Liking what it's seen in modest footprint of 121 NY stores since its Jun launch, functional startup called Hangobi is embarking on crowdfund on Start Engine to raise anywhere from $10K to $1.07 mil at $8.01 mil valuation. Brand was launched by corporate finance exec Conrad Overbeck, who's working full-time as ceo, and cmo John Eric Overbeck, who continues his day gig at Maker Creative. It's 12-oz slim-can offering with just 50-60 calories, all containing green tea extract and B-vitamins. It's offered in 3 versions: Wake (offering Energy + Focus via L-theanine, lemon, cayenne, blood orange), Essential (offering Clarity + Balance via ashwagandha, ginger, turmeric, cardamom) and recent addition Calm (Relaxation + Stress Relief via valerian root, with tart cherry, elderberry, chamomile). Pitch to investors is that they offer more robust and diverse ingredient bill than functional brands like LifeAid, Vybes and Kin Euphorics while not sacrificing flavor or using lotsa sugar. Co has forged relationships with athletes such as lacrosse pro Rob Pannell, NFLer Foye Oluokun, soccer pro Meredith Speck and UFC fighters Vanessa Demopoulos, Jalin Turner, Terrance McKinney, Chris Gutierrez, Claudio Puelles and Alex Perez. Operating as Hang Obi Inc, partners say they've raised $76K so far, after earlier bringing in $620K thru pair of SAFE notes purchased by founders and family members.

Energy drinks are "a shifting landscape away from legacy brands… to 'new wave' clean energy brands," wrote Evercore ISI's Robert Ottenstein, reporting on IRI scanner data thru Nov 13. Robert, of course, is among Wall Streeters who were early to start monitoring this new wave of drinks. Total energy drink category up 11.6% for 4 weeks, he said, with "legacy energy drinks +9.6% and clean +22.2% . . . Higher category pricing was driven by Monster and Red Bull," up 12% and 7.8% respectively in last 4 weeks. "Notably, despite the higher pricing, category trends accelerated vs 3Q and YTD trends," Robert added.

Larry H Miller Co has acquired a majority stake in fast-growing Swig bev chain based in Utah and is planning to move quickly to plug Swig's customized Dirty Soda concept into its LHM theater chain. The stake was acquired for undisclosed terms from private-equity shop Savory Fund, which will retain a "significant" minority stake as will Swig founder Nicole Tanner and her partners Chase Wardrop and Dylan Roeder. Swig will continue to be run by ceo who came in last month, Rian McCartan, a vet of See's Candy, American Eagle, Williams-Sonoma and Skechers. Swig was advised by Arlington Capital Advisors in deal. Swig, recall, was founded in 2010 as drive-by customized bev shop that says it's on run rate of over 11 mil customized drinks per year. They're along lines of Raspberry Dream (Dr Pepper, Raspberry Puree, Coconut Cream) or Dew Gooder (Mtn Dew, pineapple, fresh lime, raspberry puree, coconut cream). (Swig bears no relation to Big Swig seltzer drink launched in Austin and sold a year ago to Yooma Wellness.)

In case you missed it, one of the heroes during the tragic mass shooting this past weekend at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, was Richard M Fierro, co-owner of the city's Atrevida Brewing. He's one of two individuals the police credit with subduing the shooter, who killed 5 and injured many others. A 15-yr Army veteran, Rich told his story to the NY Times and other outlets, including the local FOX affiliate on Monday. It's an amazing account and well worth your consideration.

Kirin Holdings is upping its stake in Indian craft brewer, Bira 91. After initially putting $30 mil in for a "high single-digit" stake in early 2021, Kirin led Bira 91's latest $70-mil Series D capital raise, cos announced. Bira 91 expects to use latest funds for increased production capacity and distribution expansion "across the country and internationally," as well as "product development and innovation capabilities." Kirin is bullish on Bira 91 and India mkt specifically, as managing director Hiromasa Honda dubbed this a "Golden Decade of growth." Bira 91 expected to lead the charge in premiumization and has "potential to break out internationally as a global brand," he stated. "The partnership with Bira 91 could be a great model for accelerated success in emerging markets, by driving localized manufacturing and innovation combined with a focus on sustainability," Hiromasa added. So even as Kirin digests its sizable acquisition of Bell's in US, co's clearly got its eyes on other global craft beer oppys too.

Monster Beverage's Perrin Brewing plans to open a new beer garden at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI, as part of a sponsorship deal with the Grand Rapids Gold G-League basketball team, reported MiBiz. Perrin faced tuff declines in recent yrs but co continues to invest in brand locally under Monster ownership. Grand Rapids Gold is affiliated with the Denver Nuggets and began playing at Van Andel Arena this 2022-2023 season.

Lotsa action in Denver's RiNo neighborhood these days, and this time it's another big-name brewer shutting down shop. AB-owned 10 Barrel Brewing officially closed its RiNo brewpub late last wk, co posted on Instagram and Denver Post reported. "Opting not to renew our lease was not an easy decision, and we will now be focusing on taking care of our amazing staff," co noted. The 10K sq ft space seated 300. Recall that Salt Lake City's Epic Brewing plans to exit the Mile High City by Jan, while Longmont, CO's Left Hand recently opened a separate space in the neighborhood. 10 Barrel also closed its sizable San Diego brewpub in late 2020 (see Vol 11, No 116), leaving it with Boise, ID brewpub as its sole locale outside of home state OR.

Another instance of small brewers teaming up to weather storms in craftland and foster a new phase of expansion. San-Fran-based Cellarmaker Brewing acquired the acclaimed sour brew maker, The Rare Barrel, and its facility in Berkeley, CA. And Cellarmaker will also close its Howard Street location, cos announced on social media. Cellarmaker was "unable to reach any reasonable agreement" with its landlord at Howard Street and "outgrew" that space "a long time ago despite continuing operations there," it wrote. So "we're thrilled to double down on our East Bay presence alongside our upcoming Oakland location" opening Feb 2023. Co plans to utilize the Rare Barrel facility for "increased presence of Cellarmaker beer throughout the Bay." Once the Rare Barrel Berkeley license is transferred to Cellarmaker in the next mo or so, Cellarmaker plans to begin making its beers there and reopen the taproom by Spring 2023.

Columbia Dist will acquire additional volume as Craig Stein Bev and Odom Corp merge (merger announced in Jul, expected to close in Jan). Columbia will reportedly get about a half mil cases of 3 key suppliers from Craig Stein Bev in Vancouver: Mark Anthony, Deschutes and Sierra Nevada. Deal with Columbia on these brands also expected to close in early Jan. Columbia aligned with those suppliers in much of its 2-state footprint. In recent yrs, Columbia plucked Boston, Diageo and Pabst brands from Craig Stein. In addition to those brands, Columbia will acquire San Juan Seltzer as well as regional craft pFriem from Odom/NW Bev in WA, totaling around 350K cases. San Juan and pFriem have been standout regional growth cos in PacNW. Both continue to grow in natl scans this yr, including pFriem up strong double-digits.