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.
With a specialty in handling the kinds of emerging brands that are typically found sampling out of their booths at Natural Products Expo West, the more than 100 different fundraising rounds handled by food-and-beverage specialty law firm the Giannuzzi Group alone should serve as a fine indicator of the investment buzz that surrounded the event.
There were hundreds of new beverage brands, re-branded products, new sub-lines and changed formulations at Natural Products Expo West, which concluded its three-day stand in Anaheim, Calif. on Sunday, March 8. In the report below, BevNET correspondents John Craven and Ray Latif point out some of the most important and impactful new products.
Grady's co-founder Dave Sands described the bean bags as a critical extension for the brand, which had been limited at retail because its primary offering, a bottled liquid concentrate, requires refrigeration.
The biggest question for drinking vinegar is probably the most obvious one: how do you get people to buy it?
Sean Lovett may have been wistful for the old days, but he had a business to run, and in the weeks leading to Greenshoots’ demise, he prepared for a transition in distribution, namely by creating his own.
In this video, we examine what categories have benefited and how brands have adapted their retail and distribution strategies to take advantage of an evolved specialty channel.
A look back at top headlines from the past year, including financial deals, marketing wins (and blunders), category evolution and important regulatory updates.
Bob Burke, the founder of Natural Products Consulting, has seen dozens of new brand pitches in his 25+ years working in the food and beverage industries. In each encounter with a new entrepreneur, Burke says that he asks a few simple questions to gauge whether or not a brand will have a chance in the marketplace.
Even with the presence of major players like Lipton, Nestle, AriZona, and Coke in the category, Talking Rain CEO Kevin Klock said, there was an opportunity to bring in a new, single-serve brand that could add to the company's volume. "We're between categories," Klock told BevNET during a videotaped interview on the floor of NACS. "That's where the white space is."
Sweeter and denser that the primary line, Ito En's new Jay Street Extra Rich coffees were formulated to address consumer demand for creamier, thicker option similar to that of the familiar taste and mouthfeel of Starbucks’ Frappuccino products. Packaged in 9.1 oz. bottles, and at 150 calories and no fat, however, Adam Hertel, Ito En’s vice president of sales for grocery and natural, views the drinks to be, like the flagship products, a healthier option for consumers.
In this video, we examine the unpinning strategies behind new product introductions at the show and the role they play in C-store trends.
Lumi Juice became the first cold-pressed juice brand to land shelf placement at The Fresh Market. But the distribution deal, while high-five worthy, doesn’t mark the finish line.
Drinkable yogurt sits at the intersection of the three P’s of beverage industry buzzwords — probiotic, portable, protein. Yet will this advantageous positioning be enough to carry a category?
