Craft brewers may talk the sustainability talk – but find it a lot harder to walk the sustainability walk. Tracking performance can help reveal effective ways to improve, say experts.
The craft beer industry is navigating a more mature growth pattern in 2019: a theme that was explored at the 36th annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Denver.
The Brewers Association (BA) released its annual growth report this week: showing craft brewery volumes have increased by 4% and now account for 13.2% of the US beer market.
Hard seltzer brand White Claw is rolling out a new ‘anti-flavor’ this week. Pure is plain with no flavor, designed to serve as a base for other drinks or enjoyed alone as a vodka soda alternative.
Anheuser-Busch debuted a Bud Light commercial during this year’s Super Bowl that slammed Miller Lite and Coors Light for using corn syrup in their beer. MillerCoors has now filed suit against AB InBev for “false and misleading advertising.”
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and National Consumers League (NCL) say that alcohol labeling changes proposed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TBB) 'fall dramatically short...
A marriage between India Pale Ales (IPAs) and lager beer, India Pale Lagers (IPLs) have been a small sub-category of craft beer for the past 10-15 years. Often described as ‘strong, hoppy’ lagers, recent IPL launches are fighting for shelf space in the...
The cider industry is seeing record growth in the US, outpacing stagnant sales across general alcohol. It’s drawn in a gender-equal audience primarily made up of millennial consumers.
The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) is back in the US Senate with bipartisan support after first being introduced in 2015. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) are co-sponsoring the bill to “level the playing field for...
Cannabis-infused beer alternatives from Two Roots Brewing Co. are coming to California dispensaries. The Two Roots brand debuted THC and CBD options last summer in Nevada, brewed as alcohol-stripped craft beer.
Beer dominates the Super Bowl watch party, but wine, hard seltzer and spirits have started creeping into the game day spread. New Nielsen data suggests that an increase in female football fans is shifting demographics, reflected in alcohol choice for...
AB InBev announces that Bud Light will be the first US beer to feature large-format serving facts and an ingredients label on case packaging, in an effort to meet the level of transparency that consumers demand.
After the government shut down on December 22 due to disputes around President Trump’s border wall funding, the effects have been felt throughout the country. Without federal programs in place, the beer and wine industries are facing trouble with new...
By Pete Martin, regulatory director, Ashbury Labelling
While almost every packaged food is required to have a nutritional facts label, indicating the serving size and the nutritional value per serving, alcoholic drinks do not. Pete Martin, Regulatory Director at labelling compliance experts, Ashbury Labelling...
After months of legal drama and a two-week trial between Pabst Brewing Co. and MillerCoors, the two beer giants settled a lawsuit last week. Pabst had alleged that MillerCoors, who brews and packages most of Pabst’s products, was attempting to put it...
A year after it was amended to include restrictions on the placement of alcohol advertising in Australia, the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) has been attracting growing criticism from researchers who say the changes are unlikely to reduce young...
‘This is about a US craft brewery standing up against some of the largest drinks producers in the UK’
US craft brewer Flying Dog Brewery says it will continue to distribute its Easy IPA Session India Pale Ale in the UK: ignoring a ruling from an alcohol marketing watchdog which said the beer's artwork ‘encourages illegal, irresponsible or immoderate...
The World Health Organization (WHO) is tackling alcohol-related deaths and illnesses through its new program Safer. It outlines five ‘high-impact strategies’ for governments around the world to follow that can reduce the harmful effects of alcohol use.
Malaysian beer industry leaders Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd (Carlsberg) and Heineken Malaysia Bhd (Heineken) have expressed varying opinions about the implementation of the Sales and Service Tax (SST).
The UK’s advertising watchdog has upheld complaints against a series of light-hearted Facebook posts from The Scottish Gin Society, deeming them to be irresponsible. Although the posts were not directly linked to a product, the ASA says the posts should...
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) is to embark on a year-long review of the rules governing sugar claims in relation to alcoholic drinks, amid ministerial concerns of misleading messaging to consumers.
Mainstream culture has seen huge changes with the rise of social media, the internet, ecommerce and smartphones. Innovation and disruption has turned many industries upside down when it comes to retail and marketing, but to date the drinks industry has...
The US is now the largest wine market in the world, but major retailers are still struggling to succeed in ecommerce channels, lagging behind other categories in grocery.
An increasing number of brands are drawing on nostalgia as a marketing tool: but alcohol brands that try to appeal to an adult’s inner child must take care that they do not also inadvertently appeal to children today, warns the Portman Group.
SPAR has been told to stop using the description ‘everyday wine’ with one of its products, given that the term could indicate the ‘acceptability of everyday alcohol consumption’.
In Europe, an ‘alcohol-free’ drink is defined as one under 0.5% ABV. In the UK, however, an ‘alcohol-free’ drink must be 0.05% ABV or below. But the UK’s definition could change, with the government currently consulting on new regulations for low alcohol...
Current alcohol advertising regulations in Australia are failing to protect the health and well-being of adolescents, with academics claiming that it is leading to an environment that is ‘not consistent with the responsible marketing spirit’.
Online grocery offers huge potential for the alcohol category as the virtual channel accounts for just 5% of all online alcohol sales (US$1.7bn) currently but will soon explode, according to Rabobank.
The European alcoholic beverage industry has pledged to provide nutritional information and ingredient lists for drinks, responding to an invitation from the European Commission last year to develop a self-regulatory proposal.
Australia’s Northern Territory will become the first jurisdiction in the country to set a minimum price for alcohol, in a move that has been welcomed by health experts but is likely to face a backlash from industry.
An ALDI advert for spirits – featuring a computer-generated talking carrot called Kevin – has been banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog after it ruled it the character would hold ‘strong appeal’ to under 18s.
Canadian R&D company and brewer of alcohol-free beer, Province Brands, has filed a provisional patent for the technology to develop a beer brewed from the cannabis plant.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is calling for the introduction of new labeling regulations – such as cigarette-style health warnings, drink drive warnings, and calorie content – on alcoholic drinks in the UK.
LGC Capital, Creso Pharma, and Baltic Beer Company have formed a joint venture company, CLV Frontier Brands, which aims to develop a full beverage portfolio using cannabis terpene blends and hemp ingredients worldwide, starting with beer.
Consumption of alcoholic drinks has been largely static in recent years whereas the use of cannabis is growing and will continue to expand, offering a commercial opportunity for the alcohol industry in North America, according to Euromonitor analysts.
The US Congress has passed the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 (CBMTRA), a bill that will cut the federal excise tax on beer, spirits, and wine producers effective on Jan. 1, 2018.
Australian consumer advocacy group CHOICE is campaigning for mandatory kilojoule (calorie) labelling on alcoholic beverages, in order to give consumers more information about what they drink.
UK and European wine and spirits trade bodies have presented a united Brexit position paper: ‘taking the bull by the horns’ to nail down key issues for the industry.
The Australian drinks industry has accused an alcohol awareness group of “attempting to create a crisis where none exists” after it called for TV ads promoting alcohol to be phased out at times when children were likely to be watching sports broadcasts.
Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha’s 5.6% ABV line is expanding its distribution and flavor offerings aiming to take the alcoholic fermented beverage nationwide in the US by mid-2018, the company said.
The Independent Complaints Panel has upheld two complaints against CollaGin – a UK gin distilled with pure collagen – for packaging that ‘suggested the product had therapeutic qualities or could help with the consumer’s appearance in some way’.
A Facebook ad for alcoholic beverage VK has been banned, after the UK’s advertising standards watchdog upheld complaints that it was socially irresponsible and promoted unwise drinking styles.
