• 🍹 New RTD Cocktails Releases
• 🌺 Campari Sales Dip, CEO Hints At M&A
• 🍕 Tyler Ricks Rolls to Caulipower
• 🎨 L.A. Libations Invests In CTI 
• 🔔 BellRing Powers Up Q1
  
• 🥃 Bourbon Industry Sees Major Staff Cut
• 🍋 Panera Drops Charged Lemonade

The popularity of flavored beers is on the rise. From fruity sour beers to barrel-aged stouts, the flavor choices are wide-ranging. And, if you have questions about creating a successful and delicious new brewery product, the Product Development team at Allen Flavors has the answers you need. Learn more

With summer quickly approaching, we’re rounding up the newest ready-to-drink cocktail releases. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside the latest new products gallery: 

💙 Bartender-developed, ready-to-serve cocktail brand On The Rocks unveiled its latest tropical-inspired offering, The Blue Hawaiian. The new drink combines premium Cruzan Rum and orange notes of Blue Curacao with toasted coconut and pineapple flavors. 

🥒 The Spritz Society and Claussen Pickle brought back their pickle-flavored spritz, and it’s kind of a big dill. The LTO, which sold out in record time when it was introduced last year, is now available in a larger 12 oz. can.

🌊 Massachusetts-based Cape Cod’r introduced a new Tequila Pack (8-pack) featuring Mermaid Tail and its new flavor, Golden Hour (Tequila, Orange, and Lime).

Check out the full new product gallery on BevNET.

Campari joined the chorus of spirits groups facing sales declines after it reported a slight drop in Q1 earnings yesterday. 

📉 The group announced a -0.7% dip in net sales on a reported basis to $714.5 million (€663.5 billion) in FY Q1 2024 with downtrading in the U.S. (the group’s priority market) driving sales down. 

🔴 Aperol and Espolón tequila helped mitigated challenges with Wild Turkey and Campari in the U.S.; the group is optimistic that the fall in agave prices and an inflation slowdown will have a gradual, positive impact on the company’s P&L for the rest of 2024. 

🤝 After closing the acquisition of cognac Courvoisier for $1.2 billion last month, the CEO hinted that the company is thirsty for more M&A opportunities. 

Based on this conversation, we’re betting on a brand that can boost sales in the U.S. Read the full earnings recap on BevNET to learn more.

Days after BevNET reported Tyler Ricks’ departure as CEO of Super Coffee, his next move has been revealed: He’s taking the reins as CEO of frozen food company Caulipower.

🔀 Ricks, a longtime investor and CPG executive, has sat on Caulipower’s board of directors since 2022 and will replace departing CEO Marc Seguin, who has held the role for the past two years and succeeded founder Gail Becker.

🕞 Timing is everything. Ricks told Nosh he was ready to hand off Super Coffee, which he brought to solid financial footing following a “difficult transformation.” 

💬 “I'm not a disruptive founder; I'm the guy who can figure out how to really partner with the disruptive founder and help unlock their potential to really continue to impact the business,” Ricks said.

Check out the full story for insight on how this serial investor approaches the CEO post.

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After hinting at it during last week’s Beverage Forum, beverage industry innovation and incubation platform L.A. Libations announced it has invested in Colorado-based Ink Tech Company Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI), which makes color-changing, temperature-activated packaging ink.

⛰️ CTI’s technology has been used on Coors Light's packaging for 16 years, turning the mountain imagery blue when the beer is as cold. It has also been used by ABInBev, Constellation, Coca-Cola, Prime, General Mills, Hershey's and Mondelez, among others. 

🗣️ What they said: “Their patented technologies can unlock breakthrough innovation and differentiation in beverage and brands. L.A. Libations is uniquely positioned to bring this secret to bigger life with our strategic partners, retailers, our own brands, and the entire CPG industry." said Danny Stepper, co-founder and CEO of L.A. Libations.

BellRing Brands, the parent company of Premier Protein, Dymatize and PowerBar, bested analyst expectations after reporting a 28.3% jump in net sales to about $494.6 million during Q1 2024, according to its latest earnings report this week.

• Net earnings were $57.2 million, an 85.1% year-over-year increase
• Gross profit margin was up 30.4% to 33.2% of net sales.
• The strong performance was driven by a 42.7% volume sales spike. Although it saw a 14.4% decrease in price/mix served in the quarter.

🏭 The company said it intends to continue scaling its production facilities and expanding shake manufacturing capacity throughout the year. 

Is the bourbon boom showing signs of a bust? Heaven Hill – one of the largest privately-owned spirits companies – is looking to reduce staff amidst softness in the spirits industry. 

• The company is aiming to offer retirement buyouts and consolidate jobs at its Bardstown, Ky., plant where it bottles bourbons like Evan Williams and Elijah Craig, according to a report on Friday from WDRB. 
• After bourbon barrels were pushed to new heights in the last decade (13 million aging in Kentucky), folks in the industry have warned that the bubble could pop. 
• While Heaven Hill doesn’t publicly report financials, we know its peers have been facing a downturn in the last year. 

❌ A slide shown to staff said the company was "returning closer to pre-pandemic staffing to support current business volumes.” Meanwhile, the union is filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board over the plan.

Fast casual restaurant chain Panera Bread has pulled its heavily criticized, highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade drinks from the menu, as reported by Bloomberg. The decision follows multiple lawsuits alleging the beverage can cause serious health issues. 

🧑‍⚖️ Panera has found itself entangled in three lawsuits related to the drink, which claim the high levels of caffeine in the Charged Sips line resulted in two customer deaths and “irreversible health complications” in a third individual. 

👀 Alarge (30 oz.) Charged Lemonade has up to 263 mg of caffeine, according to Panera's website. However, internet archive site The Wayback Machine shows that the lemonades were previously listed as containing as much as 390 mg of caffeine, Axios reported. 

⏩ Panera reportedly plans to replace the drinks within the next two weeks, introducing a blueberry lavender lemonade, pomegranate hibiscus tea, citrus punch and tropical green smoothie. 

Chamberlain Coffee founder Emma Chamberlain and CEO Christopher Gallant join us for a conversation about the brand’s growth strategy and why its identity is anchored by love and modernity. We also unpack Albertsons’ merchandising strategy with Buster Houston, its VP of national merchandising.

Listen to the latest episode now.