Constellation Brands

A judge has granted Pullayup, Washington-headquartered Olympic Eagle Distributing a preliminary injunction against Constellation Brands’ termination in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Executives from Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B), Molson Coors Beverage Company and Constellation Brands all championed core beer during Beer Marketer’s Insights’ Beer Insights Seminar Monday in New York City.

Constellation Brands is simplifying its approach to the cannabis industry as the company announced plans today to convert its common shares of Ontario-based Canopy Growth Corporation into new non-voting exchangeable shares.

More than 300 people gathered in Chicago Wednesday for the Alliance For Women in Beer’s inaugural in-person event.

Constellation Brands continues to be the golden child for distributors with the growth of its Mexican imports, Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog reported in her Q3 “Beverage Bytes” survey.

Constellation Brands’ beer business reported double-digit shipment and net sales growth along with nearly 9% depletions growth in the second quarter of its 2023 fiscal year.

On-premise sales over Labor Day weekend received “an uplift in velocity” on Sunday (+16%) and Monday (+54%) compared to the previous week, NielsenIQ’s on-premise tracking arm, CGA, reported today.

Beer category dollar sales at off-premise retailers increased +2% year-over-year for the week ending August 21, outpacing total beverage alcohol dollar sales growth (+1%), according to market research firm IRI.

Beer Kulture, Brave Noise, and Women of Bevolution have launched a grant program aimed at helping underserved groups launch businesses in the craft beverage industry.

After a successful trial, Constellation Brands will expand its Modelo line extension Oro nationwide in March 2023, the company announced. Modelo Oro – a lower-calorie, lower-carbohydrate light beer intended to appeal to drinkers looking for better-for-them options – was one of several innovation productions Constellation introduced this spring for simultaneous test launches in various markets.

Pricing was the clear theme of the question-and-answer portion of Constellation Brands’ first quarter FY2023 earnings call on Thursday. More specifically, analysts were wondering why the company is hesitant to increase price in an inflationary environment. CEO Bill Newlands reiterated that Constellation’s “long-term algorithm on pricing is +1%-2%,” although last year it increased beer prices +3.5%.

Constellation’s beer depletions increased +8.7%, while shipments grew +17.3%, to 99.5 million case equivalents during the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, the company reported today. Net sales increased +21%, to more than $1.898 billion, with gross profit of more than $1 billion (+14%). The beer business’ operating income also increased +13%, to $762.8 million.

Light lager continues to increase share on Drizly, clawing back share losses to hard seltzer over the past two years, according to the e-commerce alcohol delivery platform in its latest BevAlc Insights report.

NielsenIQ veteran Mary Mills has departed the data giant to join Chicago-based 3 Tier Beverages as a consultant. During her 14 years at NielsenIQ, Mills worked with clients in the food, beverage and consumer goods industries in a variety of roles, including innovation insights, client management and business development. She brings nearly a decade of experience with beverage-alcohol brands to 3 Tier. Salt Lake City-headquartered Uinta Brewing has tapped Ian Fuller as director of brewing operations.