Anheuser-Busch Update: Veza Sur Lawsuit Dismissed; Austin Selected As Next ‘Consumer Hub;’ $100M Committed to Women’s Sports

A false marketing suit against Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) and its Miami-based Veza Sur brand was dismissed by a U.S. district court judge in Miami last week, which included a district court judge referring to the definition of a craft brewery as “a subjective term,” according to Law360.

Judge Beth Bloom stated in a 43-page order that the Brewers Association’s (BA) definition of craft beer — which was used by the plaintiffs in the suit — was one available definition rather than a rule of law.

Veza Sur is a “Latin-American inspired craft beer brand,” that was launched by A-B in 2017. The brewpub in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami was founded as part of A-B’s High End portfolio of craft and import brands (now named The Brewers Collective), and was created by Max-Antonio Burger — then-new ventures and innovation manager for the High End — as well as 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder Chris Cox and Bogota Beer Company founder Berny Silberwasser (both A-B affiliates).

The lawsuit — initially filed August 14, 2020 by Miami residents Byron Jackson and Mario Mena Jr. in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida — alleged that A-B misled consumers by falsely marketing Veza Sur as a “Miami-born craft brewery with Latin American roots,” and that the misrepresentation of “the authenticity and ownership of Veza Sur” deceives consumers into paying a premium price. An amended class action “for injunctive and other relief against defendants” was filed on August 31.

A second amendment complaint (SAC) was filed after the initial argument was dismissed over the lack of “requisite specificity.” The SAC specified that because Veza Sur was owned and operated by Anheuser-Busch, it could not call itself a “craft brewery,” citing the BA’s definition of craft brewer:

“(1) a brewery must produce six million barrels of beer or less annually; (2) less than 25 percent of the craft brewery can be owned or controlled — or equivalent economic interest — by a beverage alcohol industry member which is not itself a craft brewer, and (3) a TTB Brewer’s Notice must be present.”

However, Bloom wrote: “The [SAC’s] generalized allegations regarding defendants’ misrepresentations and omissions fail to provide defendants or this court with any detailed and particularized facts from which to infer a plausible claim sounding in fraud.”

Bloom added that the Veza Sur’s marketing claims of being “Miami-born” and ”made in Miami” are factually accurate, as some of its beer is brewed in Miami, in addition to a facility in Fort Pierce, Florida. She also clarified that the slogans were more “puffery” than a factual statement that could deceive consumers.

In addition to the SAC, the plaintiffs brought counts of breach of express warranty under Florida law, and breach of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA). Bloom ruled the breach of warranty claim was “woefully insufficient,” and dismissed the MMWA claim, as it requires 100 plaintiffs to be named.

“Plaintiffs in this case are the only two ‘named plaintiffs’ for the purposes of the MMWA’s jurisdictional limitation, which is fatal to their claim,” she said.

Finally, the filing of a third amended complaint was denied, with Bloom stating the plaintiffs failed to bring the request forward in a timely or diligent manner.

Anheuser-Busch to Open Austin Office

A-B will be opening a new office in Austin, Texas, which will serve as one of four “regional consumer hubs,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.

The Austin office will open this fall with a team of 20 employees, consisting of both existing A-B employees and new hires, A-B chief marketing officer Marcel Marcondes told the Statesman. A-B’s central marketing office will continue in New York.

Austin will join St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Miami, as a regional office Marcondes hopes will help the company better connect with consumers in growing markets.

Marcondes added that the regional hubs will host “multifunctional marketing teams in roles such as insights, innovation, digital, and analytics,” which will help A-B form both local and national strategies.

“Austin was a natural choice for a regional consumer hub because it’s a growing community that’s brimming with local talent, and already well known as a tech and innovation center of excellence,” Marcondes added. “We chose cities that we believe will dictate the trends of the future, where consumers are already influencing culture. The closer we are to consumers in these key markets, the better positioned we’ll be to lead future growth.”

Michelob Ultra Commits $100 Million to Women’s Sports

A-B, through its Michelob Ultra brand, announced today that it will be donating $100 million over the next five years to women’s sports.

The commitment is part of a new campaign to “help increase visibility of female athletes,” who “don’t alway receive the same level of coverage in the media,” leading to pay disparities, according to a press release.

Women’s pay in sports has been in contention for years, most notably with the fight by the U.S. women’s national soccer team to achieve equal pay to their male counterparts. Last month, the team filed an appeal against a 2020 district court decision that dismissed the team’s equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The team’s legal representation argued that the decision, which said the women were paid more cumulatively than the men’s national team, “defies reality” and disregards disparities in bonuses and performance quality, according to ESPN.

In addition to the donation, Michelob Ultra will dedicate 50% of its “lifestyle media inventory” by 2025 to content featuring female athletes and women’s sports. The company also said it will represent male and female athletes equally in all future advertising, and will ensure equal representation on its talent and influencer roster of both male and female athletes.

A-B is also engaging consumers with the cause through the “Save It See It” campaign, which asks consumers to “save” women’s sports highlights on social media. When content featuring female athletes is interacted with, similar content will populate user feeds more often, increasing the visibility of women’s athletes, according to the release.

A promotional video for the campaign was released today, featuring three athletes Michelob Ultra has partnered with: Nneka Ogwumike, a WNBA star; CeCe Telfer, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA title; and Andraya Carter, a reporter, basketball analyst, and former NCAA athlete.

A-B Facility Named Largest Manufacturer by Revenue in St. Louis

A-B’s manufacturing facility in St. Louis was the largest manufacturer by revenue in the area for 2020, generating companywide revenue of $46.88 billion, according to St. Louis Business Journal.

The Journal ranked manufacturing firms based on revenue in 2020. The list includes all locally based firms, “regardless of whether they have manufacturing facilities in the region,” including St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Warren, Franklin, Washington and Jefferson counties in Missouri, and St. Clair, Madison, Jersey, Clinton, Calhoun, Macoupin, Bond and Monroe counties in Illinois.

The $46.88 billion in revenue generated by A-B in 2020 was more than $5 billion above the second biggest firm in the area, agribusiness and food company Bunge Ltd. ($41.40 billion).

Emerson Electric Co., ($16.79 billion), Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. ($15.34 billion), and Olin Corp. ($5.76 billion) rounded out the top five.

Michelob Ultra Releases 2 New Hard Seltzer Flavors

A-B’s Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer brand released two new flavors this week: Bold Black Cherry and Watermelon Strawberry.

Bold Black Cherry (4% ABV, 90 calories) joins the Michelob Ultra’s Classic Collection of hard seltzer flavors: Citrus, Mixed Berry, and Mango Apricot.

Watermelon Strawberry (4% ABV, 80 calories) joins the brand’s Signature Collection of Cucumber Lime, Spicy Pineapple, and Peach Pear.

Michelob Ultra launched its hard seltzer brand nationwide in January in variety 12- and 24-packs, as well as 25 oz. single-serve cans, and is certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The brand held 3.4% of shares in the hard seltzer segment year-to-date (YTD) in week 27 of 2021, according to a July presentation by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the logistics firm Fintech. The brand just beat out Vizzy Hard Seltzer (3.3%), Corona Hard Seltzer (3.3%), and Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer (3.1%) for fourth place in the segment share, behind Mark Anthony Brand’s White Claw (38.1%), Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer (29.8%), and Bud Light Seltzer (9.1%).

Year-to-date through August 8, Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer’s top two selling packs in multi-outlet and convenience stores were its Signature Collection variety pack, with more than $60.6 million in off-premise dollar sales, and its Classic Collection variety pack, with nearly $18.9 million in sales, according to market research firm IRI.