Applications are now open for the Brewbound Live 2026 Pitch Slam, taking place during Brewbound Live on December 9 + 10 in Marina del Rey, California. This year, the competition is opening to a broader mix of brands, including beer (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), hard cider, hard seltzer, hard kombucha, canned cocktails and other canned beer-, wine- and spirits-based beverages. The focus is not simply on what is new, but on how each brand can contribute to growth across beer and the broader beverage-alcohol industry.
Pernod Ricard closed a rough fiscal 2026 with organic net sales down nearly 4% globally and 14% in the U.S., but CEO Alexandre Ricard used the company’s full-year results call to highlight where the French spirits giant is seeking growth, including ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
Two of the beer category’s largest growth vendors reversed trends in the four-week period (L4W) ending August 9, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana. Worsening grocery channel losses pushed No. 1 Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) into decline in the L4W, accelerating a pattern that began in July.
Verlaine, the Lower East Side bar synonymous with New York’s lychee martini, is about to see whether two decades of happy hour fame can translate into retail sales.
Fingers boozeletter author Dave Infante joins the Brewbound Podcast to deep dive Diageo’s ongoing restructuring and workforce slashing under CEO Sir Dave Lewis. The trio also hit recent headlines, including Garage Beer and Liquid Death tapping into the real world animosity around data centers and BuzzBallz’s recent Pop-Tarts partnership.
Consumers started to feel a bit more comfortable with their financial situations this summer, but that sentiment appears to be waning again, according to a new report from market research firm Circana.
Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter August 24-26, including headlines from the Beer Institute, Constellation Brands, Pabst Blue Ribbon and more.
One of the Southeast’s largest beer distributors, Gulf Distributing Holdings, is investing in its spirits division, pairing a newly created leadership role with its latest infrastructure investment.
If rapper Wiz Khalifa’s new THC-infused beverage Kush & Orange Juice connects with an audience anyway similar to the album that inspired it, expect this one to be a breakthrough release.
The spiked sports drink competition is getting another major player. Boston Beer Company will officially launch Rally Dog Vodka Ade in four test markets in September.
Ready-to-drink cocktails (RTD) carry the highest average price per serve of any category, yet are experiencing the most growth – undercutting old assumptions about what ‘trading up’ means to consumers.
