Beyond Beer

With the RTD category at peak saturation, retailers and distributors want to know brands can bring incremental consumers.

The largest, dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer maker in the U.S. is attempting to put a new spin on “Dry January.” Athletic Brewing Company has launched “Athletic January,” a new campaign that puts the brand’s name at the forefront of a month in which many consumers abstain from alcohol.

Spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails are projected to grow at a +6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the U.S. through 2028, according to market research firm IWSR.

This year’s spirits news was full of big names and bold moves: warring tequilas, sudden closures, celebrities popping in and out of the industry, and even an intern blowing things up. Here are the top 10 BevNET spirits stories, as ranked by popularity.

Diageo is reportedly exploring a sale of Cîroc Vodka, the brand once transformed by the support of disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is now in prison facing federal charges of sex trafficking among other crimes.

Oregon’s Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services has submitted its final report to Gov. Tina Kotek, including recommendations for reallocated resources and updated data collection.

Patco Brands, the manufacturer of one of the leading wine-based ready-to-drink products and other private label brands, has made a strategic investment in Farfield, California-based Frank-Lin Distillers Products, the companies announced Monday.

If brands can be founders’ children, then Brett Berish has taken a very hands-on approach to fatherhood becoming the focal point for his spirits company Sovereign Brands.

Hollywood’s cannabis king is pouring up something new. Houseplant, the Los Angeles-based cannabis and lifestyle brand co-founded by actor and producer Seth Rogen, is moving into beverages with the U.S. launch of a four-SKU line of hemp-derived THC-infused flavored sparkling waters, available now in select markets and online.

Global spirits giant Suntory Holdings revealed today the creation of a new business unit, Suntory RTD Company North America, focused on malt-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings with the first release expected to hit U.S. retailers in mid-January 2025.

Ninety-five percent of bev-alc brand launches fail, according to Gustavo Aguirre, VP of brand innovation at investment firm InvestBev. Aguirre spoke during BevNET’s Spirits Sunday event in Marina del Rey, California. Aguirre was joined by GHJ advisory partner Maria Pearman and 5:30 Somewhere founder Dale LeFlam.

In Japan, some of the country’s oldest sake brewers are eagerly awaiting a decision next month on their bid for the rice wine to win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, a commendation reflecting the depth to which the beverage is tied to national pride and tradition. Other ambitious brewers, meanwhile, are just as eager to buck tradition altogether.

Brown-Forman, the leading exporter of U.S. spirits to the world, beat analysts’ expectations in its latest quarterly earnings report, thanks to a jump in demand from its more premium whiskies. But the president and CEO of the Jack Daniels Whiskey maker cautioned that with potential tariffs looming it was facing “so many potential scenarios and unknowns.”

Spindrift is in advanced talks to be acquired by a private equity firm for north of $650 million, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.