As for the implications for AQUAhydrate’s existing distributor network, Kravitz said he expects the partnership with Europa to significantly accelerate the brand’s penetration of untapped outlets that land outside the core capabilities of the company’s current distribution partners.
The food and beverage industry hasn’t been one to shy away from crowdfunding models to date, either via donations on sites like Kickstarter or investment platforms like CircleUp.
Weiland Jr., discussed his career pivot during a call with BevNET last week, where he described a longtime passion for the military as “a calling that’s been burning inside me for the last few years.”
On Monday the fast-growing flavored sparkling water brand announced new distribution to the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it’s launched its three top-selling SKUs - Black Raspberry, Orange Mango and Peach Nectarine - at more than 8,000 stores, with a targeted presence in London, Dublin and Belfast.
The country’s largest supermarket chain has added two fast-growing beverage brands to over 1,000 of its locations.
Before Kravitz joined AQUAhydrate as CEO in November 2014, he spent over 30 years as an officer and leader at Coca-Cola, earning credentials in general management, strategy and planning, operations, sales, marketing, business development and revenue management.
The Emeryville, Calif.-based brand is the brainchild of founders Neil Renninger, co-founder and former chief technology officer at Amyris Biotechnologies, and Adam Lowry, co-founder of sustainable cleaning products company Method.
Reuters reports that the Supreme Court had declined to review the lower court’s ruling that POM’s advertising claims - that the product treats conditions including heart disease, prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction - were not supported by “competent and reliable scientific evidence.”
Willis, the former chief commercial officer at Anheuser-Busch InBev and before that president of the Coca-Cola Company’s North Latin America division, will also serve as chief financial officer and as a director of Bucha.
Stores located in the Lone Star State will be among the first to carry the organic beverage on its shelves.
Speaking from his company’s Austin headquarters, CEO David Smith discussed the raise further in a call with BevNET, saying the new funding will go towards further expansion of the company’s sales and marketing efforts and getting more “feet on the street,” which will see the buildout of a High Brew field marketing team across the country.
The New York Times has explored the latest disagreement between the two presidential hopefuls on the heels of Clinton’s endorsement of a proposal in Philadelphia that would place a 3-cents-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages.
The investment in adding canned production to the plant, which until recently had only produced PET and HDPE bottles, came out of Nor-Cal’s 2014 sale of its Anheuser-Busch distributorship to Markstein Beverage of Sacramento.
Klock indicated that the line extension could create a path for the Sparkling Ice brand, whose flagship products are formulated with artificial ingredients, into the natural channel.
