Diageo

After more than a decade of investing in emerging spirits and adult non-alc brands, Diageo confirmed earlier this month that its venture arm Distill Ventures will cease bringing new brands into its portfolio. What does the wind-down signal for the spirits group and does it say something about the larger spirits industry?

Spirit suppliers got a brief reprieve when President Donald Trump delayed tariffs with Mexico and Canada on Monday, but the threat of a trade war has still hampered the growth outlook for one of the industry’s biggest players. Meanwhile, Guinness continues to be a bright spot in Diageo’s portfolio, achieving its eighth consecutive half of double-digit growth, delivering +17% organic net sales growth in the period.

Marking its first annual sales loss since 2020, Diageo reported a -1.4% decline in net sales for fiscal year 2024 during its earnings call Tuesday morning.

Beer had an expected St. Patrick’s Day boost, with dollar sales in Circana-tracked off-premise channels increasing +5.3% year-over-year (YoY) in the week ending March 17, according to the market research firm.

In the latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – Katie Beal Brown chats about the rollercoaster ride of turning a cherished family cocktail recipe into a nationally distributed, ready-to-drink product … and kicking off right before the pandemic turned the bev-alc world upside down.

Industry executives gathered for Beer Business Daily’s annual Beer Industry Summit in Coronado, California, earlier this week. New Belgium continued to dominate craft scans in 2023, led by its Voodoo Ranger brand family, which claimed six spots in Circana’s list of the top 30 craft brands by dollar sales in tracked off-premise channels. As the company faces the comps – including multiple double-digit gains – New Belgium will not rest on its laurels, new CEO Shaun Belongie said on stage Sunday.

After nearly nine months of an ugly public legal battle, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo have settled disputes over allegations from the music mogul that the brands he collaborated with Diageo on— Cîroc Vodka and DeLeon Tequila— received worse treatment because of his race.

Diageo’s largest market is under new leadership. The global spirits company has appointed Sally Grimes, the former head of Clif Bar, as CEO of North America effective next month.

Diageo reported a 10.7% rise in net sales for fiscal year 2023, with premium-plus brands contributing 57% of overall organic net sales growth.

Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs is suing business partner Diageo today alleging that the brands he co-owns with the spirits group, Cîroc Vodka and DeLeon Tequila, were given worse treatment because he’s Black.

After a decade of leading Diageo, CEO Sir Ivan Menezes will retire as CEO and exit the company’s board of directors, effective June 30, the beer and spirits giant behind Guinness and Johnnie Walker announced today.

Diageo has acquired Waco, Texas-based whiskey maker Balcones Distilling in a cash transaction, the company announced today.

Diageo Beer Co. is leaning on the learnings of Daft Punk in fiscal year 2023 to be “better, faster [and] stronger” across all its bev-alc brands, including Lone River Ranch Water, Smirnoff, and Guinness.

Global spirits conglomerate Diageo has acquired premium cold brew coffee liqueur brand Mr Black, in which it previously held a minority stake, the company announced today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.