Following big growth during July 4, beer sales stayed stubbornly soft in scans for the ensuing 4 wks. Beer $$ slipped 3.8% with volume down 5.4% for 4 wks thru Aug 4 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. In fact, beer lost 0.75 share of alc bev $$ in latest 4-wk scans. Even wine outperformed beer in this period and picked up 0.1 share of alc bev $$ to 17. Tho wine sales still down 2% with volume down 4% for 4 wks. Spirits picked up the majority of alc bev share as $$ sales grew 1% with volume up 3% for 4 wks in these channels. Snagged 0.6 share of alc bev $$ to 16.2. (Keep in mind, spirits trends have been outperforming in tracked off-prem channels but much softer all-channel thruout the yr.)

"In craft beer, Sierra Nevada is your best bet," new ceo Pryce Greenow told distribs during co's eastern wholesaler meeting at its NC brewery outside Asheville this morn. Throughout the day, he and other execs emphasized owning the co's leadership position within craft, looking to "advocate for craft" in a way "not many brands" can do "at the scale that we can." Sierra's position as #2 craft brand family with the 2nd-fastest velocity in the segment "comes with a responsibility, we think, to the broader segment," chief commercial officer Ellie Preslar added. In addition to sharing plans for 2025 and committing to collaboration with its distrib network, Sierra execs also acknowledged that they were "asking for more" from distribs to help co build on current "momentum" with "focus" on beer.

Consumer price index for beer increased 4% in Jul vs yr ago, per Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's up a full percentage point from Jun and is largest increase for beer prices in 2024 so far. CPI for general inflation came in right about where economists had projected: up 2.9% in Jul vs yr ago with a modest 0.2% gain from previous month. CPI for spirits rose just 0.4% in Jul vs yr ago, while wine prices increased 0.8%. Year-to-date thru Jul, CPI for beer up 3% while All Items still up 3.2% Jan-Jul. CPI for spirits grew 0.7% YTD while wine prices increased 0.9%.

Poppi has set its first international expansion market, Canada, where it's breaking across such major retail chains as Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Metro, Save on Foods, Maxi, Safeway and Costco. It's breaking with 4 flavors with others on the way in coming months: Strawberry Lemon, Orange, Classic Cola and Doc Pop. It's also hitting key ecomm channels there via Amazon.ca, Instart.ca and Well.ca. Strategy chief Jeff Rubenstein said co is using broker/importer route to retail there . . . Blue Bottle, which brought Japanese-style cold-brewed coffee to US, is partnering with Japanese retailer Lumine to open a gift shop in Lumine's new flagship store in Singapore's Raffles City Shopping Center.

Vitamin Well, the Sweden-based marketer of Nocco performance energy drinks and Barebells protein bars, has landed private-equity firm Cinven as lead investor, apparently picking up some of holding of majority investor Bridgepoint, which will retain minority stake. No financial details were released. Morgan Stanley International and Rothschild acted as financial advisors to Cinven on the transaction. Deal had been announced a week ago but just came up on our radar via weekly deal compilation of Whipstitch Capital.

Associated exclusively with Tetra Pak cartons in its decade of existence, Flow Beverage is making move into aluminum-bottle water with 300-ml line that's breaking in Canada in Oct and entering US in following months. Flow Sparkling Mineral Spring Water will break in unflavored OG version along with Blackberry + Hibiscus, Lemon + Ginger and Cucumber + Mint flavors, all maintaining brand's organic credo. They boast zero sugar and zero calories and are presumably unsweetened, tho we weren't able to confirm that.‌ Founder/CEO Nicholas Reichenbach dubbed launch "the next step in our evolution," saying it's in synch with Toronto-based co's identity as highest-scoring B Corporation in water trade. Flow said it has exclusive access to the gently curved resealable bottles developed by Kingston Aluminum Technology, located nearby in Ontario. The new units are made from 70% recycled aluminum, use 30% less aluminum than competing formats and require 60% less energy to produce than traditional cans and bottles, co maintains.

Inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index edged below 3% for first time since Mar 2021, per data reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics today, paving way for Federal Reserve Board to ease interest rates and sending markets upward in trading so far today. CPI for 12 mos ended in Jul came in up 2.9%, decelerating a tad from 3% the prior month, the data indicated. Monthly prices essentially stayed flat, up 0.2% after 0.1% rise the month before.

After years of production meltdowns and retail out-of-stocks, is Reed's Inc finally getting out of the woods? Marketer of ginger beer and other natural sodas scored 19% sales gain to $11.9 mil in Q2, boosted its gross margin to 32.3% and posted nominal profit, $45K in adjusted EBITDA, it reported yesterday. CEO Norm Snyder offered this assessment of the progress: "Our return to topline growth was driven by strong demand for Reed's products, increased promotional activity and expanded product authorizations. Additionally, our consistent efforts to bolster inventory levels have led to lower rates of short order shipments." He's standing by co's earlier projection that it would close year generating positive cash flow, after years of losses and dilutive capital raises that have depressed both shareholders and share prices.