Plato Beverage Consulting
Smarter Operations. Stronger Margins.
Plato Beverage Consulting helps Breweries Improve Efficiency, Reduce Waste, and Increase Profitability through Operational Review and Improvement.
Reach Out to Us for a Free Consultation
The Price of Inaction for your Brewery
Brewery Survival Risks: The Real Costs of Ignoring your Operational Health
Production Inefficiencies Compound Losses
Hidden Expenses Accumulate Silently
Ignoring Pricing Strategy Updates leads to Margin Erosion
Eroding Margins can lead to a Cash Flow Crisis for your Business
Overall Operational Neglect and Inefficiency puts your Business at Risk
Brewery Operational Improvement Backed by Real Brewery Experience
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We've Been in Your Shoes
Derek Wasak has over 16 years of direct brewery operations and management experience as a Head Brewer and Director of Operations. He has built, commissioned, operated, and managed breweries; both on the floor and in the books. He understands the realities of brewery operations, knows what moves the needle, and can identify and deliver solutions that actually work.
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Cut through the Chaos
We track dozens of metrics and distill what matters into high-impact actions that are easy for you and your management to focus on, understand, and improve over time. We utilize these data points to observe trends, streamline operations, and proactively improve your brewery efficiency and profitability.
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Full Time Impact, Part Time Cost
Our Brewery Operational Improvement services provide ongoing reviews, data analysis, aggregation, strategic insights, and regular meetings to discuss, strategize, and implement solutions to improve your brewery business operations and profitability. Get the expertise of an Operations Officer without the cost of hiring a full time COO.
Plato’s Step by Step Process to Improve Brewery Operations, Efficiency, and Profitability
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Phase 1: Assess your Brewery
Brewery Operations Assessment: High-level review of your current operational status. We review a full 12 months of Production data, Packaging Data, Cost of Goods, and overall Data Collection practices to establish a baseline of your brewery operational health and flag initial issues.
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Phase 2: Improve Brewery Operations
Detailed Report and Recommendations for Improvement: We provide a full report of what we find in our Brewery Operational Assessment. We highlight positive performance trends, areas of declining performance, data inconsistencies, operational risks, and the highest impact operational improvement opportunities.
Contact Us for Assistance in Reviewing and Improving Your Brewery Operations
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Phase 3: Sustain and Continuously Improve
We work with you to implement our recommendations from the assessment. Including in-depth product costing, production efficiency analysis, brewhouse yield improvement, packaging loss improvement, and more across brewing and packaging operations. Regular meetings throughout engagement, onsite visits for observation, validation, and recommendations tailored to your brewery operations.
Contact Us to get to Work Improving Your Operations, Costs, and Efficiency
Plato Beverage Consulting helps Breweries Improve Efficiency, Reduce Waste, and Increase Profitability.
Using a proven three-phase methodology designed to improve brewery operational performance.
ASSESS
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IMPROVE
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SUSTAIN
Derek Wasak - President and Managing Director of Plato Beverage Consulting
Operational Assessment, Improvement, and Implementation from Real Brewers
Our Brewery and Cidery Operational Improvement services embed a seasoned brewery operations and finance expert to work with your team on regular, ongoing, part-time basis. We provide ongoing reviews to ensure compliance and establish a proactive approach to continuous improvement efforts in your brewery without the cost of a full-time COO hire.
Building directly on insights and improvements found in our Brewery Operational Improvement Assessment, we work with you to continue to track, analyze, and improve your production data. Providing ongoing recommendations to improve efficiency, margin health, cost management, and underlying processes. Our continuous improvement partnership can be tailored to your brewery needs and assist with your annual budgeting, forecasting plan, and more for your brewery.
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Brewery Equipment and Facility Appraisals
Our Brewery Purchase Inspection & Asset Appraisal equips prospective buyers of breweries, brewpubs, cideries, or beverage facilities with a thorough onsite evaluation of equipment, infrastructure, and tasting room assets. This combination hybrid/on-site inspection service delivers detailed condition assessments, fair market valuations, and repair insights. Know exactly what you’re buying, negotiate with leverage, and potentially save big versus the listing price. Make your investment with clarity and peace of mind.
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Business Plan Writing
Expert guidance to craft a professional, investor-ready business plan tailored for breweries, brewpubs, cideries, or beverage manufacturers. We collaborate remotely to translate your vision, operations, and financials into a compelling narrative that supports funding, expansions, or strategic pivots, focusing on business model, brand, market positioning, and profitability.
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Brewery Pro Forma Financials
Customized, data-driven 5-year forecasting models for breweries, brewpubs, cideries, or beverage manufacturers. We review your business model and build Base Case and Worst Case scenarios to project sales, production volumes, costs, margins, and profitability, integrating industry benchmarks and operational realities for clear growth insights, funding needs, and risk mitigation.
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Business Plan Audit
Expert, objective audit of your existing business plan draft, ideal for breweries, brewpubs, cideries, or beverage manufacturers. We evaluate your current business plan structure, content, strengths/weaknesses, missing info, red flags, and provide targeted recommendations to boost clarity, feasibility, and investor appeal, aligned with industry realities.
How to Work with Plato Beverage Consulting
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Book a Free Initial Consult
Schedule Your Free 30-Min Consultation. We listen to your biggest pain points: production optimization, packaging loss, margin improvement, cost management, etc. to determine how we can best assist in improving your brewery business.
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Receive Your Custom Scope & Proposal
Within two business days, we draft a Scope of Work Proposal tailored to your business needs ready for your review and approval. You can review, adjust, and ask any questions before we finalize our Scope of Work and get started!
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Approve, Sign & Launch
Once we have all the details of your scope finalized we will send the final Work Agreement over for you to sign via DocuSign. From there, We roll up sleeves and get to work with you to gather the necessary documents and get to work on our end to review, analyze, and improve your business!
Let’s work together.
Interested in working together to improve your brewery operations? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly! We can't wait to hear from you!
About Us
With over 16 years of brewing operations experience as a Head Brewer and Director of Operations, our President and Principal Consultant: Derek Wasak brings unparalleled expertise to Plato Beverage Consulting. Specializing in Operational Planning and Optimization as well as Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) for breweries, cideries, distilleries, and beverage manufacturers. Derek helps brewery owners and managers gain visibility into their business to optimize profitability and efficiency through an operational and financial lens with data-driven insights.
Derek leverages his deep operational management background to deliver operational audits, financial reviews, unit cost improvement, custom KPI dashboards, and actionable recommendations for improvement. His proven, data-focused strategies have driven cost reductions, enhanced margin health, and increased production efficiency for dozens of breweries and cideries. Often leading to double digit gains in efficiency and profitability.
After years spent professionally brewing, opening, and operating breweries, managing daily operations, designing facilities, and making award winning beer, Derek transitioned into full-time consulting by founding Plato Brewing and Consulting Inc. in 2021. Now, he empowers brewery owners nationwide with Financial and Operational Planning, Business Planning, and Operational Improvement services. Turning complex data into actionable improvement plans.
Passionate about improving profitability through operational efficiency, Derek is committed to helping your brewery thrive with expert financial and operational guidance.
