The Weekly Sip is Food Dive’s column focused on the latest news in the rapidly changing and growing beverage sector. From inaugural product lines to big investments and controversial topics, this column aims to quench the thirst for developments in the category.
From the field to the beer fridge, Kelce brothers aim to score
In the past year, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has both won another Super Bowl ring and become a tabloid fixture thanks to his romance with superstar Taylor Swift. Now Kelce and his brother Jason, a newly retired Philadelphia Eagles center, hope to translate star power into success for a rising beer brand.
The Kelce brothers have joined small batch, light brewer Garage Beer as “significant investors, partners, owners, and operators,” the brand announced in a press release with no financial terms. The company said the football players will be involved with “brewing, distribution, sales, marketing, and national expansion efforts.”
Garage Beer was first launched in Cincinatti, Ohio — also the home state of the NFL stars — in January 2023, and is sold throughout the Midwest and Northeast, with plans to expand into dozens more states later this year.
Jason Kelce said he and his brother are both light beer drinkers and Garage delivers on quality and has a small batch, neighborhood feel. The brothers will appear in Garage Beer retail displays, billboards and other advertisements this year.
“There is nothing better to bring people together than an ice-cold beer, and for Jason and me that is what beer is all about – friends, family and fun,” said Travis Kelce in a statement. “I have worked with Andy for years and I really trust the team and their approach to running the business. We look forward to taking Garage Beer to the next level.”
Garage Beer has expanded significantly since its launch. Last year, it was identified as the fastest growing beer brand in the country, quickly becoming the best-selling light beer in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, according to IRI data cited by Forbes.
Coming off of their three recent Super Bowl wins, other Chiefs players have entered into entrepreneurial endeavors, including in the beverage space. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the lead investor in Throne Sport Coffee, a functional RTD coffee, helping to shape the brand identity for the upstart beverage maker.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of DAVIDsTEA’s
DavidsTea adds a little fizz to RTD beverage
DavidsTea is giving a premium boost to the tea category with its ready-to-drink cold brew sparkling beverages.
The drinks are available in three flavors based on DavidsTea’s best-sellers: Organic Cream of Earl Grey, Organic Queen of Tarts and Magic Potion.
“We’re making premium tea more accessible than ever before,” Sarah Segal, CEO and chief brand officer with DavidsTEA, said in a statement. “While everybody loves the ritual of making a cup of loose-leaf tea, the reality is that there are times when you need an easy, on-the-go solution.”
Segal said her customers have been asking for their favorite flavors in a ready-to-drink format. The new clean-label drinks are made with natural and no artificial ingredients.
DavidsTea cold brew sparkling beverages come as sales in the category heat up. Future Market Insight forecast the ready-to-drink tea market will more than double to $73 billion by 2033, a compound annual growth rate of 8% during the prior decade.
PureLeaf was the top-selling ready-to-drink (RTD) tea brand in the U.S., according to Statista. Sales of the beverage, part of a joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo, were nearly $1 billion. Competitors Arizona and Lipton had respective sales of $956 million and $561 million.
— Christopher Doering
Asbury Park Brewery’s AI-IPA.
Courtesy of Asbury Park Brewery
New Jersey brewery takes AI to the tap
A brewery with a musical legacy is turning to new technology for its latest offering.
Asbury Park Brewery launched its newest beer created using AI, containing 6% ABV with notes of citrus, mango and pine.
Music executive Bob McLynn, the co-founder of Asbury Park Brewery, said its head brewer Chris Vaughn asked an AI chatbot on his new computer — without revealing which program was used — to develop the best hazy IPA recipe. After making it with a few tweaks, Vaughn was impressed with how it turned out.
“It spit out some different answers. It is really a collaboration between Chris and the AI program. It came out so good and now it’s on tap,” McLynn said. “Our other IPAs are a little more East Coast, not as hazy. This one is hazy, New England style, so it’s not too similar to the others, but still fits in with our portfolio.”
The AI-IPA is available exclusively at the brewery in Asbury Park, New Jersey — best known as the hometown of music legend Bruce Springsteen. It first began operations in 2016, and last month opened its new location, a 3,180 square foot brewery and tasting room full of memorabilia related to musicians, including vinyl records, concert tickets and photo collages.
A veteran of the New Jersey punk scene, McLynn co-founded Crush Mangement, which currently manages the careers of stars like Miley Cyrus, Green Day and Lorde.
The craft beer scene has taken a hit since the late 2010’s, as a large number of new entrants in the category over the last decade led to a crowded landscape. Earlier this month, Chobani owner and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya purchased San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing, the nation’s oldest craft brewery, after it closed last year due to heavy competition in the space.
McLynn believes local breweries stand to benefit most from the current environment.
“What these big brands try to do is take a brand that was local and doing well and make it more national, and I don’t think there’s really a national appetite for other beer brands,” McLynn said. “If people want new brands, they’re gonna try what’s in their backyard.”
— Chris Casey
