• 🥛 The Cavinder Twins’ Clean Slate
• 🌍 Wozzaah Those?? New Coke Creations 
• 🌽 Tate & Lyle Sells U.S. Ingredient Business
• 🗞️ UNFI Debuts Retail Media Network
• 🍻 AP: Marijuana Use Outpaces Alcohol
• 🛒 Private Label-Palooza & Nestlé’s Bet On GLP-1

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A vodka distiller in Albany, NY has leaned on its home state connection with JetBlue Airways to steal the backbar spot (or is it cart spot?) from America’s top spirit brand. 

ALB Vodka – one of a few Tito’s Handmade Vodka challengers aiming to steal share away from the vodka giant –  got a win a few weeks ago when JetBlue announced it was bringing the brand (“a favorite across New York City”) onboard as the lone independent spirit label on the in-flight menu. It’s a milestone for the owners, who are understandably jazzed about connecting with 40 million annual flyers. 

Backed by new investors during the pandemic, ALB is now taking the typical route to further growth, aiming to win over bartenders as unofficial ambassadors, go deep in its backyard and slowly expand to new markets, plus leverage its budding reputation on-premise to get into retail. The team also hopes the travel channel doubles as a brand builder, like it has for On The Rocks. 

Despite nearly flat sales last year, vodka still dominates as America’s favorite spirit, with the premium and ultra segments leading in growth. 

As cocktails like the martini and the cosmopolitan bounce back, and RTDs keep the category relevant, analysts have cited various opportunities for vodka’s reinvention. Uncle Nearest just this week nabbed an organic vodka brand in a top bracket, positioning the move as a response “to a consumer call for transparent, culturally connected brands.”

That’s how the vodka cycle goes: When Tito’s, with its simple kraft-paper label entered in the 90s as a premium craft product, other luxury brands like Grey Goose and Kettle One started to plateau. Now, vodka distillers like ALB or Western Son – a vodka made in Texas that’s a few dollars cheaper than the category leader – are trying to find an edge as the authentic, regional underdogs. ALB is not the first brand to leverage a shared home base into the in-flight menu: the founders of Atlanta-based TipTop Proper Cocktails suspect that’s how they hopped on Delta Airlines in the RTD’s early days.

Taking on Tito’s requires some creative strategy, however. The brand holds a 60% share of the premium category off-premise according to the latest NIQ data, and dominates on-premise vodka sales at over 43% share of all vodka sold at Union venues.

In response, ALB isn’t trying to compete on price but rather by touting its teacher-turned-distiller story and New York’s magic water, while avoiding the term “craft,” which founder and distiller John Curtin said is “so diluted that it’s hard to really associate it with a meaning.”  

We’d bet the American Craft Spirits Association might like to have a word on that last point, but whether it’s craft, made from agave, meteorite-flavored or coming up Kirkland, vodka is clearly a curious category to watch right now. 

Go Deeper: Taking on Tito’s: Splash Bev. Group President on New and Future Acquisitions.

Twin college basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, of the University of Miami Hurricanes, see a strong tailwind in Slate Milk, joining the Massachusetts-based beverage brand as investors and brand ambassadors.

🍫 Launched in 2019, Slate makes a variety of canned flavored milks and latte drinks. The brand, which raised $10.5 million in 2022, is no novice when it comes to athlete investors; it also counts the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, the Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Terance Mann as stakeholders.

🏀 The Cavinder sisters have become prolific brand partners under the NCAA’s NIL rule, previously aligning with powdered beverage brand Core Hydration, as well as Boost Mobile, WWE, Six Star Pro Nutrition, Intuit TurboTax and more.

⛹️ "Slate Milk presents a unique opportunity to not only invest our own capital but provide our NIL in a way that truly epitomizes our passions on and off the court," said Hanna Cavinder in a statement.

BevNET and Nosh are partnering with RangMe to give away one free premium annual subscription to their service, valued at $1,399. 🆓 For those unfamiliar, RangeMe is a platform where brands can showcase their products to thousands of retailers, get discovered, make connections and find unique sales opportunities.

This giveaway starts TODAY, Thursday, May 23 and will run for one week. To enter, join our Slack community and answer the question:

🗯️ What is your dream retailer?

That’s all you have to do! From the people who answer, the winner will be randomly chosen and announced Friday, May 31 via Slack.

Even as rumors persist of Coca-Cola’s interest in another soda brand acquisition, it isn’t backing away from its flagship brand. The next edition of Coke’s limited-edition Creations series drops today with Wozzaah Zero Sugar, which promises “a symphony of flavors inspired by the beating heart of African culture.”

🥭 The recipe itself will infuse the signature Coke formula with “vibrant tropical flavors inspired by Africa,” which is a bit vague until you remember one of Coke’s previous Creations releases was designed by AI.

🧇 The African theme extends to a partnership with Swazi-born DJ Uncle Waffles, who’s set to headline an exclusive concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, during which the new flavor will be unveiled. Sticking with waffles, there’s also fresh merch created alongside Nigerian skateboarding company WafflesnCream.

🎫 Bad news for U.S. consumers, though: to try this one, you’ll need a ticket to Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa or Morocco, and you’ll need to get there before the limited run is over.

Tate & Lyle has sold its remaining ownership interest of 49.7% in its corn wet milling business Primary Products Investments (Primient) to KPS Capital Partners for $350 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of July.

🥤 Primient produces corn-derived ingredients used in carbonated beverages, confectionery products, packaging and animal feed. The company employs 1,800 workers across six manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Brazil.

🤝 KPS acquired a controlling interest in Primient, Tate & Lyle’s Primary Products Business in North American and Latin America, in 2022. 

💬 “With strong KPS support, we are executing on more than $700 million in capital investments over the next five years to ensure the highest quality and most reliable production in the industry for decades to come,” said Jim Stutelberg, CEO of Primient, in a press release.

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) announced today it will roll out a new platform – UNFI Media Network (UMN) – which is designed to help retailers and brands market more directly to their customers. The platform is powered by retail tech solutions provider Swifty and will include its “personalization engine, closed-loop reporting and analytics capabilities.”

• The distributor claims that the goal of the platform is to help retailers meaningfully connect with customers and provide opportunities to showcase their suppliers and help them build brand equity.

💬 What they said: “UMN will enable brands to reach tens of millions of consumers across the U.S… retailers will gain access to the content provided by UNFI’s approximately 11,000 brand partners, enhancing their offerings, and driving engagement with consumers. Together, we are positioned to build one of the leading retail media networks in the U.S., one that is dedicated to ensuring the growth and success of today’s independent and regional grocers.” - Henry Kim, Swiftly CEO

The number of Americans using marijuana daily has outpaced daily alcohol users for the first time, according to a recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

🪴 Alcohol is still “more widely used,” claimed a report in the Associated Press, citing cannabis policy researcher Jonathan Caulkins; but an estimated 17.7 million Americans used pot daily or nearly-daily in 2022 compared to the 14.7 million self-reported daily alcohol drinkers. 

🧬 The shift has been attributed to marijuana becoming more mainstream as it is legal now in nearly half the states in the U.S.

This week, the CPG Week team digs into the growing momentum behind updated, modern takes on store brands, Nestlé’s move into GLP-1 companion meals, and what not to drink while running a marathon (spoiler: it's a “fiery” shot but not meant as a wellness remedy). 

◻️ The CPG Week crew discusses the various private label lines launched by CVS, Walmart and other major retail chains in recent weeks and what this signals for both consumers and brands alike.

💊 Later, the group ponders what Nestlé’s stance toward supporting GLP-1-aligned foods might foretell for the CPG industry (and how it conjures up a somewhat disturbing deja vu of 90’s era dieting obsession.)

Listen now on Nosh and subscribe to get a fresh episode every week.