Marketing a range of products that have both unique names and formulations -- including a "medicinal mushroom"-infused, coconut milk-based chocolate drink called Reishi Chocolate -- Rebbl's business philosophy is as deeply entrenched in unique sources of nutrition as it is in organic and fair trade sourcing methods.
The category of cold-pressed juice has matured, and at Whole Foods, the largest retailer in the natural grocery channel, there's not much more room -- if any -- for brands seeking a national presence within the chain. That's the assessment of a high-ranking Whole Foods executive who spoke with BevNET on the floor at the 2015 Natural Products Expo East.
Approximately 12 months ago, Braintrust Investments, a Burr Ridge, Ill.-based private investment firm, announced that it had acquired premium white tea brand Inko’s. Over the past year, Braintrust, led by former Pabst Brewing CEO Kevin Kotecki, has tweaked Inko’s branding, formulation and product lineup, and the company showcased the updates at the recently held 2015 Natural Products Expo East.
In the following videos, we take a deeper dive into the fast-growing segment, having queried brand owners and company executives at the recently held 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show — including Powell & Mahoney co-founder Mark Mahoney, Jim Pickett, the co-founder of Pickett’s Ginger Beer, Q Drinks founder Jordan Silbert, Owl’s Brew co-founder Maria Littlefield, among several others — about the continued development of bottled cocktail mixers.
Managing Partner Tom First said he hopes to close the fund by the first half of the summer, although other investors could join by the fall.
Watch the video to hear more from Nicholson about Red Jacket Orchards’ participation in the Founders’ Forum, its new Half & Half beverage, and the company’s position on high pressure processing.
With Darrelle Revis and Channing Tatum on board, the star power was there; but how did they do while reppin’ their brands? Let’s go to the tape and see.
In this video, Daniel Sullivan discusses the back story of Temple Turmeric's propriety turmeric variety, the recent rebrand, and its work and relationship with Boulder Brands Investment Group, which took an equity position in the company last year.
In the following videos, we take a deeper dive into the fast-growing segment, having queried brand owners and company executives at the event -- including Evolution Fresh president Jeff Hansberry, Suja VP of Marketing Heather MacNeil and Lumi Juice founder Hillary Lewis -- about the continued development for cold-pressed juice.
In this video, filmed on location at the 2015 Natural Products Expo West, BevNET CEO John Craven and BevNET Managing Editor point to specific examples of brands and products that aim to address sustained consumer demand for natural functionality through the application of emerging ingredients.
Describing millennials as “leading the way now,” Califia Farms CEO Greg Steltenpohl and his team are focused on an innovation and marketing strategy that targets consumers within the demographic set.
Amid a constant flow of new entrants to the category, cold-pressed brands, as expected, continue to lean on new and trendy ingredients as a way to innovate and differentiate. However, it was clear that many are also attempting to distinguish themselves via price and package variety.
The addition of a new line of multi-serve cashew and seed milk products follows the launch of Forager’s new 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Indio, Calif. Despite only recently beginning production in the new space, company co-founder Hanley said that the company has since added new equipment to keep supply in line with growing sales of Forager products.
In just its second year, but growing, the top floor experience is still relatively new to the ever-expanding Natural Products Expo West, which concluded on Sunday, March 8 in Anaheim, Calif. Nevertheless, a tour of its lower-priced, smaller booths easily lent insight into some of the bleeding-edge trends in the entrepreneurial beverage business, as well as key ingredients as well.
