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Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits’ ambitions for Anheuser-Busch InBev’s portfolio aren’t limited to New York. The wine and spirits juggernaut has struck another deal for a red network distributor, this time for the assets of Eagle Rock Distributing Co. in Colorado.
Molson Coors has struck a deal to acquire spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail pioneer Atomic Brands, whose Monaco Cocktails entered the then-nascent space in 2012. The deal should come as no surprise, as it aligns with Molson Coors’ goals to expand its beyond beer portfolio, part of the Horizon 2030 plan CEO Rahul Goyal outlined earlier this year.
A pair of big red network distribution deals were announced in the last 24 hours. Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to purchase the distribution rights of its brands, as well as “certain craft/NA brands,” from Advance Beverage Company in Bakersfield, California. Meanwhile, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits inked a deal for independent A-B distributor Clare Rose on Long Island.
Anheuser-Busch InBev has filed a pair of lawsuits this week, including one accusing the company’s Texas-based energy supplier of price gouging during Winter Storm Uri in February. Symmetry Energy Solutions, which supplies natural gas to A-B’s brewery and glass manufacturing plant in Houston, billed the world’s largest beer manufacturer $4.85 million for its energy use in February 2021, due to Texas’ spot energy market.
Despite recent slowdowns in hard seltzer sales trends, Boston Beer chief marketing officer Lesya Lysyj remains confident that the bubbly beverage and Truly Hard Seltzer are not going anywhere. “The category has become a mega category, and the growth is not done yet,” she told Brewbound.
Having already innovated its way through the ready-to-drink category with everything from a classic hard seltzer to Natty Daddy Lemonade, Natural Light is looking beyond canned categories for its latest product launch. The beer maker announced this week it has launched into the spirits world with a line of lemonade-flavored Natty Vodka.
Moon Haze Hazy Juicy Pale Ale is rolling out this week as the second major innovation play in two years from the Molson Coors-owned craft brewery, following last year’s introduction of Light Sky Citrus Wheat.
A plan that would allow Canadian cannabis company Tilray to issue additional shares needs more votes, CEO Irwin D. Simon wrote to shareholders yesterday in a letter.
A false marketing suit against Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) and its Miami-based Veza Sur brand was dismissed by a U.S. district court judge in Miami last week, which included a district court judge referring to the definition of a craft brewery as “a subjective term,” according to Law360.
Hard seltzer’s late summer slowdown has pushed several financial services firms to adjust their forecast for the sparkling segment’s performance. “We are incrementally more cautious on the beer and hard seltzer category based on feedback from our beer distributor contacts in our new proprietary ‘Beverage Bytes’ survey,” Goldman Sachs equity research analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote in a report published today.
Lagunitas’ major innovation play for 2022 is not a new IPA — or a beer at all — but a hard sparkling tea, leaders of the Heineken-owned craft brewery announced today. Disorderly TeaHouse will launch in January ahead of March off-premise resets, Lagunitas chief marketing officer Paige Guzman told Brewbound.
Boston Beer Company and PepsiCo Beverages today announced a new partnership project: “HARD MTN DEW.”
Montucky Cold Snacks closed a Series A investment round totaling $5.7 million, the Bozeman, Montana-headquartered light lager brewer announced Thursday. “Since 2012, Montucky Cold Snacks has attracted a large and growing customer base of people who want a great tasting lager that supports causes they believe in,” CEO and co-founder Chad Zeitner said in a… Read more »
Global cannabis firm Tilray generated $513 million in net revenue — a 27% increase year-over-year — during the company’s 2021 fiscal year, which ended May 31, the company reported last week.
Dutch brewing giant Heineken N.V. reported its first half 2021 earnings today, and its U.S. business division recorded “high-single digit” beer volume growth through the first two quarters of the year.
Shipyard Brewing has appointed David Phillips as chief operating officer; Joe Heaton will depart the Beer Institute after serving as senior director of federal affairs for the national trade organization; and Constellation Brands has appointed Liz Lopez as VP of public affairs to lead on issues related to cannabis policy in the U.S.
Newly appointed Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris hosted his first earnings conference call today since taking the reins earlier this month from predecessor Carlos Brito. “Throughout my 25 years at the company, I’ve had the privilege to lead our business across different regions of the world, working alongside the industry’s most talented and passionate colleagues every step of the way,” Doukeris said. “Stepping into this role, I look forward to working together with the team to collectively drive our business into this next chapter.”
