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Caffeinated water brand Avitae has laid off its entire staff and is in the process of liquidating its remaining inventory, according to former employees. Brian Pitzer, who founded Avitae in 2009, was ousted as CEO in September by the company’s board of directors, the employees say. Multiple calls to Pitzer have not been returned.
All-natural protein smoothie company Mix1 is on the verge of shutting its doors, just three months after the Hershey-controlled brand announced a broad redesign. Employees were informed of the state of the company on Wednesday and an announcement is expected from Mix1 on Friday; calls to CEO Brian Murphy were unreturned.
Understanding the key drivers, trends, and emerging retail opportunities in the health and wellness market is of critical importance for many entrepreneurial beverage companies, and has been the focus of research firm SPINS since its inception in 1995. At BevNET Live Winter 12, Bobbi Leahy, Director of Sales, West, SPINS presented a series of current trends in the health/wellness beverage market, enabling attendees to gauge the positioning and progress of their respective brands.
The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. has acquired Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Company (SCCBC), the sixth largest independent Coke bottler in the U.S. SCCBC was founded in 1927 and distributes Coke products in all or part of the nine California Counties of Sacramento. The company employs over 460 people.
Bazi International, Inc., and its operating subsidiary True Drinks, Inc., announced Wednesday that Aquaball, a naturally flavored water, has gained national distribution in all Safeway, Inc.-operated stores, including Safeway, Vons, Pavilions and Randall’s.
The original cap dispensing brand, which is now majority-owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, is planning a major functional innovation push in the late spring, according to Reza Mizra, who became president of the company in October.
Premier Protein is a line of flavored protein drinks that come in both Tetra-Pak and PET packaging. In our review of its PET bottles, we were impressed with both the formulation and branding of the drinks, which despite skewing toward the technical end of the protein category, are a solid entry into the space.
Drawing on an increasingly visible packaging format and the wave of demand for new health and wellness drinks, AhhMIGO is a new line of cap-activated natural drinks. Launched earlier this year, the New York City-based company boasts of a proprietary cap that keeps the brand’s “life-enhancing ingredients” fresh until mixed with water.
Calling on consumers to "Master the Energy," Manyk Energy is a four-SKU energy drink line that includes a zero-calorie product, and two tea-flavored varieties. While the formulation of the beverages is on par with much of what we've seen in the category, Manyk has a ways to go in revising its packaging.
And the cold brew coffee train keeps rolling... Fresh out of Southern California, Seaworth’s “Single Fin Sludge” is a new organic concentrated cold brew coffee. Well-executed in packaging and flavor, “Single Fin Sludge" is an impressive foray into a category that seems to be growing by the day.
Building on the rapid growth of cold brew and craft coffee brands, Dave’s Coffee is a new line of “coffee syrup” products. In concept, it’s not that much different than most of the other cold brew products that we’ve sampled, but the syrup is a concentrated form that can be mixed with water. However, the fact that it’s syrup form definitely makes it a bit more difficult to mix than other brands that are simply coffee concentrate.
Natural foods conglomerate Hain Celestial has finalized its acquisition of BluePrint, a marketer and manufacturer of high pressure processed organic fruit and vegetable juices and juice cleanses. The deal, which was initially announced in November, is expected to increase the operational capacity of Blueprint and the availability its line of single-serve bottled juices, which are currently sold in a number of natural retailers in the Northeast and Southern California.
North Carolina-based Cheerwine has launched a new 4-pack of 12 oz slim cans. For a brand with a ton of retro appeal, the foray into a modern-looking package is an interesting move. Nevertheless, we think that the company did a great job staying true to its branding - and formulation.
For most beverage entrepreneurs, the phrase “blood, sweat, and tears” is less of a motivational term as it is a realistic view of a tough and often unforgiving industry. Creating a successful beverage brand is a difficult business, and as an investor in alkaline water brand AQUAhydrate, Mark Wahlberg is starting to see its challenges firsthand.