Amanda Wittstrom Higgins, a wine and spirits industry expert and business strategist, has launched a consulting firm based in Paso Robles – in the heart of California’s Central Coast wine country.
Higgins’ new full-service consulting firm – Full Cup Solutions – will advise on operations, finance, marketing and creative, PR, events, and recruitment and retention, among other areas. The firm’s approach will involve a custom advisory board composed of C-suite leaders and industry executives “recruited by Higgins and based on client needs,” according to a press release.
Higgins brings deep industry expertise in operational streamlining, direct-to-consumer, national distribution, marketing, and events. She previously spent 14 years at Ancient Peaks Winery, most recently serving as EVP responsible for strategic planning, operating performance, and financial goals. Before that, Higgins was the company’s VP of operations and VP of sales and marketing.
She is also a co-founder of the Wine Speak Paso Robles trade event and Dream Big Darlings events and educational platform. Higgins was named a Wine Enthusiast Top 40 Under 40 honoree, a Central Coast Wine Industry Person of the Year, and a San Luis Obispo Tribune Top 20 Under 40 notable.
“The modern professional world requires an almost impossible level of expertise in so many disciplines – something even the best businesses cannot hope to achieve,” said Higgins. “I love bringing talented people together and collaborating on solutions that benefit both the client and the industry. Full Cup’s goal is to ensure businesses are operating at a best-in-class level in every capacity, while at the same time building for the fast-evolving future.”
According to an annual US wine industry report from Rob McMillan, EVP of Silicon Valley Bank, sales of American wine could plummet by 20% in the next decade because of – you guessed it – millennials. Wine-drinking boomers are entering retirement – a period of reduced of consumption – and millennials, who consume much less wine than previous generations, are unlikely to make up the shortfall.