The future looks blindingly bright for BERO, a new non-alcoholic beer fronted by the actor Tom Holland that launched in 1,200-plus Target stores across the U.S. \u2014 just in time for Dry January. <\/p>\n
That massive retail push \u2014 the first for the new-to-world brand \u2014 was maximized through a partnership with Relentless Advantage, a new collaboration between Advantage Solutions and L.A. Libations designed to help emerging and insurgent brands scale with speed. <\/p>\n
BERO, a start-up with just 10 employees, launched into a fast-growing sector with a premium brand proposition and an authentic story, but the company realized success would be defined with retail execution<\/strong> and lacked the bandwidth to execute in-store merchandising and inventory management required to power a national launch. <\/p>\n \u201cThat’s where you guys came in,\u201d said BERO CEO John Herman, referring to Relentless Advantage. \u201cYou gave us scale. You gave us the ability to make sure that our vision was being executed. And you’re the feet on the street to really communicate the learnings real-time, because we’re not going to get it all right, and those insights have been invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n Though it\u2019s still early days, Herman said, BERO\u2019s category-expanding debut in Target stores is \u201cgreatly outperforming our wildest expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n To execute BERO\u2019s vision, the Relentless Advantage team prepared throughout December in order to be ready to execute the end-cap displays, ensure promotional compliance, and assist with inventory management to capture sales during one of the busiest non-alcoholic sales months of the year.<\/p>\n In many ways, BERO\u2019s launch presented a perfect opportunity to flex the nationwide capabilities of Relentless Advantage, which combines the brand incubation savvy of L.A. Libations with the deep retail scale and expertise of Advantage Solutions. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve been able to execute for BERO really speaks to the flexibility and expertise of the Relentless Advantage team,\u201d said Andy Keenan, executive vice president and general manager of branded retail services for Advantage Solutions. \u201cSpeed in execution matters a great deal, but it matters even more for emerging brands.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, BERO\u2019s success is a testament to how the brand is resonating with consumers. Even before it hit brick-and-mortar retail, BERO was blowing up online, building a massive audience on Instagram and TikTok, and creating awareness that has translated directly to sales. <\/p>\n Holland\u2019s journey to sobriety is foundational to the BERO brand story \u2014 and the idea that anyone should be able to drink a non-alcoholic beer in a pub with their pals that\u2019s uncompromising in its flavor. <\/p>\n \u201cTom has rewritten the rules for how a celebrity launches a brand, and it\u2019s really about his authenticity,\u201d said Danny Stepper, CEO and co-founder of L.A. Libations. \u201cThis is Tom\u2019s passion and he\u2019s given us access to that.\u201d<\/p>\n As challenges inevitably arise \u2014 such as low inventory or incorrect price tags \u2014 Relentless Advantage functions as the \u201ceyes and ears\u201d of BERO in stores, Stepper said. <\/p>\n \u201cFor an emerging brand, it\u2019s invaluable to have that ability to know what\u2019s happening and to make really quick adjustments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For BERO\u2019s retail launch, one of the goals was to capitalize on Dry January, Keenan said, the annual occasion for a growing number of consumers to cut out alcohol for a month. <\/p>\n While Dry January is winding down, the growth trajectory for non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits in the U.S. appears to be just getting started. In 2024, non-alc sales exceeded $823 million \u2014 an increase of more than 27%, according to NielsenIQ\u2019s Year in Review, which recaps off-premise beverage trends. <\/p>\n Increasingly, non-alcoholic beers are not just for those who don\u2019t drink alcohol.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opportunity for the category isn’t that all of America is going to be sober,\u201d Herman said, himself a social drinker. \u201cThe opportunity for the category is people are going to make decisions on maybe they want a night off, maybe they want a month off, or maybe they’re just going to mix alc- and non-alc beverages on a given night.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the velocity of growth for the category, non-alc beverages are still less than 1% of total alcohol sales, per NielsenIQ. Expect that percentage to increase significantly in the years ahead. <\/p>\n Beyond Target, BERO continues to grow both online and in stores, Herman said. The brand is in about 3,000 stores total at this point, including Sprouts Farmers Market \u2014 the first retailer to launch the brand \u2014 and Total Wine stores, and also recently began sales on Amazon.<\/p>\n To be clear, no one at BERO or at Relentless Advantage is declaring mission accomplished. For an emerging brand like BERO, there are always new challenges to overcome as the brand works to stake out a lasting spot atop a growing category. <\/p>\n Herman likened BERO\u2019s current reality to the metaphor of a duck appearing calm while swimming, while just beneath surface, its legs are frantically kicking. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to be grounded and say, what’s the bad thing around the corner that we need to be prepared for?\u201d Herman said. \u201cThus far, though, my overall read is far more positive than we could have hoped for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The future looks blindingly bright for BERO, a new non-alcoholic beer fronted by the actor Tom Holland that launched in 1,200-plus Target stores across the U.S. \u2014 just in time for Dry January. That massive retail push \u2014 the first for the new-to-world brand \u2014 was maximized through a partnership with Relentless Advantage, a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2276,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"mrktblog-category":[41],"class_list":["post-2277","mrktblog-posts","type-mrktblog-posts","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mrktblog-category-advantage-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Strategic Launch During Dry January<\/h3>\n