Read the latest beyond beer news relating to companies involved with RTD cocktails, hard cider, hard seltzer, hard kombucha, spirits, cannabis, and non-alcoholic products. Take a comprehensive look at developments in these evolving sectors, offering valuable insights into the innovations, trends, and market forces shaping the world of beer and beyond.
Submit News
Involved in the beyond beer space and have company or product news? Submit your news.
Former Angry Orchard head cider maker Ryan Burk has joined Blake’s Beverage Company as VP of quality and innovation. Burk has been advising Blake’s and its portfolio of brands – Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders and AVID Cider Co. – for a couple years, including through the launch of its most recent innovations.
Allagash Brewing is launching its first non-alcoholic (NA) offering this week with the release of Allagash Hop Water. Hop Water will exclusively be sold in 12 oz. can 6-packs at the brewery’s tasting room in Portland, Maine, starting later this week.
The once-booming flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment is “showing some concerning declarations over recent weeks,” Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) founder Bump Williams noted in a recent report. FMB volume gains dropped by half – from +2.2%, to +1.1% – from the four-week period to the one-week period ending May 18, according to NIQ retail measurement data cited by BWC.
Harley-Davidson is rolling into the non-alcoholic (NA) beer segment via a licensing deal with Wisconsin Brewing Company. Road King American Pils is rolling out now throughout the Badger State in 16 oz. can 4-packs.
If Tip Top Proper Cocktails had the resources, it would’ve released 11 new styles of canned cocktails this year. While they settled for about half that amount, the team still argues that constant innovation is what makes their brand the most in touch with cocktail culture—and helps a small company like theirs carve out a distinct position in a saturated category.
The vast majority of shoppers (82%) can’t match influencers to the brands they own, according to a new report from Numerator— but that’s not discouraging influencer or celebrity brands from trying. One BevAlc company, co-helmed by the founder of hydration drink brand Roar Organics, is even building its business model around quickly bringing influencer brands to market.
Beam Suntory is rebranding to Suntory Global Spirits, a move that both reflects back on the decade since the Japanese spirit giant acquired the maker of Jim Beam, as well as the company’s continued evolution into a global premium spirits and ready-to-drink competitor.
Firestone Walker is the latest top craft player to enter the non-alcoholic (NA) beer space by leveraging the brand equity of its biggest brand. 8ZERO5 blonde, an NA version of the Duvel Moortgat-owned craft brewery’s 805 flagship, will only be available in its home state of California following Labor Day.
FX Matt Brewing Company has made another strategic acquisition, this time in the spirits category.
Surfside, a fast-growing line of canned iced tea and vodka cocktails, is getting the summer par-tea started with five new SKUs and a distribution expansion putting the brand in over 40 states, the company announced today.
Pernod Ricard-owned Corby Spirit and Wine, Canada’s second largest marketer and distributor of spirits and wines, has agreed to purchase RTD brand Nude for $8 million ($11 million CAD).
The Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) was the first industry event I ever attended, so I see it as the unofficial start to a new year. It’s also a great pulse check on how the industry – and all the folks you catch up with – have changed and evolved since the last CBC.
Last week in existential musings on the spirit industry, analysts asked the question: What if growth doesn’t return after destocking is done?
America’s No. 1 cocktail is… still No. 1. The margarita retained a fifth of all cocktail sales on-premise in the last quarter of 2023.
Fewer displays in beverage-alcohol, notably in premixed cocktails, beer and cider, should be considered a warning sign for suppliers, according to a new report from Circana. The market research firm’s “State of the CPG Beverage Alcohol Industry” report explores factors driving demand and identifies key growth opportunities in the bev-alc market.
Adult non-alc retailer Boisson will be restructuring the company under chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing financial challenges amidst an “overly aggressive expansion plan” and the “inefficient deployment of capital.”
The beer industry’s 2023 performance was dragged down by two anchors: The continued decline of the once-meteoric hard seltzer segment and Bud Light’s calamitous losses in the face of a conservative-led boycott, Beer Marketer’s Insights senior editor Christopher Shepard said in his keynote address to the California Craft Beer Summit.
