BevNET Magazine
January-February 2019

Cover Story

The Erosion of Indulgence: Cold Brew is Changing the Game

So far, sweeter coffee drinks dominate the category. But cold brew is changing the game. Over the past several years, the cold brew coffee wave has excited investors, intrigued consumers, and breathed new life into a once peripheral beverage category. But beyond the buzz that has made cold brew the fastest growing sector of the ready-to-drink coffee category, it’s worth remembering that Starbucks still controls 78.3 percent of the dollar market share, and that a lot of that is from the decidedly NOT cold brewed Frappuccino line.

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Features

2019 Cannabis Food and Beverage Guide

The Cannabis Food and Beverage Guide is a directory of packaged food and beverage products produced with cannabis, plus companies that provide goods and services to those brands. It is a who’s who of new and established food and beverage products containing CBD, THC, hemp and other cannabis derivatives.

Proof Positive: A Look at Whiskey, Brandy, Gin and Other Spirits

Anytime someone mentions the American spirits market, it’s more than likely that the first thing that comes to mind is whiskey. And that, for the most part is justified. However, other categories have been aggressively inserting themselves into the conversation and whiskey, increasingly, has been ceding some of the spotlight.

2019 Flavor & Ingredient Trends

Making predictions about the future of the beverage industry is a dangerous game. Trust us on this one; we do it every year for our January/February issue, and we’re about to put ourselves on the line again right now. BevNET reached out to a group of suppliers, brands and industry experts to get their insights as to where the market for ingredients and flavors in beverage will be going in 2019.

Columns

Brewbound Live 2018 Examines Cannabis, Company Culture and the Future of Craft

Hundreds of entrepreneurs and executives from across the beer industry gathered at the 2018 Brewbound Live business conference, held in Santa Monica, California, to discuss category health, cannabis and future product innovations. Craft Brew Alliance CEO Andy Thomas set the tone for the two-day event by asking attendees a simple question on day one: Who is really your competitor?

NOSH Live: Growing Food Tribes

While building a dedicated and loyal audience is essential for any successful CPG food brand, it shouldn’t have to come at the expense of another group. The question of how to bring consumers into new categories and products rather than freezing them out – to grow the tribe, in other words – was posed by NOSH.com editor Carol Ortenberg at the start of the first day of NOSH Live Winter 2018.

Brewscape: The Latest Craft Beer Brand News

In craft beer news, Pizza Hut expands beer delivery to nearly 300 stores, US beer sales top $35 billion in 2018 and Texas lawmakers propose companion bills to legalize to-go sales.

Publisher’s Toast: A Joyous Start to 2019

Last year was a strong one for the industry. The number of launches was staggering. Innovation soared, and the drive for healthfulness, functionality and efficacy was unabated. We at BevNET have been introduced to more products than we can sample, too many to review. It’s been a dynamic time. The marketplace couldn’t be stronger.

Innovation & Regeneration: BevNET Live Winter 2018 in Review

Entrepreneurship is a journey, and one with a map that is constantly being redrawn and reconfigured. The speakers on stage at BevNET Live Winter 2018 shared their personal stories of traversing the wilds of the beverage industry, as industry leaders from emerging and established companies charted different paths towards the same goal of building a thriving modern beverage business.

Gerry’s Insights: Forgotten Energy

These days it’s easy to get excited about emerging categories with breakthrough potential like kombucha, cold-brewed coffee and plant-based protein shakes. No question, they warrant the attention, but they’ve made it easy to take for granted another marvel of continuous innovation and growth, energy drinks. But this category is undergoing a wave of disruption that suggests that complacency is a long way from settling in.

The First Drop: Brands Hold the Key for CBD

Sure, they were arguing for the success of a new business that they’re all tied to, but the panelists at our Cannabis Forum in December made a great point: the most determinative success factor for proving the legal cannabis/marijuana industry overall will be the development of strong brands.