Ball Partners with Investment Firm on New Mexico Aluminum Mill
Ball Corp., the world’s largest aluminum beverage can manufacturer, has partnered with the investment firm Manna Capital Partners to create an aluminum can sheet rolling mill and recycling center in Los Lunas, New Mexico.
Manna will build and operate the facility, while Ball has agreed to enter a “long-term supply agreement,” and will take a minority equity stake in the mill, according to a press release.
“This alliance complements the significant manufacturing investments Ball has made across the Southwest U.S. since 2020 to meet growing demand for sustainable beverage packaging,” Dan Fisher, Ball president and CEO, said in the release. “We look forward to teaming up with Manna and its management team to help create a truly circular economy for aluminum can sheet, bring skilled jobs to the region, and help our customers meet their sustainability commitments.”
The mill is expected to be operational by 2026. “Further investment in used beverage can recycling infrastructure is anticipated in order to supply the rolling mill with enough scrap materials,” according to the release.
BA Releases Craft Brewers’ Guide to Cultural Observances
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Education subcommittee of the Brewers Association (BA) has published the “Craft Brewers Guide to Cultural Observances.”
The resource is a living guide of resources, “actionable suggestions and recommendations” for breweries to have conscious and considerate celebrations of secular cultural holidays and notable dates throughout the year.
“Good intentions are an excellent start to any effort to celebrate history and culture,” the BA wrote in a blog post. “The goal of this guide is to ensure that our community’s good intentions are expressed through thoughtful, respectful, and inclusive actions that appreciate (and do not appropriate) cultural traditions and histories.”
The guide is available here, and will be updated throughout the year. Entries are now available for Juneteenth and Pride Month.
Oregon Brewers Festival Returns After 2-Year Hiatus
The Oregon Brewers Festival will return this summer after more than two years, organizers announced last week.
The festival will take place at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, from July 28 through July 30, and will feature 40 beers from 40 Oregon brewers. About 80% of the beers featured will either be “exclusive to the festival, or making their debut there,” according to a press release.
The festival began in 1988, when just seven craft breweries operated in Oregon and 199 operated in the U.S., according to the release. Now more than 300 craft breweries operate in the state, with more than 9,000 across the U.S., according to the BA.
Athletic Co-Founder: 45% of Brand’s Drinkers Aged 34 and Younger
Around 45% of the non-alcoholic craft beer maker Athletic Brewing’s consumers are aged 34 or younger, co-founder Bill Shufelt shared during financial service firm Cowen’s sixth annual Future of the Consumer Conference. Athletic has connected with millennial and Generation Z consumers who are seeking brands focused on health and wellness, he added.
Shufelt noted that the demographics of non-alcoholic beer drinkers have shifted since Athletic launched four years ago. Prior to Athletic’s launch, around 80% of NA beer drinkers were men aged 50 and up. Athletic’s drinkers are now split 48% men to 52% women.
Additionally, Shufelt said Athletic attracts an average of five figures’ worth of monthly new direct-to-consumer consumers, who then purchase the brand’s NA beer at brick-and-mortar retailers within three months. Those traditional retailers remain an opportunity for Athletic, which has an 8% ACV, with the company aiming for 40-50% penetration in those retailers. In the on-premise channel, more than 1,000 Buffalo Wild Wings locations will add Athletic’s Run Wild IPA and Upside Dawn golden ale to their menus this summer.
Instacart: RTDs to Dethrone Hard Seltzer As ‘Drink of the Summer’
In a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll and published by Instacart, a e-commerce grocery delivery platform, more than a third of legal-drinking-age (LDA) consumers (36%) said they are “officially over” hard seltzers.
The Harris Poll surveyed 2,007 LDA adults from May 3-5, the majority of whom (1,579) said they consume alcoholic beverages.
While hard seltzer was the “top growing” beverage alcohol segment on Instacart last summer, the company is predicting ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs) will take the title for summer 2022, citing consumer fatigue.
“Based upon what we’re seeing in Instacart’s digital aisles, we predict this year’s ‘drink of the summer’ will be canned cocktails,” Instacart said in its report. “With summertime travel reaching new heights this year, whether folks are adventuring far from home or gathering in a loved one’s backyard, we believe convenience, price point, and new, buzzy options will be key factors when deciding which beverages to purchase.”
RTD offerings on Instacart increased +60% from summer 2020 to summer 2021, and ranked No. 4 on the platform’s list of top growing bev-alc segments last summer, below No. 3 vodka, No. 2 light lager, and No. 1 hard seltzers. Top growing segments were determined “by calculating the difference in the share of all alcohol purchases” on Instacart, according to the platform.
Non-alcoholic (NA) beer, wine and spirits are also expected to continue to grow this summer, as 57% of respondents said they are interested in drinking NA beverages this season. Over the last 12 months, through April 2022, delivery of non-alcoholic beer through Instacart increased +35%, NA wine increased +42% and NA spirits increased +203%.
Instacart also analyzed the most popular bev-alc segments by generation.
Generation Z, ages 21-25 (in order): hard seltzers, moscato, flavored malt beverages (FMBs), tequila and Mexican-style lagers.
Millennials, ages 26-41: IPA, rosé, prosecco, sparkling wine and sparkling rosé.
Gen X, ages 42-57: light lagers, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, malbec and pilsners.
Baby Boomers, ages 58-76: vodka, American-style lager, North American whiskey, stouts and malt liquors.
Traditionalist, born in or before 1945: chardonnay, pinot grigio/pinot gris, cabernet sauvignon, red blends and merlot.
Heineken USA to Sell Import Rights of Sagres, Tiger and Birra Moretti to US Beverage
Heineken USA will transition its U.S. importing rights to Sagres, Tiger and Birra Moretti to Stamford, Connecticut-based sales and marketing firm United States Beverage, beginning July 1,the company announced to its wholesaler partners earlier this week.
“The decision was made to ensure that these brands have the direction they need to compete and grow in the market, without taking focus away from our larger portfolio,” the company wrote. “The brands will continue to be owned by Heineken NV.
“We are confident US Beverage can provide the focus these brands need to succeed in the U.S.”
In late December 2021, US Beverage, via a joint venture with Colorado-based family office Crestone, closed on a deal for Utah’s Uinta Brewing.
High Noon Takes On Malt-Based Seltzers
E & J. Gallo’s High Noon Sun Sips is calling out malt-based hard seltzers in its latest 30-second television ad. A narrator says, “May you ditch malt-based hard seltzers for one with real vodka and real juice.”
High Noon, a spirits-based vodka and soda that has marketed itself as a hard seltzer, holds close to 4% of the seltzer segment and has jockeyed for the No. 4 position in the segment with Molson Coors’ Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. Sales of hard seltzers have slowed this year, declining in both volume (-13.4%) and dollar sales (-7.1%) year-to-date through May 14 in off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm NielsenIQ. Hard seltzers’ dollar share of the overall beer category have declined -0.5 share, to 8.8 share.
Malt-based seltzers still hold about 95% of the seltzer market, compared to the 4.9% by spirit-based offerings.