Mixly Brings Cocktail Makings To HyVee
Minneapolis-based premium mixer brand Mixly is expanding its reach in its home turf. In June, Mixly’s top three selling SKUs (Grapefruit Jalapeño, Pineapple Basil Lime and Strawberry Pomegranate) became available in over 80 HyVee locations throughout the Midwest, bringing the brand’s total footprint to over 300 store shelves. The 16 oz. bottles retail for $16.99 each.
Along with HyVee, the brand has distribution in 30 Festival Foods in Wisconsin, several Fresh Thyme locations in Minnesota, as well as a number of liquor stores and independent grocers in Colorado and Connecticut as well.
In an effort to disrupt the mixer category, “we’ve been very focused on the right shelf, not every shelf,” co-founder and VP of marketing Megan Sather told BevNET. “We first want to reach consumers in formats that can successfully position a premium NA product, as well as formats that are best for discovery.”
Mixly’s craft cocktail mixers are made with real fruit juices, herbs and sweetened with honey. The brand offers four additional flavors – Cucumber Mint Lime, Blueberry Lemon, Rosemary Lemon Honey, Pear Honey Vanilla – on its website. In addition to selling individual bottles, the company has begun offering a number of bundles positioned towards its core base of Gen Z and millennial customers who are buying Mixly not only for themselves but as gifts in boutique liquor stores or online, Sather said.
The company has added a sales support and event manager to help the brand with in-store demos with distribution partners like HyVee.
“Our growth with HyVee marks a significant milestone for Mixly,” Sather said. “It demonstrates progressive retailers, like HyVee, understand that the mixer category has been underdeveloped for far too long, and the opportunity to create a space for alcohol alternatives.”
Space Tea Out-Growing SoCal Home Market
Los Angeles-based canned tea brand Space Tea has capitalized on its trial earlier in the year at Sprouts Farmers Markets to bring its core three flavors – Original, Golden Mango and Summer Watermelon – nationwide to over 300 locations. The adaptogenic mushroom iced tea and lemonade maker is also now available in Vitamin Shoppes nationwide. The beverages are available in 12 oz. tall cans for $4 each.
Launched in 2020 by brothers Gabriel and Isaac Heymann and Michael Goldberg, Space Tea offers three zero-sugar varieties (Lemon, Matcha and Hibiscus) along with its core line and recently, launched a new caffeinated Blueberry Boost flavor featuring yerba mate tea and lemonade.
Non-Alc PR Firm SipSteady Adds Distribution To Business
Utilizing its network of non-alcoholic brands and industry connections, Kansas City-based marketing and event firm SipSteady has launched a distribution arm of its business to bring more zero-proof brands to Kansas stores.
The new part of the business initially launched in the Kansas City metro-area with non-alcoholic sparkling wine brand Prima Pavé. The company is planning to bring in a yet-to-be-named European NA wine brand as well as a number of RTD non-alc products.
The operation is a partnership with Handcrafted Wines & Spirits which helps SipSteady with logistics and access to its network of over 500 in Kansas. SipSteady intends to eventually expand the partnership into Handcrafted Wines’ network in Oklahoma, Nebraska and Oregon.
SipSteady was founded in 2022 by Sarah Pretorius and Kayla Mason as a marketing and events agency dedicated to the non-alcoholic category. The woman-founded firm has expanded by hosting a series of sober-curious events called Dry Vibes that began in Kansas City and have since expanded to other cities.
PLEZi Hits Sprouts Shelves
Kids drink PLEZi, based in Washington D.C., announced last week it is now distributed in Sprouts Farmers Market. The kid-positioned drink brand also announced in July it was available in Walmart stores nationwide after already securing distribution in over 1,800 Target stores in April. The low-sugar, fruit juice drinks are sold in 4-packs of 8 oz. bottles for $3.89 at Target stores.
PLEZi Nutrition launched its first products, a four-SKU line (Tropical Punch, Orange Smash, Sour Apple and Blueberry Blast) in 2023 and has capitalized on the May announcement that it had added former First Lady Michelle Obama as a co-founder and strategic advisor by expanding its distribution network into conventional retailers.