Beer Marketer's Insights
Average price increases were still up at double-digit pace across all non-alcohol bev segments except bottled waters (+8.2%) for 4 wks thru Apr 22, per NielsenIQ data reported by Goldman Sachs. Volume gains accelerated in energy and bottled water segments while declines eased a bit in CSDs and sports drinks.
Following its first in-person event last October in Chicago, BREW (Building Relationships & Empowering Women) held its first leadership conference in DC following NBWA's legislative conference last wk. The meeting sold out and capped out the room's 85-person capacity including attendees, speakers, advisory board, NBWA staff and press, NBWA coo Kim McKinnish shared with INSIGHTS. (That was the largest room available for the date, she added.) This is just the beginning as BREW looks to bring in women and men across the industry that are interested in participating to further core goals: 1) "to improve recruitment & retention practices and support education and advancement of women" in the industry; 2) "create a positive environment that enables women to thrive at all levels of the organization"; 3) "foster a culture that champions professionalism & respect"; and 4) "sponsor connections that help women build valuable relationships, find role models & increase confidence."
Turns out MC's US depletions were more in line with scans than initial report suggested (see last issue). Adjusting for one extra selling day, US depletions slipped 2.8% in Q1 vs reported 1.2% dip, cfo Tracey Joubert shared on conference call. So there was a 4-pt difference between depletions and US shipments, the latter of which grew 1% for the qtr, Tracey added.
Settling Fed Suit, OR Agrees to Keep Hands Off DTC Beer, Permit Out-of-State Brewers to Distribute
Out-of-state brewers can begin direct shipping and self-distribution of their beers to Oregon after settlement of federal lawsuit, plaintiffs announced in release late last wk. OR regulators agreed to settlement with 3 WA breweries, ending suit brought last Jul. State agreed not to enforce current law that blocks direct shipments from breweries in states that don't allow shipments from OR breweries. It will also begin permitting out-of-state brewers for self-distribution to OR retailers. Recall, parties telegraphed this resolution in late March filing alerting court to pending agreement.
Modelo family $$ sales jumped 22% to $91.3 mil, while Bud brand family (including Bud and Bud Light) fell 17% to $103 mil for 1 week thru Apr 23, in latest Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. That meant Modelo brand family climbed to 10.5 share of $$, having just cracked 10 prior week. But that's only one of wild swings in scan data in recent weeks since Bud Light and AB began to decline double digits.
Molson Coors posted far better US volume trend in Q1 than scans suggested. Depletions slipped just 1.2% in US and shipments grew "to build distributor inventory levels to a stronger position compared to the prior year primarily in our core brands," going against easier comps. Recall, MC volume slipped 4% in Q1 2023 scans vs year ago. So tracked off-prem channels still ain't as in sync with all-channel trends as they used to be pre-Covid, at least for MC. Suggests much better MC on-prem trend for period, among other factors.
Join us for the 2023 Beer Insights Spring Conference, coming up May 17-18 at the Four Seasons Chicago. Our jam-packed agenda will feature a "Blunt Talk on Non-Alc Bevs" panel including: Chris Hall, CEO, Poppi; Ken Sadowsky, Executive Advisor, "The Beverage Whisperer"; Tom Hicks, CEO, Zico Rising; ex-Monster Bev along with BBI Editor Gerry Khermouch.
Pair of overstressed NY careerists are behind latest adaptogenic bev to hit the market with Lily brand named for unusual core ingredient, Egyptian water lily, that was "cherished by pharaohs for thousands of years." Launching at retail in tristate area surrounding city, brand is starting with single flavor, Blood Orange, using organic juice sourced from volcanic soil near Sicily's Mt Etna along with organic Yunnan black tea and Korean red ginseng, a source of L-theanine. With agave as sweetener, Lily contains just 3 g of sugar (32 calories). It's packed in 11.5-oz sleek cans in deep orange shade and priced at $20 per 4-pack.
Monster's Beast Unleashed Grabs $11 Mil in YTD Sales; Joins Modelo Oro as Runaway New Alc Brand
Monster's new Beast Unleashed flavored malt bev surged in limited distribution to become top innovation so far in 2023 in tracked off-premise channels, tho Modelo Oro is ramping up too. Beast Unleashed hit $11.1 mil in sales from over 292K cases and Modelo Oro at $8.1 mil from 226K cases YTD thru Apr 16 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. Avg prices around $38/case and $36/case respectively. In each of latest 4 wks, both brands were at very similar $$ levels: Oro posted $986K, $1.16 mil, $1.44 mil and $1.56 mil vs Beast Unleashed at $1.07 mil, $1.16 mil, $1.45 mil and $1.59 mil for weeks ending Mar 26, Apr 2, Apr 9 and Apr 16, per tally by our sibling letter Insights Express. Beast Unleashed category-weighted distribution ramped up from 19% to 26.4% in that period as Oro's CWD rose from 34.5% to 44.7%. Beast Unleashed, recall, is mainly riding distribution network of MNST's acquired CanArchy beer co, since its core partner on NA side, Coca-Cola's red system, largely doesn't play in alc.