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• 🐄 Laurel’s Takes A2 Lattes East
• 🚜 Tractor Lands $15M
• 🎉 Spirits Sales' Post-Pandemic Revival
• 🥃 Loch Lomond Buys NY Distilling
• 🤝 SPINS Acquires Lucky Labs
• 🆕 What Else Is New?

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As an East Coaster with an admitted crippling weakness for sweet, creamy cold coffee drinks, this is a glorious day, writes BevNET managing editor Martin Caballero. 

That’s because Los Angeles-based RTD coffee maker Laurel’s is bringing its three-SKU line of A2 dairy milk-based lattes – including a new matcha variety – to all 150-plus Wegmans stores this month, where the 8 oz. cans will move through grab-and-go coolers for $3.99 each. 

It is Laurel’s first move to the East Coast, and a big step up for a brand that’s been on the market for less than a year, led by former McKinsey consultant and first-time beverage entrepreneur Isabel Washington. But there are several factors on her side: 

Persistence Pays: Washington credited the deal in part to the efforts of an account manager at Syracuse, N.Y.-based distributor River Valley Foods, which services Wegmans. After the grocery chain launched an A2 milk product in the store, the manager began requesting Washington to let her pitch them Laurel’s and – after a few ignored emails – she acquiesced. 

“Two days later, she called me back and said that the buyer wanted to bring in all three SKUs, including matcha, which didn't even exist at the time,” said Laurel’s founder. 

A2’s Impact: Fueled by brands like Alexandre Family Farms and Alec’s Ice Cream, momentum behind the dairy subcategory (+19.6% to $123 million in sales last year) helped sway notoriously choosy buyers at Wegmans.  

Even with relatively limited available sales data, the chain recognized “the opportunity to bring in a product that's pretty early in its life cycle, and early on the trend that is right in front of them,” says Washington.

Finding the Target: The move also presents a chance to test Washington’s thesis that Laurel’s can thrive in conventional accounts, where its appeal relative to mass brands like La Colombe and Pepsi-distributed Starbucks RTDs will justify its slightly higher price point. 

That’s in contrast to some boutique accounts like Erewhon, where a sweetened, milk-based coffee like Laurel’s faces an “uphill battle” with wellness consumers that are vigilant against sugar or dairy. 

Read the full story on BevNET for the full scoop on Laurel’s expansion.

Money makes headlines – that’s a well-worn truism around these parts. 

But rather than chat about the $15 million in funding Tractor Beverage Company reportedly pulled in last month, leadership at the KDP-backed organic fountain drink specialists were keen to discuss other questions – like why they’ve retrofitted an Airstream trailer for a seven-month national marketing tour.

🚐 Tractor’s Mad Farmer Tour – which pulled into the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show in Chicago this week – is part of an effort to bring the brand “out in the wild,” said chief brand officer Duke Stump, and promote stronger engagement with parties across the food system.

💰 The new funding will help support more of that kind of high-touch, message-first activation (quarterly online literary magazine Tractor Beam is another) which it believes is critical to building traction with consumers outside of the soda fountain, said the brand.

Insiders can read the full story for the complete strategy session.

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Spirit sales are finally building back to pre-COVID levels, per a new report from NIQ’s CGA.

• Spirits volumes have reached 93% of the pre-COVID levels (read: from 2019 to 2020).
• Average menu price rises of 25% have boosted the category in value terms. 
• The revival has been powered by tequila sales, which added share in most key states and is the leading category by volume in the last 12 months.
• Ready-to-Drink (RTD) remains the fastest grower of any on-premise segment, adding 0.4 percentage points of share by sales value in the 12 month period ending in March. 
• The segment has performed especially well in nightclubs and bars, and is gaining at the expense of the spirits and wine.

Go Deeper Into Recent Data: Consumers Increase Adult Beverage Delivery Orders

U.K. scotch producer The Loch Lomond Group (LLG) has made a move into American whiskey with the acquisition of New York Distilling Co (NYDC).

• The group now adds Jaywalk Rye Whiskey and a few gin brands to its portfolio, which includes names like Glen Scotia and Littlemill. 
• LLG plans to invest in the distillery’s production capabilities and the visitor experience, as well as helping NYDC to grow its portfolio of brands in the U.S. and globally.
• The UK group joins other international portfolios that have made strategic additions to gain a foothold in the U.S. (likely at a good price), a trend we may see continue as major groups pause M&A.

Counter Point: As Spirits M&A Slows, Founders Urged to Get Creative

Data intelligence provider SPINS acquired digital technology company Lucky Labs this week as it strengthens its capabilities in beauty and wellness spaces. 

• Lucky Labs’ platform uses first-party retail data to provide inventory and shopper conversion insights.
• Together, SPINS and Lucky Labs will offer an end-to-end solution for beauty and wellness brands, the announcement said. 

💭 “Our mission has always been to accelerate the growth of values-led brands equipping them with the intelligence and tools needed to deeply understand the consumer. With Lucky Labs, we’re taking the next step – helping our partners [...] reach them in the moments that matter most,” said Jay Margolis, CEO of SPINS, in a press release. 

It’s Hump Day! Here’s a taste of the new drops and activations from the first half of the week.

🫄 Juneshine is encouraging consumers to “break up” with bellyaches via a collab with gut health boosting brand BelliWelli on a Strawberry Dragon Fruit non-alc kombucha.  

❄️ Don’t want to wait overnight for your homemade cold brew to steep? Jot launched Instant Cold Brew Coffee, made with an “ultra concentration process.”

😉 Hemp seltzer brand Wynk is rolling out a limited edition Mandarin Pomelo, made with 5 milligrams each of THC and CBD for summer occasions.

📱 Más+ by Messi is tasking consumers with a new Trick Shot Challenge competition. The best social media submission will win a chance to meet Lionel Messi.

🤑 Lucky Energy wants to see the money, it says, partnering with Italian American influencers on a $10,000 giveaway campaign called “Free Money.” Sign us up!

⚽ Pepsi Max is joining with football (as in soccer) legends David Beckham, Pelé and Ronaldinho for a global campaign featuring a branded film called “Refresh the Game.”

Get more new product news here.

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