How to Create Legislative Changes & The Push to Modernize Cider DTC Laws

Andrew Perez, co-founder of Highpoint Cider, isn’t overly optimistic about rapid change in direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping laws for cider. While the model holds promise for small producers trying to reach customers beyond their local footprint, Perez sees the realities of the market, and of legislation, as stubbornly resistant to quick reform.

“With platforms like Vinoshipper, you get access to 40 states,” Perez pointed out. “There are a few more you can get by filing a few forms, and the rest are usually some form of restriction to protect their local interest or producers.” 

He notes that while DTC could help offset the strain of rising input costs, many cideries are already fighting to hold their ground. 

“As costs increase, consumer demand continues to deteriorate,” he told Cider Business and Brewer Magazine. “In this economic environment, maintaining current volumes would be considered a success.”

Making Strategic Decisions Based on Data

Perez also points out that the structural hurdles facing distribution and DTC sales stem from a broader market slowdown. 

“Distributors want to understand how and where to place your product,” he said. “Less consumer demand means fewer new products, fewer spaces on a shelf, and more resources required to maintain or grow sales.” 

Even if cider could be legally treated like beer, which is something Perez advocates for, it would not solve the current economic pressures. 

“I care way more about the tax disparity than I do any distribution considerations,” he said.

Still, as Perez implies, change begins with consistent industry pressure. For cideries in states with restrictive DTC laws, the path forward might not be swift, but it can be strategic.

How Cideries Can Push for Broader DTC Access

1) Build a unified in-state coalition and bring a ready-made bill
Lawmakers move faster when many local voices ask for one specific, low-risk change.

• Form the bloc: Organize your state’s cideries, wine/mead/perry makers, orchards, ag groups, tourism boards, and sympathetic retailers. Use your guild or start a DTC task force with one spokesperson and a weekly cadence.
  
• Decide the exact “ask”: Keep it narrow and safety-forward (e.g., permit DTC shipping with adult-signature, third-party age verification, tax remittance, reporting, volume caps, and carrier restrictions). Include enforcement language your tax/alcohol agency helped shape.
  
• Bring text, not a concept: Use model language (age checks, shipment limits, reciprocity, dry-county exclusions). A one-pager with a bill draft and fiscal notes beats a whitepaper.
  
• Line up sponsors strategically: One majority-party sponsor on each relevant committee (commerce + tax + public safety); also look to secure a minority co-sponsor for bipartisan cover.
  
• Anticipate opposition: Distributors and some retailers will argue youth access/tax loss. Pre-answer with compliance (ID tech, adult signature), remittance processes, and a quarterly public report requirement.

2) Run a targeted constituent pressure campaign that maps directly to committee votes

• Map power first: Identify the chairs/vice-chairs and the 3–4 swing members across the two key committees. Build district-specific pressure only there.
  
• Deliver voter stories, not generic petitions: Use your CRM to segment customers by those districts. Ask them to send short, unique emails (jobs on the line, agritourism, rural revitalization), then follow with coordinated phone calls the week before hearings.
  
• Do in-district tastings/roundtables: Invite the member’s staff to a 45-minute “policy tasting” at a local orchard/retailer with clear signage: Adult-signature required. Tax paid. Let a retailer who supports you explain why small-parcel DTC won’t kill the three-tier system.

3) Pair a compliance-first pilot (sunset clause) with real data and agency buy-in
A time-limited pilot lowers risk for cautious legislators and regulators.

• Offer a two-year pilot: Limited to licensed in-state cideries under a production cap; adult-signature required; third-party age verification; monthly electronic tax reporting; shipment limit per consumer.
  
• Secure agency comfort early: Meet your alcohol control and revenue departments before filing. Ask, “What reporting format makes this easiest?” Incorporate their requests in the bill text.
  
• Bring numbers: Short impact memo—how many small farms supported, expected shipment volume, tax revenue estimate, tourism lift. Promise quarterly data to committees.
  
• Pre-arrange carrier compliance: Get letters from carriers acknowledging adult-signature procedures for alcohol. Opponents often claim “carriers won’t enforce”—neutralize that in advance.

As Perez notes, sweeping reform won’t happen overnight. But for cideries willing to engage beyond production and into advocacy, incremental steps today could define a more open, equitable market in the years ahead.