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Of all the things that COVID-19 has thrown out of whack, retail shelf resets are soon set to return, bringing new pressures from a return to normalcy of seasonal change. That’s not a good thing, however.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how bad it’s about to get,” says Donn Bichsel, founder of consultancy group, 3 Tier Beverages. The last time there was a full-scale rest? Fall 2019. “The spring 2021 reset is going to be the first, full reset since COVID started, and that’s when the real bloodbath comes.”
Back in March, we warned of a future fight between producers and distributors created because of COVID.
At the time, the pandemic had ravaged supply chains and chain stores were struggling to keep beer in the cold box, prompting huge gains for whoever could make and package beer fast enough. The availability of products were key, as were pack sizes and price point.
And now that kind of shift is going to take on new meaning thanks to the wild growth of FMBs, whether it’s hard tea or hard seltzer. Starting in March and lasting through the summer, hard seltzer in particular chipped away at sales of other alcoholic beverages and stole cold box space from beer. Sign up to read more.
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Words by Bryan Roth