Beer Marketer's Insights
Early this summer, announcing plan for coming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, Biden Admin solicited commitments from private cos and non-profit groups, seeking actions, campaigns and funding to support its strategy. The aim is ambitious: "ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases—all while reducing health disparities." Underneath that banner, Biden Admin strategy is built on 5 pillars: 1) "improving food access and affordability"; 2) "integrating nutrition and health"; 3) "empowering all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices"; 4) "supporting physical activity for all"; and 5) "enhancing nutrition and food security research."
CSPI Sues Treasury to Compel Action on Alcohol Content, Calorie, Ingredient & Allergen Labeling
Time's up, food & health watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest told TTB yesterday. The alarm took the form of a fed lawsuit filed in DC district court against TTB and administrator Mary Ryan, Dept of Treasury and secretary Janet Yellen. Joined by 2 other consumer advocacy groups, CSPI seeks to compel the feds to respond to a petition the group submitted almost 19 yrs ago, asking "TTB to require alcohol labeling with the same basic transparency consumers expect in foods," complaint explains.
For 2d time in a month, Reyes Beer Division has announced blockbuster deal to acquire a Molson Coors distrib in one of hottest mkts in the country. This time, it will buy Capitol Wright Distributing in Austin, over 16 mil cases. Austin deal comes just 1 mo after RBD announced deal to acquire near 10 mil cases in Nashville, Tenn. Capitol Wright deal announced to employees this morn and expected to close in Dec. Distrib has 600 employees, per its website. These 2 deals will add near 26 mil cases to RBD total, meaning that with these 2 deals alone, it will acquire more than total volume of all but the biggest 5 or so MC distribs. On NA side, Capitol Wright portfolio includes likes of Black Rifle Coffee, Sparkling Ice, Liquid Death, Calypso, Jarritos, Waterloo, SueroX, Aquahydrate, Chameleon Cold-Brew and Congo (Alani), site indicates, along with likes of BioSteel and Zoa Energy that are aligned with its core beer suppliers, site shows.
Red Bull's energetic and charismatic founder Dietrich Mateschitz is being widely reported over past 24 hours to be in failing health, and some contacts at NACS Show said they believe he may have passed away in recent days. No confirmation could be had of that, and news reports on endemic sites like GrandPrix247.com only have been stating that 78-year-old is "seriously ill." Exit of passionate proponent of energizer could have major implications, given that it doesn't seem family members have an interest in continuing to operate pioneering brand.
Coca-Cola yesterday formally pulled back the curtain on its long-awaited foray into RTD coffee under its acquired Costa Coffee banner, sampling trio of 11-oz slim can offerings that will be breaking at Sprouts chain on Dec 1, then rolling out more broadly early in 2023. There were coupla counterintuitive aspects of launch that had been teased to us a day earlier (BBI, Oct 3). For one, the entries herald their defining style - Flat White - more dominantly than the Costa brand name itself, riffing off the style identified with Costa café chain in its native UK market. "Flat White by Costa Coffee" technically is how the brand is presented on front panel. But style associated with Aussie roasters has proved compelling draw in Europe and has dynamic sound.
There was no connection between the threadbare booth in which they were operating and the recent adverse legal judgments that could cost the company hundreds of millions in penalties, VPX execs insisted to us from their tented, carpet less space at NACS on Sun. (By Mon they had added a modicum of creature comforts.) That was simply an outgrowth of recent years' feuding with NACS promoter over excessive noise. Still, with evp Gene Bukovi and vp Joey Nickell arriving on scene yesterday, Bang marketer was continuing its brisk enlistment of DSD partners to replace with Pepsi system whose alliance is kaput as of Oct 10, with Gene reporting that such houses as Odom in Pac NW and De Crescente in upstate NY are latest aboard. Bukovi didn't dispute notion that establishing contractual terms has occasioned brisk debate after co's earlier messy pullout from indie system in favor of Pepsi but, as several wholesalers agreed to us outside booth, they believe the damage done under failed Pepsi alliance can still be undone. Of course, with Celsius exiting many of those same houses for Pepsi now, they have strong incentive to agree to terms with Bang. As we've reported recently, with Congo Brands unwinding some of its self-distribution lately for entries like Bang, it's also knocking on some of those doors.
After patiently building out compact portfolio of 4 RTDs over past year, Black Rifle Coffee Co has dramatically upped its innovation efforts with array of full-year and limited-time offerings while undertaking a changing of the guard at leadership level. The org stuff first: Strategy & Execution Inc, the consultancy operated by Bryon Evans that incubated RTD line, has amicably moved on as co installs its own permanent staff to manage biz that has quickly grown to substantial size thanks to SEI's efforts. Now it's moved under direct purview of coo Toby Johnson, a 12-year PepsiCo exec who'd joined Black Rifle Board in 2020 and accepted exec role there in summer 2021. Her mandate encompasses CPG biz including RTDs and bagged coffees, key growth leg aside co's core DTC biz and its expanding network of cafes dubbed Outposts. Like essentially all senior leaders there, she comes from service background as former Apache helicopter pilot. Also key in mix is another old Pepsi hand, Chuck Thomas, serving in role of vp sales & distribution. SEI will continue to advise on buildout.
Kitu Life Super Coffee, which has been building out its core functional coffee line in partnership with minority investor Anheuser-Busch and its wholesaler network, has launched non-coffee entry dubbed Super ENRGY that plays in burgeoning 12-oz slim-can segment. Entry is infused with collagen, B and C vitamins and prebiotics, unusually eschewing sucralose as sweetener in favor of natural combo of monk fruit and stevia. It offers 200 mg of caffeine and is breaking in Strawberry Lemonspark, Mixed Berryburst and Mango Peachpop flavors. SRP is $2.49. Cofounder/ceo Jimmy De Cicco said it's broken in HEB chain in Texas, where co is based, and heads to Amazon next month. Co will selectively offer it to some Bud houses but it's not part of broader alignment with ABI, which wields Ghost Energy as its main play in energy segment these days.
Blue Triton, the private-equity-backed co that acquired the commodity business of Nestle Waters North America, including Pure Life and Poland Spring, has revved up its innovation at the premium end. At NACS, the co displayed moves into agua fresca, collagen-water and alkaline water even as it continued to tweak - and untweak - the portfolio it acquired from Nestle. Also highlighted was the brand it acquired last fall, Saratoga Springs Water, a rare American spring water to play in superpremium bottled-water segment dominated by Euro-imports like Pellegrino and Acqua Panna (BBI, Nov 24).
PepsiCo took wraps off Gatorade's first entry into caffeinated space, Fast Twitch, with 200 mg line that "ignites power," as marketing slogan puts it. As reported, pre-workout line launched in partnership with NFL and will be fully rolled out in Q1 in zero-sugar formulation packed in 12-oz PET bottle. PEP still seems to be working out final pricing but it will command clear premium to core Gatorade line. Inaugural lineup, per data on iPads at booth, comprises 4 national entries in Glacier Freeze, Watermelon Strawberry, Cool Blue and Tropical Mango, augmented by divisional entries Strawberry Lemonade and Orange. Meanwhile, Gatorade's Pedialyte-like Gatorlyte is adding Zero extension that rolls out in Q1 in Strawberry Kiwi and Lemon Lime flavors . . . Also on view at booth was Starry entry that's clearly intended as response to Coke's powerhouse Sprite lemon lime brand, tho not in final packaging yet. It will debut in full-flavored and zero-sugar versions in 12-pks of 12-oz cans, 20-liter PET bottles and 2-liter bottles. "Purpose-driven brand built for Gen Z," marketing materials state . . . Bubly flavored sparkling water brand is offering dessert flavors starting in late Feb with addition of Orange Cream and Lemon Sorbet flavors. At opposite end of spectrum will be unflavored Just Bubly . . . Starbucks Pink Drink, the Instagrammable in-store smash, debuts in flashy 14-oz plastic bottles in Mar in Strawberry Acai + Coconutmilk and Pineapple Passionfruit + Coconutmilk flavors . . . Starbucks Doubleshot adds Caramel flavor in Mar, riffing on popular coffeehouse flavor . . . Rockstar Energy will combine two top-10 flavors from category with Strawberry Peach in its Pure Zero and Punched lineups. Its revamped Rockstar Recovery line, with collagen, vitamin C and coconut water, adds Strawberry Lemonade flavor in Jan . . . Among fountain highlights was Mexican-style agua fresca lineup under name Viva Sol in Horchata, Jamaica (steeped from fresh hibiscus petals, staffers said), Pina and Melon. Line had debuted just before pandemic hit and PEP execs were surprised to see it do well not just in initial foodservice target but in convenience & gas retailers, so it's getting big push now . . . Among other focuses of booth were Pepviz in-house data system that allows retailers to pinpoint mix that works for their local demo based on parameters like age/lifestyle, income and how health-focused shoppers are. It weaves in data from variety of outside sources as well as Pepsi's own captive bottling system.