Calling on consumers to "Master the Energy," Manyk Energy is a four-SKU energy drink line that includes a zero-calorie product, and two tea-flavored varieties. While the formulation of the beverages is on par with much of what we've seen in the category, Manyk has a ways to go in revising its packaging.

And the cold brew coffee train keeps rolling... Fresh out of Southern California, Seaworth’s “Single Fin Sludge” is a new organic concentrated cold brew coffee. Well-executed in packaging and flavor, “Single Fin Sludge" is an impressive foray into a category that seems to be growing by the day.

Building on the rapid growth of cold brew and craft coffee brands, Dave’s Coffee is a new line of “coffee syrup” products. In concept, it’s not that much different than most of the other cold brew products that we’ve sampled, but the syrup is a concentrated form that can be mixed with water. However, the fact that it’s syrup form definitely makes it a bit more difficult to mix than other brands that are simply coffee concentrate.

North Carolina-based Cheerwine has launched a new 4-pack of 12 oz slim cans. For a brand with a ton of retro appeal, the foray into a modern-looking package is an interesting move. Nevertheless, we think that the company did a great job staying true to its branding - and formulation.

As far as bottled water is concerned, high pH (aka alkalinized) water is certainly all the rage right now, at least in terms of new product introductions. And for many of the high pH brands that have been around for a while, rebranding efforts are underway. That’s exactly the case for Essentia, which has gone from being a brand that could blend in with the spring water masses to something that is attempting to establish itself as modern and sporty.

Much like the bevy of other sports/hydration drinks on the market, enterade is marketed as a dietary supplement for "hydration during stressful exercise and endurance sports." However, unlike competing brands, enterade contains a bare bones formulation of water, natural flavor, and sodium bicarbonate that makes the product rather unpleasant to consume.

Billed as a hybrid sports nutrition/energy drink, RIZE is formulated with trehalose, a naturally occurring sugar that the marketer claims provides twice the energy of glucose. For each of its two flavors, the brand features a pleasant flavor profile, but needs some work to improve its packaging, particularly in detailing the benefits of its formulation and differentiating itself from other products in the energy space.

Inject is a newcomer to the energy category, and from our perspective, the product needs a lot of work, particularly in revising its branding and high-calorie formulation, before it can have any real impact on the market.

2012 saw the launch of a number of new oat-based drinks, including Oatworks, a line of oat and fruit smoothies. The beverages are made with 100 percent fruit juice and puree and a proprietary water-soluble oat fiber called PromOat. Overall, the line is a solid debut and well-positioned to be a leader in the emerging oat category.