Jeffrey Klineman

Compared to the number of times the questions get asked of Mike Kirban, the overall frequency is disproportionate, but the dimes get dropped to us a lot, nevertheless, so I decided to head down to Manhattan to ask him. So, I said, as Kirban settled behind his desk — yes, in the corner office — are you selling Vita Coco to Dr Pepper/Snapple?

Joth Ricci has left First Beverage Group, the investment and consulting firm where he was a managing partner, to become the president of fast-growing “third wave” coffee company Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

The details include a 5 percent juice component, artificial sweeteners (unspecified as of yet) to keep calories down to 80 per 16 oz. tall can, and a small boost in added caffeine to take the whole can up to about 92 mg — about 20 more mg than an equivalent amount of regular Dew.

Chameleon Cold Brew, one of the next-generation cold-brewed coffee concentrate companies that have recently entered the market, has pulled in investment from Houston, Tex. private equity firm Fortitude Capital.

From dreams of the perfect night’s sleep to hallucinations of a party in a can, the relaxation drink category has always seemed to invite extremes. But things are changing: in addition to a pair of strong brands at the poles, there’s an emerging pack in the middle that is focusing on throttled-back ingredients.

Sad news came in to BevNET Tuesday afternoon when we learned that Jack Shanker, the grandfather of current Canada Dry Bottling Co. of Lansing, Mich. owner Randy Shanker, had passed away at 94. Jack Shanker went to work for his father, the founder of the company, when he was just 15, and helped build an independent bottling company that has lasted for 75 years and is currently under its fourth generation of family ownership.

Concerned about the speed with which coconut water companies have extended their supply lines to meet skyrocketing demand, vendors working with Whole Foods are being asked to supply audited certification that confirms they have ethical and responsible sourcing.

Jane Prior, who joined the coconut water company in 2010 as director of consumer marketing, has been promoted to vice president of marketing for the U.S. Prior moves into the role vacated by Jeff Rubenstein, who is now the vice president of global strategy for Vita Coco, working from Miami. Rubenstein will work closely with CEO Michael Kirban on the company’s endeavors in Europe and Asia.

This $1.50 hot dog — and about 99,999,999 more like it — will now be served with Pepsi in the Costco food court. Costco foodservice locations will begin switching from Coke to Pepsi products at the retailer’s 400-plus U.S. locations beginning in April, and carried out globally over the next few years as vending contracts expire.

Raising money, buying factories, killing product lines, searching for distribution: The tale of a functional beverage company in disarray.

Celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos is shepherding a class-action lawsuit filed against 5-Hour Energy Monday in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California. According to the suit, 5-Hour energy’s advertising claims of “hours of energy now, no crash later” are not scientifically supported and that its effects are not superior to other caffeine-based products like coffee or caffeine pills.

FTC Commissioners recently ruled against POM Wonderful on a variety of claims made in advertisements and on the company’s web site that the company’s pomegranate juice products could treat, prevent, or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction.

ZUN founder Brian Stearns is pulling out of the energy and brain boosting business altogether, announcing that the brand is reinventing itself “as an all-natural ‘kid friendly’ beverage.”

Two of the largest tart cherry producing states, Michigan and New York, had terrible yields in 2012, the result of an early spring heat wave that encouraged blooms 5 1/2 weeks early — and put the tender blossoms, as well as the juice company’s own prospects, at the mercy of the snow and ice that followed. Cheribundi was forced to adapt, and did so by re-branding its products.

The company issued a statement that called the DAWN report, which included information that energy drink-related emergency room visits had doubled in the U.S. from 10,068 in 2007 to a total of nearly 21,000 in 2011, “highly misleading and does not support any conclusion that energy drinks are unsafe for consumers.”

On Thursday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) joined an effort by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) to push the FTC to begin investigating the marketing practices of energy drink companies. The move, while not a full strategic pivot, as the agencies often work on parallel tracks to ensure consumer protection, represents something of a strategic recalibration from the two senators’ previous attempts to force the FDA to take a harder look at energy drinks.

Mistakes have been made, but they’re acceptable. So is spending a lot of money to spend a brand. At least, that’s the assessment of Mike Repole, the chairman of Body Armor, who earlier today revealed that he and company founder Lance Collins, along with other investors, are willing to spend approximately $50 million over a 4-5 year period in marketing and building their year-old brand of “superdrink.”

It’s a Whole Foods exclusive for a while, natch. According to the company’s Twitter account, it is releasing the four-flavor line in “Austin, SA, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans and beyond.” The flavors for Honest Fizz, which will be available in 12 oz. cans and 6-packs, include Root Beer, Lemon “Limey”, Orange Pop, and (perhaps in tribute to Yale School of Management-based co-founder Barry Nalebuff?) cherry-flavored “Professor Fizz.”

The nutritional and performance shake company, which was 69 percent Hershey-owned, “has decided to immediately cease operations and dissolve,” noted a brief press release sent to BevNET. The reasons? A competitive category requiring further investment to make the company work.

All-natural protein smoothie company Mix1 is on the verge of shutting its doors, just three months after the Hershey-controlled brand announced a broad redesign. Employees were informed of the state of the company on Wednesday and an announcement is expected from Mix1 on Friday; calls to CEO Brian Murphy were unreturned.

The original cap dispensing brand, which is now majority-owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, is planning a major functional innovation push in the late spring, according to Reza Mizra, who became president of the company in October.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group announced via Twitter today that next month it will begin a national roll-out of 10-calorie versions of five soda brands, including 7-Up, Sunkist, Canada Dry, RC Cola and A&W Root Beer.

As my children have taught me, the scariest monsters are the ones you can’t see. And when it comes to scares, it’s certainly been a tough couple of months for Monster Energy, which has seen its share price ride something like the “Scream Machine” while it faces waves of negative publicity and scrutiny from state and federal authorities, lawyers, the media, and a public that is increasingly starting to rethink its relationship with these products.

Call it the brotherhood of the scrappers, as the hard-working Sider brothers, Mark and Jon, have managed to leverage their friendship with floor-burned NBA journeyman Brian Scalabrine to create a series of videos on behalf of their underdog sports drink Greater Than.

KeVita is launching a new product exclusively in Whole Foods after the first of the year, debuting its first entry into the hot “cleanse” category with KeVita Daily Cleanse. And it’s happening at the same time that the company is plowing new ground in mainstream channels.