Two days of sessions built around buyers with active mandates. San Francisco, July 28 and 29.
The bulk wine and spirits market is under more commercial pressure than it has been in a decade. Tariffs are compressing margins on imported products. National retailers are consolidating SKUs and building proprietary brands to replace them. Whiskey sits in oversupply while agave-based spirits and RTDs are running short. Producers who are not repositioning their commercial conversations right now are going to feel it by Q4.
IBWSS San Francisco on July 28 and 29, 2026, is the industry’s working response to that pressure. Two days of buyer-led sessions at the South San Francisco Conference Center, built around the people making active sourcing decisions this year.
Where bulk wine and spirits prices are going
Steve Dorfman, Partner at Ciatti and one of the most closely watched voices in bulk wine brokerage, opens the programme on July 28 with a data-led view of demand trends, pricing pressure, and where real commercial opportunities are emerging in 2026 and 2027. If you are making sourcing or supply decisions in the next twelve months, this is the session that sets the context for everything else.
What national retailers and the country’s largest distributor are building
The retail buyer panel on the morning of July 28 brings together Steve Beckner from Grocery Outlet, Ryan Pandl from BJ’s Wholesale, and Rachelle Carandang from Sam’s Club to explain how they are building private label and exclusive brand programs and what producers must get right to be considered. That afternoon, Allison Curatolo from Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits joins Joshua Blissett from Curated Wine Group to cover how the distributor tier is evaluating new supplier relationships, navigating tariff pressure, and making portfolio decisions in a consolidating market. Southern Glazer’s distributes to 44 US states. Their criteria matter.
How AI is changing beverage sales and distribution
Sam Wong, Senior Director of Data, Analytics and AI at Mark Anthony Group, the company behind some of the fastest-growing beverage brands in North America, presents on how leading organisations are building AI foundations across sales, operations, and commercial decision-making. Sid Patel follows on Day 2 with a live demonstration of CPGBuyerAI, showing how fit scoring and buyer discovery tools are helping brands identify importers, distributors, and on-trade buyers faster than traditional outreach allows.
Visitor registration for July 28 and 29 is open here.
