Dear Client: The US craft spirits market saw normalizing growth in 2022. After double-digit growth in ’21, craft spirits sales were up 5.3% to $7.9 billion and up 6.1% to 14 million 9L cases in 2022, according to the annual Craft Spirits Data Project. That’s an estimated market share of 4.9% in volume and 7.7% … Continue reading “US Craft Spirits Post Growth in ’22 Despite “Challenging Year””

Dear Client:After quite a bit of back and forth in the courts across multiple lawsuits, Diageo and Sean “Diddy” Combs have “agreed to resolve all disputes between them,” per a joint statement released yesterday. HOW WE GOT HERE. Last year Diddy filed a lawsuit against Diageo alleging that the company did not support brands backed by … Continue reading “Diageo v. Diddy Saga Ends; Diageo Now Fully Owns DeLeon Tequila”

Dear Client: Recent data reports have shown a deceleration in growth for premium+ agave products. But Tequila Komos is bucking that trend.  Indeed, Komos was one of the only ultra-luxury ($100+) tequilas among the top 5 that has consistently grown year over year throughout 2023, with sales up 28% in 2023 in NielsenIQ-measured channels. Comparatively, … Continue reading “Tequila Komos Leading the Ultra-Luxury Tequila Segment”

Dear Client: With a new year comes new predictions. Your editors peered into our crystal ball to see what to expect for the year ahead.In no particular order, here are our industry predictions for 2024. AMERICAN SINGLE MALT DESIGNATION. The wheels of government turn slow, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is … Continue reading “What’s in Store for ’24”

Dear Client: In 2023, RTDs kept the overall spirits category afloat. With spirits RTDs, total off-premise spirits grew 2.7% in value and 5% in volume, according to NielsenIQ data. Excluding RTDs, spirits sales were flat and volumes were down 2.2%.   Our colleagues at sister publication Beer Business Daily recently tapped Dave Williams, president of Bump … Continue reading “The Current Spirits RTD Landscape: Top Brands and Rising Stars”

Dear Client: This week the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) released the results of a survey the organization conducted in partnership with Morning Consult taking a look at alcohol shipping practices as well as consumer sentiment and direct-to-consumer purchasing behaviors.  The survey contacted over 2,200 US adults during a three-day period in August … Continue reading “WSWA Survey Points to DTC Shipping Concerns”

Dear Client: In 2023, total bev alc off-premise sales grew 1.1% to $89.8 billion, according NielsenIQ’s 2023 Year in Review report.   There were “significant trends” last year that impacted bev alc off-premise performance, including changes in shopper behaviors, the increasing popularity of spirits-based RTDs and non-alc options, the emergence of LDA gen Zers, and premiumization.  … Continue reading “NIQ: Trends that Shaped 2023 Off-Premise Performance”

Dear Client: While we work on our industry predictions for 2024, your editors took a look back on our 2023 predictions to see how we did. PREDICTION. We think premium rum is poised to take off in 2023 due to increasing consumer interest and investment in the category from big suppliers like Brown-Forman and Diageo. … Continue reading “A Look Back at 2023 Predictions: How’d We Do?”

Dear Client: Constellation Brands reported 1% net sales growth for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, ended November 30. That growth was largely driven by the beer business, which reported 4% net sales growth and 8.2% depletion growth. Meanwhile, Constellation’s wine and spirits business did not experience the  second-half turnaround they previously projected, with … Continue reading “STZ Significantly Lowers W&S Guidance after Headwinds Prove Stronger than Expected”

Dear Client: Constellation Brands announced this evening that current president of the wine and spirits business Robert Hanson is stepping down from his role, effective February 29. The company is now on the hunt for a successor. In the meantime, Constellation chief Bill Newlands will lead the wine and spirits business in addition to his existing … Continue reading “Constellation W&S President Stepping Down”

Dear Client: Beam Suntory-owned premixed cocktail brand On the Rocks has been growing like gangbusters and continues to be a key part of the company’s RTD strategy. OTR grew 47% last year, surpassing 600,000 9L cases in depletions through October 2023, according to Beam’s managing director of RTDs Heather Boyd.  “And we’ve expanded our presence … Continue reading “A Closer Look at Beam’s RTD Strategy”

Dear Client: Before your editors took a break for the holidays, we published a look at what macro trends big spirits suppliers expect to see in 2024 [see WSD 12-21-2023]. Today, we’ll cover top drinks trends for the New Year from a different perspective.  Drizly surveyed 1,000 LDA adults asking what beverages they plan to … Continue reading “Survey: What Consumers Plan to Drink in 2024”

Dear Client: With a new year comes new resolutions, and for many that includes drinking less – at least for the month of January.  WhistlePig Whiskey has a slightly different solution for those going dry (or damp) this month. The distillery announced yesterday the launch of a limited edition Dank & Dry Old Fashioned cocktail.  … Continue reading “WhistlePig Rings in the New Year with Non-Alc Terpene Cocktail Launch”

Dear Client: It’s that time of the year, when we look back on the experiences of the year behind us and look ahead with projections for the year to come. Two top spirits suppliers, Diageo and Bacardi, recently released in-depth reports providing insight into macro trends impacting consumer behavior in 2023 and beyond.  THE METHODOLOGY. … Continue reading “Big Spirits Suppliers Take a Look into the Future”

Dear Client: The number of M&A deals across the bev alc industry continued to accelerate in 2023. Your editors tallied up a total of 76 deals across the wine and spirits industry – that’s about six more deals than last year.  Below we’ve broken down this year’s M&A activity between supplier deals, distributor deals, retailer … Continue reading “A Look Back on 2023 M&A Activity”