Beer Marketer's Insights
Less than a month after the passing of its influential founder Art Larrance, OR's Cascade Brewing ceased operations this wk, the Oregonian reported. In addition to founding Cascade in 1998, which went on to become a renowned and pioneering sour brewer, Art was also the co-founder of Portland Brewing and created the Oregon Brewers Festival. The craft trailblazer died last month at the age of 80. But after announcing the sale of Cascade to a local ownership group 4 yrs back, it was revealed upon his passing that the deal was never officially finalized.
Big Grove's Climbing Kites & Field Day Brewing Sued Iowa for New Hemp Bev Laws; 85% of Revs at Risk
Two IA-based hemp bev producers, Big Grove's Climbing Kites and Field Day Brewing, are taking legal action against the state's Dept of Health and Human Services (DHHS) following recently passed legislation that puts "approximately 85%" of revenues in jeopardy, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported earlier this week. The cos filed suit against The State of Iowa, DHHS and its director Kelly Garcia on Jun 17, seeking injunctive relief.
Blake's Hard Cider Expands to 8 New States; Set Up for "Very Exciting Back Half of the Year"
Blake's Beverage Co, the recently formed cider/beyond beer portfolio with Blake's, Austin Eastciders and Avid, is keeping its foot on the gas pedal in 2024. Blake's Hard Cider expanded to parts of 8 new states "so far" this yr: CA, PA, MO, IA, TN, OR, WA and MT. Co chose a variety of networks in each state. In greater Pittsburgh, PA, Blake's went with MC house INCO Bev and indie house Galli Beer Dist. Co went with AB houses Ajax Turner in Nashville, TN, Fahr in Waterloo, IA, and Krey Dist, Grey Eagle, Lohr Dist and H.W. Herrell Dist in MO. It chose Stone Dist in SoCal and in OR and WA it's with AB/craft house Maletis, plus craft houses Bigfoot and Summit. In MT, it partnered with Bronken's Dist in Bozeman, MT. Austin Eastciders also launched FL with 7 distribs and SoCal with Stone Dist.
Several rounds of back-and-forth filings have been made since exporter CraftCanTravel (CCT) sued ABI and Tilray in Apr for allegedly working to undermine its biz and "steal" international distribution rights "for nothing." Since AB and Tilray each filed responses and declarations refuting claims in late May (see May 31 issue), last week, CCT filed replies to each AB and Tilray, plus a declaration from CCT owner Maarten Kruijtzer. And same day, Jun 14, AB and Tilray responded again, including AB's request for a pre-motion conference connected to the proposed motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Craft beer faces an "uphill battle" at retail, Circana's Scott Scanlon underscored during recent webinar hosted alongside Deschutes CEO Peter Skrbek. He equated craft's challenges to wine's as sales remain soft while both have significant space at retail. In fact, craft beer still had the largest share of distribution at shelf among all beer categories in Circana data for the last 52 wks thru Jun 2, Scott showed. At 20.2 share for 52 wks after shedding 1.1 pts vs yr ago, it was still over 2 pts ahead of next highest, imports, which rose 1.1 share of shelf to 18. Only hard seltzer lost more space than craft, down 1.9 pts to 8.4.
DISTRIBUTION: Rebellious Gets Bottled Kids RTDs into First Kroger Banners + Blume, Barcode, Tru
Rebellious Beverage, which has been mainly focused on low-sugar liquid enhancer, is making headway with a newer addition, its kid-targeted RTD. Co launched by entrepreneur Doug DuMars said Rebellious Kids has now been accepted into Kroger chain, starting in Roundy's div with Mariano's, Pick N Save and Metro Market banners. Item is packed in sport-capped 8-oz plastic bottles and contain robust amounts of vitamins B12, C, D, A and E, along with electrolytes, magnesium and zinc. Core line is liquid, organic infusion utilizing green tea and containing over 300 mg of antioxidants, in pocket-size packet.
Dairy Farmers of America is investing nearly $45 mil to expand plant near Indianapolis that produces extended shelf-life (ESL) dairy and non-dairy bevs and shake mixes for retail and foodservice customers, per local news reports. Investment will go into former Wayne Dairy plant in Richmond, about 75 miles east of Indy, that operates under Richmond Beverage Solutions name. Century-old operation was acquired by SmithFoods in 1994, then DFA in 2022 along with one in Pacific, Mo. Plant, which employs 216 currently, will add 50 jobs in near term and another 15 by 2027, per the reports, which focus on jobs, wages and financial incentives rather than specifics of where the money is going. DFA itself doesn't seem to have announced project . . . Dairy co Suntado has opened first phase of greenfield plant in Burley, Idaho, that employs Tetra Pak process to offer ESL and shelf-stable items. The 190K-sq-ft plant will process 800K to 1 mil lbs of milk next year with focus on shelf-stable milk, cream and dairy-based bevs, tho non-dairy items also are within purview of plant, as Idaho Biz Review noted. Suntado is owned by Dirk Reitsma, who owns 6,000 head of organic dairy cows, and Jesus Hurtado, with 30,000 head of conventional dairy cows, all the herds within 20 miles of plant for access to fresh dairy.
As all bevs increasingly converge for suppliers and distribs in US and globally, beer giant Carlsberg made multi-billion-dollar offer truly emblematic of the trend. Carlsberg offered $3.9 bil to buy British soft drink co Britvic, maker of brands like Tango Sodas and Robinson's Fruit Shoot. Carlsberg said its offer reps 13.1X multiple of trailing 12 mos EBITDA of about $380 mil. Purchase of Britvic would represent "an appealing long-term growth opportunity," co noted. But Britvic wasted no time in rejecting offer, Carlsberg's 2d, saying it was too low. Carlsberg said it's "considering its position."
Yanni Hufnagel is first to admit that he often used to have his hands full managing just 13 people: the players on the college hoops rosters he coached. Now it's 91 people - and counting - who all "bleed yellow" for Lemon Perfect brand he created. "What a burden that is," he readily acknowledged to BevNet Live audience last week. "This is so much harder than coaching college basketball," his focus for prior decade.
We are pleased to announce our 30th Annual Beer Insights Seminar in New York City, with a reception on Sunday evening Nov 17 and program all day Monday, November 18. The Seminar will take place at the Harmonie Club, one of NYC's most-storied private clubs founded in 1852. Fittingly for our 30th anniversary, we will bring you a fantastic program.