Kraft Foods is planning to launch a new caffeinated version of its MiO “water enhancer” in December, according to an article in the Financial Times. With MiO Energy, Kraft will utilize its vast sales and marketing force and powerful distribution channels to begin competing in a US energy drink market with annual sales estimated at $6 billion.
Expanding off a controlled upstate New York launch, Karma Wellness Water, a new “mix-to-drink” water that rolled out in late summer, has added two key distributors. The brand, started by Jolt Cola founder C.J. Rapp and Snapple veteran Jeff Platt, is moving into both Polar in Massachusetts and Connecticut and De Cresente in Albany, N.Y.
A little over a month ago, Ginseng UP, a company that produces a line of ginseng-laden carbonated soft drinks – and long believed by many to be one of dozens…
It didn’t take long for Evolution Juice to realize its dream of using high-pressure pasteurization to go across the country. But it’s going to take a less traditional route to doing it – because it’s going to be carried on the fins of the Starbucks mermaid. The coffee giant yesterday announced today that it was purchasing the four year-old juice company for $30 million, and plans to use it as the lynchpin of a bold move into what chairman Howard Schultz termed a “$50 billion health and wellness sector.”
Brewbound.com (that’s BevNET.com’s site for craft beer) is offering those in the beer industry a unique opportunity to grow and thrive: The Brewbound Craft Beer Session. Combining the best in…
Today is the deadline for applying to the New Beverage Showdown 2, which is taking place at BevNET Live Winter 11 on December 5 & 6. If you operate a…
Some pretty provocative stuff out there in the news today -- and we're not talking politics. In the New York Times, there's an interesting take on the war on sugary drinks. The Times reports on a new study that found state laws that ban soda – but not other sweetened beverages - to be ineffective in reducing the amount of sugary drinks middle school students buy and consume at school. Slate.com published a story about the explosion of coconut water products on the market.
The uproar over fermentation of Kombucha products might have ended last summer, but apparently the lawsuits dragged on for another year: within the past month, both Millennium Products and Honest Tea have settled class-action lawsuits claiming that the two companies misled consumers about the alcohol content in their Kombucha beverages.
If you operate a new beverage company (meaning your brand is less than 1 year old), the New Beverage Showdown 2, which is taking place at BevNET Live Winter 11 on December 5 and 6, is your chance to get your brand in front of the industry (What is the New Beverage Showdown 2?). However, the deadline to apply is rapidly approaching, with applications due by this Wednesday, November 9. Aside from exposure to our audience of investors, distributors, and other industry professionals, there's $5,000 in cash going to the winner. Click the link below to apply now. Questions? Feel free to contact me via email.
Call it the culmination of a long-term courtship: fast growing natural brand Xing Tea has partnered with Coast Brands Group to try to expand its presence in national chain accounts.…
As the headline says, BevNET Live Winter 11 is only 30 days away. And space is really starting to fill up, with over 300 people registered to attend. This includes…
In what is being described as the first “greenwashing” lawsuit in the state’s history, California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a complaint last week against Balance Water, AquaMantra, and ENSO Plastics for deceptively marketing and labeling their packaging as biodegradable and recyclable. The lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for how beverage companies choose bottle manufacturers and label their products.
Mike Repole, who helped revolutionize the beverage industry as the co-founder of Vitaminwater, has sets his sights on the changing the way consumers look at fast food. Repole is now the chairman of Energy Kitchen, a so-called “healthy, fast-casual eatery” that offers low-calorie menu items like turkey burgers and baked fries. Repole has stated that he wants to “transform the entire fast food industry” and hopes to open 1,000 new Energy Kitchen restaurants throughout the United States over the next ten years.
For an entrepreneurial beverage company, getting to a million bottles might not be as glamorous as it sounds… just ask the founders of Hotlips Soda. The Portland, Ore.-based company, which has produced a line of premium fruit-based soft drinks since 2003, recently brewed its one millionth bottle of soda. Despite the milestone, David Yudkin and Jeana Edelman, the owners of Hotlips, aren’t celebrating.
