Darigold’s Post

🚀 Exciting News: Sprecher's Journey from a Regional Gem to a National Contender! 🌟 What a remarkable transformation for Sprecher Brewing Co., the craft beverage company that's taking on giants like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. 🥤 🌐 From Local Roots to National Ambitions: Sprecher's story is an inspiring testament to the power of passion, innovation, and perseverance. Starting as a beloved regional soda brand in Glendale, Wisconsin, they've set their sights on the national stage. 🌈 Crafting a Unique Identity: Sprecher has captivated consumers with its commitment to quality and innovation. With a wide range of unique and flavorful craft sodas, they've built a dedicated fan base that values authenticity and taste. 🌍 Expanding Horizons: Sprecher has been strategically expanding its distribution networks, making its delicious products available to a broader audience. Their partnership with key retailers and restaurants is a testament to their ambition to bring their craft sodas to every corner of the nation. 🤝 Community & Sustainability: Beyond business, Sprecher has maintained its commitment to community involvement and sustainability. Their values-driven approach resonates with consumers who appreciate brands that make a positive impact. 📈 The Future Looks Fizzy: Sprecher's journey from a regional soda brand to a national contender is an inspiring example of how small players can disrupt industry giants. They are proof that innovation, dedication, and a focus on quality can propel a brand to new heights. Join me in applauding Sprecher Brewing Co. as they persist in their remarkable journey of expansion and evolution.. 🥂🎉 Feel free to share thoughts below! #SprecherBrewing #CraftSoda #Innovation #Sustainability #Growth #BusinessTransformation #LocalToNational #DisruptingGiants

These are our retail partners for the 2024 Foodpreneurs Festival and we couldn’t be happier at having them all on board! From incredible new partners, Mr Vitamins, Vic's Meat, Hill Street Grocer, The TJX Companies, Inc. and Supabarn; to old favourites, David Jones Food, The Natural Grocery Company (Flannerys, Kunara Organic Marketplace and @fundiewholefoodmarket), Supamart and Panetta Mercato, together represent 4000+ stockists both around the country and overseas. These buyers are actively looking for new products to stock, making this is a HUGE opportunity for you to save time and money by getting your product seen by one, or multiple retailers, all in one day*. But be quick as pitch submissions close at 5pm AET on 7th May. Don't miss your chance to connect with major retailers and get a year’s worth of sales and promotion opportunities in one day: 1. Grab your ticket to the Foodpreneurs Festival here if you haven’t already: https://bit.ly/3wrkg6N 2. Head to our website's "Apply to Pitch" page here: https://lnkd.in/gFBAu6-W 3. Submit your application*. 4. Wait to hear from us whether your pitch application has been successful. 5. Head to our FAQs page here: https://bit.ly/3IQBkFO to learn more about pitching at the event (including what to bring on the day and how brands are selected to pitch) *Submission does guarantee your application will be looked at and your product assessed for suitability by buyers but does not guarantee you a pitch time slot. See Foodpreneurs Festival website for details.

Attention Beverage CEOs, Founders, and Brands: Are you considering venturing into the Non-Alcoholic or Hemp Infused Beverage Sectors? Do you believe you need an edge beyond your industry peers? With a cumulative experience of over 150 years in the beverage realm, our team stands ready to guide you. Engage in a personalized conversation with a seasoned Beverage industry CEO who can provide insights tailored to your specific needs. Uncertain if this opportunity aligns with your goals? Take the first step – DM for a complimentary consultation with DOUGLAS FULTON to explore the possibilities. There's nothing to lose, and potentially, everything to gain. Here are a few examples of brands we work with at The Brand Accelerator - Emergent Beverage: #Calexo - BevNet Winner "Best Brand" 2023 #Long Coast #Drinkin Buds #Boldt Tea #Elevado #Lark https://lnkd.in/gKUDhPbQ

🗞️What’s new this week with CPG brands? Let’s celebrate the wins from emerging brands! 🛒 RETAIL ROLLOUTS 🌱 Lil Bucks and Emily Griffith make a splash at Sprouts Farmers Market nationwide, testing the waters with Clusterbucks for a potential shelf spot. 🍪 Spritzal Cookie Company, co-founded by Taylor Elizabeth Walker debuts in 1,220 Kroger locations across the East Coast and Texas. 🥧 Aunt Ethel’s Pot Pies by Sasha Millstein expands its comforting reach to all Foxtrot locations in DC, Chicago, and Austin. 🌾Ms. P’s Gluten Free and is now selling their granola at Vintage Market in Malibu, CA and their first Fresh Thyme location in Chicago. 🚀 NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH 🍄 Aunt Ethel’s Pot Pies introduces 'Shrooms Gone Wild,' a new flavor featuring a rich medley of wild mushrooms, cream, and herbs. 💸 INVESTMENTS AND ACQUISITIONS ❄️ Seal the Seasons, co-founded by Alejandro (Alex) Piasecki secures a loan from Whole Foods Market to boost supply chains for locally grown frozen produce. 🍪 Mmmly, the indulgent yet nutritious cookie brand founded by Nicholas Naclerio, kicks off a Wefunder equity campaign aiming for nationwide shelf presence. Read more about this week’s news here: https://lnkd.in/dm6F6EH4 Have a story to share? Let me know in the comments or DM me! #cpg #foodandbeverage #news

Gallo's strategic investment in Montucky Cold Snacks highlights a valuable lesson for brands across all categories: Success is not solely about product quality—it’s about your brand’s identity and execution. As someone seasoned in working to build winning brands, I’ve witnessed firsthand what successful strategies look like in the beverage industry. It’s one thing to preach these strategies; it’s another to see them in action by a brand that continues to excel. "Montucky co-founder Chad Zeitner admits it’s not the liquid in the cans that has put his business on a rocket trajectory of growth. The beer has to be “good and consistent,” he says, but Montucky’s success is predicated on “who we are as a company … the fun, carefree vibe we portray.” Too often, ego can cloud our judgement and set us on the wrong path. Humility will set you free and lead you to success. The liquid has to be good enough, but it is not what creates a winning brand. Your brand message, the branding, the brand plan and the market execution are what make winning brands. It's not rocket science, it's just hard work. Success is no accident. https://lnkd.in/e2kAhUNH

As many know by now, yesterday, Sazerac announced that it would acquire the hot, multi-base, distinctly spherical shaped RTD brand, @BuzzBallz. Talk about a multi-hyphenate: Founder Merrilee Kick has the only woman-owned owned distillery, winery and brewery combo in the United States. As we reported this morn via our Wine & Spirits Daily sister pub, BuzzBallz spirit-based cocktails are consistently growing double digits in Circana-measured channels, up nearly 30% in the latest week to March 10. We’ve been saying all along that more brands should do exactly what this brand has – forge their own category with truly differentiated packaging. Not as easy as it sounds, of course. The downside is that lacking a “plug and play” format can be challenging (to break into retail infrastructure). The giant potential upside, however, is cutting the line to consumer awareness and loyalty in an age of so much clutter. Brands that have made the approach work for them include Red Bull (the first to popularize slim cans), 5 Hour Energy (whatever you call that format), BeatBox (one of the few/first bev alc single serve Tetras), Clase Azul (whose bottles double as fine art). Note that most of those brands are c-store and single serve centric. Speaking of c-stores, from the Sazerac side, it obviously offers a new way to build out their convenience presence (like they’ve been doing with Fireball). It’s also notable that trendy BuzzBallz seems a very different kind of acquisition for the whiskey-centric company, which in the last 10 years has been acquiring for a decisively different demographic: They’ve purchased Canadian Mist, Paul Masson and Southern Comfort, for example. (Fun fact, I was introduced to Southern Comfort right out of college, when my dad bought me a bottle. Sometimes it was the only thing to eat in my apartment. So, I drank it sometimes.) More in tomorrow's BBD. 

In the cauliflower-filled plant-based crust category, Banza™ presents a compelling alternative. 🛑 However, they recognize that leading with Chickpeas isn't the ideal packaging design strategy. 🍕 Instead, Banza™ strikes a balance by emphasizing its brand recognition while captivating consumers with an appetite-stimulating visual that rivals traditional pizza. 🔊 The rear panel shifts its focus from branding to highlighting the novel ingredient. 🖋️ To address potential reservations about garbanzo, they reinforce the product's desirability with enticing language that aligns with the pizza image. 🎯 With a well-executed marketing strategy, this design will undoubtedly invite people from various walks of life into product trial. 🔻⁠🔻🔻⁠ ⁠ 📰 Sign up for the SmashReport to receive data-first category insights, thought leadership from our team, and more! Hit the Link ➡️ http://eepurl.com/il2IEE⁠ ⁠ 🔔 Want more tips here on LinkedIn? Hit the bell at the top of our company page to be notified every time we publish helpful CPG insights 🔔⁠ #branddevelopment #brandstrategy #CPG #FMCG #branding

DON’T apply to the Whole Foods Market accelerator program!!! ....until you have articulated these things I analyzed the brands selected for the program in 2023. Each and every one had an element or multiple elements of the following: 1. A mission of sustainability or accessibility that they're actually executing on ↳ shār is all about sharing & the earth, with 100% plastic free packaging ↳ SINTO GOURMET LLC is all about making truly authentic Korean products accessible (and in an easy to ship layflat packaging not typical of the Kimchi category) 2. A simple to understand but a truly differentiated product innovation that you just feel *cool* to know about ↳ Funky Mello is the marshmallow whip from your childhood, but with aquafaba ↳ Uncle Waithleys Beverage Company is an extra spicy ginger beer with Scotch Bonnet Pepper! 3. A product that MOST people find utterly delicious ↳ Like, have you tried Evergreen? They're waffles made with veggies but taste like carrot cake. ↳ Darë Vegan Cheese has a cult following from local farmers markets 4. And pre-existing investments, awards, and/or distribution into regional chain retail ↳ Myles Comfort Foods was in all Nugget Market, Inc. stores. ↳ shār was a Good Foods Award Winner and was well-distributed in Austin, TX ↳ Painterland Sisters is already in over 2,000 doors in 49 states ____ So, don't submit the application for Whole Foods Market QUITE YET. Check yourself. Take the time to build this stuff out. And btw, there are two kinds of cohorts: On the Verge & Early Growth. This "proof" listed above will apply to both, in different ways. Yes, it's complicated when you're so close to your own business, but I'm here to help if you need. But it you DO have these elements. APPLY, kill it, and send me a DM when you make it into the 2024 Early Growth cohort. Deadline is April 19. (https://lnkd.in/eJANpzhQ) #wholefoods #cpgbrands #cpg #retailentry #retailstrategy

I want to have a discussion with my food and beverage professional contacts. Why? Why is Anheuser-Busch selling off these brands? Focus on Core Competencies? Debt Reduction? Investment Reallocation? Simplification of Business? Strategic Repositioning? Performance Metrics Improvement? Risk Mitigation? Market Trends? Brand Image? Shareholder Value? In essence, selling off profitable brands in the face of losses from another brand is often a strategic decision aimed at optimizing the company's resources, improving financial health, and positioning it for long-term growth and success. What are your thoughts on this industry news? Why are they doing this now? #foodandbeverageindustry #beverageindustry #foodandbeverage #abinbev #tilray #foodnews https://lnkd.in/g7uM6nf7

In the world of brewing giants, few names carry as much weight as Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). With a brewing legacy dating back more than 600 years to the Den Hoorn brewery in Belgium, the company boasts a diverse portfolio of over 500 beer and malt beverage products. Recognizable brands like Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck's, and Michelob Ultra and a 50-country footprint have cemented AB InBev's stature as a global behemoth. Nevertheless, the recent marketing collaboration between AB InBev’s Bud Light brand and 26-year-old transgender actress and influencer Dylan Mulvaney has shaken the company. The April 2023 campaign, aimed at revitalizing the brand, faced significant backlash primarily from conservative consumers and right-leaning media, who perceived it as endorsing "radical social ideologies" and called for a Bud Light boycott. The consequences were swift and harsh, with sales for Bud Light plummeting in May and June by 23% and 28%, respectively, compared to year-ago periods. AB InBev reported a 10.5% drop in second quarter North American revenue, primarily due to Bud Light's struggles. Adding insult to injury, Bud Light relinquished its top-selling U.S. beer title to Modelo Especial, distributed by Constellation Brands in the U.S., whose sales surged 9.2% during the same period. However, AB InBev's overall second-quarter revenue showed resilience, with a 7.2% increase compared to the previous year, spearheaded by robust growth in China. To address the declining sales and restore trust, AB InBev initiated several constructive measures: ·       Offering financial support to its wholesalers and fuel cost reimbursement for distributors. ·       Investing in partnerships with major sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, as well as the music industry in light of independent survey input from 170,000 consumers. ·       Implementing a workforce reduction of 350 corporate employees, equivalent to 2% of its U.S. workforce, as a cost-cutting measure. AB InBev’s challenges serve as a stark reminder of the complex, often unforgiving modern consumer landscape and extraordinary efforts required to rebuild trust and sales. To its credit, AB InBev has been masterful in executing its plan to bounce back through financial support to wholesalers, refocusing on consumer preferences, and cost cutting. And in a show of confidence that AB InBev will remain a formidable force in the brewing industry, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust purchased a 0.1% stake (1.7 million shares) in AB InBev valued at $95 million in June. One Page Thinking extends gratitude to the incomparable duo of Anthony Carrano and Adam Rosen for their contributions to the accompanying diagrams of the business ecosystem of AB InBev and an overview of the U.S. food and beverage supply chain: https://lnkd.in/ejyTbY_C #OnePageThinking #anheuserbusch