Beer Marketer's Insights
Just when beer's volume picture for 2022 looked like it couldn't get any worse, Nov imports posted steep 11% drop vs year ago, shedding 380K bbls, according to Beer Inst report citing US Dept of Commerce data (for beer, NA beer, cider, perry, mead and not elsewhere specified or identified imports). Mexican imports were the main culprit as shipments also sank 11%, lost 286K bbls for the mo. That's 3/4 of total import decline. Dutch imports also down pretty sharply, -12.5%, including particularly steep drops in Dutch non-alc and beyond beer products. Suggests tuffer end of yr for Heineken 0.0 shipments. And Belgian imports down 75% for the mo amid Stella production shift to US.
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Constellation Brands Beer Division depletions growth slowed to 5.7% in latest quarterly results; had been close to 9% in most recent qtrs. Yet that's likely less sharp slowdown than some feared. And STZ STRs still up 7.8% for 9 mos. As expected, shipments growth slowed more markedly in Q3. Up just 2.7%. But still up 10.5% for 9 mos. That's more than 2.1 mil bbls of growth Feb-Nov. So STZ still getting strong growth, but it's doing this differently, at least temporarily.
Japanese brewing giant Asahi has replicated the flavor of its #1-selling Asahi Super Dry in completely alc-free form under moniker Asahi Super Dry 0.0%, hitting UK and Ireland as new year commences and rolling to US, Canada, Australia and France in Mar and New Zealand in Apr. It's key move in target that Asahi has set to have 20% of its sales derived from NA products by 2030 under rubric Legacy 2030. Offered in 330-ml bottles and cans, extension uses same base recipe and ingredients, then dealcoholizes brew. Packaging employs silver and blue color palette to set extension apart from core line . . . Riding coffee cocktail wave, Owen's Mixers has seen nitro-infused canned Espresso Martini Mix it launched just 3 months ago rocket to becoming its top-selling entry in a matter of weeks, vaulting even past co's vaunted Transfusion mixer, founder/ceo Josh Miller told us today. Mixer is made with real coffee beans, can be mixed with range of spirits including vodka, mezcal and reposado tequila,
Alc-alternative bevs are gonna be big in '23, Drizly predicted late last year (BBI, Dec 29). Now it's inked a deal with fast-expanding Boisson retail chain to deliver "elevated" NA bevs to consumers across US. Deal will put Boisson's catalogue of 125+ NA beers, wines, spirits, aperitifs, hop waters and other bevs on Drizly app and Drizly.com, as well as make it available for on-demand delivery in NY, LA and SF metros. In 28 states, Drizly shipping service will make them available for delivery in 2-5 days, it said. As we've chronicled, Boisson launched only in 2021 and by now has expanded to 10 stores in NY, LA and SF, brought in $12 mil in seed capital, launched an on-premise biz and commenced a private-label push starting with a German wine (BBI, Nov 17). "By combining our convenient delivery options with Boisson's robust non-alcoholic catalog, consumers can now browse and buy more NA drinks than ever before on Drizly to shop on-demand in select markets or ship across the country," per ecomm player's sr dir of retail ops, Blaine Grinna.
PEOPLE: Drink Monday Brings in Wine & Spirits Vet Young as CEO as It Embarks on $3 Mil Raise
Wine & spirits vet Ken Young is very much going dry as the new year commences. The 15-year vet with stops at likes of Treasury Wine Estates, Young's Market and Campari America has signed on as ceo with San Diego-based Drink Monday, which has been building out a suite of alc-alternatives starting with Monday Gin and is about to embark on $3 mil capital round to accelerate its expansion. He's succeeding cofounder Chris Boyd in role as co builds out senior team. Just 2 weeks ago it recruited wellness marketing vet Kayla Lyons as marketing vp. "I believe we're now at that special moment in every brand's journey where new leadership is essential to accelerate our climb to the top," per statement from Chris explaining move.
Odyssey was part of a wave of mushroom-based bevs that hit the market the past coupla years, initially offering an array of heavily shroom-infused coffees and teas (BBI, Jun 21 2021). But it's been a - well, odyssey since then for the Florida-based brand launched by successful CBD entrepreneur Scott Frohman, who within months augmented the 8-oz canned lines with a 12-oz sparkling mushroom elixir, then took a step back and concluded he'd made it really hard for himself to succeed, playing in 3 RTD categories simultaneously with a brand that hadn't been established yet working off a core ingredient that's poorly understood and polarizing. Just a year in, it was time for hard decisions. So last Jun he dropped the coffees and teas and went all in on what's called Odyssey Sparkling Mushroom Elixir, planting himself squarely in the highly competitive energy segment with a promise of "energy + focus."
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China's Top Beer Co, China Resources, Getting Further Into Spirits & Wine Amid Soft Beer Mkt
Biggest beer co in China is also lookin' "to become a diversified and dominant maker of alcoholic beverages" beyond beer, Nikkei Asia reported today. In Oct 2022, China Resources Beer Holdings (CR Beer) announced it would acquire 55% stake in mid-sized baiju maker, Guizhou Jinsha Jiaojiu Winery Industry, for $1.75 bil, several news outlets reported then and Nikkei Asia recapped today. (Baiju is a "traditional Chinese spirit"; sales reached a whopping 603 billion yuan [~$87.5 bil USD] in 2021, according to Boston Consulting Group data cited by article.) Deal hasn't closed yet, according to the article, but marks its 3d sizable deal announced in 2.5 yrs following 40% stake it took in another baiju distiller, Shandong Jingzhi Baiju, and 49% stake in Anhui Golden Seed Winery. CR Beer "says it will keep looking for partners among white liquor makers," reflecting its "ambition to widen its array of offerings," and could lead to "gobbling up other companies."
While Molson Coors is investing heavily in beyond beer spaces in US, it reduced presence globally to start 2023 as it sold brand rights to Hooch, Hooper's and Reef RTDs to "soft drinks, spirits and beer" co, Global Brands, Just Drinks and Business Live UK reported among others. Global Brands produced and distributed these brands under license since 2012. So "buying the brands allows Global Brands an unrestricted opportunity to grow the brands in a way that aligns with the company's vision, making them truly part of the portfolio in a way that only ownership can bring," spokesperson told paper. Molson Coors lookin' to "continue to focus on its 'select portfolio' of international brands" including Coors, Staropramen, Carling, Madri Excepcional and Blue Moon, paper wrote citing managing director of export and license in international mkts, Nino Beneta. Global Brands grew 11% to £66.6 mil ($80 mil USD at current exchange rate) in fiscal year ending Sep 2021. It calls itself "the biggest branded supplier of packaged cocktails to the UK off trade," per Business Live article.