Off-Premise

Off-premise trends across beverage-alcohol suggest an even bleaker year ahead for the industry than “what we already limped through in 2024,” according to the latest monthly update from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) and founder Bump Williams.

2025’s drinking occasions just can’t hold a candle to 2024, it seems. In the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day (week ending March 16), off-premise bev-alc sales recorded a -3.9% decline year-over-year (YoY), market research firm Circana reported in its newest batch of weekly data. Holiday shopping delivered a +5% increase week-over-week (WoW).

Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand beer and wine sales licenses to the state’s grocery, convenience, mass retail and warehouse stores. However, House Bill 1379 “faced tough questioning in committee and faces a tough road to passage in the House,” Maryland Matters reported, citing a nearly three-hour debate over it last week.

Beer category dollar sales were roughly flat (-0.3%) to start the year at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana. Sales reached $2.854 billion at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) in the first four weeks of 2025, through January 26.

Could craft off-premise scan data be beginning to turn the corner as the calendar heads toward the holidays? In the four-week period ending November 3 (L4W), craft dollar sales declined -1.9% year-over-year (YoY) and volume (case sales) declined -3.4% in multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C), according to the most recent report from market research firm Circana.

Constellation Brands is the beer category’s largest dollar share gainer for the first two-thirds of the year, according to market research firm Circana.

Beer industry trends have been largely discouraging lately, but one retailer – albeit a mostly private label one – is bucking them. “We are crushing it in beer right now,” Aldi director of buying for adult beverages Arlin Zajmi told Brewbound.

Five months removed from its abrupt closure, next-gen convenience chain Foxtrot Market is preparing to reopen its doors tomorrow.

In this latest installment of 3 Up, 3 Down, 3 Tier consultant Danelle Kosmal shares a trio of insights on industry growth and three underperforming areas during the summer selling season, with NIQ off-premise data through August 10, 2024.

Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard has offered a “friendly proposal” to acquire the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven in a move that could mark major consolidation of the global convenience channel. If successful, the combined entity would become one of the largest retail businesses in the world.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Michelob Ultra passed sibling brand Bud Light as the second largest brand by dollar sales year-to-date (YTD) in Circana-tracked off-premise channels (total U.S. multi-outlet plus convenience), according to the market research firm’s latest monthly report (ending July 14).

Beer is at the top of most Independence Day revelers’ shopping lists, according to market research firm Numerator.

Two months after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) completed a review of Kroger and Albertsons’ proposed supermarket mega-merger and filed a lawsuit to block the deal, the grocery chains have added more store locations and assets to an updated version of their definitive divestiture agreement with C&S Wholesalers.

Constellation Brands is expected to be the biggest winner in shelf resets this spring, according to the most recent Beverage Bytes beer distributor survey by Goldman Sachs.