Dear Client:
The double-digit declines continue for craft in the latest four weeks of NielsenIQ scans through October 23.
Craft volume fell 11.7% for the four weeks and dollars dropped 10.2%. It was one of three segments that saw volume and dollars drop double-digits during the frame, the other two being below premium and malt liquor (not the hottest company these days).
Then too, craft dollar share dropped 0.8 points during the frame, tying below premium for the largest dollar share loss across beer segments for the four weeks.
As we’ve noted in recent scan roundups, these paltry trends are owed primarily to craft’s performance in the food channel. Indeed, no segment is bleeding share like craft in food right now.
Craft lost more than a full point of dollar share during the four weeks (-1.1 points), and only two other segments lost share in the channel: below premium, which was down only 0.2 points and hard seltzer, down just a hair at -0.1 points.
In convenience, craft trends were also down double digits for the four weeks, but its share loss wasn’t as significant, down only 0.3 points.
With this poor showing one might think that it’s more bad news at the craft brand level, but one brand fam, in particular, actually came on strong over the latest four weeks.
A NEW FASTEST-GROWING CRAFT BRAND IN THE LATEST FOUR WEEKS. Yep, Sam Adams ranked as the fastest-growing craft brand fam for the four weeks in NielsenIQ scans.
The brand fam was up 9.3% in volume and up 12.3% in dollars, outpacing the growth of the brand fam that has a stranglehold on that top growth position in craft: the New Belgium brand fam, which was up 4.1% and 7% for the four weeks.
Note, however, that New Belgium is sitting pretty YTD, up 8.5% in volume and up 11.4% in dollars, while Sam Adams is not, down 6.4% in volume and down 4.4% in dollars.
Still, it’s encouraging to see another large craft brand picking up some steam heading into this last stretch of the year. Sam Adams’ positive trends for the four weeks look to be largely attributed to the food channel, where the brand fam was up 9.7% in volume and up 12.5% in dollars.
In fact, out of five huge craft brand fams included in this cut – Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Sam Adams and Lagunitas – Sam Adams was the only one to grow volume or dollars in food over the four weeks.
And perhaps even more impressive, Sam Adams ranked as the second fastest growing brand fam in the Boston Beer portfolio over the four weeks in NielsenIQ channels, sitting behind Twisted Tea and in front of Truly.
SAM ADAMS USING “SPACE HOPS” FROM RECENT INSPIRATION4 MISSION FOR NEW BREW, SPACE CRAFT
Sam Adams is gearing up to release Space Craft this month, a new IPA that was brewed with 66 pounds of Citra and Mosaic hops that traveled more than 300 miles above earth last month along with Inspiration4, the first all-civilian crew to leap into space.
The commander of that space mission, Jared Isaacman, who serves as the CEO of Shift4 payments, floated the idea of taking some hops on board the mission about a month prior to launch, per Collect Space, asking on Twitter “Who wouldn’t order a beer brewed with space hops?” and “soliciting brewers to respond ‘if interested,’” according to the report.
Sam Adams threw its hat in the ring, and became “the official beer of the mission.”
Once the “space hops” returned from the successful Inspiration4 mission, they were auctioned off to Sam Adams, who made a commitment to donate $100,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as part of Inspiration4’s $200 million fundraising campaign.
With the hops in hand, Sam Adams got to work crafting the beer, which they describe as a West Coast-style IPA with a firm bitterness and tropical notes of grapefruit, guava and passionfruit.
Sam Adams landed on the name Space Craft for the brew after polling “more than 5,000 Samuel Adams’ fans with input from the brewers and the Inspiration4 crew,” per Collect Space.
The beer will hit select markets and Sam Adams’ taprooms on November 16, coinciding with “the expected peak of the Leonid meteor shower.” Space Craft will arrive in four-packs of 16-oz. cans that come priced at $22.33, an homage to the duration that the Inspiration4 crew was in space: 2 days, 23 hours and 3 minutes.
Until tomorrow,
Harry, Jenn and Jordan
“Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem.”
– Henry Kissinger
———- Sell Day Calendar ———-
Today’s Sell Day: 4
Sell days this month: 22
Sell days this month last year: 21
This month ends on a: Tues.
This month last year ended on a: Mon.
YTD sell days Over/Under: -1
