In-store displays “are more effective at selling beer” compared to “shrinking” shelf space, Kaumil Gajrawala, analyst for financial services firm Jefferies, wrote in a late June analysis.
Whole Foods principal buyer for beer Mary Guiver highlighted the growth of non-alcoholic (NA) beer, but cautioned suppliers that the natural grocery chain is near its limit during a panel discussion at the Beer Institute’s annual meeting in Denver earlier this month.
Brewers with seasonal or variety pack placements in Walmart stores may be in for a bumpy ride. The Beer Industry Electronic Commerce Coalition threw up a warning flare last week that the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the U.S. would be mandating that all seasonal brands and variety packs use unique UPC codes, starting in early 2024.
Flavor is at the heart of discount supermarket chain Aldi’s summer strategy. As part of Alid’s seasonal reset, the company will add 18 private label alcoholic beverages (11 new and seven repeat items) all priced under $14 to its shelves starting Friday, April 21. Those products range from hard tea to hard seltzer, cocktail-inspired pouches to freeze pops, and beer to wine.
Retailers’ coldboxes are “a battlefield” – particularly in the increasingly crowded beyond beer space – but cider is primed to “thrive,” according to Mary Guiver, Whole Foods Market’s global principle category merchant for beer, during a retailer panel last week at CiderCon 2023 in Chicago.
Beer and flavored malt beverage (FMB) sales were up +2% in Q4, while hard seltzer sales declined -3% in the same period, according to the most recent Beverage Bytes survey conducted by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.
Non-alcoholic beverage boutique Boisson has partnered with alcohol e-commerce platform Drizly to offer its catalog of over 125 NA brands to consumers across the country.
Kroger has announced a definitive agreement on a $24.6 billion deal to acquire Albertsons, bringing the country’s two largest grocery chains together.
Between non-alcoholic spirits, beers, wines and mocktails, the options for consumers have boomed over the past few years, but the rise of this category has also presented a challenge for retail buyers – raising questions of where in the store these zero proof products belong. Now, as retailers expand their NA offerings, some stores such as Washington-based Town & Country Markets, are creating sets exclusively dedicated to the new wave of non-alcoholic adult beverages.
Adrienne Freeman, Walmart craft beer merchant, discusses bringing the Black is Beautiful collaboration beer project to the big box retailer’s shelves and efforts to support more diverse entrepreneurs on a special “Retail Pulse” edition of Brewbound Frontlines.
Mary Guiver, Whole Foods global senior category merchant for beer and spirits, and Jason Murphy, Buffalo Wild Wings beverage product and program innovation manager, joined together on stage for the first time at Brewbound Live in Santa Monica, California, earlier this month to discuss what they’re looking for from suppliers in 2022.
Retail sales of Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer continued to increase in Q3, to an estimated +51% year-over-year, according to a recent “Beverage Bytes” retailer survey by Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog.
Craft beer doesn’t need a complete reset in strategy, but rather a re-focus on what consumers care about to stay relevant, the panelists of Brewbound’s first in-person Brew Talks meet-up of 2021 said earlier this month.
Even as suppliers rush to produce hard seltzers, ready-to-drink canned cocktails and other so-called “fourth category” offerings, traditional beer remains a priority for Whole Foods Markets, according to Mary Guiver, the natural food chain’s global senior category merchant for beer and spirits.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced most Americans to stay home except for essential errands last spring, on-demand alcohol delivery e-commerce platform Drizly’s sales skyrocketed. “We saw years’ worth of growth — five years’ worth of growth — in just a three-month timeframe,” Drizly chief operating officer Cathy Lewenberg said.
