Press Clips: Supreme Court Rejects POM’s Attempts at Appeal; Harmless Harvest Appears on HBO

products_pom_pomegranate_product_detailSupreme Court Rejects POM Wonderful’s Attempts at Appeal

POM Wonderful’s attempts to overturn a 2015 U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruling against the pomegranate juice company have been shut down. Reuters reports that the Supreme Court had declined to review the lower court’s ruling that POM’s advertising claims – that the product treats conditions including heart disease, prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction – were not supported by “competent and reliable scientific evidence.”

In a statement, Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, said the verdict “makes clear that companies like POM making serious health claims about food and nutritional supplements must have rigorous scientific evidence to back them up.”

POM spokesman Steven Clark defended the health claims to Reuters, saying the company “[continues] to stand behind [its] efforts to publicly convey valuable information about the health benefits of POM.”

HHonHBOHarmless Harvest Appears on HBO

Premium coconut water brand Harmless Harvest had a high profile appearance on HBO’s Sunday night programming when it was featured prominently in an episode of ‘Silicon Valley’. As the beverage of choice at fictional digital compression startup Pied Piper’s new tricked-out company headquarters, the brand received prominent product placement in multiple scenes of the episode, most notably when character Erlich Bachman, played by actor T.J. Miller, poses the question “Would you care for another coconut water? They are the most expensive unpasteurized variety if that’s any concern,” to a potential “incubee.” Look close enough and you’ll see Jian-Yang pouring out a Tetra-Pak of Vita Coco on the floor behind him. It’s not the only brand that has benefitted from the show, of course — its characters are always drinking beer from Ballast Point.

Mike Kirban on “First Up”

Vita Coco co-founder and CEO Michael Kirban recently appeared on Bloomberg’s “First Up” to discuss the state the coconut water category and the strength of his brand. In a sit-down with Angie Lau, Kirban didn’t appear to be even the slightest bit concerned with his competition, saying beverage giants like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have “had a hard time muscling us out.”

“We dominate them,” Kirban said. “We’re roughly four times the size of Coke’s brand and we’re bigger than our next ten competitors combined.”

Kirban’s appearance on Bloomberg TV follows his February appearance on ABC News.

sayitwithpepsi-11-HR#PepsiMoji to Feature 5-second TV Spots

Pepsi’s global #PepsiMoji campaign will be supported by more than 100 online and TV ads that are 5-seconds in length, AdAge reports. A company spokeswoman told the company that the impetus behind the short-length spots came out of “consumers [wanting] a shorter form of everything,” adding that this was Pepsi’s way of “transforming media to make it more relevant to consumers. PepsiCo has elicited the services of agencies Motive and Quietman for the campaign, of which Pepsi announced a full list of its elements yesterday.

Mexico’s Soda Tax Hasn’t Slowed Sales

It appears that Mexico’s tax on soda hasn’t slowed the consumption of carbonated drinks as previously reported. According to Fortune, Coca-Cola Femsa SAB, the country’s largest Coca-Cola bottler, saw volumes grow by 5.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016, while the second largest, Arca Continental SAB, reported 11 percent growth. The sales growth contradicts earlier findings that suggested the 10 percent tax had shown a significant reduction in consumption. Still, Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health maintains that per capita consumption was 8 percent lower in 2015 compared to before the tax was implemented.

Confluence Coffee’s 15 Barrel Brewing System

Confluence Coffee Co., a craft coffee brewery based out of Richmond, VA., has a new production facility in the city’s Manchester neighborhood. According to WTVR-TV the new 1,600-square-foot facility, which was up and running in March, allows the company to produce 45 barrels of coffee every two weeks, using a 15-barrel brewing system. Company co-founder Terry Darcy credited the cold brew coffee category’s explosion as warranting the expansion in production capacity, saying “it’s not just a fad anymore.”