Having seeded western markets since its launch in 2015, Marin Kombucha was working the Expo East throngs as it turned its ambitions east. Among its points of difference, the organic brand offers an approachable but distinctive flavor thanks to oak aging and it believes itself to be the only NSF-certified brand, enabling a presence of its kegs in locker rooms of MLB teams like the Giants (league where NSF status is mandatory) as well as Golden State Warriors and Univ of Ga, said Marin exec Alex Pappas. It's offered in brightly labeled 16-oz glass bottles and kegs, which have made their way to corporate accounts in Midwest and other areas far from its Bay Area base. It's a rare kombucha brand that has maintained its commitment to keep all its lines refrigerated. It's readying new labels that will herald both its organic certification as well as NSF certification.

It's not clear whether there are any implications for energy drink segment that's similarly come under fire for marketing to kids, but FDA has taken most aggressive tack yet against e-cigs that it views as appealing to underage users. Agency issued complaints for civil money penalties vs 22 retailers for illegal sale of Elf Bar and EB Design disposable vapes after the retailers ignored order to stop selling the items. (EB reps rebrand of Elf Bar after trademark issue came up.) "These retailers were duly warned of what could happen if they failed to correct their violations," said Brian King, dir of agency's Center for Tobacco Products. "They chose inaction and will now face the consequences." Agency emphasized that this is first time it's seeking maximum civil money penalty of $19,192 per violation. FDA also said it's sent 168 additional warning letter to brick-and-mortar retailers for selling the items, after conducting coordinated nationwide retailer inspection effort in Aug. Moves come as there has been increasing agitation by lawmakers on marketers of energy drinks that are viewed as holding youth appeal, tho regs in e-cig segment are stiffer.

Is there room for a new player in energy shot biz dominated by 5-Hour? Boise-based co called Drip Drop Distro that offers kratom, paraphernalia and the like to smoke shops is trying again with Rhino Rush brand that's being offered in twin lines, one with ephedra as core ingredient and the other with nootropic blend. To make its push, the brand has brought on bev vet Ernie Manansala Jr as cmo and will have a presence at Drip Drop Distro's booth at next week's NACS c-store show, where focus will be effort Drip Drop is making to offer smoke shops-within-a-shop to c-store owners who'd like to play in segment but are daunted by its unique dynamics.

This week in 1989, August A. Busch, Jr, aka "Gussie," the man who transformed the US beer industry died at age 90. He was a larger-than-life figure, "Churchillian, brilliant, gregarious, tough, perfectionist, fun loving, driven to succeed," wrote INSIGHTS. Gussie grew AB from 2 mil bbls and 4 share in 1946 to 36 mil bbls and 23 share by 1974. That didn't happen by accident, noted consultant Bob Weinberg. "Gussie was the first to recognize that brands someday would be national," and he acted on that, recalled Bob. "In the 50's, when other brewers such as Falstaff and Schliltz were acquiring old breweries and their old dying brands, Gussie recognized the need to have new breweries specifically for that national brand Budweiser. He built satellite breweries for that brand, first in Newark, then Los Angeles, then Jacksonville, in quick succession." Henry King, former prexy of US Brewers Assn said: "He was Churchillian in his character…He thought the consumer was king…and built the best wholesaler organization in the country."

There are plenty of headwinds to go around, not just for beer biz but for entire US economy, putting pressure on demand, chief economist for Numerator, Leo Feler, reviewed during RBC Capital Markets webcast hosted by analyst Nik Modi today. Higher interest rates designed to lower inflation ain't going anywhere, likely to tick a bit higher and stick longer, Leo explained. Pending govt shutdown ain't gonna help and could exacerbate existing challenges to data reporting, he noted. Oil prices climbed back over $90 per barrel this mo for first time since late 2022, lifting inflation and lowering demand, he added. And labor unrest adds another wildcard, impacting supply and inflation, too.

For the first time in 18 months, Beer Institute has updated its advertising and marketing code. Some key revisions are to its "audience composition standard," now up slightly to 73.8% adults based on 2020 Census data. BI also reiterated updated "language regarding alcohol variants of non-alcohol products," introduced late last yr. Other changes include "updated language" on ad placement standards, social media influencers and social media content, outdoor signage, privacy policies, Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB), said BI member alert.

After Boston Beer's Jim Koch spoke of trending toward an inflection point to "cross into growth" (see Sep 8 issue), lo and behold, that's starting to show up in tracked off-prem channels. Twisted Tea and Truly hard seltzer (ex-spirits) $$ collectively grew 3.8% with volume down just 0.6% for latest 4 wks thru Sep 10 in Circana MULC. Big improvement vs $$ collectively down 0.2%, volume down 5% YTD. Twisted Tea maintained 34% $$ growth for period while Truly hard seltzer trend improved nearly 4 pts vs YTD to -25%. So Twisted Tea approximately 50% of Boston Beer's beer/malt bev mix for 4 wks and Truly hard seltzer slid to 29% of $$, 30% of volume for 4-wk period. Yr-to-date now at 48% and 33% of $$ mix, respectively.

"It's been 2 days since Taylor Swift took over the NFL's coveted late-Sunday afternoon window by attending the Chicago Bears-Kansas City Chiefs game amid rumors she's dating star tight end Travis Kelce," Front Office Sports reported yesterday. "Now, evidence is mounting that the pop star's appearance at Arrowhead Stadium is positively impacting all parties involved," including spikes in female viewership for NFL and Kelce jersey sales. Count serial entrepreneur Lance Collins among those involved parties: images of Swift cradling a blue bottle of his Zen WTR brand as she sat in luxury suite with Kelce's mom were viewed by millions of fans. "Fox cameras panned to Swift's reaction nearly every time Kelce touched the ball," NY Times reported. "The singer's devoted swarm of fans also tuned in, with several posting on social media that they were watching football for the first time." Lance harbors no doubt that they noticed her bottle of Zen. "This is a really, really nice shot of the biggest pop star in the world with our bottle, with our brand that is clearly visible for any Swiftie zooming in, as they all do, to examine every bit of Taylor Swift's environment!!!" he enthused to us.