Despite a “short-term service level disruption” in production and lower than expected sales numbers, better-for-you soda brand Zevia this morning reported its highest gross margins since becoming a publicly traded company in its Q2 earnings summary. CEO and president Amy Taylor attributed the “double-digit growth in velocity” to the company’s “well-executed pricing actions'' and a brand refresh that went into effect during the first half of the year. The brand also used the timing to announce the appointment of former Monster Energy exec Bill Williamson as the company’s new Senior Vice President, Operations and Chief Supply Chain Officer.

• Net sales were $42.2 million, down -7.2% year over year
• Gross profits improved to $19.7 million during Q2, a 1.9% increase from the same period last year
• Volumes decreased 16.8% compared to the same period last year bringing the gross profit margins up to 46.6%
• Adjusted EBITDA loss was $2.6 million
• The new branding is “already having an impact,” Taylor said in the question-and-answer section of the call, and is expected to build brand loyalty while driving new consumer adoption.

Stay tuned for more details on BevNET later today.

Molson Coors has long touted its ambitions to evolve beyond beer and into a robust “total beverage” company, as evidenced via deals with the likes of non-alc incubator L.A. Libations and its foray into coffee with La Colombe. But while those categories may represent a bigger stretch, there’s opportunities to be had in spirits as well: see this morning’s announcement of the company’s agreement to buy Kentucky-based distillery Blue Run Spirits, which is set to become its first spirits acquisition and the centerpiece of its new Coors Spirits Co. business. 

Blue Run, an award-winning maker of bourbon and rye whiskies, will join Five Trail Blended American Whiskey (launched 2021), Barmen 1873 Bourbon (launched 2022) and “future innovation” under the Coors Spirits Co. umbrella , according to a press release this morning. The acquisition will more than double the size of Molson Coors’ spirits team and further support the company’s premiumization strategy. 

Launched in October 2020 by founders Mike Montgomery, Tim Sparapani, Jesse McKnight and Andy Brow, Blue Run has racked up several industry awards for its bourbons and rye whiskies, and is currently available in retail and on-premise accounts in every region of the U.S and online. 

All four founders will remain with the brand, with Jim Rutledge set to continue to serve as its distillery consultant and liquid advisor. Meanwhile, Montgomery is moving to vice president of Coors Spirits Co., where he’s joined by Shyly Gammon as whiskey curator. David Coors will continue to lead top-level spirits strategy and development as executive chair of Coors Spirits Co. 

Read the full story on BevNET

Having built a strong consumer base within the gaming community, powdered and RTD energy drink maker G Fuel is aiming to leverage that momentum via the snack set with the debut of its Protein Puffs. Available in a single White Cheddar flavor at launch, each 1 oz. bag packs 17 grams of protein and has just 3 grams of net carbs.

• “G Fuel has been synonymous with energy drinks over the past decade, but it’s important for us to find new and satisfying ways to power and build our fan community,” said founder and CEO Cliff Morgan in a press release. 
• The new puffs are currently available via the brand’s website for $10.99 per 3-pack and $19.99 per 6-pack. 
• Hauppage, New York-based G Fuel isn’t the first energy drink brand to enter the snack arena: see Alani Nu, which recently unveiled its new and improved on-the-go protein snack bar line in Caramel Crunch, Peanut Butter & Jelly and Rocky Road varieties. The brand also produces a line of gummy snacks crafted as a better-for-you, lower-sugar alternative to their traditional counterparts.

Go Deeper: G-Fuel CEO Cliff Morgan on Gamers

Though the brand had some fits and starts, energy seltzer Hiball never truly found its place within Anheuser-Busch’s non-beer portfolio following its acquisition in 2017. And though it was officially discontinued earlier this year, the trademark itself may still hold some value, as evidenced by its inclusion in a package deal this week in which AB unloaded eight of its craft beer brands to cannabis rollup Tilray in a deal valued at $85 million in cash. Within a group that included the likes of Shock Top and Red Hook, Hiball may not massively move the needle, but it suggests the brand’s story may not be over just yet.

The Tribal Beverage Network— an initiative that aims to provide Native American tribes a quick runway into the spirits market— has a new member: the Tonto Apache Tribe, which is set to open Arizona’s first tribally owned and operated distillery on Native land. 

• The co-founders of Heritage Distilling, who are sharing the model for their distillery and building out a web of tribal-owned facilities, will partner with the tribe to develop a spirits distillery and tasting room adjacent to Mazatzal Hotel & Casino. 
• This marks the second Native Indian group to announce their entrance to the Tribal Beverage Network. The first member was the Chehalis Tribe who joined forces with Heritage in 2018 to successfully lobby against Congress to repeal the ban on distilleries in Indian country. 
• For nearly 200 years tribes were shut out of the spirits industry, Heritage is aiming to help them catch up by targeting at least 35 locations in operational or buildout phase by 2025.

As premium spirits continue to rise, import companies, larger craft brands and even wineries are acquiring craft distilleries as a way to get in on the game. 

• Ohio’s Watershed Distillery is the latest acquisition, announced yesterday. The maker of bourbons, gins, vodka and specialty spirits was purchased by New Jersey-based Marussia Beverages USA, the U.S.-arm of Swiss firm, Marussia Beverages Group. 
• The distillery will strengthen the producer and import company’s premium portfolio and complement its imported sakes and wines. 
• This is the second acquisition of a smaller premium brand this week. Tennessee-based Ole Smoky Distillery also agreed to a merger agreement with Tanteo Spirits, an ultra-premium spicy tequila founded in 2007, marking the distillery’s move into the slowly rising flavored tequila segment.
• Foley Family Wines also announced this week its further expansion into the U.S. premium spirits market, with the U.S. debut of New Zealand’s The Lighthouse Gin (which the wine company purchased in 2014). This came on the heels of FFW’s May purchase of a Minden, Nevada distillery facility that previously produced bourbon, American single malt, and rye.

Read more about the Watershed acquisition on BevNET

Following its ready-to-drink cocktails packaged in pods made from seaweed, The Glenlivet aims to mix up the single malt scotch category once again. 

• The leading Scotch whisky brand is making a play for the ready-to-serve (RTS) segment with the introduction of The Glenlivet Twist & Mix Cocktails, a new line of premium, Scotch whisky-based cocktails outfitted with a unique mixing technology.
• By retailing for $21.99, the line fits squarely in the price tier leading the otherwise stagnant segment: premium sales were up 28.9% since this time last year. 
• Investment in innovations has fueled U.S. growth for the brand, and helped break outdated perceptions and barriers of single malt scotch, said the brand director. 

Pernod Ricard joins other major spirit groups that have also launched premium RTS offerings recently, including Beam Suntory’s Delola and Bacardi’s Grey Goose Martini.

Singing and dancing, maybe, but does Simon Cowell know vodka? The television personality America’s Got Talent co-host and X Factor creator is taking a step back from television talent contests for the booze industry.

• Cowell signed on as co-owner of Miami-based gin and vodka brand Harry Blu’s, founded by Harry Blustein in 2019. The brand’s distribution is likely to expand beyond the state with the music and TV mogul now as a partner. 
• This is the second celeb to announce a regional vodka investment this month: After recovering from a snow plow accident, The Avengers actor Jeremy Renner announced he is now co-owner of Sweet Grass Vodka, a Charleston-based brand that distills locally sourced potatoes. The new spirit entrepreneurs join celebs like Kate Hudson and Jason Mamoa in the vodka category. 
• Sales growth for tequila and whiskey have been outpacing vodka, but vodka brands are increasingly positioning themselves as premium to compete with the higher-end brands that have been driving other categories.

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