Community Call is a recurring series of discussions addressing timely topics within the food and beverage industry. This month, we welcome a range of guests covering topics such as demand planning, event marketing, and finding the right valuation of your business for fundraising.
Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, the co-founders of Poppi, spoke about the reasons behind better-for-you soda brand’s explosive growth and how the company is maintaining its torrid pace. They also discussed their transition into new roles, Poppi’s remarkable trial conversion and repeat purchase rates, Amazon as a key part of the company’s marketing strategy and why video is king on social media.
At what stage of development should brands consider aligning with a celebrity or athlete? How can companies assess the potential value and impact of those partnerships? The hosts shared their perspective on both topics, and also spoke about why niche brands might need to reconsider certain positioning and packaging callouts that have them collectively scratching their heads.
In this week’s new products gallery, Ruby teams up with music and hospitality space Public Records to craft a non-alcoholic Lambrusco, Jones Soda kicks off PRIDE month early with labels created by LGBTQ artists and Health-Ade and Baba’s Turbo Squirrel roll out new tropical kombucha flavors.
Mario Carbone and Eric Skae, the co-founder and CEO, respectively, of fast-growing consumer brand Carbone Fine Food, spoke about how they attempt to incorporate the flair, panache and quality of Carbone’s critically acclaimed restaurants into the brand, their thoughtful pricing and promotional strategy and why they are cautious about new product development.
Electrolyte-enhanced bottled water brand Propel and actor Michael B. Jordan have teamed up to launch two new TV spots as the brand goes all-in on its Gatorade roots with a revamped visual identity.
It may seem counterintuitive, but successful founders are often stung by self-doubt, a topic the hosts discussed in this episode, along with Neil Patrick Harris’ foray into the RTD cocktail business and a divisive brand collaboration. We also sat down with operations expert Andrew Guard to speak about scaling strategies, generating mainstream demand through flavor and working with non-nutritive sweeteners.
In this week’s new products gallery, sparkling water maker Waterloo teams up with chef Curtis Stone to create a premium picnic basket, Vybes launches a “lite” version of its CBD beverages and nutpods unveils its first sweetened oat milk creamer.
In this new spirits gallery, Sugarlands Distilling Co. teams up with nonprofit Folds of Honor to launch a Sour Blue Raspberry flavor, BHAKTA Spirits pays homage to civil rights activist Mahatma Gandhi and Glendalough unveils a fresh new look for its Irish gins.
James Morrissey, the founder of beverage alcohol platform Global Brand Equities, discussed his vision to meet modern consumers where they live and drink via a contemporary approach to brand and promotion, how he cultivates mutually beneficial celebrity partnerships and why moving at “the speed of culture” is key to the company’s marketing strategy.
The hosts discussed the news that Michelle Obama has joined kids’ food and beverage company PLEZi Nutrition as a co-founder and strategic partner and spoke about the potential impact of the former first lady’s influence and political connections on the brand’s development. They also highlighted the 10 brands named as part of Target’s third Takeoff Food and Beverage program.
In this week’s new products gallery, health and wellness brand BEAM teams up with SunnyD to create a limited edition Super Greens flavor, Spindrift kicks off summer early with its Peach Strawberry offering and Devil’s Foot and ISH roll out new non-alcoholic cocktail offerings.
Baloo is a line of flavored sparkling waters that are enhanced with nootropics, adaptogens and vitamins. The lineup includes three flavors, all with zero sugar and zero calories and lightly sweetened with a blend of stevia and erythritol.
As the sunshine begins to stick around, many RTD cocktail producers are beginning to roll out summer-inspired sips. In this gallery, Atomic Coffee Roasters makes its first foray into the spirits world with an espresso martini offering, U.K.-based Funkin Cocktails splashes down in the U.S. and SoulBoxer expands its lineup of ready-to-pour bottled cocktails.
