Proud Source Water has raised $6 million in a financing round led by AF Ventures, the company announced today. Speaking with BevNET, Proud Source Water president CJ Pennington said the round will go towards increasing sales and marketing efforts for the Idaho-based bottled water brand.
Premium pickle brand Grillo’s is entering the beverage set with a line of cold-pressed pickle vinegar drinks launching next week at Natural Products Expo West 2020. Grillo’s founder Travis Grillo said the expansion into beverage is part of a larger effort to build a cross-category platform brand.
Vistar has taken a minority ownership stake in RTD yerba mate maker Yerbae, the beverage brand told BevNET, opening a partnership which will give the brand access to over 12,000 food service accounts nationwide. Yerbae CEO Todd Gibson said the investment comes as the brand prepares to roughly triple its retail distribution footprint by the end of this year.
Lemon Perfect Enters Big Geyser, Expands Whole Foods; CLEAN Cause Goes Chainwide in Whole Foods; Kill Cliff Adds Publix, Weis Market; SkinTE Goes Chainwide in Sprouts; The Bitter Housewife Adds Whole Foods Rocky Mountain Region
Constellation Brands announced this week it has acquired a minority ownership stake in Karma Culture LLC, the makers of Karma Wellness Water. The deal marks the beer and spirits giant’s first investment in a non-alcoholic beverage brand through its Constellation Ventures arm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Canned water maker Liquid Death announced today it has raised $9 million in a Series A funding round led by Velvet Sea Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to $11.25 million. The round will primarily help the brand to build out its sales team ahead of national expansion in retail and on-premise outlets this year and will also help to increase manufacturing output.
![In the Courtroom: Court Tosses Wanu Water Suit in Blow to Founder [Updated]](https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/19172721/BevNet_wanuwater_courtroom_thumbnail-150x150.jpg)
A lawsuit filed by Wanu Water against shareholders and former directors was dismissed last week; Monster and Coke lost a jury trial last week which ruled in favor of the family of Hubert Hansen; LaCroix maker National Beverage Corp. declared victory in a class action lawsuit after the plaintiff retracted allegations that the brand was falsely advertised as “100% natural.”
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) announced today it has agreed to acquire a “substantial portion” of dairy producer Dean Foods’ assets for a base price of $425 million as a stalking horse bidder. According to a press release from Dean Foods, DFA is set to acquire 44 of Dean’s liquid and frozen facilities, including real estate, inventory, equipment, direct store delivery system and other corporate assets.
As demand for cold brew coffee continues to grow, many brands have focused on single-serve innovations to gain a foothold in the category. Minnesota-based Bizzy Coffee, however, believes it can make bigger long term gains as a fridge staple rather than playing me-too in the grab-and-go set.
PepsiCo beat analyst expectations in its fourth quarter and full year 2019 earnings report yesterday, with its beverage division posting its growth rate since 2015. The company overall reported Q4 net revenue growing 5.7% to $20.64 billion and 3.9% for the full year to $67.16 billion; meanwhile, organic revenue grew 4.5% for the full year versus 3.7% in 2018.
Soylent announced yesterday that CEO Bryan Crowley has been replaced, naming former CFO & COO Demir Vangelov to the chief executive role. In a blog post, Soylent chairman and co-founder Rob Rhinehart said the leadership change comes as the company looks to make changes to its strategy and product.
As The Coca-Cola Company turns toward flavor innovation to grow its core CSD portfolio, Sprite is the latest brand to receive a permanent addition to its lineup with Sprite Ginger, launching this month in original and Zero Sugar varieties.
Minnesota-based CBD health and wellness brand BLNCD Naturals (pronounced Balanced) is making its first step into the beverage space, partnering with Big Watt Coffee to produce a line of CBD-infused sparkling waters launching this month.
Energy drink maker Outlaw Beverages is shutting down, according to the brand’s VP of sales David Martin. Martin announced on LinkedIn yesterday that the company had been unable to find outside financing to fund operations. As well, president and CEO Jesus Delgado-Jenkins left his position last month, according to his LinkedIn profile.
