

These are the beverage entrepreneurs who have a modern sense of branding, a serious and rich ‘story,’ a natural connection to their consumer, and an unparalleled sense of how to use social media to gain outsized attention for their brand.  They also have the secure sense of self to know that they can’t do it on their own. They hire smarter team members and recruit the very best in the industry. Most importantly, they want to be surrounded by people who aren’t stuck in the old ways of doing things.

The leaders with this innate magical DNA create brands which are by their very nature highly differentiated. Consumers gravitate to these brands, without always knowing why.

In a crowded and disruptive beverage world, these leaders know how to use their magic pixie dust to grow brands better and faster. It’s the ‘it’ factor to watch these years.