Jessica Infante joined Brewbound in 2019 after nearly a decade in a variety of marketing roles in the craft beer industry. Prior to that, she was a daily newspaper reporter at the Jersey Shore. Jess holds a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from Emerson College. She is a certified Cicerone and lives in Salem, Massachusetts.
The fallout from Ball Corporation’s updates to craft brewers and other small customers about increased minimum order quantities continues to reverberate. In addition to Ball raising minimum order quantities for printed cans from one truckload (204,000 cans) to five (1,020,000 cans), the price of 12 oz. cans will increase nearly 28%, from $93.23 to $119.11 per 1,000 cans, according to an updated pricing sheet obtained by Brewbound.
Ball, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans, has informed customers without contracts that minimum quantities for orders of printed cans are increasing to five truckloads per SKU and that the company will no longer provide warehouse services for its customers, according to a post shared by the Brewers Association.
Beer industry leaders gathered in Manhattan earlier this week for Beer Marketer’s Insights’ first in-person seminar since 2019. The day — which included an agenda packed with interviews of the CEOs of the U.S. operations of some of the world’s largest beer manufacturers and leaders of two of the largest craft beer companies in the country — left some financial analysts feeling “more optimistic on the industry,” Goldman Sachs equity research analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote in a report following the event.
Reyes Beer Division broke ground on a new San Diego-based distribution center for its Crest Beverage subsidiary yesterday. The 400,000 sq. ft.-facility is expected to move more than 16 million cases of beers in the portfolios of Molson Coors, Heineken, Constellation Brands, Lagunitas, Firestone Walker, Coronado and other local offerings.
Four New England craft brewers discussed learnings gleaned from developing their contract brewing services during the pandemic at the Massachusetts Brewers Guild’s annual conference earlier this week.
Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages has struck a deal to acquire Bell’s Brewery, the second largest craft brewery in Michigan and the seventh largest Brewers Association-defined craft brewery by volume in 2020.
The Brewers Association (BA) will require attendees of its 2022 events to provide proof of vaccination for COVID-19 and will not accept negative test results as a substitute. “All events and competitions will have this requirement,” BA marketing and communications director Ann Obenchain told Brewbound. “There will be no negative test option.”
Bar and restaurant sales velocity in all key markets tracked by on-premise market research firm CGA declined week-over-week for the week ending October 30. “Average outlet [dollar] sales (velocity) trends have been slightly negative in recent weeks, following growth in September and the early part of October,” CGA wrote. “These recent trends continue to mirror 2019, suggesting that the country is experiencing normal seasonal trends.”
Tilray-owned SweetWater Brewing Company and Ontario, Canada-based RIFF Cannabis have collaborated to launch SweetWater RIFF, a vodka-based ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail.
Amid rising costs from its suppliers, Ball Corporate — the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum cans — is exploring increasing its prices for customers “on a case by case basis,” CEO and chairman John Hayes said during the company’s third quarter earnings call with investors and analysts.
Single-serve packages — driven by 19.2 oz. cans — have begun to claw back the dollar share they lost during pandemic shutdowns, according to Bump Williams Consulting (BWC). “2021 started to show some signs of life where single-serves improved their share of category in key channels such as grocery and drug, reversing the share erosion that had become the norm, particularly in grocery,” Bump Williams wrote in a report citing NielsenIQ data.
Sonic Hard Seltzer has rolled out of its home state of Oklahoma into six new markets and is sporting a new package format. The bubbly beverage, made through a partnership between fast food giant Sonic Drive-In and Oklahoma City-headquartered COOP Ale Works, is now available in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Arizona in two variety 12-packs of slim/sleek cans — a departure from the traditional 12 oz. cans the product debuted in.
The U.S. and European Union (EU) have struck a deal that will lift some tariffs on aluminum and steel that were enacted by former President Donald Trump.
Stone Brewing has abruptly shuttered its taproom in Napa, California, following a legal battle with its landlord over rent payments during the pandemic. “We’re incredibly disappointed to leave Napa,” Stone wrote in a statement.
