Beer Marketer's Insights
Criminal cases against industry members in California are really starting to pile up. Four individuals now face hefty fines and prison time in relationship to industry activity after US govt prosecutors filed a new set of charges yesterday in a NorCal fed ct. Latest defendant is a contractor named John Herzog who did sales & mktg functions for wine brands from a wine & spirits supplier, the 2d supplier caught up in these cases. Charges against Herzog follow about a wk after the same prosecutors filed charges against a buyer at a major grocery retail chain. The new filings fill in some additional detail about the multi-pronged commercial bribery schemes enacted by certain industry members while providing tantalizing previews of sprawling efforts to cover them up. (Parent pub Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS first reported the new charges against Herzog earlier today; we first reported the charges against Briones on Monday and related charges against 2 sales folks in March.)
MC CEO Rahul's Day 1 Note to Distribs: "We Must Transform Faster" and "Close Our Portfolio Gaps"
New Molson Coors ceo Rahul Goyal hit ground running with note to distribs and employees on Day 1 that pointed to co's progress against its "ambition to transform into a total beverage company." But "facing reality… it's not enough. We must transform faster, we must make changes that acknowledge the real challenges facing our business and industry, and we must address them with a sense of urgency - together," he wrote distribs. Those challenges include "softer-than-expected" industry, "impacting volumes" and "rising cost pressures." "We also need to close portfolio gaps and ensure our brands, systems and people are ready to drive growth."
Seattle's Outer Planet is gettin' a new lease on life, just days after holding what was billed as a "closing party," thanks to a "last-minute transformation," reports Washington Beer Blog. On Sep 24 - four days after the farewell bash - the co entered into an agreement to sell the biz to local brewer Amory Carhart, who plans to open the Capitol Hill location in a limited capacity as early as today.
The assets of Atlanta, GA's Jekyll Brewing regional production facility are hittin' the auction block next week after co ceased operations in May. Following a preview day on Wed, Oct 8, all the brewery's assets will be available online-only thru Auction Management Corporation, with bidding starting to close on Thu, Oct 9 at 2 pm.
They say when one door closes, another door opens, and that's certainly true for Wilding Brands, which announced it's closing Funkwerks' Fort Collins, CO taproom just days after celebrating the opening of Phoenix, AZ's Formation Brewery new location, reports the Denver Post. While co will continue to brew at Denver Beer Co's facility and distribute thruout the state, the 15-yr-old co will shut its taproom's doors on Nov 1 following a "goodbye party." Founder Brand Lincoln, who started co in 2010, said that "while it's always sad to close a taproom, I'm excited for what's ahead for Funkwerks and Wilding Brands." Known for its Belgian beers, Funkwerks produced 948 bbls in 2024 per BA estimates.
Eustace Tilley has ditched the monocle for a pint. The New Yorker's iconic mascot will be tippin' back a special edition of Brooklyn Lager to celebrate the magazine's 100th anniversary, cos announced Tues. The New Yorker Limited-Edition Brooklyn Lager will be available in 6pks and 12pks of bottles this fall, and a limited-edition merchandise collection featuring a two-toned hat, a tulip pint glass and a stainless steel bottle opener will be available for purchase online, the Brooklyn Brewery Tasting Room and at The New Yorker Festival from Oct 24-26. Brooklyn Brewery will also host an event featuring New Yorker cartoonist Jeremy Nguyen on Oct 15 featuring free Brooklyn Lagers from 5-7 pm with special prizes the rest of the night. Jeremy will sketch portraits from 6-10 pm on a "first-come, first served" basis for those who purchase New Yorker-branded Brooklyn Lager merchandise.
Under Monster ownership, Oskar Blues continues to extend flagship Dale's Pale Ale into new arenas. It's adding Dale's American IPA, a 6.9%-ABV "bold West Coast-style IPA that's full-flavored, balanced, and endlessly drinkable," to the mix, co announced. That's on top of Dale's light lager, which is still growing double digits this yr, new Designated Dale's NA Pils, plus Dale's Double IPA, Easy IPA and Mix pk, each declining. New branding across the board features Dale's various styles "American," taking similar tack to AB's emphasis on "American" branding earlier in the yr.
BA number-cruncher Matt Gacioch is back, this time layin' out "9 Things Breweries MUST Know About Today's Consumers." Using insights from the BA's annual Harris Poll consumer survey and data from Kantar, he gets into the nitty-gritty to help brewers (craft brewers, for the most part) attract and keep customers in these tuff times. Buried at #7 was an eye-opening stat that bodes well for the industry: among alcohol consumers, 50% of LDA Gen Z is drinking craft beer weekly, more than even Millennials (37%). But gotta note, 22% of Gen Z reports not drinking at all.
The beer category as a whole is struggling and it's not just 1-2 suppliers this yr, New Belgium CEO Shaun Belongie shared to open up co's natl distrib meeting yesterday in Fort Collins, CO. Each of the top 10 brewers by volume are down in scans for last 52 wks, he pointed out. That now includes Kirin-Lion at #10, still rising in the ranks, ahead of FIFCO USA this yr. It's also the largest craft brewery in US scans. But while it's not down as much as some others, it's "feeling the same" challenges as rest of the industry, Shaun acknowledged.
With another summer in the books, it's "an understatement to say that this year's results were a little disappointing," Bump Williams Consulting wrote in its latest monthly letter, and craft beer sales were no different. In fact, craft segment is "on pace to incur its largest Volume and Value sales declines of the last three years in NIQ Off-Premise data." That's sayin' something as last few years haven't exactly been pretty. But reduction in longtail brands is a big piece of the puzzle, BWC shows, reiterating that more focused craft suppliers tend to outperform off-prem.