Beyond Beer

Editor’s Note: The below news items were initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter December 22-26. Not an Insider? Become one today to get earlier access to what’s going on in the industry. CGA: 40% Consumers Plan to Take Part in Dry January; Half of Gen Z to Participate Two-in-five consumers plan to take part… Read more »

After five years in operation, Spirited Away, the first non-alcoholic (NA) bottle shop in the U.S., has a new owner.

Stateside Brands, the company responsible for popularizing vodka-based iced tea, is now adding vodka to another beverage: the sports drink.

As alcohol sales have remained strained for years on end, the emergence of mainstream, legal hemp-based beverages has been a major boon for adult beverage retailers. Jon Halper, owner and CEO of retail chain Top Ten Liquors, is one of them.

The Clean Alcohol Collective (CAC), co-founded by Meredith Mills-Merritt, founder of ready-to-drink (RTD) brand The Original Southside, and Conor Begley, co-founder of Father’s Brewing, launched this month as a coalition of alcohol brands offering greater ingredient transparency and shared formulation standards.

Tobacco crops used to stretch to the horizon in the farmland of Kentucky, but now, many of those fields grow hemp plants. It might not last.

The nomination window is open for the 2026 Keg Champion awards, hosted by the Steel Keg Association (SKA), a non-profit group that promotes the use of stainless steel kegs.

The next evolution in adult non-alc (ANA) will require brands to push flavor to greater heights, invest in retail strategy, and find new occasions.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Thursday directing the U.S. Attorney General to move cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III controlled substance, marking a watershed moment in the history of U.S. marijuana policy and a significant step forward for the nascent THC-infused beverage industry.

This year was not an easy one for entrepreneurs in bev-alc or adult alternatives. Consumers and investors are adjusting their relationships with alcohol, and still doubtful of the emerging adult non-alc industry. But the smartest beverage founders are meeting those challenges by digging deeper into their relationships with the industry, the environment and their communities…. Read more »

Mark Anthony Brands founder and chairman Anthony von Mandl will step down as CEO and has appointed vice chairman Phil Rosse to succeed him, according to a memo shared with distributors today.

PepsiCo allegedly created a soft drink “price gap” with Walmart, creating a system that allowed the world’s largest retail to obtain preferential promotional payments, while those same payments were reduced for Walmart’s competitors, according to court documents unsealed last week.

Thrive Market is going dry. The online grocery retailer announced today it is adding more than 100 SKUs across 20 brands to its adult non-alcoholic (ANA) beverage set, while simultaneously dropping all of its existing alcoholic offerings.

The personal and professional responsibilities of a modern beverage entrepreneur were in the spotlight on Day 2 of BevNET Live LA 2025, as founders and leaders discussed strategies to effectively meet the changing role of running a beverage business.