• 🆕 This Week’s Hot New Sips
• 🧑‍⚖️ FTC Sues Southern Glazer’s
• 🚚 ProBugs Hits Harris Teeter
• 🦊 Foxtrot Returns To The Lone Star State
• 🔄 People Moves: New Coke COO

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Are Americans actually drinking significantly less than they were previously? A new Consumer Trends report makes an argument that the death of alcohol consumption might be “greatly exaggerated.”

Coefficient Capital and Dan Frommer’s New Consumer have released the eleventh edition of the Consumer Trends report with a slew of data on the trend toward moderation. Some of it runs counter to the narrative that Americans are abandoning their brews and Bacardi for zero-proof options.

Retail sales at U.S. beer, wine and liquor stores experienced 2.3% year-over-year growth, according to the report, and spirits volumes were up as well with volume acceleration expected to continue in 2025.

So what gives? Perception goes a long way. 

• Many Americans think their peers drink more than they do and rely on alcohol to lubricate social situations more than the respondents themselves, according to survey results. 
• This might be increasing moderation trends nominally but respondents said that the trend is mostly centered on alcohol’s impact on health (47%) and longevity (32%).

What are these non-alc consumers reaching for instead? Surprisingly, sober drinkers are not grabbing all those mocktails and NA options dominating news stories. Soda (33%) and water (22%) are the leading drinks of choice at bars and restaurants when avoiding alcohol with NA cocktails making up just 4% and NA versions of beer, wine or spritzes tied at 1% each.

One thing does seem to follow the NA trend narrative though. Gen Z, younger millennials and women are driving the sober-curious movement. About 31% of Gen Z and millennials respondents said they plan to participate in Dry January and 18% are planning to reduce their alcohol consumption but probably won’t stop drinking during the month.

Additionally, about 23% of Gen Z drinkers prefer cannabis and other recreational drugs over alcohol and are picking up those THC drinks and NA canned cocktails in much higher percentages than boomers and Gen X consumers.

So while all of the NA brands gear up for another Dry January, we will be sure to keep the data dumps on tap. 

Go Deeper: Craft Spirits Face First Decline in Recent History

Today is Friday and you all know what that means…. it's new product gallery time! We’ve rounded up the hottest new products and packaged them into a neat array. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:

💧 Cowbell has made its first foray into the hydration set by launching low-calorie electrolyte beverage Cowbell Hydration. Available in Grape and Blue Raspberry flavors, each 16.9 oz. bottle has 200 mg sodium, 50 mg potassium, 300 mg chloride and 20 mg magnesium.

☕ Stok has dropped what it claims to be the first RTD decaffeinated cold brew available in grocery stores nationwide. Offered in the brand’s top two performing brews – Unsweet and Not Too Sweet – the new products feature a white label to differentiate from the brand’s caffeinated line.

👀 Just in time for the holidays, cannabis-infused beverage brand Nowadays has dropped its first limited-edition flavor: Nowadays Cranberry. The new product, available in a 750 mL bottle, features 5 mg THC per 1.5 oz. and is designed to provide a social buzz within 15 minutes. 

Keep an eye out for the full gallery on BevNET later today. 

After reports earlier this year that a lawsuit was in the works, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a legal complaint yesterday against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS), the nation’s largest alcohol distributor, over its pricing practices. 

❌ Even though the current administration is winding down, FTC Chair Lina Khan is not done attempting to level the playing field for small retailers and reduce the impact of high food and beverage prices on consumers – the lawsuit may complete a series of other Biden administration lawsuits and investigations into major companies. 

💲 This one alleges that the distributor gave large chains drastically better prices in the form of steep discounts than those offered to small “mom and pop” businesses. SGWS of course snapped back that it complies with legal requirements, and that the suit was authorized among party lines, with one of the dissents selected as the future chair of the FTC under President-elect Trump’s administration. 

🏛️ The American Craft Spirits Association, which is no fan of the increasing power of a few distributors, welcomed the lawsuit. Meanwhile, bev-alc lawyers reiterated that efforts to regulate bev-alc on a federal level may conflict with state laws that allow discounts to retailers.

BevNET Insiders can read the full story for all of the insight.

🐛 Lifeway Foods’ ProBugs kids line of organic kefirs is creeping and crawling into over 250 Harris Teeter stores across the country with its Strawnana and Goo-Berry flavors. The expansion comes as the company also embraces new innovations like Flavor Fusions and functional collagen smoothie launches.

🤠 Agave-based non-alc cocktail brand Parch is growing in both Texas and New York. The brand has secured distribution into 40 H-E-B stores in the Lone Star state while expanding via FreshDirect up north.

✈️ Chase Sapphire Reserve members can now kick back with Leisure Project’s hydration beverages, which have landed in the credit company’s airport lounges across the country.

Access the full roundup on BevNET.

In the next stage of its reunion tour, Foxtrot has announced it will reenter Texas next month, reopening two Dallas locations. The revival follows a similar path the retailer has taken in its five locations across Chicagoland, emphasizing a café-focused style with a large foodservice menu.

• The Knox Street and University Park locations revive the two former Foxtrot locations that have been shuttered since the chain abruptly shut down in April.
• Foxtrot just reopened its fifth location in the River North neighborhood in its hometown of Chicago last week.
• Leaning into its Southwestern clientele, the Dallas stores will feature new breakfast taco options like borracho bean, brisket guisado, and grilled veggie options.

👔 The Coca-Cola Company has promoted Henrique Braun to EVP and COO, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Braun currently serves as EVP and president of international development and will now be responsible for all of the company’s operating units worldwide. He will report to chairman and CEO James Quincy

🥤 PepsiCo announced that Christine Tammara will succeed SVP and controller Marie Gallagher, effective May 3, 2025. Tammara joined PepsiCo in 2007 and has served as SVP and controller of PepsiCo Beverages North America since June 2023.