Zoe Licata joined Brewbound in 2021 after several years of freelance reporting and documentary work. She’s a Massachusetts native, guinea pig for bev-alc innovation and savant in Gen Z culture.
Industry members heard numerous calls for beer to fight against threats from spirits this week during the National Beer Wholesaler Association’s (NBWA) Annual Convention in Las Vegas.
Many of the conversations on stage this week at the National Beer Wholesaler Association’s Annual Convention made some mention of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) sales declines and the impact on beer distributors.
This year has been “nothing short of tumultuous” for the beer industry, National Beer Wholesaler Association (NBWA) outgoing chairman Gordon Green said during Monday’s general session at the trade organization’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas.
The Coca-Cola Company is “not here to crash [beer distributors’] party,” Dan White, Coca-Cola, North America chief of new revenue streams, said in a fireside chat with National Beer Wholesaler Association (NBWA) president and CEO Craig Purser Monday during the NBWA’s annual convention.
The average price of 12 oz. equivalent (EQ) at U.S. bars and restaurants has increased +10.2% in the last 52 weeks (ending August 12) versus the previous 52-week period, according to CGA, an NIQ-powered on-premise market research firm.
Beer continues to record declines in the off-premise, and “we have a long way to go before we see a ‘return to normalcy,’” according to Bump Williams in his monthly report for his data consulting firm, Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).
Constellation Brands continues to grow its beer business, increasing net beer sales +12% year-over-year (YoY) in Q2 of fiscal year 2024 (+$253 million), to more than $2.39 billion.
While Colorado remains one the largest and most developed craft beer markets, its breweries have struggled to bring back their draft beer business post-pandemic. Many breweries, wholesalers and retailers alike have focused their attention on combating off-premise declines, but “as a beer community, we’ve got to fight for draft,” Holidaily Brewing founder Karen Hertz said on stage in Denver last month during Brewbound’s Brew Talks meetup.
The Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) “did not change significantly” from August to September, and remained relatively similar to ordering trends in September 2022, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).
The Beer Institute (BI) has updated its Advertising and Marketing Code, including new guidelines on social media marketing and advertising placement standards.
Craft continues to battle declines, with dollar sales for the segment down -1% in the last 52 weeks (ending September 19) and volume down -5.3% in Circana-tracked channels. But the ebbs and flows of craft are what make it a “success,” Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch said last week during the company’s annual media brunch at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).