Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (KDP), Burlington, Mass., and Frisco, Texas, announced a minority stake in Athletic Brewing Co., a leading non-alcohol craft beer maker. The transaction represents KDP’s latest move into rapidly emerging beverage categories, following its acquisition of non-alcohol ready-to-drink cocktail brand Atypique.  

Melissa Ben-Ishay, CEO and co-founder of the cupcake company, Baked by Melissa, crafted three premium pie recipes that pair perfectly with members of Blue Moon Brewing Co.’s family of beers.

Raleigh, N.C.-based Next Century Spirits, a growing company that uses its proprietary blending and filtration technology for its portfolio of owned brands and a robust business-to-business and white label business, announced the acquisition of XED Beverages, a leading future-focused beverage company.

Walden, N.Y.-based Angry Orchard, a cider brand of The Boston Beer Co., is teaming up with Brooklyn-based pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds to launch its limited-edition Boozy Baked Apple Pies made with Angry Orchard’s most recent cider innovation: Natural Baked Apple Pie Style Hard Cider. 

With 20 mg CBD in each can, Day One can help provide clarity, focus and balance, the company says. 

The Lawrence Family, owners of Napa Valley's Heitz Cellar and Managing Partner and Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr., announced the acquisition of Château Lascombes. This marks Lawrence Wine Estates’ first acquisition in Europe joining a portfolio, which includes Burgess, Heitz Cellar, Ink Grade and Stony Hill Vineyard.

As brands continue to disrupt the status quo on shelf by blending features of two or more categories with each other, experts note that the craft beer segment is facing strong headwinds, having a tough time keeping pace with the beer category.

Crown Royal, a brand of Diageo North America, New York, announced the continuation of its multi-year NFL partnership, which includes the "Kick off with Crown Royal” campaign by dedicating $25,000 from the Crown Royal Generosity Fund to the Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization created to take care of food and beverages workers who need it most.

XTEND, a brand of Austin, Texas-based Nutrabolt, today announced the launch of a new product in its line of hydration and recovery amino acids: XTEND Healthy Hydration.

Hamilton, Bermuda-based Bacardi announced it is cutting approximately 140 tons of single-use plastic annually by removing plastic pourers from its bottles in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Spain and Portugal. The removal has already begun, and by early next year, all 1.75-liter bottles of BACARDÍ rum – including Superior, Gold and Coconut – in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico will no longer contain the plastic pourer, cutting 76 tons of plastic annually, the company says.