Dear Client: We come bearing good news from yesterday’s Fintech industry review webinar. According to their data, which tracks around a third of industry volume in both the on and off-premise, category volume is running well ahead of last year through the halfway point of 2021. Indeed, Fintech-tracked YTD volumes (through week 27 of 2021) … Continue reading “Fintech’s Half-Year Report Card Shows Total Beer Volume Up 9%”

Dear Client: BBD readers know that e-commerce/delivery player Gopuff, which purports to be the “leading platform for instant needs,” extended its reach as a brick-and-mortar retailer when it acquired Kentucky’s Liquor Barn chain in late June. That’s after having acquired California’s marquee liquor store, BevMo, last fall.  Gopuff, with its almost 300 fulfilment centers, certainly … Continue reading “Drizly Chief: Expect Many More E-Commerce Models”

Dear Client: On Friday, we hosted our first celebrity on our podcast, Nathan Apodaca, who is better known by his social media handle Doggface208. If you’re not familiar with Doggface, well, where have you been?  He went about as viral as one can go on the interwebs last fall, thanks to a simple, feel good … Continue reading “Talking Cranberry Dreams with Doggface and BeatBox”

Dear Client: Well, we can’t say we didn’t see this one coming. Just last Friday we reported how an Albertsons in Las Vegas was blowing through soon-to-expire Coors Seltzer Variety 12 Packs ahead of the holiday weekend, slinging the packs for $6.99 a pop – a strong indication that the brand was struggling.  Now, less … Continue reading “Molson Coors Kills Coors Seltzer in U.S.,”Effective Immediately””

Dear Client: After weeks of speculation on the deal, yesterday news broke that big, Tampa-based A-B/Constellation house, Pepin Distributing Company, would sell to private equity firm, Redwood Capital Investments (as first reported by BMI).  You may recall the Redwood name for its having purchased the Houston territory of Silver Eagle Distributors — one of the … Continue reading “Redwood Rolls Up Another Giant A-B Wholesaler: Tampa-Based Pepin”

Dear Client: With more than 200 locations and a giant store layout, Spec’s Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods is one of Texas’ most popular liquor stores. And it’s growing. In fact, Spec’s beer buyer, Justin Cody, told BBD that they are “aggressively expanding” in the state, opening roughly 1 location per month — but “often … Continue reading “Spec’s Buyer: Seltzer Now a “War of Attrition,” and Other Insights”

Dear Client: The Beer Institute reported a bombshell of a report on Friday afternoon showing that imported beer shipments were up 75.6% in May, citing government data, cycling a time of year last year when import shipments into the U.S. dried up almost completely out of Mexico due to the covid shutdown of their breweries.  … Continue reading “Hottest. Summer. Ever.”

Dear Client: Not a whole lot of difference between Memorial Day supermarket ads last month and the ones leading up to Fourth of July this weekend.  Still, there were a few things that caught our eye in this latest set of circulars, like… MORE CANNED COCKTAILS POPPING UP. We wouldn’t say canned cocktails are prevalent … Continue reading “Highs and Lows on Pricing Heading Into the Fourth”

Dear Client: It’s been a minute since Reyes made an acquisition on the East Coast. According to our records, the last time they bought brands on that side of the country was late 2019, when the company acquired the distribution rights from Dixie Beverage Company in Virginia. Well, that hiatus is over. They’re back, expanding … Continue reading “Reyes Acquiring G&G Distributors in Maryland”

Dear Client: Constellation beer depletion trends accelerated in Q1 earnings today, up 10.7% on the strength of the irrepressible Modelo and an extra selling day (or just under 10%, adjusted for that day). Shipments were largely in line with depletions, up 11.3%. Net sales were up 14%.  The company further attributed its showing to “continued … Continue reading “Constellation Accelerates Again; Q1 Beer Depletions Up Almost 11%”

Dear Client: After yesterday’s news that current Anheuser-Busch U.S. sales chief, Brendan Whitworth, would assume the role of CEO from Michel Doukeris as of July 1, we sought to take the pulse.  One interesting fact that we’ve fielded from several sources is that this change of guard was a closely held secret. Apparently, even some … Continue reading “Survey Says: Brendan Whitworth a Good Choice”

Dear Client: It’s been the source of many a dinner conversation since early May, when it was announced that Michel Doukeris would replace Carlos Brito as the head of Anheuser-Busch InBev: Who would replace Michel as CEO of Anheuser-Busch, and Zone President of North America?  Now we know the answer. Current U.S. sales chief, and … Continue reading “Anheuser-Busch’s New Chief is Brendan Whitworth”

Dear Client: On July 1, brand Heineken will debut new spots — for once, created specifically for the U.S. market. Another first: These spots mark the first time you’ll see a Heineken ad with a can in it in the U.S. New Heineken brand director Josh Egan, who joined the company last year, told BBD … Continue reading “Here’s What Makes Heineken’s New Summer Spots Different”

Dear Client: It looks like the beer industry banding together in New Jersey might just be enough to squash spirits’ equivalency efforts in the state. BBD understands that SB 3452, which seeks to equivalize the state excise tax between malt-based RTDs and distilled spirits-based canned cocktails, was pulled from a vote yesterday, which is key, … Continue reading “Equivalency Bill Comes to a Halt in New Jersey”

Dear Client: The latest Beer Purchasers Index is in, and it continues to reflect the post-COVID world. Recall, the index measures how much distributors are buying, and anything over a 50 signifies segment expansion.  June’s composite reading of 70 for overall beer is good, as it’s in expansive territory. However, it still falls 11 points … Continue reading “FMB/Seltzer BPI Index Plummets: Stuffed Inventories?”