He Turned A Garage Hobby Into A Beverage Business | Chat w/ Mark Ray of Stowe Cider

On this episode of Digital Hospitality, Shawn Walchef sits down with Mark Ray, owner of Stowe Cider in Vermont, to talk about turning a garage hobby into a growing craft cider business, building a brand around place, and scaling production without losing focus on quality. Mark shares how Stowe Cider grew from growlers and hand-labeled bottles into cans, distribution, wholesale, a tasting room, a restaurant, events, and a team that grows to around 50 employees seasonally. He explains why moving into cans became a major turning point for the business and how the brand leaned into Vermont, apples, skiing, and simplicity to stand out on crowded shelves. The conversation also covers how Stowe Cider uses technology to manage production, inventory, ordering, margins, and accountability across the business. Mark talks about starting with Google Sheets, moving through different production platforms, and eventually choosing Ekos. He also shares why deeper local impact matters more than chasing national distribution too quickly. Episode Links - Mark Ray LinkedIn:   / mark-ray-20673043   Stowe Cider: https://www.stowecider.com/ Stowe Cider Facebook: https://www.faceb ook.com/StoweCider/ Stowe Cider Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stowecider/... Ekos: https://www.goekos.com/ Untappd for Business: https://utfb.untappd.com/ Next Glass: https://www.nextglass.co/ Ollie: https://www.nextglass.co/ollie/ Chapters: 00:00 Advice Depends On The Fire 01:25 From Garage Hobby To Stowe Cider 02:09 The Move Into Cans 03:12 Wholesale, Tasting Room, And Events 04:00 Early Production Challenges 05:22 Scaling Distribution Carefully 07:10 Everyone Was In Sales 07:50 Building The Stowe Cider Brand 11:01 Technology For Production 14:20 Why Stowe Cider Returned To Ekos 17:12 How Ekos Supports Production 20:18 Advice For New Beverage Founders 21:25 The Next 10 Years #StoweCider #MarkRay #CraftCider #VermontCider #CraftBeverage #BeverageBusiness #DigitalHospitality #RestaurantTechnology #Ecos #CaliBBQMedia