Brewbound Frontlines with new Stone Brewing CEO Maria Stipp

Justin Kindle [00:08] Welcome back to Brewbound Frontlines, our temperature check with beer industry leaders on the moves they're making as we all work through this pandemic. My name is Justin Kindle, and I am the editor of Brewbound, and I am joined by my colleague, my co-host, Brewbound reporter, Jesinfonte. Jess, how are you doing today?

Speaker 2 [00:29] I'm pretty good today, Justin, thanks. How are you?

Justin Kindle [00:32] I'm as good as I can be, and I'm excited because we've got a big guest today. Um, we're gonna be drilling down with the new leader of the top 10 craft brewery that also operates one of the largest independent craft beer wholesalers in the country. Joining us today is Stone Brewing CEO Maria Sip. Thanks for being here today, Maria. Well,

Speaker 3 [00:55] thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Justin Kindle [00:57] We're excited to have you here. So let's get going here. Maria, you left Lagunitas about a year ago now, and by September, you're already back in the game, uh, with Stone Brewing as CEO. So, I wanna know what was attractive about the opportunity at Stone that you were ready to come back to the business so quickly?

Speaker 3 [01:20] Well, I took my, my, my much needed break after 30 years or plus of working, right? So, it's the first time I'd ever really taken a break. And so I thought, how wonderful. I'm going to have, like, at least, you know, a few months. And then the pandemic happened. So, a lot of plans got canceled, and it wasn't what I thought a break was gonna look like. Although it did force me to be home and relax with my kids and family and Dogs and everything else. And, and what I started learning quickly is that I started seeing all types of job opportunities, as, as we all probably do on occasion. But, um, and they were outside of the craft beer industry. And so, it was sort of fun to imagine, you know, maybe trying something new. Um, but I have to admit, uh, that the day that I learned about the stone brewing opportunity, I just remember immediately smiling. And also thinking, wow, you know, I spent 5 years working so hard to learn this industry, and I fell in love with it. I shouldn't just toss that aside, I should go for it. Um, and I just found it to be a perfect match, I'm very fortunate.

Speaker 2 [02:27] So when you're coming into a role like the one you have in a business climate that is not normal by any stretch of the imagination, how do you assess the true needs of the operation? How do you get to know the inner workings of the company?

Speaker 3 [02:38] Uh, I have to tell you, I mean, the first couple of months, because, you know, not a lot of people are in the office. In fact, I'm sitting here, you know, by myself, even now, you know, it wasn't like I could just walk the hallways and get to know people. So I had to be very planful and like, try to meet as many people as I could. Down into the organization and across. So I spent a ton of time on calls just like this, um, and I ask all kinds of questions, you know, what, what are the positives, you know, what are the things that we should be concerned about, you know, what's working well for you to do your job, what isn't, um, so I spent my first two months listening, a lot of listening. And then I spent the next two months thinking about that feedback in terms of what our plan would look like for 2021, because we're already, you know, at that time, late into 2020. But really, 2021, as everybody knows, is still unclear, still is, right? So, we don't exactly know what it's gonna look like. So, I knew that, uh, internally anyway, I was pretty clear in terms of things that we needed to try to do, uh, to put into the plan for 2021. And then the other thing that we did that was super helpful was we did some consumer research really quickly to spin that up. Because, you know, coming from the outside into stone, I had my own subjective perspective of the brand and, and what we might be saying to the consumer. And then the employees were telling me their points of view, and then, of course, you gotta get that real feedback, which is what the consumer says, uh, to really right size your expectation and, uh, just, you know, and thinking about the brand. In the consumer, which are really the important connection points. From there, what do we need to be doing in 2021? So getting that research was very helpful, um, to define those next steps.

Justin Kindle [04:24] So you mentioned the consumer research. Um, what were the consumers telling you that they wanted and how did you sort of, uh, assess that that's what Stone needed?

Speaker 3 [04:35] Yeah, well, you know, it's always good to have context. So any kind of question we would ask, we would ask, what do you think about this for Stone, and then we'd say, well, what do you think about it in terms of craft beer, right? So, not just about what they think of Stone, but relative terms either to a competitor or to the craft beer industry, so that we get a gauge for how we sat. Um, relative to that. So, like, the things we would say are, what are the 1st 5 words you would describe for stone, and then what are the 1st 5 words you would describe, either your favorite craft beer or craft beer in general. And we started just thinking about it in the simplest of terms. The good news. Is a consumer's number one word across the board for stone was quality. And I don't know if I would have said that right away. I would have thought that would have been top 3, but it was the #1 right up here. Quality was, you know, in sort of that premium beer choice, which is like, OK, that's a great place to start. I can work with that. And then, uh, the next was IPA. So, what I think we're known for is very explicit. And what we'd like to be known for in the future is a bit broader than that. So that first sort of step in my mind is how do we take a brand like Stone who's very specific. Good news is that we're known for quality, but how do we widen that approach and start attracting a broader set of consumers.

Speaker 2 [05:57] So you came on board in September and that's um At least in, you know, my experience working at another craft beer brand is a little bit late for planning. So how much of the plan was, I know this is such a weird year where planning almost seems silly to even bother with, but, um, how many, how many, how much of the 2021 plan was in place by the time you arrived?

Speaker 3 [06:18] Um, a lot of it, to be totally honest. I mean, you're absolutely right. Uh, you know, most of the, uh, retailer and distributor meetings that already happened. Uh, the 2021 calendar was finished, so they were rolling out, you know, plans for that. Um, so there were some slight adjustments that I was able to sort of kick off, and then, you know, the really, really happens a bit later on, to be honest. Um, so, the things that I could control were some things close into our home market. So, for example, In Southern California because we have our uh distributing arm, um, you know, we have a lot more control over things that we might want to shift or evolve. Um, one of the things that I noticed right away, um, was pricing. Um, if you see stone pricing in the market, you might say that we're a bit high relative to our competitors, which we are. The decision was made some time back to raise price. Um, but one of the things I noticed is that Stone IPA wasn't able to compete against its closest competitors because our price was, you know, sometimes 2 to $4 higher than our competitor. And so it's throwing us way off. So we corrected that in our home market, and we actually reversed the trend. Um, which is great news, but, you know, we can't do that everywhere right away. So this was one of the things that we could control in the spirit of short-term planning.

Speaker 2 [07:41] Very interesting, and when you guys are able to control, um, a few different things, you know, differently when you're, you know, self-distributing. So, um, next question, I think, uh, I wonder if the, like the brand representation came up at all in your consumer research because Stone has like very like masculine representation, like the logo is like a really jacked gargoyle. So, how do you take that brand and then reach, you know, newer consumers who maybe find it perhaps a little intimidating?

Speaker 3 [08:10] Yeah. You could even say off-putting, uh, which is a word they used, um, which is fair. And, and I think came from women, uh, primarily. We, I got the benefit of some video research. They actually videotaped consumers and they, you know, were able to have a conversation. This was some research that was done, um, last year by the team before I got there. And I watched, you know, it's quite a long video, but when you watch it, all of the answers are in there. You just have to really listen for them. And, and they talked about the brand, they talked about the gargoyle, you know, they say that if you have a strong brand, people will remember at least two things about it, usually, right? So, no doubt people recognize the gargoyle as stone, and they also recognize masculinity. In the brand. So, that's totally fine and fair, but I think the trick here is how do we put the welcome mat out to women too, or to people that might find it to be a bit too aggressive or off-putting. So, you know, fair enough, right? You looked at this can. And it's certainly got a vibe. It's a strong image, you know, it's not necessarily bad or good. It's just a certain type of theme, a certain type of vibe, you know, but the, the team, even before I got here, had already done some pretty great work. And so, let's talk about Buenavesa, right? So, this is, you know, very different looking, very different vibe, still in the spirit of the same brand as you can tell, but yet, It's going after a Mexican lager, which is a pretty, you know, it's a pretty big step difference between, you know, an IPA and even really having some fun with the branding, you know, with tap handles that look and feel totally different than maybe things that you've seen. In retail before, you know, it's a little more fun, uh, it's a little livelier, and I think it would attract females and males alike. So, that's a really positive thing. And really, the trick here is to keep that momentum going, um, to, to not lose where we started, but also, you know, point toward a future of broadening, broadening the brand, not just in terms. Of the art on the cans, but the beer itself, and being and recognizing the taste profiles that people are looking for right now. Casey's is a great, is a great, uh, point of view on that. I mean, the category is up 80%, and I always like to use the lens, do we have a right to win with a hazy IPA? I'd say yes, we do, right? We, we know how to make a really good IPA. Let's make a hazy IPA. And so we're actively pursuing that, uh, for a new item this year.

Justin Kindle [10:53] And that's a great direction to go in, that is still within the stone sandbox. But how far are you guys willing to go maybe outside of that sandbox, and potentially into other areas that we know that consumers are gravitating toward now. I know that you guys have a lower or lower calorie IPA that you're, you're gonna be putting out, um, but are there other area In addition to that, are there other areas that you're willing to go, that maybe, you know, people would have never thought that stone would go to before, and I, I might even go so far as to say, whether it's an FMB or a hard seltzer, or, you know, even a hard kombucha, like, are, are those areas that stone is willing to play in?

Speaker 3 [11:41] Well, so I use the consumer feedback as really important backdrop to that question, you know, if the feedback for the consumers would not have been like quality, right? I think. When you look internally too, you have to say, what are we good at? What, what can we be really good at? And I have to say, like, I've been I'm amazed, frankly, with the breadth and depth of our brewing team and what they can do, and they've earned that, that badge of quality, you know, that's, that's their badge, and I would say quality can stretch into new categories. Uh, that isn't to say that we can't make. A different type of beverage. You know, the fact of the matter is the consumer is not sitting at craft bars, drinking craft beer and nothing else. I see. People, and I'm gonna say, you know, legal drinking age up, buying a myriad of things. And it's not, it might be craft beer, but it's also a seltzer, it's also, um, a hazy, and it could be even Coors Light, and there's nothing wrong with any of it. It all, it plays in the spirit of what people are looking for and, and for what, you know, I think we have to be respectful and also stretch ourselves. If we, if we can stand for quality, we can stand for quality in other categories too.

Speaker 2 [13:04] Definitely. So, let's talk a little bit about strategy for the brand moving forward. What are, what is Stone prioritizing for 21?

Speaker 3 [13:12] Um, so, like I said, first off, let's talk with about the brand. Um, there's work we can do, uh, to have a better consumer connection. Um, we are really strong with the amount of Instagram followers that we have. In fact, I think we're the number one Instagram followed brand in craft, which is a tremendous accomplishment. What I'd like to do is press it even harder to say, let's create a better two-way dialogue with these, with these fans. And start to uh create this connection because I think the brand has done a good job telling everyone what it is. I, I'd like it to be more of a invite everyone in. So, we're gonna do some work on resetting the tone and manner of the brand and how we show up, um, and what we talk about in a way that's a bit more welcoming and inclusive. So that's number one. I'd also say, um, You know, we are, we have this gift of having stone distributing in our home market. And it's, you know, I remember being at Lagunitas and being jealous of it, you know, when you're, you own your backyard, that's something. And it's not just a little bitty backyard either. It's Southern California, where you've got 30 million people. That you can service directly. So, that's pretty awesome. And then not only that, but you have 30% market share in San Diego and 15% market share in Los Angeles, which is not nothing either. And you're competing against some of the best distributors in the world, if you could say. So, I, I gotta say like, you know, we used to have the number one spot in Southern California for craft, and we've let that slide. Um, and, uh, hats off to Firestone. They've done, they've done an amazing job, and that's put a rallying cry to our team. Um, and I'd like to try to capture that flag. Um, so we're gonna, we're gonna work really, really hard to try to reclaim that. And will we in the first year? Probably not. It's gonna take us some time, but it's certainly, um, a goal, a goal of ours. And then uh I think the last thing I want to just point out there is that um We're gonna really focus our effort. So, the last thing I would say in terms of strategy is Stone has done a lot of things. Uh, we are known for a lot of SKUs. If you go to the market, especially in our home, you're gonna see a lot of varieties. You're gonna see a lot of special releases and different things. Uh, it works OK when you're in your home market and you can control, um, that with your own distribution. It's much more difficult when you're looking outside of your home market and you don't have the same strength of market share, let's say, um, and share of mind. And so we have to be much more focused outside of our home market with our distributors and with our retailers and, and try to do, um, a whole lot more on focused objectives and focused skews. So we'll be working on that in the future as well.

Speaker 2 [16:17] So which styles are you using to tackle that goal of becoming number one in craft again in Southern California?

Speaker 3 [16:23] Well, certainly, I mean, IPA is right there. Hazy's gonna be a big player in that. Buenavas is our number one focus objective in Southern California. It's our fastest growing brand new brand, um, that's got a ton of opportunity and likes to it, and frankly, um, has a larger audience, let's be honest, uh, than the IPA category. So I think that's gonna really, that's gonna help. And then we have a couple of other new things up our sleeve we haven't yet announced.

Justin Kindle [16:48] As far as stone IPA goes, what's the work that needs to be done there? Because that was a top 30 craft brand in scans before, and it's slipped out of that, um, so, when you look at that brand, what work needs to be done there?

Speaker 3 [17:07] Well, like I said, so I'm, I'm looking at my notes cause I wanna make sure I get this right, and it's really an important fact. So, You know, when I got here, I recognized that the price had been changed, and I believe that was about 18 months ago or a little longer than that, about 18 months ago, it was a pretty significant price increase. I believe it's $2 on 6s and $4 on 12s, and you have this significant gap. And if you look at the trend line for Stone IPA, you really saw it kind of doing this, just like a lot of flagships were, and then all of a sudden it just started to do that. And it, you know, we weren't able to compete with our, with other IPAs because we're priced so high. Not only that, but when you get priced high like that, retailers have a hard time focusing on you because they can't put you in ad boxes with other people, you know, you can't, you don't get share of mind and share of focus. And so, um, I went to correct that in Southern California to, to just see, you know, I mean, I wanted for myself to know if we were price competitive, what would happen? Cause that's a good question, right? Like if. If, if it didn't react to price, that's a different issue, right? So, you know, after we moved it, I can tell you, um, over the last 52 weeks in Southern California, and this is on, this is off-premise, by the way, so this is the Nielsen data, we were up 12%, um, but in the last 4 weeks since we've changed the price, we're up 24%.

Justin Kindle [18:32] So, so that's a very recent decision to make that price change.

Speaker 3 [18:37] It's significant, right? So, big lesson is that it's much more price, uh, aware than maybe anyone gave it credit for. And, you know, it, it does, uh, it, it's, it's all about positioning of the brand. It doesn't mean that we have to take the entire portfolio and price it down. It means though, when you want to be competitive on your flagship, you're gonna have to have it priced correctly and positioned the right way.

Justin Kindle [19:02] For this year, which is kind of a little bit of a repeat of last year, how, what, how are you approaching forecasting? Do you forecast for essentially Last year, which is a not a great case scenario, and then, you know, get out of this year, and then 2022 is maybe the beginning of the recovery, or how do you, uh, what is your approach to what this year is gonna be?

Speaker 3 [19:30] Well, we did a lot of work on that very question. Bottoms up, honestly, between looking at our core products, looking at our new brands, and then draft, of course. And you really, we had to have two separate forecast endeavors, right? One was our home market, along with our still distributing company. And then the other was our outlier markets and how to forecast for that. So, we, uh, believe that we'll continue to have some strong package pull. Although I have to say, I did see a correction, even in December on package sales for 12 packs and larger. Um, so I think the consumer behavior for some of that pantry load had already started to shift late November and end of December. So we took those trends and applied them into 2021, and I think that was more accurate. Than not. Um, and we stayed uber conservative on draft all the way through Q1 and into Q2. We never get back to 2019 draft levels in our forecast for 2021. I hope that I'm being conservative, but I don't think I am. Um, I think it's, it's gonna come back over time. And like I said, I hope I'm wrong in the right way, right? Like, I hope, uh, draft will, will, will surprise me. But, uh, we plan pretty conservatively there. But we do plan to grow, obviously over last year, um, probably not getting all the way back to 2019 volume levels.

Speaker 2 [20:59] So, one of the, the big pillars of the business that we haven't really touched on yet is all of Stone's own premise, you know, venues, and you guys have always been really strong with Stone Bistro and gardens and different pubs. So, where are you on reopening those locations?

Speaker 3 [21:16] Yeah, well, just recently, you know, uh, San Diego closed down entirely in November, so, you know, for the 2nd time. So, Uh, we just had takeout at that time through our bistros. Um, and then recently, I believe it was just a week ago, um, we were allowed to have outdoor open for the very first time in a couple of months. So that quickly turned on and our team, um, has, you've been using, um, an application that you get on your phone called the GoTab where you don't have to touch a menu, um, a server doesn't really even have to come to your table if you're not comfortable with it, you can order right off your phone. And it's delivered super fast and it's a great experience. I just experienced it last night, actually. And uh people, I mean, I've been really happy with the traffic that we've had on the outdoors. So, that's just been a week old, you know, we're certainly hoping that we see some tiny bit of indoor allowed soon, um, as we creep out of that purple tier, but, you know, we're also being extremely cautious and very safe with our staff. Um, we haven't had the opportunity of getting many of our staff members vaccinated, right? We're not in the tier that allows for that yet, so we're trying to be very aware of our employees and the people that are working, you know, on, on the front lines that, um, might not be as safe as others, so we've got to be aware of all that and be really extra cautious.

Speaker 2 [22:47] So, yeah, I mean, I, I assume that after that 2nd shutdown, people in Southern California were really excited to get back outside, and I know you guys had a tough summer with the fires and really you've had a super rough go of things running any kind of an on-premise business out there,

Speaker 3 [23:01] which is not for the faint of heart, I will tell you that. Um,

Speaker 2 [23:06] how are you, uh, what is staff morale like at the, the pubs? How are those guys feeling? Are they stressed?

Speaker 3 [23:14] Huh, that's a good, you know, I think, uh, Well, I've, I've been there, you know, the last couple of weeks. People seem thrilled to be back. I can tell you that. Thrilled to be working. Um, and so, that's, that's the sense that I get. Now, I also think that there's a little overlay in that, which is what's gonna happen next, you know, will there, will there be another shutdown? Will there be a pause in the business? Everyone's looking over their shoulder. Um, you know, I find people are extremely grateful for their jobs right now across the board. Um, it's tough time out there. There's a lot of people that have had. A lot of very unfortunate circumstances, uh, whether it's them or their, their partners or whomever, and so. You know, people are very gracious and willing to get out and, and go to work. So, thanks for that. That's what I say.

Justin Kindle [24:09] What's it like for you to sort of lead That type of operation, because I don't believe that you had that sort of experience in at this type of scale at Lagunitas. So, what does, what's that like for you, taking that over?

Speaker 3 [24:26] Uh, well, Lagunitas had 3 taprooms, um, yeah, one in Portland in Chicago, and then in Petaluma. Um, so, and, and they were, you know, varied scale, but certainly not to the size, uh, as the stone bistros, and, you know, these are true, um, restaurants, right, with great, you know, just totally different, more upscale, you know, food selections and so forth. So you're right, this would be somewhat new for me in that regard. And, uh, you know, I just happen to be really, again, blessed with the staff, especially a GM Greg Frazier, who is one of the best, uh, GMs I've worked with and has a ton of experience. And so, I rely on him a lot to teach me, uh, the ropes, and I rely on him a lot to make the best decisions because he's certainly the expert.

Justin Kindle [25:22] One of the other facets of the business that we've sort of touched on, but not really, is the distribution side, and that's another sort of, maybe a new facet for you, as far as, you know, being in charge of a wholesaler operation, and that it's also going through several changes too, uh, you guys recently sold uh some distribution rights in Northern California to Matagrano. Um, you're moving to a larger warehouse operation in, uh, Southern California, a former Mark Stein warehouse, you're gonna lease that building, and run operations out of there. What's that gonna open up for you guys, and your ability there, and what that's gonna bring to your suppliers?

Speaker 3 [26:11] Yeah, so it was probably my very first week on the job here, um, and trying to deep dive into stone distributing. I mean, I know distribution from the outside, not from the inside. Um, so, I was very keenly aware of the difficulties in distribution in Northern California. Um, and, and we weren't, we weren't immune to those difficulties, and, you know, we can't do everything, you know, with, uh, limited resources, and so the decision was made, hey, let's really focus on our backyard and let's, let's make sure that we're investing, uh, in what we're doing really well. Um, Northern California has got some expertise up there, Montegrao being one of them, so. You know, let's recognize that and make sure the brand is in good hands in Northern California and then take our investment and really plow it into building out Southern California. It didn't have a lot of investment, uh, in most recent years and it needed it, so we quickly spun up investment for it. So it came, as you said, it came in the form of a few things. One, you know, we've got a bigger building. Um, 2, we've added two great brands with Society and Giant. 3, we're constantly looking for additional brands to add, uh, and 4, we're doing, uh, some internal work, so, so making sure that we're optimized in terms of our routes and our sales and merchandizing. Um, and that we're upgrading our facility, as I said, so that we have a safe, uh, and great place to do, to do the work, um, that we need to, and really give the credit where credit's due. Sound Distributing deserves, uh, a big hug, to be honest. They did amazing work last year. They nearly broke even. In terms of 2019 to 2020, I mean, imagine that, especially with all of the supplier brands that we service and all that draft business going away. Imagine trying to really push that up to break even. That was tremendous work by that team, so. Trying to give them better tools to do a great job.

Speaker 2 [28:16] So you've mentioned bringing on two new brands, Society and Giant. Um, what is Stone Distributing looking for in potential new suppliers?

Speaker 3 [28:25] Oh, that's a good question. I, I think, not unlike, you know, I, I watched other distributors, other big distributors, and what they're doing, and I try to learn from some of the best, to be honest, uh, and take pages out of their book that seem to be working for them and One thing I see them doing is spreading uh the portfolio broad, uh, in terms of looking at categories that aren't right directly in the wheelhouse of, you know, let's say the big loggers or just IPAs and so we're really trying to make sure, um, that we're, that we're opening up in, uh, new segments, better for you, seltzers, um, hard kombuchas.

Justin Kindle [29:07] Are your distribution employees, are they vaccine eligible yet?

Speaker 3 [29:12] Yeah, so we're in a tier, at least as far as I understand it. We're in tier 1B, which is, uh, food manufacturing essential workers. One bee is not yet tapped on the shoulder to go in and get our shot. So, unfortunately, we wait, we wait until we get that signal, and the second we do, we're gonna make sure that all of our employees can get it as fast as they can because obviously being out in the wild every day, uh, isn't great. So we've gotta, you know, we're doing all we can to get in the queue.

Justin Kindle [29:46] if you had. If you had one thing that you'd be able to sort of implement or or change about what's going on right now, what would be the most helpful thing to getting your business sort of on, on the track that it needs to be on? I, I, I guess as far as COVID restrictions or even government assistance, or even state assistance.

Speaker 3 [30:13] Huh. Boy, that's a good question. I, I would say. It would be, you know, I look across the US at different, uh, states. And how they are treating the on-premise in particular, and it's such a broad spectrum. I mean, I don't know if I'm the right judge as to what's right or wrong, but it is an awfully broad spectrum from all the way open to not open at all. And I guess I just, you know, wish for some more. Leadership and views into, you know, can we, can we relook at, you know, how, uh, restrictive we are? Is it really necessary or not? I'm not the expert in it, so I'm following the restrictions, but, uh, it's very, very hard on businesses, you know, not, not just ours, but I look, even in my little town where I live and seeing people go out of business, it's rough. So, I'm hoping sooner than later we can start opening up just a bit.

Justin Kindle [31:14] So, uh, we got one more wrap up question here before we let you go. Um, you mentioned that a lot of the planning had already been sort of set in stone, uh, for 2021, and you've been able to make some tweaks, and yes, that, that's a very bad pun on my part. Um, but, so when we're sitting here in 2022, early 2022, and we're having this conversation again, and we're talking about your playbook, and what that looks like. What does it look like? What, what kind of preview can you sort of give us for what Stone, uh, Maria Sti's version of Stone is gonna look like in 2022, when we're running all your plays.

Speaker 3 [31:59] Uh, well, I hope I can tell you that I You know, have new research that suggests that we're not only known for quality, but we're known for, um, opening up new doors and new categories in a way that stands for quality. That would be one. I would hope that I could also tell you some really good stories about my core products out in, uh, outside of the home market that are, that are doing really well. Like Delicious is already doing really, really well, and we need to put more focus on it as an example. Um, I would also hope to tell you a year from now, um, great news about Buena Visa and how that's growing and, uh, possibly, uh, even our hazy entry and how, you know, my goal would have it be the number one new product, uh, in 2022. Let's try to go for that.

Justin Kindle [32:52] That's a pretty great goal. So,

Speaker 3 [32:55] yes, well, you gotta set a goal to get a goal, so

Justin Kindle [32:59] right on. Well, we really appreciate you taking the time out today to hang out with us and discuss Stone's business. So, thank you for being here today, Maria.

Speaker 3 [33:08] Well, thank you guys. Really, it's fun. So thanks.

Justin Kindle [33:12] Absolutely our pleasure. You're welcome back anytime. Thank

Speaker 3 [33:15] you.