Talking Rain, the Seattle-based marketer of Sparkling Ice, has promoted a coupla key execs. Its evp for people, Veronica Blankenship, has been elevated to chief people & comms officer, with oversight for HR, culture and corporate communications. At co 14 years now, Veronica was credited with strengthening diversity and advancing women into leadership roles to point where leadership team is currently 47% female. Also get a bump is the 12-yr vet Ryan Quinlan, who played instrumental role in building out co's comprehensive national DSD network. He's now svp sales, leading Talking Rain's East Coast sales team and also running the trade marketing team.

Bev incubator LA Libations is partnering with sales agency Advantage Solutions Inc to take its Relentless Trade Solutions merchandising arm national, setting joint venture under name Relentless Advantage. Controlled by Advantage, with 51% stake, alliance combines Relentless' strong foothold with West Coast retailers with Advantage's broader national retail footprint to offer what Libations cofounder Danny Stepper said is first truly national service. While other merchandising firms claim to offer national coverage, they're heavily weighted toward natural channel, Danny noted. By contrast, Advantage claims 3,500+ CPG clients serviced by 12K full-time reps working 90% of America's top retailers and boasting deep relationships at store level, as Advantage CEO Dave Peacock noted. Now, with LA Libations as partner, it gets a pipeline of growth-stage brands at time, Peacock noted, that even large-format retailers like Walmart have become highly receptive to innovative entries. Among Relentless clients that will be managed by alliance are fast-growing Poppi gut pop as well as Plezi, the kids' brand launched in association with Michelle Obama, and Nixie Sparkling Water and Abbot's plant-protein snacks.

The "lifetime prevalence of secondhand harms from alcohol" was 34.2% in 2020, according to a survey of about 8K US adults, authors of a recent study wrote. As that language indicates, ongoing research seeks to draw closer parallels between alcohol and tobacco and their potential to negatively impact folks beyond the user. But the kinds of "secondhand harms" linked to drinking here, including financial and relational impacts, aren't exactly the same as those folks associate with "secondhand smoke," for instance. Further, just 6.2% reported any harm in the past year, a far lower figure. Commentary about past results suggests significantly lower levels of harm in recent years.

One state legislature and another state regulator are among the latest to attempt to get fast-moving innovations in intoxicating bevs under control. In Michigan, a bill pending in the state Senate follows other state attempts to restrict retailer merchandising of alcoholic crossovers of non-alc bev brands, according to a local CBS affiliate in Northern MI. Nearby IL followed VA in taking similar action, following vocal complaints, largely centered around Hard Mtn Dew. Tho that brand not mentioned in this article (which cited "Coke, Sunny D or AriZona Iced Tea" instead), the piece does reference the infamous image of it being stocked "even next to matchbox cars in a display, which obviously is frankly despicable," as MI Beer and Wine Wholesalers Assn's Brett Visney said. Bill is still being considered by committee, where some legislators expressed concerns about the proposal's potential impacts on small-footprint retailers.

Legal cannabis sales in several established recreational markets continue to decline in 2024, as INSIGHTS has reported. Politico recently put spotlight on Colorado, as the "market is coming down hard and it's making other states nervous," article headlined. Indeed, CO legal cannabis sales (recreational and medical collectively) dropped 31% to $1.5 bil in 2023 vs peak in 2021 including 13.5% drop vs 2022, according to state stats. Sales slipped another 10% in Q1 2024 vs yr ago.

Diageo struck deal with Singapore-based Toloram to sell 58% stake in Guinness Nigeria for about $70 mil. Diageo "joining other multinationals who are exiting or reducing their exposure" to Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, according to Bloomberg. Nigeria "facing its worst cost-of living crisis in decades." Diageo is "creating a new model for Guinness in Nigeria" (i.e. licensed) and "partnering" with Tolaram, which has presence in Nigeria for last 50 yrs. Diageo and Tolaram struck "new, long-term license and royalty agreements," but Diageo retains ownership of Guiness brand. This is "consistent with Diageo's strategy to operate a flexible and asset-light beer operating model," Diageo added.

Late Friday (5/31) Wall St Journal reported that Boston Beer in talks to sell itself to Suntory Holdings. That sparked a storm of speculation and commentary. But less than a day later, Suntory said it was not in such talks. Its official statement went further: "There is no fact that we are in any negotiations with Boston Beer."