When you hear the term “road warrior” the name Herb Smith at E.&J. Gallo comes to mind. For over 35 years he has been the retail face of the company, driving and flying to visit stores all over the country, as he continues to collaborate with customers and forge relationships, both personally and professionally. Currently the vice president of retail national customers and control states, he manages both sales and category management for the organization as well as managing customer relationships.
Smith said that after graduating college in 1989 he started with Gallo at its largest distributor in Los Angeles, where he worked in various sales and management roles for nine years. “During this time, I was mentored by Dennis Despars, a real legend in our industry. He taught me many things, including advanced selling skills, management skills and how to build strong relationships with our customers. In 1998, I became the general manager of Gallo Sales Co. in San Francisco, where I was responsible for the entire Northern California sales area.”
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In this role, he was mentored by past chief executive officer Joe Gallo. “Joe challenged me with achieving every sales goal he put in front of me. I also refined my skills in terms of developing top talent and later went to work for Gallo in other capacities. In 2005, I assumed the role of vice president of national retail sales. In this role, I was responsible for all retail national customers across the United States, with additional responsibility over the category management teams. Five years ago, I also added control states under my area of responsibility, which has been a challenging and fun addition,” he explained.
Smith is a real people person and he loves the people aspect of the business, on the Gallo side as well as with its retail customers. “There is nothing better than setting sales and category goals and achieving them for both my company and my customers. At Gallo, I especially enjoy training, developing and mentoring the individuals on my team. We work together to set their career goals, and I do my best to help them get where they want to go. This is both personally and professionally fulfilling,” he said. “I think my best personal attribute is being trustworthy and always following through on any promises or commitments I have made,” he added.
Smith said that the company is committed to the three major areas of business across wine, spirits and RTDs. “In wine, we want to continue to drive household penetration and conversion. In spirits, over the past 10 years we have grown and expanded our portfolio to include vodka, two gin brands, four scotches, three tequila brands, two bourbons, one cordial brand, one Amaro and High Noon vodka seltzer and tea. Additionally, 2025 marks the 50-year anniversary of E&J Brandy, definitely something to celebrate. Finally, our new business portfolio includes Montucky Cold Snacks Lager Beer, and a variety of ready-to-drink cocktails from different regions across the country. This area has been very exciting for the company and continues to grow.”
He said that the wine category overall is down, but he feels this is correlated to the status of the economy. “With that, we are confident the category will regain momentum. For example, some of the highlights in our portfolio are brands like LaMarca Prosecco, Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc and Rombauer, which all continue to grow. Across the spirits industry, numbers in the category are down, but at Gallo we are fortunate to be growing. Spirit of Gallo is now the second-largest spirits supplier in the U.S. by volume. Brands like High Noon, New Amsterdam Vodka, Soon Hari Soju, Lucky One Lemonade, VMC Tequila Seltzer, and Gran Malo are really helping our trends.”
He and his team are always looking at adding to the company’s extensive portfolio. “At Gallo, we focus on serving joy in moments that matter most to consumers. With that goal in mind, we strive to create innovative products that resonate with consumers through testing and data analysis prior to expansion.”
When asked about product categories that are growing in food, mass and drug, he said, “In food, small sizes like the 200 ml and 500 ml tetra sizes are growing. We are also seeing a resurgence in the Sauvignon blanc category, as well as our share of the ultra-premium-plus category (wines above $15). In mass, we are seeing economy brands like Barefoot, Black Box, Andre, Peter Vella and Vendange continue to grow. And finally, the drug channel has been a bit of a struggle with RiteAid closing their doors. We continue to have strong support from CVS and Walgreens, but the channel is down year to date. Brands doing well in the drug channel are the Gallo Family Vineyards 200 ml size, Mark West and Whitehaven.”
On “making a difference” in his role at Gallo and in the industry Smith said, “I am proud of how I have represented the company over my 36-year career, but I am especially proud of the friendships and relationships I have built with our customers and my peers in this great industry. These relationships have fostered collaboration and enabled me and the people around me to reach our agreed-upon goals. I truly believe the CPG industry is one of the best in the world.”
Smith added that another major goal is to continue to drive household penetration and conversion for all Gallo products in wine, spirits, beer and ready-to-drink cocktails. “We are continuing to test new shelf concepts to drive penetration, conversion and, most importantly, prevent out-of-stocks. We are working with our customers to make the sections more efficient and eliminate unproductive inventory. And finally, we are working on point-of-sale signage to make the purchase decision easier. I believe we need to continue to demystify the category to make it easier to shop,” he concluded.
