Molson Coors to End Distribution Agreement with La Colombe Coffee Roasters

Molson Coors Beverage Co. said it will end distribution of La Colombe Coffee Roasters products, effective March 31.  

La Colombe wants to combine operations of its ready-to-drink coffee business, which the Molson Coors network distributed, with its bagged coffee and cold brew coffee multi-serves.

“Over the past few years, we have opened new lines of revenue for all our businesses as we leverage the competitive strengths of Molson Coors and expand beyond the beer aisle,” said Pete Marino, Molson Coors’ president of emerging growth, in an email to U.S. distributors.

“We’ve had some hits and some misses, but we’ve learned a ton and we have positioned ourselves for a bright future,” he said. “One of the lessons we’ve learned is to quickly identify when something just isn’t going to work for us, or for you.”

Hence the mutual decision to part ways with La Colombe, whose desire to consolidate distribution of its ready-to-drink coffees with other products “creates significant logistical challenges for our distributor partners while still requiring similar levels of investment on their part,” Marino said.

In another development, Molson Coors and joint-venture partner Hexo Corp.  said they agreed to unwind their Truss USA joint-venture and exit the CBD beverage business in the U.S. effective Dec. 31.

While several U.S. states have legalized cannabis products in recent years, including a handful in the recent election cycle, there remains no near-term pathway to federal legalization, leaving uncertainty in the market.

That’s left some chain retailers and distributors hesitant to accept CBD beverage brands, complicating distribution and making the path to profitability a challenge.

Should the regulatory landscape in the U.S. change, the company said it would be prepared to re-enter the space. At the time, however, the ability to scale in the category remains difficult, Marino says.