Liquid Ai Technologies Inc.’s Post

The Ontario government recently announced an acceleration of its planned expansion of the province’s alcoholic beverage marketplace. The acceleration will take place via a phased rollout beginning this summer with every grocery, convenience, and big-box store in Ontario able to sell beer, cider, wine, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages by October 2024, if they apply for a license to do so. The accelerated expansion has implications for both current and future alcoholic beverage retailers – read more about the details in our bulletin where we outline: ·       Key rollout dates ·       Changes to the recycling program ·       How this affects existing retailers ·       What this means for new retailers ·       Scope for convenience and grocery stores, and more. https://bit.ly/3Vsumx4 #foodanddrug #consumer #alcohol #retail #regulatory Teresa Reguly | Denise Ramsden | Jillian Sprenger

The number of convenience stores across the country has been declining in recent years. Our client, Convenience Industry Council of Canada, was seeking a way to preserve these community hubs. One solution explored was to allow the sale of alcohol in stores. We collaborated with the council to analyze the economic impacts of this potential policy change, considering effects on jobs, tax revenue, GDP, alcohol consumption, and capital spending. Our economic analysis revealed a case for change and a positive overall impact on the industry. Fast forward to today, the Ontario Government | Gouvernement de l’Ontario has approved the changes and beer, cider, wine, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages may now be sold in convenience, grocery, and big-box stores. This policy change marks a significant milestone for the industry and will help preserve convenience shops across Ontario. To learn more about the changes taking place in Ontario stores, visit: https://lnkd.in/gWg4zgYK #ManagementConsulting #Economics #Policy

The popularity of no and low drinks continues to grow and with it the product range is expanding every year. In the UK’s pubs, bars and restaurants[1] (in the 12 months to June 2024) sales of no and low alcohol totalled around £180 million, a rise of 51% from a year ago. Whilst in the supermarkets, impulse convenience stores & forecourts[2], no and low alcohol sales worth £277 million, an increase of 18% from a year ago. Which is why the WSTA is working hard with its members to clear up how producers should describe their products to help consumers better understand what they are buying. Find out more on our website. https://lnkd.in/eJw7HhvC #WSTA #LowAndNo #AlcoholAlternatives #DryJanuary [1] CGA by NIQ On Premise Measurement (OPM) | Total Liquor value | MAT up to W/E 07/09/2024 [2] NIQ Off-trade Retail Measurement Service data | Total Liquor value | MAT up to W/E 07/09/2024

Thanks to the The Drinks Association and Hip Media for your support and spotlighting our insights. You'll be hearing a lot more about NielsenIQ"Full View of Liquor" in Australia in the coming months. (It's a GAME-CHANGER) As businesses become increasingly driven by data, we are uniquely placed to cater to almost all of your data needs: 🔎 Innovation: We can help you optimise product innovation, branding, and go-to-market strategies, ensuring successful launches in a competitive market. 📊 Revenue Growth Management: We can empower liquor clients with actionable insights to optimise pricing, promotions, and assortment strategies, driving profitability and market share growth. 💻 E-Commerce: Through our digital shelf solutions. We can help you measure OOS, online shelf presence and realise online opportunities for growth. 🍻 On-Premise: Our CGA by NIQ suite of solutions gives you the keys to realise growth in the On-Premise channel, through sales, consumer and bartender insights. 🛒 Retail: With a new best-in-class platform, Discover, and a unique methodology for covering 'dark retailers' down to brand-level for you and your competitors' brands. We're unmasking the ambiguity. No other intelligence company can provide you with access to this many datapoints and consumer touchpoints in Australia. Stay tuned for more information and detail about our Full View of Liquor. Ryan Winslade Pete Sheridan Victor Hidalgo James Guild Marco Giorgi

A thought provoking insight into the state of our industry. It’s time to shift from commercial distribution to large format retailers until they invest in better recruiting standards and treat their customers with better service standards. I have so much respect for the small batch producers who invest their time and resources into education, quality control and more decerning distribution partners. Let’s hope with all the attention on the big box grocery chains that this monoplised industry changes with the governments redirection in policy. I’m an advocate for breaking up the monopoly.We can start with putting a cap on the number of liquor licences approved by the VCGL to multi national retail organisations. Biggest US Wine Distributor Slashes Staff https://lnkd.in/gm3X5GGe

A Full View of liquor: The key to unlocking growth 🍷🍺🍸 Over the last few years, the liquor industry in Australia - and globally - has faced significant challenges and uncertainties. Amid the noise, NIQ has been working to reveal the true stories shaping the industry. Comment by Tom Graham Senior Manager – Pacific, for Drinks Trade highlights the importance of a holistic view of liquor consumption. By combining insights from Off-Premise, On-Premise, Offline, and Online channels, industry leaders can: 🔎 Track the flow of consumption 🎯 Identify growth opportunities for their brands 🌐 Understand how trends connect across the total liquor landscape This full view of liquor is essential to uncover opportunities, make informed decisions, and achieve success in a constantly evolving market. Read the full article in The Drinks Association Drinks Trade’s Drinks Guide 2025 here: https://lnkd.in/g6RBZjyV #LiquorIndustry #AlcoholTrends #BeverageInsights #DrinksTrade #AustralianLiquor #LiquorConsumption #OnPremise #OffPremise

♻ We have released a new report in conjunction with Canadian Beverage Association demonstrating that extending Ontario's deposit-return system to include non-alcoholic beverage containers is the most effective way to increase rates and reach the collection goal of 90%. ✔ The report’s findings show that leveraging The Beer Store’s collection system and having grocery stores and other retail locations take back empty beverage containers will create a system that can achieve a recovery rate of over 89% and deliver a collection location for roughly every 1,600 Ontarians. This system would also include limited depot collection in high-volume locations. The net-cost of this system is estimated to be $190 million and would be funded by the beverage industry. Read the full report link below 👇 #DRS #recycling

🍷 A brief history of wine retailing in Ontario 🍷 We have come a long way from the days of Prohibition (1916-1927) and Individual Liquor Permits (1927-1962)! In 2015, new legislation saw wine and beer sold in licensed grocery stores and in 2020 restaurants were allowed to sell wine with takeout food orders. Today, wine retailing in the province expands yet again, with the introduction of wine sales to food shops, big box grocery and convenience stores. There will be an estimated 8500 newly licensed retailers throughout Ontario who will be able to set their own operating hours and prices. While this next market expansion is expected to increase convenience and choice for many, independent premium bottle shops like Buyers+Cellars will continue to offer some of the best retail options for the discerning wine consumer. Click the link below to read about a few of our favourite such shops in the GTA and Ottawa: https://lnkd.in/dP6skHnS

Some interesting news we found in the food and drink industry recently: 1. Lidl GB is on track to invest a total of £21 billion in the British food industry by the end of FY24, exceeding its original five-year commitment of £15 billion by 40%. This equates to an additional £6 billion and underscores the retailer’s ongoing support for British agriculture and food production.  2.  UK start-up Nuisance Drinks has unveiled the latest addition to its range of botanical beverages, a damson and dandelion tonic. The new product pairs the light, bitter and slightly sweet flavours of dandelion with sharp notes of damson, tapping into the trend of ‘new-stalgia’. 3. Huel sales surged past £200m last year as demand for meal replacement options remained resilient. Revenue rose 16% to £214m in the year to 31 July 2024 while pre-tax profits tripled from £4.7m to £13.8m, as the company benefited from improved economies of scale and newfound efficiencies. 4. Keystone Brewing Group, the brewing arm of private investment group Breal Capital Group, showed an interest in acquiring ailing craft brewer Fourpure Brewing Co. in a joint deal with brand owner IN GOOD COMPANY (IGCO). Keystone, which owns beer brands including Black Sheep, Purity Brewing Co, Brew by Numbers and Brick Brewing, “engaged in substantial discussions with IGCO. 5. Tesco’s Finest champagne has triumphed over the prestigious French label Moët & Chandon in a festive quaff test. The Tesco Finest premier cru brut champagne received the top score of 82% in a blind taste test conducted by the consumer group Which? #acquistion #businessgrowth #startup

Ontario has now permitted adults to purchase beer and wine, as well as certain mixers, at convenience stores. However, it was inevitable that there would be a markup for the convenience of not having to visit the LCBO or Beer Store. It will be interesting to see whether, as micro theory teaches us, geographically close convenience stores will all have the same pricing and lower margins than today in an effort to poach customers. All things considered, this will be a boom for convenience stores. From yesterday alone, the traffic at some convenience stores I saw was very steady. Let's hope, though, that people are responsible and that we do not see an increase in fights, traffic accidents, etc. #Ontario #beer #conveniencestores https://lnkd.in/gxUH6AGM