Todd Lachman

Bev-alc’s biggest courtroom battles are setting the agenda for 2025—from Fireball to jalapeño tequila. ⚖️ Lab-backed class actions target Diageo’s Casamigos and Don Julio over alleged adulteration, while a separate suit says the 21Seeds deal was undercut by plans for Casamigos Jalapeño. 🍹 A judge also allowed a Fireball malt-labeling case to proceed, and unsealed figures in the FTC’s fight with Southern Glazer’s allege independents paid 12%–67% more than chains. Add a $100M receivership at Uncle Nearest and fresh class actions involving Boston Beer and Constellation, and the litigation map for suppliers, distributors and retailers is shifting fast. 📉 https://lnkd.in/gGQs47ja #BevAlc #Spirits #Beer #ClassAction #Tequila #Distribution #FTC #Whiskey

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GENERAL MILLS SELLS MUIR GLEN TO VIOLET FOODS Violet Foods, a portfolio company of Amphora Equity Partners, has acquired Muir Glen from General Mills. Financials undisclosed. General Mills acquired Muir Glenn in 2000 to expand into organic foods. The company divested Food Should Taste Good in 2023 and its North American yogurt business ($2.1B to Groupe Lactalis in 2025). Amphora is a F&B specialist PE firm launched in 2025 by two Brynwood Partners veterans and has been moving aggressively in the tomato category acquiring Don Pepino and Sclafani from B&G Foods Inc.. Another deal on the wave of CPG conglomerates shedding smaller, mature assets while PE firms capitalize on these carve-out opportunities. Similar PE carve-outs are: - General Mills selling Helper and Suddenly to Eagle Family Foods for $610M (2.60x sales) - Conagra Brands selling Chef Boyardee to Brynwood for $600M (1.33x sales) - B&G Foods acquired College Inn & Kitchen Basics for $100M for 2.2x ebitda

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The U.S. beer industry is at a turning point. For nearly two decades, the playbook was simple: raise prices annually, protect margins and rely on brand equity to carry the category forward. That model worked… until it didn’t. Today, we’re seeing the consequences across the industry: - Declining volumes - Retailers prioritizing velocity over margin protection - Consumers becoming far more value-conscious Beer has always been an accessible beverage – something meant to be shared at barbecues, concerts and ball games. But over time, repeated price increases pushed the category further away from that core promise. Now the industry is facing a structural reset. In a new piece published by The Beer Connoisseur, I break down: - Why the era of automatic price hikes has ended - What retailers are prioritizing in 2026 resets - How consumer behavior around alcohol and affordability is changing - Why the next cycle of beer growth will be driven by brands that restore balance between price and value At Outlaw Light Beer, we are seeing this shift firsthand as retailers increasingly prioritize brands that can drive real volume and connect with today’s consumer. The industry’s next chapter won’t be defined by pricing power. It will be defined by relevance, accessibility and fairness. ➡️ Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g3N5bt8C #OutlawLight #TivoliBrewing #BeerIndustry #ConsumerTrends #RetailStrategy

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The Protein Boom Continues to Evolve Consumer demand for protein remains strong - and is maturing. Major beverage brands like PepsiCo are responding with innovative offerings such as Muscle Milk, Propel, and Starbucks Coffee protein-enhanced lines. As the category evolves, the focus is shifting from simply highlighting grams of protein per serving to showcasing how these products can deliver real health benefits. Functional formulations - often featuring fibre, key vitamins and minerals, and electrolytes - are driving the move toward precision wellness and personalised nutrition throughout the day. Protein continues to be a top health priority across all demographics - regardless of age, lifestyle, or life stage. According to the latest Innova Market Insights survey in the US, protein is fuelling innovation not just in beverages, but across a broad range of categories including meat and dairy, meat substitutes and dairy alternatives, ready meals and side dishes, sports nutrition (https://lnkd.in/gBNXBx9i). Plant-based proteins are leading the way, thanks to growing consumer interest in healthier, more sustainable options. These ingredients are being used both as enhancements and as complete replacements for animal proteins in plant-based, vegetarian, and vegan products. One standout? Lupin protein isolate - offering exceptional health benefits, leading sustainability credentials, and excellent functional and sensory properties. Why not explore how lupin protein could elevate your next innovation? The future is Wide Open! Anthony Maslin Yaxi Zhan Claudia Kwan Brett Tucker Matthew Skinner Merilyn Elson Ben Cole Hayder Al-Ali🌱 Peter Downey David Loichen Wide Open Agriculture Germany Stuart McAlpine Willem Ferwerda Jeronimo Miranda

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The U.S. wine category is shrinking. Bonanza Cabernet keeps growing anyway. That's worth looking at if you're in any business where the category is moving against you. U.S. wine sales fell roughly 6% in 2024 (SipSource). Wine Intelligence (acquired by IWSR) forecasts volume dropping at -2% CAGR through 2027, faster than the -1% pace from 2017 to 2022. Regular wine drinkers aged 21-34 fell from 29% of the base to 23% between 2019 and 2023. The board decks all have the same sad category chart right now. And then a $20 Cabernet from the Caymus Vineyards family just keeps taking share. According to Impact Databank, Bonanza launched at 131,000 cases in the U.S. in 2020 and has added 60,000 to 80,000 cases every year since. Double-digit volume growth. The category was falling the whole time. We dug into how. Four things stood out. 1. They priced against the occasion, not the shelf position. Bonanza lives where a weeknight steak dinner lives. Around $20. The slot was crowded but no one held it with real winemaking credibility behind them. Silicon Valley Bank's 2025 State of the Wine Industry report found the top quartile of premium wineries grew revenue 22% in 2024. The value-with-credibility window is open. Has been for a while. 2. They borrowed trust rather than building it cold. Chuck Wagner's name is on it. Decades of Caymus equity, spent carefully on a value tier without pulling the flagship down with it. That's genuinely hard to do. Heritage brands tend to hoard the halo or blow it. Bonanza did neither. 3. They dropped the rules the buyer never cared about. No vintage on the label. No single appellation. They blend across California lots to hit a consistent taste profile every time. Wine people were unhappy about this. Buyers at Costco Wholesale and Total Wine & More were not. The person grabbing a bottle on a Tuesday just wanted it to taste the same as last time. Bonanza built for that person. The consistency thing is probably the most transferable idea here for anyone building a consumer brand outside wine. 4. Supply structure did the real work. Multi-region sourcing means they buy fruit where the value sits each year. Cost structure moves with the market. A Napa-only brand at that price can't follow. The wine world sells vintage variation as romance. The grocery shopper reads it as inconsistency. Bonanza picked a side and moved on. A declining category and a growing brand at the same time. It's not rare, actually. For any team staring at a flat or shrinking market: the category number is an average. Find the occasion that wasn't priced for. Use trust you already have. Ignore the rules your customer never knew existed. What brand in your category is pulling this off? Drop it below. If this is useful, follow me on LinkedIn. We do this regularly across growth, transformation, and value creation. #WineIndustry #BrandGrowth #MarketStrategy #ConsumerInsights

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