Headlines

Kombucha Entrepreneurs Form Trade Group

Kombucha Brewers International, a Kombucha trade group, announced its launch on Tuesday afternoon. According to a press release, the group will set industry-wide standards, create marketing campaigns, educate consumers, retailers and restaurants, conduct research and serve as a point of communication regarding the Kombucha industry.

Solixir Sold to Eternal Beverages, Inc.

After a five year run on the shelves, entrepreneur Scott Lerner and his investors have sold Solixir, a line of naturally functional sparkling drinks powered by botanical elixirs, to the owners of Eternal Beverages, Inc., the maker of a nationally-distributed brand in the fast-growing alkaline water category.

Eight “Taste of Tomorrow” Brands Now in Colorado King Soopers

Kroger's highly anticipated entrepreneurial beverage set, Taste of Tomorrow, has become a program of the present. The supermarket giant's natural foods team activated the promotional and merchandising strategy, designed to help incubate innovative beverage brands in the supermarket giant’s retail system, earlier this month in King Soopers in Colorado.

Coke Unveils Broad Array of New Products, Packages at NACS

With the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show returning to Atlanta for the first time since 2010, executives from the Coca-Cola Co. didn’t have to travel very far from the company’s downtown headquarters to the show’s location at the Georgia World Congress Center. That was probably a good thing considering that they certainly had their hands full with a heap of new products and packages that Coke unveiled at the event.

Deadline for BevNET’s Best of 2013 Awards + New Beverage Guide Extended to October 23!

We extended the submission deadline for BevNET's Best of 2013 Awards + New Beverage Guide until the end of Wednesday, October 23. That means you have just two days left to submit your product for BevNET's "Best of" Awards and inclusion in BevNET's New Beverage Guide, the most comprehensive collection of non-alcoholic beverages compiled annually.

Video: Sparkling ICE Eyes Convenient Route to Market, Acquisitions

The brand’s parent company, Talking Rain, has cobbled together a national network for reaching convenience stores, CEO Kevin Klock told BevNET Editor Jeffrey Klineman during a wide ranging interview on the floor of the NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) Show.

Photo Gallery: New Products, Packaging Revamps at NACS 2013

No, the 2013 NACS show in Atlanta may not have been a hub for innovation as it was in years past. Nevertheless, here was a significant number of new product announcements and brand updates seen at the 2013 NACS show, most coming in the form of line extensions and packaging revamps. After three days on the floor, we located almost 60 new products and brands that were featured at the event, all of which are included in the following photo gallery.

Video: A Recap of NACS 2013

What a difference a year makes. Yes, most of the big beverage players were present at the 2013 NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) Show; The Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple, Red Bull and Monster Energy all featured the usual mega booths that attendees are used to seeing at the event. But unlike years past, the NACS show in Atlanta was notable for what it was missing: many of the natural and functional brands that we saw in 2012.

NACS: Bai Braces for National Test

Bai is currently distributed in 14 states, mostly in the Northeast, but with distribution from the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the company plans to enter the other 36 via 12,000 new retail outlets by the end of 2014. They call it “hyper-growth” and claim it’s a pace that hasn’t yet overwhelmed them.

Last Call: BevNET Best of 2013 + New Beverage Guide; TOMORROW is the Deadline

Did you or your company launch a new beverage (for you or a client) in the past year? Have you revamped your brand or introduced new packaging? Either way, it's time to enter your product into BevNET's Best of 2013 Awards, which will be announced at BevNET Live Winter 13. Don't delay -- TOMORROW, OCTOBER 18 is the deadline to signup!

NACS: Natural Brands Aim for Growth in C-Stores

ITO EN, VOSS, Balance Water and Ayala's Herbal Water, to name a few, hope to spearhead what they believe is the gradually changing inventory of C-stores, and they did so in the halls of the Georgia International Convention Center, tucked between rows of companies peddling e-cigarettes and microwaveable fried chicken.