Aloe Gloe might have been the first aloe drink with a mainstream focus, but it appears that Brain-Twist founder Larry Trachtenbroit is aiming to have the prettiest. Trachtenbroit, along with supermodel Petra Nemcova, recently appeared at an industry conference to introduce his latest product, Halo. According to Trachtenbroit, Halo, a joint venture between Brain-Twist and Nemcova, is due out in April. The aloe juice drink will be mixed with other ingredients like coconut water and guarana in a stevia-sweetened, 30-calorie package.

TheBU Kombucha is a recently launched line of kombucha that is produced in Hawaii. Their goal is to create something that helps kombucha make its way to the mainstream. How are they going to do this? It starts with the product having an enjoyable flavor, while they’ve also worked hard to get the level of carbonation consistently to what they see as the proper level. In our sampling of their first three flavors, we think that they’ve done a very nice job of achieving that.

It might have seen Pepsi-Cola get leapfrogged by Diet Coke for the number two carbonated beverage slot, but PepsiCo did anoint three core holdings as brands that have sold more than $1 billion in the past year, announcing that Diet Mountain Dew, Brisk and Starbucks RTD Beverages had crossed that threshold. Pepsi distributes Brisk and Starbucks under joint venture agreements with Unilever (owner of Lipton) and Starbucks, respectively.

Sparkling ICE recently added two new flavors: Lemonade & Coconut Pineapple.  Like the rest of their flavors, the two newest additions are enhanced with natural flavors, vitamins, and antioxidants.  The products are priced at $1.29 at retail and contain zero calories (they are sweetened with Splenda), zero carbs, and zero sodium.…

Boylan Bottling has enlisted Castle Co-Packers to boost its production and supply lines as the premium soda maker looks to meet rising demand for its products on the East Coast, according to an article in Drinks Business Review. Castle, a Pennsylvania-based independent bottler, will provide production, warehousing, and logistical support for Boylan, which produces a line of premium birch beers and sodas in glass bottles.

Blue Print Cleanse is a line of juices that are designed to be part of their proprietary nutritional cleanse system (which is offered in several levels of intensity). Putting the cleanse aspect of this product aside, Blue Print’s unpasteurized products continue to amaze us, with two of their most recent products providing some of the most unique and enjoyable flavor that we’ve ever experienced from a ready to drink product.…

There’s breaking news today concerning the fates of three beverage companies whose financial travails have been touched on frequently on BevNET and in the media at large. RelaxZen, Adina, and New Leaf are all fairly new, entrepreneurial beverage companies run by executives of varying degrees of industry experience.

While new product introductions for relaxation drinks appear to be slowing, products offering to help improve sleep continue to come to market. One of the more interesting ones that we’ve seen is Easy2Sleep. Unlike many of the other products hitting the market, Easy2Sleep uses an all natural formulation that contains juice. The result is a product that’s functional and enjoyable to drink.…

SoBe Lifewater recently launched several new flavors that feature the addition of coconut water from concentrate.  These products, which use a blend of stevia and sugar, come in the same 20 ounce “twist” shaped PET as the rest of the Lifewater line. From our perspective, these products are a good first effort at extending Lifewater into the coconut water game, but more needs to be done if they are looking to sell this to consumers who aren’t already fans of the brand.…

Led by rising sales of almond milk, the market for dairy alternative beverages reached $1.33 billion in 2011, according to a new report from Packaged Facts. The report states that as consumers seek out healthier substitutes for dairy drinks, many are increasingly turning toward consumption of soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk.