Beverage Industry Top Stories, News, and Analysis

In its annual meeting held on Tuesday, the policy-making arm of the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to endorse a ban on the marketing and sale of energy drinks and shots to people under the age of 18. The AMA cited a rise in consumption of energy drinks, particularly among high school and college students, and growing concerns by health advocates about potential risks and illness associated with excessive consumption of caffeine as the chief reasons for its decision.

A semifinalist in BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown 5, Taki Mai is marketed as a “naturally calming” kava supplement. While the coconut-flavored product has a rather polished look and a straightforward and enjoyable taste, we wonder about the marketability of a liquid supplement that is made with a niche ingredient and in a category, relaxation, that — no pun intended — appears to be slowing.

This category has been the hottest of the hot for the past couple of years, and it’s a place where entrepreneurial brands are fully engaged with the big guys in the fight for position. Note Calypso’s steady and sustained growth, along with Hubert’s and Cabana. Meanwhile, there are plenty of new launches – plenty of brands with no track record. We fear the “Golden Bear” – so should Minute Maid.

She was eating curds and whey back in the day, but Little Miss Muffet might look past milk the next time she’s searching for her protein boost. Advances in protein technology, rising raw materials costs, and lifestyle changes have combined with an overall upsurge in demand to create a broader set of proteins used in beverage than those derived solely from whey, the popular milk-based protein.

While it’s not the first beverage to feature a cereal and milk flavor — that  honor belongs to Larry T’s short-lived Liquid Cereal… — Cow Wow is certainly an innovative brand in its own right. The line of drinks is made with a USDA Organic-certified formulation and has playful branding and packaging designed for young consumers. With a little polishing, we think Cow Wow has a pretty good future.

Complete video coverage of BevNET Live Summer 2013 is NOW AVAILABLE on BeverageSchool.com, BevNET’s on-demand video learning site. For a nominal subscription fee, you can watch every speaker presentation, panel, and discussion from the conference, in addition to hundreds of other educational videos covering a wide range of vital and relevant topics about the beverage industry, including packaging, financing strategies, legal considerations, and branding.

Over-the-counter liquid therapy is ready to explode. At least, that’s what Mary Page Platerink believes. A former executive at the Coca-Cola Co., Inc., Platerink is the founder and CEO of First Aid Shot Therapy (F.A.S.T.). Debuting in Seattle soon, F.A.S.T. has two SKUs — one targeted at pain, like headaches, and another that is supposed to relieve an upset stomach.

Fueled by rising interest on issues regarding health and wellness, and a perfect storm in the legal and political landscape, the U.S. has seen a five-fold increase in the number of class action consumer fraud lawsuits brought against food and beverage companies from 2008 to 2012.

Koa, the first runner-up in BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown 5, is marketed as an “organic water” made from 100 percent juice. Wait, what? A water made from juice? Yes, indeed. The company uses a unique and proprietary process to extract and clarify a blend of fruit and vegetable juices to create one of the most innovative water products that we’ve ever seen.

There’s no excuse – it’s time for my annual office cleaning column, where I look around my beverage collection and mine it for insight. This year it will be especially poignant (for me, at least) as in July I’m moving to a new office a few blocks from my present digs. I have to clear out as much as I can before the move, and that makes for sober reflection of the huge collection of beverages I’ve amassed over the course of 21 years in the industry.

Last week, BevNET Live Summer ’13 turned New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion into a networking and educational mecca for nearly 600 beverage entrepreneurs, suppliers, retailers, distributors. Below are five photo galleries from the event, each showcasing the range of premium content and opportunities offered to attendees of BevNET Live.

Sure, ready-to-drink tea remains a growth category, but the number of brands entering the space or extending current lines is increasing by the day. Crowded shelves makes branding and packaging of critical importance for brands to stand out amongst competing products. And the lack of a polished or innovative look is the most significant problem facing Pure Leaf, a line of iced tea drinks marketed by PepsiCo.