Pernod Ricard’s Craft-Loving CEO is Buying Up America’s Whiskey

At consumer-goods companies across the developed world -- from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV to Kraft Heinz Co. -- established brands such as Budweiser beer and Oscar Mayer hot dogs are being pummeled by cooler upstarts. The same is happening in the spirits industry.

Brands like Pernod Ricard SA’s Chivas Regal Scotch whisky and Diageo Plc’s Smirnoff vodka find it increasingly hard to compete for shelf space behind the bar or in trendy liquor stores. Drinkers now tend to favor small-batch alcohol, often promoted as locally made or less industrialized than mass-market products.