Which trends are heating up at Total Wine & More and Whole Foods Markets this summer? Total Wine’s Andrea Starr and Whole Foods’ Mary Guiver shared which products, styles and flavors are working in their stores now that the beer category’s best season is here. 

Brewbound Insiders are getting all of the details in our Q&A. Plus, in the full edition of the Brewbound Newsletter, Insiders are: 

• Hearing from Sapporo-Stone’s CEO on a recent reorganization of its sales team;
• Getting acquainted with Casalú, a rum-based RTD  cocktail that its founders pitch as the “Latino High Noon;”
• Finding out details of Jones Soda’s divestiture of its recreational marijuana-positioned offerings;
• And reading the Brewers Association’s “guiding principles” on intoxicating hemp beverages.

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

Become a Brewbound Insider today!

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NA beer, Italian imports and fruit-forward offerings are just a few of the summer trends popping in Total Wine & More and Whole Foods Market stores. 

Andrea Starr, Total Wine’s senior director of merchandising, and Mary Guiver, Whole Foods’ principal category merchant for beer, offered insights into what’s working and what’s not as summer sets in. 

Become an Insider to get all of the insights from Total Wine and Whole Foods, including the category leaders holding their own, Italian beers having a moment and more style, flavor and packaging trends outperforming in the heat.

With RNDC winding down distribution operations in California ahead of September 1 exit and consolidation continuing among craft wholesalers, this week’s Brewbound Podcast explores the fallout of both in the Golden State.

Ferron Salniker, BevNET spirits editor, and Dave Infante, founder of the Fingers boozeletter, join Brewbound’s Justin Kendall and Jessica Infante to look back on how one of the top distributors in the country’s California business crumbled, the effect on smaller bev-alc producers in RNDC’s book and the trickle-down effect on craft brewers.

They also explore multistate distributor Hand Family Companies' entry into the state through the acquisitions of three craft-focused wholesalers – Stone Distributing, Classic Beverage and Scout Distribution in Los Angeles – and the formation of Sunset Distributing. 

Plus, Brewbound senior reporter Zoe Licata and Justin chat about her recent feature on the hard refresher trend and Gen Z’s aversion to carbonated beverages. 

Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

Sapporo-Stone has conducted a “small-scale reduction” in its workforce as the company continues to find the right balance for the combined operations of its Japanese import beer and California craft business.

Sapporo-Stone declined to share how many roles were affected, noting that “it’s a very small-scale reduction” and “with the addition of some roles, we’re netting close to zero reduction,” a spokesperson told Brewbound. 

Insiders can read more, including a statement from Sapporo-Stone CEO Zach Keeling, a refresher on other workforce changes at the company and a dive into recent off-premise scan data. 

Pitching themselves as the “Latino High Noon” may have gotten Casalú, a rum-based RTD  cocktail, into retailers, but that doesn’t paint the whole picture.

Miami-based Casalú comes from 3 college friends and immigrants from South America – Gabriel González, Ricardo Sucre and Gustavo Darquea – who studied together at North Carolina State University, where seeds for the idea of a rum-based canned cocktail were first planted.

Insiders can read the full story here. 

Jones Soda is offloading its Mary Jones marijuana beverage brand to privately held cannabis business MJ Reg Disrupters LLC as the drink maker “streamlines operations” and “focuses on core soda offerings.”

While Jones Soda will maintain ownership and control of its Mary Jones intoxicating hemp products, the beverage brand is offloading its recreational marijuana-positioned offerings to MJ Reg.

Insiders can read the full story here. 

BevNET’s 2025 Alcohol & Alternatives Guide is your go-to resource for tracking innovation across spirits, RTDs, cannabis beverages, non-alcoholic alternatives, and more.

Inside you’ll find:

– Leading and emerging brands

– Suppliers and service providers driving growth

– Trends and market insights to inform your 2025 strategy

Download the free guide. 

Barrel One Collective is in the process of adding another New England craft brewery to its growing roster.

The Boston-headquartered platform has struck a deal to acquire Greater Good Imperial Brewing (Worcester, MA), the only dedicated high-ABV craft producer in the country.

Brewbound spoke with Barrel One CEO Dan Kenary. Insiders can get all of the details about the transaction, production numbers, scan data and what tugged at Kenary’s heartstrings as a Worcester native.