Samuel AndersonManaging Partner, BevAssets, LLC · Just Pick Up The Phone 📞 | Joy 🦋 | Empowering individuals through meaningful connections, one person at a time.

DrinkUp Podcast Daily Industry Brief January 4,2026

4 Jan 2026 · 3 min

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3:15

In this episode of the Drink Up Podcast’s Daily Industry Brief, host Samuel Anderson outlines the evolving landscape of the 2026 beverage market and translates those shifts into concrete actions for brands, distributors, and operators. He frames the market as a three‑lane mix—premium/alcohol, non‑alcohol functional drinks, and hemp‑derived THC beverages—each driven by capital, consumer health trends, and regulatory openings. Capital is gravitating toward premium, low‑sugar, and functional brands that can command price increases. Alcohol is not in decline but is being re‑positioned; wine, especially premium whites and sparkling, shows modest growth, while spirits are led by premium tequila and RTDs. SKU rationalization and clear laddering are essential. Non‑alcoholic (NA) and functional beverages are moving from niche to expected, with low‑sugar, energy, gut‑health sodas, and NA beer gaining shelf space. Distributors should curate a modern NA ladder rather than a “junk drawer.” Hemp‑derived THC drinks are emerging as booze‑free buzz options for occasions like Dry January, with micro‑dose seltzers and spirit‑style bottles. Legal clarity on dosing and compliance is critical. The overarching recommendation is to stop defending broad portfolios and instead curate sharp, story‑driven assortments that serve all three consumer occasions, tightening alcohol ladders, building disciplined NA/THC bundles, and focusing on velocity, margin, and narrative.

Chapters

Welcome to the Drink Up Podcast's Daily Industry Brief. This is where we'll break down what's happening in the beverage business and what it actually means for brands, distributors, and operators. Today's theme: the mix is getting rewritten. Capital is chasing premium and low sugar. Non-alch is growing up. THC drinks are getting real space. And alcohol, alcohol has to earn its place instead of assuming it. 2026 is not about picking a side. It's about building a portfolio that serves all 3 occasions. Let's start with the money. Big deals are clustering around premium, functional, and brands that can take a price increase without losing shoppers. The slow lookalike labels are getting cut. If you're a distributor, this is your cue to clean up your own book and show up with a fewer, better brands story. If you're a supplier, assume you're being graded by the following 3 things: velocity, margin, and story. Right now on alcohol, this is a remix, not a crash. Wine looks cautiously steady with small Dollar growth as people lean into premium whites, sparkling, and more intentional occasions. Spirits value is still driven by tequila and other premium segments. Thank RTDs, folks. Even while total ethanol inches down, if you move cases, build simple ladders in tequila and sparkling wine that you can explain in one breath, then cut SKUs that don't have a real story. Operators should shrink the back bar and wine list tell and keep only what they actually sell. Non-alcohol? and functional tell you where the puck is going. Energy, functional soda, and NA beer are moving from nice to have to expected. The low sugar and functional set is growing fast, which says less sugar, more function is here to stay. Distributors absolutely should build a clear NA ladder and sell it as a modern non-alc set, not a junk drawer. Suppliers need to benefit for packaging and simple claims. Operators should pull at least one functional energy And one Gut Health Soda out of the fridge and onto the menu by name. Then there's the third lane, hemp-derived THC and cannabis drinks. These are being framed as booze-free buzz for Dry January and weeknights. Think microdose seltzers and spirit-style bottles built to compete with cocktails, not sit in a weird corner. Where it is legal, distributors should build a small, disciplined THC bundle and park it next to RTDs and NA beer. Suppliers must be crystal clear on dosing, onset, and legality. Operators can test a teeny THC and NA section, so moderating guests stay and spend with them instead of somewhere else. Here's the takeaway from today. Alcohol absolutely is not over. It is sharing the stage now. Consumers are managing their own mix across alcohol, non-alc, and THC. The portfolios that win are sharp enough to serve all 3. If you're a distributor, supplier, or operator, The move is now to stop defending everything and start curating it. Tighten your alcohol ladders, build a real NA/THC bundle where legal, and walk into 2026 resets with a higher value, more flexible mix, not just a bigger one.