Rob Sands insists Constellation Brands ‘will stick to its knitting’ as beer rival AB InBev launches Mexican import brand Montejo this year and insists the beer poses no special threat to his firm’s stellar US beer growth.
ANALYST BELIEVES $100BN+ MEGA MERGER UNLIKELY IN SHORT TERM
With increased market chatter over AB InBev’s possible purchase of SAB Miller one analyst warns that the former’s bottling deal with PepsiCo in Latin America remains one barrier to a deal.
VANI HARI TELLS BEVERAGE DAILY: 'I DON'T RESPOND TO NAME CALLING'
Celebrity surgeon and ‘beer snob’ David Gorski has attacked ‘Food Babe’ Vani Hari for peddling pseudoscience as a ‘young, telegenic, clever but scientifically ignorant blogger’ attacking Miller Coors and AB InBev.
ANHEUSER-BUSCH STILL PURSUING FORMER OPS DIRECTOR CLAIMING TO BE WHISTLEBLOWER
A US judge has dismissed class action claims that Anheuser-Busch routinely watered-down US beer brands including Budweiser to misrepresent alcohol levels and boost profits.
SUCCESS ON A SHOESTRING FOR HEINEKEN BRAND NEWCASTLE BROWN SHOWS ANOTHER WAY
AB InBev hit a home run with its Puppy Love advertisement aired during the 2014 Super Bowl but the success of Newcastle Brown Ale’s cheeky campaign shows the digital tail may soon wag the dog.
Flavored or mixed beer is a booming US beer category tapping demand among younger drinkers – and strong global growth prospects are set to heighten competition among the big brewers.
US craft brewers grew their domestic market share to 7.8% of total beer volumes in 2013 as the Brewers Association insists drinkers are increasingly keen on fuller flavored local brews.
analyst notes 'Authenticity' aspect to beat away bud light competition
Monster Energy Ultra topped the IRI beverage league table for the best-selling newcomers in C-stores in 2013, while Red Bull Total Zero and Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita also starred.
Anheuser-Busch InBev believes its Cubanisto beer flavored with rum will prove a hit with ‘tech savvy trend setters’ in the UK as sales of the spirit soar.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) says its keen to capture a larger ‘share of throat’ from wine, hard liquor and other drinks by creating new consumption occasions for beer.
Graphic Packaging says its award-winning Tite-Pak paperboard beer bottle carton continues to gain market traction in the US after Miller Coors and AB InBev launched it in Q4 2013.
Anheuser-Busch InBev will pay $5.8bn for South Korea’s largest beer player Oriental Brewery and says the deal provides a platform to export brands including Cass more widely.
Stella Artois Cidre is poised for a US-wide launch after its introduction in 26 states last year, and the AB InBev brand claims white wine drinkers are flocking to the brand.
FEDERAL CARTEL OFFICE INVESTIGATION INTO OTHER BREWERS CONTINUES
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office is set to fine five of the nation's brewers including Warsteiner €106m for fixing beer prices from 2006-2008 but whistleblower AB InBev has escaped punishment.
Constellation Brands expects ‘great things’ after launching Corona Light on tap and is confident it can boost draft sales to 10% of its business while beating craft beers on premise and at retail level.
Cider’s upward UK trajectory will continue in 2014 but Champagne’s struggles against rivals including Prosecco, Cava and even English sparkling wines could continue, according to Mintel.
CONSTELLATION BRANDS SLAMS 'VEXATIOUS' LITIGATION OVER UNTENABLE CLAIMS
Constellation Brands misled a Federal court by arguing that it would not co-ordinate beer prices rises to follow AB InBev after the Grupo Modelo takeover and then doing so, nine US beer drinkers claim.
CCU Chile, which works with Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, has installed a Sidel Matrix hotfill system to produce Gatorade sports’ drinks.
BUT CONSUMER EDGE INSIGHT SURVEY SHOWS CHALLENGES FOR BEER
The US beer market is losing ground to spirits and wine among its core consumer groups but fruit-flavored brands such as AB InBev’s Bud Light Lime-a-Rita are attracting new female drinkers into the category.
DIGITAL DISPATCHES FROM E-BEV 2013, OCTOBER 23-25, DENVER
Anheuser-Busch says Facebook now beats any US broadcast network in terms of consumer reach when marketing brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light, with one key driver rapid smartphone uptake.
AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito admits the firm is suffering in Central and Eastern Europe because of an historic focus on high volume, value brands, but notes strong growth for Budweiser in Russia.
REUTERS ARTICLE GIVES NEW LIFE TO RUMORS OF POSSIBLE TIE-UP
SAB Miller’s association with Coca-Cola and AB InBev’s tie-up with PepsiCo in Latin America is one hurdle that could halt a mega merger between the world’s two biggest brewers, analysts suggest.
A US man is suing AB InBev for millions of dollars for allegedly deceiving consumers into thinking that Beck’s beer sold in the States is still brewed in Germany, although production shifted to Missouri in 2012.
Constellation Brands has heralded the handover of Grupo Modelo’s former US beer business as “successful and seamless”, following a second quarter net beer sales increase of more than 3%.
High health care costs, a lack of interest in repetitive manual labour and rising worker wages has led to an explosion of automated machinery, according to Intelligrated.
The characteristic bubbles of a carbonated beverage are not necessary to experience the sensory ‘bite’ of the drinks, according to new research from Monell.
The British Royal Family enjoy a variety of alcoholic drinks as our exclusive infographic shows. But does the Queen like kicking back with a pint of Boddingtons after a hard day's Corgi walking, and is Prince Harry a 'Crack Baby' cocktail...
Constellation Brands says it is introducing a Bloody Mary-style beer in the US as it seeks to exploit a ‘pretty large category’ currently dominated by one player.
US and native microbrewers could profit if Mexico’s antitrust regulator rules that controversial exclusivity deals, which benefit local giants Grupo Modelo and Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, owned by AB InBev and Heineken respectively, are illegal.
A top Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev) exec tells BeverageDaily.com that challenging targets are crucial for the firm as he defends its lack of a ‘total target’ for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The co-director of a London, UK microbrewer founded by a group of fathers who named it after the local elementary school their children attend tells BeverageDaily.com that receiving a threatening legal letter from Anhueser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) came...
Anheuser-Busch InBev's (AB InBev) new environmental commitments include an ambitious pledge to reduce use of packaging materials by 100,000 tons annually by 2017, but the bulk of its new commitments will not result in overall reductions for energy...
New York AG probes MillerCoors backing of Puerto Rican Day Parade
MillerCoors' has sought to defuse anger amidst New York Puerto Ricans over its use of the US territory’s flag on cans as the state’s attorney general (AG) enters the row, but no-one seems offended by Budweiser's use of the Stars and Stripes.
The Association of German Brewers – whose members include Anheuser-Busch InBev Deutschland – tells BeverageDaily.com it wants a moratorium on natural gas fracking in the country, amidst fears the process could pollute members’ wells.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has attacked ‘free market restrictions’ after a controversial brewery bill was passed in Ohio, but the state’s Craft Brewer’s Association says the law protects craft brewers’ route to market.
Carlsberg CEO Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen says the firm is currently less concerned with building Asian margins than securing growth in a key region, particularly in markets such as China and India.
AB InBev CEO Carlos de Brito has revealed that the world’s biggest brewer will launch UK cider sales sensation Stella Cidre in the US within the next few weeks.
HOUSTON BREWERY GENERAL MANAGER INVESTIGATING CLAIMS WITH OSHA
An influential US Department of Labor safety body has cited Anheuser-Busch, alleging that the firm failed to protect Houston brewery workers from exposure to carbon dioxide and other workplace hazards.
AB InBev has agreed a settlement with the US Department of Justice, which sued to world's largest brewer earlier this year on competition grounds, to halt its proposed $20.1bn acquisition of the remaining stake in Grupo Modelo it does not already...
AB InBev claims that a new bowtie-shaped Budweiser can riffing on its logo, a permanent addition to its US packaging portfolio from May 6, is wholly unique and ‘very appealing to young adults’.
CEO ROBERT SANDS EXCITED AT SECURING MODELO 'CROWN JEWEL'
Constellation Brands plans to double of the capacity of its new Piedras Negras brewery in Mexico to 20m hectolitres within three years, and says its ‘transformational’ deal with AB InBev will make it the No.3 US brewer.
Anheuser Busch’s former director of operations support says he repeatedly complained to senior managers about his belief that the firm was intentionally watering-down drinks to provide less alcohol than advertised.
Carlsberg has confirmed to BeverageDaily.com that it is under scrutiny as part of a wider, ongoing investigation by the German Federal Cartel Office, which also includes AB InBev.
ABInBev says it will 'vigorously defend' itself against a new consumer class action seeking to prevent its full $20.1bn buyout of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, but admits the suit could halt the deal.
A senior UK judge upset AB InBev by making ‘unfortunate’ comments on the quality of Budweiser during an initial hearing relating to the firm’s trademark dispute with Budweiser Budvar, new court documents reveal.
Despite a resource gulf separating 'big beer' from craft brands, the latter are often ahead in their innovative use of digital media, according to a new report, and while Heineken tops the tree, Foster’s is simply ‘feeble’.
