The end of 2025 marks the end of an era. Our dear friend and cohost Jim Watson returns for one last episode. We celebrate 10 years of ingenious, unparalleled drinks industry coverage with a very special episode, discussing the biggest story from each year of the past decade. And if you've appreciated Jim's work over 125+ episodes of this show, you should thank him directly at: JCWatson334@gmail.com.

Tune in to learn something and remember some pivotal beverage industry moments as we break down:

2016: The Anheuser-Busch acquisition of SABMiller

2017: Marijuana legalization in Canada and the US

2018: The Keurig Dr Pepper merger and the broader category blurring in soft drinks

2019: The year hard seltzers and RTDs took craft beer's momentum

2020: Ugh… nothing in particular

2021: The year of revenge spending and crazy valuations

2022: The year inflation took over the world

2023: The fallout from the anti-trans backlash against Bud Light

2024: The year of plummeting valuations and the wine and spirits industry starting to panic

2025: Trump Tariffs and RNDC pulling out of California

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

Special guest Richard Withagen (Equity Analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux) joins us as we review the latest earnings results from the spirits industry (Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Brown-Forman, Campari, Rémy Cointreau, and Becle). Alongside individual company results, we discuss the broader impact of regulation on spirits sales, how long a transitory/cyclical downturn can be before it is considered structural, the sharp shift in fortunes between geographies, and the difficulty of off-loading unwanted brands when literally everyone else is doing the same thing.

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

Craft spirits companies have seen an abrupt shift in fortune. Loaded with debt, rising cost of goods sold, and declining demand, many are struggling to survive. With help from our expert panel, we explore the greatest challenges craft distillers are facing and some of the financial and strategic decisions that could prove the difference between closure and living to sell another year. Guests on today's episode:

Maria Pearman – Advisory Partner / fractional CFO, GHJ

Margie Lehrman – CEO, American Craft Spirits Association

Becky Harris – President & Chief Distiller, Catoctin Creek Distilling Company.

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

The odds are stacked against them. They have less money, less influence with distributors, and fewer R&D resources to alchemize the perfect drink, yet smaller RTD brands are going toe-to-toe and often winning the race to capture the fastest-growing space in the beverage alcohol business.

In this episode, Evan Burns, CEO at The Finnish Long Drink, and Clement Pappas, cofounder and CEO of Stateside Brands – the company that owns Surfside – explain how, against all odds, they built successful brands in the face of powerful competition. They share some of the hidden advantages that independent brands have over the powerful yet lumbering incumbents.

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

We look back at the results from the first half of 2025 and check in on the performances of the world's largest global beer companies (Heineken, Carlsberg, AB InBev, Molson Coors, Constellation Brands, and Royal Unibrew). We also look at three major themes affecting the beer business in 2025: the dramatic impact of harsh immigration policies on American Latinos, the struggles of European brewers to push costs onto consumers, and the urgency and surprising success of global beer businesses betting big on non-alcoholic beverages.

Want to sign up for our written research? Have a question, qualm, or story to tell, reach out via email: Bourcard.Nesin@rabobank.com

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits is the largest alcohol wholesaler in the United States. We caught up with Mark Chaplin, John Wittig, and David Chaplin, three of Sourthern's senior executives, to discuss the toughest issues facing alcohol distribution in 2025 and increasing pressure to become a total beverage distributor.
Note: This episode was recorded only a few days prior to Southern's acquisition of AB InBev's wholly owned New York City distribution operations. In the coming weeks, we will have the Southern team back on the show to discuss that transaction.

Catch up on our additional coverage of route-to-market strategy:

REPORT: National alignment: How US wine and spirits brands can get the most out of their wholesaler

PODCAST: How to negotiate a better distribution agreement
PODCAST: What is driving wholesaler consolidation?

PODCAST: Do wine and spirits wholesalers need to be more like beer distributors?

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

With tariffs, falling demand, and an unfavorable exchange rate, it can feel as though the cosmos are conspiring to make life hard for US importers. However, many import brands and bulk products remain very competitive in the US market. In this episode, we discuss how importers are adjusting to survive and if not thrive in the current operating environment. This is episode two from our discussion with Ryan O'Hara, CEO of MHW, and Serena Campell, Operations Director for USA Wine West.

Check out episode one here: How to import wine and spirits into the US

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.

Winning in the US market is the holy grail for many brands around the world, but how do you get started? What type of importer should you use, what should you expect from them, and what should you be prepared to bring to the table? What gets an importer excited to support your brand? In this episode we speak with Ryan O'Hara, CEO of MHW, and Serena Campbell, Operations Director for USA Wine West, for a crash course on how to maximize your chance of succeeding in the competitive, confusing, and tremendously large US wine and spirits market. This is part 1 of a two-part episode.

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Note: The content and opinions presented within this podcast are not intended as investment advice, and the opinions rendered are that of the individuals and not Rabobank or its affiliates and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to sell or provide services.

Disclaimer: Please refer to our global RaboResearch disclaimer at https://www.rabobank.com/knowledge/disclaimer/011417027/disclaimer for information about the scope and limitations of the material published on the podcast.