Canada Beer sales (TAP)
Total beer volumes in Canada increased 1.8% in August, accelerating from a 4.4% decrease in July. Domestic beer volumes increased 1.7% in August, accelerating from a 7.0% decrease in July. Imported beer volumes increased 3.0% in August, decelerating from 17% in July. YTD beer volumes are down 3.6% in Canada despite the easier on-premise comparisons. One of the challenges to the on-premise industry is a labor shortage which is limiting hours of operation.
Grocery promotions (KR)
According to IRI 20.6% of food and beverage products were sold with price reductions in Q3. In Q3 of 2019, price reductions represented 25.7% of items sold. In the week ended September 18, promotional intensity lessened sequentially from +2% to down 1% for total CPG in the grocery store channel. All of the major categories had sequentially lower promotional intensity as seen in the following chart. There are several factors at play for the less promotional CPG environment. The two most significant factors are the cost pressures facing the manufacturers and a challenging supply environment.
Healthy beans (WEST)
New research published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology associated drinking two to three cups of coffee a day with a longer lifespan and lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with avoiding coffee. The study’s author, Professor Peter Kistler is a leader in cardiac arrhythmia research from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. He said, “The results suggest that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle.” All types of coffee were linked with a reduction in death from any cause in the study. Drinking two to three cups of ground coffee a day was associated with a 27% lower likelihood of death and a 20% reduced likelihood of cardiovascular disease. The study included 449,563 participants with a median follow up period of 12.5 years. Westrock Coffee supplies more than half the largest retailers, QSRs, and C-stores. Westrock Coffee is the largest store label coffee and tea provider to U.S. restaurants. Consumers drink 20 million cups of its coffee daily. The ongoing shift in the consumers' coffee consumption to cold brew, pods, and RTDs underpins the company's investments for expansion.
