• ✂️ Brown-Forman Drops RNDC
• 🥤 Halfday ‘Modernizes’ Pack
• 📈 KDP's Q4 Performance
• 🍶 Space Age Sake 
• 🧑‍💻 NRS Adds Google Integration 
• 🎸 The Rockstar Entrepreneur. How Sammy Hagar Is Building His Next $100M Brand.

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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol wants to “simplify” the coffee giant’s business by laying off roughly 1,100 corporate employees. A memo was circulated to global staff yesterday with cuts hitting roughly 7% of the company’s estimated 16,000 employees outside of restaurants.

Which roles are getting axed isn’t yet known (and Starbuck’s opted to not fill “several hundred” other open positions) but NBC News emphasized that the move targets corporate jobs and will not affect baristas, roasting, manufacturing, warehousing or distribution.

“We are simplifying our structure, removing layers and duplication and creating smaller, more nimble teams,” he said in the memo. “Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration. All with the goal of being more focused and able to drive greater impact on our priorities.”

This announcement shouldn’t be too surprising. Starbucks has been fighting to beat back declining sales in both brick-and-mortar and CPG for quite some time.

• In-store sales fell 4% in Q1 for fiscal year 2025 – its fourth straight quarter of sales declines – and in the U.S. foot traffic was down 8%.
• CPG hasn’t fared much better. Iced coffee sales dropped a whopping 10.1% to around $2.1 billion in the 52-weeks ending December 29, 2024, per Circana U.S. retail and MULO data. 
• Cold brew sales weren’t too hot either, down 4.5%.

Niccol arrived at Starbucks last fall, fresh off a six-year stint as Chipotle’s CEO, and quickly set about executing a turnaround plan. So far, that plan has focused on the customer experience at its cafes, including slashing an “overly complex” menu. This week, the company dropped 13 drinks and Niccol said during its last earnings call that menus will be chopped 30% by the end of year.

Is this an ill omen for times ahead? Corporate America is chopping heads across industries, with 49,795 cuts reported in January – a 28% increase from December, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s not even taking into account the Trump Administration’s DOGE-shaped wrecking ball that’s bludgeoning the federal workforce.

Plus, potential tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico appear to be back on the table (for today at least), with the global coffee market bracing for impact ever since Trump’s initial threat of a 25% fee on Colombian imports last month.

Since taking the reins in September, Niccol has not talked much about Starbucks’ CPG business in earnings calls or other comms. How this latest restructuring will impact the grocery wing of the company – if at all – is something we’re on the lookout for. 

Catch Up on more Big Coffee news: Dairy Farmers of America Accuses Westrock Coffee of Trade Secret Theft

Brown-Forman is the latest spirits supplier to jump ship from RNDC and head to beer distributor Reyes Beverage Group in California.

🍻 Reyes is the country’s largest beer distributor and nabbed Brown-Forman's entire portfolio, complimenting what is now its evolving total-beverage book.

🍸 The move comes after the U.S. top-selling spirit, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, also ditched RNDC for Reyes in the country's largest spirits market last month. 

🔍 As spirit companies look to RTDs for growth, it’s likely Brown-Forman is among the major groups positioning themselves with distributors who have been quicker to embrace total-beverage and are equipped with better logistical capacities to move canned beverages. 

What does this mean for RNDC? You'll have to read the full story on BevNET.

Halfday has made its name bolder and added callouts as it reworks its labels within the maturing better-for-you beverage category. The prebiotic iced tea maker is keeping its color palette and illustrative style intact.

🔃 The brand said a refresh was necessary to better meet its consumer base on-shelf as it adds more retail distribution.

🏪 Halfday went national in Whole Foods in 2024 and expanded its door count with retailers like Wawa, reaching 8,000 doors as it works deeper in markets like New York City with distributor Big Geyser.

📈 This year, the brand is planning to double down on its existing accounts while bringing four-packs and new flavors like an Arnold Palmer to retail partners.

Read how Halfday’s riding the prebiotic beverage wave on BevNET.

U.S. refreshment beverages and international markets supported KDP’s 5.2% year-over-year net sales increase to $4.1 billion, though Q4 performance was weighed down by a continued decline in U.S. coffee sales. Here are some key numbers: 

• U.S. refreshment sales climbed 10.3% to $2.4 billion in the quarter, driven by volume/mix growth reflecting strong base business momentum in CSDs and Electrolit
• U.S. coffee sales dropped 2.4% to $1.1 billion 
• GAAP operating income fell 18.8% to $2.6 billion due to the termination of distribution agreements related to the acquisition of GHOST, among other “unfavorable”  impacting comparability. 

“Though the operating backdrop is demanding, we are confident that our strategic progress and business momentum will translate into yet another set of compelling, on-algorithm results in 2025,” said Tim Cofer, CEO, in a prepared statement. 

There is only one sake brewery and taproom in New England and it is bringing its unique take to the traditional Japanese drink. Founder and head brewer Todd Bellomy of Medfield, Mass.-based Farthest Star Sake took some time to chat with BevNET about his approach to sake production.

• After living in Japan for several years, Bellomy returned to the U.S. with a desire to bring sake to New Englanders.
• He became the first sake brewer in Massachusetts in 2014, but after his first business closed, he opened Farthest Star and has been iterating on a “space age” approach to the fermented rice wine ever since. 

Want to learn more about Bellomy’s approach? Learn how the drink maker is making inroads for the product in the U.S.

Some indie retailers will now be able to show off what they’ve got in stock via Google Search, Maps and the Shopping tab after National Retail Solutions (NRS) added a new integration with Google to help drive site traffic and visibility. 

🔗 The integration is available to NRS retailers with a verified Google business profile, allowing shop owners to link inventory to specific store locations, eliminating the need for manual product updates and uploads. 

💭 “We’re committed to providing our independent retailers with the tools and technology they need to thrive and compete with larger chains," said Elie Y. Katz, president and CEO of NRS.

Sammy Hagar’s passion for tequila runs deep. But the iconic rock star, best known for not being able to drive 55, and for his time as the frontman of Van Halen, has an even deeper commitment to earning and preserving the trust of his fans. Santo Spirits is where those two worlds meet.