Beer Marketer's Insights
KeHe Extends Sprouts Alliance by a Decade
Broadline distributing giant KeHe has extended its alliance with Sprouts Farmers Market by another 10 years, the Naperville, Ill, firm announced. In signaling extension, Sprouts made it clear that KeHe's alacrity with innovation has been key part of appeal of partnership. "As a leader in launching emerging brands, our partnership with KeHe enables us to introduce new innovation to our shelves within months of launch," said Sprouts prexy/COO Nick Konat. Among enhanced capabilities at KeHe was its Fresh Marketplace offering. The announcement comes just weeks after KeHe detailed role as new snacks and NA bev partner of Total Wine & More chain (BBI, Sep 10).
Lately, many eyes have been on Circle K c-store chain after it undertook successful experiment with Delta-9 THC bevs in Georgia and greenlighted other regions to play in category if they think it's advisable. Now Brez is saying it's cracked Circle K locations in Florida with its OG and Amplify Social Tonics, which meld THC and mushrooms . . . Walmart may have made waves by pioneering a modern soda set but it's also building out a modern hydration assortment. Caliwater said it made the cut, bringing its functional cactus waters to 3,500+ stores nationally as well as Walmart.com ecomm platform. The retailer will pick up Cali's 12-oz cans in Prickly Pear, Watermelon and Pineapple flavors starting the week of Nov 17. Participating stores are clustered in Texas (517 units), Florida (341), Calif (280), Georgia (189) and NC (192). Based in LA, Caliwater's founders include actors Vanessa Hudgens and Oliver Trevena . . . Javvy Coffee has landed both its Collagen Creamer and its Coffee Concentrates at Sprouts natural grocery chain, marking those lines' debut at retail. The creamers contain 11 g of collagen per serving while the sugar-free concentrates come in small bottles that are good for 35 servings. As we'd reported, Javvy's Protein Coffee had cracked chain this past spring (BBI, May 23). Its partner on all those efforts has been Pod Foods . . . After cracking Sainsbury grocer's meal deal, UK gut pop brand Xoxo Soda now has entered into functional set too. Along the way it's adding Orange and Ginger & Lemon flavors to Sainsbury's lineup . . . No Cap Soda Pop modern soda launched by energy drink vet Sam Wilson and his son Vinny has now entered Kroger grocery chain.
Starbucks Protein Avalanche Swamps Its Stores Today, with RTD Versions Promised Next Year
Today is Pi Day at Starbucks, if pi can be taken to stand for protein-infused. Gigaroaster is launching an avalanche of in-store protein offerings including cold foam drinks, lattes and customizing options while also promising unspecified RTD versions next year.
Mountain Dew finally is ready to talk dirty to its fans. PepsiCo mainstay CSD brand is officially entering the dirty-soda fray with Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda, which will debut at NACS c-store extravaganza in coupla weeks as permanent member of line, per announcement from PEP CMO Mark Kirkham. He placed entry right in wheelhouse of energizing soda. "Mountain Dew has always pushed boundaries with flavors that become cultural phenomena. Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda, with its indulgent taste, is just another example of how we leverage innovation to engage our fans." It will be offered in 20-oz PET and 12-pk cans formats with beige & green color palette.
In unusual move, the strategic acquirer of an innovative brand has brought back its two founders to recover the concept's original spirit and reverse nearly a decade of erosion. The brand is Steaz Iced Tea, which was among pioneers of organic certification, Fair Trade sourcing and B Corp status from its launch in 2002. The acquirer was Novamex, the marketer of Mexican soda Jarritos, which acquired Steaz in 2016 as part of diversification move that's also brought C2O coconut water to the fold, along with an internally created brand or two, under the rubric Nova Naturals. Realizing that Steaz had lost its mojo, Novamex last year quietly brought back in its founders, Eric Schnell and Steven Keller, via the Beyond Brands development co they operate, roles they were only ready to publicly disclose now as Steaz relaunch at Whole Foods approaches later this wk. Both were given long-term contracts that re-establish them as the "consiglieres" of the brand, in Eric's phrase.
From the ashes of the Denver Beer Co, Formation Brewing's new taproom on Phoenix's Roosevelt Row soft-opened on Friday after several delays, reported Phoenix Mag. Recall, Denver Beer Co made plans to expand to AZ under the Formation Brewing name before they formed Wilding Brands, a CO-based collective that includes Denver Beer, Funkwerks, Station 26, Great Divide and others, with plans to open in Phoenix late 2024 (see Sep 6, 2024 issue). A lotta changes later, and after some unexpected delays, co opened its doors on Sep 26 in 2-story building in downtown PHX featuring an "interior design that will blow you away," with a "sunken sitting area on the bottom floor" and an upstairs area with a "comfortable getaway feel," per report.
In the wake of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant's stunning and abrupt decision to close all 16 remaining locations, the chain's employees unloaded on "nameless, faceless" corporate governance to the Delaware News Jnl. Chris Julian, a 12-yr employee of Iron Hill's Wilmington, DE location, said: "It was this nameless, faceless thing that was making decisions - a slow drip. It was like a sci-fi movie. Where is it coming from? Is it coming through the vents?" He added that the chain "lost their way" in the long tail of private equity firm A&M Capital's investment in 2016, a feeling echoed by several other workers. The report details how employees "watched what they built with pride degraded over the years as it was stripped down day-by-day, hollowing out a heralded brand" as "decisions made from the top to streamline just about everything to make more money eventually took a toll." Iron Hill representatives, insofar as they still exist, did not respond to the reporter's requests for comment. There's yet to be an official bankruptcy filing at presstime.
Tilray Brands was a surprise name among top beer supplier $$ growth rates in natl Circana multi-outlet + convenience data for the latest week thru Sep 21. It posted 2d fastest trend overall among top vendors with $$ up 4.1%, behind only Athletic (+20%) and ahead of Geloso (+3.6%), Diageo (+1.6%) and Sierra (-0.1%), among others. Tilray's beer portfolio has been down double digits in these channels all yr; $$ down 15% and volume down 14% YTD thru Sep 7. It's just one week, but somethin' flipped for period, at least.
With news that VA's Aslin Beer Co and NYC's Torch & Crown were merging to form the Driven Collective, CBN reached out to new co's CEO, Aslin's Andrew Kelley, for more deets on the partnership and where it could go from here. As is the case with many modern merged craft platforms, deal was structured as an equity roll-up; "it wasn't Aslin 'acquiring' Torch & Crown so much as combining forces under a single platform," Andrew said. "That structure is intentional: It gives us flexibility to grow and bring in future partners without losing the founder-first DNA."
There's something about being sued by a multinational giant that's brought the receipts that focuses the mind. In wake of lawsuit by Mondelez alleging that many of its knockoffs blatantly mimic packaging of staples like Wheat Thins and Chips Ahoy, Aldi chain this week announced "largest packaging refresh to date" that will put Aldi name on every item and inaugurate Aldi Original moniker intended "to make its trusted private labels even more recognizable for shoppers." However, it didn't offer a tip of the hat to Mondelez, saying instead that massive rebrand is "in direct response to customer feedback." Tho presumably in planning for a while, announcement came just after Atty McGrath took her seat as new CEO on Sep 1.