A BOPP Love Story and an Update on the Future of the Conference
BOPP has been a really fulfilling part of our work at Stout Collective over the past few years. Many of you we met for the first time at BOPP. Together, we heard from some of our favorite breweries and designers. We hosted the first gathering of industry designers that we know of. Stout ended up hiring people who attended. We collaborated with fellow BOPP-ers on projects long after the conference ended. Together, we created a space where people felt welcome and accepted and celebrated in their work. It was an epic three years of planning and executing a deeply personal event.
Which is why it's so difficult to announce that we won't be hosting BOPP in 2025.
Indulge us as we reflect on BOPP's origins.
Our team was craving more connections with creatives in the beer industry and frustrated by the lack of meaningful content for designers at any of the big industry conferences. BOPP was born out of the desire to gather our friends in beer, particularly the artists in our midst, who oftentimes create alone. We wanted to learn from others doing similar work from us, bring in speakers who inspired us, and get a real behind the scenes look at what designing was like for breweries, from single labels to large branding and strategy projects.
And we did it! We outgrew our space at Pilot Project after the first year. We welcomed legacy brands like Firestone Walker, industry disrupters like Beny Ashburn of Crowns and Hops, solid and aspirational agencies like GRIT, local favorites like Doug Veliky of Revolution Brewing, ridiculous talent like Gretta Johnson of Grimm Artisanal Ales, and authentic storytellers such as Austin Dunbar of Durham Studio, to name a few. Every single presenter contributed in a significant way to the success of BOPP, and particularly to the stellar content the conference was known for.
At Stout, we find ourselves at a crossroads. The demands on our team's time and capabilities has grown with each passing year. Meanwhile, continuing to operate BOPP at such a high standard and filling the room with friends and designers is a huge, increasing lift. We are so dang proud of what we accomplished with BOPP, and hopefully, the way we were able to open up the network of beer designers and make our creative world just a little more connected. So it was difficult to make the call that we won't be hosting BOPP this year. It was a sad decision for our team, especially since creating the visual world of BOPP is a highlight of the year for Stout's designers. But there is also a palpable sense of relief.
Ya'll – planning, marketing, and executing a 2+ day conference is no small thing. Planning started in December (probably should have begun even earlier) and ended in October, just a couple months shy of a year-round project. Stout never made money, and in fact, our goal was to make it as affordable as possible while also delivering a high-end and personal experience to attendees. We barely broke even, which was fine! We were all delighted—albeit exhausted—by the energy of BOPP.
So for now, we are taking a break from BOPP.
We really hope this isn't the end, but rather a pause to reinvent, making the conference more sustainable for our team and also more accessible to a wider audience. We don't really know what's next, but we have lots of ideas (one day only? virtual? different cities? several, smaller meet ups?). We welcome your ideas, too. Please reach out to us and we will make sure to read every one of your responses.
Thank you for supporting, attending, and cheering on BOPP. We couldn't have done it without so many people saying yes over the years, and we're deeply grateful for the community that gathered together every September.
Don't be a stranger! We'd love to hear from you.
- The Stout Team