Molson Coors Hit with Lawsuit Over Vizzy Health Claims
A class action lawsuit has once again been filed against Molson Coors alleging the company’s marketing campaign for Vizzy Hard Seltzer promoting “antioxidant Vitamin C from Acerola Superfruit” was misleading to consumers, according to WineBusiness.com.
The complaint — filed last week by Jennifer Marek, a Menlo Park, California, woman, in the U.S. District Court for Northern California — alleged those label callouts were “misleading and dangerous to consumers,” as well as “unlawful” as they flouted federal regulations related to health claims on alcoholic beverages.
“Intending to profit from consumers’ increasing desire to consume healthy food and drink, (Molson Coors Beverage) fortified its alcoholic beverage by sprinkling nutrients into a beverage that is lawfully required to disclose harmful health effects. Of course, adding an insignificant amount of nutrients to an alcoholic beverage will do little to overcome the harmful effects of alcohol,” the lawsuit claims.
A previous class action lawsuit with similar claims was filed in the same court in mid-July by the same law firm, Gutride Safier LLP. In May, another class action complaint was filed against Molson Coors related to Vizzy in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Vizzy’s callout of “antioxidant Vitamin C” led the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Consumer Federation of American to urge the FDA in March to take action against Molson Coors. Brewers Association general counsel Marc Sorini wrote a column in April warning the trade group’s members that those watchdog groups’ call to the FDA “underscores the many risks of marketing and advertising beer and other alcohol beverages using health and wellness cues.”
Provi Raises $100M in 2021, Valuation to $750 Million
Provi, the Chicago-headquartered online alcohol ordering platform that connects retailers and wholesalers, has raised $100 million across two funding rounds in 2021, the company announced today.
Provi raised $25 million via its Series B funding round earlier this year, led by investment firm CPMG, with additional funding raised via Bessemer Venture Partners and Nosara Capital. The company also raised $75 million via a Series C funding round, led by investment firm D1 Capital Partners, with additional funding from Bessemer, Nosara and CPMG, as well as former Instacart president Nilam Ganenthiran, who was added to Provi’s board.
The funding will go toward scaling Provi’s platform and hiring workers. The company added that its valuation now stands at $750 million, which “represents a 3.5x valuation growth in six months.”
The $100 million infusion of capital brings Provi’s total raised to-date to $125 million. According to the company, the platform services 10% of bars and restaurants in the U.S., and is on pace to grow its share to 25% of the market by the end of 2022. The 5-year-old company said it has relationships with 85% of U.S. wholesalers, including Breakthru Beverage and Empire Merchants.
PepsiCo to Distribute Hard MTN DEW Via Blue Cloud Distribution
The route to market for Hard MTN DEW is beginning to take shape. Hard MTN DEW, the first product from PepsiCo and Boston Beer Company’s recently announced joint venture, will be distributed via the soda giant’s distribution network, which will go by the name “Blue Cloud Distribution.” Articles of incorporation have been filed in several states, including Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Iowa, among others. Beer Marketer’s Insights first reported news of Blue Cloud.
In a recent “Memorandum to Beverage Executives,” Andy Christon, president of wholesaler-focused valuation and transaction firm Ippolito Christon & Co., also noted the Blue Cloud moniker, citing Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) permits. According to Christon, given the changing landscape and continued blurring of lines among alcoholic beverage producers, “beer distributors” should begin to explore becoming “beverage distributors” in order “to stay in the game.”
“As suppliers adjust and continue to develop new products and brands, distributors must prepare for the evolving business model,” he wrote.
Christon also posed several questions that wholesalers to consider as the landscape evolves, including:
- “Will beer distributors get distribution rights for these new product lines?
- Are the distribution rights exclusive and perpetual?
- Will there be channel restrictions leading to multiple distributors in the same market?
- How can merchandising, fees, and receivables be managed economically when delivering alcoholic beverages and NA’s on the same truck?
- Can cannabis products be protected?”
Christon also offered a warning to wholesalers: “Don’t get burned.”
“Beer distributors have gotten burned in the past by weak contracts and lack of franchise protections for many of their NA products such as Monster Energy, Bang, and Red Bull,” he wrote. “But, if the value and underlying business risk of these brands is clearly understood, distributors can scale appropriately and invest accordingly.
“Depending on terms of the agreement, our analysis and modeling typically shows that there is a range of value for non-beer beverages that is much greater than one times annual gross profit. In the universe of alternative beverages there will always be outliers that we can help you identify and maximize.”
La Colombe Partners with Finkel & Garth on Limited-Edition Cold Brew Imperial Stout
Philadelphia-based coffee roaster and retailer La Colombe has partnered with Boulder, Colorado’s Finkel & Garf Brewing Co. to create a limited-edition Cold Brew Imperial Stout.
The 8% ABV imperial milk stout will be available in $14-$15 16 oz. 4-packs in select Whole Foods Markets throughout Colorado, beginning October 1. The recipe is a “beefed up variation” of Finkel & Garf’s Oat Milk Stout, steeped in La Colombe’s Nizza blend coffee, according to a Finkel & Garf spokesperson.
The beer’s debut in Finkel & Garf’s taproom coincided with La Colombe’s Cold Brew Tour’s Boulder stop on September 11, Finkel & Garf founder Dan Garfinkel told Brewbound.
“We released the pilot batch in the taproom and we had a bunch of people come into the taproom and they tried it and loved it and they got free [La Colombe] Draft Latte and it worked out great,” he said.
Finkel & Garf produced about 170 cases of the beer, which Garfinkel expected to sell out within three weeks.
This isn’t the first alcoholic partnership for the coffee company. Last year, La Colombe partnered with Molson Coors Beverage Company to produce a low-alcohol, cold-brew coffee line. The 4.2% ABV beverage launched with a limited run of 9 oz. cans in Boston, Tampa, Denver, and Fort Myers and Treasure Coast, Florida.
In October 2020, La Colombe signed a 10-year distribution deal with Molson Coors for its non-alcoholic ready-to-drink offerings. Through the partnership, La Colombe said it has increased its presence in convenience channels by more than 400%. Molson Coors announced recently that it would be expanding distribution of La Colombe’s ready-to-drink coffee products nationwide.
La Colombe’s cold brew products increased sales 45.2%, to $12.7 million, for the 52-week period ending June 13, and its products classified as cappuccino/iced coffee increased 40.5% to $23.4 million, according to the market research firm IRI. The brand’s additional refrigerated RTD coffees increased sales 172.4%, to $8.4 million.