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AB craft beer portfolio trends took a tuffer turn in recent mos, at least in tracked off-prem channels. After starting the yr up 3% by $$ for first 12 wks thru Mar 22, sales slipped 3% with volume down 6% for last 12 wks thru Jul 12 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. That puts YTD sales flattish with volume off nearly 3%. Still gaining 0.2 share of craft $$, 0.1 share of volume for the year, but shedding a bit more recently. Goose Family No Longer Boosted by Beer Hugs in Last 4 Wks; Big Wave Down 6% for the Yr AB’s top brand fam by $$ Goose Island had been growing previously but dipped 2% for last 12 wks including particularly soft sales since Jun. And Kona craft family $$ dropped 12% for last 12 wks, now down 9% YTD as AB megabrand Kona Big Wave is down mid singles (-10% for 12 wks and rest of the family is down steep double digits aside from Kona variety pk). Goose family is still up 4% for the year. But for last 4 wks, lead brand Tropical Beer Hug was down 4%, Big Juicy Beer Hug off 24% and Mango Beer Hug slowed to +2.5% as it laps last yr’s launch, while new Pineapple variant couldn’t offset the rest. These are major shifts in AB’s craft mix as Kona and Goose brand fams still account for 43% of AB’s craft $$ mix, 46% of volume in scans. Big Wave is AB’s largest craft brand by volume, 2d largest by $$, and Tropical Beer Hug is #3. Another notable, negative shift was Four Peaks brand family slipping 18% for the last 12 wks, dragging it down 12% for the year. And Golden Road Mango Cart is down 4% for the year. Those trends, combined with continued softness from rest of Golden Road fam, Karbach, Devils Backbone, Wynwood, Cisco, and Omission are collectively dragging AB craft sales lately. Elysian Rivaling Goose for AB’s Top Craft Fam; Space Dust AB’s #1 Craft Brand by $$ Elysian and Wicked Weed are AB’s only two craft brand fams growing in recent periods and they’re posting some of the top gains in craft. Elysian $$ grew 6% to $54 mil YTD thru Jul 12. That’s just $3 mil behind Goose family in these channels, closing in on AB’s #1 craft family by $$. Gap is even closer when including Easy Dust non-alc IPA which hit $1 mil in sales YTD and adds 2 pts to Elysian trend overall. But Elysian’s strength stems from its flagship Space Dust, which is up 11% by $$ this yr after accelerating in the last 12 wks. It makes up over 80% of Elysian’s sales and more than all of the growth in MULC channels. Space Dust IPA is pulling away as AB’s largest craft brand by $$, more than $5 mil ahead of Kona Big Wave, and surpassed Sierra Pale Ale to become the 6th largest craft beer brand by $$ this yr. Tho keep in mind, Big Wave still ahead by volume and has larger presence on-prem. Widespread Growth for Wicked Weed Portfolio Wicked Weed is one of the few top brand fams that accelerated in the last 12 wks, improving to +14% YTD thru Jul 12 in Circana MULC. Pernicious IPA continues to lead the way, up nearly 12% for the year, passing Sam Adams Boston Lager to become #19 craft brand by $$ in natl scans. But Wicked Weed has several other brands cookin’ too, including each of its next 4 largest brands: Perni Haze IPA up 6.6%, Hop Spectrum variety pk up 3%, Freak of Nature Double IPA up 26%, Perni Haze Imperial IPA up 131%. And three new brands — Vicious Nectar Watermelon, Freak-ish Pale Ale and Lime Drop lime lager — collectively added $785K in incremental sales so far this yr.

AB Craft Posted Tuffer Q2 in Scans as Goose & Kona Slipped; $$ Still Flattish, Gaining Share YTD

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