Headlines

Relaxation drink Moment took home the title as New Beverage Showdown 19 champion today in the first-ever virtual edition of BevNET’s biannual pitch competition, which was sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company’s Venturing and Emerging Brands unit (VEB).

Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) announced yesterday that it had acquired the majority of collagen-focused function food and supplement brand Vital Proteins. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but Vital Proteins will remain a standalone entity and continue to operate out of its Chicago headquarters.

Birch water maker TREO announced this month it has raised $5 million in a financing round which will support a distribution expansion focused in the Northeast. According to founder and CEO Robert Golden, the company quietly closed the financing round -- which consisted entirely of individuals including friends and business partners involved in real estate -- late last year.

Kitu Life Super Coffee has signed a master distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB) that will place the brand on DSD trucks nationwide, the company announced today. AB’s investment arm ZX Ventures will also take a minority stake in the brand, pending the closure of an open funding round.

Danone North America announced today its partnership with Brightseed, a biosciences company which maps plant nutrients using artificial intelligence technology, to identify previously unknown nutritional benefits from plant-based ingredients used in Danone products.

Though the entrepreneurs and judges may have been miles apart, the Showdown must go on. Twelve beverage startups competed today in the New Beverage Showdown 19 Semifinals, an online pitch slam held ahead of BevNET and NOSH Virtually Live which will take place June 23 and 24. Six finalists were chosen to move on to the next round.

CrossFit saw several of its food and beverage brand partners end their affiliation with the fitness brand over the last 24 hours in response to a tweet by founder and CEO Greg Glassman about racism and public health.

Kitu Life Super Coffee announced today its first steps into the rising plant-based beverage space with a coffee and a creamer, both made with pea protein, launching nationwide this month. The new flavors include Coconut Mocha Super Coffee, which contains 200 mg of caffeine, 10 grams of protein and 90 calories per 11 oz. can, and French Vanilla Super Creamer.

New Age Beverages Corp. will seek to change its name, dropping the “Beverages” to become “NewAge, Inc.” according to a notice of annual meeting of shareholders filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday. The proposed name change comes as the publicly traded company seeks to divest several beverage brands from its portfolio and diversify its product offerings.

Industry group the Sugar Association wants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue stricter labeling guidance on alternative sweeteners in order “to stop misleading claims about added sugars content.” But other industry stakeholders argue that product labels are already transparent enough.