Beer Marketer's Insights
AB's Busch Light debuted Super Bowl spot a couple weeks early, showcasing a surprise cameo from singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan in its humorous 30-second spot. Ad starts with the "Busch Guy" offering "The Busch Guide" outdoor survival tips, stating the 3 things required in the great outdoors: "food, drink [depicting Busch Light, of course] and shelter." Sarah suddenly appears in a tent with what appears to be a dog, and her song "Angel" in the background, talking about finding shelter for animals in need (riffing off an older ad campaign for animal shelters), only for Busch Guy to inform her "wrong Shelter Sarah. Also, that's a wolf."
AB's #1 2023 Innovation, Fast-Growing NÜTRL Aims to 2X Share of Spirits-Based Seltzer This Yr
NÜTRL got about 5 share of spirits-based seltzer in launch yr and rapidly became #2 brand in segment, even as it was just getting going amidst numerous supply chain constraints. But AB ready to really lean in to NÜTRL this yr, multiple speakers at AB's SAMCOM convention assured distribs. NÜTRL is AB's #1 innovation for 2023 and AB aims to double its share of spirits-based seltzer, said Beyond Beer prexy Fabricio Zonzini. AB is investing "to fuel" its growth, said Beyond Beer group mktg veep Monica Rustgi Mody. AB will also increase sampling investment by 2.5x, noted Monica, because "nothing is more important than on-premise when it comes to trial." AB has goal to get 70% off-premise distribution and 20% on-premise distribution this yr.
PARTNERSHIPS: Paris Baguette Turns Coffee Program, Including RTDs, over to Italy's Lavazza Group
South Korean café chain Paris Baguette is about to inaugurate coffee program in US that's more authentically Italian than even Starbucks, with its "venti" sizes and the like. Fast-expanding chain operated by Korea's SPC group has signed partnership with Italy's Lavazza Group that will introduce co's brewed and RTD coffees to chain's 100+ locations, including co-branded coffee cups, brewing equipment and staff training on Italian brewing practices, as co motors toward target of 1,000 locations by 2030. Often lauded for its French- and Asian-style pastries but not so much for its coffee, Paris Baguette now will be serving a selection of Rainforest Alliance-certified items like Lavazza's La Reserva de Tierra Selection, using blend of natural and washed Arabica from Central and South America. Lavazza coffees will be at the heart of all Paris Baguette's specialty coffee offerings and it will also carry the co's canned RTDs in Classic Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew, Cappuccino Cold Bre
The more activist Biden administration has certainly been active. Even as it enlisted help of Congress to devise new regulatory framework for CBD products and ruling CBD out as a legit dietary supplement ingredient (BBI, Jan 26), agency is exploring how to make food labeling more helpful and transparent. FDA filed 60-day notice for its plans to conduct study with the catchy title "Quantitative Research on Front of Package Labeling on Packaged Foods." Agency has also opened a 60-day comment period to solicit input on how best to develop "standardized, science-based scheme" to provide consumers "additional context" to make healthy food choices by "quickly and easily" helping them identify foods "that are part of a healthy eating pattern." So, lots of wrangling to be done in months ahead debating what's deemed healthy going forward. The move is a tacit acknowledgement that, despite various improvements regarding serving sizes and other issues, the nutrition labels on back panel are not really getting the job done. Rather than expecting consumers to trek to the dark side of the earth for their info, agency is trying to figure out better way to capture key facts right out front.
For a decade now, Hoist Hydration has been patiently building out its bottled intravenous-level hydration drink from its Midwestern base in Cincinnati, even as new, deeper-funded entries like Body Armor, Electrolit and Prime Hydration have burst on the scene. Cofounders Ben Schmidt and Kelly Heekin have resisted the lure of the landgrab, eschewing temptation to raise outside capital in favor of slow build geographically and of product range, which now includes powder format and liquid pouch. Nor have they sought to enlist big-name pro athletes as investors and endorsers, preferring microinfluencers with more direct reach to the consumers Hoist covets. Brand's deep penetration of Defense Dept has been a big benefit, generating the cash flow to fund the brand's growth while also giving it base of authenticity among broad base of Americans who're sometimes overlooked by coastally based brands, which skip so-called flyover states until late in their expansion. That approach bears similarities to the flamboyant coffee newcomer Black Rifle, tho without the polarizing politics and explosives-filled messaging.
List of James Beard Award semifinalists included 6 small breweries this yr. And tho most were recognized for their lineup of beers and other alc bevs, one chef got a regional nod too. That was Becky Clark, chef at Little Fish Brewing in Athens, OH, named as a semifinalist for best chef in the Great Lakes region.
Ecliptic Brewing Enters AZ; Two Roads Moves to Eagle Rock in CO; Russian River Back in Seattle
Several regional brewers expanded or switched distribution in recent wks. Portland, OR's Ecliptic Brewing is adding AZ to its footprint, partnering with craft-centric Arizona Beer and Cider Co to broaden its reach. Main focus will be Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson, adding to brewer's current markets of OR, WA, CO, ID, NC, British Columbia and Japan. Addition of new states made possible by recent addition of Ecliptic's 2nd brewery & taproom, notes Washington Beer Blog.
Legislative Notes: Self-Distribution Compromise in VA; NJ Weighing Bigger License Reform Issues
In one more state, beer biz advocates put contention aside, hammering out a compromise to ease its pathway thru the legislature. Small brewers and wholesalers in Virginia agreed on language to allow self-distribution in the state and bill to make it law passed its first subcommittee early this wk, Richmond BizSense reported. Proposal allows small brewers to self-distribute up to 500 bbls per yr, a threshold "that was, candidly, the hardest to negotiate," VA Craft Brewers Guild prexy/CEO Brett Vassey told the paper. "We wanted more, the beer wholesalers wanted less. We compromised and found the middle ground," he said, believing the cap "will satisfy the vast majority of demand." Voila!
3 in 4 NA Beer Drinkers Also Drink Alcohol; 1 in 8 Adults Consume Lo- or No-Alc Weekly, Per Kantar
Wave of non-alc media coverage may have crested during Dry Jan, but is NA the next "Big Thing?" Perhaps more important, is it the next "Profitable Thing?" asks Mike Kallenberger in post for First Key Consulting. Whether NA adults bevs can achieve either feat largely depends on popularity among younger generations, which Mike explores using Kantar data.
Craft 6 pks remain far and away the segment's biggest pack-size, but in 2022 they lost another 3.3 share of off-premise volume to 48.4, Brewers Assn economist Bart Watson showed in latest post. That share largely shifted to single-serves, mostly 19.2oz cans, and 12 pks, mostly canned, he explained using IRI data. Without the data to fully prove it, he posits that these shifts are driven by two different sets of consumers, each doing the "beer math" to save a little money in one way or another.