Could inflation force beverage companies to rethink their packaging choices? And could those changes have a positive impact on climate change? With help from Packaging and Supply Chains Analyst Xinnan Li, we explore what is driving up costs in packaging and some less disruptive changes companies can make to address those problems in the near term. Our next episode will be dedicated to structural changes that may be needed to address packaging costs, waste, and the climate crisis.

Links to our article series on costs and packaging:

Part 1 – Inflation's Impact on Beverage Supply Chain and Packaging Decisions

Part 2 – Rethinking Materials, Because It’s Not Just What’s Inside That Counts

Part 3 – Location, Location, Location

Part 4 – Improving Recycling To Bring Every Bottle Back

Part 5 – Will Inflation Fuel the Rebirth of Reusable Packaging?

McBride Sisters is a Black-owned brand that explicitly – though not exclusively – markets to Black women. As a consequence, the media, retailers and distributors, often assume your brand must only appeal to Black women or worse, that it might actively push away other consumer groups. With help from Co-founder and CEO, Andréa McBride, we learn more about one of the fastest growing wine brands in the US and summarily destroy the idea that marketing to an underserved consumer group could undermine your relationship with others.  

In a format designed to maximize controversy, the Liquid Assets team analyzes some of the industry’s most urgent and contentious opinions and predictions. Expect plenty of rapid-fire debates as they answer questions like "Is hard seltzer dead?" "In two years, will anyone be talking about NFTs?" and "Will the US ever legalize marijuana?"

Rabobank clients can sign up for our research via this link: Research.Rabobank.com

• The importance of digital content and how brands can maximize the impact of the digital shelf
• The evolution and growing importance of performance marketing and retail media
• How category advisory and captaincy are evolving in the digital world

Constellation Brands’ Vice President of E-commerce, Wayne Duan, and Adam Springer, Constellation's Director of E-commerce Category Advisory, help the Liquid Assets team breakdown the US online alcohol business. In the first of two episodes featuring the digital team from Constellation Brands, we tackle big picture questions like:

• How much has the pandemic changed the e-commerce landscape for US alcohol brands?
• How should alcohol companies approach their e-commerce investment?
• What does the average online alcohol shopper look like?
• In a world of tied-house laws, how can brands improve the online shopping experience?

Additional resources:

To access Rabobank’s 2022 Alcohol E-commerce playbook, click here.

Rabobank clients can sign up for our research via this link: Research.Rabobank.com (just list Bourcard Nesin as your “Relationship Manager”)

Inflation, war, and general chaos are disrupting every aspect of the beer value chain. To help brewers plan through this conflagration of unfortunate events, we invited Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Brewers Association, and Michael Uhrich, former Chief Economist for the Beer Institute and now principal at Seventh Point Analytic Consulting, on to the show. With their help, we use a draft to identify the most important themes from the current inflation and supply chain crisis and how brewers might manage them.

Rabobank clients can sign up for our research via this link: Research.Rabobank.com

February may be the shortest month, but this year, it has felt like the longest. To break it all down, the Liquid Assets team discusses the biggest stories from the past few weeks: Monster Beverage Corp’s beer dealings, the US Treasury Department’s report on fairness and competition in the US alcohol industry, and, finally, the potential impact of a global public policy push to reduce alcohol consumption.

Get up-to-date on equity markets, labor, and inflation as Rabobank’s world-class economists Jane Foley and Christian Lawrence join the Liquid Assets team to dissect the economic stories you need to pay attention to in 2022.

Journalist Kate Bernot (Good Beer Hunting, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine) and Brewbound Managing Editor Jess Infante, help us debate the biggest stories from the past 12 months. Things then turn fiercely competitive, as we go head-to-head in Liquid Asset’s first ever 'Quiz of the Year'. Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for tuning in.

The old playbook of geographic expansion, consolidation, and premiumization were widely successful, but those strategies seem to have run their course. If big brewers want to grow, they’ll have look outside of the beer category. In this episode, we bring you success stories from around the globe of brewers diversifying their portfolio and outline a strategy that could help all beverage companies take full advantage of this changing world.

Read our latest Beer Quarterly: research.rabobank.com