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Only nine months after its launch, Coco Café is going national. The company recently revealed that it will enter the Dr Pepper Snapple (DPSG) system beginning in early June, a key piece of a national DSD network that the company hopes to complete later this summer. Acute beverage watchers will note that Coco Café is mirroring the same growth path as parent company Vita Coco, which has begun transitioning most of its distribution to national DPSG houses.

BevNET has learned that former Muscle Milk marketing chief John Blair has joined shot-and-a-beer brand Bruvado as President after a slow exit from the protein drink's parent company, Cytosport.

Corn refiners suffered a defeat yesterday as the FDA rejected an industry petition to rename high-fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar” on nutritional labels. The Corn Refiners Association (CRA), sought the name change as part of an effort to reverse years of controversy and negative publicity about the health effects of the sweetener. However, the FDA decided that "corn sugar" does not "accurately identify or describe the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially proposed the ban during a City Hall briefing this morning, but word leaked out last night, at which time the ABA sent an e-mail to members stating it would “challenge this latest example of government overreach.”

Few brands launch with the cash and reach of the Mark Wahlberg-backed AQUAhydrate, which was featured in many public forums, including the TV show Entourage, but it has been a slow build for the electrolyte-infused water brand. Still, new CEO John Cochran has announced that the brand is re-launching and has staffed up his sales force with beer and water industry veterans to carry the load.

Following an FTC Judge’s recent ruling that POM Wonderful deceptively marketed health claims in ads for its pomegranate juice products and must end all claims about the health benefits and performance of its drinks, the company has launched a new media campaign touting "its right to legally advertise the general health benefits of its products."

Coca-Cola CEO Mukhtar Kent told Wells Fargo Bank's senior beverage analyst Bonnie Herzog that the company is not in the market for major purchases, but he did leave the door open to what he called "bolt-on" acquisitions.

In a decision that may have far reaching implications for how beverage companies advertise and market their products, a federal judge has ordered the makers of POM Wonderful to cease making all claims about the health benefits and performance of its pomegranate drinks and products. The ruling will likely resolve a 2010 complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that accused POM and its parent company Roll International Corp of deceptive advertising.

Concerned about potential legislative proposals that limit what kinds of foods and beverages consumers can purchase with food stamps, the American Beverage Association (ABA) has hired a lobbying firm to advise Congress on “matters affecting the preservation of choice in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP],” according to a recent article on TheHill.com.

Only eight months after launching the product, Pure Growth Partners has quietly rebranded its Street King energy shot as SK Energy. While the brand’s website has yet to reflect the name change, the product has been advertised as SK Energy on its social media pages since the beginning of the month.

New Age Beverage's XingTea Blueberry took the top spot in the Ready-to-Drink Flavored Green category at the North American Tea Championship. The beverage was judged along with 250 other iced teas, each of which was placed within 20 separate sub-categories. According to World Tea Media, which hosts the annual championship, the judging panel was comprised of professional "cuppers" who assessed the quality of each submission in a blind analysis.

With news of the upcoming Facebook IPO dominating headlines this week, Socialbakers, a social media and digital analytics firm, has released an infographic depicting the top brands on Facebook as measured by the total number of global "fans." It turns out that beverage companies are doing a pretty good job at engaging their consumers online as three of the top five brands on the list are owned by drink manufacturers.