The investment follows a busy few months for KonaRed, including the announcement on Tuesday of its partnership with VDF FutureCeuticals, Inc. The partnership settles a long-standing patent infringement lawsuit between Sandwich Isles Trading Company, the maker of KonaRed’s coffee fruit beverages, and VDF, which alleged that KonaRed had violated coffee fruit production methods and technologies marketed by VDF.
The Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to acquire a 10 percent minority stake in Green Mountain Roasters, maker of the popular Keurig Single Cup brewing system, for $1.25 billion, according to a joint statement. As part of the deal, Coke and Green Mountain have signed a 10-year exclusive arrangement in which the cola giant will launch a Coke-branded line of pod-based, single-serve beverages for use in the Green Mountain's forthcoming Keurig Cold at-home beverage system.
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Around Super Bowl season, perhaps the only thing that can match America's gorging of slop is the disgorging of American opinions. These opinions, of course, most commonly have nothing to do with football and everything to do with the ads, which are either shockingly bad or create responses that are shockingly bad. Sometimes both. It's fun.
In a joint release, the companies announced Tuesday a partnership that will take all blk. products into the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Westchester, Long Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York.
While it’s true that entrepreneurial beverage companies have taken encouraging steps in the dairy aisle, it continues to be a challenging place for emerging brands to find a shelf placement. There just might be more challenges than opportunities.
Beverage companies continue to form novel takes on dairy products and consumers translate their interest into acquisition. By adapting to the demand for nutrition, versatility of occasion and portability, alternative dairy brands have made headway in a former no-fly zone.
Rooibee Red Tea, which markets a line of USDA-organic, ready-to-drink red tea made from the South African rooibos bush, announced Thursday that it has expanded its presence on both coasts and the South. The tea will be available in Whole Foods stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington D.C. at the start of 2014, Publix stores in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, and Bristol Farms and Nugget Markets in California.
Starbucks yesterday announced significant changes to its executive leadership team, including an expanded role for CEO Howard Schultz in the company’s "next generation retailing and payments initiatives,” according to a statement. Starbucks CFO Troy Alstead has been promoted to chief operating officer, a newly created role in which he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.
Health-Ade announced Wednesday that it has added Christine Perich, the CFO and COO at New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc., to its board of directors. Perich began working at the Fort Collins, Colo.-based brewery in 2000 and will continue to do so. Slekys Trout credited Perich’s vast experience and ability to troubleshoot the abundance of difficulties faced by an ambitious kombucha company.
The trendy at-home soda kit company announced Wednesday morning that it will work with Welch’s to launch a line of sparkling drink concentrates that will be developed exclusively for SodaStream’s home beverage carbonation system. The products are expected to be available in the U.S. during the second half of 2014.
Extending its platform of full-service recruiting for the beverage industry to the food world, Force Brands has announced its official launch of Food Force, a new division designed to specialize “in hiring strategies and organizational design for food companies,” according to a statement from the company.
Earlier this month, Life Juice founder Ety Salamone landed her biggest and -- for cold-pressed juice -- one of the most noteworthy retailers to date: Target. The brand is now distributed within the retailer’s 390+ PFresh concept stores, where Target sells refrigerated products and fresh produce. It’s a placement that, if successful, may have a significant impact on how Target and other mass retailers view the nascent category and its potential in that channel.
Category leaders Red Bull and Monster have continued to rack up strong sales figures, according to recent reports by analysts with investment banks Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC. The report from Wells Fargo, in particular, cited innovation, marketing increases and less negative press as boons for the category.
