Vol 5, No 41   Oct 7, 2024

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Capital in OKC Has Deal to Sell to Glazer’s Beer & Bev; Will Be Around 50 Mil Cases; Gordon Green Stays On EXPRESS – Sep 30 Capital Dist in OKC, a 7+ mil-case Molson Coors operation, has deal to sell to Glazer’s Beer & Bev.  Deal announced to employees, pending supplier approval, expected to close by year end. Recall, Glazer’s bought 3.5 mil Premier-Midwest Bev Co in neighboring Omaha, NE just last yr. So Glazer’s made 2 of 5 MC distrib deals INSIGHTS tracked in 2023-4. Co has quietly become one of nation’s very largest beer distribs. Once Capital deal closes, it will be bigger than Andrews in Dallas or Manhattan in NY, but across multiple states in Midwest and Southwest. Last yr as it announced Premier-Midwest deal Glazer’s was 40+ mil cases and over $1 bil in revs. When this deal is done, Glazer’s Beer & Bev will be around 50 mil cases.

Starbucks Teams with Athletic Greens’ AG1 Core Offering on In-Store Test in 4 Markets  BEV INSIGHTS – Sep 30 In somewhat counterintuitive development, AG1, formerly marketed as Athletic Greens, has launched a test at Starbucks of in-store iced offering dubbed Nutritional Blends. The effort is starting in handful of markets – Palm Springs and Palm Desert, Calif., Chicago and Seattle – with 3 iced offerings dubbed Nutritional Blends. “Not a terrible thing to test more healthful and lower sugar items on the menu,” said AG CEO Kat Cole in confirming test. “It's cool to get even to this stage with their extensive vetting processes.” The partnership presumably would have been devised under leadership of Starbucks’ now-ousted CEO Laxman Narasimhan, so new CEO Bryan Niccol will need to embrace it too.

Sazerac Aims to Grow BuzzBallz by 5X in US, Sez Merilee; Expects to Become Co’s #1 Brand EXPRESS – Oct 2 Sazerac has big ambitions to grow BuzzBallz in the US and beyond, founder/ceo Merrilee Kick shared during colorful interview with BBD director of content Jenn Litz-Kirk at Making Moves BREW and Alliance for Women in Beer conference in San Diego on Oct 1. When Sazerac closed acquisition of BuzzBallz, it became co’s #2 brand “overnight,” she noted. But “I think soon we’ll be their number one brand,” and “I say that with confidence” because “we have a lot of runway.” Sazerac’s goal is to grow BuzzBallz 5X “what we’re doing domestically,” said Merrilee. “They’re going to get us into on premise,” where BuzzBallz is virtually “nothing...right now.” And while BuzzBallz is currently sold in 29 countries, international biz is “going to explode as well,” she added. BuzzBallz reached $213 mil in tracked NIQ off-prem channels last year and continues to post strong double-digit growth in 2024 scans. Suggests BuzzBallz anticipates becoming a $1-bil brand in the US in coming yrs.

Constellation Slows; STRs Up Just 2.4% Jun-Aug; Shipments Up 4.6%; Revs Up 6% EXPRESS – Oct 3 Even Constellation is not immune to overall softness in alc bevs. “The current macroeconomic backdrop has weighed on the demand for beverage alcohol,” acknowledged STZ ceo Bill Newlands in earnings release Oct 3. Beer shipments still up 4.6% in its fiscal 2d qtr (Jun-Aug), but depletions up 2.4% or low-single digits. That’s 4 points slower than STR trend in first qtr, 3 points slower on shipments. For the half, Constellation shipments up 6%, but depletions up 4.2%. Despite slowdown, STZ maintains slightly revised guidance that it released in early Sep for 6-8% rev growth in beer division and 10-12% gains in oper income. 

Liquid Death Rationalizes Sales Force, Saying Its Greater Scale Has Set Stage to Glean Efficiencies BEV INSIGHTS – Oct 3 For past coupla years, Liquid Death has been a marvel of brand-building ingenuity, unleashing one inventive marketing stunt after another, energizing its wholesaler partners and building topline at rate only overshadowed by Prime Hydration. But it’s spent heavily to do so, reeling in tens of millions in investor capital, and by some accounts we’ve heard losing $70 mil to generate $120-130 mil in sales last year. With brand now more established, the time seems to have come to start thinking about gleaning greater efficiencies. So LA-based co has undertaken a cutback of undisclosed magnitude of its sales/distribution force, as co confirmed to BBI. In statement, co noted that Liquid Death continues to scale rapidly, with rolling 52-week retail scanned sales up 63% as of Q2.

Moving from Integration to Execution, Sapporo Seeks to Double Over Med-Term EXPRESS – Oct 4 “We want to double the size of Sapporo,” declared Sapporo-Stone ceo Zach Keeling to kick off the brand’s virtual ABP with distribs Oct 3. Recall, Sapporo (339K bbls) finished last yr ahead of Stone (316K bbls), as Sapporo’s now seeking to add another ~5 mil cases. That ain’t a goal for next yr, and no specific timeline attached to that aspiration. But the distribution opportunity is “glaring,” commented chief revenue officer Tom McReavy. “This is just the beginning,” added Zach, seeing “tremendous opportunity ahead.” The supplier still has less than 10% overlap between its distribution networks for Sapporo and Stone. But with integration largely in the rearview and domestic production in place, it’s now shifting into “execution mode,” Zach underscored.

Key Congressional Oversight Committee Compels More Info on ICCPUD’s DGA Efforts ALCOHOL ISSUES – Oct 4 Stymied so far, leaders of a key Congressional oversight committee want clearer answers to questions about research leading to alcohol-related elements of the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Last week, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability subpoenaed documents related to work by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). Republican Rep James Comer of Kentucky is “alarmed” by the delegation of joint authority to develop the DGA, held by both the US Depts of Health & Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA), to ICCPUD, he wrote. The House committee first asked for documents from HHS Secretary Becerra and USDA Secretary Vilsack six months ago, recall. Since then, the departments only produced a total of 77 pages of “responsive,” non-public documents, Comer wrote in cover letters for each subpoena.

Stone to Focus on Core, Add Nationwide Pils in 2025; Discontinue Specialty Releases  CRAFT – Oct 4 With craft in a tough spot, Stone will look to find its way forward with focus. The legacy craft brand plans to “proactively replace lower volume beers” by discontinuing specialty releases, its Enjoy By series and large format bottles nationally, Sapporo-Stone CEO Zach Keeling explained to distribs in separate virtual ABP yesterday. Specialty offerings will still be available at Stone’s own locations as well as direct-to-consumer with shipping to CA, VA, DC and OH. But co plans to double down on core offerings, including new Stone Delicious Hazy IPA 12pks, brand refresh on Buenaveza and national push on new Stone Pils.

AB Chief Commercial Officer Kyle Norrington to Join Beer Insights Seminar, Nov 17-18 in NYC Just added to our jam-packed Beer Insights Seminar program: Anheuser-Busch US chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington. Overseeing co’s commercial efforts as well as its marketing, Kyle will speak to the evolution of AB’s megabrand strategy, its big ambitions for Mich Ultra (including the upcoming launch of Mich Ultra Zero), and much more. You’ll also hear from top execs at Constellation, Sazerac, New Belgium and Surfside, along with the presidents of NBWA and BMI. Plus, don’t miss a timely panel discussion on fast-evolving delta-9 beverages and a panel of leading Wall St analysts. Sign up today to reserve your spot!

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