Innholdsfortegnelse for July 1, 2020 i Shanken's Impact Newsletter

WITH THE DRINKS INDUSTRY STILL CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGES PRE-sented by the Covid-19 pandemic, another significant obstacle to growth has reemerged in the form of threatened U.S. tariffs on a host of European wine and spirits products. The preliminary tariff list released by the U.S. Trade Representa-tive (USTR) threatens increased or new tariffs on most wine and spirits categories. The new product list includes Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, other whiskies and grape brandy (from all E.U. members), vodka and gin from the U.K., Germany, France, and Spain, and liqueurs and cordials from all other E.U. members not cur-rently facing tariffs. This list builds on the existing 25% tariffs on single malt Scotch whiskies and French, Spanish, German, and U.K. wines that went into effect last October. The USTR is accepting comments…

CALIFORNIA-BASED VINTNER BILL Foley has agreed to acquire Sonoma County winery Ferrari-Carano in a deal that will add about 1,200 acres of vine-yards and nearly a half-million cases in volume to his expanding Golden State empire. The purchase price was undis-closed, but it’s estimated to be in the range of $250 million. Speaking to Impact, Foley called Ferrari-Carano a unique opportunity, which bolsters Foley Family Wines’ position in the $15-and-over price tier while significantly enhancing its grape-growing and production capabilities. “Ferrari-Carano is a well-respected, historic brand, and one of the original wineries in Sonoma County,” he said. “The Fumé Blanc, which is about 230,000 cases, is all at $15 or more. Their Chardonnay is $20-plus and it’s another 120,000 cases, so that also fits right in with what we’re up…

DIAGEO HAS ANNOUNCED A $100- million effort to boost on-premise businesses as they recover from Covid-19 and begin to welcome cus-tomers through their doors again. The two-year “Raising the Bar” program will begin next month and includes the previously announced $20 million Community Fund in the U.S. The fund will provide practical equipment for on-premise outlets to implement new social distancing measures, digital skills training, and contactless technol-ogy. It will reach major hospitality centers including New York, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Mexico City.…

INDUSTRY VETERAN ALEX Tomlin has been named senior vice president, mar-keting at Bacardi North America, a newly created role and the top marketing post within the company’s U.S. business. Tomlin now reports directly to Bacardi Ltd CMO John Burke, with “a dotted line” to Bacardi North America president Pete Carr. Tomlin spent 23 years at Diageo, culminating as senior vice president, marketing at Diageo North America. In 2018, he left to head up a new Signature Brands division at Grupo Cuervo subsidiary Proximo Spirits, overseeing a portfolio with revenues of more than $100 million. Most recently he’s served as a strategic marketing and innovation consultant. This is the sec-ond major marketing appointment for Bacardi this year. In February, the com-pany named Diageo veteran Kathy Parker as global CMO for the…

WITH THE GLOBAL DRINKS INDUSTRY CONFRONTING the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, the news that the U.S. has renewed its threat to expand tariffs to a host of European Union wine and spirits products is ill-timed at best. The industry successfully beat back a similar threat earlier this year by mobilizing to flood the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) web-site with 28,000 comments on the issue, highlighting the potential damage such tariffs could do within the drinks business, with smaller importers and distributors especially vulnerable. Now it falls to us to rise to the moment again. The USTR will accept comments on its new proposal through July 26, and industry players must make their presence felt While the news on the trade front remains troubling to say the least, it’s heartening to…

E.&J. GALLO HAS EXPANDED ITS spirits portfolio with luxury Tequila brand Don Fulano. Gallo is now the exclusive U.S. importer for the brand, owned by the Fonseca family. The Don Fulano range includes Blanco ($50), Blanco Fuerte 100 Proof ($60), Re-posado ($60), Añejo ($80), and Don Fulano Imperial Extra Añejo ($190). The brand’s Tequilas are made using a dual distillation process, comprised of a double column still and a traditional copper pot still. Gallo’s other luxury spirits brands include The Dalmore, Diplomático, and Jura among others.…

PERNOD RICARD NORTH AMERICA has made a number of executive ap-pointments, reporting to chairman and CEO Ann Mukherjee. They include Pam Forbus as chief marketing officer. She joins the company from Walt Dis-ney Studio Entertainment, where she served as SVP, Consumer Experience, Insights, Data Strategy, Analytics and Planning. Previously, she held senior marketing positions at PepsiCo and Frito-Lay North America. Pierre Jon-court has been named SVP, operations. He is currently VP, Cognac, Martell Mumm Perrier Jouet. Guillaume Thomas will become chief transforma-tion officer at Pernod Ricard North America. He currently serves as CFO and will be replaced by Mauve Croizat.Current chief commercial officer Julien Hemard will be transitioning to be-come the parent company’s group sales chief transformation officer, based in Paris, effective June 30.…

Grupo Cuervo’s international arm Proximo Spirits is known for Tequila, but it’s also a rising player in Irish whiskey, marketing Bushmills, The Sexton, and Proper No. Twelve. Proper No. Twelve, owned by Conor McGregor’s Eire Born Spirits, has made a splash in the U.S., jumping out to 124,000 cases in 2019, its first full year on the market. But Proximo chief marketing officer Lander Otegui tells Impact that Cuervo-owned brands Bushmills and The Sexton have plenty of upside as well. Impact associate editor Shane English recently caught up with Otegui to discuss the future of those brands and the premium-ization potential within the Irish whiskey category overall. IMPACT: According to Impact Databank, Bushmills grew 4% to 199,000 cases in the U.S. last year. Where is the brand focusing its efforts…

•CINCORO, THE LUXURY TEQUILA brand launched by Michael Jordan and partners last year, is boosting its profile with its first TV ad campaign. Airing on ABC during June episodes of “The Last Dance,” the ESPN se-ries documenting Jordan’s last season with the Chicago Bulls, the 15-sec-ond spot features the tagline “Sip. Savor. Smile” and is reaching 18 tar-get markets across the U.S. In 11 markets that allow direct-to-con-sumer distribution, the ad directs consumers to Cincoro’s e-commerce site, which it unveiled earlier this spring in partnership with Thirstie. •DALLAS, TEXAS-BASED ZAMORA CO USA has announced Don Papa Rum as the latest spirits brand to join its portfolio. Owned by U.K.-based Bleeding Heart Rum Company, the Philippines-made rum is anchored by its 7- and 10-year-old expressions. Last year the brand shipped 170,000…

READY-TO-DRINK COCKTAILS HAVE been among the fastest-growing spirits segments lately, and top players are taking notice. Bacardi recently expanded in the space with a new line of Bacardi Real Rum Cocktails. The RTDs are made with Bacardi Superior Rum and come in three flavors: Lime & Soda, Limón & Lemonade, and Rum Punch. Major chains have picked up the line, including Publix and Total Wine, where a 4-pack retails for $13. Ned Duggan, global senior vice presi-dent of Bacardi rum, points to the spirit base as a strong selling point. “Just like with most categories within spirits, peo-ple are going to be looking for more and more premium products as the segment evolves,” Duggan told Impact. “The segment has been known as primarily malt-based, which is more affordable, but more…

BROWN-FORMAN HAS AGREED TO offload its Early Times, Canadian Mist, and Collingwood whisk(e)y brands to Sazerac for an undisclosed sum, along with its Canadian Mist production facilities. The deal is expected to close later this summer. According to Impact Databank, Canadian Mist was down 6.4% to 1 million cases last year, while Early Times fell 6.8% to 426,000 cases.Brown-Forman said the divestiture “re-flects the continued evolution of the company’s portfolio strategy to focus on premium brands.” Meanwhile, Constellation has agreed to sell its Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy to Sazerac in a deal worth $255 million. According to Impact Data-bank, Paul Masson was up 1.5% to 2 million cases in the U.S. market last year. The transaction remains subject to certain purchase price and closing adjustments, requires FTC review and…

A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF LEGISLATORS IN THE U.S. SENATE AND HOUSE OF Representatives is launching a new effort to provide economic relief to the inde-pendent restaurant industry amid the pandemic. The bill would provide $120 bil-lion in rescue grants for independent restaurants, with the money to be used for payroll, benefits, mortgage, rent, protective equipment, food, or other costs. Res-taurants receiving funds may not be publicly traded and must have $1.5 million or less in revenue under normal circumstances. Independent restaurant revenue is down 51% this year due to the Covid-19 crisis. The new rescue bill is supported by the National Restaurant Association and Independent Restaurant coalition.…