Cure Hydration Hits Whole Foods
Powdered beverage mix Cure Hydration is hitting Whole Foods shelves across the country for the first time this month.
The natural channel retailer will launch Cure’s Kids line, including Fruit Punch, Pink Lemonade and Mixed Berry flavors, in over 500 stores across the country beginning next week. That rollout will be followed by the addition of Cure’s core adult-focused products in April with Berry Pomegranate, Lemonade, Tropical Punch, Watermelon and Strawberry Kiwi varieties.
“Whole Foods has set the standard for high-quality, clean-ingredient products, making this partnership a perfect fit,” Cure founder and CEO Lauren Picasso told BevNET via email this week. “This expansion allows us to reach a highly engaged audience that values functional, better-for-you products while further strengthening our retail presence nationwide.”
Picasso said that the expansion makes Cure the first kids-focused hydration brand to launch in Whole Foods. The brand introduced its Kids line at last year’s Natural Products Expo West 2024 trade show and at this year’s edition of the trade show it previewed a new Grape flavor coming to the line in the near future.
The addition of Whole Foods brings Cure’s footprint to over 17,000 stores nationwide, adding to accounts such as CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts, Wegmans and REI, among others.
Although still a smaller brand in the roughly $1.4 billion retail sports drink mix category, Picasso said that Cure has seen its sales grow 100x since it launched in 2019 and has averaged 152% year-over-year growth annually.
“This year, we’re focused on continuing that momentum by expanding our distribution in major retail accounts,” she said. “We’re particularly excited to continue expanding our partnerships with Cardinal Health and McKesson, making Cure more accessible through independent pharmacies and health-focused e-commerce platforms like FSAStore.com and OptumStore.”
While flavor innovation is the plan for the near future, Picasso added that the brand is exploring “new functional categories” that it could seek to enter “in the coming years,” although she declined to say what formats or sets Cure could look to break into down the line.
“Our focus remains on growing our presence at national retailers while continuing to scale our direct-to-consumer and Amazon channels, where we’ve built a strong, loyal community,” she said.
WOOOOO! Energy Goes On the Run
Pro wrestling icon Ric Flair is leaping into the beverage ring. The former World Champ’s WOOOOO! Energy (that is five O’s for those keeping count) has partnered with retailer On the Run to add 54 new locations across Missouri.
Flair will make an in-store appearance at the On the Run location in O’Fallon, Missouri next week on March 26 to support the launch.
“WOOOOO! I’ve always been about bringing the energy, and now, thanks to On the Run, we’re making it even easier for fans to get their hands on WOOOOO! Energy,” said Flair in a press release. “We’re bringing the best-tasting, high-performance energy drink to Missouri, and we’re just getting started.”
WOOOOO! Energy drinks come in four flavors (Pineapple Berry, Strawberry Banana, Dragon Fruit and Lemon) and the company intends to roll out a WOOOOO! ZERO line in the near future. Each 12 oz. can contains adaptogenic mushrooms, nootropics and caffeine.
Primo Brands Becomes MLB’s Official Water
Primo Brands, the owner of several major regional bottled water brands, has been named the Official Water of Major League Baseball, the company announced today.
The company’s portfolio – including Arrowhead, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka and Pure Life – will mount a 360 marketing campaign around the 2025 MLB season.
“This year, our MLB activation will go beyond the ballpark to spotlight our portfolio of healthy hydration brands, with help from some of the league’s top players,” said Primo CMO Kheri Tillman in a release. “Our brands have deep roots in communities all across America, where they are just as loved by the public as their local baseball teams. Not everyone can make that claim, so we’re excited to place America’s top water brands at the center of experiences that foster community, ignite local pride, and celebrate the talent of inspiring athletes.”