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Industry Moves


The New Dietary Guidelines Are Out. Here Is What They Mean for Every Beverage & CPG Brand.
For the first time in decades, the US Dietary Guidelines no longer tell Americans how much alcohol is safe to drink. That change is smaller than the industry hoped and larger than it wanted to admit.
Jason Kane
Jan 124 min read


What Diageo's Turnaround Tells Every Premium Brand About the Cost of Losing Focus
Diageo built the most powerful spirits portfolio in the world and then watched it contract. The reasons why, and what the company is doing about it, contain lessons that apply directly to every founder building a premium beverage brand today.
Jason Kane
Jul 7, 20256 min read


Constellation Brands Is Walking Away from Wine. What It Signals About Where Beverage Is Heading.
Constellation Brands spent two decades acquiring some of the most recognizable wine brands in America. In early 2025 it began selling all of them. Here is what that decision reveals about the beverage landscape every founder is building into.
Jason Kane
Apr 7, 20255 min read


How the Diddy-Diageo Case Opened Up a Larger Conversation About Celebrity Brand Partnerships in Spirits
The Diddy-Diageo lawsuit is working its way through New York courts heading into 2024. The conversation it opened about how the spirits industry structures celebrity brand partnerships is bigger than the case itself.
Jason Kane
Jan 8, 20246 min read


Jay-Z Said D'Usse Was Worth $2.5 Billion. Bacardi Said $460 Million. Here Is What That Gap Reveals.
Jay-Z valued D'Usse at $2.5 billion. Bacardi said $460 million. The gap between those numbers is one of the most instructive stories in celebrity spirits brand valuation.
Jason Kane
Dec 5, 20224 min read


The Consolidation Wave Is Here. What It Actually Means for Emerging Beverage Brands.
The biggest beverage companies in the world are acquiring faster than ever. Here is what that wave of consolidation actually means if you are building an emerging brand right now.
Jason Kane
Oct 3, 20225 min read


How Sazerac Built One of the Most Dominant Brand Portfolios in the Spirits Industry
Sazerac built one of the most dominant spirits portfolios in America with almost no consumer-facing attention. Here is how they did it and what it means for emerging brands.
Jason Kane
Sep 6, 20225 min read


Stone Brewing Sold to Sapporo for $165 Million. What Every Founder Should Take From That Deal.
Stone Brewing sold to Sapporo for $165 million in 2022. Here is what the deal reveals about craft beverage brand equity and what founders should think about before they exit.
Jason Kane
Aug 8, 20224 min read
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