BevNET.com Staff

Posts by BevNET.com Staff

Taste Radio: What Fueled Poppi’s $1.65B Payday? Plus, Musings From Miami.

Poppi just popped – big time. But was PepsiCo’s $1.65 billion acquisition driven by TikTok virality, perfect timing, or industry heavyweights like Rohan Oza? (Sorry, prebiotics, this one's not about you.) And now that the first major deal has landed, is the BFY soda space about to see a gold rush – or a bubble burst? The hosts break it all down. Plus, we revisit standout interviews from our Miami meetup.

Distribution Roundup: Cure Hydration Hits Whole Foods

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.

Taste Radio: Wild By Nature, Strategic By Design. It’s Why Wildwonder Is Surging.

Rosa Li, the founder and CEO of fast-growing functional beverage brand Wildwonder, explains how a focus on steady, incremental growth has been key to maintaining integrity. She also discusses how the brand aligns its expansion with core values, its unique position at the intersection of kombucha and soda, and the power of social listening in shaping the company’s future.

Expo West: Plant Press Pushes Forward, Humm Flexes Formats

As we close out our Expo West coverage, we've got a first look at new branding from clean energy drink Plant Press, and a preview of new innovation from Humm Kombucha that takes the brand into new formats like shots, resealable aluminum bottles and nitro-infused cans. Plus updates from Gorgie and corn milk maker Maizly.

Expo West 2025 Video: Smolyansky Introduces New Kefir Competitor Pure Culture

In this video, filmed at the brand’s booth in Hall A, Edward Smolyansky discusses his ambitions to create a better and more functional product than the competing brands, why packaging size is important in the kefir set, and why he wants to be known as the “Kefir King of America.”

Report: Pepsi Closing In on Poppi Acquisition

PepsiCo is close to acquiring prebiotic soda brand Poppi in a deal valued at over $1.5 billion, according to a report published in Bloomberg this morning, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Taste Radio: Did Expo West Actually Deliver? It Depends On Who You Ask.

We're not exactly at odds, but there's definitely some healthy debate among the hosts around how to assess Expo West 2025. And it turns out, we're not alone. The biggest question on everyone's mind: how do we truly evaluate innovation, and what does it mean for the future of the food and beverage industry in the near term?