Ray Latif is the lead host, producer, and content editor of Taste Radio, BevNET’s flagship podcast and the go-to show for food and beverage industry insights. With 14 years of experience in the industry, Ray is a seasoned journalist known for his sharp interviews and in-depth coverage of trends, innovation, and news. He began his career at BevNET as an assistant editor, later advancing to managing editor of both the website and magazine. Since 2016, he’s been the driving force behind Taste Radio, overseeing everything from content strategy to production. Ray’s conversational style and meticulous research have earned him widespread praise from both guests and listeners. He has had the privilege of interviewing a diverse range of high-profile figures, including Patrick Mahomes, Jennifer Garner, Dan Aykroyd, Kobe Bryant, Padma Lakshmi, and Brad Paisley. His ability to connect with entrepreneurs, celebrities, and industry leaders has made Taste Radio a must-listen for anyone interested in the evolving world of food and beverage.
A Chicago-area business has filed a class action lawsuit against Nestlé Waters North America Inc. (NWNA) claiming that five-gallon jugs of its Ice Mountain Water brand are falsely advertised as containing spring water when in actuality the water comes from a municipal source.
An new online petition is calling for PepsiCo to stop formulating its Gatorade line of sports drinks with brominated vegetable oil, an ingredient tied to flame retardant chemicals, according to The New York Times.
In a bid to reassure shareholders and investors about safety of its products as well as the current and future growth potential of its flagship energy drink, Monster Beverage Corp. issued a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that included a 61 slide presentation that began with the statement, “Monster Energy Products Are Safe.”
Eric Schnell is going Hollywood. The MetaBrand founder and CEO, who has over 15 years of experience developing and launching natural beverage brands, will appear on the reality TV show “Tia & Tamara” tonight to help advise Tia and Tamara Mowry - the twin sisters best known as the stars of 1990s sitcom “Sister, Sister” - on a new bottled herbal tea line that the pair is attempting to create.
Aiming to pump new life into its beverage division, PepsiCo is developing a range of snack-based drinks, according to The Financial Times. Speaking at Beverage Digest's Future Smarts conference in New York yesterday, PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said that the company has a “whole range of products… in the pipeline that are value-added products that can be snacks made into beverages.”
In a deal that the company calls “pioneering” in its range and scale, PepsiCo announced today that it has entered into a new multi-year partnership with pop singer Beyoncé. PepsiCo has hailed the deal – estimated to be worth $50 million, according to The New York Times – as a “true creative and wide-ranging collaboration” that will expand Beyoncé’s presence in global advertising and marketing campaigns for Pepsi and support new creative projects launched by the Grammy-winning artist.
While energy drinks have received a considerable amount of scrutiny in recent months, mostly from individuals concerned that the products are unsafe for children, it's the sale of Marley's Mellow Mood at a Holmdel, N.J. middle school that has a school vending agency in hot water, after some students fell ill after consuming the product.
BevNET.com is pleased to announce its Best of 2012 award winners. Selecting from a pool of nearly 300 new product introductions, brand revamps, and line extensions, an overarching theme of health and wellness dominated this year’s list of winners. From cold pressed, high-pressure processed juices, to beverages infused with emerging functional ingredients, to natural energy drinks, the 17 award winners represent brands that have become key drivers of innovation in the beverage industry.
PepsiCo has named Brett O'Brien, a 12-year veteran of the company, as senior vice president and general manager of Gatorade’s North American business, according to an internal memo obtained by The Chicago Tribune. O'Brien takes the reins of the number one selling sports drink brand following the departure of Sarah Robb O'Hagan, who left PepsiCo in August.
After weeks of seeing its stock price battered by reports linking consumption of its energy drinks to dozens of hospitalizations and a number of deaths, Monster Beverage Corp. can finally breathe a little easier.
Should energy drinks be age-restricted? A prominent elected official in Chicago thinks so. Stating that he doesn’t “want kids dying because of something that shouldn’t be in their hands,” Chicago alderman George Cardenas has proposed banning the sale of energy drinks to individuals under the age of 21, according to a recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Big Red, Inc. announced today that it has acquired HYDRIVE Energy, marketer of better-for-you energy drinks. The sale, orchestrated by Gary Smith (Big Red) and Mike Weinstein (HYDRIVE), will be effective immediately and adds HYDRIVE Energy drinks to the Big Red portfolio which includes, All Sport isotonic, NuGrape, Thomas Kemper, Nesbitt’s and other beverage lines.
A few months after showcasing his line of military-inspired energy shots in New Beverage Showdown 3 at BevNET Live Summer 2012, RuckPack founder Robert Dyer pitched his brand to a panel of veteran investors and entrepreneurs on the ABC reality TV show “Shark Tank.” After Dyer's presentation, two panelists agreed to invest $150,000 in RuckPack for a 20 percent stake in the company.
Less than two months after its relaunch, high-alkaline water AQUAhydrate has gained new national distribution at GNC. AQUAhydrate's deal with the health and nutrition retailer comes on the heels of GNC's partnership with actor Mark Wahlberg, an investor in AQUAhydrate, and his new MARKED line of sports nutrition supplements.
