Vol 6, No 14   April 7, 2025

All articles shown below are excerpts from one of INSIGHTS’ 5 newsletter publications.
Sign up to receive the free weekly Digest directly to your inbox.
Subscribe to our other publications to read full articles.

California Curveball Catapults Hand Family Cos Over 50 Mil Cases, $1 Bil Revs; Buying Stone Dist and Classic EXPRESS – Mar 31 There’s a new player in CA distribution, entering the state with a bang. Sunset Distributing, a subsidiary of Hand Family Companies of TN (led by JR Hand) will buy 2 distribs, craft-centric Stone Distributing and NA-bev oriented Classic Dist. Both in one fell swoop. They total about 15 mil cases, about one third NA. Deal expected to close in about 60 days. Before this deal, HFC selling over 35 mil cases, mostly in IL (Lakeshore in Chi metro). But Hand Family Cos also owns several locations in TN and KY. So CA will be its 4th state. And HFC will sell over 50 mil cases total, with over $1 bil in sales in all, including sizable NA and craft books as well as AB in its other mkts. This move puts HFC among largest beer and bev wholesaler groups in US.

Stone Dist Has 3 of Top 10 Craft Cos in San Diego Scans; Pizza Port & Coronado Were Top Gainers; LA a Longer Haul CRAFT – Mar 31 Hand Family Cos’ acquisitions of Stone Dist and Classic instantly will make it a major craft beer distrib in SoCal, especially in San Diego. Stone Dist has three of the top 10 craft brewers in San Diego craft, led by Stone Brewing still #1 by a longshot, Pizza Port rising to #5 craft co (with the #4 craft brand family) and Coronado #9 in 2024 San Diego Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. Those 3 cos alone have over 1/4 of craft beer $$ and over 5 share of total beer $$ in San Diego scans. Stone still held a whopping 16.6 share of craft and 3.4 share of beer $$. And Pizza Port (+24%) and Coronado (+20%) sales grew more than any other craft suppliers in the city. Pizza Port rose 1.25 pts to over 6 share of San Diego craft $$ (1.2 share of beer). Coronado gained 0.7 pts to 4 share of craft (0.8 share of beer).

Beer $$ Down 2.6%, Vol -4.4% YTD Thru Mar 23 in MULC; Not Much Better for St Paddy’s 2-Wks; Top RTDs Compared to Big Beer Fams EXPRESS – Apr 1 After a solid start to the year in Jan, beer sales remained soft thruout most of the rest of Q1 in off-premise scan data. Beer $$ declined 2.6% to $8.967 bil with volume down 4.4% to 291.5 mil cases for 12 wks thru Mar 23 in Circana multi-outlet + convenience channels. In first 4 wks of the year, beer $$ dipped just 0.3% with volume down 2.4%, partially boosted by timing of New Year’s Eve. Following 4 wks thru Feb 23 saw a drastic deceleration as beer $$ suddenly slipped 4.8% with volume down 6.4%. Trend improved a bit in the latest 4 wks thru Mar 23, but nothin’ to write home about; $$ down 2.5%, volume down 4.2%.

CANNABEVS: Organigram Fills in Portfolio Void with Pickup of Collective Project Arm of Ontario Craft Brewer BEV INSIGHTS – Apr 1 Organigram, the vertically integrated Canadian cannabiz, finally has orchestrated its move into D9 bevs segment with acquisition of Collective Project, the cannabev arm of artsy Collective Arts craft beer brand in Ontario. The price was just C$6.2 mil initially but it could balloon to total of C$24 mil if various bev milestones are hit by Sep 30, 2026. Of purchase price, $6 mil is for bevs, $200K for vapes and edibles. “Not only does this acquisition represent our first commercial entry into the fast-growing hemp-derived THC beverage market in the US, it also fast tracks our entry into the cannabis beverage category in Canada, a category that we believe is on the cusp of growth at home as well,” per statement from CEO Beena Goldenberg.

CO Craft Cos’ New Dancin’ Partners; Dry Dock Acquired Equity in Left Hand Parent Co as Great Divide Joined Platform with Denver Beer CRAFT – Apr 2 There’s been a lotta action with Colorado craft-on-craft partnerships over the last couple yrs, and some of that led to multiple deals struck within days of each other last week. First, Great Divide was acquired by budding platform Wilding Brands, which formed in the last year with Denver Beer Co, Formation Brewing, Stem Ciders, Howdy Beer, Funkwerks, Cerveceria Colorado, and Easy Living Hop Water, cos announced Apr 1. While Great Divide taprooms are expected to stay open, Great Divide production will move to Wilding Canworks facility in Denver’s Sunnyside nabe.

Yet Great Divide was producing another sizable local craft brand, Dry Dock, after cos struck a strategic partnership in Nov 23. Dry Dock closed its own production facility and moved all of its volume to Great Divide’s brewery at the time. So Dry Dock hadda figure out next steps separately from Great Divide. Just one day after Great Divide deal was made public, Dry Dock and Left Hand announced merger where Dry Dock’s two owners acquired equity in Left Hand Brewing parent co Indian Peaks Brewing Company, combining their organizations and “immediately” moving “all brewing production and packaging to Left Hand’s Longmont facility.”

Brutal Feb vs Inflated Comps: Shipments Down 12%, 1.9 Mil Bbls as Taxpaids Sank 15%, Imports -3%; Down 9% for 2 Mos EXPRESS – Apr 3 Beer was set up to post an extra soft Feb 2025 vs year ago with 1 less calendar day and top brewers shipping way ahead of depletions in early 2024. Recall, US beer shipments grew 9% in Feb 2024 vs 2023, including taxpaids up 10% and imports up 8%. But those inflated gains got entirely wiped out and then some. Feb shipments dropped 12%, losing 1.9 mil bbls vs year ago, driven down almost entirely by taxpaids’ 15%, 1.8-mil-bbl decline for the mo. Imports dipped just 3%, but Mexican imports were up 2% for the mo. So all other countries collectively declined by more than 20% in Feb vs yr ago. Net-net, total US beer volume is down nearly 9% for the first 2 mos vs yr ago, dragged by taxpaids, which are down 12%, while imports still grew 2%.

Castillo Hermanos Lands Big US Production & Retail Footprint with Acquisition of Harvest Hill Bev; Brynwood Built Broad-Based NA Empire from Other Cos’ Unwanted Parts BEV INSIGHTS – Apr 3 Just as severe tariff regime arrives, the diversified Guatemelan food/bev player Castillo Hermanos is landing big production and retail presence in US with agreement to acquire Harvest Hill Beverage Co, the diverse array of brands assembled over past decade by Brynwood Partners. Deal announced Apr 3 calls for Castillo Hermanos and Centerview Capital to collaborate on acquisition that instantly gives marketer of Famosa beer and other brands a network of 6 production plants across US and comprehensive reach into all major retailers in country. Tho Brynwood said it’s not releasing terms, Reuters estimates transaction at $1.5 bil, including debt.

Reyes Will Get High Noon from RNDC in CA Next, Starting Jul 1 EXPRESS – Apr 4 Another major brand is leaving RNDC for Reyes Beverage Group network in CA. Gallo is making the move with High Noon, the #1 RTD brand. That follows quickly on the heels of other big brand losses for RNDC in CA, Tito’s and Brown-Forman in the last couple of mos. So RNDC will have lost several of the largest spirits brands in CA in the first half of 2025. And that’s after losing Sazerac there and elsewhere a coupla yrs ago. Indeed, RNDC got High Noon only a couple of years ago too, after losing Sazerac. This also marks the 2d state in which Gallo opted to move High Noon into the beer network this year, following move to MC network in NJ, one of its top states, where it was previously self-distributed. Could Gallo move High Noon to beer distributors in other mkts? These recent moves suggest they must be at least thinking about that. 

25% Tariffs on Imported Cans Likely Apply Only to Aluminum, Not Value of Liquid Inside EXPRESS – Apr 4 The tariffs on imported cans may be far less impactful than initially feared. Those 25% tariffs apply only to the aluminum content within a package – not the liquid inside, INSIGHTS understands. That would of course be far less expensive than a surcharge on the total value of the product and a big sigh of relief for many beer importers, particularly those that are USMCA compliant. The 25% aluminum levies were slated to go into last Fri and seemingly supersede the existing trade agreement. But USMCA compliant goods are otherwise considered exempt from current tariffs, which presumably includes most Mexican imports. As things stand, European importers are still subject to 20% tariffs. The 25% tariff on imported aluminum cans would likely be in addition, tho quite minor in comparison.

Survey Shows Sharp Uptick in Awareness of Cancer Link After Surgeon Genl’s AdvisoryALCOHOL ISSUES – Apr 4 Between last September and early this year, the proportion of adults who said that regular drinking increases the “chances of later developing cancer” jumped from 40% to 56%, according to survey results from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. The second survey was fielded from Jan 30-Feb 10 of this year, “less than a month after US Surgeon General [at the time] Dr Vivek Murthy’s advisory on alcohol and cancer risk,” the school wrote. Despite the change in awareness, less than half of respondents said that they had “read or heard about” at least one recent report on alcohol and health. And among those who had, just over 60% said the report “had no effect” on their willingness “to accept an alcoholic drink if one is offered on a social occasion.”

BeerBoard’s Brandy Rand, Circana’s Scott Scanlon Added to Spring Conference Lineup Sign up today for the Beer Insights Spring Conference, coming right up May 12-13 at the Four Seasons Chicago! Just added to the program: get exclusive insights from BeerBoard Senior Advisor Brandy Rand and Circana EVP of Alc Bevs Scott Scanlon, who will dig into the latest on- and off-premise data to help make sense of recent slowdowns and a fickle consumer landscape. Our program also features a wide range of industry leaders and hot topics, including growth areas such as RTDs and NAs. Check out the jam-packed speaker slate and sign up today to reserve your spot!

Subscribe To Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS,  Subscribe To INSIGHTS Express,  Subscribe To Craft Brew News,  Subscribe To Beverage Business INSIGHTS,  Subscribe To Alcohol Issues INSIGHTS 

 Follow @BeerInsights   Follow @CraftInsights   Follow @BevInsights

EDITORIAL ADDRESS: 49 East Maple Avenue, Suffern, NY 10901 (845) 504-0040 Fax: (845) 507-0041 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.beerinsights.com Copyright 2025 by Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please contact us to unsubscribe from Insights Weekly Digest.