Beyond Beer

In the words of the Whispers and Sonny & Cher: “the beat goes on.” At least for BeatBox Beverages.

Black-owned South African spirits group Spearhead announced yesterday it has raised $3 million to expand the reach of its two products, Vusa Vodka and Bayab Gin, to the U.S., as well as launch new product lines and accelerate its marketing efforts. The raise was led by Pendulum, an investment and advisory platform aimed at supporting business leaders of color.

Last month The Coca-Cola Company and Brown-Forman announced the launch of a new Jack & Coke ready-to-drink (RTD) product— but eager U.S. drinkers will have to wait. The new beverage will first launch in Mexico, sparking the question: as RTD growth spreads globally, where are major suppliers headed next, and what will they be looking for?

Indeed Brewing Company will release two new offerings next month, diving head first into a new category outside of beverage alcohol: cannabis.

Following the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s (NJABC) move to enforce special conditions that restrict craft breweries’ ability to host events and offer food, state Sen. Michael Testa has announced he will introduce a bill to counter the restrictions.

Pernod Ricard announced last week the launch of The American Whiskey Collective, a new business unit dedicated to the company’s American whiskey portfolio that will pursue growth by investing in the “new fashioned” brands’ innovation, according to the division’s newly appointed head, Craig Johnson.

Vita Coco is the latest non-alcoholic beverage giant to dip its toes into the RTD cocktail space, announcing today a collaboration with spirits conglomerate Diageo to release a line of coconut water spiked with Captain Morgan white rum.

Goldman Sachs’ pessimism for Boston Beer Company’s 2022 sales performance and the company’s ability to reach its 2022 guidance continues, with analyst Bonnie Herzog downgrading Boston Beer to a “sell” rating in the financial services firm’s June Beverage Bytes retailer survey.

Brian Rosen doesn’t want to invest in your vodka flavored with sriracha or lemon peel and cumin. The lifelong beverage entrepreneur and advisor is channeling his experience into growing spirit brands that instead have wide appeal, and he’s adding strategic capital through InvestBev, an investment firm focused on adult-beverage brands, raw distillate, beverage technology and cannabis.

In his own words, Grisa Soba has “always been a contrarian and tried to do things differently.” That approach has taken Flaviar, the spirits enthusiast membership club Soba launched in 2012 from a simple tasting box format to one of the largest clubs of its kind serving the U.S. and EU. Before moving into digital… Read more »

The Beer Institute (BI) has called the RTD regulatory changes signed into law last week in Vermont a “massive handout” for the spirits industry, and warned legislators of the impact it will have on taxpayers, in a blog post Thursday.

“Stronger Together” was the theme of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States’ (DISCUS’) annual conference, held last week in New Orleans.

With more drinkers reaching for tequila-based ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, mezcal versions could seem like a natural next step considering the spirit’s recent rise. Madre Mezcal, a brand with a foothold in the mezcal market is the most recent to launch their version, a 5% ABV can called Desert Water that comes in four flavors. Meanwhile, Elenita, which launched as the first mezcal RTD in 2020, has been steadily growing their distribution. But unlike other agave spirit RTDs, they might not get much competition for a while – the supply chain challenges are just that big

IRI-defined ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages (RTDs) have recorded nearly $9 billion in sales over the last 52 weeks (ending June 5) in IRI tracked off-premise channels (multi-outlet plus convenience), according to the market research firm.