Innovation and exploration, those are the influences behind the plethora of craft beers and spirits that Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits develops, Chief Commercial Officer Earl Kight says.
With more consumers using click-and-collect models and home delivery for prescription medications, eCommerce continued to drive double-digit growth in the non-traditional drug store channel, which generated $264.5 billion in sales, a $14.3 billion profit and a 1.4 percent growth rate from 2010-2015, according to IBISWorld’s December 2015 report titled “Pharmacies & Drug Stores in the US.”
A term originally associated with horse racing, dark horse has been used to describe not only relatively unknown race horses but also political candidates, award show nominees and even the songwriting and vocal skills of George Harrison in comparison to other members of The Beatles.
Previously known for bikini tops and one of Harry Nilsson’s hit songs, coconuts have gained a much more respectable persona in the minds of U.S. consumers within the past several years.
Piggybacking off of last year’s positive performance, the U.S. beer market continues to post increases in both dollar and volume sales, according to experts in this year's beer market report.
It seems as though U.S. consumers are having a love affair with import beer, based on analysis in this year's beer market report. According to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI), dollar sales for import beer were $5.4 billion — an 11.7 percent increase — for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2015, in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers, gas and convenience stores, military commissaries, and select club and dollar retail chains. Case sale gains were just shy of 10 percent during that time period.
Whether it’s the tortoise and the hare, David versus Goliath or small-market sports teams versus large-market franchises, many Americans have a soft spot for the “little” guy. The same could be said for the U.S. beer market in this year's beer report. According to Chicago-based Mintel’s January 2016 report “Beer – US,” craft beer’s market share of U.S. volume sales nearly doubled from 2010 to 2015 — 5.2 percent vs. 10.2 percent, respectively.
Although hard cider stems from a smaller market share of the beer category, the hard cider segment continues to outpace the beer category as a whole, according to this year's beer market report.
Among the numerous beverage categories, the flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment, also known as progressive adult beverages (PABs), is resonating with consumers based on the convenience it offers, according to this year's beer market report.
Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying, “Coffee — the favorite drink of the civilized world.” Today, coffee remains a favorite beverage and flavor in the United States. As such, beverage-makers are using the flavor within a plethora of categories, including ready-to-drink (RTD) coffees, spirits and craft beers.
Not too long ago I tried Not Your Father’s Root Beer at a friend’s college graduation party. The flavored beer was a nice change for me, as it offered a different kind of flavor with less alcohol than a spirit, which I appreciated.
World Beer Cup will honor 94 style categories during CBC
March 15, 2016
More than 13,500 manufacturers and suppliers to the craft brewing industry are expected to attend the 33rd Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) & BrewExpo America, which will take place May 3-6 at the Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia. The annual event will feature a keynote address from Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane.
New releases include wine case packers and processing automation equipment
March 15, 2016
Douglas Machine Inc. announced the expansion of its case packing equipment for the wine industry with the offering of a fully integrated, single-cell top-load case packer for wine bottles.
The infamous supply chain moniker, with all the definitions, variations, interpretations and applications, has for all intents and purposes replaced the relatively simplistic, old-fashioned production planning and scheduling approach.
With the memorable theme song opening of “shlemiel, SCHLEMAZEL!, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated,” TV’s “Laverne and Shirley,” closes with the two friends “doing it their way” on the bottling line of Milwaukee’s fictitious Shotz Brewery. Although manufacturing facilities’ beer-capping lines have changed, speed, ease-of-use and flexibility are paramount for today’s processing automation equipment.
Today’s business environment requires distributors to constantly pursue opportunities that improve the efficiency of their fleet operations. At Orion, Mich.-based Powers Distributing, this pursuit of efficiency pre-dates the economic roller coaster of the past decade and extends into other areas of the business.
Product made with same sweetness found in the stevia leaf
March 15, 2016
To help food and beverage companies develop products that satisfy health-and-wellness trends without sacrificing taste, Cargill developed EverSweet, a zero-calorie sweetener made with the same sweetness found in the stevia leaf, Reb M and Reb D.
New gellans offers increased stabilization, mouthfeel
March 15, 2016
In response to the latest clean label market trends, TIC Gums has developed blends using the newest gellan technologies. Recent products developed for ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage applications target texture, improve stability and provide cost-in-use savings while adhering to label restrictions, the company says.
New sweeteners ideal for low- to no-calorie beverages
March 15, 2016
For low- to no-calorie products, PureCircle now offers new stevia-based solutions from its Zeta Family. The ingredients in the Zeta Family are made with steviol glycosides Reb M and Reb D, offering the most sugar-like taste, the company says.
Ingredient suppliers announce certifications, new appointments
March 15, 2016
The National Honey Board, Firestone, Colo., released results from an independent consumer research survey that found that 93 percent of consumers consider honey a “natural” sweetener, and 48 percent of those consumers say they look for product labels that include honey, the association says.
When the U.S. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines were released earlier this year, one of the key recommendations for a healthy eating pattern stated that individuals should consume less than 10 percent of calories a day from added sugars.
After being carefully set in a line, when a single domino is knocked over into the next, the entire line will fall. Similar to the cascading effect of falling dominos, changes within the front-end of beverage operations often will cascade through the manufacturing facility all the way to the end-of-line operations, even to case packing and wrapping.
Calypso Lemonade was officially awarded the Guinness World Record for the Largest Glass of Lemonade ever made after making and serving more than 3,200 gallons of its Original Lemonade.
The digital age is here to stay, and mobile-obsessed shoppers have the world literally at their fingertips. Whether it's tablets or smartphones, apps can be used to count calories, refill prescriptions, research vacation destinations and much more.
As a baby boomer, I’ve never been a big online shopper. However, I did purchase a few items online this holiday season and was surprised at how easy it was. I capitalized on sales offers, didn’t have to look for parking or contend with crowded malls, and the items were shipped right to my home, saving me time, gas and aggravation.
With numerous people and topics vying for my attention, my monthly magazine subscriptions are piling up. However, I made sure to set aside time when my TIME subscription arrived that featured Josh Sanburn’s cover feature about the lead contamination of Flint, Mich.’s water supply.