While consumers may not necessarily be flocking to artificial ingredients with open arms, the data shows that strong product launches from top beverage conglomerates and insurgent brands, such as sucralose-sweetened energy players PRIME and Celsius, are pushing lab-developed sweeteners ahead in certain parts of the store.
Factory, LLC’s name got a little more literal as the food and beverage investor and brand incubator opened up a 75,000 square foot co-manufacturing facility this year.
Double-digit volume growth for its flagship coconut water line propelled The Vita Coco Company’s Q1 2023 net sales +14% year-over-year to around $110 million, according to the company’s earnings report this week.
Although dollar sales remain “robust,” weaker volumes led non-alcoholic beverage sales growth to decelerate in the two-week period ending April 22, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.
![Shot Down: Feds Seize $3M Worth of Kratom Products from Botanic Tonics [Updated]](https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/03110807/FeelFree_970-150x150.jpg)
U.S. Marshals have seized around $3 million worth of kratom-containing functional shots and bulk kratom powder from the Oklahoma offices of Botanic Tonics, LLC, the maker of Feel Free Plant Based Herbal Supplement, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Known for its unapologetically pro-military branding and rapidly expanding RTD business, it has also been racking up multiple lawsuits from investors, business partners and former employees on its way to over $300 million in sales.
Oregon-based beverage maker Good Wolf relaunched in January with new ownership and a new vision for the probiotic tonic brand. That new vision has arrived as the company debuted a refreshed visual look online this month.
Through past roles at Vitamin Water and BodyArmor, Andy Steele has made a career of building brands in small format channels like convenience and drug. Now, he’s working to do the same at functional soda brand Olipop.
PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said the majority of inflation-fueled price increases have already occurred and rising costs are expected to be covered for the remainder of the year as inflation decelerates.
![Coca-Cola: Global Market Improvements Support Q1 Sales Growth [Updated]](https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/02092500/Coke_970-150x150.jpg)
The Coca-Cola Company surpassed analyst expectations in its Q1 2023 earnings report today, announcing net sales growth of 5% to around $11 billion, with a profit of $3.1 billion. Organic revenue in the quarter increased 12%, including +11% price/mix growth and a 1% bump in concentrate sales. Global unit case volume grew by 3% while operating income fell -1%.
Cure Hydration has raised $5.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Lerer Hippeau, the company announced this week. The funding arrives as the New York-based functional drink mix brand has expanded its retail presence to over 15,000 doors nationwide.
Monster Energy has asked a federal judge in Florida to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit filed by Bang Energy manufacturer Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) accusing the California-based energy drink leader of making dangerous products with hyperbolic marketing.
Although beverage sales growth has remained steady throughout Q1 2023, convenience retailers showed some trepidation for the months ahead by lowering their annual sales growth projection to 4.6% in the latest Beverage Bytes survey from Goldman Sachs Equity Research.
In another legal victory for Monster Energy, a California court issued a permanent injunction Wednesday against Bang Energy maker Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX), requiring the company to pull all products featuring the word “creatine” from store shelves and to cease selling Bang products featuring the term within 60 days.
