In the midst of growing consumer concerns about ingredients made from non-genetically modified organisms (GMO), a new report projects U.S. retail sales of non-GMO food and beverages to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.9 percent over the next five years.
One of the most enjoyable parts of my work is that I get to visit with so many beverage marketers. They open up their offices, share their visions, and let me catch a glimpse of the drawing board. We talk to assess the trends, past and present successes and failures, and where to go next. Bringing out new brands and SKUs, and upgrading packaging efforts, make for key aspects for competing, envisioning the next great thing, and staying solvent.
Talk about premium. The juice category keeps getting closer to fresh-squeezed, and improving price points as it does. By constantly raising the ceiling on process technology, the top end of the juice category continues to allow the development of new brands and a new definition of fresh.
If you’ve got lemons, make lemonade. For companies trying to get a leg up in the grab-and-go world of the juice cooler, that’s been exactly what’s been going on. While ersatz “fruit drinks” have been in decline for years, the lemonade category has been one of the few flavors that drink makers can turn to when they want an inexpensive winner.
Three weeks after the resignation of its president and CEO, Kevin McClafferty, Marley Beverage Company (MBC) announced today that it has adjusted its growth strategy and will hire additional staff to support strategic regions.
The new product will launch exclusively at Target and is packaged in squeezable, 1.76 oz. containers, each with 26 servings per bottle. Initially released in three flavors -- Iced Tea with Lemon, Iced Tea with Peach and Half & Half Iced Tea -- NWNA will release a Green Tea Citrus in November at other locations including convenience and grocery stores.
The stock market has hit all-time highs, private equity has over $320 billion of capital looking for a home, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have more than $27 billion of cash on their combined balance sheets, carbonated soft drinks continue their seemingly perpetual, long-term decline and the robust move towards healthier and functional beverages continues. What does that mean for the beverage capital markets? Good things.
Sensing the opportunity to accelerate brand growth and eager to bring larger chain accounts on board in the New England region, Bai has switched its distribution contracts to giant independent Polar Beverage from a network of smaller DSD operations in parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Gerry David, brought on by lead investor Carl DeSantis in September, 2011 to replace founder Steve Haley, has been quietly rebuilding Celsius, a brand of “calorie burning soda” that has gone through fits and starts, both in terms of sales and strategy, since its introduction in 2005.
Starting this month, the coconut water company will aim to penetrate London’s marketplace with 50 branded taxis in the city.
On Monday, New York Spring Water announced new distribution partnerships with Carlson Distributing of Salt Lake City, Savannah Distributing of Savannah, Ga., R.S. Lipman of Nashville, Tenn., Wasatch Distributing of Ogden, Utah, and Winkel Distributing of Richfield and Hurricane, Utah.
Sean Venus, who played a critical role in the development of Mamma Chia as a national brand, is leaving the company to start a new distillery. Venus has assisted with supply chain logistics and business strategy for the chia-based food and beverage company since 2010, and became the VP of Operations for Mamma Chia in October 2012.
With his playing days over, Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t need to sweat free throws any longer. Instead, however, he’s got health activists calling him out.
For beverage sales in convenience stores, Labor Day was the strongest holiday weekend thus far in 2013, according to a survey conducted by Wells Fargo Securities. The survey, which represents beverage retailers from more than 10,000 C-store locations across the country, indicates that C-store beverage sales increased by 4 percent over the long weekend.
