Vol 6, No 5   Feb 3, 2025

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Yuengling Draft Available in IL Today; Yuengling Slipped 22% in MO vs Launch Last Yr; Still ~3.5 Share  EXPRESS – Jan 27 Last Mon was a big day for Yuengling as it officially launched thru JV with Molson Coors in 5th largest volume state, IL, with draft now available statewide. Even with a big decline in yr 2 in Missouri, Yuengling still managed to ship over 123K bbls there in 2024. Got nearly 3.5 share. Down almost 22%, 34K bbls, according to state data. Co was still up slightly YTD thru Jul, but dropped nearly 50% vs yr ago from Aug-Dec. Gotta note, if Yuengling were to snag 3-4 share of IL beer volume in its 2025 launch, it’d finish the year somewhere between 200-280K bbls there. It’s just draft so far and just starting, but initial orders are “way higher than I expected,” noted one distrib citing retailer and consumer excitement. Retailers (and distribs) have had their challenges recently and are apparently hungry for a brand that provides a pop.

Where Did Top Spirit & Wine RTDs Rank in 2024 Circana MULC?  EXPRESS – Jan 28 Top RTD wine & spirits brands continued to make sizable inroads in tracked off-prem channels last year. High Noon family grew more than 20% to $475 mil in 2024 Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. That would make it a top-15 beer brand family by $$ in these channels, ahead of Bud Specialty, Mike’s Harder, Miller High Life, Pacifico and Dos Equis among others. It’s the #5 RTD brand in scans across total alc bevs, behind only White Claw, Twisted Tea, Truly and Smirnoff Ice. All-channel, High Noon is far bigger than Smirnoff Ice by $$ and volume, INSIGHTS estimates. BuzzBallz and BeatBox grew even faster. BuzzBallz brand family sales surpassed $290 mil, up nearly 40% vs 2023 in Circana MULC. So both High Noon and BuzzBallz gained over $80 mil in these channels last yr.

Firestone Dipped Low Singles in 2024; Flat in Q4 & Solid Start to ’25; Boosts from Mind Haze Rage & 8ZERO5; Retro Radler Campaign CRAFT – Jan 28 Following a tuffer year in 2023, Firestone Walker shipments declined low single digits in 2024. But trend’s been picking up since the summer “lull,” co detailed during distrib mtg in Sep. Firestone maintained flat volume in Q4 and expects shipments up low-singles in first two mos of 2025, bolstered by strength of 805 Cerveza, high-ABV Mind Haze brews and Cali Squeeze, along with new launches of 8ZERO5 non-alc beer and Mind Haze Rage Turbo Radler, CSO Tony Amaral and CMO Dustin Hinz shared with CBN.  Flagship 805 Blonde is coming off a challenging year, Tony acknowledged, but trend’s improving since Q4, particularly in core SoCal mkt. It’s still nearly 60% of Firestone brand family mix in natl off-prem channels and co’s strongest brand on premise by far.

Starbucks Shakes Up Leadership, Will Slash In-Store SKUs by 30% This Year, as New CEO Niccol Rebuilds Biz; Flat Sales in Q1 BEV INSIGHTS – Jan 29 Starbucks started its new fiscal year with a flat performance, but that was better than many investors had anticipated and new CEO Brian Niccol didn’t disguise that there’s still lotsa work to do. On Q1 earnings call Jan 28, the former Chipotle leader fleshed out vision for “Back to Starbucks” plan that calls for fewer but more impactful innovations, including stepup in matchas and other teas rather than relying just on cold bevs to recruit younger visitors. He’s sticking to general plan to double current US footprint of 10,000 company-operated stores but made it clear that mix will include more drivethrus and other smaller-format stores such as those that have successfully been launched in markets like Texas and Southeast. And he’s moving quickly to reshuffle leadership teams with view to greater accountability.

Basic Beer Math Adds Up for ’Gansett, +4% in 2024 with Flagship Lager, Chain, Draft Leading Way CRAFT – Jan 29 Heading into a year with 3 key anniversaries, Narragansett’s biz seems to be getting simpler, not more complicated, CEO Mark Hellendrung remarked to Craft Brew News. Last yr, the co grew total shipments about 4% overall, ending 2024 north of 112K bbls, he told us. Its flagship Lager brand drove growth overall, including in off-premise chains and on draft, two big areas of focus for the co lately. As retailers keep simplifying their sets, “we keep becoming more relevant,” he said. Narragansett’s total off-premise biz grew 5%, Mark shared, with its budding chain biz driving gains. In addition to its core lager, Del’s Shandy “had a good year,” he told us, outperforming the craft segment as well as key competitors. On premise, ’Gansett grew volume 3%, but draft was up 7%. In that space, the co’s been “preaching for years” the benefits of emphasizing brands like ’Gansett, built for selling multiple pints.

Molson Coors Inks Investment, Distribution Tie to Fevertree, Adding Close-In Adjacency to Push Non-Alc Strategy Forward BEV INSIGHTS – Jan 30 Tho some NA initiatives have fizzled, Molson Coors Beverage has vowed that it’s serious about the “beverage” in its corporate moniker. It delivered further on that commitment with announcement that it’s allying with Fevertree Plc, forging investment and distribution deal that adds a close adjacency to MC’s alcohol efforts, particularly on spirits side. Agreement calls for brewer to take 8.5% stake in publicly traded Fevertree (whose tonics and other mixers go out as Fever-Tree), valued at about $88 mil and making MC its 2d-largest shareholder. Deal effective Feb 1 shifts to MC responsibility for copacked production, marketing, sales and distribution, per announcement. Partnership should provide big lift to Fevertree in market that’s leapfrogged core UK and European markets to become its biggest globally, particularly as it’s broadened its offerings beyond core tonic waters to offer items like ginger beers that are more in synch with Americans’ alcohol choices.

Steady NA Beer Build to “At Least” 5 Share of Category; Could Well Exceed at Some Point, Sez Robert EXPRESS – Jan 31 Is NA beer approaching a tipping point? Tho still just around 1% of total US beer volume, plenty of winds at the back of one of beer’s brightest spots in a soft market. Distribs may be beginning to embrace the segment as a more meaningful piece of their biz. And while we’ve heard heady predictions from suppliers before, Evercore ISI’s Robert Ottenstein published a report stating that “we expect a steady build to at least 5% share of the beer category in the US,” and “it would not shock us if the share well exceeded 5% at some point.”

Lagunitas Tripling Mktg Spend to $6 Mil in 2025, Lookin’ to “Reignite Growth” Under New Leadership; Core, High ABV/Flavor & NA Focus CRAFT – Jan 31 Lagunitas is still lookin’ to stabilize amid this continued challenging craft environment. Its volume decline in 2024 marked its 7th consecutive down year in the US. But Lagunitas is still a top-tier craft brewer in various core buckets like on-premise (#1), IPA sales (#3) and non-alc craft (#3), and has been gaining momentum since 2d half of 2024, new CEO Bernardo Spielmann, sales veep Peter Green and CMO Hannah Dray showcased with distribs at co’s Dogpile mtg last wk. In fact, co posted its highest share of craft in Q4 (4.5) since 2020, gradually improving from low of 3.8 share in Q4 2023, Bernardo and Peter Green highlighted, citing Beer Inst data. Certain mktg platforms and package refreshes are taking hold, building brand awareness, consideration and rate of sale, Hannah added. Yet “it’s not enough,” said Peter. Lagunitas’ #1 priority is to “reignite growth,” Bernardo stated, adding that Lagunitas “is not happy to just say we’re recovering.” And co’s ramping up investments to get there, planning to increase marketing spend 3X to $6 mil in 2025, brand director Molly Hagan shared.

Coming Up In Just 2 Days: Don’t Miss BMI’s Year in Beer Webinar!  Join BMI editorial staff on Wed, Feb 5 for our annual Year in Beer webinar. This fast-moving, hard-hitting and wide-ranging review of 2024’s key developments will give you perspective and insight on the year that was and where the industry is at right now. Get a first look at final tallies for top suppliers, brands and the total industry, plus analysis of the biggest deals, policy developments and competitive shifts. Register now for just $260 or sign up 5+ at discounted rates. A recording as well as the presentation deck will be available to all registrants.

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