Michael Burgmaier
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Whipstitch Capital, an investment bank and advisory firm focused on consumer goods
We believe that 2017 will continue with intense acquisition and investment interest in emerging, healthy beverage brands. Consumers will continue the massive shift to lower-calorie, functional, clean beverage products, including functional water, premium sparkling water, nut milks, and kombucha, where Health-Ade, Humm and Revive, among others, will battle it out for the “next” winner after KeVita and GT. We see premium juice brands filling a needed niche for low-calorie, functional juice (with the requisite attitude) and in declining categories like orange juice, virtually all the growth will come from the organic realm. And there are ingredients we love like turmeric and almonds that will continue to move consumers.The best brands will continue to be unique, deliver on taste, function and nutrition and thus when consumers get to know them, they not only buy them — but they talk about them with their neighbors — this is how winning brands emerge.