!JuneShine Acquiring Flying Embers!
*Breaking this a.m. in Craft Business Daily*:
A pair of budding beyond beer brands are coming together, as JuneShine has announced the acquisition of Flying Embers. The purchase, which is set to close in coming days, is “an all-stock transaction” and is exclusive to the Flying Embers brand, trademarks and distribution rights.
The combination of portfolios makes for a dominant player in the hard kombucha category and beyond beer: The two brands together will now represent “63% of all hard kombucha sold” in total U.S., “the 14th largest beyond beer & spirit based RTD brand family” across the States, and the “6th” biggest beyond beer & spirit based RTD brand fam in California, per announcement this morning. All in, JuneShine will now be about a 116,000-barrel or 1.6 million case supplier.
Three interesting points from the article:
1. The deal is for Flying Embers brand, trademark, and distro rights, not the FE brewery. This is about consolidation for efficiencies, scale, profitability
“Our brewery’s not as nice as theirs,” Greg said. “They have a Ferrari, we have an old Tacoma,” he quipped, but the old Tacoma “gets the job done and it can make [Flying Embers] product” in a “very efficient” manner. After the deal, “we’ll probably be at about 75% capacity,” Greg said of their production facility in Scripps Ranch. “I think there’s some levers we can pull to increase our capacity, but yeah, we’re starting to fill the space out.”
2. They don’t plan to immediately align wholesaler footprints.
Flying Embers in in more states than JuneShine, but in common markets, they have “pretty good wholesaler overlap,” say Greg and Forrest. “I don’t anticipate making any immediate changes to that,” said Greg, as they find it “disruptive.”
3. Flying Embers founder Bill Moses (who also co-founded probiotic beverage co. Kevita and sold to PepsiCo in 2016) will be part of a newly created board of directors, along with co-founders Forrest Dein and Greg Serrao.
But what about Beam Suntory’s previous funding in Flying Embers? It appears that investment will simply carry over. Bill Moses tells CBD in a statement that “Beam Suntory is a shareholder in Flying Embers and will therefore have an interest in JS Brands.”
Here’s a couple throwbacks (!!) to our Beernet Radio pods with both companies: JS with Greg Serrao and Forrest Dein, and FE with Bill Moses and Liz Tomic, both episodes two years old. Here's to the future.
https://lnkd.in/gcUEceushttps://lnkd.in/gY7Pr8Ze
It’s amazing to see big-name chefs come onto Substack. Content used to be kind of a losing — or at best, break even — play for restaurant chefs: It's expensive to create and difficult to monetize at any meaningful scale outside of cookbooks. And for many (not the Ottolenghi’s of the food world, but for many of the chefs who primarily earn through their restaurants) cookbooks themselves are not always a major financial win. That they can immediately monetize via Substack subscriptions absolutely changes the game for restaurant chefs.
Chefs/restaurant owners: If you want to talk about starting your own paid subscription newsletter. Hit me up and let's figure it out. Message me here or email me: [email protected]
A video featuring myself and my family's cooking practices. In collaboration with Masienda. In the video I speak about the importance of preserving cooking practices and keeping them in a state of evolution in that process.
https://lnkd.in/eKK8fFd5
What if you had to earn the right to buy a limited-edition whisky? 🥃
I was reminded today of a column I wrote last year in Scottish Field Magazine about a potential solution to combat whisky flipping—where rare bottles are bought purely for profit. Platforms like EARNT encourage consumers to give back before gaining access to exclusive releases. It's an idea that could create a new VIP fanbase, while also making whisky more accessible to genuine enthusiasts.
Would you do two hours of litter picking on an Islay beach or along the River Spey to be eligible to purchase a limited-edition bottle? I certainly would, and I bet the whisky would taste even better knowing you'd earned it.
Could this be the future of purpose-driven whisky collecting?
#whisky#limitededition#whiskybusiness#purpose#Bcorps#community#flipping#sustainability#whiskycollecting
Smells like Nc’nean spirit 🥃
Seven years ago, Annabel Thomas started Nc'nean Distillery to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland. Her mission was to create a whisky which could exist in harmony with this planet we call home.
Last year, Nc’nean secured a Virgin Money funding package with the backing of UK Export Finance to help the independent distillery grow and bring its vision for sustainable, organic Scottish whisky overseas.
We caught up with Annabel to hear her story, watch below 👇
#VirginMoney#BusinessBanking#CustomerStory
Looking for a short-term whisky #investment?
Our Staoisha cask, aged in a 100-litre first-fill Texan bourbon cask, will be bottled in just 4 years, offering a quicker exit for its owners.
With only 11 fractions left at £130 each, this is an opportunity to own a piece of Islay’s peated magic.
#alternativeinvestment
Making life enjoyable, 1 experience at a time.
4dCongrats on that