Brown-Forman’s conference call provided additional details on Jack & Coke RTD launch. Global volume of Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola “has already grown to 1.8 million cases across 11 markets, led by the US and Japan,” said ceo Lawson Whiting. Total case volume wasn’t reflected in just-released quarterly results that showed flat RTD sales because some markets are led by B-F and some by KO. Best example is UK, where Jack & Cola was sizable biz for Brown-Forman but Jack & Coca-Cola is now sold by Coca-Cola. Meanwhile, Jack & Coke US “launch has been the most successful launch in Brown-Forman history,” said Lawson on the call, and “achieved the second highest level of off-premise distribution.” It has “reached over 2% of the RTD category’s value share . . . Success is driven in part by the strong investment behind the launch, including significant investments in broad-reach media.”

IHG's Kimpton hotel chain has joined the migration to offering sophisticated but alc-free cocktail menus, with a seasonal twist. Its new Toast to Total Wellness Menu is divided into 3 categories: Caffeinate, Hydrate and Celebrate, each containing 3 NA drinks said to deliver various wellness benefits, as Restaurant Business reported. So at lounge called The Betty at Kimpton Sylvan Hotel in Atlanta's Buckhead nabe, the offerings include pair of antioxidant-rich recipes, Berry-Infused Coconut Water and Matcha Latte, as well as gut-health-oriented Kombucha Mocktail. The cocktails try to employ regional touches, as with local honey included with chai tea, oatmilk and sea salt in Matcha Latte. What are hydration offerings like? At Kimpton Armory Hotel in Bozeman, Mont, that's Coconut Water with Pineapple & Lime Liquid IV. Caffeinated options include Bulletproof Coffee. While the offering is for limited time, it will be rotated with new batch keyed to fall, as with cocktails at Sylvan that will use newly harvested Georgia peaches.

Private-equity investors continue to be eclipsed by strategic buyers in bevs, per new report from Capstone Partners that sees middle-market transactions as particularly robust in transitional period for deals. "While year-to-date M&A activity is trending -21% vs same period for prior year, there are still a surprising number of middle market deals getting done despite higher capital costs," per report summary, which includes both alc and non-alc categories. "Not surprisingly, strategic buyers have maintained a strong advantage in 2023, winning approximately 90% of beverage transactions over the first 8 months, with private equity groups responsible for the remaining 10%." (Data contained in report indicates that three-quarters of these transactions involve privately held strategics, not public strategics like Coke or Molson Coors.) "Despite the slowdown in 2023 deal flow, the outlook for 2024 looks more promising as the macro-economic climate improves, interest rates stabilize, and consumer confidence improves."

Just added to the Beer INSIGHTS Seminar program: Molson Coors chief commercial officer for the Americas region, Michelle St Jacques (MSJ)! Nearing 9 mos into her elevated role heading co's more centralized commercial unit, MSJ will talk about MC's strong recent results, progress and plans. Join us at this year's conference Nov 12-13 in NYC, starting with our welcome reception on the evening of Nov 12 followed by a full day of content and networking Nov 13. Check out the rest of our speaker lineup and register here!

This week in 2010, INSIGHTS reported on increasing disconnect between Wall St and distrib views on ABI. Barron's headlined: "Big Gains Brewing at Anheuser-Busch InBev," while noting, "Wall Street's doubts about the beer behemoth are fast disappearing." Initially "many beer-industry experts thought InBev had sampled too much of its own brew," added Barron's, "now, however everyone is raising a glass to InBev." Yet at same time INSIGHTS wrote we "rarely heard more disgruntlement" from AB distrib network regarding everything from "brain drain" due to exec exodus, to excessive costs cuts, from packaging integrity to cost shifts to distribs, from absence of transparency in communications, not to mention ongoing volume softness and upcoming price hikes. "This increasing disconnect is not an either/or proposition. In the short-term, it's quite possible that both the financial community and the distributors can be right," wrote INSIGHTS. While analysts were pleased, AB shed 2.75 mil bbls, down 2.6% in 2010. That followed 2.15-mil drop-off in '09, so AB lost nearly 5 mil bbls in 2 yrs since ABI formed.

Have we had a breakthru moment in cannabis deregulation? One never really knows, given cluttered regulatory docket and dysfunctional Congress, but US Dept of Health & Human Services (HHS) is officially recommending that marijuana be moved from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 under federal law. That's "a historic development that means the top health agency no longer considers cannabis to be a drug with high abuse potential and no medical value," as Marijuana Moment exclaimed yesterday. Politico deemed it "potentially the biggest change in federal drug policy in decades." It quoted Edward Conklin, exec dir of US Cannabis Council, who termed it "the most significant federal cannabis reform in modern history. President Biden is effectively declaring an end to Nixon's failed war on cannabis and placing the nation on a trajectory to end prohibition." (A version of this article first appeared in sibling pub Beverage Business INSIGHTS.)

Pernod-Ricard reported double-digit global rev and profit gain for fiscal yr thru Jun 30, but its US biz "stable." Its stock down 7% so far today in part because it said it expected to be down in US in its fiscal first qtr (thru Sep). That follows Brown-Forman net sales down 8% in US for latest qtr thru July 31 and Diageo North America spirits volume down 6% in fiscal yr ending June 30 with revs up 1%.

Brown-Forman's upbeat conference call provided additional details on Jack & Coke RTD launch. Global volume of Jack Daniel's and Coca-Cola "has already grown to 1.8 million cases across 11 markets, led by the US and Japan," said ceo Lawson Whiting. But "this total case volume is not reflected in our results" because some markets led by B-F and some by KO. Best example is UK where Jack & Cola was sizable biz for Brown-Forman but Jack and Coca-Cola is now sold by Coca-Cola. That helps explain how Jack Daniel's RTD sales only flat.

Among the 1,135 pieces of alcohol-related state legislation intro'd so far in 2023, "only 173 of them have passed," NBWA state affairs veep Dave Christman commented during seminar at annual Center for Alcohol Policy conference this wk. Tho legislative session ain't over in all states, number not likely to change dramatically from here. And with avg over last 12-15 yrs more like 250-300 new state alc bev laws, "2023 was actually sort of a light year," Dave determined. At least for "enacted" bills; the number of proposals was fairly standard, "but not a whole lot got across the finish line." Many of those that did further extended temporary pandemic-era allowances, as NBWA tracked few "standalone policies."