Proprietor August Sebastiani debuted a reserve line of Gehricke Wines through its first direct-to-consumer (DTC) program, featuring three small production, single vineyard wines from top sites in Sonoma County.

Although worldwide beverage alcohol volume increased slightly in 2019, reversing declines from the year prior, it will be five years before the global industry rebounds from the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, according to comprehensive new research from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

Lakeville-Middleboro, Mass.-based Ocean Spray, the cranberry cooperative owned by more than 700 farmer-families, has announced that Atoka, a new line of herbalist crafted, plant-based functional beverages, is now available for direct-to-consumer purchase online at AtokaWellness.com. 

As consumers increasingly turn online for their food and beverage needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, N.Y., announced the launch of PantryShop.com and Snacks.com, two direct-to-consumer websites where shoppers can order an assortment of PepsiCo's food and beverage brands.

Across geographies, consumer demand appears to be beginning to stabilize toward previous year trends, although in some categories demand is significantly higher or lower than the previous year, according to recent information from Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago.

In the United States, IRI National Consumer Panel data shows customers are both making more trips and buying larger baskets in the most recent two weeks. Both pantry stocking and smaller quick trips were up significantly.

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Miami and Dallas, announced it has launched an online hub for trade customers, providing timely updates and important resources to help businesses in the hospitality industry navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boston-based Drizly announced an expanded partnership with BevMo!, a West Coast specialty beverage retailer, that more than doubles the number of the chain’s locations on Drizly.

Alcohol brands including Bacardi, Jackson Family Wines and Francis Ford Coppola Winery are partnering with digital meal planning service eMeals, Birmingham, Ala., to build online and digitally influenced grocery revenues. Strategies include menu pairings that place branded wine, beer and spirits recommendations as options on the weekly eMeals shopping list.