Beer Marketer's Insights
Tilray officially announced full lineup of hemp-derived Delta 9 bevs coming to the US just a coupla weeks after our sibling pub Beverage Business INSIGHTS broke the story on Tilray's plans for Happy Flower D9 launch (see BBI, Sep 9). Thru its "newly formed 'Tilray Alternative Beverages' business unit," co will debut 4 hemp-derived Delta-9 THC ("HDD9") brands in select states including 420 Fizz seltzers, Fizzy Jane's seltzers, Herb & Bloom "super-premium mocktail[s]," and Happy Flower mocktails in "classic" cocktail flavors.
FX Matt is forging ahead in RTDs with another bolt-on acquisition. It bought ready-to-drink mimosa and sangria brand Ohza for an undisclosed price, cos announced today, tacking on another brand to FX Matt's fledgling RTD biz.
Lagunitas Auctioning Off Remaining Chicago Equipment; Chicago as a Central Warehouse; Next Steps
As Lagunitas shut down its Chicago brewing and taproom operations and shifted rest of its production back to Petaluma, CA last mo, it's now in process of auctioning off all remaining equipment from the Chicago facility on Equipnet. That's after co "designated a portion of the equipment for the Petaluma brew house to facilitate necessary updates and provide backup resources" and "supported several of our partner craft breweries" (i.e. Short's and Independence), "by providing them with some of this equipment," comms and corporate PR manager Jenny Davis told CBN. "We will continue to operate a part of the Chicago brewery as a central warehouse and are in conversation with our landlord on next steps and potential future tenants," she added.
Craft brands are driving ~70% of NA beer growth and pulling away as #1 NA subsegment this yr in foodstores. While total NA beer grew 32% to nearly $272 mil YTD thru Sep 7 in NIQ foodstores, craft NAs jumped 65% to $115 mil. So craft NAs gained 8.6 share of segment to 42.4. They're over $38 mil in sales and 14 share pts ahead of next biggest NA subsegment, imports, which grew 25% to nearly $77 mil. With craft and imports collectively at 70 share of NAs, the category morphed into a high-end beer segment in relatively short order. Domestic premium (+2%) and below premium (-9%) slipped to just 22 share of NA beer $$ collectively in foodstores. All in, NA beer gained 0.7 pts to 2.8 share of total beer $$ in foodstores YTD.
The first-ever RTD Report is officially here! This comprehensive, 94-page digital report tracks all the twists and turns in US beyond beer volume dating back to the turn of the century. It also includes never-before-seen volume breakdowns by segment, with an array of charts, tables and written summaries to put RTDs' rise in perspective.
Tilray officially announced full lineup of hemp-derived Delta 9 bevs coming to the US just a coupla weeks after our sibling pub Beverage Business INSIGHTS broke the story on Tilray's plans for Happy Flower D9 launch (see BBI, Sep 9). Thru its "newly formed 'Tilray Alternative Beverages' business unit," co will debut 4 hemp-derived Delta-9 THC ("HDD9") brands in select states including 420 Fizz seltzers, Fizzy Jane's seltzers, Herb & Bloom "super-premium mocktail[s]," and Happy Flower mocktails in "classic" cocktail flavors.
Consumer Seeks to Be Seen as "Reasonable," Requests 11th Circuit Rehear Coors Light Appeal
Not so fast, a consumer plaintiff told the 11th Circuit Ct of Appeals late last wk, urging judges there to revisit their claims about Coors Light mktg for a 4th time. In so doing, they take a big swing and raise a big question, one that stretches well beyond the bounds of this particular dispute. Therefore, this request to review the opinion issued by a 3-judge panel of appellate judges last mo may just reveal the reason why this suit was resurrected after almost 5 yrs in the first place.
With advent of Michelob Ultra Zero, time to take a closer look at how fast-changing fast-growing NA segment is evolving thru summer of 2024. Let's focus on foodstores where segment far more developed than c-stores and still growing 32% yr-to-date thru Sep 7 in NIQ food and 31% last 13 weeks. NAs gained 0.7 share to 2.8 in channel both periods.
Owner of OH Distribs Mordechai Lipton Tied to Top Bidder for CA's Ace Cider in VWE Bankruptcy
Now here's one out of left field. Owner of a group of Ohio beer distribs is so far highest bidder to be new owner of Ace Cider according to reports on bankruptcy proceedings for Vintage Wine Estates by North Bay Biz Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle. The two entities that currently hold the top bid for California Cider Co, producer of Ace Cider, are owned by Mordechai Lipton, also owner of group of Ohio beer and bev wholesalers, RL Lipton and Tri County. With a bid of about $7.63 mil, cos named Cider Leasing LLC and Ace Cider I LLC outbid Ace's founder, Jeffrey House, backed by Playa Capital Partners, who was the stalking horse bidder with initial bid of $4 mil and final bid of almost $7.2 mil, per the Biz Journal. Other bidders include billionaires Bill Foley and Jay Adair, who already won bids for several NorCal wineries in VWE's portfolio, the paper wrote. Lipton's OH distribs cover parts of northeast Ohio, primarily handling AB brands in Youngstown and Constellation in and around Cleveland.
AB's top 2 growth brands, Michelob Ultra and Busch Light, are now bigger than its biggest declining brands, Bud and Bud Light, in $$ sales for 12 weeks running thru Sep 8 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience. Ultra up 4.8% to $892 mil and Busch Light up 9.5% to $337 mil. The two combined reached $1.23 bil in sales. Compare to Bud Light and Bud each down 5.6-5.8% to combined $1.18 bil. Ultra and Busch Light at 35 share of AB's $3.5 bil in $$ for 12 wks, while Bud and Bud Light at 33.7. Collectively, those 4 brands just about flat for 12 wks (down $1 mil). And they make up almost 70% of AB beer biz.