Headlines

The long-running patent infringement lawsuit between Sandwich Isles Trading Company, maker of KonaRed coffee fruit beverages, and VDF FutureCeuticals appears to be nearing an end. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently made its final ruling that VDF's patent claims against KonaRed - related to coffee fruit production methods and technologies marketed by VDF - are invalid. VDF now has until September to appeal the USPTO's decision.

A recent Wells Fargo Securities survey of convenience store retailers found that most saw an uptick in beverage sales over the July 4 holiday as compared to sales last year, according to Convenience Store News. The survey, which polled beverage retailers representing thousands of convenience stores, revealed that 75 percent of respondents had better beverage sales than last year with 40 percent indicating that sales had increased by more than 5 percent.

Looking for a unique edge in a weakening soft drink market, PepsiCo Inc. plans to launch a new malt-flavored version of Mountain Dew later this summer, according to Reuters. PepsiCo will initially test Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold at Kroger and 7-Eleven stores in select cities in the Midwest as well as Denver, Colo. and Charlotte, N.C. beginning in late August.

With distribution in over 100,000 accounts across the U.S., Honest Tea has now set its sights on increasing brand awareness and, today, launched its first integrated marketing campaign. Dubbed "Refreshingly Honest," the campaign will emphasize Honest Tea's use of healthy and organic ingredients and incorporates a variety of ad mediums including television, social media, and outdoor signage.

Calling Under Armor’s lawsuit against the company “a prime example of trademark bullying by a corporate giant,” Body Armor says it’s ready to do battle with the sports apparel company. In its first response to the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Under Armour in April, Body Armor, a multifunction beverage, stated that “it is nearly impossible that consumers or retailers of either brand would confuse the two” and vowed to fight what chairman Mike Repole called a “ridiculous” claim.

As a growing number of angel investors in early stage beverage companies comes from within the industry itself, the insight of successful beverage company founders and executives who have gone on to become successful investors became an informative panel discussion at BevNET Live Summer 2012.

Say hello to the hottest new sub-sector  of the sparkling category, “ICE”. Why ICE? What does it mean? We don’t know, maybe it’s a regional thing. Actually, it’s a regional…

The past 30 years have brought untold changes to retail at all levels. At every point in the process, from ordering to logistics to checkout, the incorporation of technology has…

After a seven-year run with a private equity group transformed it from a family-owned agricultural concern into one of the country's fastest-growing juice companies, Bolthouse Farms has been sold to Campbell's Soup Co. for just over $1.5 billion.

Campbell’s Soup Co. is offering up between $1.5 and $2 billion for juice maker Bolthouse Farms, Inc., which is currently owned by Madison Dearborn, a Chicago-based private equity group, according to Bloomberg News.

Delivering the keynote address at The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) annual trade show last week in Las Vegas, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz related how Starbucks endured and eventually mitigated the effects of its recent troubles.