Moment Takes Title as New Beverage Showdown 19 Winner

Relaxation drink Moment took home the title as New Beverage Showdown 19 champion today in the first-ever virtual edition of BevNET’s biannual pitch competition, which was sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company’s Venturing and Emerging Brands unit (VEB).

The New York-based brand, sporting the tagline “drink your meditation,” makes a natural adaptogen-infused functional beverage aimed at helping busy young professionals relax and recenter. Available in three non-carbonated flavors, Moment’s proprietary formula is designed to stimulate the same alpha brain waves as meditation or quiet mindfulness. The line is available on Amazon and donates a portion of proceeds to support educational initiatives around mindfulness for children.

The panel of judges for today’s final round — which included BevNET CEO John Craven; Jamie Danek, CEO, Humm Kombucha; Chuck Casano, founder and CEO, HiTouch Distribution; and Surbhi Lal, senior manager for venturing strategy at Coca-Cola VEB — praised Moment for its innovative approach and strong flavors, while suggesting slight tweaks to the product packaging to help consumers better understand the offering.

Moment was joined in the finals by sparkling adaptogenic drink Dewdrop, Japanese flash-chilled coffee Muira, superfruit water Pricklee, ginger-powered hydration drink Recoup and tonic brand Wildwonder.

Along with bragging rights, Moment will receive a $10,000 industry ad package from BevNET.

Speaking to host Ray Latif afterwards, Moment co-founders Faheem Kajee and Aisha Chottani said the funding will be used in part to help build consumer awareness around the concept of “drink your mediation” as well as supporting educational initiatives around the broader idea of mindfulness.

The finalists were selected from a field of 12 brands which competed during the semifinal round of the Showdown yesterday. First round competitors included sparkling water Angry Seltzer, shelf-stable juice shot Benni, Asian-inspired sparkling water Sanzo, olive leaf tea brand Special Leaf Tea, baobab drink Teranga and hemp kombucha Vibe Life.

The company joins past New Beverage Showdown winners including Corsa, CANN, HopTea, Simply Soupreme, Bear Squeeze, RISE Brewing Co., Tio Gazpacho, MALK, Grady’s Cold Brew and Health-Ade Kombucha.