Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
Trading symbols
Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock, $0.01 par value
TAP.A
New York Stock Exchange
Class B Common Stock, $0.01 par value
TAP
New York Stock Exchange
1.25% Senior Notes due 2024
TAP
New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer☒Accelerated filer ☐Non-accelerated filer ☐Smaller reporting company ☐Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). YES ☐ NO ☒
The aggregate market value of the registrant's voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant at the close of business on the last trading day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, June 28, 2019, was approximately $10.2 billion based upon the last sales price reported for such date on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. For purposes of this disclosure, shares of common and exchangeable stock held by officers and directors of the registrant (and their respective affiliates) as of June 28, 2019, are excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination is not necessarily conclusive of affiliate status for other purposes.
The number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant's classes of common stock, as of February 5, 2020:
Class A Common Stock—2,560,668 shares Class B Common Stock—196,269,611 shares
Exchangeable shares:
As of February 5, 2020, the following number of exchangeable shares was outstanding for Molson Coors Canada, Inc.:
Class A Exchangeable Shares—2,725,130 shares Class B Exchangeable Shares—14,826,035 shares
The Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares are shares of the share capital in Molson Coors Canada Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the registrant. They are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TPX.A and TPX.B, respectively. These shares are intended to provide substantially the same economic and voting rights as the corresponding class of Molson Coors common stock in which they may be exchanged. In addition to the registered Class A common stock and the Class B common stock, the registrant has also issued and outstanding one share each of a Special Class A voting stock and Special Class B voting stock. The Special Class A voting stock and the Special Class B voting stock provide the mechanism for holders of Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares to be provided instructions to vote with the holders of the Class A common stock and the Class B common stock, respectively. The holders of the Special Class A voting stock and Special Class B voting stock are entitled to one vote for each outstanding Class A exchangeable share and Class B exchangeable share, respectively, excluding shares held by the registrant or its subsidiaries, and generally vote together with the Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, on all matters on which the Class A common stock and Class B common stock are entitled to vote. The Special Class A voting stock and Special Class B voting stock are subject to a voting trust arrangement. The trustee which holds the Special Class A voting stock and the Special Class B voting stock is required to cast a number of votes equal to the number of then-outstanding Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares, respectively, but will only cast a number of votes equal to the number of Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares as to which it has received voting instructions from the owners of record of those Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares, other than the registrant or its subsidiaries, respectively, on the record date, and will cast the votes in accordance with such instructions so received.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: Portions of the registrant's definitive proxy statement for the registrant's 2020 annual meeting of stockholders, which will be filed no later than 120 days after the close of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, are incorporated by reference under Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Refers to the acquisition of SABMiller plc's ("SABMiller") 58% economic interest and 50% voting interest in MillerCoors LLC and all trademarks, contracts and other assets primarily related to the "Miller International Business," as defined in the purchase agreement dated November 15, 2015, as amended, by and between Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ("ABI") and Molson Coors Brewing Company, outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico from ABI, on October 11, 2016.
AOCI
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
CAD
Canadian dollar
CZK
Czech Koruna
DBRS
A global credit rating agency in Toronto
DSUs
Deferred stock units
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
EPS
Earnings per share
EROA
Assumed long-term expected return on assets
EUR
Euro
FASB
Financial Accounting Standards Board
GBP
British Pound
HRK
Croatian Kuna
JPY
Japanese Yen
LIBOR
London Interbank Offered Rate
Moody’s
Moody’s Investors Service Limited, a nationally recognized statistical rating organization designated by the Securities and Exchange Commission
NAV
Net asset value
OCI
Other comprehensive income (loss)
OPEB
Other postretirement benefit plans
PBO
Projected benefit obligation
PSUs
Performance share units
RSD
Serbian Dinar
RSUs
Restricted stock units
S&P 500
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index®
SEC
Securities and Exchange Commission
Standard & Poor’s
Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services, a nationally recognized statistical rating organization designated by the SEC
STRs
Sales-to-retailers
STWs
Sales-to-wholesalers
2017 Tax Act
U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
U.K.
United Kingdom
U.S.
United States
U.S. GAAP
Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
Cautionary Statement Pursuant to Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This Annual Report on Form 10-K ("this report") contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the "Exchange Act"). From time to time, we may also provide oral or written forward-looking statements in other materials we release to the public. Such forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements, and include, but are not limited to, statements in Part II—Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in this report, and under the heading "Outlook for 2020" therein, expectations regarding future dividends, overall volume trends, consumer preferences, pricing trends, industry forces, cost reduction strategies, including our revitalization plan announced in 2019 and the estimated range of related charges and timing of cash charges, anticipated results, expectations for funding future capital expenditures and operations, debt service capabilities, timing and amounts of debt and leverage levels, shipment levels and profitability, market share and the sufficiency of capital resources. In addition, statements that we make in this report that are not statements of historical fact may also be forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "intend," "goals," "plans," "believes," "continues," "may," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "outlook," "trends," "future benefits," "potential," "projects," "strategies," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from those indicated (both favorably and unfavorably). These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Part I—Item 1A "Risk Factors" elsewhere throughout this report, and those described from time to time in our past and future reports filed with the SEC. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Market and Industry Data
The market and industry data used in this report are based on independent industry publications, customers, trade or business organizations, reports by market research firms and other published statistical information from third parties (collectively, the “Third Party Information”), as well as information based on management’s good faith estimates, which we derive from our review of internal information and independent sources. Such Third Party Information generally states that the information contained therein or provided by such sources has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable.
Unless otherwise noted in this report, any description of "we," "us" or "our" includes Molson Coors Beverage Company ("MCBC" or the "Company") (formerly known as Molson Coors Brewing Company), principally a holding company, and its operating and non-operating subsidiaries included within our reporting segments and Corporate. At December 31, 2019, our reporting segments included: MillerCoors LLC ("MillerCoors" or U.S. segment), operating in the United States; Molson Coors Canada ("MCC" or Canada segment), operating in Canada; Molson Coors Europe (Europe segment), operating in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, the United Kingdom and various other European countries; and Molson Coors International ("MCI" or International segment), operating in various other countries. As further discussed below, in January 2020, we changed our management structure to two business units, our North America and Europe businesses. Accordingly, the segment reporting implications will not be reflected until the first quarter of 2020.
Unless otherwise indicated, information in this report is presented in USD and comparisons are to comparable prior periods. Our primary operating currencies, other than USD, include the CAD, the GBP, and our Central European operating currencies such as the EUR, CZK, HRK and RSD.
Background
We are one of the world's largest brewers and have a diverse portfolio of owned and partner brands, including global priority brands Blue Moon, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, and Staropramen, regional champion brands Carling, Molson Canadian and other leading country-specific brands,as well as craft and specialty beers such as Creemore Springs, Cobra, Sharp's Doom Bar, Henry's Hard and Leinenkugel's. With centuries of brewing heritage, we craft high-quality, innovative beverages with the purpose of uniting people to celebrate all life’s moments. As a business, our ambition is to be the first choice for our people, our consumers and our customers, and our success depends on our ability to make our products available to meet a wide range of consumer segments and occasions.
Molson and Coors were founded in 1786 and 1873, respectively. Our commitment to producing the highest quality beers is a key part of our heritage and remains so to this day. Our brands are designed to appeal to a wide range of consumer tastes, styles and price preferences. Our largest markets are the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Coors was incorporated in June 1913 under the laws of the state of Colorado. In October 2003, Coors merged with and into Adolph Coors Company, a Delaware corporation. In February 2005, Adolph Coors Company merged with Molson Inc. ("the Merger"). Upon completion of the Merger, Adolph Coors Company changed its name to Molson Coors Brewing Company. In January 2020, we changed our name from Molson Coors Brewing Company to Molson Coors Beverage Company, as further discussed below.
Revitalization Plan
On October 28, 2019, we initiated a revitalization plan designed to allow us to invest across our portfolio to drive long-term, sustainable success. As part of our revitalization plan, we made the determination to establish Chicago, Illinois as our North American operational headquarters, close our existing office in Denver, Colorado and consolidate certain administrative functions into our other existing office locations.
Effective January 2020, we moved from a corporate center and four business units to two business units - North America and Europe. The North America business unit consolidates the United States, Canada and corporate center, enabling us to move more quickly with an integrated portfolio strategy. The Europe business unit allows for standalone operations, developed and supported by a European-based team, including local leadership, commercial, supply chain and support functions. The existing International team was reconstituted to more effectively grow our global brands - with the Africa and Asia Pacific businesses reporting into the European business unit and the remaining International business reporting into the North America business unit. The change in structure to two business units and the resulting financial reporting segment changes will not be reflected until our first quarter 2020 results.
We also changed our name from Molson Coors Brewing Company to Molson Coors Beverage Company, in January 2020 in order, to better reflect our strategic intent to expand beyond beer and into other growth adjacencies in the beverage industry.
The brewing industry has significantly evolved over the years, becoming an increasingly global beer market. The industry was previously founded on local presence with modest international expansion achieved through export, license and partnership arrangements. More recently, it has become increasingly complex, as the consolidation of brewers has occurred globally, resulting in fewer major global market participants. In addition to the acquisitive element of this industry consolidation, the market continues to utilize export, license and partnership arrangements; however, these are often with the same global competitors that make up the majority of the market. This industry consolidation has resulted in a small number of large global brewers representing the majority of the worldwide beer market. At the same time, smaller local brewers within certain established markets are experiencing accelerated growth as consumers increasingly place value on locally-produced, regionally-sourced products. Changing consumer trends are also pushing the industry toward above premium beer, flavored malt beverages, and beyond beer altogether. As the beer industry continues its evolution of consolidation and diversification of its products to meet consumer demand with broadening preferences, large global brewers are uniquely positioned to leverage the scale, depth of product portfolio and industry knowledge to continue to lead the market forward.
Global Competitors' Market Capitalization
We evaluate ourselves in relation to other global brewers using various metrics, including overall market capitalization, volume, net sales revenue, gross margins and net profits, as well as our position within each of our core markets, with the goal to be the first choice for our consumers and customers. To provide a perspective of the relative size of the major participants in the global brewing market, the market capitalizations of our primary global competitors, based on foreign exchange rates as of December 31, 2019, were as follows:
Market Capitalization
(In billions)
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV
$
164.6
Heineken N.V. ("Heineken")
$
61.3
Carlsberg Group ("Carlsberg")
$
22.6
Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. ("Asahi")
$
22.2
MCBC
$
11.8
Our Products
We have a diverse portfolio of owned and partner brands which are positioned to meet a wide range of consumer segments and occasions in a variety of markets, including Blue Moon, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite and Staropramen. We consider these our global priority brands which we continue to invest in and focus on growing globally. We believe our portfolio encompasses all segments of the beer industry with the purpose of uniting people to celebrate all life’s moments, including premium and premium lights, economy, above premium and craft, as well as adjacencies such as ciders and other malt beverages. Additionally, as we continue to evolve our strategy and portfolio to appeal to the ever-changing preferences of our consumer base, we are also broadening our range of products and offerings within our portfolio to include other beverage categories outside of traditional beer, including our emerging plans in the non-alcoholic beverage segment. The following includes our primary brands sold in each of our segments.
(1) The European business has licensing and distribution agreements with various other brewers through which it also brews and distributes Beck's, Lowenbrau, Stella Artois and Spaten, as well as a distribution agreement for the exclusive distribution of the Corona brand, throughout the Central European countries in which we operate. We have an agreement with Dutch brewer, Bavaria, for the exclusive on-premise and off-premise rights to the sales, distribution and customer marketing of Bavaria and its portfolio of brands in the U.K. We have an agreement for licensed brewing and distribution of the Bavaria portfolio in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. We also distribute the Rekorderlig cider brand in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. In the U.K., we also sell the Cobra brands through the Cobra Beer Partnership Ltd. joint venture. Additionally, in order to be able to provide a full line of beer and other beverages to our U.K. on-premise customers, we sell "factored" brands, which are third-party beverage brands for which we provide distribution to retail, typically on a non-exclusive basis.
In 2019, we operated the following segments: the U.S., Canada, Europe and International. A separate operating team managed each segment and each segment manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated sales in 2019, 2018 or 2017.
Effective January 1, 2020, as part of our revitalization plan, we changed our management structure to two business units - North America and Europe. The resulting financial reporting segment changes will not be reflected until our first quarter 2020 results.
United States Segment
•
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
•
Approximately 7,300 employees as of December 31, 2019
•
Second largest brewer by volume in the U.S., representing approximately 23% of the total 2019 U.S. brewing industry shipments (excluding exports)
•
Currently operating seven primary breweries, six craft breweries and two container operations. In January 2020, we announced plans to cease production at our Irwindale, California brewery, which is currently expected to occur by September 2020, and entered into an option agreement with Pabst Brewing Company, LLC, granting them an option to purchase the Irwindale brewery. Products produced in the Irwindale brewery will be transitioned to other breweries in our network. See Part II—Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 7, "Special Items" for additional details.
Sales and Distribution
In the United States, beer is generally distributed through a three-tier system consisting of manufacturers, distributors and retailers. A national network of approximately 380 independent distributors and one owned distributor, Coors Distributing Company, purchases our products and distributes them to on- and off-premise retail accounts.
References to on- and off-premise sales volumes are the sales to retailers of these distributors, which we believe is a useful data point relative to consumer trends.
Channels
In the United States, the on-premise channel industry volume, which includes sales in bars and restaurants, declined approximately 3% in 2019.
The off-premise channel includes sales in convenience stores, grocery stores, liquor stores and other retail outlets. The off-premise channel industry volume declined approximately 1% in 2019 versus prior year.
The following table reflects the industry channel share trends over the last five years in the United States. Note that percentages reflect estimates based on market data currently available.
Industry channel trend
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
On-premise
16
%
16
%
16
%
16
%
17
%
Off-premise
84
%
84
%
84
%
84
%
83
%
Coors Distributing Company distributed approximately 2% of our total owned and non-owned volume in 2019.
Manufacturing, Production and Packaging
Brewing Raw Materials
We use high quality ingredients to brew our products. We malt a portion of our production requirements, using barley purchased under primarily annual contracts from independent farmers located predominantly in the western United States. Other barley, malt, and cereal grains are purchased from suppliers primarily in the U.S. Hops are purchased from suppliers in the U.S. and Europe. We both own and lease water rights, as well as purchase water through local municipalities, to provide for and sustain brewing operations in case of a prolonged drought in the regions where we have operations. We do not currently anticipate future difficulties in accessing water or agricultural products used in our brewing process in the near term.
Packaging Materials
The following summarizes the percentage of our U.S. segment's packaging materials by type for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Aluminum cans or bottles:
•
A portion of the aluminum containers was purchased from Rocky Mountain Metal Container ("RMMC"), our joint venture with Ball Corporation ("Ball"), whose production facilities, which are leased from us, are located near our brewery in Golden, Colorado.
•
In addition to the supply agreement with RMMC, we have a supply agreement with Ball to purchase cans and ends in excess of what is supplied through RMMC.
•
The RMMC joint venture agreement along with the cans and ends purchase agreement each expire on December 31, 2021.
Glass bottles:
•
A portion of the glass bottles was provided by Rocky Mountain Bottle Company ("RMBC"), our joint venture with Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc. ("Owens"), whose production facilities, which are leased from us, are located in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The RMBC joint venture agreement expires on July 31, 2025.
•
In addition to the supply agreement with RMBC, we have a supply agreement with Owens for requirements in excess of RMBC's production, which expires on December 31, 2021.
Kegs are packaged in half, quarter, and one-sixth barrel stainless steel kegs.
•
A limited number of kegs are purchased each year, and we have no long-term supply agreement.
Crowns, labels, corrugate and paperboard are purchased from a small number of sources unique to each product. In recent years, we have experienced a slight shift in the allocation among different packaging types toward aluminum cans and bottles and away from glass bottles. In general, aluminum cans allow for lower packaging costs compared to most other types of packaging materials. We do not currently anticipate future difficulties in accessing packaging products in the near term.
Contract Manufacturing
We have an agreement to brew, package and ship products for Pabst Brewing Company, LLC. Additionally, the U.S. segment produces beer for export to our Canada and International segments.
Seasonality of the Business
Total industry volume in the U.S. is sensitive to factors such as weather, changes in demographics, consumer preferences and drinking occasions. Weather conditions consisting of high temperatures and extended periods of warm and dry weather favor increased consumption of our products, while unseasonably cool or wet weather, especially during the summer months, adversely affects our sales volumes and net sales. Accordingly, consumption of beer in the U.S. is seasonal, with approximately38% of industry sales volume typically occurring during the warmer months from May through August.
Known Trends and Competitive Conditions
2019 U.S. Beer Industry Overview
The beer industry in the United States is highly competitive, and the two largest brewers, ABI and MCBC together represented the majority of the market in 2019. However, we estimate the two largest brewers lost share in 2019 due to volume growth in the import and flavored malt beverage (including hard seltzers) categories as consumer preferences continue to shift within the industry to above premium priced beers. We believe growing or even maintaining our market share will require stabilizing our core brands and increasing our presence in the fast growing areas of the industry.
Competition from outside of the beer category continues to be a challenge for the beer industry. The following table summarizes the estimated percentage market share by volume of beer (including flavored malt beverages) and other alcohol beverages, including wine and spirits, as a component of the overall U.S. alcohol market over the last five years. We anticipate that 2019 data, when available, will reflect a continuation of the recent consumer trends. Note that percentages reflect estimates based on market data currently available.
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Beer
49
%
50
%
51
%
51
%
51
%
Other alcohol beverages
51
%
50
%
49
%
49
%
49
%
Our Competitive Position
Our portfolio of beers competes with numerous above premium, premium, and economy brands. These competing brands are produced by international, national, regional and local brewers. We compete most directly with ABI brands, but also compete with imported and craft beer brands, as well as flavored malt beverages. The following table summarizes the estimated percentage share of the U.S. beer market represented by Molson Coors, ABI and all other brewers over the last five years. Note that current year percentages reflect estimates based on market data currently available.
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
MCBC's share
23
%
24
%
25
%
25
%
26
%
ABI's share
42
%
42
%
43
%
44
%
45
%
Others' share
35
%
34
%
32
%
31
%
29
%
Our products also compete with other alcohol beverages, including wine and spirits, and thus their competitive position is affected by consumer preferences between and among these other categories. Driven by increased spirits advertising along with increased wine and spirits sales execution, sales of wine and spirits have grown faster than sales of beer in recent years, resulting in a reduction in the beer segment's lead in the overall alcohol beverage market.
The U.S. beer business is regulated by federal, state, and local governments. These regulations govern many parts of our operations, including brewing, marketing and advertising, transportation, distributor relationships, sales, and environmental issues. To operate our facilities, we must obtain and maintain numerous permits, licenses and approvals from various governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, state alcohol regulatory agencies, and state and federal environmental agencies.
Governmental entities also levy taxes and may require bonds to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In 2019, excise taxes on malt beverages were approximately $15 per hectoliter sold on a reported basis. This includes the impact of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act which took effect on January 1, 2018 for all qualified large domestic brewers and importers effective for 2018 and 2019, and subsequently has been extended through fiscal year 2020, and resulted in reduced excise taxes for MCBC in the U.S. by $2 per barrel on the first six million barrels, which equated to $1.70 per hectoliter on this portion of volume. We transfer a portion of our share of these savings to distributors consistent with the revenue splitting approach of our U.S. segment’s economic model. State excise taxes are levied in specific states at varying rates.
Refer to Part I—Item 1A, Risk Factors for risks associated with the regulatory environment in the U.S.
Canada Segment
•
Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario (transitioning to North America operational headquarters in Chicago, Illinois in 2020)
•
Approximately 2,600 employees as of December 31, 2019
•
Canada's second largest brewer by volume and North America's oldest beer company, representing approximately 31% of the total 2019 Canada beer market
•
Currently operating five primary breweries and four craft breweries
We brew, market, sell and distribute a wide variety of beer brands nationally. Our portfolio has leading brands in all major product and price segments. In 2019, Coors Light had an approximate 9% market share and was the second largest selling beer brand in Canada, and Molson Canadian had an approximate 5% market share and was the fourth largest selling beer in Canada. Additionally, in 2019 Belgian Moon was the largest selling craft beer in Canada.
The Canada segment also includes our partnership arrangements related to the distribution of beer in Ontario, Brewers' Retail Inc. ("BRI"), and in the western provinces, Brewers' Distributor Ltd. ("BDL"). BRI and BDL are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. The majority of ownership in BRI resides with MCC, Labatt Breweries of Canada LP (a subsidiary of ABI) and Sleeman Breweries Ltd. (a subsidiary of Sapporo International). BDL is jointly owned by MCC and ABI. In addition, we have an agreement with Heineken that grants us the right to import, market, distribute and sell certain Heineken products in Canada.
In line with our strategic initiatives to expand our craft portfolio, the Canada segment acquired Le Trou du Diable, a craft brewery in Quebec, in 2017. There were no additional acquisitions during 2018 or 2019. Additionally, on October 4, 2018, a wholly-owned subsidiary within our Canadian business completed the formation of an independent Canadian joint venture, Truss LP ("Truss"), with HEXO Corp. ("HEXO") to pursue opportunities to develop, produce and market non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beverages. Truss is structured as a standalone start-up company with its own board of directors and an independent management team and we maintain a 57.5% controlling interest in the joint venture. Truss has been preparing for the launch of cannabis-infused products in the Canadian market, including the construction of a production facility in Belleville, Ontario. We currently expect that Truss will launch products in 2020, subject to obtaining all of the required licenses and regulatory clearances.
Sales and Distribution
In Canada, provincial governments regulate the beer industry, particularly with regard to the pricing, mark-up, container management, sale, distribution and advertising of beer. Distribution and the retail sale of alcohol products involve a wide range and varied degree of Canadian government control through their respective provincial liquor boards. See below discussion for details by province.
Channels
In Canada, the on-premise channel includes sales in bars and restaurants. In Ontario and western Canada, we use jointly-owned distribution systems to deliver beer to on-premise customers along with products from Labatt Breweries of Canada LP and Sleeman Breweries Ltd. In Quebec and Eastern Canada, we primarily deliver directly. The on-premise channel, and
relationships with customers, are highly regulated and the regulations differ significantly across different provincial jurisdictions.
The off-premise channel includes sales to convenience stores, grocery stores, liquor stores and other specialty retail outlets, including "The Beer Store" in Ontario, which is the world's largest beer retailer and is co-owned by Ontario's three largest brewers. The off-premise channel is highly regulated and differs significantly across different provincial jurisdictions.
The following table reflects the industry channel trends over the last five years in Canada.
Industry channel trend
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
On-premise
16
%
16
%
17
%
17
%
17
%
Off-premise
84
%
84
%
83
%
83
%
83
%
Province of Ontario
In Ontario, beer is primarily purchased at retail outlets operated by BRI, at government-regulated retail outlets operated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario ("LCBO"), at approved agents of the LCBO, at certain licensed grocery stores, or at any bar, restaurant, or tavern licensed by the LCBO to sell alcohol for on-premise consumption. The BRI retail outlets operate under The Beer Store name. Brewers may deliver directly to BRI's outlets or may choose to use BRI's distribution centers to access retail stores in Ontario, the LCBO system, the grocery channel and licensed establishments.
In Québec, the distribution and sale of beer is governed by the Quebec Alcohol Corporation ("SAQ"). Beer is distributed to retail outlets directly by each brewer or through approved independent agents. We are the agent for the licensed brands we distribute. The brewer or agent distributes the products to permit holders for retail sales for on-premise consumption. Québec retail sales for off-premise consumption are made through grocery and convenience stores, as well as government operated outlets.
Province of British Columbia
In British Columbia, the government's Liquor Distribution Branch controls the regulatory elements of distribution of all alcohol products in the province. BDL, which we co-own with ABI, manages the distribution of our products throughout British Columbia. Consumers can purchase beer at any Liquor Distribution Branch retail outlet, at any independently owned and licensed retail store or at any licensed establishment for on-premise consumption. Establishments licensed primarily for on-premise alcohol sales may also be licensed for off-premise consumption.
Province of Alberta
In Alberta, the distribution of beer is managed by independent private warehousing and shipping companies or by a government sponsored system in the case of U.S. sourced products. All sales of liquor in Alberta are made through retail outlets licensed by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission or licensees, such as bars, hotels and restaurants. BDL manages the distribution of our products in Alberta.
Other Provinces
Our products are distributed in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan through local liquor boards. Manitoba and Saskatchewan also have licensed private retailers. BDL manages the distribution of our products in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In the Maritime Provinces (other than Newfoundland), local liquor boards distribute and sell our products. In Newfoundland, our products are sold through independent distributors. In Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, government liquor commissioners manage the distribution and sale of our products.
We use high quality ingredients to brew our products. We source barley malt from one primary provider, from which we have a committed supply through 2022. Hops are purchased from a variety of global suppliers in the U.S. and Europe through contracts that vary in length based on market conditions and cover our supply requirements through 2021. Other starch brewing adjuncts are sourced from two main suppliers, both in North America, through 2022. Water used in the brewing process is from local sources in the communities where our breweries operate. We do not currently anticipate future difficulties in accessing water or agricultural products used in our brewing process in the near term.
Packaging Materials
The following summarizes the percentage of our Canada segment's packaging materials by type for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Aluminum cans or bottles:
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We source cans and lids from two primary providers with the related contracts ending December 2023.
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The distribution systems in each province generally provide the collection network for returnable bottles and aluminum cans.
Bottles:
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We single source glass bottles and have a committed supply through December 2021.
