We’re pleased to announce that every speaker presentation, panel and discussion from BevNET Live Summer ’14 is now available for viewing on BevNET FBU, our on-demand video learning site for the food and beverage industry.
Aquadopa, the world’s first herbal supplement beverage to enhance dopamine function, is now on the shelves of Sprouts Farmers Market stores across the country.
A finalist in the recently held New Beverage 7 at BevNET Live Summer '14, Tigernut Horchata attracted quite a bit of attention for its packaging and formulation. However, Showdown judges questioned the positioning of the product, noting a disconnect between the use of the word horchata in describing a beverage that did not have a rice component. The review team has similar concerns about the branding.
Naturex has agreed to acquire 100% of the capital of Chicago-based Vegetable Juices who specialise in the production and distribution of natural vegetable ingredients.
Senomyx, Inc., a leading company using proprietary taste science technologies to discover, develop and commercialize novel flavor ingredients for the food, beverage and flavor industries, announced today that PepsiCo, Inc. has exercised its option to extend the companies' collaborative agreement related to Senomyx's sweet-taste technology for an additional two years, through August 2016.
Berentzen USA is proud to announce the launch of Berentzen Bushel & Barrel. Berentzen Bushel & Barrel is the result of blending two delicious traditional flavors - bourbon, America's native spirit, and Berentzen's world-renowned apple liqueur.
Through the Sprite 6 Mix by LeBron James #ChangeTheGame contest, Sprite will award an aspiring musician, a visual artist, an entrepreneur and a civic leader with a tailor-made educational experience.
Rooibee Roo is a new line of rooibos tea drinks that are designed for kids and come in three varieties. Packaged in a small 8 oz. bottle, the product is sweetened with sugar, and contains natural fruit flavoring (mango in this case). Speaking purely from a flavor perspective, it’s certainly a nice tasting mango-flavored tea that feels pretty mainstream in style. However, as a kids product, we think it’s going to be an uphill battle.
Earlier this year, coconut water company Jax Coco debuted a new line of kids’ drinks, which are packaged 110 mL wedge cartons. The brand is available in five varieties, and we elected to review the banana, chocolate and original flavors, all of which are nicely formulated. While the packaging could definitely use some work, Jax Coco has a good deal of runway with the new products.
BACARDÍ rum, the world's best-selling and most awarded rum, announces BACARDÍ Loud & Untameable, a digital content series that showcases collaborations between popular modern artists and a Cuban-inspired ensemble band in all-out, anything-goes studio sessions streamed on the brand's custom Pandora station, Pandora.com/BACARDI.
Well-known for its low-calorie line of bottled cocktails, Skinnygirl last year introduced a new brand of five-calorie sparkling waters called Skinnygirl Sparklers. Developed in partnership with AriZona Beverages, the products are made with 5 percent juice and sweetened with honey, sugar, Ace-K and sucralose. With clean and minimalist packaging, Skinnygirl has made good use of its brand equity, although it’s certainly hard to say how it will translate to a ready-to-drink non-alcoholic product.
Rau is a cold-pressed and raw cacao beverage that is sweetened with monk fruit. From a flavor perspective, this product tastes very much like raw cacao (like what you’d find in a cacao nib). There’s a nice “chocolate” flavor to it, but, like cacao nibs, it does have a bitterness that will take some getting used to.
Rawpothecary, which produces a line of whole food juice, nut milk and cold-brew coffee blends, markets its products with the tagline “nothing added, nothing wasted" and "the pulp and skins are in." From our perspective, the company's range of uniquely-crafted blends and well-designed labels are nicely differentiated from competing products and offer a long runway for success.
Introduced at Expo West 2014, Chameleon Cold-Brew's new line of ready-to-drink coffee drinks is an impressive entry to the category. Packaged in 10 oz. glass bottles, the line comes in three varieties — mocha, vanilla, original black -- each made with water, organic & Fair Trade coffee, and in the case of the mocha and vanilla, sugar and flavor. Pairing a simple formulation design with a clean and well-designed label, and overall, we’re big fans of these products.
