Beer Marketer's Insights
BritVic is pulling up stakes from its launch 6 years ago of its elegant glass-bottle London Essence mixer brand in US market. Move was disclosed in personal Instagram post under audreyjanesophie handle by US/LatAm marketing dir Audrey Leddin, 12-yr Britvic vet who'd moved from Ireland to Miami to take on current job 9 years ago and is now moving on. One of our trade contacts pointed us to post. "This is an emotional post to write but after much consideration, our business has taken the difficult decision to withdraw London Essence from the US market. It is part of a broader strategy to refocus our resources on other markets where we are seeing the greatest overall momentum," she wrote, thanking her partners in effort. Expecting her US citizenship imminently, she's remaining here as she seeks next role. As we learned at Natl Beer Wholesalers' Assn show when it exhibited in 2019, London Essence dates back to 1896 as a supplier to perfume makers, not entering drinks biz until 2016, with US entry 2 years later enlisting DSD partners like Manhattan Beer in NY, Burke in Boston and Republic in Colo (BBI, Sep 24 2019).
Power Distributing, the Midwest house that made dramatic shift from being longtime Red Bull distributor to distributing Congo Brands' Prime and Alani brands, appears to have undertaken a significant downsizing in recent days, letting go dozens of employees and sending some brands scurrying for alternatives in Chicago and other markets it serves. Numerous sources told BBI of move, but our own effort on Fri to elicit a comment from a principal there hasn't drawn a response so far.
In somewhat counterintuitive development, AG1, formerly marketed as Athletic Greens, has launched a test at Starbucks of in-store iced offering dubbed Nutritional Blends. The effort is starting in handful of markets - Palm Springs and Palm Desert, Calif., Chicago and Seattle - with 3 iced offerings dubbed Nutritional Blends. "Not a terrible thing to test more healthful and lower sugar items on the menu," said AG CEO Kat Cole in confirming test. "It's cool to get even to this stage with their extensive vetting processes." The partnership presumably would have been devised under leadership of Starbucks' now-ousted CEO Laxman Narasimhan, so new CEO Bryan Niccol will need to embrace it too.
With Mark Anthony Brands' launch of non-alc version of White Claw hard seltzer, alc-alternative discussion has entered new realms of meta-theorizin'. After all, what - besides the higher price - distinguishes the White Claw NA from regular old seltzers like the kind proffered by La Croix and Spindrift? Which brings us now to non-alc extensions of hard cider brands.
It's been great conundrum of juice biz in recent years: for many consumers, the high sugar increasingly outweighs the strong nutritionals. Now acai pioneer Sambazon is addressing the issue, offered revamped version of its core multiserve Acai Superfruit Juice to slash half the sugar from ingredient bill by working into the recipe the natural sweeteners agave inulin and stevia. "You asked, we listened!" it posted to its social media followers. Along the way it's also undertaken bold rebrand that drops Amazon warrior at center of logo in favor of just the berry itself. That logo went back all the way to co's founding in 2000, created by pair of Costa Mesa, Calif, graffiti artists who intended warrior to personify co's commitment to protect Amazon resources and biodiversity.
Just as a number of states try to lay the hammer down on hemp, a new federal bill would give regulation a try, finding a middle ground between prohibition and current free-for-all. Intro'd on Wed by Sen Ron Wyden, a long-serving Dem from Oregon, the Cannabinoid Safety & Regulation Act would establish a regulatory structure for products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids, largely putting them under the purview of the FDA. But bill takes plenty of cues from alcohol regs, too, including setting a national age restriction of 21 for purchasers of hemp-derived cannabis products. Bill also includes specific call-out on THC-infused beverages, asking alc regulator TTB to collaborate with USDA, FDA and DOJ on a report recommending "a Federal regulatory framework" for THC bevs that "is modeled on the Federal regulatory framework for alcohol." As one long-time industry observer told our sibling letter Insights Express, on first blush the bill is "a much more serious start than anything to date."
Facing tough category trends alongside the oft-noted onslaught of negative health news, a growing number of wine industry leaders are going on the offensive. For the first time in decades, the Wine Institute will launch a marketing campaign, the Wine Industry Network's Advisor pub reported this week. "After months of research, focus groups and market testing, we will begin rolling out our long-term effort in early 2025," the group's VP of International Marketing, Honore Comfort, told the outlet.
Craft Throwbacks
This month in 2003, craft brewers were venting/debating how to deal with distribution challenges, made tougher with continued consolidation. Craft brewers need to get "smarter...more realistic," about where they fit in mkt, Pyramid CEO Martin Kelly told northwest distribs. Craft brewers now realize there's no "birthright" to just "show up and get distribution." Small brewers must support their brands in mkt too, added Martin. Deschutes' prexy Gary Fish agreed inability to get distribution "ultimately could harm" industry. He acknowledged challenges distribs face too, recalling a visit with a recently consolidated wholesaler in Calif that just picked up 40 new suppliers, 400 new SKUs. Big Sky's Bjorn Nabozney said consolidation has been "wonderful for us" since it "weeded out the weak brands that don't deserve to be there."
Latest craft consolidation comes from a pair of San Diego brewers. The parent co of Latitude 33 Brewing acquired Thorn Brewing with aim to strengthen both brands while maintaining distinct identities, San Diego Beer News reports. Terms weren't disclosed. But Thorn Brewing's facilities and taprooms in Barrio Logan and North Park will remain under ownership of its previous parent co, continuing to operate under a brand licensing agreement. Still, Latitude 33 plans to invest in enhancing production capabilities at Thorn's facilities, as Thorn began contract-brewing Latitude brands earlier this year.
Just over a month after Tilray rebranded its Fort Collins, CO facility from SweetWater to Breckenridge Brewery, the company is shutting down large-scale production at that location. It'll shift output to other Tilray facilities in effort "to eliminate areas of duplication within the organization," co's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Berrin Noorata told the Coloradoan, not long after it acquired 4 additional craft breweries from Molson Coors.