Carlton & United Breweries’ Post

The owner of Jack Daniel’s is cutting their workforce by 12%. Additional articles in WSJ discuss how the Bourbon Industry is also in decline and has been for several years. The wine industry pearl clutchers need to realize that it is not just about them. It is about the beverage industry.

#DYK that only 14,191 stores in #CA can sell spirits-based #RTDs, whereas over 28,000 stores can sell malt- & wine-based RTDs? It is UNFAIR to force spirits lovers to make a special trip for their fav spirits products. Tell your #CA Reps to support SB 277, to allowing spirits RTDs to be sold under the same license used for beer and wine!

Mountain Cold Refershment. 🗻 Did Coors make a mistake, or was it intentional? Here’s why I think this was a next-level campaign. I love the bold approach Molson Coors Beverage Company took in collaboration with Mischief @ No Fixed Address. Intentionally misspelling a key phrase in a campaign is a daring strategy—especially for a nationally recognized brand. While I’ve seen this tactic used effectively in short-form content for smaller audiences to boost engagement, seeing it deployed on this scale is something else entirely. For those who think this was an honest mistake: let’s break it down. When a campaign of this magnitude is in development, countless eyes are on every detail. The odds of a typo slipping through in a three-word headline? Less than 1% in my opinion. After all, once a design is approved, it has to be reformatted for various mediums—each version undergoing additional rounds of scrutiny. On top of that, Mischief is known for their creative and calculated marketing strategies; they’re experts at sparking national interest. But let’s set all that aside and focus on how they responded to people pointing out the so-called mistake. They apologized by cleverly claiming they had a “case of the Mondays.” Within just two days of the campaign’s release, they introduced a mocked-up product called Monday Light, paired with messaging about a limited-time release for the “Monday after the Big Game.” Now, I don’t know about you, but getting a product approved, mocked up, and production-ready in under 48 hours is no small feat. My guess? This idea was born in a boardroom during a brainstorming session for the "Big Game" marketing (look into the NFL's history of lawsuits around using Super Bowl in your advertising for a fun rabbit hole). “A case of the Mondays” probably started as a playful concept—but how do you make it cut through the noise on a national scale? That was the question that Mischief had to deliver on for their brand. They executed it so convincingly that people genuinely believed it was a mistake, followed by an exceptional recovery. That’s what makes this campaign so brilliant—it turned a calculated move into a moment that felt authentic, spontaneous, and fun. And pulling that off? That’s the hardest part. And if I'm wrong and they did make a mistake, all the more power to them. Because that means they truly did play off the mistake so well that it looked planned in my eyes. 👏 Bonus: Mischief recently announced their partnership with JCPenney. Be on the lookout for content on social or in the news about their brand in the next few quarters. I wonder if they will capitalize on the company's 1980s photoshoots or try something more novel. Maybe they will misspell their name as "JCPenny." 🤷♂️ What do you think would be a winning campaign for JCPenney?

Fever-Tree has announced the appointment of Hancocks Wine, Spirits, and Beer Merchants as its exclusive distributor in New Zealand. Andre Browne, Fever-Tree Country Manager NZ, said: “We look forward to partnering with such a powerhouse in the New Zealand drinks industry. We’re excited to join Hancocks on this journey of delivering better drinks to Kiwis across a multitude of occasions.” Joe Jakicevich, Owner and Managing Director of Hancocks, echoed these sentiments: “We are delighted to partner with Fever-Tree, a brand synonymous with quality and innovation. This exclusive partnership allows us to bring their outstanding range to New Zealand, offering Kiwis the best mixers to complement their favourite premium spirits.” The announcement marks the conclusion of a successful partnership between Fever-Tree and Thirsty Camel Ltd (a joint venture of Campari Group) spanning over 10 years. The partnership was ended mutually. Fever-Tree would like to thank everyone within the Thirsty Camel Campari organisation who contributed to the brand’s success. The final order date with TCL is 24th January. The final delivery date with TCL is the week ending 31st January. Damages/credits for TCL deliveries will be accepted until the week ending 31st January. All customer communications and claims after 26th January should be directed to sales@hancocks.co.nz or 0800-699-463.

Diageo ‘better get brewing’, says Wetherspoons head amid Guinness shortage Source: FT (Industry News Update) December 18, 2024 The head of JD Wetherspoon has told Diageo to “get brewing”, as pub chains expressed frustration at the drinks group over shortages of Guinness in the run-up to Christmas. Sir Tim Martin, Wetherspoons founder and chair, said he would be having “a stern word” with Diageo as his pub chain struggles to get enough Guinness at some of its near-800 sites in the UK and Ireland. “I think someone at Guinness has made a mistake . . . since we’ve worked with them for so long, we intend to forgive them. But they better get brewing,” he said, claiming that Wetherspoons is the biggest global seller of Guinness on tap with 25mn pints a year. Admiral Taverns and Amber Taverns also told the Financial Times that they were experiencing shortages of Guinness on tap after a period of unprecedented demand and castigated Diageo for not foreseeing the supply squeeze. Diageo earlier this month placed limits on how much pubs could buy, citing “exceptional consumer demand”. The limits apply to pubs in England, Wales and Scotland but not those in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The stout’s popularity has boomed over the past 18 months, driven by younger drinkers and women. Demand has also been fuelled by social media and the growing popularity of Guinness 0.0, the non-alcoholic version. Martin said Guinness had been a “very reliable supplier” for the no-frills pub chain for 45 years, and that he could not recall them running out before. Wetherspoons is currently preparing for a shortage by stocking up on real ales he added. Admiral Taverns was also critical with chief executive Chris Jowsey saying it had not received any Guinness supply from its distributor since last Wednesday. Some of its almost 1,600 pubs are already completely out of stock, he added. “I don’t understand why they can’t make a sufficient [volume] . . . My understanding is there’s no shortage of Guinness in Ireland, which is where it’s made. So it sounds as if they are supplying the Irish market, but not the English market,” he said. Admiral serves other stouts, such as Camden Stout, Genesis and Murphy’s, as Guinness alternatives and Jowsey said demand for these had increased. He does not expect to receive any Guinness this week. James Baer, chief executive at Amber Taverns, said about 10 per cent of its nearly 180 pubs have already run out of Guinness on tap. The chain has been told by its distributor that it could have “less than half” of what they are normally supplied. “It does reflect the success of Guinness but it’s also poor of Diageo not to have fully responded to that success in terms of supply,” he said. In a rare bright spot during its full-year trading update in July, the group had noted that an 18 per cent rise in global net beer sales had been driven largely by Guinness, compared with a group sales decline of 1.4 per cent.

Awesome! Plain and simple.

Beer Market - Guinness is not for sale, says Diageo Diageo says it has 'no intention' of offloading the brand. Strong Performance: In fiscal 2024, Guinness grew volumes and sales in most markets, including the US and Europe: outperforming many other of Diageo’s brands. In Europe, for example, beer net sales grew 18%, driven primarily by Guinness. In the US, net sales of Guiness were up 6%. #beer #divestment #sout #beerindustry #beermarket #diageo #guiness

So what’s happening in the on trade in terms of beer, cider and Softs? Well according to CGA Data, beer, cider and Softs continue to outperform all other categories, that said value sales have declined year over year as current rate of sale have not matched the levels of last years Rugby World Cup. In the last 12 weeks total drinks are down-2.7% versus LY. Whilst value is marginally up. Distribution and volume are both down. Wine and Spirts are both in decline. Stout is leading the way up 21% in value and 17% in volume. No Low is also considerably outperforming the market at 43% and 38% respectively. In terms of regions the NE is performing strongly as well as Central and South West. In terms of channels, managed and IFT lead the way over L&T. Drinking pubs are driving growth, with eating pubs and late night showing discrete growth. Premiumisation is still a thing with world beers driving the volume whilst standard lagers across all the brewers portfolio show strong decline. So not all doom and gloom, but clearly we’ve not been helped by the budget, which will add significant cost to our trade. Let’s hope for good weather heading into to the key Christmas trading period, no train strikes, floods or snow that will impact our consumers spending time in our on trade venues. LWC Drinks #ontrade#pubs#bars#restaurants#hotels#hospitality#

Balancing demand and supply, even in the beer supply chain, is a skill that is never easy to master. "The challenges for Guinness are rooted in its success rather than setbacks. The combination of increased consumer interest and the holiday season has created a perfect storm for its supply chain. While pubs are navigating these order limits, Diageo does its best to ensure the stout remains a festive staple. The company’s ability to adapt quickly to supply chain pressures will be crucial. Weekly stock allocation helps prioritise equitable distribution, but it also underlines how finely tuned beer supply chains need to be." #supplychain #demandnsupply #beersupplychain #supplychaindigital

It is understood that the nature of the shortages relates to the patchwork way Guinness is distributed to pubs across the UK … Hence, lies the problem. Hence, the ‘Guinness shortage’. Guinness has had to raid its Irish reserves to meet the growing thirst for the drink in Britain, with demand for the drink even outstripping the St. Patrick's Day's peak. Demand for the stout has been steadily growing in recent years but a shrewd social media campaign by Diageo aimed at younger people, coupled with “splitting the G” — a drinking game in which the first sip has to leave the line between foam and beer in the middle of the letter G on the glass — has fueled demand. Shouldn’t Guinness be so lucky. Source: The Times Because sometimes you wanna’ go … “… where people know, people are all the same, And they're always glad you came … You wanna’ go where everybody knows your name.” — theme from ‘Cheers’ (née Sláinte!) Cheers!🥂 #Guinness #Stout #Britain #Ireland #Beer #CraftBeer #Wine #Spirits #Liquor #BevAlc #Pub #Bar #Tavern #Alehouse #Cantina #Brasserie #Speakeasy #PublicHouse #Saloon #HonkyTonk ✦✦✦ Stephen Carter King Cheers! Chief of Growth, Marketing, and Strategy Market Analyst for Beer, Craft Beer, Wine & Spirits using global market trends, insights, and outlooks • CEO of Cheers! a Sláinte! Co. ☘️