Monthly Archives: August 2017

The Secret Sauce in Acquiring a Craft Distiller? Balance

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Donna Whitaker

“The secret sauce is that you need to balance between size and scale to maintain a direct connection with consumers” PwC’s Akshat Dubey and Rakesh Mani told us.  Obviously, the distillery needs a taproom, but not just to serve its … Continue reading →

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Who & What –

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Donna Whitaker

Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, Ala., hired Lara Sailer Long as its VP-Director of Brand Strategy.  She joins from Pebble Beach Food & Wine, where she was executive wine director.

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Study Finding Huge Jump in Alcoholism May Have Been Seriously Flawed

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Donna Whitaker

Last week, multiple media outlets, including the Washington Post and Bloomberg, — but not Kane’s Beverage News Daily —  reported on a study in JAMA Psychiatry that had an alarming finding: The rate of alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) in the … Continue reading →

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F.Y.I.–

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Donna Whitaker

Eating Habits Affect Skin’s Protection Against Sun Sunbathers may want to avoid midnight snacks before catching some rays. A study in mice from the O’Donnell Brain Institute and UC Irvine shows that eating at abnormal times disrupts the biological clock … Continue reading →

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What’s Driving Acquisition of Craft Distillers? Fear. What Big – and Small – Distillers Need to Consider in the M&A Dance

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Joel Whitaker

Large distilled spirits companies have looked at what’s happened in the beer space and vowed not to repeat the same mistake.

The “mistake,” of course, was ignoring the growth of craft beer until Big Beer found that, like Pac Man, craft brewers were steadily eating away at Big Beer’s market share.

We interviewed Akshat Dubey and Rakesh Mani, who are members of PwC’s strategy consulting business about what large players should look for in the small companies they seek to acquire – and what small companies should do to increase their attractiveness to large bev/al firms. . Continue reading →

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Duckhorn Acquires Calera Wine

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Donna Whitaker

Duckhorn Wine Co. (DWC) acquired Calera Wine Co. (“Calera”).  The sale includes the Calera winery, time-honored brand, tasting room, estate vineyards, and all inventory and assets.  Terms weren’t disclosed. “Calera is one of the world’s great wineries,

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