First Beverage Group has announced new details about the debut and initial distribution of its Oatworks brand of oat and fruit smoothies. Oatworks will simultaneously launch on the East and West Coast beginning in Boston through DSD distributor Blue Coast Beverage, and in San Fransisco through DBI Beverage, Inc., also a DSD distributor.
Today Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog released research derived from a poll of beverage retailers.The survey represents “tens of thousands of convenience store locations across the country” and offers some interesting insights into the overall performance of many individual beverage categories.
Had to squeeze one last headline out of that one. Neuro, which has finally been spotted in the Boston area, has softened the brand messaging on one of its more memorable SKUs.
In yet another coup for the brand, Harmless Harvest has added specialty grocery chain The Fresh Market to the rapidly growing list of retailers carrying its raw and organic coconut water. The Fresh Market , known for its innovative and on-trend product mix, as well as an affluent and influential consumer base, will launch Harmless Harvest in its 115 stores later this spring.
Do you have a brand that was launched within the last year (or is launching soon)? The New Beverage Showdown 3 is taking place at BevNET Live Summer 2012 in…
In most cases, successful beverage brands tend to follow the old adage “crawl, walk, run” as - for sure - knowing how to first stand up goes a long way in preventing unnecessary scrapes, stumbles and outright flops. One brand that appears to be following this gradual approach is Chia\Vie, a line of ground chia and fruit smoothies. A year removed from its debut at Expo West 2011, Chia\Vie has gently found its balance, and is most certainly on its feet, albeit in no hurry to start sprinting.
Ending months of waiting, the Coca-Cola Co. has finally purchased a majority stake in Zico Coconut water, consummating a deal that has lingered in the final stages since the early Fall. Independent shareholders of the brand began to receive checks for their stakes in the company earlier this week. Coke’s initial stake in the company, acquired in 2009, was part of a combined $15 million stake that also included a group of entrepreneurs, distributors, celebrities, and others.
Having helped grow brands like Vitaminwater, Honest Tea and Zico – and before that products like Nantucket Nectars, among others -- Big Geyser has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the best distribution partners for emerging brands in New York City. The company has also leveraged its skill at growing new products into a brand development laboratory, or sorts, for Coca-Cola’s emerging brands group, giving test runs in the city to products like Illy Issimo.
Xyience's management team issued a statement today distancing the company from founder and former owner Russell Pike. Pike, who was found guilty on income tax evasion charges earlier this week, left the company in late 2006. The company is now owned by the Fertitta Brothers, who also own the mixed martial arts association UFC.
In recent years Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) has pushed for increased oversight of the food, beverage and supplement industry on many fronts; yesterday he sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to investigate caffeine content in energy drinks. Durbin said the letter came after he learned the story of 14 year-old Anais Fournier, who died last December of a cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity after drinking two 24 oz. Monster energy drinks over a 24-hour period.
Sometimes the opportunity to write about this business is pure joy. This is one of those times.Once struggling to meet its financial obligations, early energy drink company Bawls Guarana announced today that it had acquired a pair of energy brands, CRUNK!!! and an outsdoorsman-focused energy shot called "Strut & Rut."
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have dropped their memberships in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative business organization that is behind the movement for national “Stand Your Ground” gun laws and other controversial measures, according to NPR. The two soda giants cut ties with ALEC after civil rights group ColorOfChange.org launched an online drive that called on Coca-Cola to cease funding ALEC and its support of “discriminatory” voter identification laws.
BevNET has confirmed sightings of Jarritos moving through the DPSG system in Southern California, part of a strategy that the company will make public in the near future. The brightly-hued, sugar-sweetened 11-flavor Mexican CSD line has suffered from wide-ranging but fractured distribution via a DSD and broker network that includes licensing partner Novamex.
Though one has to wonder how many of today’s youth think that legendary golfer Arnold Palmer was named after the lemonade/tea combo that he himself made famous, it certainly won’t be an issue for his former rival and protégé, Jack Nicklaus, who, like Palmer, has partnered with AriZona to launch a new beverage line. Last week, AriZona introduced Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade, and it appears that the company may be prepping for a much larger launch later this month.
