Headlines

Fair Trade on the Rise

Fair Trade USA is gearing up for October – dubbed “Fair Trade Month 2011” – following news that SPINS reports revealed a significant increase in sales and a strong foundation…

Hansen’s Beverages Goes Half-and-Halfway

Under VP of Marketing Blair Owens, Hansen’s Beverages, the natural beverages company that is better known as the owners of Monster Energy, has slowly begun to extend its portfolio into…

Download BevNET’s 2011 NACS Show Planner

The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) annual show is less than a week away in Chicago, IL. The largest event for the convenience and petroleum retailing industry, NACS is…

The Fight For Florida

The Sunshine State matters a lot – and that can drive beverage companies crazy. As one of the nations’s electoral swing states as well as the site of no fewer…

BevNET TV: A Recap of Expo East 2011

With more than 100 beverage-related exhibitors and over 20,000 attendees, Natural Products Expo East returned to Baltimore after a three year stint in Boston. While Expo East lacked the thunderous atmosphere that Expo West enjoyed earlier this year, the show did feature a number of new and innovative beverage companies introducing products in growth categories like tea, coconut water and aloe juice, as well as several rebrands and repackaging efforts - most notably by Honest Tea.

O.N.E. Rebrands Active, adds Supply from Philippines

It wasn’t an easy summer for O.N.E. Expectations that the brand would be entering the Pepsi distribution system on a national level – and that the product itself would be…

Juice: Halfway Home; Stevia Blends Start to Fit In

It seemed like a perfect fit: an all-natural zero-calorie sweetener, the first of its kind, cutting into the sugar and calories of juices without losing any of the sweetness. Even…

The New Distribution Landscape, Part 2

In Part 1, I made the perhaps counterintuitive case that distribution options for fledgling non-alcoholic beverage brands actually may be on the rise, even in a broader landscape where wholesale…

L.A. Libations Goes for Mainstream with Aloe Gloe

They’ve spent the past few years helping brands like ZICO, Neuro, and CasCal land key retailers, but now beverage incubator L.A. Libations is hoping that its brand-building know-how will help…

The Science Of Substantiation

For those in the beverage, food and supplement industries who were relieved that they would never have to hear about subjects like biology or chemistry again after graduation from high school or college, the recent regulatory climate has brought back some unpleasant memories. Whether being used to determine the safety of ingredients and products or providing substantiation for claims, science has permeated the beverage, food and supplement industries deeper than ever. Science has always been important from the perspective of product development and manufacture; now, it’s become a key to advertising and promotion.

Industry Data: Energy Shots

Here’s a tale of three behemoths: one, 5-Hour Energy,continues to roam the energy shot category like a T-Rex, towering above all other competition. Meanwhile, Red Bull has pulled out, despite pulling in nearly $30 million last year and building what had been a solid second-place brand. Still in the game, however, is Hansen’s, whose CEO,Rodney Sacks, recently reaffirmed the Monster-maker’s commitment to Worx Energy, which is growing quickly into the category. Meanwhile, other established companies continue to find the climb to shot respectability a steep one: NOS, Rockstar, AriZona are all seeing big reversals.

Jarritos Begins $3 Million Ad Spend

Mexican soda Jarritos is attempting to capitalize on its natural sugar formulation and outsider status to grow its share among trend 20-something men, according to a report in today’s New…

Big Geyser Founder Irving Hershkowitz Passes Away

Funeral services were held today for Irving Hershkowitz, the founder of Big Geyser, Inc. and a legend in the New York beverage world. Hershkowitz died Sunday evening at Memorial Sloan…