After a long search for capital that had hampered business development and, ultimately, its ability to service some clients, natural and specialty DSD distributor Green Shoots announced yesterday that it has landed what it termed “its first multi-million-dollar capital raise” – right on the eve of its client base’s biggest sales event, Natural Products Expo West.
Bubbles were the rule of the week when it came to press clips, as Welch’s CEO Brad Irwin took to CNBC to advocate for his company’s licensing deal with at-home carbonation provider SodaStream. According to Irwin, the deal made sense because SodaStream -- despite a series of sales numbers that have sent the company’s stock price tumbling -- is nevertheless the leader of the category.
A couple of big beverage hires hit the news this week with Icelandic Glacial announcing that it has landed former Activate president Reza Mirza as CEO of the premium water brand, while ZICO veteran Bill Lange has taken his talents to Oxnard, Calif., as the VP of Marketing for probiotic beverage company KeVita.
With nearly 300 beverage-related exhibitors, Expo West 2014 looks to be a massive show for innovation, new brands and line extensions. BevNET.com will be on hand to cover the event from the show floor, with instant coverage on social media and in online and print stories in the days to follow. Below, you’ll find details about the show, listings of beverage exhibitors (supplied by New Hope Natural Media), and BevNET’s print-ready show planner.
Great Range Capital, a Kansas City, KS-based private equity firm, recently led a team of investors that have acquired a majority stake in Mountain Valley Spring Co., the 140-year-old company known for its domestically produced premium bottled water.
A lot of the time in the CPG space, the earliest investors you line up will themselves be successful entrepreneurs who recognize the potential for your product. But do you ever wonder how those experienced food and beverage entrepreneurs think about what companies to invest in themselves? Seth Goldman, co-founder & TeaEO, Honest Tea, has invested in several startup food and beverage companies over the years — and shared this piece with BevNET Food & Beverage University.
Along with a recent label refresh for its beverages, Mamma Chia is planning to debut a new line of whole chia seeds, as well as new varieties for snack and beverage lines at this week’s Natural Products Expo West show. And in the midst of a recently launched round of funding, the company hired a new Chief Financial Officer with deep roots in consumer goods.
With its latest offerings, Silk continues to innovate in the dairy alternative category and is set to introduce a range of on-trend products -- including blends made with almond milk, soy, coconuts and protein -- at the upcoming Natural Products Expo West show.
Vita Coco Café will debut at the upcoming Natural Products Expo West show, and while the formulation of espresso, coconut water and milk remains the same, the three-SKU line features new graphics, the familiar Vita Coco logo, and a more prominent call-out of “Café Latte” on the front of the package.
On Monday, SodaStream announced that it has reached an agreement with Sunny Delight Beverages Co., according to a joint release. The companies will co-develop flavors exclusively for SodaStream, the at-home soda kit, in SunnyD Tangy Original Orange and Orange-Strawberry, among other varieties.
On Tuesday, Celsius announced that it has reached an exclusive partnership with UAE International Investments (UII), a financial and distribution company in the Middle East.
A couple days ago, BevNET broke the news of the first lemonade and coconut water blends to hit the market. Today, it’s lemonade and… wait for it… kombucha! Well, sort of.
There’s breaking news out of Coke’s Venturing and Emerging Brands unit (VEB) today, as Coca-Cola Co. CEO Muhtar Kent announced in an internal memo that Deryck Van Rensburg, who has run VEB since its inception, will become the President of the newly created Coca-Cola/Keurig Ventures, a joint venture formed as a result of Coke’s recent multimillion dollar investment in Green Mountain Coffee Co.
Two of the revisions would have particularly broad ramifications for the beverage industry: first, the FDA has proposed that “Added Sugars” be added to the labels, thereby indicating the amount of extra sweetening that has been added to a product, and second, “serving size” would be more in line with the size of an immediate consumption package -- so the nutritional content of a drink in a 12 oz. or 20 oz. package would reflect that entire package, rather than the current standard of an 8 oz. serving.
