Mark Anthony Brands

As middle-tier M&A dominos fall this summer, NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser joins the latest Brewbound Podcast to discuss the tectonic shifts in the distribution landscape. Plus, Aeronaut director of programming Deepa Chungi shares how the Massachusetts craft brewery created a booming events business.

After making a splashy debut in 2024, Más+ By Messi, the hydration drink brand co-launched by global soccer superstar Lionel Messi and Mark Anthony Brands, is officially out of the game.

Sazerac-owned BuzzBallz is the dominant brand in the RTD segment. BuzzBallz’ dollar sales increased 65.6%, to more than $569.3 million, in Circana-tracked off-premise retailers for the 52-week period ending April 19.

Breakthru Drivers Strike in Illinois & Missouri; Diageo Beer USA Net Sales +9.1%, Global Net Sales +2.3%; Monster Q1 Alcohol Net Sales -5.9%; Hard Seltzers Increasingly Top-Heavy Market; A-B CMO: ‘25 is the New 21’; Molson Coors Reveals Keystone Light Apple Cans.

Ready-to-drink hard lemonade has surged to $1.5 billion in sales, but new styles are squeezing out the segment’s mainstays. 

Convenience store retailers offered an optimistic outlook on 2026 beverage sales in Goldman Sachs’ Q4 Beverage Bytes retailer survey, which represents roughly 28% of the c-store channel (around 42,000 retail locations).

Mark Anthony Brands founder and chairman Anthony von Mandl will step down as CEO and has appointed vice chairman Phil Rosse to succeed him, according to a memo shared with distributors today.

In this episode of the Brewbound Podcast, Mark Anthony Brands president David Barnett details how the bev-alc company is “doing better than most” in today’s challenged marketplace. He spoke about the company’s highlights with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall, in a conversation recorded at the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA’s) Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

Of all the hurdles (self-inflicted and otherwise) facing beleaguered hydration drink brand Prime, sugar may not appear to be the most obvious. Nevertheless, the influencer-led, Congo Brands-owned company is seeking to spark a sales and popularity rebound with Prime Zero. Meanwhile, soccer superstar Leo Messi’s Más+ by Messi will shift to slim cans next year.

Ohio distribution shakeups, breweries gets margin squeezed and Stone’s 29th anniversary.

The return of professional football didn’t result in a boost to on-premise beer trends, contrary to years past. Opening weekend of the 2025 NFL season (September 4-7) led to high-single-digit declines in both draft beer (-7.3%) and packaged products (-8.3%) compared to 2024 opening weekend (September 5-8), according to on-premise tech and insights firm BeerBoard.

Could Mark Anthony Brands be shuttering its first-ever owned production facility for White Claw, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Cayman Jack? The future of Mark Anthony Brewing’s production facility in Hillside, New Jersey, is unclear as the company has filed notice that 143 workers will be affected by job cuts this fall.

What do distributors want in 2025? A survey of 173 distributors from across the U.S. found that middle-tier leaders are seeking simplification and focus in programs, among other key traits. Those answers were among the takeaways from consulting firm Tamarron’s 27th annual Brewer Partnership Compass survey.

When Geoff Dillon founded Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers in 2012, he wanted to make whiskey and other bottled craft spirits, inspired by the natural surroundings of the distillery’s backyard in Niagara (Ontario, Canada). Thirteen years later, Dillon’s gin- and vodka-based 5% ABV canned cocktails (RTDs) are what’s leading the way.