• 🍸 Spirits: Green River Flows On-Prem
• 🏆 Golden Grail Adjusts Biz Strategy 
• 🔥 Fireball Fires Back
• 🧑‍⚖️ Kroger/Albertsons Trial Kicks Off
• ❌ Brown Forman Drops DEI

As inflation, high prices and economic uncertainty continue to weigh on consumers, it’s likely no surprise that shoppers are increasingly exploring different brands, retailers and shopping modalities (see the recent store brand tsunami). But that doesn’t mean brand loyalty is dead; rather, there has been a shift in what it means to shoppers. 

According to a new report from Kroger’s retail data science arm 84.51 Consumer Digest, value and trust currently rank as the top drivers of brand loyalty. In fact, 84% of those surveyed said “good value for the money” was the most important factor when deciding which brand of grocery or household items to purchase. 

Brand loyalty – which shoppers tend to associate with purchase consistency – looks different in each aisle of the grocery store. Consumers are least willing to compromise when it comes to shopping for children (21%) and pet food (25%). Conversely, fresh bakery (59%) and produce (60%) shoppers are more open to trying alternate brands. 

However, in some cases, there is a disconnect between what consumers say and what they do. Although shoppers claim to be less brand loyal and more willing to switch across the broader shelf-stable product landscape, they only purchase an average of 1.5% of brands available to them. 

In terms of retailer loyalty, fresh categories like produce and deli meat are most likely to drive preference. Specifically, only 22% and 25% of shoppers say they don’t have a preferred retailer for produce and meat/fish, respectively. 

Price and promotion, convenient location and rewards programs are also important factors for consumers choosing a grocery store. Shoppers aged between 35 and 44 are more likely (80%) to have a preferred retailer conveniently located near work or home than those aged between 18 and 34 years old (66%). They are also more likely (72%) to be loyal to a retailer that offers frequent sales. 

When asked what motivates them to consistently shop at the same retailer, surveyed consumers said, “Price and quality along with convenience are key” and “[...] both close by and offer what I need the most.”

How are shoppers engaging with coupons and discounts? According to the study, consumers are becoming more comfortable with technology, with 30% of shoppers exclusively using digital coupons. And digital coupons are certainly on the rise: Earlier this month, grocery tech company Instacart joined forces with mobile rewards and payment platform Ibotta to give its customers access to Ibotta’s catalog of virtual coupons. 

Ultimately, to win over consumers, brands must learn to adapt to the ever-evolving shopper definition of “loyalty,” and, currently, that means addressing heightened concerns over high prices. 

Go Deeper: Surviving the Store Brand Tsunami

Our latest distribution roundup finds Green River going after bartenders in new markets and Alpine Distilling chasing Tennessee's culinary scene, while Howie’s Spiked Alc-A-Chino signs a deal with Live Nation.

🟩 Bardstown Bourbon-owned Green River is aiming to expand its on-premise footprint with a new value proposition at the bar. Green River 1885, a $22 bottle in 1L packaging is headed to nine markets this summer. 

👑 Speaking of on-premise, Tennessee’s hot culinary scene is making it a destination for growing spirits companies: Park City, Utah-based Alpine Distilling as well as New York’s Upstate Vodka both signed with Tennessee Crown Distribution. 

☕ Over in New Hampshire, Howie’s Spiked Alc-A-Chino, a line of canned spiked coffee drinks, is launching a three-year partnership with Live Nation. The partnership includes an on-site branded coffee shop experience, a template that could be expanded into other venues. 

Insiders can check out the full roundup for more news of spirits on the move.

Changing course can be a challenge, but Golden Grail Beverages sees it as a necessity. The beverage platform announced last week it will broaden its investments outside of the drinks business and into the commodity sector including gold, oil and gas, crypto currency, and water industries with “several initial transactions in the coming months."

⛏️ Part of this new strategy derives from the appointment of new co-interim CEO Scott Lomu who has been in the gold mining industry for over 14 years.

🤝 Lomu will serve alongside former beverage industry analyst Lateef Khan who joined Golden Grail’s board of directors in January and now serves as co-interim CEO.

⚡ Golden Grail’s beverage portfolio includes Spider Energy, Scorpion Energy, Sway Energy, Tickle Water, Cause Water, Koz Water, Trevi Essence and Sketch Can.

Sazerac isn’t taking the heat for causing confusion between its whisky-based Fireball Cinnamon and its malt-based product of the same name. 

• After Sazerac was hit with a class action lawsuit last year for allegedly creating consumer confusion between the two products, the company urged a California federal judge last week not to grant class certification to buyers who claim the single-serving Fireball malt beverages mislead consumers into thinking they're buying Fireball's Cinnamon Whisky product. 
• The spirits giant is arguing that the putative class' expert-proposed surveys don't show wide-ranging deception. They claim neither of the two surveys are admissible because the methods do not properly target Fireball buyers and ignore important factors like convenience and supply.

🥃 The product in question – Fireball Cinnamon – is a flavored malt beverage (FMB) that contains “natural whisky and other flavors and caramel color,” according to its label. The FMB is 16.5% ABV, half the strength of spirits-based Fireball (33% ABV).

🌫️ As lines blur between bev-alc categories, products have drawn in more consumer confusion lawsuits. Litigation often follows consumer trends, so as products boasting premium or natural ingredients become popular, they can also become more of a target.

Kroger and Albertsons will begin their face off against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an Oregon federal court today, marking the first day of the scheduled three-week-long hearing that will see approximately 40 witnesses, including the CEO’s of both grocers, take the stand.

⏯️ Opening arguments comes after weeks of turmoil which have seen Kroger argue to pause the FTC’s separate, in-house case against the deal; just last week, Kroger fought back from another angle, arguing that the agency’s actions and case against the deal is unconstitutional.  

🏛️ However, the FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction against the merger so it can continue to pursue its in-house complaint before an administrative judge. 

🚧 The trial will also be a key indicator of FTC chair Lina Khan’s strategy to curb anti-competitive in labor markets and is the first merger case to go to trial over the issue, according to Reuters. 

Catch Up Quick: What’s Up With Kroger?

Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman is the latest multinational corporation to drop its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies following pressure from conservative activists online.

✂️ In a letter to employees on Wednesday, the company stated its intention to stop linking executive incentives to progress on diversity efforts and rescind DEI goals such as supplier diversity, as well as review its training programs. The company also pulled out of an annual ranking of companies with an LGBTQ-friendly work environment. 

⚔️ The move comes as conservative groups wage social media and legal battles against diversity programs in corporations, schools and higher education. 

🪞 But Brown-Forman’s pivot mirrors other major players in Bev-Alc that have backed away from addressing diversity in the face of conservative ire, at a time when studies have shown that the industry has a long way to go to creating systemic change. 

Read the full story for all of the details.