• 📉 CGA: On-Premise Chain Dollar Sales Down YoY
• 🍑 A Round With Sprinter's Chandra Richter
• 🪁 Climbing Kites, Field Day Brewing Sue Iowa 
• 👩‍💼 Claudia Schubert Exits Diageo N. America
• 🍎 Blake’s Beverage Expands to 8 New Markets
• 🍺 All Kegs Go to Heaven

On-premise chain accounts have bounced back from initial COVID-19 declines that shut down their businesses, but on-premise pains are far from over, according to CGA, the on-premise arm of market research firm NIQ. 

CGA analyzed on-premise chain trends from 15 states, with 52-week data through April 20, 2024.

On-premise chain bev-alc dollar sales in the 52-week period increased +7.3% versus the same period in 2022. However, bev-alc sales also declined -2.5% year-over-year (YoY). 

Despite the declines, beer has been gaining share of the total pie in on-premise chains. Beer share of total dollar sales in the channel increased +1.5 points from April 2022 to April 2024, now holding 34.4% share (up from 32.9%). 

Beer dollar sales in the total on-premise channel declined -3% YoY thru April 20, 2024, and declined -1.1% in on-premise chains. The category gained share in on-premise chains in nine of the 15 states:

• Nevada (+4.3 points, to 33%);
• New York (+1.6 points, to 9.5%);
• Illinois (+1.4 points, to 14.3%);
• Pennsylvania (+1.3 points, to 10.8%);
• Tennessee (+1.3 points, to 20.5%);
• Colorado (+1.2 points, to 21.8%);
• Ohio (+1.1 points, to 17.3%);
• California (+0.8 points, to 19%);
• Arizona (+0.1 points, to 24.3%).

The significant share gains in Nevada were due to the “development of craft and domestic super premium,” according to the report.

In the remaining six states, beer share has declined between -1.9 and -0.2 points: Louisiana (-1.9 points, to 12.9%); North Carolina (-1.5 points, to 14.4%); Oregon (-1.2 points, to 8.9%); Georgia (-0.9 points, to 22.4%); Texas (-0.6 points, to 26.7%); Florida (-0.2 points, to 21.8%).

The largest share of the channel’s bev-alc dollar sales is still spirits (49.5%), but the category is in decline, losing 1.4 share points in the two-year period, after previously accounting for more than half the channel’s bev-alc dollar sales (50.9%). Wine is also in decline, losing 0.3 points of share in the 2-year period, to 15.8%.

Ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) hold less than 1% share of bev-alc dollar sales in the channel, but the segment has been slowly gaining share, from 0.4% in 2022 to 0.6% in 2024. 

Insiders can read more, including how wine and spirits fared in the 15 observed states. 

The latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – features Chandra Richter, head of product development at Sprinter, the Kylie Jenner-backed line of ready-to-drink (RTD) vodka sodas.

While Jenner understandably draws all the attention, Sprinter’s early success – shipping more than 140,000 cases and hitting 10,000 retailers and bars since March – belongs in part to Richter, who combines a Ph.D. in molecular biology and more than two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry at Gallo and Drinkworks. 

Brewbound chatted with Richter about how she develops flavor to appeal to broad audiences, the lessons learned from working with major beverage companies, and which flavors are trending this year. 

Here is a snippet of the Q&A:

What was your process approaching flavor for Sprinter? 

Chandra: We ultimately selected four flavors – lime, grapefruit, peach and black cherry – for a couple reasons. Peach and lime are very approachable flavors, very well-known and well-loved. And then the black cherry and grapefruit are trendier flavors. So we wanted both to have a relevant variety pack. 

Once we landed on the flavors it was really thinking through, what do we want the fruit flavors to be? When you think about a spectrum of the fruit profile, with something like a peach, you can be very candied, you can be very fresh, you can be very juicy, you can be dry, you can be cooked. 

So we talked about all the aspects of the fruits and tasted through examples of those, and ultimately, where we landed with Sprinter as a brand is that we wanted it to be very fresh, and true to fruit flavors versus taking a fruit punch type of approach. 

The vodka soda segment is so saturated at this point, so why not a different drink or ingredients? How are you differentiating?

Chandra: We thought a lot about it, and we wanted something that was refreshing and sessionable. And so the vodka seltzer made a lot of sense in the canned RTD space. 

And you're right, it is saturated. There are a lot of players and there are newcomers all the time, but it's also a category that has been growing and growing continuously, so we did feel that there was still space for a new brand to come in and play and offer a new, fresh perspective on what the vodka soda product could be. 

Insiders can read more about Sprinter’s connection to Jenner’s fans and Chandra’s experiences at Gallo and Drinkworks.

Iowa-based THC-infused beverage makers Climbing Kites and Field Day Brewing Co. are suing the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in district court over the state agency's interpretation of a new law restricting THC levels in consumable hemp products, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.

Earlier this year, Iowa state lawmakers passed legislation that limits the THC concentration in beverages to fewer than 4 mg per serving and 10 mg per container on a dry-weight basis. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the restrictions into law in mid-May, which are slated to go into effect July 1. 

The DHHS then issued guidance defining a serving size as one 12 oz. can. 

Climbing Kites and Field Day argue that the DHHS’s interpretation conflicts with the actual language of the law and would make the vast majority of their products illegal. They are seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the limits.

Diageo North America President and COO Claudia Schubert announced Thursday her decision to exit the company at the end of September.

Schubert worked for Diageo for 22 years. The next chapter of her career “will include corporate board service and advisory work,” the company shared. 

Diageo CEO Debra Crew said in a statement: “Claudia has made an enormous contribution to Diageo. I want to thank Claudia for her dedication and extraordinary leadership, including her time helping steer North America through the unprecedented COVID pandemic and its aftermath.”

Diageo North America CEO Sally Grimes added: “Through her more than two decades of service to Diageo, Claudia has made an indelible mark on our business, brands, and culture. Combining sharp business acumen with a strong strategic mindset, she has successfully driven performance and delivered bold, transformation plans. 

“Above all, the impact of her authentic leadership style, passion for our brands and care for developing our people will be felt for a long time.”

Schubert is credited with helping grow Diageo’s North American business unit and making major total-beverage-alcohol share gains. She was also “instrumental in the acquisition and integration of exciting brands, including Aviation, 21Seeds and Mr Black” and is credited with establishing the company’s first non-alcoholic business in North America with the integration of Seedlip.

Blake’s Beverage Company continues to expand distribution for its hard cider brands.

Blake’s Beverage’s portfolio includes Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders and AVID Cider Co. The three companies joined forces in 2023 to form the “second largest independent cider company” in the country.

Blake’s itself added several new markets this year, including Greater Pittsburgh (INCO Beverage & Galli Beer Distributing), Greater Nashville (Ajax Turner Co. Inc), Southern California (Stone Distributing), Waterloo, Iowa (Fahr Distributing). The company also expanded its existing presence in Greater St. Louis (Krey Distributing Co., Grey Eagle Distributors, Lohr Distributing and H.W. Herrell Distributing), Oregon and Washington (Maletis, Bigfoot and Summit Distributing) and Montana (Bronken’s Distributing). 

Austin Eastciders has also made several distribution moves in 2024, launching in Florida with seven distributors, and in California with Stone Distributing.

Year-to-date, through May 18, Blake’s Hard Cider dollar sales (+23.1%) and volume (+19.9%) have both increased double-digits in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels (total U.S. xAOC + liquor plus + convenience). AVID recorded even larger gains in the period (dollar sales +30.8%, volume +33.8%). Austin Eastciders’ dollar sales (-4.4%) and volume (-6%) have both declined single-digits YTD.

Bernstein analyst Nadine Sarwat breaks down the pros and cons of a potential sale of Boston Beer Company. Sarwat also examines potential suitors, Wall Street’s view of potential deals and why Boston Beer continues to be in conversations around M&A. 

Plus, the Brewbound team discusses the latest news, including the Kelce brothers’ investment in Garage Beer, Hulk Hogan’s new lager and Athletic’s acquisition of another Ballast Point brewery in San Diego.

Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice.

Brewbound is excited to announce three additional speakers for the Brewbound Live business conference December 11 and 12 in Marina del Rey, California. 

The two-day conference will bring together leaders from all three tiers for business-focused conversations on driving the bev-alc industry forward, data presentations, networking and brand building at the Marina del Rey Marriott. 

Joining the speaker roster are:

• Arthur Moye, owner and CEO of Full Circle Brewing;
• Kaleigh Theriault, director of thought leadership, beverage alcohol vertical, NIQ;
• Brian “BK” Krueger, VP of business development and portfolio strategies, Bump Williams Consulting.

They join previously announced speakers include: 

• Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner, Russian River Brewing;
• Peter Skrbek, CEO, Deschutes Brewery;
• Lester Jones, chief economist and VP of analytics, National Beer Wholesalers Association;
• Jennifer Hauke, founder and president, Draftline Technologies.

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. Interested in speaking? Follow this link to see our speaker guidelines. 

In addition to the mainstage programming and networking parties, Brewbound Live will feature opportunities for one-to-one conversations between brewers and bev-alc brands and retail buyers from chains such as Whole Foods Market. Registered attendees will be considered for meetings with buyers, as space is limited. Find out more details here.

Brewbound Live tickets are available now.

A bevy of beer kegs have gone to their eternal resting place – adorning an entryway wall at the National Beer Wholesalers Assocation’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

The kegs are a donation from keg supplier MicroStar, a “longtime associate member” of the NBWA. MicroStar VP of global marketing Dan Vorlage posed in front of the new art with NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser.