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Mahou USA is one of the largest players in craft, thanks largely to Founders All Day IPA, which remains the industry's session IPA standard-bearer as it enters yr 15. Still, co's shipments declined about 7% from 470K bbls in 2024 to 440K bbls in 2025, CBN estimates. In Nov it hired Chuck Buckingham as its new CMO to help revamp co's marketing efforts, which in 2026 includes anniversary campaigns for All Day and the 30-yr-old flagship IPA for CO-based Avery. And last mo, co introduced a 3%-ABV Low Profile IPA to help solidify Founders' strength in mid-strength, even as it prepares to enter the high-ABV space later this yr with Centennial Imperial IPA. Chuck recently spoke with CBN to discuss all this, its forays into NAs and RTDs, the industry at large, and more. "You Can Do 20 Things Mediocre or You Can Co 2 or 3 Really Well" Chuck's been on the job for 6 mos, but it "feels a lot longer," he said, as he focuses on "prioritization, prioritization, prioritization. You can do 20 things mediocre or you can do 2 or 3 really well." Coming into an environment where All Day was 30% below its peak, he helped facilitate special 15-yr anniversary packaging for brand's signature 15pks, featuring an unmissable red anny logo. While All Day is down 5-6% yr-to-date in $$ and vol sales in Circana MULC scans thru Mar 22, it's still the 13th-largest craft brand overall. And Mahou USA is the 21st-largest supplier among all beer vendors in this dataset, with YTD $$ sales about in line with those of Firestone Walker. Is It Us You're Looking For? So Chuck's task is as much reintroducing customers to All Day as finding new ones. He's organizing taproom events, sampling, grassroots marketing behind the brand, all culminating in a May concert with Lionel Richie in co's Grand Rapids home. Chuck said he's had some "good wins with respect to spring resets" and played up expanded distribution, including a recent entry into Publix in FL. That said, "the category isn't doing us any favors right now," and despite "growing share since 2022, we'd like to get more separation." He professed to be "ahead of plan" on All Day so far this yr and was "bullish about getting back to growth, not just growing share of declining category." And while he's "pretty optimistic," he acknowledges that in talking to others in the industry, "you can tell just as quickly they're not as optimistic." "I Wish I Could Tell You Something Spectacular" Chuck's bright outlook may also in part come from the growth of co's Avery IPA. The "first packaged IPA in the state of Colorado," he claims, it was up in 2024 and 2025 and continues to plug along, up high-single-digits YTD in $$ and vol sales in NIQ off-prem scans thru Mar 21. So what's the secret for brand largely distributed in and around the Centennial State? "I wish I could tell you something spectacular, some whizbang job," Chuck told us. "It's a matter of staying the course. With Avery IPA, we focus on the basics, like the right glassware, the right price point." Apart from its lead IPA, Avery recently debuted Mighty Rascal, an 8%-ABV version of its large White Rascal Belgian White brand. And its Ellie's Brown Ale is up low-double-digits in NIQ $$ and vol sales YTD thru Mar 21. Mortal Bloom, Water Hazard Entice Distribs Back at Founder's, co's 3-y-old Mortal Bloom is a "great recruitment tool for us," Chuck said, noting that the vast majority of its drinkers are new to the Founders brand. Co is using a buy 2 pints, get a rebate promotion to "uptrade" the consumer that works so well "it baffles me," he said. It also recently released Water Hazard, its first spirits-based canned cocktail, riffing off a popular drink for golfers typically including Gatorade, lemonade, Sprite and vodka. Having "worked to create something like that that just tastes awesome" with attendant electric blue "color cues," Chuck said the new product led to "a level of distributor excitement" on par with Mortal Bloom. Entering High-ABV and Full-Strength Spirits Early in his tenure, Chuck said that half of his job was stewarding All Day and Avery, and the other half was about everything else &mdash; and the "everything else" continues to strategically expand. Recent additions include the 3%-ABV, 80-calorie Low Profile IPA; the 5% Easy Drinking Golden Ale and, in the fall, 9.2%-ABV Centennial Imperial IPA. It's also introducing KBS Bourbon after successful taproom tests, co's first foray into full-strength spirits. Plus it poured $3 mil into its facilities to create its NA line, dubbed Nonetheless. Chuck says it's all part of the plan to "meet the customer where they're going," rather than where they are. Recall, late last year Founders/Avery CEO Elton Andres Knight put out audacious goal for co to generate 50% of EBITDA "from outside the craft beer category by 2030" (see Sep 3 issue). It's also revamped the packaging on its 7.2% ABV Centennial IPA with an eye toward Centennial Imperial, which will be packaged in the same, clean-green aesthetic, albeit in a darker shade. But for now, Chuck's looking on the bright side of things as he enters the back half of yr one.

"Prioritization, Prioritization, Prioritization" for New Mahou USA CMO, Aiming to Get All Day Back on Track Amid New Bev Moves

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