Makers & Allies

What Makers & Allies does

Makers & Allies is a privately held, San Luis Obispo-based creative agency founded in 2013 by Garrett Deiter and Sarah Deiter, operating exclusively in the beverage industry with a team of approximately 17-20 professionals. The firm delivers end-to-end branding, packaging, digital, and advertising services organized into four practice areas: Branding (strategy, naming, visual identity systems), Packaging (label design, custom glass development, capsules, production), Digital (website design/development, e-commerce integration), and Advertising (social media, paid media, influencer partnerships). Its client base spans wine, craft spirits, cider, champagne, tequila, mezcal, rum, whiskey, and luxury water, with notable enterprise relationships including Templeton Distillery, Napa Valley Vintners, Infinium Spirits (Corralejo), Coors Whiskey Co. (Five Trail), Michael David Winery, and Cooper's Hawk (Society V). The agency maintains in-house photo and video production capabilities and integrates third-party platforms such as Vinoshipper, WineDirect, Commerce7, Tock, and Mailchimp to deliver DTC-ready brand ecosystems.

The business model is professional services revenue, generated through project-based engagements and retainers with custom, quote-driven pricing. Go-to-market is primarily direct enterprise sales supported by an extensive portfolio website featuring case studies with quantified outcomes (e.g., 214% site traffic lift for Templeton, 287% QoQ growth for Corralejo, 61.6M+ impressions for Five Trail), industry award recognition from Dieline, Awwwards, Pentawards, ACSA, and Packaging of the World, and earned media in Wine Spectator, GQ, Maxim, People, and Print. The agency is independently owned with no disclosed institutional investors, no parent company, and no funding rounds; ownership and operational control are concentrated with the founding team and a small leadership group including Creative Director Clint Darby and Client Services Director Bridget Ashley.

Name

Makers & Allies

Legal name

Makers & Allies

Website

https://makersandallies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Makers & Allies is a privately held San Luis Obispo creative agency founded in 2013 that provides branding, packaging, digital, and advertising services exclusively to beverage brands, serving enterprise clients across wine, spirits, cider, champagne, and luxury water.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Branding Agency Services

akta.pro primary industry

Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL)

Keywords

• Beverage branding services
• Wine packaging design
• Creative brand agency
• Spirits marketing agency
• Beverage digital design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Luis Obispo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Makers & Allies generates revenue through providing comprehensive creative services to beverage brands including brand strategy, visual identity systems, packaging design, web design and development, photo and video production, and advertising campaigns. Revenue is project-based with engagements typically scoped as retainers or specific project engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Makers & Allies is an award-winning creative agency that exclusively serves beverage brands with end-to-end branding, packaging design, digital, and advertising services. The agency delivers brand strategy and visual identity systems, custom structural packaging and tactile print production, website design and development with e-commerce integration, in-house photo and video content production, and integrated social, influencer, and paid media campaigns. Engagements are sold as project-based work or ongoing retainers to wineries, distilleries, breweries, cideries, and emerging beverage brands in the United States and globally.

Product overview

Makers & Allies is an award-winning creative branding and design agency specializing exclusively in the wine, craft spirits, and beverage industry. The agency offers a comprehensive suite of creative services organized into four main practice areas: Branding (brand strategy, naming, visual identity systems, brand guidelines), Packaging (label design, custom glass development, capsules, prototyping, production), Digital (website design, development, e-commerce, content strategy), and Advertising (social media, campaigns, influencer partnerships). Their portfolio includes work with over 60 distinct beverage brands spanning whiskey, tequila, wine, champagne, mezcal, rum, cider, and water categories. Notable client relationships include Templeton Distillery, Napa Valley Vintners, Eight Oaks Farm Distillery, Brucato Spirits, Gaslighter Wine Co, Casa Obsidiana, Clé Cachée Champagne, Madison Blue, Ferrari-Carano, Five Trail Whiskey, and numerous boutique wineries and distilleries. The agency is headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Services Brand strategy and visual identity services for beverage brands, including brand naming, story development, voice and messaging, visual identity systems, brand guidelines, and branded environments. Sold as a standalone creative service to wineries, distilleries, breweries, cideries, and emerging beverage companies.
• Packaging Services Tactile print production services for beverage brands, including label design, custom glass development, capsule and closures design, prototyping, production coordination, and branded collateral. Sold as a standalone creative service to beverage brand operators seeking premium packaging systems.
• Digital Services Website design and development services including content strategy, sitemapping, wireframes, design, development, e-commerce integration, copywriting, and launch coordination with ongoing support. Sold as a standalone service to beverage brands needing websites, e-commerce platforms, and digital brand experiences.
• Advertising Services Social media management, growth strategies, social advertising, influencer partnerships, brand partnerships, analytics, campaign concepts, and traditional and digital media advertising for beverage brands. Sold as a standalone service to support product launches, brand campaigns, and ongoing consumer engagement.
• Makers Production In-house photo and video production services for beverage brands, including styled studio photography, lifestyle imagery, brand video anthems, graphic animation, and product composite imagery. Sold as a standalone production service that can be combined with or used independently of the agency's branding, packaging, digital, and advertising practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Templeton Distillery website traffic increased 214% in first quarter post-launch
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stranger & Stranger: London- and New York-based packaging and branding design agency specializing in wine, spirits, and beer. Directly comparable to M&A in vertical specialization, project type (premium drinks packaging), and client profile (craft distilleries and wineries).
• B&B Studio: London-based creative agency dedicated to the drinks industry, providing branding, packaging, and digital services to wine, spirits, and craft beverage brands. Closely comparable to M&A in scale, sector focus, and end-to-end service mix.
• Pearlfisher: Global creative agency with deep drinks and FMCG expertise offering brand strategy, identity, and packaging design. Comparable to M&A in client profile (premium beverage brands) and in the breadth of services from strategy through packaging.
• Robot Food: UK-based design and branding agency with strong food and beverage credentials including spirits and beer. Offers brand strategy, packaging design, and digital experiences closely aligned to M&A's four-pillar service structure.
• Manual: San Francisco-based brand and packaging design agency serving wine, spirits, and food brands with a comparable specialty-shop model, premium client roster, and project-based engagement approach.
• Taxi Studio: Bristol-based creative agency with strong craft-beverage work including spirits and beer branding. Competes for similar premium packaging and brand-identity engagements in the same wine/spirits verticals as M&A.
• Interabang: Independent UK design agency specializing in packaging and branding for premium spirits and wines. Comparable in scale, sector focus, and end-to-end service mix to M&A.

Broad incumbents

• Landor & Fitch: WPP-owned global branding consultancy with major wine and spirits clients. Competes for enterprise-level brand strategy and identity engagements but operates at significantly larger scale and broader category scope than M&A.
• Pentagram: Largest independent design firm globally with notable beverage and luxury client work. Serves as an incumbent alternative for premium brand-identity projects that M&A also targets, though at much larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Coley Porter Bell: WPP-owned brand and packaging design agency with an extensive drinks and FMCG client roster. Operates at larger scale and broader category scope than M&A, frequently competing for the same enterprise beverage RFPs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/makersandallies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Makers & Allies