Wow! Bill Bessette enjoyed a long and productive career in the beer biz, over 54 yrs, according to Manhattan Beer, where he spent last 20 yrs. Manhattan ceo/founder Simon Bergson called Bill "a legend in our business." Bill joined Manhattan as chief operating officer back in 2002. Simon praised Bill's "steady hand," "deep expertise and influential connections." In recent yrs, Bill served as chief strategy officer and "particularly excelled when representing Manhattan Beer with political leaders and union management." Prior to Manhattan, Bill was a supplier exec, first at Pabst, then at Labatt USA, where he headed up their sales force.

Just as Sonic Hard Southern Sweet Tea and Sonic Hard Slush get set to hit store shelves this Sep (see 7/1 issue), Sonic Hard Seltzer announced a 3-yr agreement to become "official hard seltzer" of the Big 12 college sports conference. "As the Official Hard Seltzer of the Big 12, Sonic Hard Seltzer will have category exclusivity and use of Conference and Championship marks at the retail level, along with social and digital engagement on the official Big 12 Conference channels," per release. Brand will also "receive exposure in conjunction with the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship; Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship; and Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship." The conference encompasses 5 states and over 40 mil people in its geographic footprint, and currently includes University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University in Sonic's home state. However, this partnership is between Sonic and the Big 12 conference, not the individual teams.

Keurig Dr Pepper "is not currently pursuing an acquisition of Bang Energy," co said in statement this morn, aiming to stop speculation following Bloomberg report late yesterday that KDP was in talks to acquire Bang's parent co, Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc (VPX). Tho "early-stage talks" were active this wk, deal talks "have fallen apart" and "broke off after news of the potential deal became public," Bloomberg wrote in follow-up article this morn, again citing "people familiar with the matter." Valuation of VPX was said to range from $2 bil to over $3 bil, Bloomberg noted yesterday. Tho paper cautioned at time that deal "could still fall apart."

Molson Coors is takin' a minority stake in Superbird parent co Casa Komos Brands Group (CKBG), marking its first-ever ownership stake in a spirits co. Yet MC also transitioning Superbird RTD commercial operations to Casa Komos in the process. So Superbird will transition outta MC dist network, CKBG spokesperson confirmed with INSIGHTS. Recall, MC and CKBG first announced partnership on Superbird in Jan 2021 (see Jan 26, 2021 issue). But sales never took off in meaningful way as many other recent RTD launches surpassed brand. Superbird still growin' triple-digits in scans this yr, but tracked just $275K YTD thru Jun 4 in natl Nielsen xAOC + liquor + convenience data (provided by Bump Williams Consulting). Fell to #75 RTD brand family overall with just 0.07 share of segment. That's as brand expanded to 24 states under MC ops with paloma and tequila soda lines, according to press release. MC distribs hadda pick up lotsa out-of-code product, INSIGHTS hears.

While drinking among US adults remains stable, cannabis use is becoming more common, especially among young adults, additional Gallup poll results released this wk show. Around half of American adults age 18+ have tried cannabis at least once, Gallup surveys found, while 16% of adults say they currently "smoke" cannabis and 14% "eat" edibles. While the % who've "tried" holds steady by age group, current use is far higher among younger adults: 30% of 18-34 yr olds "smoke" and 22% use edibles. Strikingly, far more Americans view cannabis' effects positively than those who see alcohol's impacts the same way. Just over half of adults, 53%, think cannabis' "effect on most" users is positive and just under half, 49%, think its "effect on society" is positive. Recall, comparable figures for alcohol were 27% and 23% (see Aug 5 issue).

As traffic fatalities rose to highest levels in nearly 15 yrs in 2021, federal and local gov't agencies increasingly scrutinize cannabis (and opioids) for "increased role" in the rise, reported Washington Times. "It's a problem," says Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of Natl Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), pointing to lack of ability to test for cannabis or opioids as effectively as for alcohol. The number of US traffic deaths rose from 38,824 in 2020 to over 42K in 2021, the highest total since 2007, according to Natl Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). An NHTSA report from 2020 showed THC was "in the systems of 33% of drivers involved in fatal crashes," up from just 21% pre-Covid. In fact, THC is becoming "more common" than alcohol (29%) in fatal crashes, the report shows. The number of drivers who tested positive for more than one substance also rose from 18% to 25%.

The fast-growing energy brand Alani Nu has made its anticipated foray into RTD coffee segment with 4-flavor PET-packed lineup as parent Congo Brands scrambles to add capacity to produce its Prime Sports Hydration brand and augment it with energy extension. But that's not all: we hear it's prepping entirely new platform in iced tea segment under Down South moniker. From what we can gather, Down South is robust-flavored entry that will parlay unidentified big influencer, per Congo's style, with details likely in coming month or so. It's part of concerted buildout of multiplatform company that may have gotten an unanticipated lift with move of unaligned Celsius brand into Pepsi network, creating void that Congo execs believe they're best positioned to fill with their explosively growing Alani Nu brand, quick-out-the-gate Prime Hydration Drink and planned Prime Energy extension that will vie in high-caffeine segment vs likes of Bang, which is trying to reenter indie system following unraveling of its own tortured alliance with Pepsi. "We're building a portfolio and have no interest in selling pieces off to a strategic," said Congo Brands evp Bill Juarez. "We're not going anywhere." He said he couldn't comment on any pending tea entry. Prime Energy? "Yes, there will be a Prime Energy," is all he'd say for now.