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After a 2025 that started rough but improved quarter by quarter, Lagunitas is looking to keep the momentum going in 2026 thru tweaks to its existing strategy rather any major overhaul, co shared at its annual Dogpile mtg with distribs yesterday. Just over a yr into the job, CEO Bernardo Speilmann said he felt "desperation" early last yr as co was -3.1% against total craft in Q1, but a continued focus on flagship IPA and Little Sumpin' Sumpin' (LSS) helped reverse that trend by year end to +4.8%. The co is pouring $16 mil into mktg efforts this yr, $6.5 mil of it on brand amplification, with a 3-pronged focus on core brands IPA/LSS, "accelerating" high alc sales and "igniting" non-alc, with its Hoppy Refresher getting a major cosmetic overhaul. A big step-up from its $6-mil mktg investment in 2025. And despite the typically raucous, conspicuously profane and largely upbeat vibe, execs said there was more work to do, especially as the craft category rationalizes toward fewer brands, with natl-reaching ones leading the way. "Share change is great but volume still declined," said sales veep Peter Green. "The goal is to grow share and volume. We demand more of ourselves." Momentum in Core Brands; Hazy IPA Big in CA It had been 7 yrs since Lagunitas had grown share of craft, which was "too f****** long," Peter said. Co was down 0.14 share points in Q1 but up 0.21 by Q4, with brand power - what Bernardo called "our single most important metric for measuring consumer sentiment" - notably increasing vs yr ago. Last yr's re-addition of the familiar Millie graphic to LSS packaging helped brand grow 9.4% in $$ sales and 4.5% by volume in 2025 and this yr co will put advertising behind it for the first time alongside promotions like free Millie tattoos by women tattoo artists on Intl Women's Day. Flagship IPA is still the #1 craft IPA on-premise but co is unveiling new tap handles for it and its Hazy IPA, with the latter brand supported by advertising $$ in CA, where it's the #1 session IPA and 78% of its buyers hadn't purchased rival Sierra Nevada's Hazy Little Thing, meaning the sales were "highly incremental," said Head of On-Premise Chains, Michael Evans.High-Alc Push Faced with a tuff decline in sales of high-ABV Maximus (down ~23% YTD in in NIQ off-premise scans thru 12/27), co acknowledged that other brands had taken lead in category but insisted it wasn't going anywhere and played up its newer Hazicus Maximus brand. Combo of Maximus Colossal and Hazicus Maximus was down double digits for the year, but co added 50K PODs for high alc in 2025 and their biz stabilized in 2d half, execs noted, adding that Hazicus had a higher velocity than many top craft single serves nationally. Audience for high-alc is consumers making $125K+ per year and co is continuing "focus weeks" at 7-Eleven, where it claimed 1.4K new PODs over 2 wks last yr. Broader message in high-alc presentation to distribs was to hold the line as $1 bil category continues to grow even as other brands (particularly New Belgium's Voodoo Rangers) currently dominate category.New Seasonal Partnership with Iron Maiden The big unveil of the meeting was of brand's 3-yr partnership with heavy metal legends Iron Maiden and its Trooper brand of global beer collabs for a summer seasonal West Coast IPA. The story goes that the band's frontman Bruce Dickinson and Brewmaster Jeremy Marshall created the beer more-or-less hand-in-hand as the former is a committed foodie and fan of Lagunitas brand. The 6.6%-ABV beer ships on Jun 6 and will be promoted on band's summer tour with "Eddie's Dive Bar" concept, where Lagunitas will transform a local pub into an establishment themed around the band's skeletal mascot. The Lagunitas/Trooper seasonal will be avail in 6pks of 12oz cans and on draft.Hoppy Refresher Refresh "We know it's time to s*** or get off the pot when it comes to the non-alc category," said Director of Natl Accounts, East, Robin Little, in unveiling the new multi-colored cans for Hoppy Refresher. Co is making a concerted ploy to present Hoppy Refresher as a seltzer or craft substitute for a very specific audience. "We're not here to sell to every seltzer drinker on the planet," said Sr Innovation Mgr Kelsey Rubin, instead aiming "specifically to the craft NA drinker." The refresh is supported by a "Wet January" sponsored influencer video featuring would-be drinkers enjoying Hoppy Refresher by lumberjack-looking guys pouring it all over themselves at the bar. Kelsey and Robin, dressed in costumes as those same dudes, then doused themselves on-stage with Hoppy Refresher in a representative sample of the day's overall deliriousness amid cautiously optimistic trends.

Lagunitas Not Changing Strategy After Strong End to '25; Focus Remains on Core IPA and Little Sumpin; $16 Mil into Mktg in '26; Not Backing Off in High-Alc; Partnering With Iron Maiden for Summer Seasonal

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