Ahead of bankruptcy court hearing next Wed that's expected to clear way for acquisition of most key assets by rival Monster Beverage, Bang Energy's interim mgmt team has inaugurated seemingly extensive round of layoffs. Cuts apparently go all the way up to coo Gene Bukovi. Employees at VPX's key hard asset, its plant in Phoenix, were exempted, and it's not clear whether some furloughed employees may be brought back once MNST takes control. Also unclear is what distribution route Monster will use for its new brand, whether plugging it into Coca-Cola network thru which Monster and its Bang fighter Reign move or maintaining Bang's current network comprised mainly of beer houses. (A longer version of this article appeared in yesterday's BBI issue.)

On premise food & bev sales on Father's Day (Jun 18) collectively were up 8% vs holiday last yr; up 49% vs an avg Sunday in 2023, and up 64% vs previous Sun, per CGA's BeverageTrak data, shared regional dir Matthew Crompton. Thru the week ending Jun 24, on premise sales velocity grew 4%, including a 4% boost in foot traffic and a 3% gain in check value, found CGA. In key states tracked, sales velocity was up everywhere on premise except IL (-1%) vs yr ago. Sales grew 6% in both Fla and Calif, up 2% in NY while up 1% in Tex.

Just as Diageo announced $27 mil investment in Guinness 0.0 global brewing capacity, AB InBev announced similar investment for its NA brews, spending €31 mil ($33.8 mil USD) for "technology upgrade[s]" at 3 Belgian breweries. This will help ABI expand its NA beer portfolio and increase capabilities to brew Corona Cero, ABI's non-alc Corona version that rolled out in 10 European mkts last yr (not to be confused with Constellation's Corona 0.0 in the US). ABI now boasts portfolio of 30 non-alc beer brands available in 42 countries, per release.

More shifting sands at Constellation. Rob Sands will retire from his role as chair of Constellation's board of directors and won't stand for re-election following co's annual stockholders meeting July 18, STZ announced late yesterday. Tho he'll stay on as board member, Constellation is currently in process of identifying a new board chair and plans to provide an update after the same meeting.

As of midday on the eve of the deadline, 178 public comments purport to weigh in on TTB's current review of fed trade practice regs. Major natl trade orgs won't lob in their often meatier commentary 'til right before the deadline over the weekend. They'll add significant heft to the views TTB must parse before constructing proposed rules, which could very well be a combo of additions, amendments and removals. But so far, well over 2/3 of the comments come from individuals with no connection to the industry (and seemingly little understanding of what "trade practices" are or how they're regulated).

Constellation is implementing temporary order caps on kegs across the network, INSIGHTS learned. Distribs got notice from STZ that while co expects keg inventory to "remain healthy," co will "briefly close" its COIN ordering system for kegs only, "build a new set of orders for delivery through much of July so we can set a new baseline, and then reopen…for weekly ordering (with caps on kegs)." Indeed, STZ and its network still feeling some aftermath impacts after co temporarily paused keg shipments and identified product to be recalled out of an "abundance of caution." While "there may be some sporadic tightness," this will help STZ "maintain the highest-possible days-on-hand levels throughout the network," co underscored, aiming to "satisfy current depletion trends" and "maintaining our collective momentum." Gotta note, keg imports from Mexico declined 9% in May tho remain up 11% YTD. Kegs still just over 4% of total Mexican imports.

The budding bev conglomerate EARI said it's enlisted Great South Bay Brewing to make and distribute hard extension of its recently acquired Original New York Seltzer in eastern US. Deal gives Great South Bay rights to distribute the 5% ABV brand thru its network spanning East Coast from Maine south to Fla. EARI, which stands for Entertainment Arts Research Inc, is among new flock of small-cap bevcos that straddle alc and NA realms. Its acquisition of ONYS instantly catapulted that brand to flagship status within portfolio that also includes Canada's Bell City Brewing and Perfectomundo tequila . . . WhatIf Foods has expanded its BamNut milks and noodles from foothold of 200 retailers across NY State to enter banners like Pete's Fresh Market in Chicago, Good Earth in Salt Lake City, Lassens in Southern Calif and PCC in Seattle. Using bambara groundnut, coconut oil and water, WhatIf milks are positioned as superior nutritionally to other plantmilks . . . Chlorophyll Water has landed a spot in grab & go coolers in all Sprouts Farmers Market stores nationally . . . Alkaline Water Co is expanding presence of its Alkaline88 water brand within Sprouts, with its 1.5-liter PET bottle migrating from dry shelves to coolers within about one-fourth of natural chain's banners and its 750-ml aluminum bottle entering all of the coolers.

Top-selling natural water enhancer, Stur, has enlisted TikTok influencer Kat Stickler as investor and endorser. Stickler boasts 10 mil followers just on TikTok and Stur founder/ceo Neel Premkumar termed Florida-based mom a natural fit given her commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle and "heartfelt transparency." (That's included her frank discussions of her divorce and co-parenting arrangements with her ex-husband and former TikTok partner Mike.) . . . A Shoc Energy, working to carve out viable role alongside new portfolio partner C4 within Keurig Dr Pepper system, has augmented its athlete partnerships with signing of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as investor and brand ambassador. He'll back both the restaged core A Shoc Energy and its Accelerator Active Energy extension with thermogenic and focus-enhancing properties. Hurts joins athlete investor roster that includes Aaron Judge, Travis Kelce, Freddie Freeman, Lexi Thompson, Darius Garland and Brooks Koepka. A Shoc, of course, is brainchild of Lance Collins, entrepreneur behind brands like Fuze, NOS, Core and Body Armor. Both C4 and A Shoc boast minority investment from KDP.

Interim management team at Bang Energy has inaugurated seemingly extensive round of layoffs that apparently goes all the way up to coo Gene Bukovi as co heads to bankruptcy court hearing next Wed that's expected to clear the way for acquisition of most key assets by rival Monster Beverage. Employees at VPX's key hard asset, its plant in Phoenix, were exempted, and it's not clear whether, once MNST takes control of co, some furloughed employees may be invited back. Also unclear is what distribution route Monster will use for its new brand, whether plugging it into Coca-Cola network thru which Monster and its Bang fighter Reign move or maintaining Bang's current network comprised mainly of beer houses. Wholesalers told us they weren't expecting word on that until next week's hearing. We reached out to Gene but haven't heard back. He was longtime righthand man of VPX founder/ceo Jack Owoc and essentially was running day-to-day following Owoc's ouster a few months ago while interim turnaround team sought to navigate co's bankruptcy process. That's now nearing its conclusion, with brand in much diminished state that could take further hit with latest brain drain.