Welcome to Happy Hour, our quick-scroll guide to the news, views and moves of the bev/alc sector. Subscribe below for the next one.
We spend all month devotedly making notes for Happy Hour – scouring news stories, listening in on LinkedIn, and keeping our feelers out for signs that things are happening.
And there’s one word we kept noting down over the last four weeks: beer.
Is it fair to say that beer has felt a little bit neglected recently? A bit like the person you sit at that awkward table at your wedding that has all the people you don’t really like but that kinda have to be there? Yeah, that guy. Sure there’s brands like Bero and Garage, but the category’s felt a bit unloved and underappreciated of late.
But is the fizz back? Off the back of rising beer sales, ABInBev just launched a whole ‘cheers to beer’ campaign. While it’s a bit schmaltzy, the sentiment is laudable. (editor’s note: as a committed old cynic, I found myself surprisingly enjoying this).
Constellation Brands announced a $100m investment for American farmers that are critical to the beer industry.
Diageo is doubling Guinness production.
And there seems to be a real groundswell of enthusiasm for lower alcohol beers, like Sierra Nevada’s Go Two IPA. (Editor’s note: we did some recent on-the-ground research for this in a very busy pub in London’s Soho, and the 2.5% Small Beer that was on tap was insanely popular).
Booze, pre-booze, post-booze
This month we also noted the growing power of a new bev/alc category: the booze condom. There’s an increasing number of brands being built around the pre-drink moment, promising to help protect our fragile, wrinkly human brains from the inevitable hangover. There’s Pre-Pear. There’s Zbiotics. And there’s UNDO – a gummy in bright pink packaging that has, quite literally, been described as a condom for the liver.
If you forget to take your pre-drinking protection that’s ok, because Brewdog’s James Watts has returned with a new brand: Fool’s Fix. It’s a fizzy electrolyte drink that allegedly helps your poor, broken, desiccated body to recover after drinking.
Lastly, and we regret to tell you this, the venture capital bros have discovered it and the kava brands are coming. Good luck everyone.
Now, enjoy our regular quick-news-scroll (and subscribe for the next one).
MONEY TALKS
-Cutwater is smashing it out the park, helping AB InBev become the fastest growing company in spirits purely on its performance alone.
Our take: Inc’s analysis is spot on. Cutwater is booze, and plenty of it, and they’re not shy about telling people that. There’s a lot to be said for straight-up brand messaging that doesn’t f about.
-LVMH has sold up its stake in Sir Davis, leaving Beyoncé to take full control of the whiskey brand. If anyone can turn around whiskey’s faltering fortunes…..
-If you want a fancy martini, head to Atlanta’s Roaring Social – which is charging an eye-watering $10k for one that arrives topped with a diamond tennis necklace, a bottle of champagne, a custom sign, and sparklers.
Our take: Is this the kind of rich person behaviour F Scott Fitzgerald warned us about?
-Sazerac just bought AU Vodka.
THE BRAND STUFF
-Diageo has made packaging mistakes, according to their new North America CEO and president, John O’Keeffe. The WSJ reports that he’s been touring the shelves and he’s realised that cheap plastic caps, inconsistent color use (not enough of Crown Royal’s “iconic deluxe purple”) and cloudy plastic are all creating subtle brand damage.
-London beer brand Two Tribes has a new look, created by agency All Purpose. Hidden in this piece is an interesting thought from the brand’s commercial director, who says drinkers are now moving away from the established craft names towards independent, local brands.
Our take: first we had the move from big beer to craft beer. Then big beer bought craft beer. Now we’re seeing a move back to craft, but really craft beer, not big beer craft beer. Got it?
-This goes into the ‘good idea that could have been better’ section. Minus 196 opened a pop-up Chiller Bar, for Londoners toiling away in this summer’s heat wave. The idea is excellent, but the execution is…well……
NEW THINGS
-Another tiny little RTD joins the gang, as Wee Smoky releases a set of canned whiskey cocktails.
-Nice Wine has a new ‘Icons’ range, and the first edition is a 9% rosé.
-Creative agency Quality Meats are building Herb Light: a THC-infused, beer-style brand, with very classic all-American packaging. Gordy Sang, the co-founder, says: “The main reason this product exists is because I wanted it selfishly just for me.” – and that’s a brand philosophy we can really get behind.
-Moët & Chandon debuted a new RTD at the US Open: Moët Ice. It’s delivered in a ball canister.
Our take: this feels like quite a large RTD after all these tiny ones. There’s been some criticism that it’s delivered in plastic packaging which also feels fair, and looking at how much detail has gone into the brand’s presence at the US Open, it’s hard not to wish they hadn’t gone for something that feels a bit less gimmicky?
-GUT HOP (yes, that’s its name) is a non-alcoholic, sparkling hop water and prebiotic fibre drink. Say that a few times after several shots of tequila.
Our take: Is there a naming crisis in the industry?
Our second take: This is playing in a lot of different lanes, and it will be interesting to see if consumers have the mental space to 1)get that and 2)choose that in a snap decision moment when they see it on shelf.
-You can get pickle vodka FROM PRINGLES?! This feels chaotic and minimally branded, in the best way.
FILE UNDER ‘WE TOLD YOU SO’
-As predicted, more Asian flavors and spirits coming to America and Europe. Sazerac is also putting money into soju.
-We said we were moving into a weird world of hybrid drinks that are sort of for fun and sort of for hydration and sort of for sport. Say hello to Sportsballer: a non-alcoholic cocktail with protein and creatine.
-Want another Frankenstein drink that mixes together a few trendy things? Hopbucha is a fermented, alcohol-free drink that’s sort of a non-alc beer and sort of a kombucha.
SOME POSITIVITY
-Diageo is going to double Guinness production by 2029, and they’ve got their eye on “growing premium beer markets” India and Brazil.
-Bacardi is going all-in on ingredients messaging for Patrón (see above), emphasising its lack of additives.
-Diageo is reformulating some of its whiskies and rums for the Indian market, after new laws around added flavors.
SOME NEGATIVITY
-Stoli Group have been a bit naughty with their pepper-infused vodka…
Our take: celebrity will get you a long way, you might make a fair bit of money off hype alone. But if we think on a longer timeline, hype doesn’t build a brand.
YOUR READING LIST
-Some sensible takes on Gen Z and drinking are finally rolling in and – praise be – this one is from a bonafide person of that generation. This is really well-written and insightful, and every single person working at a major bev brand should spend time absorbing it.
-Is bitterness the last flavor frontier? Interesting thoughts here from Yuzu Kyodai’s Sven Palys that feel very relevant for anyone running a bev brand. “Acidity, astringency, dryness, vegetal notes and medicinal aromas all create the sense of a flavour requiring attention,” he writes.
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