Insiders are reading details from Red Tree president Jenny Dowdy’s fireside chat at Beer Marketer’s Insights fall seminar, including the Coca-Cola subsidiary’s principles for building ready-to-drink bev-alc brands.

Insiders are also:

• Seeing how the recent spike in beer’s consumer price index compares to wine and spirits;
• Diving into the latest week’s scan data from Circana;
• Checking out Sapporo’s Anchor assets that are up for sale;
• And getting an update on Metro Brewing’s future.

Insiders also have access to the Brewbound Newsletter Archive, including previous newsletter-exclusive Insider content.

Become a Brewbound Insider today!

Or, be in the know on all food and beverage news from Brewbound, BevNET and NOSH with Insider All Access.

Get your craft beverage to market quickly with shrink-sleeves. Special holiday promotional pricing on orders placed today through the end of 2023! In-stock inventory • 99% on-time delivery • Bundled pricing on all can + end orders • Outstanding customer service! Learn more

Red Tree Beverages, Coca-Cola’s “firewalled, wholly owned” subsidiary to explore beverage-alcohol, has no intention of getting into the distribution business, Red Tree president Jenny Dowdy said yesterday during Beer Marketer’s Insights fall seminar.

Dowdy reassured the audience, which contained a large contingent of beer wholesalers, that Coca-Cola has no plans to follow in the footsteps of PepsiCo, which has been rolling out Blue Cloud Distributing. So far, Blue Cloud’s portfolio consists of alcoholic versions of Pepsi brands, including Boston Beer-produced Hard MTN Dew and FIFCO-produced Lipton Hard Iced Tea. 

Dowdy said: “One thing I want to be very clear about is that Red Tree will not distribute alcohol in the United States, nor will Coca-Cola. The creation of Red Tree was really just a way to formalize the way that we operate. It just underscores that we operate as a distinct entity from our non-alc business.”

Brewbound Insiders can read more about Red Tree’s innovation strategy and how the partnership has bolstered Molson Coors’ beyond beer portfolio. 

After a seven-month slowdown, beer inflation “has reemerged in the past three months,” Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson wrote on Twitter/X, following the release of the October Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

The CPI for beer at home increased +4.7% year-over-year (YoY) and +1% versus September, seasonally unadjusted. Over the last three months, the CPI for beer at home has collectively increased +2.1%, seasonally adjusted, equivalent to +8.7% on an annual basis, Watson wrote. 

The CPI for beer away from home is up +5.2% YoY (unadjusted), and +0.2% month-over-month (MoM). Over the last three months, the CPI has increased +2%, seasonally adjusted, versus July.

Read more here, including October CPI readings for total bev-alc, wine and spirits.

The full agenda for the 2023 Brewbound Live business conference is now available, featuring nearly 40 speakers from beverage-alcohol suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, data providers and advisory firms.

Industry leaders will meet at the Marina del Rey Marriott for two days of business conversations, networking and relationship building on December 6 and 7. Tickets are available now.

The conference provides actionable takeaways to solidify your business in a tumultuous operating environment, with a specific eye toward unlocking growth and building an inclusive industry community.

Topics include:

• Evolving leadership;
• Maintaining focus;
• Future-proofing flagship brands;
• Partnering with wholesalers;
• The state of the on-premise;
• M&A currents;
• Diversity in the craft industry;
• Beyond beer growth;
• Flavor innovation;
• And much more.

The speaker lineup features:

• Leaders from top craft breweries: Rhinegeist, WeldWerks, Bell’s, New Belgium, Firestone Walker, Great Notion, Rogue, CANarchy, Karl Strauss, Three Weavers, Crowns & Hops and Lawson’s Finest Liquids;
• Leading fourth-category and beyond producers: Molson Coors (Happy Thursday, Simply Spiked) BeatBox, BuzzBallz, Fishers Island, Owl’s Brew, Stateside Vodka Liquid Death and Hella Cocktail Co.;
• Major retailers: Mellow Mushroom and Extra Mile;
• Wholesalers: Stone Distributing and Breakthru Beverage Group;
• Data providers: 3 Tier Beverages, Bump Williams Consulting and NIQ;
• Investment banks: Arlington Capital Advisors;
• Advisory firms: The E-Premise Group;
• Trade associations: The National Black Brewers Association, The Brewers Association and The National Beer Wholesalers Association.

See the full schedule and speaker lineup here.