The ever-quotable Jim Koch provided more talking points during last week’s fireside chat with Barclays. 

In the latest go-round, Koch offered insights into Boston Beer’s new product strategy and why the company is willing to fail on several new 4th category offerings to find the next 10-million-case brand. 

Insiders are getting highlights from Koch’s talk in today’s Brewbound Insider Newsletter and at Brewbound.com. Insiders are also reading about: 

• Jefferies’ diagnosis of bev-alc’s biggest headwind;
• Heineken USA chief sales officer Jim Sloan’s retirement;
• Celsius tapping a Mark Anthony vet to lead its marketing;
• A Kansas City area brewery’s closure;
• Big Grove’s next expansion site;
• And the latest consumer sentiment for August.

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Boston Beer Company is willing to fail fast with new 4th category products in order to find its next big brand, founder and CEO Jim Koch shared during last week’s Barclays’ Global Consumer Staples Conference. 

Koch admitted the company has had “a lot of failures,” joking that he hoped the audience had never heard of discontinued offerings Loma Vista, a tequila-based RTD launched in 2022, or General Admission, a 40% non-alcoholic beer and 60% fruit water released in 2024.

Koch said: “If we do 10 of those and one becomes a 10-million-case, $250-million brand, I’m good with that. We’re kind of built around regular failure as a company.”

Insiders can read more of Koch’s thoughts, including how the company is recouping costs in the business, how Twisted Tea’s pricing got out of whack in some markets and the three Hs troubling the bev-alc industry. 

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Affordability is the biggest headwind facing the bev-alc industry, according to survey results released Monday from investment banking firm Jefferies.

The 3,600-person survey focused on the “highly charged, emotional debate” around cyclical or structural factors putting pressure on the industry. From a list of 27 headwinds for the sector, the firm identified 4 major headwinds, with economic concerns the leading driver toward moderation.

Insiders can go deeper into the report, including why winning brands will shape moderation trends, why beer has a first-mover advantage and which headwinds to beware of moving forward.

Longtime Heineken USA chief sales officer Jim Sloan will retire from the company next month after 20 years with the Dutch brewing giant.

To backfill Sloan at the top of its sales organization, Heineken USA has tapped Bill Renspie, former chief customer officer of Constellation Brands’ Beer Division. 

Insiders can read more about Sloan’s career and check out recent Heineken scan data. 

Celsius Holdings, which was tapped by PepsiCo last week to be the company’s “strategic energy lead,” has appointed seasoned marketing executive Rishi Daing as CMO, effective Monday. Most recently, Daing served as EVP of the Mark Anthony Group.

Insiders can read more here. 

Columbia Distributing leaders believe they’ve tapped into a pipeline for the next generation of beer industry workers.  

On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Columbia president and CEO Chris Steffanci, VP of sales, Portland Chris Watzig and former intern Rebecca Logan share the ins and outs of the Pacific Northwest distributor’s Beer Careers Program.

Watzig and Logan offer decades-apart experience of the 10-week paid internship program, which introduces participating students to all elements of Columbia’s business and operations. The discussion covers how candidates are selected, why the company believes it's important to invest in career development programs and what employers can learn from the emerging Gen Z workforce.

Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

Brewbound Live, our annual business conference for beverage-alcohol professionals returns to Marina del Rey, California, on December 10 and 11.

Tickets are available now for the 2-day gathering of founders, entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, retailers, distributors and suppliers from across the industry. The event will include on-stage conversations with industry leaders, networking and pre-arranged one-to-one conversations with retailers and distributors.

Several speakers and one-to-one participants have been announced, with more on the way. 

Register for Brewbound Live 2025 >>

Brewbound Live is presented by Powered by Sorse, Fast Track Packaging, Strike Visuals, John I. Haas, Can-One, and Tripleseat Software LLC. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for those seeking to elevate their presence beyond participation.

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Interested in other beverage coverage? 👀 Check out the BevNET Daily Briefing covering the broader beverage industry, including energy drinks, cannabis and other non-alcoholic beverages. Want to stick to the hard stuff? Subscribe to our Spirits Newsletter (published every 2 weeks). 

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