Episode 147: How Innovation, Sustainability and Employee Wellness Build a Brand, With Rob Tod

The PR Maven Podcast

Innovative products are not always immediately accepted by customers. This was the case for Allagash Brewing Company owner Rob Tod who explains his journey to success in this episode. After shifting customer tastes, Allagash was hit with another challenge – COVID-19. With seventy percent of their business coming from bars and restaurants, Allagash started to focus on employee wellness while riding out the COVID-19 storm. Rob also explains how supporting local grain farmers improved sustainability. Innovation, sustainability and focusing on employees comes together to build the brand and makes for great stories to share with the media.

00:00 Introduction to the PR Maven Podcast

01:21 Introducing Guest: Rob Tod

04:52 The Role Breweries Play in the Maine Brand

08:11 Breaking Into the Beer Industry

15:33 How Allagash Focused on Employee Wellness During COVID

24:31 The Process of Becoming a B Corp Business

38:42 The Role of Public Relations for Sharing Allagash’s Stories

40:45 Allagash Brewing’s Awards and Where to Buy

46:11 Helpful Resources

Related Episodes

Episode 133: Mental Health During COVID-19, With Lindy Graham, LCSW, Founder and Director of WellSpace Maine

Episode 222: Will You Really Make Money by Doing What You Love? With Michael Katz, Chief Penguin at Blue Penguin

Episode 134: Why Maine is Not Just Vacationland, With Katie Shorey, Director of Engagement at Live + Work in Maine

About Rob   

After graduating from Middlebury College with a major in geology, Rob headed west. Following a couple of years in Colorado, he suspected his track would eventually lead him either back to geology or woodworking. Before heading down one of those paths, he took a detour to Vermont where he washed kegs at Otter Creek Brewery.

While at Otter Creek, he happened upon the beers of Belgium. In these inventive and surprising brews, Rob saw an opportunity to give American beer drinkers an experience they’d never had before. He left steady pay and founded Allagash Brewing Company in 1995.

The brewery has since grown from a one-man operation into one of the top 50 craft breweries in the United States (by sales volume) and has earned a spot on Maine’s Best Places to Work list for seven years running. Rob is the past chair of the Brewers Association trade group and received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer in 2019.

This episode is sponsored by:

Pitchcraft - pitchcraft.media