Total U.S. On-Premise Dollar Velocity Up 1%, Check Value Up 7%: CGA

With the US removing all significant COVID-19 restrictions this time last year, the latest data from CGA by NielsenIQ’s BeverageTrak solution marks the first time the report can compare true year-over-year trends since early 2020. Total US On Premise dollar sales velocity (+1%) is still keeping pace with the pent up demand of last summer. In the most recent period to July 16, check value was up +7% while traffic was down -6% versus 2021.

With many people heading home for the July 4 weekend, the weeks to July 2 and July 9 saw more negative trends in Chicago and New York City versus the rest of the state, driven by a reduction in velocity in the cities.

Daily trends have been variable over the latest two weeks – all key states were positive on Independence Day, with Total US up +21% versus the previous Monday, driven mainly by traffic (+17%).

“With the country having removed all significant COVID-19 restrictions last year, we can now more confidently compare trends directly with 2021,” said Matthew Crompton, CGA Regional Director–North America. “Last summer saw consumers returning to the On Premise in droves to make up for lost time, but a year on from that pent-up demand we’re seeing velocity matching the levels we saw in 2021.

“However, a year on it’s clear that consumer behaviors will continue to evolve – and the channels that consumers frequented pre-COVID-19 have changed, a topic we will explore in our upcoming Channel Strategy Report which will deep dive into 11 unique On Premise channels, and is designed to optimize brand strategy for unique outlet types.”

Posted in News, On-Premise | Tagged | Comments Off on Total U.S. On-Premise Dollar Velocity Up 1%, Check Value Up 7%: CGA

What We’re Reading —

Should You Really Not Drink Beer Before Liquor?

(Lifehacker video)

Turning the Tables on Cathy Huyghe

Cathy Huyghe is a writer, entrepreneur and mindfulness proponent.  She writes about the business and politics of the wine industry in her column for Forbes online. With her husband and business partner, Chris Huyghe, Enolytics was formed. (She’s the “Eno-,” he’s the “-lytics.”) She also co-creates content for wine-and-wellness site A Balanced Glass in collaboration with founder Rebecca Hopkins.   (Wine Industry Advisor)

Posted in What We're Reading | Comments Off on What We’re Reading —

Boston Beer Depletions Off 7%, Shipments Down 1.1%, Revenue Up, Net Down

Boston Beer Co. reports for the second quarter, ended June 25, depletions fell 7%, shipments eased 1.1%, net revenue increased 2.2% to $616.2 million, but net income slipped to $53.3 million, or $4.31 a share, from a year earlier.

The drop in depletions reflected decreases in Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Samuel Adams, and Dogfish Head brands, partially offset by increases in its Twisted Tea and Hard Mountain Dew brands.

Excluding the Truly declines, the Company’s depletion volumes for the remainder of its business in the second quarter increased 14%.

Shipment volume for the second quarter was approximately 2.4 million barrels, a 1.1% decrease from the prior year, reflecting decreases in the Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Samuel Adams, and Dogfish Head brands, partially offset by increases in its Twisted Tea and Hard Mountain Dew brands.

The Company believes distributor inventory as of June 25 averaged about four weeks on hand and was at an appropriate level for each of its brands except for low inventory levels for certain Truly brand packages. The Company expects distributors will keep inventory levels for the remainder of the year below 2021 levels in terms of weeks on hand.

Gross margin of 43.1% decreased from the 45.7% margin realized in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to higher materials costs and higher returns and scrap, partially offset by price increases.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses decreased $6.7 million or 4.2% from the second quarter of 2021,primarily due to a net decrease in brand investments of $11.3 million, mainly driven by lower media costs, partially offset by increased freight to distributors of $4.6 million primarily due to higher freight rates.

General and administrative expenses increased by $5.9 million or 17.9% from the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to increased salaries and benefits costs and increases in services provided by third parties.

“Over the last three years we experienced unprecedented growth in the hard seltzer category largely driven by the success of our Truly brand. I continue to be optimistic about the long-term growth outlook for Boston Beer’s diversified beverage portfolio, despite the greater than expected continuing decline in demand in the hard seltzer category that we have seen year to date. Based on our first-half performance and our view on the remainder of the year we have reduced our fiscal year 2022 volume and earnings guidance,” said Chairman and Founder Jim Koch. “Our company has strong brand building and innovation capabilities, the top selling organization in beer, and a strong balance sheet to support long term growth, even as we navigate some challenges in the near term.”

“In the second quarter we delivered revenue growth driven by pricing and strength in Twisted Tea shipments, helping us make sequential progress on gross margin and generate over $100 million of operating cash flow,” said President/CEO Dave Burwick. “We remain focused on building on the momentum of Twisted Tea and Hard Mountain Dew while we work on improving our gross margin trajectory. We’re also working to turn around the trends on Truly Hard Seltzer, starting by optimizing our core original flavors with real fruit juice. We will continue to execute against our long-term strategy of creating a broad, relevant beverage portfolio that enables many pathways to growth.”

Posted in Earnings Report, News | Tagged | Comments Off on Boston Beer Depletions Off 7%, Shipments Down 1.1%, Revenue Up, Net Down

Tanduay Sells More Than 23.7M 9-Case Liters in 2021, Is Declared World’s Number 1 Rum for 5th Consecutive Year

That’s according to Drinks International Magazine which collected annual data on 154 million-case brands from public company reports and directly requested results.

The leading Filipino rum brand, according to the results of Drinks International’s latest research, sold more than 23.7 million 9-liter cases last year. Tanduay also ranked as the sixth best-selling spirit brand in the world across all categories.

“Tanduay has stayed ahead of the game because of the diligence of the people behind it — the local farmers who harvest the heirloom sugarcane we use for our rums; the people working at our distillery bottling plants; our research and development group; and our marketing team. Together, they have continued Tanduay’s winning legacy,” said Tanduay President and COO Lucio Tan III.

Tanduay is present in 12 U.S. states and the territory of Guam; China; the United Arab Emirates; Singapore; Germany; Belgium; the Netherlands; Luxembourg; and the United Kingdom. Plans are also underway to expand distribution to Canada and Costa Rica.

 

Posted in News, Sales | Tagged | Comments Off on Tanduay Sells More Than 23.7M 9-Case Liters in 2021, Is Declared World’s Number 1 Rum for 5th Consecutive Year

Imports Now 21.9% of Total Beer in U.S. On Premise

Imports now represent 21.9% of Total Beer in U.S. on-premise dollar sales, a 1.7 percentage point increase from a year earlier, according to CGA by NielsenIQ research.

Both package and draft formats have contributed to this growth in share of the category. Import packages grew +1.3 percentage points, while Import draft grew +0.96 percentage points over the last year.

As the Total Beer category continues to stabilize and return to pre-COVID-19 numbers, Import Beer’s share demonstrates a significant impact on overall sales. A read into On Premise Total Beer shows it is up +0.86 percentage points comparing the most recent 52-week period ending in May versus the same year period ending in May of 2020.

Mexico, the fourth-largest beer-producing country in the world, represents a significant 67.6% of all Import Beer sold in the US On-Premise market. Mexican imports’ volume growth year-to-date is up significantly compared with the mid-COVID-19 period in 2021, showing +106% volume versus the same period last year. Year-to-date, Mexican imports have increased by + 26,433,313 CEs as sales in the On Premise.

While they represent a much smaller percent of total US On Premise imports, four countries also posted triple digit growth in the year to date: Argentina (+178%), Japan (+147%), Brazil (+121%) and Columbia (+118%).

The popularity of Mexican imports is reflected in CGA by Nielsen’s most recent On Premise User Survey (OPUS). Of all Import countries of origin, Mexico ranks the most likely to be ordered by respondents, with 53.8% of beer drinkers saying their beer orders come from the country. Germany (41%), Belgium (32%), and Ireland (27%) maintained the next most popular spots when it came to consumers’ likelihood of ordering.

Overall, Total Beer in the US On Premise continues to show a fairly even split between Package and Draft serves – remaining at 51% and 49% respectively, CGA found. However, further analysis of Import Beers across different channel types shows a stark contrast in how Imports are split in their respective serving formats. When assessing Draft versus Package breakdown for Total US Imports shows a split of 33% on draft and 67% in packaging.

Although Chain venues follow the Total Beer trend of a near 50/50 split of draft versus package, Independent venues show a greater divide in format. Import Beer in packaged format holds nearly 70% of share compared with 30% for draft within the Independent channel. The greatest volume for Imports is driven by package in the Independent channel, representing nearly 59% of all Import beer sold in the US On Premise. Overall, the Independent channel represents 84% of all imports sold in the On Premise, reporting nearly $7.3 billion in sales over the latest 52-week period.

Patrick Bannon, CGA Client Director, Americas, said: “As consumers continue to expand their beer repertoires, it will be intriguing to see if Mexican imports can continue to maintain their lead within the Import Beer subcategory. Suppliers should also take into consideration the venue in which their Import Beer offerings are being sold – with our research demonstrating a clear preference in Independent venues for packaged formats when it comes to Imports – while Chain venues tend to see more of a balance between the two formats. At CGA we’ll continue to explore the Beer category and how it continues to evolve through our OPM read, alongside our dedicated consumer research solutions.”

Posted in News, On-Premise, Research | Tagged | Comments Off on Imports Now 21.9% of Total Beer in U.S. On Premise

Nosotros Tequila Releases Madera Collection

Nosotros Tequila and Mezcal released Nosotros Madera, the first member of the brand’s Madera Collection, which will feature Añejo tequilas aged in unique ways.

The Nosotros Madera Collection is an ultra-premium line of unique expressions of our tequila. Drawing on the signature Nosotros tequila blend of highland and lowland agave, Madera is aged in white oak barrels for 21 months, creating a sipping experience that features a dried fruit and light butterscotch nose with a balanced cinnamon-toffee finish. Each bottle of Madera includes the unique batch number and is presented in an engraved box, perfect for adding to a true aficionado’s shelf.

With an ABV of 40%, Nosotros Madera retails for $140 USD (750 ml) and can be found in California retail stores such as Bristol Farms and select Alberstons, Vons, and Pavilions locations immediately, and on the Nosotros website.

Posted in New Products, News | Tagged | Comments Off on Nosotros Tequila Releases Madera Collection