Both Budweiser and Busch Light are bringing cross-branded cans to mkt for summer selling season, including an all-new partnership between Bud and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Bud and Harley logos will both be featured on cans for sale starting May 15 (yesterday). These limited-edition cans denote "Kings of our Craft" to "honor the quality and leadership that both Budweiser and Harley-Davidson bring to their respective industries," and "Brewed and built in the USA," per release. And AB will "continue to heavily invest" in working with orgs to prevent drunk driving, co assured.

Fast-growing gut pops continue to make inroads into high-end foodservice establishments, with Ennismore hospitality group onboarding Olipop refrigerated prebiotic soda for prestigious properties like SLS Brickell, SLS South Beach, Hyde Midtown and Mondrian LA. Canned entries will be offered in guest-room minibars, at poolside and at each hotel's restaurants and bars. Guests also will be plied with seasonal OIipop activations and be offered preferential rate to order the brand for shipment to their homes, per announcement.

Markstein Sales bought rights to a bunch of craft/import and NA brands from Bay Area Distributing, including Drake's, Bear Republic, Asahi, Calypso, Nestle and Poppi. Markstein sells over 4 mil cases, has over 200 employees and is largest "woman owned and operated wholesale beverage distributor," in Northern Calif, co said. It's led and owned by Laura Markstein. Laura is from a different branch of the same family as Markstein Bevs, which just sold its entire biz in Sacramento. Each of the 2 Markstein distribs sold Constellation Brands, after forced consolidation, to Reyes Beer Division, and each ultimately sold their Sierra Nevada to RBD too. But Markstein Bevs just completed sale of its entire biz, with deal to sell Anheuser-Busch and craft brands to Donaghy, while Markstein Sales is staying in and buying brands from Bay Area. Bay Area founder Ken Sodo is retiring. He has distributed Sierra Nevada for decades and there was no immediate word on whether that brand might be headed to RBD, too. Among other NA brands listed on Bay Area website are Bang Energy, Brew Dr Kombucha and Zen WTR.

It may seem hard to recall by now, but Zola once was key initiator of acai bev market, along with Samabazon and Bossa Nova, before branching out into coconut water and range of juices when after it failed to ignite as a category. Now it operates at much diminished scale as part of Arcadia Biosciences with uncut Tetra Pak offering. Publicly traded Arcadia, based in Davis, Calif, has itself been a work in progress, undertaking 3-year Project Greenfield plan, now in 2d year, to get back on sustainable footing, hiving off grain and body care brands and working down hemp inventory in order to focus on GoodWheat pasta brand and Zola while prospecting for additions using proceeds of private placement in Mar. That's left topline at less than half what it was a year earlier, just $1.5 mil in Q1, per earnings report late last week, but co is undertaking calibrated expansion of Zola.

There's still time to come to the Beer INSIGHTS Spring Conference later this week at the Four Seasons in Chicago. You'll get invaluable in-person interactions and dependable analysis of the latest news and numbers. The Beer Insights Spring Conference will provide opportunities to learn and connect with other US beer industry execs and thought leaders. Those learnings and connections are more valuable than ever at this moment of hyper-fast change. Compare notes, share best practices and hear from some of the brightest minds in the biz: register today to meet us May 17-18 at the Four Seasons Chicago for critical networking opportunities and a top-notch program. Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation over a beer when working through complex challenges. We hope to see you there.

Lipton Hard Iced Tea, which will be produced and marketed by FIFCO USA in agreement with owners PepsiCo and Unilever is now launching in select mkts and should be nationwide in 2024, per Ad Age. Brand will be second alc bev distributed via PEP's Blue Cloud distribution arm, which currently handles Hard Mtn Dew (sales down in recent periods as it cycled last yr's launch). To support launch, agency Founders is rolling out commercials that feature "outlandish situation" such as "a man arriving in swim trunks to a billiards party" or other odd situations to set up punch line "obviously," wrote Ad Age. That's a different tone than normally conveyed by non-alc Lipton brands which focus on health attributes, noted mag. Lipton joins other recent non-alc brands to rollout hard versions such as Coke's Simply and Topo Chico alc versions and later this yr Coke along with Molson Coors will have a hard iced tea version of Peace Tea.

Six weeks after Bud Light/Dylan Mulvaney controversy began, the steady drip of negative media coverage continues. Today, owners of LGBTQ+ bars in Chicago expressed their frustration and reasons for boycotting AB brands to Chicago Tribune. For Mark Robertson, owner of 4 bars on Northside, "the real crowing moment" that forced his hand was hearing exec comments that underscored that Mulvaney collaboration was set up by an outside agency. "It felt like a doubling down after Anheuser Busch already placed two executives who oversaw the campaign on involuntary leave in April," wrote Trib. "When we really need support is when a portion of our community is under direct attack on a day-in and day-out basis, which is what is happening to the transgender community," said Robertson. "This choice by AB InBev, to cut and run as fast as you can away from the conflict, that's just not what we see as truly supportive," he added. His bars are not only boycotting Bud Light but local Goose Island as well. "We simply removed the products because we believe that in order to be a vendor to us and sell your products in our establishments, you cannot be hostile toward any part of our community. We took this as hostility toward a significant part of our community," Robertson emphasized.

AB aims to tackle Bud Light declines head-on, including plans to ramp up marketing spend on each of its megabrands significantly thruout summer and "get every case back," co shared at Seize the Summer meeting held in St Louis with wholesaler equity agreement managers. Bud Light will get 3X marketing investment, and Mich Ultra spend will grow 50% during summer and continue to "lead the category." Busch Light summer spend will increase 3X. And Stella, Kona Big Wave, Cutwater, and NUTRL are all ramping up spend significantly too. Budweiser will get 5X investment as AB and Bud continue the 13-year partnership with Folds of Honor, which sets up scholarships for families of fallen/disabled military and first responders. Notably, Folds of Honor founder Dan Rooney spoke to AB distribs at the mtg.