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Lagunitas is still lookin' to stabilize amid this continued challenging craft environment. Its volume decline in 2024 marked its 7th consecutive down year in the US. But Lagunitas is still a top-tier craft brewer in various core buckets like on-premise (#1), IPA sales (#3) and non-alc craft (#3), and has been gaining momentum since 2d half of 2024, new CEO Bernardo Spielmann, sales veep Peter Green and CMO Hannah Dray showcased with distribs at co's Dogpile mtg this wk. In fact, co posted its highest share of craft in Q4 (4.5) since 2020, gradually improving from low of 3.8 share in Q4 2023, Bernardo and Peter Green highlighted, citing Beer Inst data. Certain mktg platforms and package refreshes are taking hold, building brand awareness, consideration and rate of sale, Hannah added. Yet "it's not enough," said Peter. Lagunitas' #1 priority is to "reignite growth," Bernardo stated, adding that Lagunitas "is not happy to just say we're recovering." And co's ramping up investments to get there, planning to increase marketing spend 3X to $6 mil in 2025, brand director Molly Hagan shared. Those incremental $$ are primarily going toward core brand IPAs Lagunitas IPA and Little Sumpin' Sumpin' as co vowed to spend 60% of its mktg budget there each yr, Hannah reminded. Lagunitas IPA and Little Sumpin' Sumpin' still make up 67% of total depletions and 60% of natl off-prem chain sales. Co's looking to enhance emotional connection and brand awareness while leveraging its music platform in particular this yr. Natl sponsorship of NPR Tiny Desk concert and new partnership with Bandcamp will be coupled with continued festival sponsorships like Bottle Rocket in Napa, shows at the brewery's Amphitheatre in Petaluma and other events thruout the yr. New breakthru program ?where Lagunitas agrees to crash fans' weddings and/or other events they're invited to will get big play on social media in 2025 as part of a competition for fans. Over $1 mil will be invested in off-prem programming for natl accounts too. In recent yrs, co "may have gone into innovation a bit heavier than we should have" from an "off-premise chain perspective," but it's now "laser focused" on talking about core with natl accounts, getting good feedback from Target, Publix and HEB among others.Lagunitas Hazy IPA Rolling Out on Draft Nationally; Hazicus Maximus & Uncensored High-ABV Plays; Hazy IPNA Innovation will continue to play an important role in 2025, in more intentional and segmented efforts. Lagunitas Hazy IPA is a line extension off of the flagship, rolling out nationally in draft and in 6pk and 12pk cans for CA to start. It clocks in at 5.5% ABV, dubbed an "easy hazy india pale ale." Co's very mindful of finding the best way to extend off of the flagship while limiting cannibalization.In the non-alc arena, co's adding Hazy IPNA to the mix, made with passionfruit for extra flavor, while revamping packaging across IPNA and Hoppy Refresher. It'll also eliminate bottle SKUs and shift entirely to cans for IPNA family. Co has 28K points of distribution (PODs) on non-alc even before Hazy IPNA launches, and plenty more expected to "come online."Lastly, in high ABV/flavor segment that's increasingly important with younger LDA consumers, Lagunitas is launching two new 9% ABV brews. Hazicus Maximus hazy IPA is brewed with grapefruit terpenes, giving it a "pungent" cannabis-like nose while tasting like a balanced imperial hazy IPA, packaging in gold cans. Plus, Lagunitas Uncensored Fruit Punch imperial is launching solely in 19.2oz cans, focused on c-stores. Hazicus Maximus already has natl authorization in 7-Eleven, will be in all of HEB's spring sets. Publix is bringing in over 1200 new PODs of co's high-ABV innovation.On-Prem Focus as #1 Craft Brewer in the Channel; 800 New Taps in Jan Co's making a concerted effort to push on premise, where it's already the leader in the craft segment, pointing to more recent wins with Twin Peaks chain and Delta Sky Lounge as examples of how it's building presence. Even before Lagunitas Hazy IPA rolls out, Lagunitas gained 800 new tap handles in Jan, team shared. Applebees in NorCal already agreed to run Hazy IPA as a limited time offer. Craft on-premise depletions declined 6.6% in 2024, including -6.5% in indie outlets and -6.8% in chains, co shared citing BI data. But it's still the biggest on-prem category by $$, and IPAs underindex, which represents an oppy for Lagunitas, co feels. While IPAs and Seasonals underindex on space relative to sales, and wheat ales ratio is in line, pale ale, blonde ale and all other styles collectively are overspaced vs sales, according to co.Lagunitas Down 10% with IPA -12%, Little Sumpin' -13% in 2024 Circana MULC; Better Q4 Lagunitas volume declined 10% vs yr ago in 2024 Circana multi-outlet + convenience channels. Flagship Lagunitas IPA and Little Sumpin' Sumpin' were the main culprits, down 12% and 13% respectively, partly dragged by packaging shifts among other factors. Those two brands make up 2/3 of co's mix in scans, so until the core improves, it's gonna be tuff for Lagunitas to get back to growth. Notably, both IPA and LSS showed signs of improvement in Q4 with trends 3-4.5 pts better vs YTD.New Faces Tryin' to Capture Old School Brand Ethos in New Ways Lots of newer faces are at the helm of Lagunitas, taking their shot at recapturing the brand energy and ethos that the company was built on. Molly Hagan, Lagunitas brand director, joined just 3 mos ago, marking another former Heineken employee in a key Lagunitas role. She also worked for Pernod Ricard in UK previously. Bernardo officially began his role as CEO at the beginning of Jan. Peter's been at the company for just over 12 mos and Hannah joined 1.5 yrs ago. Amid this transitional period for Lagunitas leadership, co is seeking to establish "consistency," "collaboration" and "focus" while tapping into the "creativity" and "excitement" Lagunitas had thruout its history. "We think we're on the right path," said Bernardo, inviting feedback from distribs and "full collaboration" going forward.

Lagunitas Tripling Mktg Spend to $6 Mil in 2025, Lookin' to "Reignite Growth" Under New Leadership; Core, High ABV/Flavor & NA Focus

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