Everyone knows that beer and barbecues go together like ham and eggs, especially giant brewer Anheuser-Busch. Maybe that's why the St. Louis-based beer marketer is spreading its product wings and
getting into the cooking sauce business. A-B has cut a deal with Vita Food Products to create four Budweiser-branded sauces. The plan calls for the sauces to be available at retail and at casual
dining chains by Independence Day weekend in order to capitalize on the summer outdoor grilling season. Also, in another move designed to diversity its product portfolio, the brewer has announced it
has secured a distribution deal with Hansen Natural to distribute Monster Energy, Lost Energy and Rumba energy drinks. "We pride ourselves on innovation and will not limit ourselves to malt
beverages in offering exciting new products for our wholesalers and consumers," company President August Busch IV said. The move could be a lucrative one for A-B, considering the surge in
popularity of energy drinks and Hansen's standing in the marketplace. Sales of Hansen's roster of functional and energy drinks soared 130 percent last year, pushing its share of the energy drinks
category to 22.3 percent behind Red Bull's 37.4 percent according to
Beverage Digest.
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