The once-booming flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment is “showing some concerning declarations over recent weeks,” Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) founder Bump Williams noted in a recent report. FMB volume gains dropped by half – from +2.2%, to +1.1% – from the four-week period to the one-week period ending May 18, according to NIQ retail measurement data cited by BWC.
Christmas came early for any fans of Bump Williams Consulting’s (BWC) annual growth strategies report. In the consulting firm’s final monthly update of 2025, founder Bump Williams shared beverage manufacturer, distributor and retailer growth strategies for 2026 and 2027 – one month earlier than historically released, and with a bonus fourth tier: the consumer.
While defending shelf space remains important, suppliers need to make sure they’re also retaining lucrative display, floor, promotional and feature space, Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) president Dave Williams and VP of business development and portfolio strategy Brian “BK” Krueger shared in the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast.
“Flavored alcohol” across categories has become a lonely bright spot for the bev-alc industry, which is finding itself particularly pessimistic in 2025, according to the latest monthly report from Bump Williams of Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).
Winners of the July 4 holiday weekend are expected to mainly fall within the non-alcoholic (NA) beverages, domestic beer and and ready-to-drink (RTD) segments – all segments that have been able to find growth in 2025 despite industry-wide headwinds – according to the latest monthly report from Bump Williams and Bump Williams Consulting.
The story of slowed import sales and the impact of Hispanic consumer shifts, is not a story unique to beer, according to the latest monthly report from Bump Williams of Bump Williams Consulting (BWC). Total bev-alc (TBA) imports have declined 0.5% year-to-date (YTD), to nearly $11 billion, in NIQ-tracked, off-premise channels (total U.S. + liquor + convenience). In the same period last year, bev-alc imports were growing 1.3%, to $11.05 billion.
Spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) products will face a challenge to maintain double-digit growth rates in 2025, including a decluttering of items at retail in order for the segment to remain healthy, according to Bump Williams Consulting’s (BWC) monthly report.
Flavor-forward innovations are driving beer category growth and this trend is accelerating, according to the most recent report from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC). Of the top 25 growth brands at total U.S. off-premise outlets year-to-date (YTD) through June 15, 13 were “flavor-centric” or ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings, BWC founder Bump Williams noted, citing data from market research firm NIQ.
Retailers are “paying increasingly more attention” to the sales rates/velocity of beer brands and it has resulted in the contraction of the amount of brands on shelves, as well as the amount of new brands entering the marketplace, according to Bump Williams’ monthly report for Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).
Non-alcoholic beverage crossover partnerships have created “rapid depth” for beverage-alcohol producers in recent years, according to Bump Williams Consulting’s (BWC) latest monthly report.
The “misalignment” of growth strategies across the supplier, wholesaler and retailer tiers will continue to be a problem for bev-alc in 2024, according to Bump Williams in the first Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) Monthly Industry Update of the year.
Data conversations around beer in 2023 have set off many alarm bells around the category’s health and place in a changing and blurring bev-alc world. But there may be a slight turning of the tide – or rather, more context that’ll ease industry members’ nerves – according to Bump Williams in his monthly update for… Read more »
Ready-to-drink (RTD) bev-alc continues to be a hot segment for beer, wine and spirits producers. However, the RTD landscape has become so extensive that its definitions have become blurry and sometimes confusing.
The average price per case of craft beer is up +4.6% year-to-date and “continues creeping into the $40+ per case range,” according to Bump Williams Consulting, citing NielsenIQ data through October 1. The average price paid per unit is up +2% compared to a year ago, the firm added.
Off-premise craft beer sales through the first three quarters of 2022 are in the red (-5.1%), although trends have “slowly [creeped] toward break-even” through the summer months (July, August, September), according to the latest craft breakdown from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC), citing NielsenIQ data through October 1.
