News

BevNET is pleased to announce a terrific trio of initial speakers for this summer’s BevNET Live in New York City: Former Snapple CEO Mike Weinstein, Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda, and Ralph’s VP of Store Operations Dan Riley will share knowledge and insights throughout the two day event.…

That recent list of billion-dollar brands isn’t complete without Rockstar, according to information supplied by the brand today, Joey Cannata, the EVP of sales and distribution for the company, told BevNET today that he believed the brand had likely passed the $1 billion retail number over a 12-month period trailing the middle of 2011.

Talk about a whirlwind courtship. It took just four months from organic espresso /coconut water blend Coco Café to go from independent, entrepreneurial beverage company to a strategic piece in the coconut water chess game. The company, which had its first production run in September, had bids from two different potential investors by the end of December and moved into Vita Coco’s offices by the end of January.

A day after the University of Vermont declared that the school “will become one of the first institutions nationwide to end the sale of bottled water on campus,” the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) issued a statement calling UVM’s decision “contradictory and confusing.”

With continued momentum for new products including Rehab and Absolutely Zero, UBS is forecasting a big year for Monster Beverage Company. In a new report, UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala projects Monster’s revenue to grow by 18.4 percent in 2012, with new products contributing five percentage points to top line growth.

Jones Soda announced plans today to raise $3.2 million in a registered direct offering of common stock and warrants. Combined with a recently secured $2 million credit facility, the proceeds from the sale will allow Jones to “significantly enhance its financial position and will further enable the company to work towards sustainable profitability,” according to Jones Soda CEO Bill Meissner.

After getting rave reviews at the December BevNET Live event — taking home the award during the New Product Showdown — Coco Café had to imagine that it would be getting a lot of attention and some new accounts. But apparently things have really accelerated for the Los Angeles-based espresso/coconut water blend, as Vita Coco, the country’s best selling coconut water brand has swooped in to make an investment in Coco Café.