Following a report on Wednesday that Talking Rain and its former CEO, Kevin Klock, had been named in a lawsuit alleging that Klock had sexually harassed an employee in March, and that the company had retaliated against her even after Klock had left the company, COO Chris Hall told BevNET there was no culture problem at the sparkling water company during a brief talk at the just-concluded National Association of Convenience Stores show this week in Chicago.

A letter posted on the company's web site today explained that the company was shutting down due to the infrastructure challenges in "creating an effective manufacturing and distribution system for a nationwide consumer base."

Sports drink brand Roar Beverages announced a partnership with incubator L.A. Libations; Blossom Water picked up new placement in 750 grocery stores; Big Easy Bucha lands new distribution at Publix; Icelandic Glacial signs deal for distribution in China.

In a deal that’s shaking the shopping experience for consumers, retailers, and food and beverage companies, Amazon’s scooping up of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion on Friday has hardened talk of large-scale disruption in the way consumers buy their groceries.

It wasn’t a sale, it was an adoption, said the Bai CEO of the $1.7 billion DPSG deal.

Sources have confirmed that a deal for PepsiCo to acquire KeVita is nearing the end stages, with the larger company paying between $400 and $500 million for the brand.

The joint venture with Coke will be Dunkin’ Donuts’ first venture into RTD coffee. The chain, publicly traded under Dunkin’ Brands, has long been a source of quick-served coffee and iced coffees on the go, and recently entered the cold brew coffee category itself.

Famous for building SoBe and selling it to Pepsi for close to $400M, Bello is one of two or three potential strategic additions to the board that Reed is hoping will help him hold off a new slate of directors: activist investors met with the ginger brew and root beer maker on Monday, he said, discussing their own slate of board members.

There are three investments on the books following its initial, $18 million raise (including Bonafide Provisions and Hope Foods), which closed in January. One more is scheduled to follow in short order.

As part of the deal, L.A. Libations will purchase equity in the fledgling bone broth company, and will also help shepherd it into the core accounts that are the brand development company’s stock-in-trade.

First will remain a board member with several brands that he started working with via First Beverage, including Health-Ade, Purity, Q, and Project Juice.