Max Rothman

Aiming to increase its retail presence via a second packaging option, Zevia debuted 12 oz. glass bottles in 4-packs at Natural Products Expo West, which recently concluded in Anaheim, Calif.

With its most recent launch, NEO North America is doubling down on its bid to become a significant player in natural beverages. Among Expo West’s vast sea of products, NEO North America debuted NEO Energy, a certified organic energy drink made with guarana, ginseng, green tea extracts and B-vitamins, fused with electrolytes and sweetened with cane sugar.

XYIENCE has signed an agreement to add its Xenergy products in more than 1,400 Safeway stores, drastically expanding the availability of the beverages nationwide.

Lining the aisles of Natural Products Expo West, which recently concluded in Anaheim, Calif., few booths touted products with a singular appeal. Rather, juices were packed with extracts. Coconut water was melded with teas, protein and coffee. Key, growth-driving ingredients rarely stood alone.

Reed’s Inc., the Los Angeles-based natural soda maker, announced today in a release that its revenues in 2012 increased 20 percent to more than $30 million. Chris Reed, founder, chairman and CEO of the company, told BevNET that its Culture Club Kombucha products have driven much of the growth.

After polling more than 29,000 respondents from 58 countries, a new Nielsen survey found that a blend of media and word-of-mouth advertising results in the greatest consumer awareness for new products.

Hoping to tap into the runaway success of its MiO brand, Kraft has launched Crystal Light Liquid, a new line of line of zero-calorie liquid flavor enhancers targeted toward women. The line hit stores nationwide on Tuesday.

Does the hangover cure market look better than it really is? A still-emerging category in the beverage industry – recovery drinks – is hoping that there is a fortune to be made in helping provide that preparatory insurance against the day after.

C-store sales could provide a significant boost for beverage companies in 2013, according to a survey conducted by Wells Fargo, a financial services company that provides market research. The survey indicated that while year-to-year sales of non-alcoholic beverages decreased from the third quarter (7 percent) to the fourth quarter (5 percent) of 2012, the category still showed encouraging growth.

The man who has been dubbed “The Big Aristotle,” “Shaq Fu,” and “The Diesel” can now add a new nickname to his unrivaled list: “Big Blue.” BLUE04, which markets an oxygenated water, announced today that Shaquille O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and 15-time NBA All-Star, has taken an ownership position with the company.

In case the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wasn’t paying attention, Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to the agency highlighting recent reports that emphasize the downsides of energy drinks.

Responding to a recent article in the medical journal Pediatrics in Review titled “Energy Drinks: What Teenagers (and Their Doctors) Should Know,” the American Beverage Association (ABA) slammed the authors of the article for “perpetuating sensational untruths.”

On stage at BevNET Live Winter 2012, actor, producer and former rapper Mark Wahlberg proudly sported a Los Angeles Clippers T-shirt as he discussed his investment in alkaline water brand AQUAhydrate. Sure, Wahlberg is from Boston and grew up a Celtics fan, but much like Hollywood, the beverage industry can really mess with your head.

$20 Million Investment Allows Amcor to Meet Growing Market Demand for Beverage and Pharmaceutical Packaging
ORLANDO, Fla., January 24, 2013 – Amcor Rigid Plastics, the world’s leading producer of rigid plastic packaging, has announced a major expansion of its southeastern U.S. bottle manufacturing operation in response to strong market demand for beverage and pharmaceutical packaging. The $20 million expansion in Orlando, Fla. also enables Amcor to centralize preform manufacturing and warehousing while delivering key sustainability advantages including improved logistics and shipping efficiencies.
Amcor recently relocated from an existing 168,000 sq ft plant near the Florida Turnpike to a new leased…

For many companies, monitoring trends with the darn kids these days is a futile effort. For others, like the winners of the 2012 Cass Awards, it’s a significant marketing opportunity. While Red Bull and Budweiser were the only two Cass Award winners from the beverage industry, the awards identify several other successful, millennial-based marketing ploys as discussed by Nick Shore, MTV’s SVP, at BevNET Live Winter 2012.

Although obesity rates in African-American and Hispanic communities of New York City exceed the city average, the New York chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. and the Hispanic Federation is nevertheless supporting a lawsuit filed by the beverage industry that is aiming to block the so-called “Bloomberg ban” on large containers of sugary drinks. The ban would prohibit the on-premise sale of sugar-sweetened drinks that have more than 25 calories per 8 oz. serving in containers larger than 16 oz.

Out with the polar bears, in with the showgirls. On Tuesday, Coca-Cola launched an interactive campaign centered around its Super Bowl ad, which displays cowboys, badlanders (a biker gang), and a bus full of showgirls in the middle of the desert.

Just in time for the Super Bowl, Kraft is adding a sports-centric SKU to its fast-growing MiO line of liquid water enhancers. MiO Fit, which was announced Tuesday in a press release, contains electrolytes, B vitamins and zero calories, and enables consumers to turn water into a sports drink. MiO Fit currently offers two flavors, Berry Blast and Arctic Grape, and is sold in two bottle sizes: 12 or 18 servings per bottle (along with 8 oz. of water per serving).

NASCAR driver Bobby Grewohl shaved his head and endured his first makeup session today in New York City. It was a bit of a change for the small-town racer. “My head’s shiny,” Grewohl said. “They’ve got to dim it down a little bit.” After a photo shoot, Grewohl, the Hollister, Calif. native, joined representatives of 989 On Demand, a hydrating enhanced beverage with its functional ingredients stored in a mix-to-drink cap, for a guerilla marketing effort in the city streets.

With the consumer in mind, Odwalla has redesigned its packaging for the first time in six years. The healthy beverage and bar maker, owned by the Coca-Cola Co., Inc. says it has tried to remove much of the clutter from its bottles and proceeded with a cleaner look and a color-coded system that matches caps with drink segments.

For all its heroic marketing, Red Bull provides no more energy than a cup of coffee or a caffeine pill, a recent lawsuit argues. Filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit claims that the energy drink company uses deceptive marketing to justify its premium pricing even though its products offer a strong but not superior boost of energy. The lead plaintiff is Benjamin Careathers of the Bronx, N.Y., who has been drinking Red Bull products since 2002.

In response to growing concerns about rising rates of obesity in the U.S., the Coca-Cola Co., Inc. has produced a two-minute video advertisement, that “encourages everyone to be mindful that all calories count in managing your weight, including those in Coca-Cola products and in all foods and beverages,” according to a statement released today by the company.

PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch InBev are collaborating on joint promotions and in-store marketing for the first time, according to a story by Ad Age. The collaboration will take place in the days leading up to the Feb. 3 Super Bowl.

Kraft Foods Group is backing its faith in MiO, the liquid water enhancer, by placing a 30-second advertisement of the brand in the third quarter of the Super Bowl, according to Ad Age.

Bazi International, Inc., and its operating subsidiary True Drinks, Inc., announced Wednesday that Aquaball, a naturally flavored water, has gained national distribution in all Safeway, Inc.-operated stores, including Safeway, Vons, Pavilions and Randall’s.