Rebbl's website had been taken down in recent weeks for some tinkering. Now it's clear what Emeryville, Calif-based brand was up to: a rethink of packaging that now groups its 16 or so offerings by function, under mantra "Empower the People." Gone are entries like Stacked Coffee as well as a foray into shelf-stable gut pops, which leaves the brand completely cold-chain, at least for now. The idea, co announced today, is to "uplift the daily experiences of its valued consumers through a focus on intentional, purpose-driven moments." In practical terms, that means adopting six names on order of Protein, Awake and Balance for clusters of offerings in 12-oz rPET bottles. "We've made it easier than ever to select the perfect beverage to enhance their daily experiences through real-food alchemy and transparent, intuitive labels," per ceo Andy Fathollahi, who was installed by acquirer SYSTM Brands in May 2022.

Is the world of natural, nutritious eaters ready for ube? That's what NJ-based Remedy Organics will put to the test at Expo East in Philadelphia this week, offering entry called Super Ube Glow that supports natural collagen production and breaks in Sprouts Farmers Market chain. Remedy also is unveiling brand refresh that attempts to better balance the brand's elegant branding with commercial considerations like on-shelf readability. (A key rival, Rebbl, also has undertaken a brand rethink - story below.)

"A genuine Texas original," and also one of best known and most highly regarded wholesalers, Barry Andrews, died earlier today. Back in 1976,"at 29 years old, Barry was the youngest ever awarded a Miller distributorship," noted Andrews Distributing Co obituary. Andrews Distributing started in a small warehouse in Corpus Christi before expanding into Dallas in 80s. After "close to 20 acquisitions," Barry's biz has grown to become one of the largest distributors in the United States, at over 40 mil cases out of 5 locations in Tex, servicing 1,000 brands with ~2,000 employees.

In period surrounding key Labor Day holiday, beer $$ grew 2.7%, volume slipped 1.9% for 2 wks thru Sep 10 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. About the same as it's been for most of the yr in scans and a continued improvement on volume vs yr-to-date (-2.2%), tho a deceleration vs Aug (-1.4% for 4 wks thru Aug 27). Modelo family grew most of all in this Labor Day period with $$ up 22%, snagging 1.8 share of beer $$ to 11.3 total for 2 wks. Coors family (+1.3 share), Miller Lite (+0.7), Twisted Tea (+0.6), Yuengling (+0.2) and New Belgium (+0.2) were next biggest $$ share gainers among pre-existing brands, all maintaining double-digit growth paces. And Monster Beast Unleashed snagged incremental 0.3 share of $$ with $5.3 mil from 136K cases sold for 2 wks.

After returning to the biggest stage in sports for the first time in 33 yrs in 2023, Molson Coors will be back at the Super Bowl in 2024 with a dedicated spot for its #1 brand. Leaning in with Coors Light is "the right approach for this year," cmo Sofia Colucci said at co's distributor conference last wk, noting that it's not just MC's largest brand but the top share gainer in beer. There will "definitely" be a 30-second spot bringing "mountain cold refreshment" to the Super Bowl, Sofia told INSIGHTS in follow-up conversation. But co is treating the event "as a season," looking to harness momentum "before, during and after" the Big Game.

ABI is hosting a Capital Markets day for investors and analysts in Mexico City today and tomorrow, focused on Middle Americas, especially Mexico. Unlike US, Mexico is a mkt where ABI continues to grow great guns. ABI "organic topline" CAGR in Mexico up "over 11% over the last 5 years," said global ceo Michel Doukeris, kicking things off. And total Mexican mkt volume up 4% per yr for last 5 yrs too. Mexico has become ABI's 2d largest EBITDA mkt, passing Brazil. Not only that, but Corona is now ABI's "leading horse globally," said global cmo Marcel Marcondes. To summarize, Mexico is ABI's biggest int'l growth engine, 2d most profitable mkt, going in opposite direction of US and Corona is ABI's top int'l brand. Recall, ABI bought Grupo Modelo for $20 billion in 2013. And even tho US govt made ABI sell off Nava brewery to Constellation and that created a much stronger US competitor, by many measures, this could still be ABI's best ever deal globally.

The same 3-judge panel at the 9th Circuit Ct of Appeals has once again denied a request for relief by Olympic Eagle in its dispute with Constellation. Judges denied hearing the distrib's appeal. Additionally, no other judge on the 9th Circuit requested a vote on an "en banc" hearing before a larger panel of judges. So that's that. To further maintain Constellation brand rights, Olympic Eagle would need to seek review of the suit by the Supreme Ct. Otherwise, 9th Circuit's initial decision to reverse the preliminary injunction takes effect in 7 days. Recall, joint filing in early Aug acknowledged new termination notice setting brand transfer date in 60 days or 5 biz days after 9th Circuit decision takes effect. As fate would have it, after today's denial by the ct, both timelines roughly coincide at start of Oct. That's about 11 mos after brands would have transferred to Columbia Dist after initial termination notice sent by Constellation in Sep 2022. While that does not automatically end the dispute between Olympic and Constellation in the district ct, it does change the calculus.

A reminder that Natural Products Expo East is upon us, starting with a Harvest Festival on Wed featuring range of intriguing new brands, not all of them exhibitors at show, followed by 3 full days featuring hundreds of bev exhibitors at Philadelphia Convention Center. Among innovations are an Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Pavilion reflecting burgeoning interest in alc-alternatives, as well as a music agenda that includes Wyclef Jean on Fri .