In the following videos, we take a deeper dive into the fast-growing segment, having queried brand owners and company executives at the event -- including Evolution Fresh president Jeff Hansberry, Suja VP of Marketing Heather MacNeil and Lumi Juice founder Hillary Lewis -- about the continued development for cold-pressed juice.
The addition of cold brew coffee comes as the latest news in Starbucks’ ongoing push into trending categories. In February the company added coconut milk as a dairy alternative for both its hot and cold beverages.
In this video, filmed on location at the 2015 Natural Products Expo West, BevNET CEO John Craven and BevNET Managing Editor point to specific examples of brands and products that aim to address sustained consumer demand for natural functionality through the application of emerging ingredients.
Describing millennials as “leading the way now,” Califia Farms CEO Greg Steltenpohl and his team are focused on an innovation and marketing strategy that targets consumers within the demographic set.
Amid a constant flow of new entrants to the category, cold-pressed brands, as expected, continue to lean on new and trendy ingredients as a way to innovate and differentiate. However, it was clear that many are also attempting to distinguish themselves via price and package variety.
The title of “Official Energy Drink of the UFC” is one that previously belonged to zero-calorie energy drink brand Xyience, which ended its 10-year sponsorship of the UFC last September when it was acquired by independent soda company Big Red Ltd.
2015 has already been a year full of happenings for green tea-based beverage brand Steaz.
Premium water is growing fast, there’s a void in the distribution market, and, just as nature abhors a vacuum, Lance Collins can’t stand a chance to go after white space in the supply chain.
Circling the show floor, BevNET visited with dozens of the beverage booths at the event and came away with a number of highlights regarding brand innovation, line extensions and new products.
The addition of a new line of multi-serve cashew and seed milk products follows the launch of Forager’s new 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Indio, Calif. Despite only recently beginning production in the new space, company co-founder Hanley said that the company has since added new equipment to keep supply in line with growing sales of Forager products.
Pepsi is reviving its famed Pepsi Challenge today in what will be the start of a year-long marketing campaign geared towards those social media savvy millennials.
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.
Mocked Up is the first nationally marketed and distributed RTD non alcoholic cocktail (aka “mocktail”) brand. The products, each of which contain real juice and are packaged in a multi-serve Tetra Pak carton, are designed to give the consumer an authentic cocktail experience but without the booze.
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.
