Beer Marketer's Insights
Talking Rain, which has been trying to get its core Sparkling Ice brand back on sustained growth path, has recruited pair of new agencies. Picking up creative duties will be Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners while MRM Media will be doing media buying. Talking Rain ceo Ken Sylvia said new partners are intended to "bring a fresh, new look to the Sparkling Ice brand," adding, "We are committed to supporting and growing the #1 sparkling water in the US by creating meaningful connections with new and loyal consumers. This partnership will undoubtedly magnify our ongoing efforts." Seattle-based co had previously relied on creative agencies like Hawkeye, which undertook campaign last year dubbed "Live in Full Flavor" to herald bold palate of Ice lineup. Philadelphia-based RTO+P has done work for brands like Nesquik, Keurig, Sheetz, Laughing Man Coffee, Reyka Vodka, GoPuff, Black Box Wines and Halo Top Creamery. Tho scan data by no means captures whole picture, it shows Sparkling Ice performance to have been weakening in recent periods despite moderating prices, with $$ retail sales off 5.3% in 2-wk period; for 52 wks, sales are off 1.8% to $779 mil, per Nielsen data reported by Goldman Sachs.
Rush of excitement as Natural Products Expo East opens its doors today will be tempered with a bit of sadness: show organizer New Hope Network announced today that this will be last edition of prime natural food showcase on East Coast. Coming in its stead will be something called Newtopia Now, "a groundbreaking event focusing on curated connections, transformative content and pioneering discoveries." It's slated for next Aug 6-8 in steamy Savannah, Ga. The bigger show, Expo West in Anaheim in early Mar, ain't goin' anywhere, New Hope emphasized.
For months new fund called Humble Growth being assembled by murderer's row of food/bev entrepreneurs - Nick Giannuzzi, Andrew Abraham and Peter Rahal - has stoked fair amount of fascination but few details, as principals weren't allowed to speak during raise process. Today came the grand reveal via Forbes article: it's pulled in $312 mil from range of familiar partners including Verlinvest, serial entrepreneur Mike Repole and principals of Big Geyser DSD house in NY. It's already invested in 3 undisclosed targets, one of them in protein space, with due diligence under way for further deals. Until today, we'd been able to piece together some details from regulatory filings and visits to LinkedIn that indicated several VMG vets had joined team (BBI, Jan 31 and May 31).
Aslin Building Virginia Beach Outpost
Aslin Beer Co is in process of building out its 5th location, coming to Virginia Beach. Already the biggest BA-defined brewer in VA (not counting AB's Devils Backbone), co's making headway on a $4 mil construction project in Hampton Roads, VA that received a $100K grant from the city last yr, Virginian Pilot reported. The location's design incorporates 2 vertically installed 40-ft shipping containers (which will also support a rooftop bar) as a nod to the ports nearby.
Two small craft distribs are joining forces in Portland, Oregon. Upstanding Distribution acquired Alebriated Distribution, New School Beer reported. Financials weren't disclosed besides that Upstanding "flirted with a lender before settling on a payment arrangement over time." Both indie distribs handle small books made up of mostly microbrewers. But merger will offer greater scale, with Upstanding planning to bring Alebriated brands onboard by early Oct.
SweetWater founder Freddy Bensch could be on the hook for not squaring up with artist who created the co's logo and core label artwork before signing deal to sell co to Aphria in late 2020. So could new parent co Tilray (which bought Aphria the next yr), SweetWater itself and a series of trusts linked to Freddy and his mother Sharon after a fed dist ct judge in Georgia denied requests to toss parts of the suit filed by artist Ray Scott Fuss. Ct order late last wk agreed that Fuss' allegations are "credible," keeping alive claims of fraud, fraudulent concealment and various contract breaches.
Athletic is makin' headway in top international mkts to close out 2023 and beyond, adding lotsa placements in "four leading Provincial Liquor Boards" and inking UK's top craft distrib James Clay and Sons as its exclusive importer in UK, co announced and CEO Bill Shufelt shared with CBN. That's as Athletic biz continues to hum in US, scan data shows, with $$ sales up 79% for 13 wks thru Aug 12 in Nielsen xAOC + liquor plus + c-store channels. (A version of this article also appeared in sibling pub Beverage Business INSIGHTS.)
Craft $$ Flattish, Volume Down 4% YTD and 4 Wks Thru Sep 9 in NielsenIQ; Gainin' Share in C-Stores
Craft beer kept up nearly identical pace in latest 4 wks as YTD thru Sep 9 in NielsenIQ channels. Its $$ eked out a 0.1-0.2% gain while volume slipped nearly 4% for both periods, shedding 0.2 share of beer $$ and under 0.1 share of volume. Convenience channel remains much healthier for craft, where $$ grew 6.5% for latest 4 wks and +8% YTD. Trend improved in craft's most developed channel, foodstores, while still losing 0.2 share of beer $$ there; craft $$ -0.4% for 4 wks vs -1.6% YTD. And drugstore channel craft $$ trend improved by a few pts for latest 4 wks, still down 6%, but held flattish share for period vs 0.4-pt loss YTD.
A Cleveland-based entrepreneur is hoping to make it easier for DSD wholesalers to cut thru the avalanche of new bev and snack brands by offering curated boxes of brands that have been vetted as ready for prime time. Operating under name Distrobox, Brian Folmer claims to have enlisted about 60 distributors so far for the service, which is free to them and funded by the brand owners. It builds on an earlier venture he launched called First Look that sends out curated boxes of brands to investors as a way to connect entrepreneurs with prospective investors. First Look launched in Jun 2020 and Distrobox followed in Jun 2022. Distrobox was a logical addition "to solve the next big challenge for founders after fund-raising," Brian told us in conversation last week. Website summarizes concept this way: "A free box for distributors full of high-growth food and bev brands ready for distributor expansion." He's received angel investment and industry-specific guidance from Chase Slepak, a Cleveland-based Boylan Bottling exec whose dad Mark's First Circle house in Pittsburgh is among early DSD customers. Folmer spent earlier career at Abercrombie and Victoria's Secret, then led biz development at NY-based startup accelerator called XRC Ventures. He returned to Cleveland from NY a year ago.
Dallas-based Ryse Fuel, energy drink whose creator Nic Stella grew up in Buffalo, has signed on as official energy drink of Buffalo Sabres, with presence in Key Bank Arena and visibility on TV during Sabres broadcasts . . . 8th Wonder Tea has teamed with retired NFL great Donovan McNabb on a digital ad campaign thru summer 2024 that will highlight healthy attributes of brand's ashwagandha-infused sparkling teas. Launched on Amazon just last Nov, the brand has entered Whole Foods' Rocky Mountain region, Mother's Market and Lassen's in SoCal, and Pop Up Grocer showcase in NY . . . Health-Ade Kombucha has accepted an investment from Ryan Seacrest and his iHeartMedia, which will be leveraged to bring brand to broader attention. United Talent Agency and The Wellness Agency also participated in transaction, joining cap table led by First Bev and Manna Tree Partners.