Voss Water appears to have implemented an extensive layoff late last week, including its entire trade development team and key acct staff, from what we've heard from several sources. Move may presage abandonment of DSD distribution in favor of reliance on broadliners KeHe and UNFI and foodservice distribs like Sysco, we've been told. Magnitude of cuts couldn't be ascertained, and ceo Glenn Hartman hasn't responded to query we made yesterday. In past few years, Norwegian import brand has churned thru several ceo's, begun to sell some water that's sourced in US not Norway, and seen many of most senior sales execs move on to rivals like Nirvana Springs. Meanwhile, investor/endorser Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and investor John Shulman have turned most of their attention to different project, Zoa Energy, launched via Molson Coors wholesaler network. "Big mistake. At the end of the day it's Dasani in a Voss bottle," said one ex-exec who worries that DSD exit could put brand in downward spiral

"Hundreds of jobs will be eliminated" at PepsiCo's North American hq, Wall Street Journal reported last evening. In memo sent to staff (viewed by WSJ) co said layoffs were intended "to simplify the organization so we can operate more efficiently." Report notes that "cuts will be heavier" among bev biz staff based in Purchase, NY as the snacks/pkgd foods unit (based in Chicago and Plano, Texas) has already trimmed costs with a voluntary retirement program. WSJ reminded that PEP execs said in Oct they would be looking to cut costs "to offset the pressure on profit margins and to weather what appeared to be worsening macroeconomic conditions."

Altmilk player Malk Organics said it reeled in over $9 mil in its Series B round, led by Benvolio Group and Rotor Capital. Austin-based co will use proceeds to boost marketing, expand team and build out retail presence for its oat and almond entries that already spans Whole Foods, Sprouts and Fresh Thyme and will add Publix early next year. Malk, recall, was among early altmilk players to make commitment not to use gums, fillers or oils, influencing some established brands to reformulate their entries. "Simply made, nothing to hide" is mantra. Malk had raised $7.9 mil in Jul 2020, per Crunchbase tally. Benvolio, recall, was among investors in Body Armor. Rotor has invested in Recess, Beyond Meat, Aviator Gin and Juul.

Quentin Vennie has had hard road, beyond the hurdles faced by typical Black man, navigating panic disorder, overcoming addiction to anxiety medication, 2 failed suicide attempts. So when one of his children was diagnosed with ADHD, he embarked on crusade to alleviate the boy's suffering and landed on green tea as highly effective cure. "I didn't want my son to experience the same trials and tribulations that I did," he told BevNet Live crowd today. Thanks to the green tea regimen, his son went from struggling in class to honor roll, spot he's since maintained. Concluding that many commercially available green teas were of inferior quality and poor-tasting, he set out to create a blend that might be palatable to other 9-year-old kids for whom it could be an alternative to medications like Adderall and Ritalin. The result was a loose tea called Equitea that's "prioritizing mental health one sip at a time," per website. At today's BevNet Live conference, Vennie took the stage with a mystery guest who turned out to be his key collaborator in venture: the actress and health entrepreneur Gywneth Paltrow. The botanical blends have been available on Paltrow's Goop ecomm platform and partners are just venturing out into RTD space with 12-oz canned line.

Bud Light and Top Rank, the leader in boxing promotions, announced they have renewed and expanded their sponsorship agreement. Bud Light will continue as official beer sponsor and will also be Top Rank's exclusive hard seltzer as well. "New elements" of deal include "creation of a custom ringside seating area for distinguished guests, brand integrations throughout domestic Top Rank ESPN broadcasts, elevated social media content opportunities" and more, co's shared. "Bud Light has become the beer and seltzer choice for 21+ sports fans and we're extremely excited to continue our partnership with Top Rank," said Daniel Blake, group vp of Mainstream Brands at AB.

Sales of spirits declined 1.9% in control states in Oct, NABCA reported. That's softest month since July when volume off closer to 3%. And combo of price increases and trade up just offset the volume decline, not providing as much lift as it has been. Price/mix up 2% for the mo, about a pt slower than 12-mo avg. So control state spirits $$ sales up a slight 0.1%. And October trends not impacted heavily by selling days, either, NABCA noted. Longer-term, 12-mo rolling volume now up just 0.2%, $$ up 3%.

Federal data suggests alc bev prices are only up mid-single digits, but consumers perceive them to be 23.1% higher than last yr, a survey of almost 2,400 folks by PYMNTS found. Across the board, "consumers tend to estimate that prices increased significantly more than [govt] estimates," according to report. That includes perception that prices for gas are up 43%, building materials +35%, new/used cars +33% and appliances +32%.

Not that often that an analyst puts "sell" ratings on 2 beer cos in same day. But Deutsche Bank's Steve Powers tagged both Molson Coors and Boston Beer with that rating this morn, albeit for very different reasons. For Molson Coors, Steve sees "tough top line comparisons, heightened competition and still-elevated costs amidst declining consumer health and macro volatility" in 2023 that "keep us cautious." However, he does give Molson Coors some credit. "To be fair, TAP's management deserves ample credit for stabilizing/enhancing top line trends through the revitalization strategy…. That said, overall progress on profitability has been more limited." Boston Beer also a "sell," but that's mostly based on "persistent softness in the seltzer category" and rising costs. Plus SAM is already trading "~35x next year's consensus forecasts." At press time, Molson Coors stock down 3% and Boston Beer stock down 5%.

Tho it's too soon to give "complete reassurance" that price increases landed well and won't change consumer behavior, for now US consumer appears "resilient" and Molson Coors hasn't "seen much trade down," said ceo Gavin Hattersley today at Morgan Stanley's Global Consumer & Retail Conference. MC didn't have any "meaningful difficulties" implementing price increases with retailers, he noted. And while premiumization is indeed slowing, that's largely due to seltzer's struggles. If trade down does come "we're well positioned" with economy portfolio, said Gavin. Oct was a "tough" volume month for the industry and trends "improved in November," he commented. But latest scan data suggests MC share gains "continued into the fourth quarter," while MC $$ share is "pretty flat" YTD, something co hasn't been able to say "for a while."