Distribution Roundup: Big Geyser Signs blk., Reed’s Heads to Airports

Used to be that if your water was black, you had to call a mechanic. These days, black water could soon be trendy.

At least, that’s the hope of Big Geyser, a renowned non-alcoholic beverage distributor in New York, which on Tuesday announced that it will distribute blk. Beverages, an Oakland, N.J.-based company that markets a fulvic acid-enhanced mineral water colored black.

“They’ve been on our radar since day one,” Christopher Laurita, blk. president and CEO, said of Big Geyser.

The agreement will bring blk. to the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Westchester, Long Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York. Laurita said that he doesn’t want to move too quickly, so the two parties will strategize a gradual rollout, beginning with specialty, health-food and some chain accounts.

Laurita added that Big Geyser is one of the key distributors in New York, which he called the most important market.

“They were very intrigued by our growth,” he said. “They thought that it was a great opportunity and we had a mutual feeling.”

While Reed’s founder and CEO Chris Reed is more accustomed to his products flying off the shelves, Reed’s-owned Virgil’s sodas, Ginger Brew and Culture Club Kombucha could soon be flying coast-to-coast.

Reed’s announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with OTG, a New York-based airport food and beverage operator. The deal will bring Reed’s products to about 70 locations in six major North American airports: John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Ronald Reagan and Toronto Pearson, according to a joint release.

“OTG is an innovative and exceptional operator with extensive experience in the industry,” Reed said in the release. “We know our brands are a great fit with their vision for first-class food service.”

Also going for first-class is Ety Salamone, the president of Life Juice. However, while OTG is going for first-class food service, Salamone is searching for first-class consumers. By taking a hack at the premium juice category, she’ll have to find these consumers for her business to grow.

Salamone announced on Wednesday that she has hired Capacity Business Consulting to help expand the product’s distribution. The team has already made progress, also announcing that Life Juice will be featured in approximately 10 million Williams-Sonoma catalogs and 364 Target stores across the country.

“What Ety and her people done with this company so far is amazing,” Eric Egeland, CEO of Capacity Business Consulting, said in a joint release. “They are already in ShopRite, King’s, Balducci’s, Williams-Sonoma, as well as their own LifeJuiceShop.com. And the timing for the next step to Target couldn’t be better.”

Despite the growing interest in cold pressed juices like Life Juice, the target audience continues to be a small demographic willing to shell out a premium price. Seeking a larger portion of the country, a few juice companies are offering aseptic juices with a lower price point. Juiceology comes from a Brazilian cattle family. That company has gradually expanded on the West Coast and has plans to continue eastward.

Another of the mid-sized juice companies, Mojo Organics, which markets Chiquita Tropicals, has already received its first order from Walmart. On Tuesday, the company announced that it has partnered with Albertsons, which has 1,119 supermarkets in 29 states under 12 different banners, and Performance Food Group, which delivers more than 140,000 food and beverage products to more than 1630,000 independent and national chain restaurants, schools, hotels and healthcare facilities.