Beer Marketer's Insights
Responding to consumer requests, Koia has intro'd a line of shelf-stable versions of its refrigerated plant-based Protein Shakes that's initially available only on Amazon. Packed in 11-oz resealable cartons, Koia Nutrition Shakes offer 20 g of complete plant protein vs 18 g in core refrigerated Protein Shake 12-oz bottled line, along with 6 g of prebiotic fiber and 21 vitamins & minerals. Protein blend is sourced from brown rice, peas and chick peas while the fiber comes from agave and chicory root.
Liquid Death, which reportedly has been prepping for an IPO over past year, has brought aboard a seasoned public-markets exec as CFO: Karim Sadik-Khan, fresh off a 14-yr run at Beam Suntory, the last of those as North American CFO. He's no stranger to non-alc bev space either, with stints at Dr Pepper Snapple Group and then PepsiCo earlier in his career. He joins disruptive player that boasted of $263 mil in scanned sales last year and expansion to 113K retail doors across US and UK. (One source who said he's seen financials told us co lost $70 mil in 2023 given its aggressive marketing spend, but it's been able to keep engine stoked with new rounds.)
Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach, Calif, last month was a Woodstock of "Poppi love," as we described it, with range of investors, distributors and retailers marveling at excitement its better-soda positioning and lush marketing have brought to bev biz (BBI, May 20). But class action suit brought against brand last week is revealing considerably broader range of views of breakout brand: Some shrug it off as rite of passage for any successful brand but others, including some rivals, say it's threat to fundamental underpinnings of brand (and, we'd think, a deterrent to strategics whom the rumor mill has lined up bidding to acquire it). True, some element of schadenfreude may be involved among less successful brands envious of Poppi's explosive growth. But discussion also goes to heart of whether consumers are willingly paying a premium for so-called "lifestyle brand" or are simply being bamboozled.
Throwback Thursday
This week in 1993, Coors exec Bob Reccholtz announced he was leaving Coors on July 1 after successful 11-yr run. This was "first big change since Leo Kiely became prexy," and while move labeled as voluntary, "many thought Bob was interested in becoming prexy of Coors and disappointed he wasn't chosen," wrote INSIGHTS. Bob "played a vital role, leading mktg and sales as Coors expanded from 20 to 50 states" and he built Coors Light "with high- profile successful campaigns." Tho he didn't build many relationships with distribs and his management style "was sometimes criticized," noted INSIGHTS, "he deserves much credit for Coors' accomplishments in last decade." Bob wrote distrib and fellow employees: "If anyone wishes to judge me personally, I hope they will remember that I always attacked with passion, honesty and a total commitment to win for Coors."
Joseph Fisch, Jr passed in Naples, FL on May 27, co announced. Joseph founded United States Beverage, the "#1 independent beer importer in US, back in 1997 following many years with Joseph E. Seagram & Sons. Joseph was Seagram's youngest regional veep, managing Chicago-based Central Division, and rose up ranks to become prexy of Seagram Beverage Co in 1993. Owning a family biz was a "life-long dream" so he formed USB a year after departing Seagram & Sons.
While international brands moving production to the US is not nearly as common here, the majority of larger global beer brands are not actually brewed in their countries of origin these days. Many tend to be brewed domestically in bigger countries. Yet at least one Spanish brewer and other industry observers sounded off on MC's rapidly growing Madrí Excepcional brand for "lack[ing] transparency" regarding its brewing origins while marketing itself as "the soul of Madrid," the Telegraph reported. Madrí is reportedly brewed in several sites across the UK by MC, rather than in Spain via La Sagra, "a Spanish brewery also owned by Molson Coors since 2017."
Less than 6 yrs after first moving in, FIFCO-owned Labatt USA is leaving its Buffalo headquarters. Tho it'll look to stay in the area with a smaller HQ to occasionally host its remote workforce. "Labatt USA is putting its office space and first-floor corner brewery up for sublease because it's no longer using either of the spaces or making craft beers locally," The Buffalo News reports.
6X Jump in Southern Glazer's Lobbying $$ in Q1 Extended Big Uptick Since Exec Order, Per Politico
DC insider pub Politico kept the pressure on major wine & spirits distrib Southern Glazer's this wk, detailing major increases in the co's lobbying spend a day after breaking story that FTC is set to sue it. And they're not unrelated, according to Politico: "Alcohol distributor's lobbying spending soared amid FTC pressure," it headlined. Co's Q1 lobbying spend jumped to $310K "to lobby the House and Senate on President Biden's 2021 executive order on competition policy," it reported. That's about 6x the avg of $50K per qtr since Q3 2022.
After stepping in as interim ceo since mid-Jan 2024, Zach Keeling was appointed full-time ceo of Sapporo-Stone today, June 6, co announced. Zach played an integral role in the sale to Sapporo and "developing Sapporo-Stone's integrated long-term strategic plans" as Stone's veep of strategy starting Oct 2020. He previously worked at Stone for nearly 3 yrs from late 2015 thru mid 2018 before brief internship at VMG, same firm that invested in Stone Brewing and remains invested in Stone Distributing, and brief stint as co-founder of a frozen food biz called Nom Pot, while receiving his MBA from Harvard, per LinkedIn.
AB volume down 2.8% for 4 weeks thru May 19 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience (gained 0.08 share) and down 2.1% for 1 week thru May 26. So it has a come a long way, even if still not growing overall. But multiple AB distribs grew their AB volume in May. There seems to be fairly wide variation within network; some distribs also still report soft sales. Quite a few AB distribs have talked of robust Ultra growth for a couple of mos now (one sizable distrib up double digits in May for example), but nationally it was up 5.9% for 4 weeks in scans. Busch Light showing more broad-based robust growth, with volume up 9.5% for 4 weeks and 12.5% by $$ in Circana MULC. Broadly, distribs are "relieved" and "encouraged," said one source who just recently talked to a buncha distribs selling in over a dozen states. But while AB came back initially faster than some expected, it likely had hoped to already kick into a higher gear. That didn't happen on a national basis, at least not yet, tho it has for some distribs.