Stone Distributing Adds 4 Suppliers in SoCal
Stone Distributing has picked up the distribution rights to four suppliers in Southern California. The new adds include Inglewood-based Crowns & Hops Brewing Co., Thousand Oaks-based Tarantula Hill Brewing Co., San Diego-based Village Spirits, and Santa Monica-based Bomani Cold Buzz.
Those four brands join recent Stone Distribution portfolio additions Societe Brewing, Jiant Hard Kombucha and Spindrift Spiked Hard Seltzer.
“Stone Distributing is experiencing really strong momentum,” Stone Brewing CEO Maria Stipp said in a press release. “Our overall business is up 11% vs. last year. We’ve also had a strong return in the on-premise, currently around 80% of our placements are back vs. 2019. We’re fortunate to be in this position alongside brands we really admire.”
Crowns & Hops, founded by Teo Hunter and Beny Ashburn, signed a temporary distribution agreement with Stone in 2020 but has since signed a full-time deal to distribute the Black-owned brewery’s beer in Southern California.
The addition of Tarantula Hill marks an expansion for the craft brewery’s distribution in Southern California.
Meanwhile, Bomani Cold Buzz, a hard cold brew coffee brand, and Villager Spirits, the ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand founded by Josh Landan, adds two additional beyond beer offerings to Stone’s book. Bomani Cold Buzz (110 calories, 0 carbs, 0g sugar) is Stone’s first dedicated hard coffee brand, while Villager Spirits is just now launching into the market.
Crowns & Hops, Tarantula Hill and Bomani are all available now from Stone Distributing, while Villager will roll out in late October.
Stone Distributing, one of the largest independent wholesalers of craft beer in the U.S., touted that it holds a nearly 20% share of the Southern California craft beer market and is now “the nation’s largest hard kombucha distributor,” with a supplier list of Jiant, Boochcraft and JuneShine.
Loverboy Hard Sparkling Partners with Scout Distribution in San Diego
San Diego-based Scout Distribution has added Loverboy Sparkling Hard Teas to its portfolio in Southern California. Scout will distribute Loverboy products across Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.
Loverboy’s products are now available in 19 states, with a goal of reaching nationwide distribution in 2022, according to a press release. The company’s gluten-free hard teas come in four flavors — White Tea Peach, Hibiscus Lime, Lemon Iced Tea, and a limited-edition Orange Chai — are brewed with organic tea, real juices and purées with no added sugar.
Word from Scout is the brand has been in the market for eight days and “is on fire” out of the gate.
“Loverboy embodies exactly what Scout is looking for in a new distribution partner; great packaging, great marketing, and delicious product,” Jeff Hansson, CEO of Scout Distribution, said in a press release. “Scout is excited to partner with such a dynamic brand and group of people.”
Loverboy was founded by reality TV personalities Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula from Bravo TV’s Summer House series.
Two Roots Brewing Adds Distribution in 12 States
San Diego-based, non-alcoholic craft beer maker Two Roots Brewing Co. has added distribution in 12 states.
The company is expanding sales of its NA beers to Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Northern California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Two Roots’ list of wholesalers in those states are all within the Anheuser-Busch network. They include:
- Markstein Beverage, Couch, and Eagle in Northern California;
- Eagle Rock Distributing, Georgia;
- Beechwood Sales & Service, Wisconsin;
- Premier Distributing, New Mexico;
- Northern Eagle Distributing and Harrison Beverage, New Jersey;
- General Distributing, Utah;
- Maletis Beverage, Oregon and Washington;
- House of LaRose, Ohio;
- Capitol Beverage, C&L Distributing, Superior Beverages, D & S Beverage, Schott Distributing, Minnesota;
- Penn Beer, Pennsylvania;
- Dakota Sales, North Dakota.
Nearly all of the wholesalers are wholesalers of Anheuser-Busch products, with the exception of D & S Beverage.
”We’ve heard from consumers and retailers across these regions who are anxiously seeking access to our award winning non-alc craft beers,” Two Roots president and CEO Ron Goodson said in a release. “We have been working diligently to establish a robust wholesale network to meet this incredible demand. To do so, we’ve focused on partnering with best-in-class distributors to bring our non-alc craft beer to these important markets.”
Products included in the launch include Enough Said helles, Straight Drank West Coast-style IPA, and New West IPA, each sold in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans. Enough Said won a gold medal at the 2019 and 2021 Great American Beer Festival competition, while Straight Drank won a bronze in 2020.