Stone Distributing has made the first big addition to its portfolio since being carved out of the sale of Stone Brewing Company to Sapporo Holdings.
Starting in December, Stone Distributing will once again sell San Diego-headquartered Coronado Brewing Company’s portfolio of brands in Southern California, after several years apart.
Stone will distribute Coronado’s offerings throughout San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties, as well as large swaths of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
“Stone Distributing has a proven track record and is highly regarded by our retailers,” Clinton Smith, Coronado’s chief commercial officer, said in a press release. “We’re both ready to win and we see 2023 as a big opportunity to grow our business further into all channels. With an aligned vision, we are looking forward to a long-term partnership with the Stone Distribution team next year and well into the future.”
Following the sale of Classic Los Angeles’ beverage-alcohol portfolio to Scout Distribution, Coronado Brewing began exploring its options and determined that Stone Distributing was the “right fit” for its needs, co-founder and president Rick Chapman told Brewbound.
In addition to the shift away from Classic San Diego, Coronado will also move its portfolio from Beauchamp Distributing (Los Angeles County) and Straub Distributing (Orange County) and Classic Los Angeles to align with Stone Distributing.
Coronado is also now in independent Anheuser-Busch house Heimark Distributing’s full territory, with the addition of the Riverside and Temecula areas.
Coronado’s sales are up more than +20%, driven by Weekend Vibes IPA and Salty Crew Blonde Ale, the brewery said in a press release. Weekend Vibes (+18.2%) is the eighth best-selling IPA in Southern California, the company added. Meanwhile, Salty Crew Blonde (+121.4%) is the third best-selling blonde/golden ale in SoCal.
As for Stone Distributing, the wholesaler has gained 1.7 points of market share in Southern California, now accounting for 12.8% of the total craft/FMB/hard seltzer market, according to NielsenIQ data for the 13-week period ending October 29. Stone’s portfolio includes Stone Brewing, JuneShine, Modern Times, Societe, Russian River, Three Weavers, Jiant and other craft producers.
In 2021, Coronado increased production +2% year-over-year, to 34,297 barrels of beer, according to data from the Brewers Association. The company is targeting 47,000 barrels of total production in 2022, including its hard seltzer and cider brands.