The capital raise arrives as Dave Asprey looks to expand Bulletproof beyond its e-commerce base, with plans to open up brick-and-mortar cafe locations and enter the ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage segment.
The lawsuit arrives six weeks after the city’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of the legislation.
Having recently secured new distribution and retail placement in Southern California, Genius Juice, which produces a line of high pressure processed (HPP) organic coconut smoothies, has refined its branding, reduced its product offerings and unveiled a new 12 oz. bottle.
The CGF’s announcement arrives as CircleUp recently passed the 100 transactions mark, with companies raising over $100 million to date on the platform.
Explaining the rationale for the development of V8 Infused Water, Kelli McCusker, the Vice President of Beverage at Campbell Soup Company, said that “people are looking for water that is simple and flavorful and not just straight water, but not confusing either.”
Bulletproof is currently a lifestyle platform with roots in media and home-preparation coffees and supplements, but with the investment it is branching into a brick-and-mortar cafe and store, as well as the RTD product.
According to a recent analyst report from Cowen and Company covering Nielsen sales data, CSD volumes were down 4.7 percent in the four-week period ending July 11.
Pure Leaf, a line of bottled iced teas produced by PepsiCo in a joint partnership with Unilever, is under scrutiny with plaintiffs in two separate lawsuits alleging that the products use citric acid -- an ingredient that can be synthetically created -- as a preservative and are being falsely marketed as “all natural.”
Singled out as symbols of the category’s development are fast-growing LaCroix Sparkling Water, a product of National Beverage Corp. and Sparkling Ice, owned by Talking Rain.
The study, titled “The Unintended Consequences of Changes in Beverage Options and the Removal of Bottled Water on a University Campus,” discovered an 8 percent increase in all bottles and a 25 percent increase in bottles of sugary beverages shipped to the University of Vermont between the Spring of 2012 and Spring of 2013.
Boston-based DRINKmaple has elicited the services of Rainforest Distribution to bring the brand to the New York City metro area, landing on the shelves of 100 stores including Fairway Market.
The investment in Harvest Soul follows the recent news of former Alibaba executive Sanjay Varma investing $500,000 in Chuice, another beverage that falls within the emerging chewable juice sub-category.
Even though analyst Bonnie Herzog remained bullish on Monster’s long term outlook, she predicted continued “headwinds related to the [Coca-Cola] deal and international currency devaluation relative to the dollar” for the remainder of the year.
Food purveyors now have until December 16, 2016 to be in compliance with the menu-labeling law.
