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AB ceo Brendan Whitworth spoke at Beer Business Daily's Summit in San Diego yesterday, marking his first external industry speaking engagement since 2023. So it had been a minute since the broader industry has heard from the top US brewer's ceo and there was a lot to talk about. Brendan hit on hot topics ranging from brand moves in CA and working with Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, to consistent growth of Mich Ultra, Busch Light and Cutwater, Phorm Energy's early days with AB, co's evolving mindset on innovation and supply chain. Strategy Set up in 10-Yr Increments; "Some Encouraging Signs" and "Consistency" AB's US strategy tends to get set in 10-yr increments, and everything that co's working off of was set up in 2022, Brendan shared. That's all "built around simplicity&hellip;being focused on certain things, and being consistent year after year after year&hellip;doing fewer things, doing them better, and expecting to get more out of them," he reminded. And "so far, we have some encouraging signs," said Brendan, pointing to major milestones with Mich Ultra, Busch Light, Cutwater, NUTRL, Kona and AB's craft portfolio as key examples."I don't know if we could've done all those things if we were trying to do a lot of other stuff," said Brendan."I think it's more constructive," he reflected, to take a longer view. "There was a change we had to make," moving away from always launching a "new shiny object" each year to "sell more of what we already have." There's also "a massive amount of consistency" among co's leadership team and on how AB markets brands like Mich Ultra and Busch Light "underpinning" their success. Health and wellness tailwind for Ultra "doesn't seem like it's going to go anywhere any time soon," Brendan thought. Then too, co's been preparing for US-based World Cup this yr "for like three years," assembling soccer assets in the US and beyond with Champions League set to pick up "next year where World Cup leaves off." Net-net, "we're encouraged with how things are going, so we're just going to try to do them a little bit better this year, a little bit better next year."Moving Cutwater and NUTRL in CA and Selling NYC Branch to SGWS "Was the Right Thing for the Brands" Asked about the decision to change Cutwater and NUTRL's distribution in CA, moving Cutwater from RNDC and NUTRL from AB's indie network to Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, Brendan responded that "the most important thing for us when we look at a route to market is the brand and giving our brands the best chance to have the greatest amount of success they can." Ultimately, "we just thought moving the brands was the right thing for the brands," and while there's always "a little bit of transition and a little bit of noise" amid a route to mkt switch, "we're really happy with how things are moving right now."Brendan answered similarly when asked if the NYC branch sale to Southern Glazer's was the "beginning of a beautiful friendship." "The most important thing is the success of our brands," so "that's where we put our mindset as it pertains to making any decision around our route to market," he stated. It's not lost on him that "any decision" in that realm "could be generational." But it's a "fact" that "a lot of people want to become AB wholesalers." Brendan met SGWS owner/ceo Wayne Chaplin and sons Mark and David around 2 yrs ago, he shared. Wayne and co expressed "their interest," and after "getting to know them" and how SGWS was built, Brendan found a "massive amount of parallels to the AB network," building thru generations of family, succession planning and more. "They were a better [fit], we believe," for NYC, "so we sold the AB operation there," and will "see how it goes." It's a "tough market for everything," not just the beer and alc bev category, but it's also a "great market," Brendan expressed. If you can be "successful there," you're "pretty good at what you do." As for any big plans for broader distribution changes, given the end of consent decree with DOJ later this yr, Brendan assured that he spends "zero minutes of my time thinking about the consent decree."Phorm Energy Set Up for "Pretty High Termination Multiple" but "No Plans of Ever Using It" While Brendan expressed that pushing his "own personal interests" on AB as M&A strategy "isn't necessarily good strategy," Ghost partnership did stem from that. And after Ghost sold to KDP, AB and its distrib network still "had the capabilities" to build in the energy drink space. Brendan had met Sal Frisella, the co-founder/ceo of 1st Phorm, two yrs before the partnership, and personally "reached out" to ask Dana White if he was willing to join in on Phorm Energy. They set contracts up so there's "a pretty high termination multiple" to protect AB and the network should the Phorm Energy brand ever sell to another co/network, but there are "no plans of ever using" that. AB's "not entitled to automatically become a big energy company," Brendan added. Co's "gotta work hard over a long period of time," but AB has "advantages that we believe are strengths" in the category. Phorm Energy wasn't even announced 'til SAMCOM last yr and didn't launch 'til Jun 2025, so there's still "a lot of work to do in months and years to come." But this is "one hundred percent incremental" and is primarily sold in c-stores where AB has a leadership position in beer. So "why wouldn't" AB give it a shot, Brendan asked."Are We Actually Still Talking About" Hemp THC? "I Thought That Thing's Done" Count Brendan as one of the biggest non-believers in the hemp THC beverage space across the industry. Asked about AB's views on hemp THC, Brendan replied, "are we actually still talking about it?" Because "I thought that thing's done" and "I can't believe we're still talking about it.""Right Decision" to Close Breweries and Modernize Supply Chain While AB closed and/or sold 3 brewing operations, co's "spent a lot of money over the last five to seven years since the original acquisition of Cutwater" to "modernize the supply chain." AB's now able to make all kinds of beers and spirits-based products in different locations. The decisions to sell NJ brewery and close CA and NH locations were not taken lightly, he assured, as co "worked with the Teamsters very constructively." But it's the "right decision" and creates "efficiency within our portfolio." AB's not only still the largest brewery in the US by far, but it's rising in the ranks among top distillers too. Indeed, AB ranks #9 overall by $$ in Circana multi-outlet + convenience channels to start the year, now larger than Proximo and gaining on next in line, Bacardi USA, in tracked channels.

AB CEO Brendan on "Encouraging Signs", Moving Brands, Forming Phorm, Evolving Strategies; 1st Industry Speaking Engagement in Yrs

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