Maybe the main question is, what took so long? Finally acquiescing to barrage of shoppers' requests, Kraft Heinz is offering a 96-oz jug of its Capri Sun kiddie elixir. The new pack has broken in Fruit Punch flavor exclusively in club channel, including chainwide at BJ's and Sam's as well as in select Costco locations, sold in 2-pks equivalent to 32 of the 3-oz pouches. It's priced about $6.50. Among benefits of new format, it's likely to capture kids who're aging out of brand's silver pouches but still want to drink the stuff, perhaps out of nostalgia for the years before they got to middle school and their lives got so complicated. Announcement from Chicago-based food giant seemed to wear its complacency like a badge of honor, noting that the jug comprises first innovation in nearly a decade and came in response to "staggering 76% of suggestions" received by Capri Sun call center from 2020-23 that requested bigger package size. Presumably that amounted to thousands of requests.

At time that Whole Foods Market was acquired by Amazon 7 years ago, there was some speculation that natural retailer's longtime primary distributor UNFI might find itself collateral damage. But their continued partnership proved that notion to be misguided, and now the pair have extended tie for another 5 years. Technically, the way they framed it, it's an 8-year extension, with current contract that expires in Sep 2027 being replaced with new deal running thru May 2032. If new contract contains any changes to existing setup, they weren't disclosed in announcement yesterday . . . Modest-size deal has happened in red system in Midwest: Des Moines, Iowa-based Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling said it's acquired Trenton Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Trenton, Missouri, effective immediately. Both are century-old houses operated by their 4th generation of family leadership. Terms weren't disclosed but combined cos will net out at 875 employees and nearly 18 mil cases of volume, distributed thru 10 territories in 5 states. Trenton Coca-Cola will be rebranded as Atlantic Coca-Cola in coming weeks.

Tho Boston Beer previously teased plans to test launch its new light lager this yr, now it's rolling out with plans to go national to boot. Sam Adams American Light will start in 15 markets this summer with "national distribution expected in March 2025," Boston Beer announced yesterday. Initial rollout seemingly ramped up a bit from previously planned 9 regions. And while aim is always to scale innovation after a successful test, this time Boston is stating goal for cross-country expansion before it even gets outta the gates. (A version of this appeared in sibling pub INSIGHTS Express.)

Sapporo-Stone just completed phase 1 of its expansion project that will double brewing capacity to 700K bbls/yr between Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA facilities, co announced yesterday. Phase 1 totaled $20 mil investment into Escondido, adding tanks and packaging lines. Phase 2 in Richmond is expected to be completed by "late summer" this yr and cost another $40 mil. By then, "all production" of Sapporo for US mkt "will have moved from Canada and Asia to the U.S." Co's already brewing "all of Sapporo's SKUs except for the 22oz can" in the US, spokesperson shared. (A version of this article also appeared in sibling pub INSIGHTS Express.)

Speaking of AB's craft portfolio, "megabrands" and beyond, AB highlighted strong growth of Kona Big Wave (plus Estrella Jalisco), as well as co's "'Lead by Style' beer scale brands" in latest update with CBN. Big Wave and Estrella Jalisco are collectively up 22% YTD thru May 12 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. That's even as Estrella Jalisco slowed considerably in recent periods. Big Wave's driving growth. And on top of that, AB High End "scale brands" are collectively gaining 0.6 share of craft $$ month-to-date thru May 12. (Editor's note: an acceleration vs +0.4 share thru Apr.) There are plenty of ups and downs within this group of "lead by style" brands including: Elysian Space Dust and Goose IPA steeper sales declines; Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA down a bit; Goose Beer Hug family and Golden Road Mango Cart continuing to grow; and Perni Haze IPA and Juice Dust IPA posting mostly incremental growth. But they're collectively gaining steam within the craft segment. Tho most of the rest of AB's craft portfolio remains soft.

After AB's big craft selloff last yr and Constellation exiting entirely, would AB and MC consider putting other craft brands on the block? "The focus" for AB is its "megabrands," AB chief sales officer Simon Wuestenberg began when asked about that possibility at our Beer Insights Spring Conference last wk. "When we talk about megabrands… they're certainly not all that we do, but they are what we do first. And I think as an organization it's important to figure out what you do first."

While Heineken is moving away from beyond beer segments in the US, it's investing in 'em internationally. Heineken acquired a minority stake in Dutch "ready-to-drink brand Stëlz for an undisclosed sum," Just Drinks reported among others. Stëlz was founded in 2020, developing a portfolio of hard seltzers, canned cocktails and most recently a lemon hard iced tea, all clocking in at 4.5% ABV per serving.