Dear Client: Is one of the largest draft retailers seeing the draft slow down everyone else seems to be noticing?  That’s what we asked Jason Murphy, director of beverage strategy and innovation at Buffalo Wild Wings, on Beernet Radio earlier this week.  “We’re not seeing anything too crazy different from what the rest of the … Continue reading “Does Beer Have a “Fun” Issue?”

Dear Client: The beer business in the U.S. is in sorry shape. Off-premise scans are showing beer volume down 3% so far this year, with domestic premium (including lights) down 5.8%, below-premium down 2.9%, super-premium down 4%, and craft down 3.9% (NIQ ytd 09/16/23).  The only segments that are up are imports, up 4.8%, and … Continue reading “Chaotic Summer Masks Category Weakness”

Dear Client: Glazer’s Beer & Beverage — one of the nation’s largest beer wholesalers with a 40 million-case portfolio of Molson Coors, Constellation, Boston, Heineken, Guinness, big craft, non-alc and energy across Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas — has just announced completion of a deal to buy Omaha-based Premier-Midwest Beverage Company, one of Nebraska’s largest beverage … Continue reading “Glazer’s Beer & Beverage Acquires Premier-Midwest Beverage and Premier Glazer’s”

Dear Client: Several months after the Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB) ultimately found Anheuser-Busch did not violate its Advertising Marketing Code and Buying Guidelines as part of the Dylan Mulvaney/Bud Light social media post, the organization has revamped its ad code to address influencers who advertise beer.  Indeed, in a letter announcing the … Continue reading “Dissecting the New Beer Institute Ad Code”

Dear Client: Earlier this week, we got Tilray’s U.S. beer chief, Ty Gilmore, on Beernet Radio to share how they’re “digesting” the deal to buy half a million barrels worth of A-B craft, making the cannabis giant a top five U.S. craft supplier overnight. One thing seems certain: you can expect a lot of Tilray’s … Continue reading “Tilray’s Big Deal, Two Months Later”

Dear Client: In a highly anticipated, 170-page lawsuit filed Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission has officially come for Amazon.  Court watchers anticipated the suit, which was filed in Seattle federal court, for months, according to a story by the Wall Street Journal. The agency, headed by chair Lina Khan, accuses the online retailer giant of … Continue reading “FTC vs. Amazon: Biden Administration Joined by 17 States in Antitrust Suit”

Dear Client: We don’t see a whole lot of movement in trends for overall beer in the latest batch of Circana scans to September 10 (with beer up low-singles in dollars, and down low-singles in volume), but after digging a little deeper into the latest four weeks tables, we pulled out some highlights.   For example, … Continue reading “Striking Stats from Latest Scans”

Dear Client: Here at Beer Business Daily we have for a long while now observed and respected the two universal truths of this industry: Beer is heavy, and scale matters.  Nothing proves the latter like AB InBev’s overall financial performance after managing to permanently lose a fifth of its consumers* in the U.S., its most … Continue reading “What Controversy? ABI Chugs Along Fine Despite U.S. Challenges”

Dear Client: Late last year, BBD pointed out how Sazerac’s malt-based biz was growing faster than you’d expect [see BBD 11-15-2022].  Now, close to a year later, we’re here to point out that that same biz is slowing faster than you’d expect. Indeed, while Sazerac’s malt trends still look rosy from a YTD perspective, growth … Continue reading “Sazerac Slows in Beer Scans”

Dear Client: Anheuser-Busch held a tight, 1.5-hour virtual EAM meeting Tuesday afternoon that managed to outline a “comeback plan” while teasing Q4 and 2024 plans across all of their business units. It also featured leveled-up bets on Mich Ultra, which naturally seems to be taking on increased importance in the portfolio. Even before spring events … Continue reading “A-B Plans “Comeback,” and More from EAM Meeting”

Dear Client: It’s the (likely) end of the road for the distribution contract spat between Washington state distributor Olympic Eagle and Constellation, as the Ninth Circuit has declined to re-hear an appellate case decided in Constellation’s favor earlier this summer.  On Tuesday, an unsigned, one-page order was issued by Circuit Judges Susan P. Graber, Ronald … Continue reading “Ninth Circuit Declines to Re-Hear Olympic Eagle/Constellation Case”

After leaving all of the world guessing on which brand would show up in its grand Super Bowl return earlier this year, Molson Coors isn’t playing any games this next go-round. The company is in fact returning to the Super Bowl next year, CMO Sofia Colucci shared with distribs in Orlando last week at MCDC, … Continue reading “Molson Coors Heading Back to Super Bowl with Coors Light”

Dear Client: In part 2 of our recent end-of-summer distributor survey (check out part 1 here), we hit three more hot topics: Draft, innovation and beyond beer.   At the top: Frankly, draft is an issue. In fact, more than half of wholesaler respondents (53%) said slow draft trends “worry” them. As one put it: “We … Continue reading “Distributors Speak on Draft, Innovation, and Beyond Beer”

Dear Client: Although we’ve been sworn to secrecy on many of the new details coming out of Orlando this week at Molson Coors Distributor Convention till later dates, it’s safe to say the company has plenty cooking.  Molson Coors unveiled a slew of big new partnerships in sports, music, clothing and even recreation for core … Continue reading “A Peek Into Molson Coors’ Oven”

Dear Client: Our post-Labor Day wholesaler survey results invoke Dickens’ most famous novel. For beer distributors, it is the best of times, and the worst of times, often depending on whose brand name hangs on the wall. Our survey, conducted over the last couple of weeks, fielded responses from more than 30 wholesalers across the … Continue reading “Post Labor Day Survey: Best of Times, Worst of Times”