Gallo is getting into the beer business via a strategic investment in Montucky Cold Snacks. The wine and spirits conglomerate that found success in recent years with spirit-based seltzer brand High Noon Sun Sips announced a partnership with the founders of the light lager brand.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Beer Marketer’s Insights first reported the news this morning.
“Entering beer offers Gallo an exciting new opportunity to reach consumers in different usage occasions, and we look forward to collaborating and growing Montucky across the beer distributor network,” Gallo EVP and general manager Britt West said in the announcement. “We believe core lager is a big category with room for fresh and innovative propositions. We are super excited that Chad and Jeremy have agreed to stay on and help Montucky reach its full potential.”
Gallo CEO Ernest J. Gallo added: “With Montucky Cold Snacks, combined with our expansion of High Noon into vodka iced tea, our partnerships with Canelo Álvarez on VMC and with Lotte on Soonhari Soju, our recent acquisitions of Fishers Island Lemonade, Salt Point, and Waterbird, and our continual wine innovation, such as VIBE by Vendange, we are constantly trying to bring new and better experiences to the consumer.”
Montucky co-founder Chad Zeitner said: “With Gallo’s resources, core values, focus on consumer enjoyment and similar ethos for giving back to communities, sustainability, and the environment, we believe Gallo is the perfect partner to take Montucky where we have always thought it could go … and help us do a whole lot of good along the way! We couldn’t be more excited to see where it goes from here.”
Zeitner founded Montucky with Jeremy Gregory in 2012. The company has grown from 130,000 cases five years ago to nearly 1 million cases in 2023, per the press release.
Montucky was the 40th largest Brewers Association (BA) defined craft brewery by volume in 2023, entering the BA’s top 50 list for the first time. The company was also the 50th largest overall brewer, according to the BA. Specific production numbers have not yet been released from the trade group for 2023.
In 2022, Montucky produced an estimated 63,250 barrels, a +21% increase year-over-year (YoY), according to the May/June 2023 issue of the BA’s New Brewer Magazine. The company has consistently posed double-digit production growth since at least 2018, the earliest estimates are available for the company from the BA.
In 2023, Montucky increased dollar sales (+7%) and volume (+4.5%) in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels, outpacing the total beer category (dollar sales +1.4%, volume -3%). In the last 12 weeks, ending April 20, trends have slowed, with dollar sales (-8%) and volume (-14.4%) both declining YoY.
The deal for Montucky comes a year after Gallo acquired Fishers Island Lemonade, a spirits-based ready-to-drink canned cocktail (RTD) brand.
CEO Gallo’s comments point to a previously unannounced deal for spirits-based RTD maker Waterbird. A Gallo spokesperson confirmed that Waterbird was acquired in April and founder Wilson Craig “will continue to work with Gallo to ensure his brand vision and entrepreneurial spirit are carried forward to take the brand to the next level.”
In 2023, Waterbird increased dollar sales +66.1% and volume +67.4% in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels. The double-digit gains have continued in the last 13 weeks, with dollar sales increasing +40.9% YoY and volume +38.7%.
Waterbird was named a Brewbound Rising Star in 2022. Craig spoked with Brewbound about the brand’s ambitions and how the company was able to grow +600% in 2021. Watch the full interview here.