The advent of brands like Honest Tea has changed the conversation around the RTD tea category to address the origins of the tea used inside the product. Still, the rich heritage of English tea has, at least in the past decade, been somewhat overlooked. Enter Thea’s English Standard Tea, which, as the name suggests, is focused on bringing that story back to life.
Modern Alkeme is a self-described “Clearing Tonic” and is available in a single 8 oz. formulation that is high pressure processed. On the surface, this appears to be a new take on a cleanse product, with a suggested regimen of two bottles per day for three days along with plenty of water and a healthy diet, followed by a bottle per day for daily maintenance.
Pressery Coconut Drinking Vinegar is a line of organic cold-pressed beverages that are made with juice and coconut vinegar. Pressery, which is a Colorado-based company that also produces a line of traditional cold-pressed juices under the same brand, has done a great job of creating something that is authentic but approachable.
The Ginger People, which is a company that has long focused exclusively on ginger based food and beverage products, has partnered with Gordon Biersch Brewing Company to produce Bottoms Up, which was apparently designed with ginger beer purists in mind.
Chia Star’s new "shakes” are plant protein-based smoothies. Unlike the company’s core line, comprised of juice-based and pasteurized offerings, the Shake line is high pressure processed and uses coconut milk as its base.
Sparkling coconut water drink CocoMazing is one of those ideas that you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Combining coconut water (from concentrate), sparkling water, flavoring, sugar and stevia, the product hits on a variety of trends, including coconut water, flavored water, organic sourcing and low-calorie sparkling beverages.
Garden of Flavor, a marketer of cold-pressed high pressure processed (HPP) juice drinks, has added a second line to the company’s suite of products: Cold-Pressed Energy. Available in four varieties with a suggested retail price of $5.99, these products have 100mg of natural caffeine from guayusa as well as added probiotics.
Harmless Harvest has moved on from HPP and is now employing microfiltration to continue to avoid heat-intensive pasteurization. The company also uses a new bottle which uses 24 percent less plastic compared with the old one. What everyone will want to know about these changes are whether or not the changes are an upgrade, a downgrade, or a lateral move.
X.O.I. is Boston-based brand of Vietnamese Gac fruit beverages that launched with three flavors. Gac fruit, a “superfruit” from Southeast Asia, is, a relatively neutral-tasting fruit that is, at least in this application, similar to a melon in flavor and has a slightly gritty consistency.
Teya Chia Tea is a line of chia-based beverages that were created with the mission statement “to create delicious, healthful products that are nutritionally balanced and feature unique flavor combinations from around the globe.”
Commonwealth Cold Brew is a line of micro-roasted cold brew coffees that come in a ready-to-drink format. Made in the Boston area and launching with a regional focus, the product is focused on delivering the highest quality, smoothest flavor possible.
Mediterranean Tea is an upstart line of herbal teas that are made with the leaves of the sideritis plant, also known as “Mountain Tea” or ironwort. This ingredient is popular in Eastern and Central Europe as it is believed to have both digestive and immunity benefits.
KonaRed has created a line of cold brew coffees, launching with three flavor varieties: Original, Espresso, and Hawaiian Vanilla. Each one includes Kona and Colombian coffee as well as coffee fruit extract.
Coco Community is a new “craft” coconut water from All Market, Inc., which is better known as the company behind Vita Coco. The USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project verified, and Fair for Life Certified product is a not-from-concentrate coconut water that is pasteurized and packaged in a PET bottle.
