Dear Client: A-B assessments are well underway. Some distributors have already gone “under the gun,” so to speak, while others face the audits imminently.  We’ve known for a while now that this was coming. But complaints have gotten louder in the last couple of weeks: A handful of wholesalers have told BBD the process has … Continue reading “A-B and Some Wholesalers Clash Over Compliance”

Dear Client: Despite logging another quarter of double-digit drops in depletions and shipments in the U.S. (the fourth straight quarter of such tallies), Anheuser-Busch InBev sounded upbeat with where the business is heading on yesterday’s Q1 earnings call. Of course, A-B now has easy comps to cycle over the next four quarters, but the laps … Continue reading “A Rebalanced and Reinvigorated A-B?”

Dear Client: Anheuser-Busch has spoken about improvements for total portfolio share trends “each month since November ’23,” as we wrote last week.   But in the just-reported Q1 results, it was another quarter of tough tallies for ABI’s U.S. business.  Depletions were down 13.7% in the quarter, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.” … Continue reading “Not Yet Out of the Weeds: A-B Depletions Down Almost 14% in Q1”

Dear Client: Molson Coors has signaled plans to dive deeper into music with Coors Light this year, and now they’re ready to unveil what they have in store. As teased on last week’s earnings call, the brand is releasing a summer music program, a platform called “Chill Amplified,” that looks to build engagement with consumers … Continue reading “Coors Light Recruits Roster of Artists for New Music Platform, Chill Amplified”

Plus, some newer hot brands showing fatigue. Dear Client: It’s happened. In the latest four weeks of Circana MULC data to April 21 there’s a new top-selling beer at Anheuser-Busch: Mich Ultra. Indeed, Mich Ultra pulled in $259,657,987 in sales this latest four weeks, edging out Bud Light’s $259,613,224 in sales. Bud Light still maintains … Continue reading “Mich Ultra Surpasses Bud Light”

Dear Client: Monster reported record Q1 sales today for its global business, as co-CEO Rodney Sacks announced possible plans to step away from the “day-to-day” business in 2025, with his partner Hilton Schlosberg potentially set to take over the helm, solo.  Indeed, Monster saw record first quarter (ended March 31) net sales, which rose 11.8% … Continue reading “Monster Q1: Alcohol Net Sales Up 21%; Co-CEO Rodney Sacks Mulls Retirement”

Dear Client: We recently hinted that a shakeup in segment supremacy seemed near based on data provided by Bump Williams Consulting, and now less than a month later, BWC says it has all but happened. In its latest monthly update, BWC kicked things off saying there’s a new “king of the cash register” in beer, … Continue reading “Imports Now “King of the Cash Register,” Says BWC”

Dear Client: Q1 was good for Molson Coors, but everyone on the earnings call wanted to know what will come after.   Recall, Molson Coors had a bang-up Q1, including a 5.8% depletions hike in the U.S., primarily due to core brand growth for Coors Light, Banquet and Miller Lite. They maintained their guidance of low-single-digit … Continue reading “Gavin on Molson Coors’ “More Cautious” Industry Tone in Q1 Earnings”

Dear Client: Molson Coors Q1 results are in, and have played out pretty much as anyone who’s paying attention to the news might have expected: with mid-single digit depletion jumps in the U.S., and some overshipment in the quarter to stay ahead of the summer selling season, especially during a strike.  Global Q1 net sales … Continue reading “Molson Coors Q1: Steady as She Goes, U.S. Depletions Up Almost 6%”

Dear Client: April’s Beer Purchasers’ Index came in much better than in recent months – and in fact, in recent years. The total index registered at 62, the best trend since December 2021. Recall that anything over 50 in the index indicates expansion.  GIANT JUMPS FOR PREMIUM REGULAR, PREMIUM LIGHTS. In fact, each of the … Continue reading “BPI Sees Best Reading Since Late 2021 “

Dear Client: After Boston’s better-than-expected Q1 earnings results hit yesterday — with depletions flat for the quarter, shipments up 0.9%, gross margins of 43.7% (up 570 basis points), and net revs up 3.9% — the company hosted a 40-minute call, featuring new CEO Michael Spillane.  He fielded a host of questions, on marketing spend, Twisted … Continue reading “New Boston Beer Chief On Priorities, Twisted, and Spend”

Dear Client: Heineken global saw an ”encouraging start to 2024,” as all regions grew volume and net revenue, and “we continued to see a sequential improvement in the performance of the business,” said chief Dolf Van Den Brink in the company’s Q1 update. Note that the quarter was admittedly “boosted” by an earlier Easter, and … Continue reading “HUSA Q1 Depletions Down a Low-Single-Digit, But Silver, Chelada Show Promise”

Dear Client: After a breakout year this past year, in which it grew 563% to 1.3 million cases sold, and put vodka-based hard tea RTDs on the map, Surfside is now making moves to try and own the subsegment it helped create, across the map. Indeed, the brand announced today that it’s expanding distribution to … Continue reading “Surfin’ U.S.A.: Surfside Goes National”

Dear Client: With Easter holiday timing impact now out of the way, we’ve got our first clear look at how A-B, others and the category itself have shaken out in the initial lapping of last year’s Bud Light fallout. And what we have so far in this very early stage is this: sizable movement in … Continue reading ” Big Comps Set in: Better Pic for A-B, But a Tougher One for Beer”

Dear Client: When BBD was started nearly 25 years ago, the great fear in the industry was that a huge retailer, say a Walmart or more acutely later a Costco, would lobby to break open state-licensed three-tier and/or control state laws to achieve direct shipping of bev-alc products to their centralized warehouses and between and … Continue reading ” The Taming of Amazon”