Podcast host Filiberto discusses a structural “reset” in beverages, especially beer and spirits, as the aggressive pricing playbook used to offset inflation has hit consumer limits and investors now prioritise volume growth. He traces how industry messaging shifted from post-pandemic cyclical softness to normalisation and transition, citing inventory overhang and weaker consumption, including pressures even in stronger categories like tequila. Spirits players such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard are adapting portfolio and operating models, while beer leaders like AB InBev and Heineken emphasise operating leverage, productivity, digital B2B platforms, and cost resets, alongside investment in no/low alcohol and beyond-beer offerings that still don’t fully offset traditional volume declines. He highlights category boundary blurring, diversification by bottlers and brewers, affordability ceilings, geopolitical supply-chain risk, and GLP-1 impacts, and outlines 2026 mandates: prioritise volume, shed complexity, localise smarter, stay consumer-close, and build better distribution systems.
00:00 Podcast Welcome
01:02 Beverage Reset Begins
04:26 From Cyclical to Structural
16:31 Total Beverage Playbook
21:13 2026 Mandate and Wrap
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