Amaro is the Drink of the Year
Some low and no-proof news and my hot take on the best water bottle
Hellllooooooo for the first time this week. For all of you who had a rough time going back to work post holidays, I FEEL you. One working day into the new year my boss was let go, a few days later my new boss was like “hey come to Seattle next week for a work summit” so here we are. All that to say, I’m not the only one who has been busy. ALOT has been going on this week so here’s a quick recap.
🍸Amaro is THE Drink of the Year, Apparently
Most of you actually have had amaro without even realizing it. In fact, it’s a rather broad category which includes Italian aperitvos made of up herbs and flavor profiles that are both bitter and sweet. Aperol is technically a type of amaro as is Campari. The category grew in popularity in 2022 and 2023 as low-alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks gained momentum (read Aperol Spritzes, Ghia, De Soi, Kin Euphorics). Campari, the parent company of Aperol, recently made a $1.2B acquisition expanding its portfolio which came after high revenue growth over the last few years. Amaro will continue to grow as more American-made amaro brands enter the scene.
🥔Low-Alc Vodka Brand BODY has Joined Amass Brand Group
Amass Brand Group has taken a minority stake in BODY, the low-alcohol vodka brand. The beverage innovation platform and holding company has a portfolio of brands including ABG Wines (maker of notorious Summer Water Rosé) and Katy Perry’s non-alcoholic brand De Soi.
🫒Olipop Named Their Chat Bot Oliver
For dry January, the prebiotic soda brand launched a chat bot named Oliver to help offer mocktail recipes using ingredients you already have. I chatted with him for a few rounds and the recipe recommendations are simple and creative. Like mixing cherry juice with vanilla extract and their vintage cola flavor. Wouldn’t have thought to do that, but now I’m tempted.
🏆High Noon Tops Tito’s as Largest Spirit Brand in US
While you may think that the best selling brand by alcohol volume is a bourbon, tequila, or vodka, it’s not. Canned cocktail brand High Noon is the favorite of American drinkers. They don’t sell bottled hard alcohol but instead offer ready to drink cocktails (RTDs) and seltzers made with vodka and fruit juice. In 2019, the RTD market saw 10 million cases sold, while in 2023 60 million cases sold accounting for 20% of the overall spirit market sales volume according to data recently released by Impact Database. High Noon sold twice as much alcohol than Tito’s vodka, and four times more than Jack Daniels whiskey. The RTD market has seen tremendous growth in the last few years and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
🥛Oatly Is Giving the People What They Want
A super basic oat milk. We’re talking oats, water, a dash of sea salt & citrus fiber. As many people partake in Whole30 during January, more customers are reading the ingredients of plant-based milk and choosing brands that skip the gums and oils (like Elmhurst, Three Trees, and Forager Project). While oat milk technically isn’t Whole30 since it’s made from a grain, skipping out on unnecessary ingredients is something that customers continue doing long after the 30 day diet is up.
☕Blankstreet Coffee Bets on Subscriptions
The East Coast coffee chain Blankstreet launched their subscription plan earlier this summer, which has drawn roughly 5,000 paying members with 4,000 on the waitlist. Blank Street co-founder Vinay Menda estimates that the chain’s new subscription program could eventually account for 30% to 40% of its customers.
🐄Zuck’s Side Hustle is Raising Cattle
The founder of Meta has wagyu and angus cattle on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and only feeds them macadamia meal and beer. Apparently, it’s delicious.
🪸Michael B Jordan Invested in a Sea Moss Beverage
Michael B. Jordan co-founded MOSS, a sea moss beverage created in partnership with organic food company Dr Smood. The drink features ingredients like sea moss, ashwagandha, and ginseng and will debuts in three flavors—Pure, Pomegranate, and Mango Ginger. The brand is committed to ocean conservation through plastic-free packaging and has donated $25k to organizations working to protect the ocean and associated communities. As someone who has a weakness for when a product is said to make my skin glow, I started eating sea moss (shoutout Amylk) in hopes of well, having skin that radiates of course. Tbh I probably just need to get more sleep, but until then I will be trying Michael B. Jordan’s drinks.
🥤Everyone’s Talking About the Stanley Cup Craze
I think the best thing I’ve read about the Stanley Cup fever is this article on hyper consumption written by
(whose online presence apparently does not include her last name). Her piece highlights the alarming surge in popularity of Stanley cups, drawing parallels to tulipmania (Econ 101 deep cut), while examining the gendered response to criticism and underscoring the overarching issue of overconsumption driven by marketing. Said overconsumption pictured below.
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Also, we’re talking about a reusable cup, a water bottle. One should purchase one, maybe two but I feel like they just appear whether its from work gifts or races or other random events and accumulate in a kitchen drawer. My personal favorite water vessel as of late? A GTs kombucha bottle with the label scraped off.
For real, it fits in a car cupholder (unlike my hydroflask), it’s clear so you can see how much water you’ve had / for the achievers out there somehow this helps “accomplish a task” by finishing the bottle, it’s small enough to fit in my backback when flying, and it’s free (well more like $4 if you count the kombucha).
🐟Fishwife's Becca Millstein Went On Shark Tank
This is wild because this brand already has such a strong presence and has gotten no shortage of PR as the tinned fish trend is everyone’s favorite topic (see here, here, here and here). Also, it’s creative on the part of Becca Millstein, Fishwife’s founder, since having one investor rather than a VC firm could have its advantages. Also, she’s certainly got more leverage in this negotiation than a lot of other brands that go on the show. Eager to see what goes down in the episode airing this evening.
Cheers to the long weekend!