Hard seltzer sales are declining but Happy Dad has bucked the segment’s slipping trends. 

Happy Dad co-founder and CEO Sam Shahidi told Brewbound editor Justin Kendall the goal is to challenge White Claw for the top spot in 2027. Until then, Happy Dad will attempt to win every county following a move to a mostly A-B beer distribution network and with new venture capital investment. 

Brewbound Insiders can read all of the details. Plus:

• Get perspective on the FDA’s proposed food dye bans;
• See where former Revolution CMO Doug Veliky is going next;
• Dive into Easter scans;
• And check out Stone’s new low-ABV IPA.

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Hard seltzer’s sales may have peaked in 2020 at $4.1 billion, but Happy Dad CEO Sam Shahidi believes there’s still a mountain to climb for his company. 

Speaking to Brewbound earlier this year, Shahidi laid out a 3-year vision for challenging White Claw as the top-selling hard seltzer brand.

Happy Dad has charted an upward trajectory in a segment that has shed around $1 billion in sales since its peak 5 years ago. Shahidi founded Happy Dad in June 2021 with his brother John Shahidi and Kyle Forgeard, a co-founder of the Canadian-American YouTube channel, Nelk. Although they missed hard seltzer’s apex sales year, Shahidi explained why he believes Happy Dad has succeeded while brands that traded on the equity of popular beers have failed. 

“We made the Shake Shack of seltzers while everybody else was trying to copy freaking Carl’s Jr. or Burger King,” he said.

Insiders can read more about Happy Dad’s trends and recent VC investment, as well as details on its transition from wine and spirits distributors to beer wholesalers, the demographics of its consumers and its Canadian business.

Food and beverage experts are trying to make sense of last week’s announcement that 8 synthetic food dyes may be phased out by the end of next year. 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made the proclamation in a press conference that offered little detail on implementation except for the revocation of authorization of 2 little-used colorants in the coming weeks: Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B.

Insiders can read more about the proposed ban and comments from the Consumer Brands Association and International Association of Color Manufacturers.

Around 10,000 industry members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 2025 CBC and BrewExpo America. The gathering takes place against a backdrop of growing headwinds for craft breweries and an overhaul of CBC’s host organization, the Brewers Association (BA).

When Bart Watson takes the stage for this year’s state of the industry address inside the Indiana Convention Center on Wednesday, April 30, he will do so for the first time as CEO of the trade organization where he previously served as chief economist and VP of strategy. 

The changeover comes as industry growth has given way to volume declines over the past 2 years, with craft volume down 4% in 2024 and 1% in 2023. Craft is now a decade removed from the double-digit growth of the mid-2010s, making the past few years a crash course in navigating choppy waters. 

Insiders can read more about what to expect next week in Indianapolis, including key talks, awards and more.