• 📈 RTDs: Category Up Across Key Metrics
• 📉 On-Premise: Price Hikes, Falling Traffic Makes Impact
• 🤝 Dirty Hands Acquires Burgess Strategic Advisors
• 👟Sweet Kicks: Super Coffee Steps into Footwear With Kane Collab
• 📺 Cold Brew Gets Its Close-Up

Whether it’s traditional staples of roasted turkey, buttered mash & pumpkin pie or more trendy options like fried turkey, cranberry bourbon sauce & jalapeno chili mash, flavor is the key element. A new holiday flavors guide from the flavor experts delivers tasty inspiration for the holiday season. Learn more

The IWSR Drinks Market Analysis has a new report on the U.S. RTD market, and we’ve got the main takeaways for you:

Volume growth within the U.S. alcoholic RTD market has moderated since last year, but the category rose rapidly by value and is expected to continue to grow from $18.2 billion to $21.1 billion by 2027.

The maturity of the segment can be seen through a few data points: the proportion of current RTD drinkers who entered the category three or more years ago has now reached 81%. Also, consumers are drinking RTDs more frequently, with 45% of RTD drinkers consuming them every week in 2023 – up from 38% in 2022.

We know there’s been a shift to spirit-based RTDs but what does “premiumization” mean beyond that? More buzz per dollar and fuller flavors. New products over 7.5% ABV now account for more than 30% of new product development, with 25% of those launches sitting at 20% ABV or higher. 

Read the full story on BevNET

On-premise spirit sales by volume dropped 3.3% on-premise in the 52 weeks to early September, according to a new report from NIQ’s on-premise data arm CGA. Here’s what else you need to know:

💸 Slightly reduced visits and price hikes may be contributing factors as consumers are feeling the squeeze. 

➕ Spirit 1.5 oz. prices have risen by an average of 4.8% from the previous 52-week period, generating a 1.4% increase in sales by dollar value. 

➖ Value and mid-range spirits recorded the biggest hits in sales by volume over the last year, premium and beyond are faring better, which is a little different than the off-premise.

🇺🇸 New York and Illinois are leading volume growth, but most other states are lagging, including key states like California and Texas.

Read the full story on BevNET

PepsiCo vice chairman and CFO Hugh Johnston is setting sail for the wonderful world of Disney as the 62-year-old executive prepares to depart the New York-based beverage conglomerate for a new role in Burbank, California as CFO of The Walt Disney Company.

🚪 Johnston joined PepsiCo in 1987 and has served as CFO since 2010 and also as vice chairman since 2015. His last day with the company will be November 30.

📊 Johnston also oversaw PepsiCo’s information technology function since 2015, the company said in its announcement, as well as PepsiCo’s global ecommerce business from 2015 to 2019 and the Quaker Foods North America division from 2014 to 2016.

⏭️ James Caulfield, finance chief for PepsiCo Foods North America, will assume Johnston’s CFO role and will be named an executive vice president as well. Caulfield likewise has over 30 years of experience with the company and has held finance roles across the company including Frito-Lay, investor relations, M&A and North America Beverages where he was CFO for Canada.

🐭 At Disney, Johnston will report directly to CEO Bob Iger and joins the entertainment giant amid a significant corporate restructuring, which included layoffs and planned divestments.

Are you bored of bland seltzers and sick of overly sweet juices? Fill the holes in your beverage line up with MASH by Boylan Bottling - the low calorie, bold flavored fruit drink available in 4 unique flavors. Contact us for samples and distribution information today! Learn more

Merchandising and brokerage specialist Dirty Hands is expanding its suite of client services with Friday’s announcement of its acquisition of Burgess Strategic Advisors (BSA), a partnership that Dirty Hands president Will Ahearn described as “years in the making.” 

The addition of BSA creates connections to conventional distributors while also adding an “impressive” structure and reporting system that will benefit the two company’s client roster.

📋 BSA’s team is led by founder Grant Burgess, who brings extensive sales experience from Unilever, General Mills and Cadbury, among other companies.

⏭️ After the acquisition is completed, Burgess will take the title of chief growth officer with Ahearn continuing to serve as president. The combined organization will have around 180 employees with about 140 merchandising positions and over 30 sales representatives.

Read the full story on BevNET

Since its launch in 2016, Super Coffee claims to have removed over 25 million pounds of sugar from America’s diet. To celebrate the milestone, the coffee brand has teamed up with Kane Footwear, a shoe brand whose products are made from sugarcane-based EVA foam, to launch a limited edition pair of Revive shoes. 

💛The golden yellow-colored kicks pay homage to Super Coffee’s new XXTRA Coffee Energy can and are now available on Kane’s website for $85. The shoes are sustainably-designed, injection-molded sneakers specifically designed for active recovery.

👀 Super Coffee isn’t the only beverage brand stepping into the footwear category. Earlier this year, Jarritos launched a limited edition pair of Nike SB Dunks featuring the iconic color scheme and logo of the Mexican beverage.

📖 Actor Jonathan Goldsmith, best known for his role as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in Dos Equis’ long-running advertising campaign from 2006 through 2016, is writing his next chapter as chief storytelling officer of Vermont’s Village Garage Distillery.

🎥 In his new role, the 85-year-old silver-haired thespian will “tell the tales of the brand” by creating a new world of content with online video, audio and more. To achieve this, he and Village Garage Distillery are partnering with the advertising leaders who helped create the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man” legacy.

🔥 Goldsmith also plans to help the brand and its patrons create new stories through appearances, hosting events and joining local and “nationally recognized” artists onstage, around bonfires and more, according to the announcement.

Ever wondered what Julien Calloway drinks to get going in the morning? Well, coffee blog Best Coffee at Home has the answer. Consulting an online product placement database, the website tracked down a number of cold brew coffee sightings in recent TV series, including Gossip Girl, Full Circle and Reboot.

☕ Best Coffee at Home highlighted two instances each of RISE and Stumptown appearing in TV character’s fridges, as well as one each of Starbucks cold brew and La Colombe.

👀 Screenshots in the article also saw familiar brands from other beverage categories. An open fridge in Season 1, Episode 2 of mini-series “Full Circle” (directed by spirits entrepreneur Steven Soderbergh, by the way) showed not just Stumptown but cameos by Oatly, Vita Coco, Organic Valley and Siggi’s.

😐 Product placement is a common practice to build awareness for emerging brands, but are these cameos making a difference for cold brew coffee? Circana reported RTD cold brew sales were down -33.5% in the 52-weeks ending August 13, 2023.

Joni Verjus is a brand of sparkling grape juice drinks that are made with upcycled fruit and contain no added sugar. Self-described as “a new way to drink,” Joni aims to bring the consumer with an often overlooked ingredient: verjus.

Read the full review on BevNET

In just 30 days, leaders in the beverage industry will meet in Marina del Rey, CA for BevNET Live Winter 2023. The three-day event provides a platform for beverage entrepreneurs and industry experts to network, learn, and drive innovation within the beverage sector. Read the story.

Why is a century-old apple orchard and cider company betting big on the future of cannabis? Eddie Brennan, the fifth-generation owner of New York-based Beak & Skiff, discussed its foray into the cultivation of cannabis and production of THC drinks. Also in this episode: the hosts’ take on a new line of zero-sugar juice and what Travis Kelce, Michael Bublé and Matthew McConaughey now have in common.

Listen to the full episode here