Bread & Butter Launches a Prosecco

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

Bread & Butter Wines, the fastest-growing Top 20 wine brand in the $12-$14.99 category, launches its newest, and first sparkling wine, Bread & Butter Prosecco, an Italian DOC Prosecco.

Made to be simply enjoyed, this graceful, everyday Prosecco does not need splashes of orange juice to improve its appealing style and rounded character. Bread & Butter Prosecco is available now nationwide with a suggested retail price of $15.99.

Bread & Butter Winemaker Linda Trotta worked with a 90-year-old, family-owned winery located in Fossalta di Piave near Venice, Italy, to craft this D.O.C. Extra Dry Prosecco. The result is a delicately perfumed wine with notes of floral and ripe fruit, bright acidity, and a complement of creamy mouthfeel and layers of soft bubbles that persist through to the long, elegant finish.

“This is one of the few Proseccos you can enjoy unadulterated; orange juice just isn’t necessary,” declares Jeff Ngo, Senior vp-marketing for Bread & Butter Wines. “Prosecco continues to be at the forefront of the sparkling wine boom in the U.S. Any new entry to the field must deliver style and quality, or as we say, ‘unsubtle notes of delicious’. Our Bread & Butter Prosecco has a persistence on the palate that makes it remarkable.”

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Bosscal Mezcal Joins Wolf Spirits Portfolio

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

The Joven, Damiana, and Pechuga de Conejo expressions are available now, with SRPs of $44.99, $49.99, and $99.99/750mL respectively, with others to follow this year. All are 42% ABV and the Joven — which just won a Gold Medal in the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition as well as 2021 SIP awards for Innovation as well as Design — is certified organic by the USDA, EU, and SAGARPA Mexico. The entire line is newly packaged in hand-blown bottles shaped like the volcanic tufa rocks which create Durango’s unique terroir.

“Adding Bosscal mezcals to the Wolf Spirit portfolio is the next step in our mission to develop lifestyle brands in every major category. Bosscal joins our domestic vodka, Blood x Sweat x Tears; our imported vodka, Tom of Finland Organic Vodka; and our bourbon, Puncher’s Chance.  Similar to its new siblings, Bosscal has a strong personality, iconic packaging, and meaningful back story. Individually, it is a beautiful, organic, hand-crafted spirit that will appeal to a broad consumer base.”

Bosscal is distributed in Arizona, California, Florida Massachusetts New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington State and Wisconsin.  More states will be added soon.  It’s currently available in Total Wine, Whole Foods Market, and WinCo Foods.  In addition to standard single-expression 6-packs, a “Full Moon Pack” comprises 3 bottles of Organic Joven, 2 bottles of Damiana, and 1 bottle of Pechuga de Conejo.

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BeerBoard’s Open Rate Hits Highest Since Pandemic

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

Open Rate (locations open and pouring beer) ticked up one point to 93%, the highest rate since BeerBoard started tracking this data in early May 2020. The rate had held steady at 92% for the previous six periods.

Nationally, BeerBoard said, after a five-period run of holding firm at 18 per location, Average Number of Taps added one handled and ticked up to 19 after holding firm at 18 handles per location for the fifth straight period. Six of the states tracked added one handle to their count — Florida, Georgia, New York, Nevada, Tennessee and South Carolina. Three states (Michigan, Minnesota and Texas) remained unchanged, while Illinois dropped one handle per location.

Percentage Taps Pouring continues its yo-yo, climbing back to 70% after a one-period decline. Seven of the states tracked saw an increase on the period, paced by Tennessee (+6.5%), Texas (+5.9%) and New York (+4.7%).

After a one-period decline (-12.1%), Volume saw noticeable growth of +9.2% for the weekend. Nine of the 10 states tracked were up for the period, led by Nevada (+23.2%), Florida (+14.5%), Texas (+12.6%) and Georgia (+12.1%). Michigan was the only state to see a decline, down a nominal -0.6%.

Similarly to Volume, Rate of Sale bounced back to climb +4.8% on the weekend, but still has a way to go to match the numbers is was putting up in April. Nevada (+19.8%) led seven states which saw growth on the period, followed by Florida (+10.5%), Minnesota (+9.9%) and Georgia (+8.7).

Craft took a nice step forward in Volume Share, growing +1.2% (33.8% overall) while also ticking up +0.6% in Tap Share (57.3%). Domestics took the brunt of the decline, falling -1.1% (50.0%) in Volume and -0.5% (27.1%) in Tap Share. For the first time in five tracked periods, there is a change in the Top Five Styles. European Ales checked in at #5, replacing Wheat / Hefeweizen.

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Consumers Spent More on Events Than Normal Post-Pandemic

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

That’s according to Nielsen CGA which found more than two in five consumers said they spent more on visits to bars and restaurants for Cinco de Mayo (47.6%), the Kentucky Derby (53.1%) and Mother’s Day (43.2%) than they usually would, with no more than 5.6% spending less on any of the occasions.

CGA’s CLIP data shows a 67% and 9% uplift in the value of sales on Mother’s Day and Cinco de Mayo respectively, though sales on Kentucky Derby day were flat.

CGA’s data also reveals:

  • Local restaurants, neighborhood bars and casual dining chains were the three most popular destinations for the occasions.
  • Beer was the top selling beverage around the Kentucky Derby, while wine was most popular on Mother’s Day and tequila ranked second on Cinco de Mayo
  • On all occasions, young adults were more likely to increase their spend than older consumers.

CGA’s consumer research has signs that sizeable numbers will be looking to the On Premise to mark events like these in 2021. Nearly a fifth of consumers are planning to celebrate Independence Day (18.4%) and Memorial Day (18.0%) in bars or restaurants, and nearly a quarter (23.5%) of Labor Day celebrants plan to do so. Between 14% and 16% of those marking the occasions will do so on vacation, during which they may be likely to visit bars and restaurants.

“After months of restrictions, many consumers are ready to celebrate US public holidays and events in a big way in 2021,” said Alexandra Martin, Operator and Analytics Director at CGA. “On Premise operators and beverage brands have a great opportunity to capitalize on pent-up demand and position themselves at the heart of big occasions. To do so, they will need a deep understanding of consumers’ habits and preferences on elements like locations and beverages, which can vary substantially from occasion to occasion and place to place.”

CGA’s consumer research reveals what restaurant and bar operators and beverage suppliers can do to increase the appeal of the On Premise around big events. Two in five (39.9%) consumers say they would be encouraged to visit by special offers on drinks, and more than a quarter would be attracted by drink offers (32.7%), special events (31.6%) or live entertainment (27.0%).

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IARD Sets 1st Global Guidelines for Online Bev/Al Sale, Delivery

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, a coalition of 12 ber, wine and spirits companies, announced the first global guidelines for the online sale of bev/al and its delivery.  The standards include:

  • Improving safeguards and security measures that aim to prevent minors from being able to buy alcohol ​
  • Putting in place mechanisms to prevent beer, wine, and spirits being delivered to minors, to individuals showing visible signs of intoxication, or where prohibited by law
  • Providing tools, information, and education, or other support to drivers to empower them to deny delivery
  • Enhancing consumer information and control
  • Promoting global standards as a resource to support the development of national level codes and practices for the online sale and delivery of alcohol that build on local and national regulation

Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of hospitality venues in most countries throughout 2020 resulted in global alcohol sales volumes declining by more than 6% year on year in 2020, there has been an acceleration in the shift to e-commerce with the sale and delivery of alcohol online increasing by 33% globally*. In the U.S., e-commerce grew by more than 100% with Brazil and Canada seeing growth rates of more than 300%.

Albert Baladi, president/CEO Beam Suntory and Chair of IARD CEO Group, said:

“This partnership reflects the shared determination of leading alcohol producers, online retailers and e-commerce platforms to combat the harmful use of alcohol in all its forms.

“These global safeguards for alcohol e-commerce cover the entire online purchase journey – starting from the moment a consumer begins the purchase process and travelling all the way through to the moment of delivery, helping ensure these orders don’t reach underage individuals or visibly intoxicated people.”

 

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Cans Surpass Bottles for RTDs

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

The share of canned RTDs has grown 20 percentage points to 61% over the past 12 months compared to the 12 months prior, surpassing bottled RTDs (37%) as the best-selling format in the category, according to Drizly data.

 

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