Today we welcome a familiar face to our full-time staff. Melissa Traverse, a former BevNET colleague who rejoined the team as the Director of Community to take the lead on engagement with our growing community.
James Beard award-winning chef Stephanie Izard spoke about the origins of her globally inspired consumer brand This Little Goat, how taste and accessibility guide its thoughtful product and marketing strategy, why the company turned to self-manufacturing and how she became more comfortable as the primary spokesperson for her restaurants and brand.
MALK’s recent $9 million round was all about funding more distribution, but the alternative dairy brand’s first task for 2023 is driving awareness via a new commercial, Farmer’s Market. The 30-second ad was filmed at a farmer’s market and features real consumers.
Late last year, CPG brand builder Mercenary acquired StrikePoint CPG Accelerator with the aim of creating a next-gen consumer goods accelerator that can develop, scale and commercial brands across a range of natural and better-for-you categories. Led by new venture partner Joey Murray, the $20 million Mercenary Ventures fund will cut checks from $10,000 to $250,000 to pre-revenue and seed-stage brands – including California-based iced tea maker HALFDAY – over the next three years.
BevNET is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Naturally San Diego, a community of local CPG businesses aiming to make greater San Diego the new nexus of natural products entrepreneurship.
New Zealand's first non-alcoholic spirits brand is preparing for a March launch in the U.S. thanks to a partnership with Sprouts nationwide. Sunwink increases its offerings in Target and instant boba tea maker BobaBam hits the club channel.
As Dry January participants enter their final stretch, this week’s new products gallery features alcohol-free drinks from Simply and DRY Soda Co. which are rolling out nationwide. As well, classic CSD brands introduce new and revamped flavors, Rockstar Energy expands its better-for-you offerings and BodyArmor pays tribute to the troops.
Wholly Veggie co-founders John Bonnell and David Gaucher spoke about how a comprehensive brand brief enabled them to better understand their products’ value to retailers and consumers and the impact of a striking design revamp. They also discussed their adherence to business fundamentals, a challenging environment for private capital and how the most commonly consumed ingredients factor into their innovation strategy.
Dry January may be in full swing, but that hasn’t stopped spirits brands from rolling out new offerings. In this roundup of new whiskey releases, Fercullen Irish Whiskey makes its U.S. debut and Woodford Reserve unveiled this year’s edition of Double Double Oaked Bourbon.
Fresh off the conclusion of the 2023 Winter Fancy Food Show, Taste Radio editor Ray Latif highlighted new, innovative and better-for-you products from over a dozen exhibitors at the annual event, including a plant-centric soup brand, spicy and chewy candy, sunflower seed-based milk, non-alcoholic wine alternatives and gourmet marshmallows.
As the name suggests, its focus may be on food, but this year’s annual Winter Fancy Food Show saw its share of beverage innovation, from ALO debuting its new sparkling juice line, DaoHer adding a new Crème Brûlée flavor to its dessert-inspired boba line and Gutsy branching out from the kombucha set. Scroll down for the full gallery.
Tara Bosch, the founder of better-for-you candy brand SmartSweets, explained how prioritizing a lean business model in its early development enabled the company to be nimble and outpace its competitors, why its growth strategy is built around “patient urgency” and how the brand’s highly effective social media strategy drives consumers to its retailers.
The performance energy line is helping the California-based brand open up new doors in the convenience and military channels, while deepening its presence in the natural channel with expansions in chains such as Sprouts.
In this week’s new products roundup, Monster Energy unveils its first zero sugar offering, Aplós launches a new non-alcoholic spirit and PepsiCo looks to challenge Sprite with its new lemon-lime soda, Starry.
