On-premise capped at 92% re-opened (BUD)
According to BeerBoard, which tracks $1B in draft sales nationwide, a reported 92% of establishments were open and pouring beer for the weekend of April 8-11. Even with the previous three reporting periods going back to Feb. 25-28, as seen in the following chart. The open rate is back to the highest level since the pandemic began a year ago. Datassential reports that about 10% of the 778,807 restaurants that existed before the pandemic have closed for good. 92% may be the ceiling for openings. Nationally the volume of beer poured decreased 5.4% for the weekend. Compared to the same weekend in 2019, volumes were down 38%. The YOY change in volumes in Florida -7.1% and Texas -6.8% lagged the more restricted states a year ago, like Minnesota -2.2% and South Carolina -1.3%. Import beer represented 15.9% of volume share, down slightly from 16.1% in the previous reporting period Mar. 25-28. All 50 states have allowed restaurants and bars to open for indoor service, but 66% of states still have capacity restrictions. The exceptions are California and Louisiana, which allow indoor dining, but bar service is limited outdoors.
Craft breweries grow, but volumes decline (SAM)
Despite the restrictions on indoor bars for much of the pandemic in most states and the much higher mix of on-premise sales for craft brewers, craft brewers continue to open. Last year 716 new craft breweries opened. That represents 30% fewer openings than in 2019. Openings also more than doubled the number of closings. About 4% of craft brewers closed during 2020. Craft brewers were able to switch to on-site canning, wholesale, and to-go sales to make up for the loss of on-premise sales. Even with the new sales models, beer volumes declined 9% for craft brewers in 2020.
Coca-Cola adds oat milk (STKL)
Coca-Cola has added oat milk to its growing portfolio of plant-based alternatives. The new offering is under the Simply brand, Simply Oat. The oat dairy alternative is being introduced with three different flavors. Simply Almond was introduced last year. Simply is better known for its orange juice and lemonade offerings. In January 2020, Coca-Cola acquired the remaining stake in fairlife, an ultrafiltered milk beverage company. Fairlife does not offer any plant-based offerings, but its milk products are lactose-free. Oat milk is still early in its growth curve, but it has attracted several entrants. SunOpta is positioned well to benefit in the growth of oat and other plant-based kinds of milk by being a supplier to many.
