Making Waves: Premium Bottled Water Ascends
Consumers may still be feeling the squeeze from inflation, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to spend more for premium products - a sentiment that’s carried over into the bottled water category.
BevNET MagazineMarch-April 2025
Cover Story
Features
2025 Functional Beverage Guide
BevNET's annual Functional Beverage Guide.
Tall Order: Large Format Singles Offer Craft Growth Opportunities Amidst Industry Headwinds
The going is certainly tough for craft brewers right now, as the industry tackles a marketplace that is more crowded than ever (nearly 10,000 craft breweries and a host of beyond beer challengers), growing anti-alcohol narratives and regulatory efforts, increased supply costs that could only steepen with impending tariffs, and ever-fluctuating consumer habits.
Stick Shift: How TikTok Jump Started Stick Pack Production
For many, #WaterTok probably passed unnoticed. The TikTok phenomenon — in which recipes and hacks for flavoring water, typically through branded drink mixes and syrups, were shared far and wide — became, for a moment back in 2023, the biggest thing on social media (before the next viral video trend took its place).
Contact High: Delta 9 THC Thrives in the States
Consumers are high on hemp THC – both literally and figuratively. The number of (adult) American shoppers reporting they’ve tried the technically legal intoxicant rose six percentage points to 14% between Q1 and Q4 2024, according to the Brightfield Group.
Columns
Craft Brewers Conference Heads to Indianapolis Amidst Industry Headwinds, Organizational Changes
Around 10,000 beer industry members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (April 28 to May 1).
Channel Check: What’s Hot and What’s Not
Sports drinks by sales and growth.
NOSHscape: The Latest Food Brand News
In food industry news: Santatera Sticks To U.S. CPG Thesis Despite Trade War; DTC Meal Kit Brands Find Second Act in Retail Expansion; and Dress It Up Expands, Backed By New Funding.
Sun Tzu and the Art of Extension
So what’s the line on line extensions? I’m asking in the wake of a Natural Products Expo West that sure brought a lot of line extensions but not much in the way of attempts at ambitious breakthroughs.
Don’t Walk The MAHA Plank
There are plenty of fine people on both sides of the party divide, and in the natural products business, who seem to find common cause in certain aspects of the MAHA movement and its leader, new HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Charmed by his past environmental bona fides, they hear his stated desire to battle Big Food by removing artificial dyes and other potentially harmful additives from store shelves, and think he’s a fellow traveler.
Yerba Mate, Coffee Emerge at Expo West 2025
Despite the economic headwinds plaguing the food and beverage industry, Natural Products Expo West was back in full force this year as brands, entrepreneurs and industry members brought energy and innovation to what many regard as “The Superbowl of CPG.”
Brewscape: The Latest Craft Beer Brand News
In craft beer news: Brewers Association Revenue Declined -8.5% in 2024; Barrel One and Kraft Heinz Partner on Crystal Light Vodka Refreshers; Asahi Appoints Paul Verdu to Lead US Operations, Invests $35M in Octopi Upgrades; and Bell’s EVP Carrie Yunker to Depart Company After 20+ Years.
Bevscape: The Latest Beverage Brand News
In beverage news: Spindrift Sold to PE Firm Gryphon Investors; PepsiCo Acquires Poppi in $1.95B Deal; Celsius Acquires Alani Nu for $1.8 Billion; and Dairy Farmers of America Accuses Westrock Coffee of Trade Secret Theft in Lawsuit.
All Dressed Up But Nowhere to Go
Like everyone else in creation, it seemed, I recently attended Expo West. If you haven’t gone to the event and you’re a beverage marketer, put it on your bucket list.