A national marketing agency, CJL Consulting specializes in emerging national chains (typically under 100 locations). The company’s goal is to help new brands become more profitable and consistent with their operations to enable them to grow and scale. 

 

Brainchild of an Igenious Marketer

 

CJL was founded in 2009 by Christie J. Lawler while she was pursuing her MBA as a way to remain engaged in her career while completing her studies.  By developing beverage marketing and training programmes for companies like Alamo Drafthouse, American Social, Arcis Golf, Drive Shack, and Flagship Restaurant Group, Christie serves clients as the founder and owner of CJL CONSULTiNG. Lawler Out Loud: Mixing up the Mainstream, a weekly podcast showcasing newsmakers and trend-setters in the hospitality business, is also hosted by Christie.

Christie worked as a consultant for AREAS, Smokey Bones, and Shula's before CJL Consulting changed its name in 2017. Prior to that, she had spent seven years managing national accounts for Sidney Frank Importing Company and Lavazza. She was eager to use her sales expertise to help her company's clients advance their beverage strategies after overseeing more than 200 accounts across the United States.

Prior to working in sales, Christie was a newspaper reporter who later, while stationed abroad with her active-duty husband, established the marketing office for MWR Europe covering Southern Germany. Christie first saw national accounts beverage marketing after returning to the United States in 2004 while developing training and beverage programmes for HMSHost, Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Outback Steakhouse, and House of Blues.

As she expanded the humanitarian arm of her business and established The WITI Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit devoted to assisting and supporting women in the hospitality industry, Christie in 2018 found her greatest calling to date. She is honoured to represent CORE as an ambassador as well. Christie is a member of the advisory board for Datassential's "The Bar," the board of directors for the Glancy Wine Education Foundation, the CORE Ambassador Welcome Committee, the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, and the Women's Business Center of Houston. CJL CONSULTiNG is WBENC certified as a woman-owned small business.

Specializing in Emerging National Chains

CJL is a national beverage marketing agency and specializes in emerging national chains (typically under 100 locations). Its goal is to help these new brands become more profitable and consistent in their operations, so they are poised to grow and scale. CJL also houses The WITI Group and JAB MiXOLOGY. The WITI Group is our 501(c)(3) organization that Christie founded in 2018, and has grown to more than 80 female leaders across the country that are known as our Mentor Members as they share the vision of creating a brighter future for the women coming behind in this business. JAB MiXOLOGY is a product line created by Christie in 2020. JAB stands for “Just. Add. Booze.” And is a line of six different infusion blends that create spectacular cocktails at home or behind a bar in two simple steps. Each blend is a mix of herbs, spices, roots, fruits, flowers, and veggies that are an easy and fun way to make dynamic cocktails—even for the novice home bartender.

Comprehensive Array of Services

CJL does the following things for suppliers: 

• Craft RFPs and corresponding responses
• Set clients up for meeting success by providing account insights and introductions
• Help with new mixology and culinary applications when needed
• Assist in creating a deck that will “WOW” your buyer
• Create tailored FPO art so that your presentation stands out among the crowd
• Help to manage the expectations of your team! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and NAOP saturation takes longer
• Handle all those pricing requests

 

The team at CJL CONSULTiNG integrates with the clients’ organization to become an effective and reliable part of the team.The company provides the following offerings for buyers: 

 

• Craft RFP requests
• Manage supplier meetings
• Fund management
• Help with new mixology
• Create culinary applications from bar
• Assist in conference planning
• Generate POS along with clients’ marketing calendar
• Orchestrate and produce

Catering to Clients of all Kinds

CJL Consulting works with all kinds of clients and works on all aspects of development. From ideation to development, placement and follow-ups, the company takes care of every facet. It handles every step of the process with the same care clients would give to their business—with the perspective that “nothing is impossible.”

In addition, CJL Consulting offers clients extra time for a very reasonable investment. It brings award-winning design, photography, mixology and ideation to the table without the high costs usually incurred. As a company with its genesis in third-party agency practice and supplier-side challenges, it fosters a different approach to the way of doing business. Moreover, CJL Consulting provides complete transparency on its billing. From fund collection to expenditures to project funding – it’s all on the balance sheet.

 

“We build relationships and partnerships first and foremost. Our goal is to make you look good!”

 

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