Nearly six months into Paul Verdu’s tenure at the helm of Wisconsin Brewing Company (WBC), the Verona, Wisconsin-based brewery is making significant changes to its strategy, focusing its energy on the Lake Louie Brewing brand and WBC’s contract brewing business.
National accounts managers from Odell Brewing, Athletic Brewing, Dry Dock Brewing and JuneShine share how they’ve built their teams and grown sales through chains. This conversation took place in Denver during a live Brew Talks event prior to the Great American Beer Festival.
Chicago-based brewery incubator Pilot Project has hired Todd Haug as its first chief innovation officer (CIO).
With more than 9,000 craft breweries in the U.S., consumers are inundated with choice on retail shelves or when bellying up to the bar. To stand out, solidifying a brand identity is becoming increasingly important to differentiate from the pack. Brewbound Live will bring together three up-and-coming breweries with crystallized identities for a conversation on brand building on November 29 and 30 at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.
Pernod Ricard is boosting its agave portfolio with another tequila. The global wine and spirits company announced on Monday that it had acquired a majority stake in Código 1530 Tequila, the ultra-premium tequila co-founded by country music singer George Strait.
The average price per case of craft beer is up +4.6% year-to-date and “continues creeping into the $40+ per case range,” according to Bump Williams Consulting, citing NielsenIQ data through October 1. The average price paid per unit is up +2% compared to a year ago, the firm added.
Many new beverage-alcohol products on display at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) trade show earlier this month in Las Vegas “[f]ocused on premiumization, convenience, betterment and enhanced flavor profiles,” according to Goldman Sachs senior equity research analyst Bonnie Herzog.
Off-premise craft beer sales through the first three quarters of 2022 are in the red (-5.1%), although trends have “slowly [creeped] toward break-even” through the summer months (July, August, September), according to the latest craft breakdown from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC), citing NielsenIQ data through October 1.
Boston-based Trillium Brewing Company is consolidating its production in Massachusetts and offering its original Canton facility as a turnkey operation.
Kroger has announced a definitive agreement on a $24.6 billion deal to acquire Albertsons, bringing the country’s two largest grocery chains together.
3 Tier Beverages consultant Mary Mills and NielsenIQ’s VP of alcohol industry thought leadership Jon Berg discuss the 2022 summer selling season and look ahead to the remainder of the year. They share thoughts on craft’s recent struggles, style and format opportunities and more.
The last couple of weeks are a bit of a blur, and how couldn’t they be when you’re running the post-Labor Day acronym gauntlet: NACS, GABF, NBWA, BI, AFWB. OK, I missed one of those but that’s why Jess Infante is this team’s road warrior and deserves all the airline status. A weekly reminder of the top storylines of the week seems in order.
U.S. grocery chain giants Kroger and Albertsons are involved in merger discussions, which would create the largest supermarket chain in the U.S., Reuters reported.
Regional ciders are taking share, while hard seltzer is headed for rationalization, 3 Tier product team consultant Stephanie Roatis shares in the latest 3 Up, 3 Down analysis for Q3 2022.
