Breweries, wineries and cideries across the Charlotte, the state and the country have struggled to adapt during COVID-19 as states order many of their operations to shut their doors.
As these businesses turn to new revenue strategies like delivery and pickup, questions remain about how best to navigate business operations during the crisis. That's where Ekos comes in.
Founded in 2014, Ekos provides business management software to breweries, wineries, cideries and other independent makers. The startup says it has customers in 40 countries, including about half the breweries in North Carolina, and helps them manage things like inventory, production, sales and accounting.
The company decided to host a week-long webinar series to help educate the craft community on how to stay strong, adapt and succeed during the coronavirus pandemic.
The series began on Monday with a session led by Ekos Vice President of Marketing Christina Kyriazi, where she discussed effective marketing strategy during a crisis.
Kyriazi said as craft breweries, wineries and ciders began to shut down due to COVID-19, the Ekos marketing team began offering one-on-one consultation with its customers. She quickly realized, however, that demand was high, and they needed to do more.
"Our customers were impacted by coronavirus fairly quickly, so we decided to take action and help our customers," she said. "We had so much demand, we decided to make it a webinar and get it out to the masses."
Webinars are free and open for registration. The schedule is as follows: Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.: E-Commerce During a Crisis; Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.: Ekos Tips & Tricks; Thursday at 11 a.m.: Finance During a Crisis; and Friday at 11 a.m.: Overcoming a Crisis.
Recordings of each webinar will be available online for anyone unable to attend the live sessions.
Kyriazi said it was an easy decision for Ekos to offer help to the craft industry.
"We thrive on the breweries, wineries and cideries, so we could not sit there and be silent," she said. "I feel like that resonated with our customers, especially because we opened it up to the broader craft community."
Most importantly, Kyriazi said, is that these businesses begin thinking about how to reopen when the time comes.
"It’s easy to get bogged down with what’s happening right now," she said. "The reality is, we’ll probably reopen in phases, so there’s going to be constant change over the next few months. The crafters who have flexibility and plans will come out of this as winners."
