Curaleaf is looking like one of first to blink in face of move by federal gov't to essentially render hemp-derived Delta-9 space illegal in Nov. In reporting preliminary Q4 results, Stamford, Conn-based canna player said it's dropping its hemp division "due to recent federal legislation . . . reducing the allowable amount of THC to a non-intoxicating level." So far it's still a small biz, amounting to just $2 mil in quarterly revenue including cannabis operation in Missouri that's also being DC'ed. Chmn/CEO Boris Jordan blamed pending US regs with limit of 0.3% THC content for dropping D9's and "sub-scale" Missouri cannabis operation. So far, most other players, including Tilray Brands, continue to work their D9 lines in anticipation that the effective ban will be headed off before it takes effect. And retailers like Sprouts and Circle K continue to onboard cannabevs.

Simply Good Foods has abruptly dumped Geoff Tanner as CEO, welcoming back "immediately" the man Tanner replaced, Joe Scalzo, whose tenure goes back to predecessor co Atkins Nutritionals. He'd also served as exec vice chmn and now will be reappointed to board. Move comes as strategy seemed to have become unmoored, with Atkins continuing to flounder and leaders departing its two growth brands, Quest and OWYN, at time profitability has been eroding. Co didn't cite specific reason for change except implicitly in saying Scalzo, as prexy/CEO, "will oversee a new chapter at Simply Good Foods focused on reigniting growth and improving profitability across the business." Scalzo is associated with era of good feeling at protein conglomerate, helping move Atkins to public markets in 2017 and presiding over its Quest acquisition. Chmn James Kilts, the former Gillette CEO, offered a nod to Tanner for "keeping the company positioned for success" while stopping short of saying Geoff had actually achieved success. Industry exec close to co, who'd privately predicted to us that Tanner would be gone soon, cited "lack of strategy and accountability" under former chief . . . Another key exec has left declining Congo Brands for up & coming brand. This time it's Dan Zacka, aboard at Lucky as svp sales after nearly 5 years at Congo helping to build Alani and Prime brands. He'd spent 11 years at Red Bull before then. Prime continues to soften at Congo even as Alani has exited to Celsius after falling out with founder Katy Hearn.

A few weeks of better sales and Constellation Brands stock is surging recently including over a 4% jump today, while mkt is getting creamed with Dow down over 800 points and S&P down 138 points, 2%. Just yesterday when mkts were closed, latest week of data came out showing STZ up double digits. Today's jump seems to be a reaction. STZ stock now up almost 20% yr-to-date and today hit its highest levels since last August.

Bero will get an unspecified "strategic investment" from BetterCo Holdings, a portfolio co of NYC-based private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, reported Inc mag and WSJ Private Equity (subscription only). The investment values Bero at over $100 mil, said "a person familiar with the matter" to WSJ, "and will help support the brand's ambitious growth plans." BetterCo launched last Nov "to back high growth companies in the healthy food and beverage space." Bero is Better Co's 3d investment and "falls within the firm's typical growth investment range of $10 million to $25 million," wrote WSJ. An existing investor, Imaginary Ventures, "also doubled down on its investment," according to Inc.

Coming off another yr of top-tier growth with Surfside RTDs, parent co Stateside is ready to take on a bigger roster of brands. It's launching 4.5%-ABV Super Lyte vodka + ade RTDs in 14 states this Mar followed by 10%-ABV Purple Tiger and Red Tiger vodka soda RTDs in 4 states this May, ceo Clement Pappas shared at BBD Summit. Both products are registered with the TTB since mid Dec/early Jan, listed as produced outta Four Birds Distilling Co in Jersey Shore, PA and Prime Beverage Group in Kannapolis, NC.

A second distributor that received a sweeping subpoena from Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits last Aug refused to cooperate and landed in court this mo. Last wk, Southern filed a motion in a Texas fed ct to compel cooperation with the request from Favorite Brands, wine, spirits and craft beer-focused sibling co of major TX-based AB distrib L&F, owned by the LaMantia family. The filing follows a near identical dispute between Southern and Hensley in nearby Arizona, which landed in fed ct last mo (a story we broke earlier this mo).

After 30 yrs, the abandoned site of Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio might finally be redeveloped under a new owner, notes the SA Report. Development co Southstar purchased the property, operations at which shut down in 1996, six yrs after another co, GrayStreet Partners, bought it for $14.45 mil in 2020 but put it back on the mkt in 2022. Southstar did not divulge its plans for the long-dilapidated 32-acre site, which was appraised at $18.5 mil by county officials, but said they would work with the city and the San Antonio River Authority as part of its proposed downtown sports and entertainment district. "The Lone Star site is an important and complex opportunity to better connect neighbors and create spaces that are needed in San Antonio," co said in press release.

Months after closing its Aurora, CO taproom, Dry Dock Brewing is set to open a new location at Denver's Pub on Pearl, reports the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. Recall, Dry Dock and Left Hand merged in Apr with plans to "double the sales" of the former co thru expansion after reporting 8.3K bbls produced to the BA in 2024, down more than 5K since 2020. Founded in 2005, Dry Dock will operate out of the existing Pub on Pearl, "a longtime neighborhood gathering spot known for its relaxed atmosphere and central location just blocks from Washington Park." No exact timetable was given for the move, tho Dry Dock's website says new location would open this spring.