Jeffrey Klineman

Jeffrey Klineman

Editor-in-Chief

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.

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Posts by Jeffrey Klineman

Packaging Evolution Packaging Evolution

Packaging Evolution

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Here’s the issue: GNC is a well-known retailer, but the process of rolling a beverage brand licensed from GNC into other stores presented a bit of a design problem for Shadow Beverage and Snacks, the company that licensed the right to develop the drinks. To begin with, there’s complexity – the company envisioned three kinds of products—an enhanced water, a sports drink, and a protein drink – covering both the average, aspirational grocery consumer and the highly involved athletic achiever.

HPP = High Profit Payday for BluePrint as Hain Scoops it Up HPP = High Profit Payday for BluePrint as Hain Scoops it Up

HPP = High Profit Payday for BluePrint as Hain Scoops it Up

by Jeffrey Klineman,

It went unnoticed last week, but fast-growing BluePrint -- which makes raw juices and direct-to-consumer juice cleanse products -- has been scooped up by natural foods conglomerate Hain Celestial. Hain did not disclose the amount of money it was paying for BluePrint. Hain Celestial CEO Irwin Simon called BluePrint "an innovative leader." Huss declined comment to BevNET, saying through a spokesman that the deal was not yet finalized.

Arnold Greenberg, Snapple Co-Founder, Passes Away at 80 Arnold Greenberg, Snapple Co-Founder, Passes Away at 80

Arnold Greenberg, Snapple Co-Founder, Passes Away at 80

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Arnold Greenberg, one of three friends who started the new age beverage revolution with the introduction of Snapple drinks, died on Friday, according to an obituary in the New York Times. It was known that he had been battling cancer for some time.

Tidy Profits: Premium Ingredients Drive Growth in Kids’ Beverages Tidy Profits: Premium Ingredients Drive Growth in Kids’ Beverages

Tidy Profits: Premium Ingredients Drive Growth in Kids’ Beverages

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Kids are used to hearing they need to clean up their rooms. Now drinks aimed at kids are cleaning up their ingredients. It’s part of a broader cleanup of American lifestyles. Particularly in the CPG arena, there’s a growing awareness that the earlier the life stage, the easier it is to create a natural or organic foods consumer. And the kids themselves are aware, as well...

Searching for Entrepreneurs? Look for Communities. Searching for Entrepreneurs? Look for Communities.

Searching for Entrepreneurs? Look for Communities.

by Jeffrey Klineman,

In his book The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida wrote about the function that cities have had in the rapid growth of an economy based on creativity. So how does that relate to the beverage business? Not necessarily directly – after all, much of the beverage industry is outsourced to factories that manufacture either centrally or regionally and then redistribute their production to wider areas. But on an entrepreneurial level there is an interesting relationship.

BevNET Live: Breakouts to Include Interactive Design Workshop BevNET Live: Breakouts to Include Interactive Design Workshop

BevNET Live: Breakouts to Include Interactive Design Workshop

by Jeffrey Klineman,

BevNET Live will feature an opportunity for entrepreneurs to check out their ideas with the experienced eye of noted designer Ian McLean, who will be on hand to answer questions and analyze proposed designs in a unique "workshop" format.

Energy Drink Drumbeat: Class Action Filed Against Redline Energy Drink Drumbeat: Class Action Filed Against Redline

Energy Drink Drumbeat: Class Action Filed Against Redline

by Jeffrey Klineman,

A Texas man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the makers of VPX Redline, claiming the product made him sick and was marketed deceptively. Redline, an energy drink known for having extremely high concentrations of caffeine, also contains a wide variety of ingredients beyond caffeine-containing compounds, including Yohimbine, 5-HTP, evodiamine, tyrosine, and vinpocetine.

Monster: We Stand by the Safety of Our Products Monster: We Stand by the Safety of Our Products

Monster: We Stand by the Safety of Our Products

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Faced with a drumbeat of negative publicity relating to revelations that the FDA has reports of five deaths associated in some way with the consumption of Monster Energy since 2009, the company has issued a statement denying its products played a role in the death of 14 year-old Anais Fournier last December.

Canned Reaction: Hiball’s Rolling Behind New Package Canned Reaction: Hiball’s Rolling Behind New Package

Canned Reaction: Hiball’s Rolling Behind New Package

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Since moving into the 16 oz. can style that is more typical of the energy drink category, the brand has received not just increased attention from Whole Foods, but also nationwide approval in Kroger for all six of its SKUs (four zero-calorie energy waters and two 100-calorie juice blends), as well as accounts in Ralph’s, Wegman’s, Jewel-Osco and many others.

FRS, Lance Armstrong Sever Ties FRS, Lance Armstrong Sever Ties

FRS, Lance Armstrong Sever Ties

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Armstrong has been an investor and member of the board of directors for the company, as well as a spokesman and "FRS Ambassador" for several years. He resigned from the board of directors yesterday. According to several reports, Armstrong will no longer be used to help market the products.

NACS: To Get “Smart,” Nestle Tries a New Resource NACS: To Get “Smart,” Nestle Tries a New Resource

NACS: To Get “Smart,” Nestle Tries a New Resource

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Nestle doesn’t take incursions onto its watery turf lightly, so getting strong play at the NWNA booth at NACS was a relative newcomer: Resource. The company has tasked a pair of branding aces (pulling them in from runaway success Pure Life and stalwart eco-brand Keeper Springs) with the unenviable chore of establishing Nestle as a player in the Smartwater crowd, and they are using Resource (labeled with a Smartwater-like lowercase "r") as the brand to do it.

NACS: Zico, Core Power Heading for the Big Red Trucks NACS: Zico, Core Power Heading for the Big Red Trucks

NACS: Zico, Core Power Heading for the Big Red Trucks

by Jeffrey Klineman,

Call it part of a larger movement to get healthier beverages into the beverage assortments on convenience store shelves. Zico Coconut Water and Core Power, a protein beverage, will both be moving into Coke’s large-scale national distribution system next year. Zico, which is well-known and is partially owned by Coke’s Venturing and Emerging Brands Group (VEB), will move onto the trucks in February, according to Paul Beaupre, a group director at Coca-Cola Refreshments.