Distribution

Chicago-based e-commerce marketplace Provi today announced the completion of a $3.5 million funding round. Provi, which aggregates distributor inventories and serves as a one-stop shop for retailers to search and place alcohol orders, has now raised $5 million via two funding rounds with an investor list that includes Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Ludlow Ventures, and Sandalphon Capital, among others.

A lawsuit brought by two North Carolina breweries that challenges the constitutionality of the state’s distribution laws is inching toward a trial. Last Thursday, Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour denied the state’s motions to dismiss the case or send it to a three-judge panel. A trial date has not been set.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Shipyard Brewing looks to pivot in Portland; the TTB collects record offer for alleged trade practice violations; Molson Coors reports Q2 earnings; and more.

Leaders from the beer industry’s three largest trade associations are vowing once again to unite brewers and distributors in an effort to return the category to growth. Speaking to a group of nearly 700 U.S. beer distributors attending the annual National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) legislative conference on Monday in Washington, D.C., Beer Institute CEO Jim McGreevy called on industry members to work together to curb volume losses.

Starting this summer, Bell’s Brewery will begin selling beer throughout New England and New Jersey, expanding its footprint to 39 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico in the process. The Michigan-based craft brewery will partner with 11 beer distributors across Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Allagash begins canning; a Louisiana lawmaker yanks a bill to allow younger adults access to alcohol; and more.

In this edition of Press Clips: BrewDog revenues increase 55 percent in 2017; a federal judge rules against brewery to-go sales in Texas; two A-B High End craft breweries release Yankees and Nationals branded beers; and much more.

A pair of Michigan-based MillerCoors distributors are consolidating their beer businesses. Kalamazoo-headquartered Imperial Beverage today announced that, after five months of negotiating, it had acquired Bayside Beverage, the beer division of Highland Park-based Great Lakes Wine & Spirits.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Plans for Three Floyds’ brewery expansion are revealed; Pretty Things founders resurface in England; Hanson Spirits acquires Carneros Brewing’s production facility and taproom; Deschutes and Bluejacket announce can packaging releases; and more.

As Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles unfolds on the field, Anheuser-Busch InBev will be attempting to capture viewers’ attention by running six ads during the commercial breaks.

Facing increased competition from more than 6,000 U.S. craft breweries, Green Flash Brewing today announced plans to pull distribution from 33 states in a move that will also include a 15 percent reduction of its workforce.