A new year brings career moves for some folks. Among them is Bell’s Brewery 20-year vet John Mallett, who will be leaving the Michigan craft brewery in February.
Mallett is one of the most respected leaders in the industry. Most recently, he was the VP of brewing and quality for both Bell’s and New Belgium Brewing, helping oversee the integration of the two companies after Bell’s was acquired by New Belgium’s parent company, Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages.
A big tip of the cap to him and best wishes on what’s next.
Also on the move is Josh Noel, who has departed the Chicago Tribune to join Molson Coors as corporate communications manager. Aside from his coverage of the beer biz for the Tribune, Noel may be best known for his book, Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch and How Craft Beer Became Big Business. Looking forward to working with him in the coming years.
Road Report
Jess and I spent half the week in West Palm Beach, Florida, for Beer Business Daily’s Beer Industry Summit. Lots of notes coming out of the meeting including:
A look at total beverage alcohol’s shift to becoming a total beverage industry. As this shift goes, store shelves are also turning over. Notably, beer is expected to lose around 20% of its retail shelf space to ready-to-drink spirits this spring, according to Bump Williams.
Wine-based party punch maker BeatBox doubled its volume last year and is projecting 100,000 barrels produced in 2023.
Michelob Ultra is on pace to supplant Bud Light as Anheuser-Busch InBev’s top-selling beer brand by 2027.
In Other News …
If you’re a member of the Brewers Association (BA), your dues will increase for the first time in 18 years starting in February. Membership dues represent the second largest revenue source for the trade group for small and independent craft breweries. However, the amount of dues the BA has collected have declined by six figures over the last five years from the 2019 peak. All of the numbers in the link.
We now know the purchase price global cannabis firm Tilray paid for Montauk Brewing Company – more than $35 million ($28.688 million in cash and $6.422 million in stock) with an additional $18 million on the table if the brewery achieves “certain volume and/or EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] targets on or before December 31, 2025.”
Cue the Spongebob three years later meme … Mahou San Miguel is finally integrating Founders Brewing, Avery Brewing and Mahou Imports into one platform, Mahou USA. Under the new corporate governance structure, the company is restructuring its sales team and the new structure “will allow for a broader footprint and sales distribution model, while respecting the individual identity of each company and brand.”
According to several media reports, the Federal Trade Commission has opened a preliminary investigation into The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo probing potential price discrimination within the soft drink market.
Sharp’s may be a goner but Molson Coors isn’t giving up on non-alc offerings. The company unveiled Roxie, a zero-proof canned cocktail, this week, which is exclusively available online.
Finally, this week’s Brewbound Podcast dives into the pickleball phenomenon. The recreational sport intersects with the beer category at growing restaurant chain Chicken N Pickle. There’s opportunity for bev-alc producers in the chain’s six spaces – and there are more on the way. Jess, Zoe and I discuss the expansion and bev-alc program with Matt Besler and Tim Holmes.
And that’s a wrap on our first full week – well, six days for Jess and I – back. Thanks to all of you for reading and supporting our work as Brewbound Insiders. If you’re not an Insider, follow the link to subscribe. We’ll be back with more next week.