History of Latis Imports
Specialty beer importers with a difference.
The idea for Latis Imports was born late summer 2007 over books at the Connecticut Public Library, where the nearly extinct free wireless roams, and on the hot, sticky vinyl booths of a local greasy spoon. It was in these places that the two hockey lovers and family men planned a leap of faith from a great “first half” on the corporate scene into a gig of their own.
With six kids between them and one on the way (Congrats to the Giardina’s), David and Anthony are doing the beer business their way with the creation of Latis Imports. Now they make time to catch after school games (their kids) and after work adult rec hockey games (their sanity). But the days can be long at Latis World Headquarters atop David’s Connecticut home. Fortunately for David, Anthony’s iPod is loaded with 3,500 songs, most of which can get them both grooving through the days. They don’t always see eye to eye on everything, however. David, a Dutch Canadian, likes Mexican food for lunch. Anthony, an Italian American, likes, well, Italian.
At their core, David and Anthony are two peas in a pod. At their roots, their lives started in very different ways. David grew up on a farm in Ontario, Canada. Anthony was a ferry ride away from lower Manhattan in Staten Island. David started out as a schoolteacher, Anthony an assistant circulation manager for a medical journal. Not too far into the game, their careers shifted toward their destiny – beer.
Both met at what was once Labatt USA (then became InBev USA). Anthony cut his beer chops in the field working closely with wholesalers and field sales teams to create successful marketing programs. David was a top beer sales rep at Labatt Canada and then immigrated to the U.S. to claim a brand management role at Labatt USA. Both guys grew through the ranks and managed a veritable melting pot of beer brands from all over the globe.
David eventually moved to Brussels, Belgium to lead Stella Artois’ global marketing efforts and Anthony headed up the popular Belgian brew in the U.S. As the beer industry shifted and brands changed hands, the two beer leaders saw an opportunity to carve their own path in the industry. Their first mission: tweak the three-tier model to more keenly focus on the nexus of a beer’s success in the field – the wholesaler. With broad experience in field operations, David and Anthony hit the open road to share their business idea with country’s top wholesalers and the rest is, as they say, history. Latis Imports was created to bring American beer lovers undiscovered craft imports and well-loved brands previously unavailable in the U.S. from talented independent brewers around the globe.
