This week’s issue touches on a couple of important beverage industry themes that we’re paying a lot of attention to these days. The first is the blurring of product and distribution lines between non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage categories. Driving this trend is a need by scaled players in both ...
Company to Create Licensed Sales and Distribution Entity to Enter US 3-Tier System
August 11, 2021
PepsiCo has collaborated with Boston Beer to develop an alcoholic product called Hard Mtn Dew to be launched in the US early next year, the companies announced Tuesday. It’s believed to be the company’s first foray into alcohol. The flavored malt beverage (FMB) will contain...
Company to Create Licensed Sales and Distribution Entity to Enter US 3-Tier System
Former Coca-Cola Innovation Partner Building Presence for Howie’s Spiked Brand
July 29, 2021
As the crossover between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage distribution and product development heats up, BD caught up with longtime beverage entrepreneur Larry Trachtenbroit to see what lessons he’s learned after making the transition. Trachtenbroit sold a ready-to-drink coffee business to Coke for more than $5 million 20 years ago before going on to create a beverage innovation shop called Brain Twist that counted Coca-Cola as an investor. More than five years ago, he switched fully to alcohol beverages. He co-founded his current venture FS Beverages with former global ocean shipping industry executive Greg Howard, who is president. FS Beverages is building sales and distribution for a line of alcohol-infused cherries, teas, lemonades, and coffees under a brand called Howie’s Spiked. The flagship product, Howie’s Spiked Cherries, is distributed in 15 Midwestern, Southern, and East Coast markets. The distribution network includes at least 30 independent Anheuser Busch-aligned distributors, as well as other independent wholesale distributors. The company generated revenue of $1.5 million in 2020 after growth of +28%, according to Howard. With the introduction of a spiked coffee called Alc-A-Chino later this year, revenue is expected to approach $2 million in 2021...
Brand Breaks Top 10 at Retail. Distributor in Goldman Sachs Survey Predicts No. 3
June 23, 2021
Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, produced and marketed by Molson Coors under an agreement with Coca-Cola, continues to gain traction in the US despite a highly competitive market and signs of...