Beer Marketer's Insights
After food exec with little bev experience took Jones Soda surprisingly far, Seattle-based marketer of boutique sodas is ready to run with more conventional choice at helm. Co announced today that prexy/ceo Mark Murray will retire on Jun 23, succeeded by David Knight, who spent several years in exec roles at Gatorade a coupla decades ago before moving to jobs at eBay and, most recently, startup spirits co SX Latin Liquors and CBD player CFH Ltd. "David brings to us over 37 years of global marketing, sales and corporate communications experience with some of the world's premier food and beverage companies," per statement from JSDA chmn Paul Norman. "The board feels that his successful track record of growing and managing dynamic and youthful brands makes David the perfect person to lead Jones as the company works to continue to build on the significant progress Mark Murray has made as our ceo over the past few years." Murray will retain board seat after retiring. Jones, of course, lately has been playing in cannabev realm via Mary Jones brand, for which Knight's experience at CFH will be relevant.
It's puts and takes on energy category in NY Times today. Reviving issue that was topic of full-fledged Capitol Hill witch hunt a decade ago - before "witch hunt" became part of everyday political lexicon - the Good Grey Lady delved into seeming conflict between healthier positioning of new wave of energy brands that are zero-sugar and contain electrolytes and other beneficial ingredients and their increasingly elevated caffeine content. Separate story, tho, pointed to modest study that suggests one key ingredient in many of the drinks - taurine - can slow aging.
Odyssey Elixir Recruits Energy Vets Torres, O'Meara for Marketing, Sales Roles as Expansion Beckons
Odyssey Wellness, which markets functional mushroom brand devised by longtime cannabis entrepreneur, has made a pair of key hires on sales and marketing sides as it prepares to deploy the $6 mil it brought in earlier this year and moves ahead on another $6 mil raise. In to run marketing at vp level is Tony Torres, who brings resume dotted with brands like Absolut, Monster Energy, Activate Drinks and Essentia Water as well as sports sponsorship history at Visa. Aboard as vp sales is John O'Meara, a Red Bull vet who migrated to Bang Energy marketer VPX for 5 high-growth years before wheels started to come off. Both are based near Odyssey's hq in Ft Lauderdale, Fla. Moves come as founder/ceo Scott Frohman says Odyssey Elixir has demonstrated solid velocities at chains like Publix, which it serves without DSD support, and West Coast grocers like Berkeley Bowl and New Seasons where Odyssey staffers have yet to set foot. Recall, Frohman got in game with canned mushroom coffee line before pivoting a year and a half ago to fruitier "elixir" that clearly states the ample quantities it uses of extracts of cordyceps and lion's mane mushrooms obtained from plants' fruiting bodies.
Distrib biz partners are wheelin' and dealin' amongst themselves in SoCal to maximize efficiencies and right-size operations. Classic Bev of San Diego will acquire Scout Distribution's San Diego biz unit, cos announced this afternoon. Deal expected to close in Aug and move will result in Classic San Diego increasing to over 1 mil cases annually with new volume from Scout led by Harland Brewing (the brewery owned and operated by Scout Dist co-founders/operators). Recall, Classic Bev sold its LA beer biz to Scout while its parent co (Newport Cove Investment Holdings) simultaneously acquired a minority stake in Scout Dist (see Sep 14 issue). And Classic owner/prexy CJ Sanchez sits on board for Scout/Harland parent co, Ocotillo Holdings. So there's a bit of mixing and matching goin' on here. Tho this deal "does not impact" Classic Bev's non-alc biz in greater LA area, or Scout's bizzes in LA, AZ and ID (via JV with Columbia Dist), announcement stressed. (A longer version of this article first appeared in sibling pub Craft Brew News.)
Illinois Regulators Seek to Separate Stocking of "Co-Branded" Alc Bevs Thru Emergency Rule
Legislation designed to address concerns about alc bevs with branding borrowed from non-alc entries didn't quite cross the finish line in Illinois, so state regulators took matters into their own hands. IL Liquor Control Commission issued emergency rule at end of last mo, announced by state yesterday. It bars off-premise retailers from merchandising so-called "co-branded" alc bevs "immediately adjacent to soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water, candy, or snack foods portraying cartoons or youth-oriented photos."
Shifting Fortunes: Evercore ISI Raises TAP, Lowers ABI Estimates; Expects AB Volume Down 10%
The rapidly shifting US beer landscape is subject of incisive analysis by Evercore ISI managing director Robert Ottenstein, one of closer observers of US beer scene. He revised his estimates extensively for both ABI and Molson Coors, based on effects of Bud Light controversy, raising Molson Coors EPS and price targets and lowering ABI's for 2023.
Distrib biz partners are wheelin' and dealin' amongst themselves in SoCal to maximize efficiencies and right-size operations. Classic Bev of San Diego will acquire Scout Distribution's San Diego biz unit, cos announced this afternoon. Deal expected to close in Aug and move will result in Classic San Diego increasing to over 1 mil cases annually with new volume from Scout led by Harland Brewing (the brewery owned and operated by Scout Dist co-founders/operators). Recall, Classic Bev sold its LA beer biz to Scout while its parent co (Newport Cove Investment Holdings) simultaneously acquired a minority stake in Scout Dist (see Sep 14 issue). And Classic owner/prexy CJ Sanchez sits on board for Scout/Harland parent co, Ocotillo Holdings. So there's a bit of mixing and matching goin' on here. Tho this deal "does not impact" Classic Bev's non-alc biz in greater LA area, or Scout's bizzes in LA, AZ and ID (via JV with Columbia Dist), announcement stressed.
As Sierra Nevada prepares for its next phase and searches for a new CEO, sales are "building momentum" thru May and into early June with "multiple things working" across core brand plans, sales veep Ellie Preslar shared with CBN this morn. First and foremost, Hazy Little Thing IPA is now in its 6th year of $$ and volume growth, accelerating in May scans even as sales for its new hazy rotator brand picked up, Ellie highlighted. Juicy Little Thing IPA quickly became #2 new craft item this yr, and "having that success while [core] Hazy is continuing to grow" makes this "such an important play." Key insight Sierra found was that 2/3 of IPA/hazy IPA drinkers still haven't tried Hazy Little Thing, even tho it's #1 hazy IPA sold in the country by far. Now the rotator brand shifts to Tropical Little Thing IPA this trimester followed by one more rotation in fall with focus on driving trial for the brand fam.
Spirits Slow After Topping 40 Share of US Consumption; Beer Drinking Down 12% in a Decade
Right after reaching the milestone of 40 share of US absolute alcohol consumption in 2022, spirits slowed considerably in early 2023. First qtr depletions dipped 5%, bringing the 12-mo trend into negative territory, WSWA reported using its SipSource data last wk. And spirits volume in 18 control states has been down since Dec, according to NABCA. Concerns about above-avg inventories also suggest softer demand. Yet many remain bullish about spirits' long-term outlook, given a larger and more varied consumer base.
Tuff times in craftland underscored by influx of deals struck in last few mos, including 8 deals announced in last 3 weeks! Most craft brewer deals getting done these days are with founders/owners getting out at deeply discounted rates. Newer wrinkle includes large strategic brewers selling brewers they originally acquired at high multiples for cheap to get 'em off their books. There are still interesting twists like top TX-based cannabis co buying small, local craft brewer/distiller/cannabev co, 8th Wonder, to better situate itself in beer/bevs. But most deals involve craft brewers partnering or finding new home to mitigate costs and shepherd brands to next phase before getting caught in the costly vortex of competition, inflationary pressures, low capacity utilization and more.