Bang Energy boss Jack Owoc offered both aggression and optimism during a talk at BevNET Live Summer 2022 on Thursday, dismissing “haters” and “negativity” while encouraging beverage entrepreneurs to stay true to their core principles and to avoid the mistake of chasing overnight success.
Six beverage startups emerged from a field of 12 contestants to secure a spot in tomorrow’s final round of New Beverage Showdown 23 at BevNET Live Summer 2022, sponsored by Coca Cola’s Venturing and Emerging Brands Unit (VEB).
BevNET Live Summer 2022 returned to New York City on Wednesday for the first time in three years at a “precipitous time,” according to Jeff Klineman, BevNET Editor-in-Chief. Beverage industry leaders and professionals convened during the first session of the two-day industry conference, which opened with a state-of-the-industry discussion featuring insights from retailers, brands, investors and distributors.
SYSTM Foods, the strategic partnership of private equity firm SYSTM Brands and venture capital fund PowerPlant Partners, staked its first claims on the impact-focused food and beverage category on Wednesday by announcing it has acquired Chameleon Coffee from Nestlé USA, along with independent functional beverage brand REBBL.
With more drinkers reaching for tequila-based ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, mezcal versions could seem like a natural next step considering the spirit’s recent rise. Madre Mezcal, a brand with a foothold in the mezcal market is the most recent to launch their version, a 5% ABV can called Desert Water that comes in four flavors. Meanwhile, Elenita, which launched as the first mezcal RTD in 2020, has been steadily growing their distribution. But unlike other agave spirit RTDs, they might not get much competition for a while – the supply chain challenges are just that big.
Speaking just a few weeks after the energy drink maker’s Q2 earnings report, Monster president and chairman Rodney Sacks said the price increase will kick in on September 1, coming on the heels of incremental hikes in late 2021 and early 2022. The move will put Monster in line with chief rival Red Bull, which communicated to retailers that it will raise pricing by 7.6% (about 10 cents per can) on the same date.
Flow Beverage Corp. announced a 21% decline in consolidated net revenue to approximately $9 million in Q2 FY2022, compared to $11.3 million the previous year.
Jen Batchelor, the co-founder and CEO of Kin Euphorics, a pioneering brand of non-alcoholic social tonics, joined the podcast for an expansive conversation about the inspiration for and development of Kin, how Soylent provided a rough template for the company’s business strategy and D2C success and how she applied learnings from success at upscale retailer Erewhon to other chains.
Volume fluctuations are creating a turbulent economic environment in non-alcoholic beverages, as higher volume growth pressures contributed to depressed sales during the two-week period ending June 4, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.
Canadian energy drink maker GURU Organic Energy Corp. reported quarterly net revenue of CAD$7.6 million, up 7% from CAD$7.1 million in 2021, in its fiscal year Q2 earnings report today.
Target has announced the launch of Casa Cantina, a line of agave wine-based RTD cocktails.
Oat milk and coffee maker Minor Figures has secured minority investments from Danone Manifesto Ventures and Green Monday Group, the company announced on Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Last week, premium whiskey Uncle Nearest announced its third in a series of investments designed to create a tangible shift in the funding inequities for BIPOC-owned businesses. It comes at a time when other Black founders and business leaders are also making strides to celebrate Black people’s historical contributions to spirits and build more Black-owned legacy beverage businesses.
The Coca-Cola Company is accelerating its push into beverage alcohol with today’s announcement of a new global partnership with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey to release a ready-to-drink cocktail.
