Small brands have drawn in growing consumer bases by blurring the category lines, testing new functionalities and introducing uniquely sourced products with international origins.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March, health and wellness products were already enjoying solid growth. But even now, as the public moves into a new phase of coping with the virus, those trends are set to continue, according to a presentation by SPINS analysts Kathryn Peters, Xochitl Javier and Jeff Crumpton at BevNET/NOSH Virtually Live 2020 in June.
BevNET’s annual Natural Beverage Guide includes everything from kombucha to bottled waters and powders, plus companies that supply goods and services to those beverage manufacturers.
Even at a time in which sports are largely absent from the national landscape, sports drinks are having a moment.
Sparkling water and additional beverage category comparisons by sales and growth.
As I stroll my New York streets during this pandemic and see once-vibrant spots like restaurants, music clubs and bookstores shuttered – some of them possibly for good – it brings home the impermanence of so many things we take for granted. What was a robust city-living ecosystem has turned into a desert in the blink of an eye, at the hand of an invisible enemy.
I have followed the beverage marketplace for 29 years now, through good times, not so good times and some downright bad times. Nothing compares to the present time.
In craft beer news: Mass. Bay Brewing Sells Brand Rights in Boston to Burke Distributing; Magic Hat Exits Vermont Brewery, Production to Move to New York; Allagash to Add Sparkling Session Ale Line, Stout; Proposed Sale of Kona's Hawaii Operations Valued at $16 Million
In beverage news: Nestlé Seeks to Sell Regional Water Brands, ReadyRefresh; Super Coffee Signs Master Distribution Agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev; New Age Changes Name Amid Reorganization; Shaka Tea Raises $2.3 Million as Brand Prepares for National Growth
In natural food industry news: Nestle Health Sciences Eats Up Vital Proteins; JUST Seeks New Strategic Partners; With Deal, Utz Hopes to Become National Snacking Program; Sesajal Invests in Rhythm As it Looks to Further Build Branded Business
In short: what we’ve learned in the first half of 2020 is that if we aren’t searching for an understanding of how any issues that we presume exist outside of our businesses are actually tied to them at the root, we’re doomed.
