Employers Expected to Pay 5% More for Health Insurance in 2022

Costs for large U.S. employers that pay for their employees’ medical care will increase on average 5% to more than $13,000 per employee in 2022. This cost increase projection would be slightly less than what employers budgeted this year compared to last, according to Aon, a leading global professional services firm.

Budgeted health care costs for clients increased to an average of $12,792 per employee in 2021, an increase of 5.2% from 2020. The analysis uses the firm’s Health Value Initiative database, which captures information for more than 700 U.S. employers representing 5.6 million employees.

In terms of 2021 plan costs, employer costs were budgeted to increase 6.2%, while employee premiums from pay checks were slated to increase a more modest 1.2% from 2020. Plan costs represent the employer’s and employee’s combined premiums for medical and prescription drug costs but exclude employee out-of-pocket payments such as deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance. On average, employers subsidize about 81% of the plan cost, up from 80 percent in 2020. Employees paid the remainder.

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LVMH Wines & Spirits Revenue Up 27% in 9 months

LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy shares rose $5.22 (3.56%) to $152,12 in U.S over-the-counter trading after the company issued its 9-month sales report, which reported the holding company’s sales rose 46% (40% organic) from the like-year-earlier period.

The company’s wines and spirits unit showed reported growth of 27% (30% organic) and 10% compared to 2019. Growth was particularly strong in the United States and Europe, which notably benefited over the summer from the reopening of restaurants and the gradual recovery of tourism. Hennessy cognac performed well with a 4% increase in volumes compared to 2019 while being limited by supply constraints. China and the United States experienced a strong rebound. The third quarter marked the integration for the first time of the prestigious Champagne Maison Armand de Brignac, in which LVMH has taken a 50% stake.

LVMH’s 46% sales surge was largely the result of its fashion and leather goods group which recorded organic revenue growth of 57% in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020 and 38% compared to 2019.

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Winc Launches 5 Million Share IPO

Winc, Inc. (“Winc”)launchedan initial public offering of 5 million common shares. In addition, Winc expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The initial public offering price is currently expected to be between $14 and $16 per share. Winc has applied to list its common stock on the NYSE under the symbol “WBEV.”

BofA Securities and Canaccord Genuity are acting as joint lead book-running managers for the proposed offering. Craig-Hallum and Roth Capital Partners are also acting as book-running managers and The Benchmark Company is acting as co-manager.

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Colangelo Agency of Record for Campania’s Leading Winery, Donnachiara

The Italian winery Donnachiara, producer of Campania’s renowned region Irpinia’s wines has announced that Colangelo & Partners, a fine wine, spirits, and food-focused integrated communications agency, will be its agency of record to develop and execute a comprehensive communications strategy targeted to key media, trade and consumers. The partnership will engage new and current consumers through strategic media relations and events. The campaign will grow and leverage Donnachiara’s brand awareness in the US market, which continues to present new opportunities.

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Cudos to Biden for Doing Something About Supply Chain Woes, but . . .

President Biden announced yesterday that the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach agreed to operate 24/7 in an attempt to clear out the backlog of ships waiting to unload cargo.  It’s a good move, as far as it goes, and the President deserves credit.

But.  It’s a short-term fix.  If we should have learned anything during the pandemic, it’s that the global supply chain leaves everyone seriously vulnerable to any sort of hiccup.  It’s not just toys for Christmas (who can blame Biden for not wanting to appear to be the Grinch That Stole Christmas?) but also paper for beer and wine labels, aluminum, ingredients for medicine, chips for cellphones, cars and computers, etc.

The production of those items for the United States needs to be brought back to the U.S., or at least to North and Central America.  And Federal policymakers need to figure out how to encourage that.  At the same time, our companies need to be encouraged to locate manufacturing plants to supply Africa in Africa, to supply India in India, etc.

It may be a global market, but that doesn’t change the value of making goods close to where you’re going to sell them.  Our opinion.

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Partake Brewing Launches ‘Cheers to Adulting’ Brand Campaign

Partake Brewing, a category leader in the non-alcoholic beer space, is challenging society’s perception of non-alcoholic brews – poor quality, no flavor but loaded with calories and carbs –  with the launch of its new Cheers to Adulting brand campaign.

Cheers to Adulting was developed in partnership with newly appointed creative agency of record lg2, and positions Partake as the ‘official beer of adulting.’ Through this brand platform, Partake aims to prove that adulting isn’t about being a straight-edged, naysaying, party pooper. It’s about connecting with others and being a part of the fun while still taking pride in evolving interests and priorities that come in this stage of life.

“Part of my mission with Partake has been to make non-alcoholic consumption not only commonplace in social settings, but always inclusive and fun without question,” said Ted Fleming, founder/CEO, Partake Brewing. “Through Cheers to Adulting, we’re showing people that they don’t have to apologize for who they are or where they are in life. We’re empowering them to reach for a great-tasting, low calorie, non-alcoholic beer and to feel proud about their drinking choice whether they choose to cut back or to not drink alcohol at all.”

“Traditionally, if you reach for a non-alcoholic beer, you’d be questioned by friends or feel awkward in a social setting. But the Cheers to Adulting platform challenges that stigma,” said Chris Hirsch, Partner & Executive Creative Director at lg2. “We want to turn the idea of being responsible into a badge of honor. It’s ok to be just as excited about that 7am tee time as you are about the Friday night before it. We’re excited to partner with Partake, one of the fastest growing companies in the North American non-alcoholic beer category and support their growth ambitions.”

Health-consciousness is on the rise, and the “sober-curious” trend has helped the NA beer market grow. According to a 2021 report by Goldman Sachs analyst, Bonnie Herzog, no- and low-alcohol offerings are estimated to grow by 25% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) and reach $3 billion in total retail sales by 2025. Partake Brewing has already seen rapid expansion since it launched, with a three-year growth of 2,112%.

The brand campaign will be driven by digital and social media content including a series of humorous and relatable videos that will run in a robust media buy across multiple platforms throughout the United States and Canada. The brand platform takes a playful look at adults who do not have to worry about making compromises with alcohol in order to successfully “adult” and shows how Partake opens up new possibilities in the way they can enjoy beer.

Partake is available in Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Southern California, Colorado, Connecticut, Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C. and nationally online.

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