Just under 2 mos since announcing the deal (see Aug 7 issue), Tilray officially closed on its acquisition of AB's various craft brewers (10 Barrel, Blue Point, Breckenridge, Redhook, Widmer) plus Shock Top, Square Mile Cider and HiBall energy brands for $83.4 mil in cash, according to announcement and 8-K filing. Deal now gives Tilray 5% of US craft mkt share and becomes 5th largest craft brewer in the country by volume (AB, Kirin-Lion, Boston Beer, and Sierra Nevada still larger), #1 craft co in the PacNW, #4 in the southeast and #5 in the northeast, co headlined. (This is an expanded version of an article that appeared in sibling pub INSIGHTS Express.)

Congo Brands' Alani Nu Energy, which played a key role along with Celsius in igniting 12-oz slim cans as broadly appealing packaging format in energy segment, has launched Mini Energy extension in 8.4-oz cans. These ain't no Red Bull clones but come in squatter shape that mimics the mini-cans that big CSD players have adopted as portion-control options that come in at 100 calories. The Alani Mini Energy packs contain 100 mg of caffeine, come in at 5 calories and are debuting in Cherry Slush and Juicy Peach flavors.

Less than 2 mos since announcing the deal (BBI, Aug 7 and 9), Tilray officially closed on its acquisition of Anheuser-Busch's various craft brewers (10 Barrel, Blue Point, Breckenridge, Redhook, Widmer) plus Shock Top, Square Mile Cider and HiBall energy brands for $83.4 mil in cash, per announcement and 8-K filing. Deal now gives Tilray 5% of US craft mkt share and makes it 5th-largest craft brewer in the country by volume (A-B, Kirin-Lion, Boston Beer and Sierra Nevada still larger), #1 craft co in the PacNW, #4 in the Southeast and #5 in the Northeast, as co headlined. This all came, essentially, as pivot from cannabiz that was slow to develop in face of regulatory stasis. Collectively, Tilray expects these assets to generate "craft beer pro-forma revenue of $250 million" while tripling volume to 12 mil cases annually. Hiball Energy had never ignited and was completely eclipsed by A-B's Ghost Energy marque, and it remains to be seen how much a part of Tilray's plans it is. It joins NA portfolio that includes Truss Beverage cannabevs and Happy Flower CBD sparkling NA cocktails. You can hear more from Tilray ceo Irwin Simon and prexy of US beer division Ty Gilmore at our Beer Insights Seminar in NY on Nov 12-13. Seating is limited so sign up now!

Don't Quit, the protein shake devised by LA Libations in concert with Jake "Body by Jake" Steinfeld, has joined the ranks of brands extending into fast-growing energy segment with 4-flavor Don't Quit Clean Sports Energy. New line, which will be featured at NACS c-store extravaganza opening on Wed, includes 150 mg of caffeine sourced from green tea, along with coconut water and focus-enhancing Cognizin citicoline. It's out initially in Performance Punch, Kiwi Strawberry, Might Orange Mango and Pineapple Coconut Crush flavors. On distribution front, Tops Market grocery chain in upstate NY is latest to onboard brand, which is endorsed by Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin.

After dipping a bit in July, spirits volume in control states grew 3%, $$ up 4.7% in Aug, NABCA reported. But that's with lotsa extra selling days. And RTD spirits continue to provide a big chunk of the volume gain, up 27% for the mo. Still, tequila remains strong, up 13% by volume. Other lead categories, vodka (+3%), whiskey (+4%) and cordials (+6%) had better mos in Aug too. For rolling 12 mos, spirits volume grew 0.8%, $$ up 3.7% in control states. Trends aren't as strong this yr, yet spirits volume seemingly much healthier than beer, in control states at least.

"The question about how beer gets out of the decline we have been seeing for years now is a great question that I know has been given great thought by many of us in the beer industry," one distrib wrote INSIGHTS following last week's article about beer's brutal year thus far. But "the biggest difference" between now and the growth heydays of the 70's-90's, this source suggested, "is that our primary focus has strategically shifted from investing in volume and market share to being primarily focused on productivity and profitability." High end growth "unquestionably benefited all tiers in terms of profitability," yet the "huge volume shift away from traditional 'premium' and value brands has reduced consumption significantly. It is simple economics!"

Another indication that beer volume was soft in Sep. NBWA's beer purchaser's index (BPI) shows reading of 45 in Sep 2023 (reading below 50 indicates lower distrib orders vs year ago). That was flattish with Sep 2022, which scored 45 BPI. But once again, BPI not fully capturing the significant volume softness this yr, perhaps in part because AB network is declining much more and MC network is picking up lotsa biz.

In very soft Sep, total beer volume down 4% for 4 weeks thru Sep 23 in NielsenIQ data (total industry trends likely softer still, given tuffer trends in indie stores). And so most cos' trends got worse again. AB volume down 15.9% for last 4 weeks thru Sep 23. Each of Molson Coors and Constellation still up strong and gaining share. But up less than they had been. Molson Coors volume up 6.2% and Constellation volume up 6.6% for 4 weeks. Molson Coors gained 2.2 share of volume, Constellation gained 1.6 share for 4 weeks. Each gained 1.8 share of $$ and grew $$ sales double digits same period. Each gained 1.4 share of $$ YTD. AB at 31.7 share of $$ YTD, Constellation at 18.3, Molson Coors at 18.1.