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They managed to hold it off last year -- partially due to an impassioned plea from resident and longtime beverage entrepreneur Tom First -- but that quirky town of Concord, Mass., finally passed a ban on the sale of single-serving plastic water bottles at its Town Meeting last night.

Phoenix-based beverage incubator Shadow Beverages has launched drinks co-developed with retailer GNC into its stores in Nevada and Arizona. The line has 14 different SKUs, ranging from sports nutrition and enhanced waters to protein drinks.

Web Site The Daily Meal has chosen Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz as the "Most Powerful Person in Drink," presumably because without Starbucks such a list wouldn't have gotten written at The Daily Meal. We, of course, are disappointed that they forgot US... but if that doesn't extinguish your burning desire to look at it, here's the list.

When it comes to brand value, consumers flock to a handful of beverage brands including Green Mountain, Coke, Gatorade, Lipton, SoBe, vitaminwater, and Poland Spring, according to the results of a new Harris Interactive poll and study. The annual Harris Poll EquiTrend study measures and compares the health of more than 1,500 brands by analyzing the responses of over 38,500 consumers on questions related to brand value and loyalty.

Labeling changes are on tap for leading coconut water brand Vita Coco, which is conducting a line refresh that will migrate across the country throughout the summer.