Diageo Faces UK Duty Shock, SharkNinja Buys F1 Fandom

The UK just handed Diageo and Bacardi a pricing crisis. Meanwhile SharkNinja is rewriting the sports sponsorship playbook with McLaren F1 — and FMCG brand managers should be paying close attention to both moves. In this episode: The UK government's sharp alcohol duty increase has drawn 'breath-taking' criticism from industry bodies, forcing Diageo, Bacardi and other spirits and wine brands to decide whether to absorb the cost, raise prices, or risk accelerating consumer trading-down to own-label alternatives. US non-alcoholic beer brand RationAle has formed a strategic growth alliance with beverage incubator LA Libations and Homestead Brands, securing distribution scale and brand-building expertise without selling equity to AB InBev or Molson Coors. SharkNinja has structured its McLaren Formula One sponsorship around accessing F1's passionate, globally distributed fanbase as a cultural media asset rather than buying traditional logo placement, signalling a new audience-acquisition model for FMCG challengers. The FMCG Marketing Daily is a concise briefing for FMCG and CPG marketers, brand managers and CMOs, hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every day. Enjoying the show? A quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other marketers find us. Also from Marco & Klara: The Digital Commerce Daily · The Health Marketing Daily