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.
Molson Coors Beverage Company’s overall business remained in the red as the company closed its 2024 fiscal year. However, the fourth quarter showed improvement over the double-digit declines reported in Q3, and leadership is confident the company can return to growth in 2025, according to Molson Coors’ earnings call today with investors and analysts.
Just like the Kansas City Chiefs, draft beer also took an L in Super Bowl LIX. Draft beer volume declined -4.6% nationwide on Super Bowl Sunday, according to on-premise insights firm BeerBoard.
Worldwide sales of Molson Coors offerings in the first quarter declined 1.2 percent, to $2.3 billion, the company reported today. Molson Coors reported a 4.7 percent decline in worldwide brand volumes, to 18.2 million hectoliters. Nevertheless, the company’s net sales per hectoliter increased 2.3 percent through March 31.
Big beer’s “corntroversy” is moving from television screens to the courtroom. MillerCoors today filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin that claims Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light Super Bowl ads and its subsequent “transparency” ads are part of a “false and misleading advertising campaign” aimed at deceiving health-conscious consumers.
The fragile alliance among the United States’ largest beer producers is at risk following Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Super Bowl ads for Bud Light that highlighted its ingredients and the use of corn syrup in competitor offerings Coors Light and Miller Lite, made by MillerCoors.
Citing negative volume trends in the U.S. and Canada, Molson Coors reported a 2.1 percent decline in net sales in 2018, according to yesterday’s full-year earnings report. In 2018, Molson Coors posted nearly $10.8 billion in net sales, down from more than $11 billion in 2017.
William “Bill” Coors, the former chairman of the Adolph Coors Company, died Saturday at the age of 102. Coors, the grandson of Adolph Coors and heir to the family brewing business, died at his home, according to a statement released by Molson Coors. “Our company stands on the shoulders of giants like Bill Coors,” Molson Coors president and CEO Mark Hunter said in statement.
After just six months, MillerCoors has pulled the plug on Two Hats, a light beer brand that was targeted at 21- to 24-year-old consumers. The company announced the decision to cease production of the beer, which will remain on retail shelves until early 2019, in a letter to employees and wholesalers on Monday.
Molson Coors Brewing Company today reported its second-quarter earnings, however the financial results took a backseat to news that its Canadian business division had formed a joint venture with a Quebec cannabis company. The JV between Molson Coors Canada and HEXO, a recreational cannabis “sister brand” to The Hydropothecary, a licensed producer and distributor of medical cannabis, will be structured as “a standalone start-up company” led by its own board and management team.
Despite continued negative domestic volume trends for its flagship light lager brands, Molson Coors’ worldwide sales increased 0.2 percent to more than $11 billion in 2017, according to company earnings released today.