Ashley Costa’s Post

The beverage industry is witnessing a remarkable trend reshaping consumer preferences and investment landscapes: the rise of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails. A standout moment underscoring this shift is the recent acquisition of Buzzballz, LLC / Southern Champion, an award-winning, rapidly growing RTD portfolio, by Sazerac Company.   Founded in 2009 from Merrilee Kick's master's thesis, BuzzBallz has carved a niche with its spherical, uniquely flavored, and ready-to-serve cocktails. As a woman-owned and family-operated entity, its journey from an academic project to an international sensation is incredible. With hundreds of global awards, BuzzBallz's innovation has set new benchmarks in the RTD space.   This strategic partnership with Sazerac not only highlights the increasing appeal of RTD products but also signals a significant trend in the M&A landscape. Sazerac's move to acquire BuzzBallz, blending a strong spirits portfolio with a unique, pre-mixed RTD array, marks a pivotal moment for the industry. It's a testament to the growing consumer demand for convenience, quality, and innovation in their beverage choices. This acquisition reflects a more significant movement where traditional spirits companies are keenly eyeing innovative RTD brands to diversify their offerings and meet evolving consumer tastes. #mergersandacquisitions #investmentbanking #innovation #foodandbeverage

We did a launch event for our whisky ‘Dot’ and 'Alvin' during the Covid-19 pandemic. No points for guessing that it was an extremely challenging terrain to navigate but we managed to get through it. Here are some challenges we faced (besides the pandemic itself) and invaluable learnings we gained along the way: 🥃 One of the prominent challenges was the absence of the intended L1 owners at our event. We realised that these individuals were prominent businessmen who have limited availability and were unlikely to attend random launch parties, no matter how big they are. This made us reassess our approach to engage with key stakeholders 🥃 There was lack of proper distribution on liquor vends. This meant that potential customers who wanted to buy our product were unable to do so and reached out to us via Facebook. This made us realise that having a robust distribution network in place ensuring accessibility and availability is important before announcing the official launch of the product 🥃 We realised that our resources including money, time and efforts could have been allocated more effectively. For instance, giving out discounts to L1 owners might have yielded more fruitful results as compared to resources used on the launch event. This underscores the importance of strategic resource allocation and prioritizing the right things at the right time. Ultimately, our experience navigating these challenges during such unprecedented times has equipped us with invaluable learnings that will undoubtedly reflect in our future endeavors.  . . . . #vkmliquor #dotwhisky #LiquorIndustryInsights #learnings #Whisky #whiskyculture #launch #distribution #liquordistribution

“The battle between low and no”… In cinemas from August 3rd! Not really, but this is a fantastic digital publication of a piece in The Spirits Business magazine in February. What is so exciting, is the breadth of innovation and creativity outlined, from new brands entering the category to existing brands creating no & Low versions of themselves. Our HoM John Logue even gets a mention, highlighting CROSSIP’s versatility when it comes to not only zero alcoholic serves but the endless space of lower alc drinks. It's worth a read we say, what do you think? #crossip #crossipdrinks #CGA #insight #deseasonlisation #salesgrowth #ontrade #UKontrade #nonalcoholic #lowandno #nonalc #nonalcaholicdrink #nonalcaholicbeer #nonalcaholicdrinks #founderlead #dryjan #dryjanuary #categorygrowth #investment #angleinvestment #growth #FMGC #NPD #News

Distribution is an immovable challenge founders face getting their drinks brand out there into the world. Typically, the distribution of alcoholic drinks in the US follows a tiered process broken down into 3 stages: 1. Producer (distiller, importers, private label brands) 2. Distributor or Wholesaler 3. Retailer (off- and on-premise) A system that’s not without its challenges but keeps drinks landing onto shelves and into consumers’ hands. Throw a new category into the mix, like Non Alcoholic Drinks, and questions arise. In the first seminar of our No & Low series with Derek Brown, he’ll be diving into the opportunities for non-alc to explore other routes to market. We’ll be sharing: 👉 Insights into how non-alcoholic spirits can enhance your program and profitability. 👉 Tips on where and how to purchase non-alcoholic spirits effectively. 👉 Pros and cons of each distribution method. 👉 Guidance on selecting the best distribution source for your program. Joining him for this free 1-hour live discussion is an incredible panel of speakers from the world of No & Low ⤵️ 🗣️ Stephanie Burke, Regional Sales Manager of Free Spirits and Owner of Lenny's Hideaway. 🗣️ Darryl Collins, Owner of Hopscotch Non-Alcoholic Bottle Shop 🗣️Tom Halaska, National Sales Director at Ritual Zero Proof 🗣️Jules Briant, Director of Trade Marketing at Distill Ventures If you’re a founder, buyer or product owner navigating the fast-changing world of non-alcoholic spirits, attendance may not be mandatory but it is heavily advised 👏. Get your space booked; there will be time for Q&A ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/e-VCvg_u #nonalcoholic #alcoholfree #nonalc #drinksindustry #distributor #distribution #buyer #productowner #founder

🍋 Yellow is the new Orange 🍊 Yellow meaning Allora (drinks), Orange meaning Aperol 👀 This week's guest on HUNGRY is Dom Dalton, Co-Founder of Allora, the first brand in a long time to give Aperol a good run for their money. Real lemons, 100% natural ingredients, lower sugar content... a delicious taste, genius! ON THE MENU: 🍸 Unique selling points in crowded categories are a waste of time: “look for BIG one brand spaces and just do the opposite” 🍸 How Allora tapped into the semiotics of Aperol: “Yellow vs. Orange” and “Allora” vs “Aperol” 🍸 Why “Product” differentiation is easier vs “Brand” differentiation to create a wide brand moat 🍸 The ying & yang of operations: “the danger of co-manufacturers” + “Highest possible service, lowest possible cost” 🍸 How to go from championship “Founder” founder to champions league “Operator” 🍸 Champions League Operator: Find the fastest path to true gross margin = less promotions, less media, less logistics 🍸 Why Aperol shot themselves in the foot using Prosecco 🍸 Why Allora only need to sell half the units to match Aperol revenue 🔥 AND SO MUCH MORE! Want to listen? 🎧 The links are in the comments below! 👇

This is easily one of the most interesting and exciting spaces in beverage alcohol right now, from a business standpoint at least. Coca-Cola is leveraging IP first and foremost, while largely sticking to its own core strengths for its in-house efforts. Pepsi, meanwhile, attempted vertical integration and control of its distribution. That's generally the more powerful strategy in the long term, but also ran afoul a variety of challenges on the basis of the three-tier system, and the risk to their production partners applied additional pressure to back off. It'll be interesting to see where this all lands in the coming months and years

Why Is Heineken Investing in Hard Seltzer Brand Stelz? Uncover the Strategic Acquisition #Heineken #Stelz #HardSeltzer #StrategicAcquisition #BeverageIndustry #MarketGrowth #DrinkTrends #SeltzerMarket #IndustryInsights #InnovativeDrinks

What’s Behind Uncle Nearest’s Acquisition of Square One Vodka? Explore the Strategic Move #UncleNearest #SquareOneVodka #AcquisitionNews #SpiritsIndustry #MarketExpansion #VodkaLovers #StrategicGrowth #BusinessInsights #SpiritsTrends #PremiumSpirits

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO PORTFOLIO I am often heard saying “if you focus on satisfying consumer needs, customer missions and shopper journeys price becomes less of a deciding factor.” This is a perfect example of that philosophy. For years many manufacturers resisted creating cross-category tie-ins. A number of justifications were given as to why, the most rational of which was that ‘the likely sales wouldn’t justify the required space on retailer shelves.’ The justifications though do not change the fact that there is a consumer need or a customer mission to satisfy. The great thing about digital commerce is that it is possible to launch niche products and build a scalable and sustainable market for them. Here is an example of exactly that from The Coca-Cola Company Customers mix #coke , Sprite and other drinks with vodka, rum, bourbon and other spirits. If they do it themselves then there is likely to be a market for pre-made drinks, that can (potentially) be priced at a premium. The premium is justified by the convenience, by the pack format, by the hybrid nature of the product and by the combined quality of both ‘mixed’ products. Customers that buy this product won’t be doing so because of price. They will buy because their consumer needs and customer missions and shopper journeys are being met. #digitalcommerce #ecommerce #retail #cpg #cpgindustry #cpgbrands #fmcg #fmcgproducts #fmcgindustry #digital #strategy #digitalstrategy

www.cpgconnect.ca/news: Flow Beverage Corp. has entered into a manufacturing agreement with BeatBox Beverages whereby Flow will manufacture and package BeatBox’s line of Party Punch alcoholic beverages. The Agreement has a term of five years, with commitments for BeatBox to purchase certain minimum annual volumes which, in the aggregate, equate to approximately $115 million in revenue over the life of the agreement. https://lnkd.in/g5rKw4AQ www.cpgconnect.ca/news follows Consumer Goods and Retail News. To stay current, you can create News Alerts by Category. Membership is free. #FlowBeverage #CPG #ConsumerGoods #FMCG #FastMovingConsumerGoods #Retail #News #CPGConnectNews