From brand updates to new products to emerging trends, BevNET has you covered for all things Natural Products Expo West. Follow all our coverage, including more news roundups like this, right here.
Huxley And Heywell Land New Investments
Energy drink Huxley has been in the market for only one year but has been steadily building a deep footprint in its home market of Minneapolis, Minn. The brand was showing off its new look changing from “plant-powered” to “superfruit” energy drink. The company also made small tweaks to its package design, bringing its value propositions of “5g sugar, 90mg caffeine and 100% real ingredients” to the lower-half of the can.
Founder Simon Solis-Cohen said the brand was closing a seed round of funding. He declined to disclose the amount of the round but said it had “easily achieved its investment goal” from angels and “value-add people” to help the brand expand further in the Midwest during 2025.
Another Midwest drink brand, heywell, recently landed an undisclosed seed round from existing angel investors. The new capital will predominantly go towards funding a marketing push for the brand, said co-founder Ashley Selman, who has a background in beverage marketing with her co-founder Britt Doughtery, whom she worked with previously at MillerCoors.
Heywell is expecting to open 900 new doors this spring, including partnerships with Target, The Fresh Market and Hy-Vee, among others. The brand has taken a “slow and thoughtful approach, Selman said, which has been a “winning strategy” to build brand awareness. Having secured the necessary capital to fund its marketing push, heywell is planning to open a Series A round later this year.
BEAM Becomes Be Amazing
Powdered supplement maker BEAM has rebranded to Be Amazing and retooled its shelf-stable, non-carbonated green drink, dropping its original “greens-on-the-go” name to simply “greens” as it works to better convey the value and uniqueness of the product to consumers.
After nearly two years of development, the brand reintroduced what it claims to be the “first RTD Greens drink” line at Expo with each 12 oz. can containing 10 fruits and vegetables as well as 4 grams of prebiotic fiber and 25 calories. Available in Peach Mango, Pink Lemonade and Mixed Berry flavors, each can contains coconut water powder Covico, Vitamin C ingredient PureWay-C and is sweetened with fermented cane sugar and monk fruit extract.
The products are formulated with Be Amazing’s flagship greens formula, but a spokesperson noted the RTD is not simply the green powder mixed with water and canned. Instead, the patent-pending product is passed through a multi-step process that ensures the liquid remains equally mixed.
Violife Expands into Beverages
Vegan cheese and butter maker Violife is seeking to make a splash in the beverage scene with the launch of its refrigerated dairy-free coffee creamers in Tempting Vanilla, Seductive Caramel and Boldly Original Varieties.
According to Monica Bordin, head of North America operations, the creamers were created for consumers stuck in a “situationship” with dairy creamers due to a lack of plant-based options that don’t separate or create an oily consistency. The launch marks the brand’s first venture outside of the food space.
Whereas many players in the $8.95 billion plant-based creamer category have focused on inputs like almonds, oats and soy, Violife’s hero ingredient is lentil protein, which Bordin says is stable in both hot and cold applications for coffee and tea.
The non-dairy creamers rolled out to Walmart stores nationwide in February with a SRP of $4.88 per 33.8 oz. carton (per the retailer’s website) and are expected to hit additional retailers later this year.