Is Big Food finally catching up to emerging brands on speed to market? As legacy CPG giants roll out protein- and fiber-forward innovations faster than ever, the team debates whether startups still hold the advantage. Plus, we give a heartfelt sendoff to Jacqui Brugliera as she departs BevNET after 12 years.
This week's new products feature new brand collaborations from Bubly and Verve Coffee, soda innovations from Nixie and Mr. Pibb, and fresh THC innovations from Wynk and Woodstock Goods.
The Shirley Temple revival is in full effect in this week's reviews, featuring a taste of two new releases from Just Call Me Shirley and Stiller's.
After decades in fine dining, renowned restaurateur Jamie Mammano turned his attention to a new challenge: reinventing the tortilla chip. In this episode, he shares how a small tortilla bakery experiment evolved into Mi Niña, one of the country’s fastest-growing premium tortilla chip brands, now sold in thousands of retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target and Wegmans.
The real ROI of Expo West starts long before the show floor opens. In this episode, the team breaks down best practices for exhibitors looking to maximize your time and resources at one of the most competitive trade shows in the world.
This week’s new products gallery features a pair of line extensions from two of the biggest names in sparkling water, plus a first look at a flood of 2026 releases from Keurig Dr Pepper.
Living somewhere between a sports drink and a soda, Flying Ostrich is a line of sparkling electrolyte beverages in 12 ounce cans that is positioned as an everyday hydration option.
In 2026 Functional Food & Beverage Predictions, Spate maps the trends set to shape the year ahead using billions of search signals and social data, revealing where wellness demand is accelerating fastest and which formats are evolving from niche to mainstream.
Behind nearly every breakout CPG brand is an early believer willing to write the first check. In this episode, Adam Spriggs of the early-stage investor community The Angel Group and a general partner at its funding arm, Supernatural Ventures, shares how a casual investing experiment evolved into a 275-member syndicate backing the next generation of emerging brands.
The Q1 2026 Supply Chain Snapshot dives into the critical inputs shaping beverage production - grains, hops, glass, sweeteners, packaging, and freight - highlighting where supply is abundant, where pricing remains stubbornly high, and where policy or geopolitical shifts could quickly alter the equation.
Once Upon a Farm’s $198 million IPO could signal a new path forward for better-for-you CPG brands — but is going public better than selling to a strategic? We also break down the clash between Kroger’s FoodHealth scoring system and the stricter Non-UPF Verified certification, and what it all means for how “healthy” gets defined at retail.
This week’s new product gallery features (of course) more protein, courtesy of Nurri, along with a new look for De La Calle, a new Target exclusive from Unwell, and Maison Perrier’s move into sweetened (and functional) sparkling water.
This week's beverage reviews are all about heat and spice, as we pour up new drinks from Mike's Hot Honey and Spindrift.
De La Calle is continuing its reintroduction as a modern Mexican soda, kicking off a new brand campaign called "Frutas" that marks a "refreshed chapter" for the company ahead of its national launch with Target this month.
