Former Anheuser-Busch Beyond Beer vice president Randy Ornstein is moving to the retailer side of the desk, taking a job with convenience store delivery company goPuff. Ornstein will be goPuff’s director of alcohol, he confirmed to Brewbound.
In the competition for active lifestyle consumers, MillerCoors believes its found an answer to Anheuser-Busch’s popular Michelob Ultra brand. The United States’ second-largest beer company announced today plans to begin nationally distributing Saint Archer Gold — its 95-calorie, 2.6 carb light lager — beginning January 1, 2020.
International spirits conglomerate Diageo announced today that it has acquired non-alcoholic distilled spirits maker Seedlip. The liquor company had been an investor in the brand through its venture capital arm, Distill Ventures.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is back in the craft beer M&A game. After a two-year hiatus following the May 2017 acquisition of Wicked Weed, the world’s largest beer manufacturer announced today the acquisition of Cleveland’s Platform Beer Co., a transaction that is expected to close in the third quarter.
Kona Brewing once again lifted Craft Brew Alliance’s (CBA) financial results. CBA shared its second-quarter financial results today, highlighted by portfolio-wide depletions (sales-to-retailers) growth of more than 1 percent, and shipment (sales-to-wholesalers) growth of 4.4 percent.
Donovan Bailey, the founder of Everett, Massachusetts-based Down the Road Beer Company, died on July 31, at the age of 46. According to Bailey’s obituary, he died “unexpectedly” at his home in Malden.
Anheuser-Busch InBev announced today the acquisition of fast-growing Ohio craft brewery Platform Beer Co. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In a press release, A-B noted that Platform was “the fastest growing regional brewery in the United States in 2017.” According to data from the Brewers Association, the Cleveland craft brewery increased production from 6,500 barrels to 20,000 barrels that year.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s innovation and growth division, ZX Ventures, has sold Minnesota-based homebrew supply retailer Northern Brewer to Blackstreet Capital Holdings LLC.
Halfway through 2019, volume growth for small and independent U.S. craft brewers has remained steady at 4 percent, according to data released today by national trade group the Brewers Association (BA). BA chief economist Bart Watson, in a press release, characterized craft brewers’ low- to mid-single-digit craft brewer volume growth as “a similar pattern” to recent years.
Oregon’s Rogue Ales & Spirits launched a line of ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails in key markets, including the Pacific Northwest, last week. Speaking to Brewbound, Rouge’s president, Dharma Tamm, said adding canned mixed drinks to the Newport, Oregon-headquartered craft brewery’s portfolio was a “natural” extension of its business.
All presentations from Cannabis Forum Summer 2019 are now available to stream on the BevNET YouTube channel. Held in June in New York City, the industry conference brought together hundreds of cannabis curious food and beverage founders and executives to discuss and explore the present and future of the emerging market.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: Pyramid owner FIFCO USA settles a lawsuit with its Alehouse staff; Manhattan Beer Distributors and its delivery drivers battle over alleged ‘wage theft;’ Left Hand enters the CBD-infused, non-alcoholic drink market; New Delhi bans A-B InBev for three years; and more news bites.
Average annual raises in the beer industry rank among the highest in the consumer product goods industry, according to recruiting firm ForceBrands’ latest “Beer Talent Market Report.” The New York-based firm’s survey of 111 beer industry professionals — including C-level executives, directors and presidents– found that the beer industry’s average annual raise of 12 percent outpaces the CPG industry average by 2 percent.
Tickets for the 2019 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) are still available a day after going on sale to the public, despite the event’s history of quick sell outs. The slowdown in ticket sales for the Brewers Association’s (BA) largest consumer-facing event of the year, which takes place October 3-5 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, comes as craft beer volume growth has slowed to single digits over the last four years.
