alcoholic beverages

3M Co. MMM -5.37% said it is cutting 2,500 manufacturing jobs as the company confronts difficult business conditions in its overseas markets and weakening consumer demand. The maker of Scotch tape, Post-it Notes and thousands of other industrial and consumer products said Tuesday that it expects lower sales and profit in 2023 after demand weakened significantly in late 2022, pulling down quarterly performance. The St.…

Diageo DEO 1.44% PLC has agreed to buy Don Papa Rum, a high-end dark rum from the Philippines, in a deal worth up to about $473 million, as the liquor giant bids to move further upmarket. The owner of Johnnie Walker whisky and Tanqueray gin will pay 260 million euros, equivalent to $281 million, upfront for Don Papa, with a further potential consideration of up to €177.5 million through to 2028 subject to performance.…

After pushing prices to new heights last year, some companies are starting to pull back. It could be another sign that inflation is starting to turn a corner. Conagra Brands Inc., which makes Hunt’s ketchup and Slim Jim meat sticks, raised prices 17% in its latest quarter, on top of two previous quarters, when it increased prices more than 10%. The company said it is done boosting prices for now. Conagra’s sales volumes fell 8.4% for the quarter ended Nov. 27, which the company…

Many Americans took to mixing cocktails at home during the pandemic, boosting liquor sales. Now, with inflation squeezing disposable incomes, big distillers are betting on another round of home drinking as consumers economize.Historically, around 80% of all U.S. alcoholic drinks sales were for home drinking, according to IWSR, a drinks market-research firm. That level rose to 90% during the pandemic, and sales at bars aren’t likely to return to pre-Covid levels for another four to five years, IWSR says. To capitalize,…

For much of last year, U.S. beer sales seemed largely unaffected as rising prices squeezed shoppers’ pocketbooks. Some beer drinkers traded up to fancier brands as an affordable indulgence; others switched to cheaper suds.  That changed after price hikes took effect across the industry in October. U.S. demand for beer fell in the last three months of the year as consumers reacted with sticker shock. Corona brewer Constellation CEG -1.20% Brands Inc. now says it plans to…

The long-building craft-beer boom is showing signs of slowing down.Craft beer’s popularity has risen nationwide for more than a decade, and breweries have become a calling card for up-and-coming neighborhoods and communities, giving residents and visitors new places to gather and enjoy a taste of their towns. But in 2023 the smallest number of new breweries in over a decade will open, the Colorado-based trade group Brewers Association predicts.  The bar-stool talk among beermakers and their customers is…

Shoppers are reaching less for the top shelf.For more than a decade, high-price drinks have driven sales growth in the wine and spirits industries as people traded up for fancier brands. That is now changing: Sales growth of costlier spirits and wine is slowing, and even reversing, as shoppers seek out more value.  The shift is another sign that behavior is changing among some of the least price-sensitive shoppers as economists forecast a recession. While demand for luxury goods has largely held up in the face of…

Loop Co., a baby equipment rental company, has hired former Glossier Inc. chief marketing officer Ali Weiss to be its chief executive officer. She succeeds Henry Vogel, the founder of Loop and a co-founder and managing partner of venture-capital firm DVx Ventures, which launched and provided seed funding for the company. Loop, which was founded last year, lets paying members rent baby gear such as cribs, toys and high chairs. It operates in the greater New York City and San Francisco…

Chinese President Xi Jinping has a vision to distribute wealth more equally across the country. Investors are sobering up to what that could mean for the companies that make the nation’s beloved fiery booze.Mr. Xi recently doubled down on his plans for “common prosperity” during China’s weeklong Communist Party congress in October. Investors are worried that this could portend an industry crackdown, or simply be bad for the future sales of luxury baijiu distillers and companies that sell…

Pernod Ricard SA PRNDY 4.03% has agreed to buy a majority stake in Codigo 1530 Tequila, a premium spirits brand backed by country-music star George Strait, in the distiller’s latest move to boost its exposure to high-end booze in the U.S.  The French company said late Monday it would pay an undisclosed sum to acquire a majority stake in Codigo, which produces a range of ultrapremium and prestige tequilas. Companies across…