Wading Through the Muddy Waters of Cross-Category Partnerships

Dear Client:    In recent years, we've increasingly covered companies outside the typical wine and spirits space in the virtual pages of WSD as category lines blur.  Indeed, major soft drink companies, energy drink companies, even water and tea brands are getting into the bev alc space. This has taken a few different forms (and bev alc bases).  The Coca-Cola Company seems partial to lending its non-alc brand names to a bev alc supplier partner, who then takes over production,