Vol 7, No 25 Jun 22, 2026

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FTC & Southern Glazer’s Work to Settle Sprawling Pricing Suit; Many Mils Spent, How Much More? EXPRESS – Jun 22 The FTC and Southern Glazer’s asked a fed ct in California for a 45-day pause as they try to hammer out a settlement to end the agency’s price discrimination suit against the distrib. All pending deadlines and filings in the huge, wide-ranging suit concerning tens of mils of transactions with tens of thousands of retailers in 30 states is likely to be put on hold as the parties negotiate terms. But the agency and the largest distrib in the US have butted heads for years at this point: FTC initially filed the suit in Dec 2024 after a 2 yr investigation. What terms could these parties finally agree to? Many millions in legal fees have already been spent by the govt, Southern and third parties as well. Recall, the suit was deep in the expensive discovery phase, leading to tense disputes between the parties and others. The ct has not yet ruled on the massive, 450-pg filing where Southern asked to severely limit the scope and size of the FTC’s case.


Heineken Names New CEO Rafael Oliveira Starting Oct 1; Served as JDE Peet’s CEO; “Breaks the Mould” EXPRESS – Jun 23 For the first time in its 87-yr history as a public co, Heineken, the 2d largest global brewer, has named an outsider as its ceo. The board named Rafael (Rafa) Oliveira for 4 yrs starting Oct 1, 2026. Rafa will be leaving JDE Peet’s, “the world’s largest pure-play coffee and tea company,” where he’s been ceo since 2024. After KDP’s acquisition of JDE Peet’s, he had been appointed to lead its planned Global Coffee Co (revs $16 bil). Heineken calls him a “highly accomplished international consumer goods leader” who “brings more than two decades of experience in transformational leadership across both developed and emerging markets.” Prior to JDE Peet’s he worked at Kraft Heinz for about 10 yrs, where he rose to prexy of intl mkts, overseeing $7 bil in revs. And he also worked at Goldman Sachs as a banker for a number of yrs. The Brazilian-born exec began his career as an equity research analyst in his native country and is 51 yrs old. 


Big Layoffs at Diageo Hit DBC USA Too; Laura Merritt Out as Prexy, Sales VP Keara Movin’ Up; ~150 “At Risk” in Ireland EXPRESS – Jun 23 Diageo Beer Co USA has been the healthiest piece of parent co’s US biz for consecutive yrs. But that didn’t stop new ceo, “Drastic” Dave Lewis, from making major changes to that department too, INSIGHTS learned. Prexy Laura Merritt will be leaving just under two years since officially starting the gig, and there are lots of cuts to the sales team as co reduces the number of region biz units by half. Word is that DBC USA sales veep Keara Funck will rise to a leadership role over DBC USA as part of reorg. Cuts presumably go deeper yet in DBC USA and the broader company, on top of layoffs 1 yr ago following restructuring of its North America team. Changes are “huge,” said one source.


American Bev Assn Advances Ball on Transparency with QR Code Scheme Dubbed Good to Know; Shoppers Still Can Do Better, Some Health Advocates Advise BEV INSIGHTS – Jun 23 In recent mos, bev packs have been showing up in stores sporting QR codes that direct shoppers to seemingly comprehensive database of info on the ingredients used in the drinks. Now American Beverage Assn lobbying org is promising that bevcos in its ranks “have committed to achieving full or near-full market penetration across all beverage portfolios by the end of 2027.” That database, called Good to Know, was developed by AmeriBev but “provides factual, non-industry information” about 140+ bev ingredients. It’s intended to provide greater transparency than current on-pack ingredient lists do. Instead, it provides “relevant context that helps people understand where specific ingredients are used, what function they serve and how regulators in different countries view them,” per statement from prexy/CEO Kevin Keane. NBC has reported that, beyond Big 3 soda marketers, Celsius, Monster Energy, Polar and Red Bull also are employing the codes.


Craft Beer Share Loss Steepened in Last 4 Wks of MULC as Most Top Fams Slipped, Long Tail Skidded CRAFT – Jun 24 For the 2d consecutive 4-wk period, craft beer $$ sales declined 4.6% in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. Its share loss steepened to more than a 0.3-pt dip in latest 4 wks thru Jun 14 vs -0.27 in previous 4-wk period and 0.2-pt share loss YTD in these channels. Perhaps that’s an indication that anticipated chain retailer shelf space cuts to craft are taking hold and impacting the segment’s trends as spring resets were implemented. Net-net, there are 11 craft brand fams among top 50 beer fams overall, and they were collectively down less than 2% while all others slipped 7%.


Average Beer Consumption Dropped Near 6% in 2025, Down 15% in 5 Yrs, 20% in 10 EXPRESS – Jun 24 Stack population growth on top of beer’s 5% volume decline in 2025 and average beer consumption per 21+ adult fell by a tuffer 5.6% in just one yr. The avg US legal-age adult consumed just below 22 gals of beer last yr, or about 4.5 cans per wk. Back in 2020, it was more like 5.3 beers per wk (tho a solid chunk of that was hard seltzer that yr). And 5 yrs before that, avg consumer per person per yr was up over 27 gals or 5 oz shy of a six pk per wk. So beer’s dismal 2025 capped a 16% drop in avg consumption over 5 yrs and over 20% decline in the last decade.


World Cup Boon Extra Strong in Host States On-Prem; Wild Growth in MA, NY/NJ and CA; Up 5.5% Nationally; Off-Prem Host Lifts Too EXPRESS – Jun 25 There’s no question anymore, US beer biz is getting a boost from World Cup. Especially on-premise in host mkts, data from Beer Institute chief economist Andrew Heritage’s Beer by the Numbers report showcases. Across 9 US host states (including NY/NJ combined), on-premise beer STRs grew a whopping 15.4% for the last 2 wks thru Jun 20 vs yr ago, Andrew shared. Host markets also collectively grew volume nearly 1% in off-prem channels, led by growth in grocery, liquor stores, mass merch and drug stores. Altogether, beer volume grew 2.8% in these states.


Wild and Wooly World of Wine and Spirits Distribution; Further to Fall? Fragmentation Model and Beer Distribs BEER INSIGHTS – Jun 26 The stunning implosion of the #2 wine and spirits distrib Republic Natl Dist Co remains unprecedented in the history of alc bev distribution. And the hits keep coming. Less than 2 weeks ago, RNDC announced it will “permanently close” in IL as “there currently is no financing available to continue” there. After that and the completion of several still pending deals, the once-mighty RNDC, over $12 bil in revs just a few years ago, will be down to 2 states, Georgia and New Mexico (both franchise-protected), carried on by the entity NDC (Natl Dist Co), one of the owners of RNDC. In this extraordinary saga, RNDC still could have further to fall. There are creditors and suppliers who reportedly haven’t gotten paid. Some sources raise the prospect of breach of contract claims and other legal issues. Whatever happens, the meaning of these earthshaking developments extends far beyond RNDC.


Craft IPAs Up 2%, All Other Styles Down 11% for 4 Wks CRAFT – Jun 26 The gap between IPAs and other craft beer styles keeps widening in off-prem scans. While total craft segment $$ slipped 4.6% for latest 4 wks thru Jun 14, IPAs managed to grow 2% in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. So all other craft styles collectively declined 11% for 4 wks, -0.5 share of total beer, compared to down 7%, -0.36 pts for the year. IPAs are still up 3% and +0.16 share of total beer YTD in MULC. Vast majority of that growth is comin’ from c-stores, where IPAs are up 6%, vs foodstores +0.5%. But IPAs are gobbling up share of craft, and gaining share of beer regardless of channel.


Coca-Cola’s 29-Yr Vet Mann Moving On After Leading Biggest Unit to Strong Growth; Bested by Braun for Top Job BEV INSIGHTS – Jun 26  Coca-Cola vet Jennifer Mann, who was believed to be in the running for CEO spot that ultimately went to Henrique Braun, has decided to move on, KO announced yesterday afternoon, just after market closed. A 29-yr vet most recently serving as evp/prexy for N Amer Operating unit, Mann will step down on Aug 1, with prexy/CFO John Murphy picking up her duties on interim basis. She’s to remain as advisor thru next Apr. No reason was given for her departure but announcement commended her for leading co’s largest unit to “strong revenue and profit growth.”


Special Occasions Warrant Special Rules: World Cup Brings Slew of Alc Bev Law Shifts ALCOHOL ISSUES – Jun 26 The World Cup brought lots of foreign fans to host cities across the US and North America in recent weeks. But before they got here, states and cities made a number of temporary tweaks to state alcohol policies to accommodate their thirst for a good time (and lots of beer, as it turns out). Alongside an outsized number of leadership and staffing shifts, explaining tournament-focused law changes was a clear theme of opening comments made by various state regulators during last week’s NCSLA conference in New Orleans. Among the most common changes are expanded hours of operation.


Busy Keg 1 Will Buy Another MO Distrib, Fechtel Beverage & Sales in Jefferson City EXPRESS – Jun 26 Keg 1 will purchase operating assets of over 1 mil cases Fechtel Beverage & Sales (Bernie Fechtel and fam) in Jefferson City in central MO. Fechtel is contiguous and its portfolio aligned with Keg 1’s earlier purchase of Summit in MO. Keg 1 expects to integrate the acquired biz into co’s existing operations and service the combined footprint out of its Earth City, MO facility. Fechtel portfolio includes MC, STZ, Diageo, Mark Anthony and “other key suppliers” in 11 counties in central MO, wrote Keg 1. Deal announced to employees and suppliers and expected to close in Sep.


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