Circana: Craft Losses Worsen as Summer Starts

Tweet
Reddit
Share
Share
Email

Craft beer dollar (-9.4%) and case sales (-10.9%) straddled double-digit declines in the grocery channel for the four-week period (L4W) ending June 15, according to the most recent monthly report from market research firm Circana.

Overall craft sales – tracked at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) – also declined L4W, to -6.7% in dollars and -8.4% in volume. Convenience channel losses were less steep (-1.7% in dollars, -3.6% in volume).

Craft’s L4W losses mark accelerated declines for both MULO+C (-5.1% in dollars, -6.5% in volume) and grocery (-6.8% in dollars, -7.9% in volume) from year-to-date (YTD) metrics. Craft over-indexes in the grocery channel, where it is No. 3 in overall dollars, compared to c-stores, where it dropped one spot to No. 7 YTD through June 15.

The segment continues to outpace total beer’s losses. Beer category dollars declined 3.1% and volume declined 4.5% in MULO+C YTD, and accelerated to -5.2% and -6.5%, respectively, in the L4W.

Among the top 30 craft brands, 11 recorded dollar sales growth YTD. Of the growth brands, only five grew their dollar sales increases between the YTD and L4W periods:

  • No. 7 Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Elysian Space Dust IPA, +6.1% in dollars and +6.6% in volume YTD, and +8% in dollars and +5.5% in volume L4W;
  • No. 16 A-B’s Goose Island Tropical Beer Hug DDH Double IPA, +27.2% in dollars and +24.8% in volume YTD, and 28.2% in dollars and +24.6% L4W;
  • No. 17 Monster-owned Cigar City Jai Alai IPA, +2.8% in dollars and +3.1% in volume YTD, and +3.3% in dollars and +0.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 20 Heineken-owned Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, +1.7% in dollars and -1.6% in volume YTD, and +9% in dollars and +5.1% in volume L4W;
  • And No. 25 Georgetown Bodhizafa IPA, +7.8% in dollars and +2% in volume YTD, and +14.5% in dollars and +7.9% in volume L4W.

Four brands’ dollar gains decelerated while remaining in growth:

  • No. 2 Kirin-owned New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA, +4.3% in dollars and +2.7% in volume YTD, +3.4% in dollars and +0.7% in volume L4W;
  • No. 3 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juice Force Hazy Imperial IPA, +10.1% in dollars and +8.5% in volume YTD, and +9.9% in dollars and +7.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 4 Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA, +1.4% in dollars and +0.3% in volume YTD, and +1.4% in dollars and -0.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 19 A-B’s Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA, +25.4% in dollars and +26.6% in volume YTD, and +17.2% in dollars and +16.9% in volume L4W.

Two brands’ YTD dollar sales gains flipped to losses in the L4W:

  • No. 8 A-B’s Kona Big Wave, +2.1% in dollars and +2.8% in volume YTD, and -3.6% in dollars and -2.4% in volume L4W;
  • No. 11 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Tropic Force Hazy Imperial IPA, +40% in dollars and +24.8% in volume YTD, and -3% in dollars and -7.5% in volume L4W.

Of the 19 craft brands with dollar sales in decline YTD, nine showed some improvement between the observed periods:

  • No. 5 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, -5% in dollars and -6.2% in volume YTD, and -4.8% in dollars and -6.6% in volume L4W;
  • No. 6 Gambrinus-owned Shiner Bock, -6.7% in dollars and -7% in volume YTD, and -6.5% in dollars and -7.2% in volume L4W;
  • No. 9 Lagunitas IPA, -7.2% in dollars and -9.6% in volume YTD, and -4.2% in dollars and -6.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 15 New Belgium-owned Bell’s Two Hearted IPA, -3.8% in dollars and -5.1% in volume YTD, and -1.9% in dollars and -3.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 22 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hoppy variety pack, -26.6% in dollars and -27.5% in volume YTD, and -15% in dollars and -16.4% in volume L4W;
  • No. 24 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force Hazy Imperial IPA, -48.6% in dollars and -49% in volume YTD, and -37.3% in dollars and -37.5% in volume L4W;
  • No. 27 Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, -16.7% in dollars and -17.6% in volume YTD, and -13.5% in dollars and -15.2% in volume L4W;
  • No. 28 Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing Imperial IPA, -2.1% in dollars and -3.7% in volume YTD, and -2% in dollars and -1.8% in volume L4W;
  • No. 29 Bell’s seasonal, -17.3% in dollars and -16.9% in volume YTD, and -12.5% in dollars and -12.5% in volume L4W.

Ten brands’ dollar sales losses accelerated:

  • No. 1 Molson Coors’ Blue Moon Belgian White, -8.9% in dollars and -13.4% in volume YTD, and -11.6% in dollars and -17.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 10 Molson Coors’ Leinenkugel’s Shandy, -16.6% in dollars and -18.1% in volume YTD, and -21.4% in dollars and -21.8% in volume L4W;
  • No. 12 Duvel-owned Firestone Walker 805, -7.1% in dollars and -9.6% in volume YTD, and -7.5% in dollars and -10.5% in volume L4W;
  • No. 13 Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams seasonal, -9% in dollars and -9.7% in volume YTD, and -19% in dollars and -19.9% in volume L4W;
  • No. 14 Mahou-owned Founders All Day IPA, -6.2% in dollars and -6.9% in volume YTD, and -7.4% in dollars and -8.6% in volume L4W;
  • No. 18 Samuel Adams Boston Lager, -9.7% in dollars and -10.8% in volume YTD, and -11.8% in dollars and -13.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 21 Blue Moon Light, -9.9% in dollars and -10.6% in volume YTD, and -24.4% in dollars and -24.7% in volume L4W;
  • No. 23 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA, -16.8% in dollars and -17.6% in volume YTD, and -20.8% in dollars and -27.3% in volume L4W;
  • No. 26 New Belgium Fat Tire, -23% in dollars and -23.7% in volume YTD, and -29.2% in dollars and -30.5% in volume L4W;
  • No. 30 Rhinegeist Truth IPA, -0.6% in dollars and -1.7% in volume YTD, and -2.1% in dollars and -2.9% in volume L4W.

Four products broke through the top 30 craft brands in grocery stores without making it into the top 30 craft brands in c-stores or MULO+C:

  • No. 24 Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA variety pack, YTD dollar sales of $5.757 million (+156.6%);
  • No. 25 Samuel Adams variety pack, YTD dollar sales of $5.028 million (-24.2%)
  • No. 28 Sapporo-Stone Stone IPA, YTD dollar sales of $4.975 million (+2.5%)
  • No. 30 Sierra Nevada seasonal, YTD dollar sales of $4.251 million (-9%).

The top 30 MULO+C brands that did not also rank among the top 30 in grocery stores include New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force Hazy Imperial IPA, Goose Island Tropical Beer Hug DDH Double IPA, Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing Imperial IPA and Rhinegeist Truth IPA.

Three products ranked among the top 30 craft brands in c-stores, despite not ranking among the top 30 brands in grocery or MULO+C:

  • No. 26 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger IPA, YTD dollar sales of $4.049 million (-32.7%);
  • No. 28 Fiddlehead IPA, YTD dollar sales of $3.702 million (+0.6%);
  • No. 29 Tilray-owned SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale $3.305 million (+3.7%).

Three New Belgium brands that ranked among the top 30 brands in grocery and MULO+C were not among the top 30 brands in c-stores: Voodoo Ranger Hoppy variety pack, Fat Tire and Bell’s seasonal.

Non-alcoholic beer maker Athletic Brewing, which is not included in Circana’s craft data set, ranked as the 14th largest overall beer category vendor in grocery stores (+24% dollars, +26.2% volume YTD) and the 18th largest MULO+C vendor (+24.6% dollars, 26.4% volume YTD). Athletic’s off-premise sales are primarily sourced from grocery (more than $39.7 million YTD via food stores; $49.755 million in MULO+C).