As Editor-in-Chief of BevNET, Jeff Klineman oversees the organization's reporting across all of its web sites, as well as BevNET Magazine. Jeff also plans, curates, and hosts the BevNET Live and NOSH Live conferences. Jeff previously worked as a newspaper reporter for the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, the Boston TAB and the Metrowest Daily News, and has freelanced for publications like Slate, Boston Magazine, Self, George, Commonwealth, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He is a graduate of Yale University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. A frequently-cited expert on the beverage industry, Jeff has also twice been named in Forbes as one of the 25 Most Influential when it comes to Consumer and Retail Companies.
“In earlier stage companies, there’s a lot of excitement around what we might be creating -- but you have to channel some of that into what the world’s ready for,” said Califia Farms CEO Greg Steltenpohl.
The round is the third in the past 18 months for the company, taking the total amount invested in the brand to $45 million.
There’s an increasing number of people questioning the whole premise for dairy milk, either because they’ve embraced non-dairy paleo lifestyles, have environmental concerns associated with a dairy-centric agricultural system, or just plain don’t like the taste as much.
Brands create categories. But declining categories can smother brands. That’s what a five-year analysis of topline category data tells us.
Billionaire yogurt maker Hamdi Ulukaya, who started Chobani, announced plans today to "invest in and cultivate emerging food entrepreneurs," according to an announcement from the company.
Promising brand propositions can fall apart if the flavor isn’t there, while marginally functional products can catch fire behind great taste. Brands will do whatever they can to maintain their flavor advantage (Coke’s secret formula, anyone?) while a switch in sweetener mix can totally undermine a product (Vitaminwater’s recent stevia experiment comes to mind).
A look at how the retailer is exploring new ways to execute behind its core competency.
Body Armor, the upstart sports drink brand that hopes to topple Gatorade from its long-held category leadership, may have to face an FTC hearing over its tagline, “Upgrade Your Sports Drink.”
Even with the presence of major players like Lipton, Nestle, AriZona, and Coke in the category, Talking Rain CEO Kevin Klock said, there was an opportunity to bring in a new, single-serve brand that could add to the company's volume. "We're between categories," Klock told BevNET during a videotaped interview on the floor of NACS. "That's where the white space is."
In this video, we examine the unpinning strategies behind new product introductions at the show and the role they play in C-store trends.
How the sale of 17 percent of Monster to Coke could have gone.
For probiotic beverages, rising interest in both gut health and overall natural health have led to increased attention on the tiny bacterial strains embedded within the bottle. Mainstream growth is starting to come, with conventional retailers expanding the presence of brands like GT’s Kombucha, Lifeway Kefir, even newcomers like KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Drink and Goodbelly juices.
The investment is intended for Runa to use both the cash infusion and MetaBrand’s long, varied reach to grow its drinks business.
Jamba Juice, an 800-store line of juice franchises, is wading into the cold-pressed market, launching a four-SKU line of high pressure processed (HPP) juices that will be available in-store.
