Snoop Dogg, Hulk Hogan, NFL’s Kelce Brothers Race to the Alcoholic Beverage Marketplace
Just in time for summer drinking, entertainment and sports icons are rushing into the alcoholic beverage marketplace, with Snoop Dogg, Hulk Hogan, and Jason and Travis Kelce launching new brands and acquiring ownership in ready-to-drink cocktails and beers just this week.
Inspired by the laid-back California lifestyle, multi-talented artist and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has partnered with wine brand 19 Crimes to launch Cali Cocktails, a ready-to-drink (RTD) line of drinks with an agave wine base, available in two varieties: Smokin’ Strawberry Margarita and Long Beach Lemonade.
The Cali Cocktails line represents the fifth time Snoop Dogg has partnered with 19 Crimes, and the drinks add a 9% alcohol-by-volume (ABV) RTD drink to his line of California-themed wines. That line includes Snoop Cali Red, Cali Rosé, Cali Gold and Cali Blanc.
Meanwhile, former professional wrestler, entertainment icon and businessman Hulk Hogan is looking to reinvigorate the lager market with the launch of Real American Beer, a premium American-style light lager made with 100% North American ingredients.
The beer, which officially launches June 13, has secured distribution across 17 states in retail locations such as Albertsons, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and many more. Terri Francis, former vice president of the investment and innovation group within Anheuser-Busch InBev, will be the CEO of Real American Beer, joining Hulk Hogan in guiding the company moving forward.
Finally, the National Football League’s “family du jour” — Jason and Travis Kelce — have joined Garage Beer as significant investors, partners, owners and operators. The brothers are expected to be involved in brewing, distribution, sales, marketing and national expansion efforts for the small-batch brewed, light beer from their home state of Ohio.
The Kelces have been working on this deal for about two years, since becoming aware of the beer, which was created in Cincinnati but is now headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Currently, Garage Beer is distributed in about a dozen states in the Midwest, Ohio Valley and a bit into the Rocky Mountain states and Mid-Atlantic. The Kelces plan to expand sales to dozens more states this year alone.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.