It’s been another busy news year in the beverage world, and, as is tradition, we close out the year by looking back on our top 10 most-read stories of 2019.
After years of incremental steps away from carbonated soft drinks, Coca-Cola announced it is taking a giant leap towards sparkling water with the launch of AHA in March 2020.
9. CBD Sports Drinks Developing
As the CBD beverage market continues to take shape, could sports drinks be the key to unlocking its growth potential? A handful of ambitious startup brands believe so, as we found out in this story from February.
8. Teamsters Survey Finds Disruption in SoCal Distribution
In one of our most read stories about distribution from this year, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters shared in February the results of a survey of over 100 retailers that it claimed showed that strategic decisions made by Coca-Cola bottler and distributor Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling (RCCB) “created significant disruption in the quality of service” for customers in Southern California.
7. Coke Wins Arbitration for Energy Line
Should Coca-Cola’s forthcoming U.S. launch of Coca-Cola Energy prove a success, much of the credit should go to the American Arbitration Association. On July 1, the Association, serving as a mediator in a contract arbitration between Coca-Cola and Monster Energy, ruled in favor of the soda giant, paving the way for it to expand its new energy drink, Coca-Cola Energy, into markets worldwide, including the U.S., where it is set to launch in January 2020.
Was this the year in which LaCroix’s bubble finally burst? Not quite, but, after a period of prodigious growth, the struggles of parent company National Beverage Corp. in 2019 attracted plenty of interest and scrutiny. In this story from July, BevNET’s Brad Avery tracked both where the company has been successful and where it has slipped, painting a picture of a brand hesitant to change its established approach even as the category becomes more competitive and attractive to big players.
5. Lance Collins and KDP Launch A-Shoc
Though their legal sparring kept Bang and Monster in the headlines, they weren’t the only brands laying claim to a piece of the rapidly expanding “performance energy” category. In April, veteran beverage entrepreneur Lance Collins, who previously founded NOS and Outlaw Energy, announced his return to the category with A-Shoc, which launched in June.
4. Halsa Drinkable Yogurts Aim for Plant-Based ‘Next Level’
The upper half of this year-end list is mostly dominated by energy drink acrimony, so it was nice to see a story about fast-growing oat-based drinkable yogurt maker Halsa slip into the top five. While fellow Swedish brand Oatly has helped seed and shape the exploding oat milk market, Halsa co-founders Helena Lumme and Mika Manning are seeking to do the same for oat-based yogurt by emphasizing its nutritional content and ultra-clean production process.
3. Monster Reveals ‘Performance’ Energy, Tea Innovations
The top three most-read stories of 2019 all involve Monster Energy, but this one, thankfully, doesn’t contain the word “lawsuit.”
January’s announcement of the launch of Reign, Monster’s foray into the high caffeine, fitness-oriented subset of “performance energy” drinks, was a rather straightforward innovation story. Speaking during an investor meeting, Monster CEO Rodney Sacks and vice chairman Hilton Schlosberg outlined Reign’s place within Monster’s portfolio, noting the sub-brand had a dedicated team of senior managers focused exclusively on it and that it would receive its “own marketing and positioning” relative to Monster’s other products.
2. VPX Sports Suit Threatens to “Reign” In Monster Product
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but maybe not so much in a court of law. Our second most-read story of 2019 again tackled the ongoing rivalry between Monster Energy and Bang maker Vital Pharmaceuticals, tangling over the right to “Reign” over the energy drink set, with the latter accusing Monster of trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition.
1. Monster vs. Bang: New VPX Complaint Contains ‘Conspiracy’ Claims
BevNET readers are nothing if not consistent: For the fourth year running, a story about Monster Energy topped our annual list of most-read stories of the year.
This year’s top story harkens back to last year’s, bringing Monster together again with Bang Energy in yet another legal complaint filed in August. The latest battleground was U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, where in September VPX filed a complaint accusing Monster and its executives of engaging in a “conspiracy” to “suppress, obstruct, and conceal” alleged health risks related to consumption of the brand’s energy drink products.