SAVE THE DATE!

New Belgium is already the leading supplier in a complex craft category, but its ethos is exceedingly simple: "If you're not willing to shift, you're going to die." So said CEO Shaun Belongie at the Beer Insights Seminar Monday, outlining a vision for the "new" New Belgium over the next 5 or so yrs. That mentality has always been core to the company, he argued, as both New Belgium and Bell's were founded 30+ yrs ago "really as amber ale breweries&hellip;. Imagine if we were sitting there going: 'Alright! Amber ales, they're coming back!' We'd be in a tough spot." But "we've been able to reinvent ourselves again and again" which "enabled our success." In this next iteration, craft will remain co's core focus. But beyond "just a catchy phrase," the "new" New Belgium encompasses its wide-ranging efforts, from a desired step-change beyond beer to its first forays in imports. That starts with pair of splashy new innovations next yr in LightStrike FMB in resealable 16.9oz PET bottles and Voodoo Ranger Mini Rippers (in 7.5oz mini cans), as CBN first reported in Sep with more detail below. And recall too that NBB will take on production and mgmt of Kirin Ichiban brand in Jan. The broader category is admittedly "struggling," and "when that happens you often turn inward." But rather than get "stuck" in a craft or protectionist paradigm, Shaun advocated challenging conventions via a consumer-first lens."Definitely" M&A Appetite; Kirin "Absolutely Willing to Invest More in the US" Asked whether co could look to expand thru M&A, Shaun said there's "definitely an appetite to do acquisitions or new business development to kind of round out where we don't see our portfolio filling that need." While co will continue to innovate internally, "we also know that we can't do everything ourselves," he acknowledged. Parent co Kirin-Lion is "not as involved in that," in the sense that they haven't said "hey, this is what we want you to do." They're "really looking to us to kind of set the agenda for where we want to go." But "they're absolutely willing to invest more in the US. It's a critical market for them as they look to continue to diversify growth opportunities outside of Japan." Shaun also acknowledged that NBB could consider its own RTD spirits offerings, which fit squarely within co's north star of "adult beverage in a can" or bottle. But full strength spirits are "just not a place that we would play," as sister company Four Roses (also owned by Kirin) would be the one to expand in that space.LightStrike Produced by 3rd Party to Start; "Mostly" Natl Accounts with "Significant" Media Investment Borrowing cues from hydration category and targeting LDA Gen Z consumers, LightStrike will launch at start of next yr in single-flavor 4pks of Lemon Lime and Orange Mango, each at 5% ABV and noncarbonated with coconut water and sea salt. Product will be co-packed by a 3rd party producer to start with possibility of bringing in house if it performs well, tho co doesn't currently have any PET production. Retailing at $9.99-$10.99 per 4pk, expect LightStrike to focus "mostly on national accounts" including a Kroger first-to-market national plan. NBB aims to place it "adjacent to the seltzer section" and will put "significant media investment behind it." But while retailer feedback has been "pretty incredible," co wants to build "somewhat slowly over time," said Shaun. Resealable 16.9oz plastic pkging is essentially unprecedented in alc bevs. Yet "you have this form factor that we think is really interesting," he added, believing it can become an "alcoholic version" of a "familiar" NA corollary similar to such brands as Mike's (lemonade), Twisted Tea (tea) and White Claw (seltzer).Mini Rippers Aim to Upend 6pk Value Equation in Grocery Mini Rippers will launch in Juice Force and Tropic Force flavors next Mar, at $1-2 lower than co's 6pks. And co's particularly keen on perceived potential in grocery, aiming to "disrupt that value equation&hellip;. We're seeing such a struggle for 6-packs across craft where I think we've crossed price thresholds" and made it "much less attractive for consumers," said Shaun. But he also believes Mini Rippers can be "pretty broad eventually," including appeal on-premise and in c-stores. They're essentially "beer in a shot form," Shaun figures, opening up a "whole new occasion."No New Voodoo Flavor for 2025; On-Prem Less than 10% of Voodoo's Mix After several yrs of outsized innovation success, New Belgium is now grappling with "less incrementality" from Voodoo Ranger extensions, even as Tropic Force is the #1 new beer launch this yr. So next yr co will "take a pause" on new Voodoo flavor variants, focusing on getting "the foundation right going forward." That in part entails rightsizing grocery alongside brand's bread & butter c-store channel, which is admittedly a "very different customer." But NBB is also ramping up efforts on premise. That channel only makes up roughly 8-9% of Voodoo Ranger's mix, Shaun figures, as it's been hard to "even keep up" with the brand's c-store growth. Co's focusing on fewer variants on-prem like lower-ABV Juicy Haze, still seeing plenty of room to run.Bell's Focusing on Great Lakes Region; Oberon Light Launch Next Yr Flagship Voodoo Ranger and beyond beer innovations are increasingly becoming focal points for New Belgium. So what's next for acquired Bell's brand? Co sought to build out the Hearted family in "a bigger way than just Two Hearted," trying to take it to "a more national footprint." But that's simply "a struggle" within craft right now and an issue that "we were already seeing" across the segment. There are "just so many damn breweries out there, and they're all wonderful," Shaun quipped, but "it makes it a lot harder to extend" a regional brand. So Bell's is looking to turn most of its focus back toward its Great Lakes home base and will look to expand incrementally from there, espousing focused efforts instead of a "shotgun approach." Among more selective initiatives, next yr Bell's will introduce Oberon Light in slim cans, a 99-cal extension to be released in same Mar-Sep period as core Oberon.Fat Tire Rebrand? Tuff Thus Far, but a Risk Worth Taking Fat Tire may be the brand that started it all for New Belgium. But Shaun bluntly assessed its rebrand and reformulation when asked how it's gone thus far. "Not well if you've looked at the data," he commented. Yet after yrs of declines, co decided it "needed to take a bigger chance with that brand to really push it to a place where we thought it could be more relevant for the long-term." It was admittedly a risk, and one that "has not worked out as of yet," as co's lost more past buyers than newcomers it's brought in. But those coming in "are younger drinkers who really like the brand," so it's a matter of "can we get that math equation to work?" Next yr will be telling in whether or not it sees "stabilization," Shaun noted.

The "New" New Belgium: Break Boundaries; Expand Further; M&A Appetite

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