Here we go again. About 1K beer delivery drivers at GXO Logistics in Britain plan to strike over 5 days from Oct 31-Nov 4, threatening UK supply disruptions amid ongoing pay dispute. GXO drivers cover around 40% of UK beer deliveries, Unite union reminds. And shortages would impact "major breweries, including Heineken," just a few wks before World Cup, per Reuters. Workers will also ban overtime starting Oct 24, and reportedly rejected a 5% pay increase. GXO said offer was "significantly above" that and it has "plans in place" to minimize impact. Recall, similar situation occurred last Aug, tho that strike ultimately avoided. Marks yet another example of labor unrest - both abroad and domestic.

Luxury Brand Index created by DISCUS reported sales of luxury spirits (priced $50 or higher for 750ml) grew 23% in Q2 vs yr ago. Tequila led way with a 43% jump followed by American Whiskey up 30%, Scotch Whisky up 13% and Cognac up 9%, even going against a 43% surge a yr ago. "We continued to see strong consumer demand for luxury spirits brands through the second quarter of 2022 despite the current economic environment," observed Christine LoCascio, chief of public policy at DISCUS. Lux spirits have been on a roll over past 5 yrs since this index was started, with annual growth rate up an avg of +24% since Q2 2017.

European brewers' stocks fell across the board on Wed, after Denmark's Royal Unibrew cut its full-yr outlook and warned that "surging costs would push people to go for cheaper drinks," Bloomberg reports. Co's shares slipped 13% to lowest levels since pre-pandemic, dragging bigger peers down with it. Carlsberg stock tumbled "as much as 4.8%, Heineken dropped 3.5%" and ABI fell 2.4% in early trading. "Premium products will likely be consumed by less consumers and at less occasions," Unibrew said, adding that "below mainstream" products would gain share due to rising cost of living. Co pointed to "unprecedented inflation" and plans to "pass on rising prices to customers as fast as possible into next year," article notes. Brewer also warned of worsening biz environment in recent wks, "with high electricity bills in particular hurting bars, restaurants and consumers."

Topo Chico Hard Seltzer indexes "25% higher with Latino drinkers than any other seltzer," but next yr Molson Coors is bringing "beefed-up media plan and highly anticipated additions to the brand family, including Aguas Frescas," per co's latest BeerMate News update. Other alcoholic aguas frescas have come and gone previously, including from New Belgium and AB's Golden Road, tho perhaps Topo Chico's cred with Latino drinkers will give it an extra boost. MC believes Topo Chico still has "plenty of runway," at just 32% awareness among all 21-34 yr olds, half that of White Claw. And it's seeing "success in grocery, chain c-stores, indie convenience and liquor" channels, post proclaims, highlighting stats across each while taking several shots at Bud Light Seltzer.

Just one day before Boston Beer reports its Q3 results, SAM stock dropped over 5% to ~$335/share (at one point it was down 8%). Still up solidly vs lows of ~$290/share in mid-Jun. But gotta wonder if the street is anticipating another tuff qtr for SAM.

While virtually every AB distrib INSIGHTS talked to happy that AB will focus more resources and attention on biggest brand Bud Light, that's coming off a very low base. How low? AB only spent $10 mil on Bud Light Jan-Jul, according to Kantar data (as reported in INSIGHTS Express). Spending priorities have shifted a lot. Back in 2018, AB spent $180 mil (full yr?). So even 5x spend in 2023 not likely to be as much as 4 yrs ago. Then too, many AB distribs didn't come out of its recent Equity Agreement Manager meeting in Chicago all that fired up. It was the 3d meeting this year (SAMCOM, Summer Spectacular and EAM) but sales trends still not what many distribs hoped.