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📰 Today's Top Story |
| | | Things are looking up for Constellation Brands in Q2 after a rocky end to Q1, CEO Nicholas Fink shared during his 1st earnings call with investors Wednesday morning. 2026 brought elevated gas prices that thwarted beer sales in the wake of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, but signs of a return to normal have begun to appear in early Q2 with “a modest reacceleration.” How Is Constellation’s Business? “We saw some very strong numbers as consumers get to make the choices that they want to make, and would like to make. It’s encouraging in a somewhat more normalized environment that the portfolio is more than holding its own and responding really well,” Fink said. Read more |
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🔐 What You're Missing |
| The news doesn’t stop for Brewbound Insiders, who are diving into an onslaught of bev-alc headlines ahead of the July 4 holiday, including: Plus, the Brewbound Insider Newsletter has even more, including an update on major beer company’s stocks at the halfway point of 2026. Insiders also have access to the Brewbound Newsletter Archive, including previous newsletter-exclusive Insider content. Become a Brewbound Insider today! Want It All? Be in the know on all food and beverage news from Brewbound, BevNET and NOSH with Insider All Access. |
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💰 Earnings Season |
| | | Constellation Brands had a stronger start to its FY27 than the prior year, recording beer division growth in Q1, according to financial details released Tuesday. Under New Leadership: Q1 marks Constellation’s 1st quarter headed by president and CEO Nicholas Fink, who took over from Bill Newlands on April 13. Fink acknowledged a need to “enhance” the company’s ability to generate and sustain “healthy growth rates” for its “largest and more established brands.” Learn more |
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📝 Brewbound Headlines |
| | | Kroger has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion, marking the company’s 1st major acquisition since its proposed mega-merger with Albertsons collapsed in 2024. The transaction would expand Kroger’s presence across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, if approved, adding Giant Eagle’s 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies. Go deeper to find out why this deal is different than the failed Albertsons mega-merger |
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| | | Columbia Distributing has added around 850,000 cases of wine and spirits in WA and OR, completing a deal with RNDC in the PNW. Roughly 500,000 cases of wine and 350,000 cases of spirits are included in the deal, with spirits volume limited to WA due to OR’s control state status, according to the announcement. Read more |
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📊 Data Dive |
| | | Beer recorded a June BPI reading of 52 in the NBWA’s latest report, measuring distributors’ beer purchasing plans. Back In Alignment: “After a period of inventory recalibration, the beer industry appears to have found a healthier equilibrium entering the most pivotal season,” NBWA chief economist & VP of analytics Lester Jones wrote, noting that June’s at-risk reading was 8 points below that of June 2025 (52). Dive deeper |
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🆕 New On Shelves |
| | | Plant-based beverage maker Elmhurst 1925 is going hard, after years of a broad approach to innovation across milk alternatives, protein drinks and sour cream. The company unveiled new bev-alc brand Good Day, Darling at Summer Fancy Food Show in NYC this week – a 4.1% ABV oat-based “amber spritz” available in Blueberry Lemon and Strawberry Lychee. Keep reading |
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👀 ICYMI |
| | | The time is right for founders of scaled RTD brands to consider exits with the emergence of a “classic seller’s market,” Arlington Capital Advisors managing director Townsend Ziebold declared last month at the Beer Marketer’s Insights business conference. Ziebold’s Take: “We have an abundance of strategic buyers that have a need for growth, and we have a shortage of independent RTDs of scale, and so it's just a supply-demand imbalance.” “It’s going to be an M&A musical chair game. There’s not going to be enough targets relative to buyers.” The game has already begun with acquisitions by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Molson Coors, Mark Anthony Brands and Sazerac. Learn more 🎁 Not an Insider? Check out the full story using this free gift link. |
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💼 Now Hiring |
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👋 That's all for today's Brewbound Newsletter |
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