Mark Anthony Brands

The summer selling season wraps up this weekend with Labor Day Monday, and one of the hottest segments of the summer has been hard sports drinks. Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and senior reporter Zoe Licata dive into the fast-growing segment and how their views have shifted on it over the last year.

Several members of The Finnish Long Drink’s sales force have announced the elimination of their roles in the wake of the ready-to-drink cocktail’s (RTD) acquisition by Mark Anthony Brands earlier this year.

The largest beer companies in the U.S. continue to shift their attention toward their growing spirits-based offerings. And it’s tough to blame them, given beer’s performance so far this year.

In the latest installment of 3 Up, 3 Down, 3 Tier Beverages consultant Danelle Kosmal and analyst Devon Hevener share insights on industry growth and accompanying downward trends, including apple-flavored beer’s ascent.

This year’s Fourth of July celebrations promised to be the biggest yet, with the U.S. celebrating its 250th anniversary. However, the holiday appeared as a small blip in off-premise scans, according to the most recent report from market research firm NIQ.

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.