Agua Bonita Wins New Beverage Showdown 21

Agua Bonita, the maker of a line of better-for-you agua fresca drinks, claimed victory during New Beverage Showdown 21 today, taking the title as the latest champion of BevNET’s biannual pitch competition.

Founded last year, Agua Bonita’s no sugar added, real fruit take on the classic Central American beverage features Watermelon Chile and Pineapple Cucumber flavors and is available in 12 oz. cans. According to co-founder and CEO Kayla Castaneda, Agua Bonita aims to fill white space in the market for a natural, healthy beverage while tapping into the $21 billion marketplace for Hispanic packaged foods.

“Agua frescas, as we’re defining them, are a bridge between the juice blend market and water market, are a multi-billion dollar opportunity to create a new ready-to-drink category at large,” Castaneda said during the competition. “But Agua Bonita is not just for Hispanic consumers, it’s for any consumer wanting a great culinary experience without any junk. Which is why our product has mainstream adoption potential, just like other cultural drinks that have assimilated like kombucha and matcha.”

Judges in the final round included BevNET founder and CEO John Craven; Priscilla Guevara, head of investor relations for Science Ventures; Dan White, chief of new revenue streams at The Coca-Cola Company; and Vanessa Dew, co-founder and chief sales officer of Health-Ade Kombucha.

The judges complimented Agua Bonita on its flavor and focus on an addressable consumer market, though noted the brand needs to nail down where it will play on retail shelves. Castaneda said the company is working on new packaging to address concerns about label copy and flavor placement.

Agua Bonita competed in the final round alongside five other brands, including sports drink Barcode, plant-based punch Chiki Chiki Boom Boom, non-alcoholic alt-cocktail NOPE, plant-based milk alternative Avocadomilk and functional tea Happy Being.

As winner of New Beverage Showdown 21, Agua Bonita will receive a $10,000 industry ad package from BevNET, as well as bragging rights.

The competition was sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company’s Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) unit.

The finalists were chosen from a field of 12 brands, who pitched in the semifinal round on Tuesday. Competing brands included hibiscus water Ruby, non-alcoholic alt-cocktail brand Blind Tiger, sports drinK Electra, prebiotic sparkling water Gist, protein coffee Proko and adaptogen-infused recovery drink Unlit.

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

The next New Beverage Showdown will take place during BevNET Live Winter 2021. Details on the competition format and selection process can be found on the event website.