🥤Non-alcoholic beverage sales remained “healthy but decelerated sequentially” as pricing softened during the two-week period ending October 21, according to Goldman Sachs Equity Research’s latest analysis of NielsenIQ data. 

👀 Across all categories, dollar sales were up 3.1% in the two-week period, compared with 3.8% for four-weeks and 9.7% for 52-weeks. Volume declines eased, down -0.8% in the period versus a -1.6% drop for the four-weeks. 

📉 Overall, softer pricing growth was driven by bottled water and RTD coffee, according to the report, up 3.9% in the two-weeks versus 5.5% in the four-weeks.

🥥 Though coconut water again saw the largest dollar sales growth among major non-alc beverage categories, sales declined sequentially, up 14.4% in the two-week period (+15% for four-weeks and +17.2% for eight-weeks). Volume grew by 14.1% while average pricing increased just 0.3%. 

Category leader Vita Coco (+13.7%), as well as brands Harmless Harvest (+13%), Goya Foods (+5.9%), and C20 Pure Coconut Water (+23%), reported dollar sales growth.

Read the full story on BevNET.

Shoppers are adjusting to the cost-of-living crisis, and your brand should too. Learn 9 strategies to stay top-of-mind for price-conscious consumers designed by live consumer intelligence platform, ProQuo AI. Learn more

In late 2023, a social media influencer with a CPG brand isn’t big news in itself. But hey, these cans look pretty: meet Horton, a line of coconut rum-based RTD cocktails (7% ABV) from Bakersfield, Calif. mommy blogger Krista Horton. 

👬 Horton, known for “twinning” with her husband and their three children, says the brand is inspired by her go-to cocktail of diet cola and coconut rum. 

🛍️ Horton RTDs features three flavors of coconut rum from Florida Caribbean Distillers (flavored with natural flavors and aspartame) in 12 oz cans mixed with either diet kola, pineapple soda or lime soda. 

💻 The brand’s Instagram page has been active for months, teasing product pictures and marketing, but the website just went live today. A variety 12-pack will set you back $43.99, plus shipping.

A new $30 million bourbon and rye whiskey distillery is coming to Kentucky. 

Western Kentucky Distilling Co has opened a “state-of-the-art” bourbon and rye whiskey distillery, initially focused on contract distilling, with future plans to create its own signature brands and a visitor center.

🚚 The new site will be able to distill 50,000 barrels annually and will have room to store 250,000 barrels. It’s headed by master distiller Jacob Call, who formerly oversaw Green River Distilling Co until shortly after it was purchased by Bardstown Bourbon.

👷🏼‍♂️ Speaking of, the new distillery joins another recently announced venture also focused on contract distilling: the Bardstown Bourbon team launched a $350 million contract distilling venture earlier this month. 

✍️ The new distilleries come as the American whiskey boom has inspired more brands to seek out customization services, creating demand for contract distilling beyond the standard bills offered by Indiana whiskey giant MGP.

A federal judge in Virginia is allowing state officials to enforce a law limiting the sale of hemp-derived delta-8 THC products, after rejecting Monday a request for an injunction filed by hemp companies.

Law360 reported this week that Judge Leonie M. Brinkema claimed that the hemp companies behind the lawsuit – retailer Northern Virginia Hemp and Agriculture LLC and hemp manufacturer Franny's Operations Inc. – had “ignored the clear text” of the 2018 Farm Bill which allows for states to regulate hemp and related products.

The challenge was mounted against Virginia’s SB 903 bill, which passed in April and prohibits the sale of synthetic hemp-derived THC products such as delta-8. The court found that the state proved delta-8 is “a credible threat” to the public.

The ruling deviates from similar cases elsewhere in the country. In September, an Arkansas federal judge granted an injunction against the state’s law prohibiting hemp-derived intoxicants and last month a Maryland court similarly blocked officials from enforcing parts of its cannabis legalization law which “could impinge on the sale of hemp-derived products,” Law360 noted.

There’s never been a better time to talk to BevSource about your Can needs! We’ve leveraged our purchasing power to give you unbeatable 2024 rates and supply assurance while providing the support beverage brands have come to expect from us. Net 60 terms, no dunnage fees and hassle-free transitions. Learn more

The final deadline to submit nominations for the annual BevNET Best Of Awards is this Friday, November 3! As an Insider, you can submit a nomination for just $99, which includes a $50 discount per submission. Winners will be announced during the award ceremony at BevNET Live, taking place Dec. 3-5 in Marina del Rey, CA. Learn more and nominate.

There’s good news and bad news regarding the possible return of pricey Trump-era EU tariffs on American whiskey. Negotiators are scrambling to resolve a EU-U.S. steel and aluminum trade ordeal that kicked off retaliatory tariffs on American products like whiskey in 2018.

🛑 The Biden administration secured a temporary suspension of those tariffs in 2022, but come January they'll snap back and double on American whiskey.

🤝🏼 The good news? There’s more time to strike a deal, after the U.S. and EU agreed to extend their original self-imposed deadline of October 31. 

😐 The bad news is well, that there’s no news. Differences over the ways in which the U.S. and the EU address climate change, as well as trade with China, are holding talks up. Which means the fate of the category’s most important international market is still uncertain.

Read the full story on BevNET

Get ready for our November Community Calls! This month, hear how to market regenerative agriculture to consumers, protect gross margin in the long term, troubleshoot and brainstorm velocity, and find out what kind of innovation gets a buyer's attention. Read the story.

Zero calorie, zero sugar sodas that use stevia is a well-worn category. But Spade’s refined, tasteful approach is worthy of a taste. 

Read the full review on BevNET

Q Mixers has enjoyed success by shaking up consumers' perceptions of what ginger ale, tonic waters and other popular mixers could be, so it's only natural it would seek to do the same with its own brand. The Brooklyn-based company has revamped its branding with a colorful new look rolling out into stores next month. 

🌈 The overhaul represents a "modern refresh that visualizes its flavor stories through abstract illustration, a crystal clear hierarchy, and graphic calls to the real and high-quality ingredients," per a statement.

✅ The rebrand will be accompanied by a new digital & OOH campaign.

Austin Cocktails co-founders Kelly Gasink and Jill Burns explained how being okay with being uncomfortable and striving to expand their "luck surface area” helped them secure partnerships with Madison Square Garden and Constellation Brands, the latter of which led to an acquisition of their company, and how an unorthodox sampling strategy unlocked new retail and distribution opportunities.

Listen to the full episode on BevNET