For years many innovations in the iced tea category have sought to meet the data-backed consumer demand for lower sugar and clean label products by cutting sweetness, simplifying ingredients and embracing organic sourcing. Although zero sugar products have continued to drive growth in the soda and energy drink sets, a commensurate rapid expansion of the tea shelf hasn’t arrived.
BevNET’s annual 2023 Natural Beverage Guide.
Ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage alcohol consumption has grown 104% in the past two years, according to NIQ, but how are trends shifting for spirit-based RTDs, and what are the next big opportunities for producers?
Gatorade’s familiar orange lightning bolt has fended off strikes from the Coca-Cola Company’s tag team of sports drinks, Powerade and Body Armor. Now, however, the attacks are less direct.
From June 25 to June 27, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Fancy Food Show returned to the Big Apple. The event represents an important showcase for CPG brands looking to grow in the specialty food market, which hit $194 billion in 2022 and is expected to rise at a CAGR of 6% between 2023 and 2027.
Cold brew and RFG, RTD coffee by sales and growth.
In food industry news: Failing to Find New Source of Funding, Tattooed Chef Declares Chapter 11; Unilever Buys Yasso As Part of ‘Premiumization Strategy’; Mars Enters Agreement To Buy Kevin’s Natural Foods; and Tony’s Chocolonely Brings In $21M To Expand Mission.
“Not with a bang but a whimper,” the poet T.S. Eliot wrote in “The Hollow Men.” With the pun intended, that pretty much sums up the end of Bang Energy’s run as an independent company.
There’s a couple of different ways of looking at the recent transactions involving RTD coffee brands La Colombe and High Brew. The first is that, when you add in the recent sale of Yasso ice cream treats, is that there’s been some thaw in the CPG M&A slowdown.
Industry experts ranging from long-time entrepreneurs to grocery buyers and beverage investors shared their optimism about the road ahead for emerging brands, while also emphasizing the importance of a strong focus on business fundamentals and managing growth within the bandwidth of your current balance sheet.
In craft beer news: Anchor Workers, Union and More React to Sapporo Dropping Historic Craft Brand; Union Struggles Continue to Hit Craft Beer; Leinenkugel’s Workers on Strike After ‘Meager’ Wage Increase Offer; and Brewers Association 2023 Harris Poll: Equal Number of Craft Beer Consumers Drinking More Craft in 2023 than Consumers Drinking Less.
In beverage news: KDP, La Colombe Partnership Shakes Up Canned Coffee Category; PRIME Responds After Sen. Schumer Calls for FDA Investigation; High Brew Sells Majority Stake to Beliv; and Blake Lively Launches Low-Alc RTD.
In two weeks I will be turning 75, so allow me to be a bit philosophical. It’s unfathomable to grasp that number, yet here it is. I still think of myself as the hippie I was, spending my twenties on the road.
