News Briefs for October 24, 2016
October 24, 2016•Bacardi has unveiled new packaging for its Oakheart spiced rum offshoot. Intended to further differentiate Oakheart ($15 a 750-ml.) from the core Bacardi portfolio, the updated package features a more “classic and masculine” look, with imagery depicting a barrel and flames over a pair of crossed axes. Concurrently, Oakheart is ramping up its focus on the LDA male millennial demographic with its new “Take the Oakth” initiative, inviting consumers to participate in physical challenges across key U.S. markets, as well as a variety of targeted advertising at tailgates and sporting events. Oakheart was down 11% to 163,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank.
•M.S. Walker has added Mezcales de Leyenda and Peloton De La Muerta Mezcal to its import portfolio. Mezcales de Leyenda’s portfolio includes Mezcal from Oaxaca ($66, 84 proof), Guerrero ($80, 90 proof), Durango ($90, 94 proof) and Peloton De La Muerte ($40, 82 proof). The brand expects to launch a Mezcal from Puebla ($90, 90 proof), San Luis Potosi ($60, 94 proof) and Tamaulipas ($95, 96 proof) nationwide in 2017. The lineup of mezcals is certified USDA Organic and Fair Trade.
•Beam Suntory’s Jim Beam facilities in Clermont and Boston, Kentucky are operating at full-strength again today after the end of a weeklong strike by union workers. Late last week, Jim Beam’s union workforce overwhelmingly approved a new labor agreement that Beam Suntory said includes “less reliance on temporary workers, better management of overtime, and a number of improvements to promote work-life balance.”
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