Dear Client: We recently hinted that a shakeup in segment supremacy seemed near based on data provided by Bump Williams Consulting, and now less than a month later, BWC says it has all but happened. In its latest monthly update, BWC kicked things off saying there’s a new “king of the cash register” in beer, … Continue reading “Imports Now “King of the Cash Register,” Says BWC”

Dear Client: Q1 was good for Molson Coors, but everyone on the earnings call wanted to know what will come after.   Recall, Molson Coors had a bang-up Q1, including a 5.8% depletions hike in the U.S., primarily due to core brand growth for Coors Light, Banquet and Miller Lite. They maintained their guidance of low-single-digit … Continue reading “Gavin on Molson Coors’ “More Cautious” Industry Tone in Q1 Earnings”

Dear Client: Molson Coors Q1 results are in, and have played out pretty much as anyone who’s paying attention to the news might have expected: with mid-single digit depletion jumps in the U.S., and some overshipment in the quarter to stay ahead of the summer selling season, especially during a strike.  Global Q1 net sales … Continue reading “Molson Coors Q1: Steady as She Goes, U.S. Depletions Up Almost 6%”

Dear Client: April’s Beer Purchasers’ Index came in much better than in recent months – and in fact, in recent years. The total index registered at 62, the best trend since December 2021. Recall that anything over 50 in the index indicates expansion.  GIANT JUMPS FOR PREMIUM REGULAR, PREMIUM LIGHTS. In fact, each of the … Continue reading “BPI Sees Best Reading Since Late 2021 “

Dear Client: After Boston’s better-than-expected Q1 earnings results hit yesterday — with depletions flat for the quarter, shipments up 0.9%, gross margins of 43.7% (up 570 basis points), and net revs up 3.9% — the company hosted a 40-minute call, featuring new CEO Michael Spillane.  He fielded a host of questions, on marketing spend, Twisted … Continue reading “New Boston Beer Chief On Priorities, Twisted, and Spend”

Dear Client: Heineken global saw an ”encouraging start to 2024,” as all regions grew volume and net revenue, and “we continued to see a sequential improvement in the performance of the business,” said chief Dolf Van Den Brink in the company’s Q1 update. Note that the quarter was admittedly “boosted” by an earlier Easter, and … Continue reading “HUSA Q1 Depletions Down a Low-Single-Digit, But Silver, Chelada Show Promise”

Dear Client: After a breakout year this past year, in which it grew 563% to 1.3 million cases sold, and put vodka-based hard tea RTDs on the map, Surfside is now making moves to try and own the subsegment it helped create, across the map. Indeed, the brand announced today that it’s expanding distribution to … Continue reading “Surfin’ U.S.A.: Surfside Goes National”

Dear Client: With Easter holiday timing impact now out of the way, we’ve got our first clear look at how A-B, others and the category itself have shaken out in the initial lapping of last year’s Bud Light fallout. And what we have so far in this very early stage is this: sizable movement in … Continue reading ” Big Comps Set in: Better Pic for A-B, But a Tougher One for Beer”

Dear Client: When BBD was started nearly 25 years ago, the great fear in the industry was that a huge retailer, say a Walmart or more acutely later a Costco, would lobby to break open state-licensed three-tier and/or control state laws to achieve direct shipping of bev-alc products to their centralized warehouses and between and … Continue reading ” The Taming of Amazon”

Dear Client: We cracked open the latest Craft Segment Review from Bump Williams Consulting this week, and found the expansive report give way to a trove of first quarter data points well beyond craft and fitting for the pages of BBD. For instance, did you know that through Q1 of this year imports are the … Continue reading “Off-Premise Q1 Segment Shakeups and Supplier Standings”

Dear Client: Four Loko was a pop culture phenom that was seemingly everywhere around 2010, coming under scrutiny and fielding plenty of media coverage for its popular mixture of caffeine and alcohol.  These days, sans caffeine, the brand flies a bit more under the radar — unless you are shopping for 24 oz. FMB cans … Continue reading “Four Loko Back in the Spotlight”

Dear Client: One clear, pressing theme from the industry trade org heads panel at the NBWA Legislative Conference: No- and low-alcohol beer offerings are not only the wave of the future, they can also help counter the “no safe level” of alcohol rhetoric coming from the WHO (and some other players in Washington and abroad, … Continue reading “Industry Leaders Warn of “Prohibition by a Different Name,” But Suggest Solutions”

Dear Client: This week BBD is on the ground in Washington D.C., where the BREW Leadership Forum kicked off on Monday, ahead of NBWA’s Legislative Conference.  One newsworthy panel from the show saw Peter Heimark, president and CEO of Heimark Distributing, moderating a discussion digging in with some female distributor leaders. The panel was an … Continue reading “Distribution Vets Share Pivotal Moments at NBWA Leadership Forum”

Dear Client: A New York Supreme Court justice said Thursday there was “no universe” where a new “incentivizing” Gatorade warehouse delivery pallet program introduced by PepsiCo late last year doesn’t violate the beverage giant’s distribution contracts with independent bottlers for direct store delivery (DSD) services. In an hour-long court hearing on PepsiCo’s motion to dismiss … Continue reading “Judge: “No Universe” Where PepsiCo Pallet Program Doesn’t Breach Contract”

Dear Client: Put a bow on it: Constellation Beer just reported Q4 and full year fiscal 2024 results, and it was more good news for the company’s beer business.  In fiscal ’24, “Our Beer Business continued its strong growth momentum as it achieved its 56th consecutive quarter of volume growth while maintaining best-in-class margins,” said … Continue reading “Constellation Beer Finishes Another Good Year Strong”