A coalition of small businesses and wholesalers in New York's alcohol supply chain quietly launched an ad campaign Thursday in a last-ditch effort to defeat legislation to permit direct shipments of craft alcoholic beverages to consumers.
Lawmakers, farmers and craft beverage distillers have fought hard to expand the alcoholic beverages that can be directly shipped to New York consumers — an update they say is long overdue for New York's alcohol shipping laws that date back to the Prohibition Era. A bill to permit cideries, distilleries and other small beverage producers to directly ship products to customers, like wineries, has gained traction in recent weeks.
But an ad campaign from the Coalition For Responsible Alcohol Laws zeroes in on concerns expanding the direct shipment of alcoholic beverages to customers would increase underage drinking and related crimes.
A video advertisement plays on the coalition's website warning the legislation is dangerous.
"Direct alcohol shipping will endanger New York’s children, threaten public health, reduce state revenues and put mom and pop shops out of business," a narrator says in the ad.
The legislation requires an adult's signature when alcoholic beverages are delivered. Lawmakers in favor of the bill argue the direct shipment of wine in the state, which has been legal for 20 years, has not led to an uptick in underage drinking.
Liquor store distributors have also sent flyers to local shops, or their members, warning against Amazon's intent to monopolize the direct shipment of alcohol to customers and how it could impact small businesses.
The coalition's campaign is a significant digital buy, according to a source involved with the effort.
However, New York state business leaders support the bill and argue it would boost small businesses in the industry. Several distillery and cidery owners who have lobbied for the bill in Albany this session, have said they fear they'll be forced to close in the next year without the additional market for farm beverage producers.
Bill sponsors Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, both Democrats, have brushed off opponents' concerns they say are rooted in misinformation to prevent small businesses from cutting into their profits.
“Unfortunately, opponents have advanced lies in an attempt to scare legislators about underage drinking," Skoufis and Lupardo said in a joint statement last week. "Their interests obviously revolve around maintaining their hold on the market and growing their profits."
"Wineries were granted the authorization to ship nearly two decades ago and, more recently, liquor stores have availed themselves of e-commerce apps such as ReserveBar and Drizly in order to deliver their products," the bill sponsors said.
The lawmakers pointed out distilleries and cideries were temporary allowed to ship during the pandemic, which they say resulted in no significant challenges or problems.
“As legislators, we have concluded there are two paths we can travel down," Skoufis and Lupardo said. "We can either provide parity for our struggling distilleries and cideries or re-examine the direct to consumer shipping opportunities currently provided altogether. We doubt the consumers who overwhelmingly support direct to consumer shipping would welcome curtailing their current opportunities."