| | | | | Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, February 17, 2024. Dare I say, I think maybe the $20+ million that big beer spent on Super Bowl advertising this year may have been a bit of an overkill 😬. Couldn’t we have just given CBS a few bucks to run this Taylor Swift chugging contest on the national broadcast instead of just on the jumbotron? I mean, throw in some branded cans … and maybe a shirtless Jason Kelce as a judge – hey, I’m just brainstorming – and voila! Overthinking gets you nowhere, folks, as shirtless Jason Kelce always says. | |
| | AND: Are we putting DRAFTKINGS bets on whether BUD LIGHT is going to roll out a new set of BL Genie spots for March Madness in 5 weeks? Given BUD LIGHT was dethroned from the #1 spot in Super Bowl gameday draft sales by MICH ULTRA, with volume -31% YoY according to BeerBoard … it may be time to ask the BL Genie for more than just big biceps and Peyton Manning appearances. |
| | 🍻 TOP CRAFT | | | Sorry, this came up when I was searching for a “homebrewer” gif, and I had 😱 flashbacks I thought I’d share with ya’ll. Via Giphy/VICE | BREWERS ASSOCIATION Revenue Dips, HOMEBREW Con put on ice I mean, it wasn’t pandemic-era dipping, but still -2% … with decreases in events and membership revenue matching that rate. Jess has your full look at the 2023 BA revenue picture. Also, the BA’s board of directors will be led in 2024 by Leah Cheston, owner of Washington, D.C.-based RIGHT PROPER Brewing. Additional board member info and changes made to its size is in the link. As for HOMEBREW Con, that’s now on hiatus for 2024. There will be something homebrewer-centric at the GABF this October, including the announcement of the winner of the National Homebrew Competition (NHC), and an AHA-only area on the GABF floor. |
| | 🚘 NEW RIDE, WHO DIS? | | Charlotte, NC’s NODA released their new brand refresh, courtesy of Indy’s CODO DESIGN, as the brand’s previous look was starting to feel a bit dated, according to the brewery. |
| | AND: While we’re checking out new threads (no Zoe, not the META kind), here’s what LAGUNITAS will soon look like on your beer shelf, which … I dunno, looks pretty familiar to me 🤷. But it sounds like that’s the point, as the 2022 redesign apparently resulted in their fans having difficulty finding the beer on shelves (kinda important). Justin has all of your details on how this is rolling out for their 2nd largest SKU as well. | |
| | 💼 GET A JOB | | | 🍺 BIG BEER | | | | Via Giphy/CBS | OK, not really, but let’s save the tears for the February numbers, shall we? CIRCANA data for the first four weeks of the year in MULO+C (essentially the off-prem) through January 28: - Total beer: volume -2.7%, sales -1.5%
- Craft: volume -2.6%, sales -1.4%
At least total beer had one positive number, +0.5% in grocery during the period (volume was -0.1%). Craft was down in both metrics in that sector. But Jess has ya covered on some good news for craft in the convenience channel, and hey – ATHLETIC’s 2024 is goin’ great: - MULO+C: sales +82.6%, volume +95%;
- Grocery: sales +75%, volume +86.3%.
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| | | Here’s what we got for MC numbers in the Americas in Q4 ‘23, brought to you by BUD LIGHT: - Depletions (sales to retailers): +6.7% (+8.5% in the U.S.)
- Net sales: +4.7%
Q4 2023 globally: - Depletions: +4.3%
- Net sales: +6.1%
Full year 2023 globally for MOLSON COORS: - Net sales: +9.4% to $11.7 billion
- Volume: +2.2%
Looking ahead to 2024, they expect net sales to be up again in the “low single-digit” range, and revealed that they gained about +7% shelf space in summer and fall resets last year. #FunFact: MC’s pre-income tax growth in 2023 alone reached a point they were previously targeting to hit in … 2028 🤯. Never underestimate the power of social media folks, especially someone else’s. |
| | | Just like inflation at large, beer numbers perked back up a bit in January too. - Beer-at-home: +2.4% (+0.5% from Dec, but just a bit better than last January: +9% 🫣)
- Beer away from home: +4%
- Beer in Justin’s garage: priceless
Total bev-alc was +2.3%, and Zoe has the rest of your categories here for the inclined. |
| | 🎙️ BREWBOUND PODCAST | | | ⏱ QUICK HITS | | | Taylor’s all for it. Via Giphy/Apple | - Philly’s TWO ROBBERS is shifting from a hard seltzer brand to RTDs, becoming the TWO ROBBERS Spirits Company because, well, I don’t think I need to spell it out to this crowd.
- MN’s FAIR STATE Brewing has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Overwhelming pandemic-induced debts were cited for the move to uh, rearrange their finances. The company owes more than $5.1 million to creditors.
- VA’s ASLIN has recognized their employee’s request to unionize.
- Union workers at MC’s Fort Worth, TX brewery overwhelmingly authorized a strike if MC and Teamsters Local 997 can’t come to an agreement, although unlike A-B’s Feb. 29 deadline, there was no specific date indicated here.
- A BOSTON BEER non-compete lawsuit against a former employee, Brian Soudant, who left for DOWNEAST, has been dismissed in Massachusetts Superior Court. Their case against DOWNEAST is still pending.
- Former STONE CEO Maria Stipp has a new gig as CEO of SUJA LIFE, an organic juice and shots company (not those kinda shots – I checked).
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| | THIS BEER’S FOR YOU! 🍻 | | | Via Giphy | This week’s beer is going out to the state of TENNESSEE … though you may wanna throw it in the fridge first. A bill is heading to committee to ban the sale of cold beer at convenience and grocery stores (aka retail). I mean, you know how Tennesseans are always saying how much they’re envious of the lifestyles of Hoosiers (Indianians isn’t a word, right?). The goal? To increase public safety by cutting down on drunk driving, because yes – beer being cold when you buy it at a PUBLIX is the real problem there. Did we mention it’s legal to have an open container of alcohol in a car in TN as long as you’re not driving? What? No, that law’s fine, don’t be a dumbass. Oddly enough, this bill was introduced by two Republicans … although support from their fellow party members to turn it into law sounds, uh, thin, with the state’s Republican Lt. Gov. calling it “a little bit too heavy-handed,” and I wouldn’t look to Democrats for votes here either, who are more than happy to shift this newfound passion for public safety into addressing the much higher rate of 5.5 deaths per 100k children from gun violence in the state as of 2021. So, enjoy those cold beers while ya can, ya’ll, and remember to keep that UBER app handy, mmmkay? Slainté! -Sean McNulty (you can always reach me here on LinkedIn)
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