Store Ad Review: July 4 Promos Strike Balance for Strapped Consumers
July 15, 2022
US Inflation surged by +9.1% during the 12 months ending in June, according to newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the largest year-over-year spike in the consumer price index in more than four...
Ceria Founder Also Says Non-Alcoholic Beer Market Will Rival Craft Brew Market
June 23, 2022
Keith Villa, the PhD brewmaster who created Blue Moon almost three decades ago
for Coors Brewing, is credited with using that beer to help introduce scores of consumers to more flavorful craft brews. Blue Moon was a gateway brew for light beer drinkers who would eventually consume everything from IPAs to Saisons as craft beer went mainstream during 2000s. In recent years, Villa has been toiling away on his latest gateway project: cannabis- infused and alcohol-free beers. Villa’s company, Ceria Brewing, relaunched its beers with
a new look this month after first introducing the brand in 2018. Villa uses a proprietary process to get Ceria’s beers to 0.0% ABV. Ceria’s lineup includes a Belgian-style white ale called Grainwave (Villa’s latest Blue Moon) and an IPA called Indiewave. Versions of these alcohol-free beers with psychoactive THC and non-psychoactive CBD are available at licensed marijuana dispensaries in Colorado and California, where the recreational use of cannabis is permitted. The beers have less than 100 calories per 12-oz can. A six-pack of Ceria’s alcohol- free beer sells for about $10. THC versions sell at regulated cannabis dispensaries for about $6 - $8 per can, plus taxes. Given the growing interest in low- and no-alcohol beers and cannabis-infused beverages, BD took the opportunity to discuss both segments with Villa, who runs the company with his wife Jodi Villa, who is CEO. The following has been edited for length and clarity...
Solutions Sought as Booze Market Taps Non-Alcoholic Brands
June 23, 2022
Coca-Cola is considering compensating its franchise bottlers in the US for company- sanctioned ready-to-drink alcohol beverages sold in bottlers’ exclusive territories, BD has learned from bottling executives. Just last week, Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman and Coca-Cola announced a “global relationship” for a Jack & Coke canned cocktail to be launched in Mexico later this year. While other...
Pepsi Adds Mid-Year Hikes for Brisk Concentrate, and Finished Rockstar, Bang
June 7, 2022
Concentrate pricing for major soft drinks brands including Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, and Dr Pepper rose in the US by between +6.4% and +8.0% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to pricing memos obtained by BD. Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Coke Zero Sugar rose...
Private Label CSDs Fails to Make Inroads Amid Inflationary Crisis
June 7, 2022
Private label carbonated soft drinks (CSD) at US retail were unable to make progress in the first quarter of this year even though shoppers are facing unprecedented inflation at the grocery. As shown in the table, Private label CSD dollar sales barely grew in a category that was up more than...
Tapered Deals Haven’t Yet Deterred Soda Consumers, Informal Survey Reveals
June 7, 2022
In an informal BD survey of US beverage bottlers and distributors, Memorial Day holiday pricing was higher than last year as manufacturers and retailers continued to pull back on promotional discounting. Bottlers have faced unprecedented costs this year for everything from labor and transportation to raw materials. One bottler told BD that...
First Look: Program Explores Potential Alternative to ‘One-Way’ Bottles
June 7, 2022
Since late last year, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages has run a pilot test in El Paso, Texas to determine whether the returnable glass bottle can work once again in the US. The reusable package remains a staple in some emerging Coca-Cola markets around world, providing affordability for consumers and flexibility for bottlers. BD visited El Paso this week to get an up-close look at the pilot project.