Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Switchback Brewing Co, home to Switchback Ale — Vermont’s #1 draught beer, has released their cult favorite, Dooley’s Belated Porter, in 16oz cans for the first time. The move marks the first of many Switchback Specials that will transition their way from 12oz bottles to cans throughout 2023. Dooley’s Belated Porter (named after the brewery’s first employee) was first brewed in 2009 and quickly became an annual favorite for die-hard Switchback fans.

Vermont Business Magazine Sunsoil, a certified organic hemp farm and vertically integrated CBD brand based in Burlington, has announced price cuts of up to 40% - a move that runs counter to its major competitors and economic inflation at large. This comes on the heels of a successful new product launch into the edible CBD segment with Sunsoil’s first-ever organic, vegan CBD gummies. In a recent survey of 2,500 Sunsoil customers, 40% of respondents reported cutting back on their CBD use due to financial concerns. In response to the findings, Sunsoil accelerated its plans for price reductions and announced sweeping changes to their product line.

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's fans who have long lamented the loss of Oatmeal Cookie Chunk have a new reason in the new year to celebrate as the Vermont-based dessert dream maker has unveiled its newest flavor: Oatmeal Dream Pie. The concoction is an Oatmeal Crème Pie Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert with Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies - by Partake, the allergy-friendly food company - and Marshmallow Swirls. The certified vegan dessert is shipping now to appear on shelves across the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Fishers Island Lemonade, America’s craft lemonade canned cocktail, has partnered with Farrell Distributing in Vermont, in response to the state easing restrictions around spirits-based beverages. A recent bill passed by the Vermont legislature now allows spirits-based beverages that are 12 percent alcohol or less to be distributed by private-sector wholesalers and sold in the state's nearly 1,000 grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations. The brand is looking forward to expansion opportunities in Vermont, and confident that Farrell Distributing will widen availability of Fishers Island Lemonade to consumers in the state.

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids is giving craft beer fans reason to celebrate with today’s release of the iconic brewery’s 2023 distribution calendar. This year, Sip of Sunshine IPA, Little Sip IPA and Scrag Mountain Pils return as year-round distributions, with rotating specialty releases and brand-new beers to debut across Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Other specialty releases, including Brave Little State Pale Ale and Mad River Maple Ale, will be available year-round in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The pandemic has challenged students across the United States in many ways, and one of the hardest affected groups has been high school students. It is becoming very common for students to take the ACT Test as a college application option. The latest ACT 2022 scores show that this generation scored the lowest national average in two decades. Vermont finished 16th in the composite ACT score nationally with a 23.7, well above the national average but below its neighbors and lowest in the Northeast.

Vermont Business Magazine At its 36th Annual Membership Meeting held January 12th, the Vermont Business Roundtable elected new officers: Chair Sara Byers, Leonardo’s Pizza; Vice Chair Rebecca Towne, Vermont Electric Cooperative; Treasurer Mark Crow, Tenth Crow Creative; Secretary Don George, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont; and, Immediate Past Chair Judith O’Connell, Champlain Investment Partners. Also, at the meeting, members elected new directors to their first three-year term: Neale Lunderville, Vermont Gas Systems (VGS) and Dimitri Garder, Global-Z International.

Vermont Business Magazine Established in 1988, V/T Commercial announced today that it has achieved the best year in its 34-year history. They have also released a list of their latest transactions.

Vermont Business Magazine As she begins her term, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas plans to make civics education and engagement a major facet of her work. As part of this effort, she is creating a new position for the agency, Education & Civic Engagement Coordinator. Secretary Copeland Hanzas acknowledges Jim Condos’s hard work to protect and preserve the integrity, transparency, and accessibility of our elections. She wants to build on that effort and move to a new phase of engagement with Vermonters of all ages.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported January 11, 2023, that hospitalizations have fallen, but overall COVID-19 cases increased to a still "Low" 432. COVID-19 activity had risen to a "Medium" level during the holidays after being in the "Low" range in the late fall, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations fell to 40 last week (they were as low as 30 last fall). Following an analysis of COVID-19 data, the VDH is reporting a cumulative 86 additional COVID-associated deaths that occurred over the course of the pandemic but had not been previously reported. Most of these deaths occurred in 2022. This brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Vermont to 881, as of January 10. Of those, 697 of the fatalities have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been only 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30. Vermont has the second lowest fatality rate in the US (127 per 100K; Hawaii 125/100K).

Vermont Business Magazine Thirty-four percent of large, profitable corporations paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2018, the first year that the Trump tax cuts went into effect, according to a new study prepared for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO also found that, on average, large, profitable American corporations paid less than 9 percent of their profits in federal income taxes in 2018.