Recess

There’s a good reason why classics never go out of style, as proven again in this week’s reviews, highlighted by updated takes on familiar favorite flavors from Poppi, Recess and Lapo’s.

The adult non-alcoholic (ANA) beverage category has been driven recently by demand for functional options intentionally crafted to have an effect and positioned toward experiential occasions.

Our latest news roundup from Expo West 2024 highlights a fresh approach from Weird Beverages, how Recess and Parch are growing the retail footprint of adult non-alcoholic drinks, and plant-based innovations from Forager Project and MALK.

While Recess’ core hemp-infused drinks continue to develop, their traction has been outpaced by the growth of Mood, a 4-SKU non-CBD line that promises similar relaxation and calming benefits and features magnesium as its star ingredient.

In this weeks distribution roundup: Recess and Breakthru Beverage Group partnership continues CBD distribution wave, Mad Tasty now at Sprouts, blk. expands presence at Walmart, BioSteel joins WB Canna Co. & Wellness’ Latin America and Carribean portfolio and 7-Eleven partners with Minibar Delivery.

If it is passed and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as is widely expected to happen within weeks, California Assembly Bill 228 will declare that foods, beverages and cosmetics made with industrial hemp should not be considered as adulterated. Until that occurs, however, brands and retailers in Southern California still face an uncertain existence from day to day.

In this roundup of People Moves, Essentia’s SVP of sales moves to emerging hemp-infused beverage maker Recess. Meanwhile, ROAR Organics appoints a new VP of sales, while Riff Cold Brewed announces Julie Galbraith as its new CMO.

In 2019, the beverage market saw a veritable flood of CBD-based beverage innovations. Although competition in the space may be tight, CBD beverage leaders are now looking to work together to take the category out of legal limbo and into the mainstream.

The industry vet, who previously held positions at Jones Soda Co, Starbucks and Stumptown, told BevNET he connected with More Labs CEO and co-founder Sisun Lee last year and joined the company as a retail sales advisor to its board last March.

The market is wide open for beverage entrepreneurs to jump in with innovative and engaging new CBD and hemp-based drinks. Yet established players are equally focused on the potential for CBD as an opportunity to extend existing product lines and inject new energy and dimension to their brands.

Lawmakers in Indiana have proposed a bill to ban the sale of energy drinks to minors, according to Tristate Homepage. If passed, Senate Bill 369, introduced on January 10, would make it a class C misdemeanor to “sell, give, or distribute an energy drink” to a minor.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is scaling back founder and former CEO Howard Schultz’s plans for luxury coffee shops, according to The Wall Street Journal. Schultz’s growth strategy included 1,000 Starbucks Reserve cafes selling premium coffee and artisanal bakery items, as well as 30 more locations of its Starbucks Roastery, experience-oriented stores aimed at increasing traffic and improving declining sales.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is enjoying its moment as one of the hottest ingredients in the food and beverage industry. But even as regulations on hemp production have been lifted and more states adopt pro-cannabis stances, consumer education remains a key concern for the nascent CBD market.

With the major trade shows of the year behind us, October’s new product launches saw emerging brands announce line extensions while new companies debuted innovative and on-trend products such as meal replacements and cannabidiol (CBD) infused drinks.