In this week's distribution roundup: CarryOn Wellness expands its presence in Colorado Sprouts Farmers Market stores, BioSteel partners with B2B e-commerce platform Provi and Kona Gold Beverages signs an agreement with Central City Distribution.

Seeking to extend its reach beyond the hydration category and create a clean-ingredient, family-oriented wellness platform brand, Kinderlyte this week introduced both a new brand identity, Kinderfarms, and co-founder – actress Jessica Biel – along with announcing the launch of a a kid-focused line of plant-based protein shakes.

The growth of the specialty food industry over the past year was primarily driven by products used for at-home cooking and baking as consumers looked to make easy meals and indulgent treats as lockdowns carried into the new year. In a recent report published by the Specialty Food Association (SFA) with research from SPINS and IRI, the SFA predicts that these categories will continue to lead growth in the industry as cooking at home becomes more habitual to consumers.

Leveraging supply chains, UNSTUCK is on a mission to support refugees. An extension of nonprofit The Tent Partnership for Refugees, the initiative has developed brand partnerships which it believes can create sustainable change, and it’s demonstrating this power through a new launch with yogurt brand Chobani.

Since launching in 2018, the Greenbelt Craft Kombucha team has urged consumers to use its products as a replacement for sugary soft drinks or alcohol. Now, the brand is “blatantly laying it out there,” according to co-founder Gavin Booth, with the creation of its non-alcoholic, cocktail-inspired line of yaupon tea-based kombucha.

In this weeks distribution roundup: Docklight Brands signs an agreement for nationwide distribution of Marley CBD beverages, Guru Organic Energy brings its retail sales, distribution and merchandising under the wing of PepsiCo Beverages Canada, Swoon Partners With Four Regional DSD Distributors and Biotin Water Enters Publix.

Here’s another marker that life is approaching a post-pandemic “new normal”: the reintroduction of free samples in grocery stores nationwide. To the relief of brands, who have long relied on sampling to win customers, many retailers announced plans this month to allow brands back in-store for product demonstrations.

The pandemic triggered an increased demand for functional and immune-boosting products over the past year – something that founders and judges paid attention to as they vied for the top prize in BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown 21 Semifinals.

Coffee Project NY has been innovating on-premise in their New York City cafes for years, but it took a global pandemic to push co-founders Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh to develop a coffee they could share with consumers beyond the city limits.

Channeling grief from their son’s suicide in 2019, Holy Kombucha co-founders are using their platform to advocate for teen suicide prevention through a national partnership with Hope Squad.

In this week's distribution roundup: CBD energy drink company, Elegance brands opens a self distribution center to serve over 1,400 San Bernardino and Los Angeles metro area retailers, Kroger now carries Jones Soda special release series, and updates from C4 Energy, TEAKOE, and more.

The e-commerce grocery channel rapidly expanded home delivery options last year as the world entered pandemic lockdowns. As those restrictions start to lift, Instacart doesn’t want to let go of its gains: the company is launching a new Priority Delivery feature that promises to deliver an order in as fast as 30 minutes.

In this weeks distribution roundup: Tru Inc. launches its functional seltzers at Massachusetts grocery store chains, Weird Beverages signs its first DSD agreement, and updates from Jones Soda and Take Two.