Distribution

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer away from home increased +7% in October 2022 compared to October 2021, the largest price increase ever recorded for the category, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Members of the California Family Beer Distributors (CFBD) gathered for the first time last week in Palm Desert, California, to discuss goals and highlight their differences from the Reyes Beer Division. “The members in this room are independent family-owned beer distributors,” CFBD executive director Kevin Luckey said in his opening address.

Alcohol e-commerce platform Drizly announced a “new brand direction” this week, featuring a “redesigned product experience” and expanded shipping capabilities, as it celebrates a decade in business.

Critiques of PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud Distribution (BCD) arm were plentiful during the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) annual convention earlier this month in Chicago. NBWA leaders criticized the way Hard MTN Dew – which Boston Beer has licensed to produce and is distributed through Blue Cloud – has been merchandised and cross-promoted in some accounts,… Read more »

Scout Distribution and Columbia Distributing’s joint venture, Scout Idaho, announced its launch portfolio today. The company will begin taking orders in southern Idaho on October 31, with deliveries following on November 1.

Kroger has announced a definitive agreement on a $24.6 billion deal to acquire Albertsons, bringing the country’s two largest grocery chains together.

Nadine Sarwat, equity research analyst and director of European and American alcoholic beverages at Bernstein Autonomous LLP, shared why she doesn’t believe PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud Distribution poses a threat to traditional beer wholesalers. Plus, Sierra Nevada’s Ellie Preslar talks e-premise and Troy Aikman touts Eight.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) has named Gordon Green the chairman of its board of directors for the 2022-2023 cycle, taking the reins from outgoing chair Peter Heimark of Heimark Distributing.

Beverage industry veteran Brian Fried will take the reins at Stone Distributing Company (SDC) on October 31, the company announced.

If resilience was the theme of 2021 for the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and its members, adaptability was the theme for 2022, CEO and president Craig Purser and chairman of the board Peter Heimark said today, kicking off the NBWA’s 85th Annual Convention in Chicago. In 2022, beer distributors battled inflation, fuel costs, supply… Read more »

Wholesalers’ fourth category frustrations finally boiled over late last week, as Blue Ridge Beverage Company and Premium Distributors, a Reyes Beer Division subsidiary, filed a complaint with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority against Boston Beer Company over its appointment of PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud Distribution as the distributor of Hard MTN Dew.

The Reyes Beer Division continues to wheel and deal. Just one day after revealing a 16 million case deal for Capitol Wright Distributing in Austin, Texas, the largest beer wholesaler in the U.S. announced today an agreement to acquire Paradise Beverage in Hawaii, the company’s 12th market. The transaction is slated to close in early December.

The Reyes Beer Division will enter Texas, its 11th market, with the acquisition of Capitol Wright Distributing LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed but the transaction is expected to close in December.

Ohio Eagle Distributing has a deal in place to acquire Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) AB ONE distribution operations in Lima, Ohio.