CarryOn Expands To Reach At Sprouts Farmer Market
CarryOn Wellness announced its sparkling CBD-infused drinks have widened their presence at Sprouts locations across Colorado. The brand, which is backed financially by Ocean Spray through its Lighthouse Innovation Incubator, launched last year with two SKUs – Relax (Blueberry) and Recover (Citrus) – and is now available at 26 Sprouts locations in the state, in addition to Leevers and other independent retail partners in the Denver area.
According to Chris Petersen, Managing Director of CarryOn, the partnership was essential to continue building awareness around the brand.
“When CarryOn made the decision to create a CBD beverage, Sprouts Farmers Market was the retail partner that we envisioned launching with, so this new distribution is the fulfillment of a dream that the team has had since day one,” said Petersen. “Our partnership allows consumers to discover and purchase CarryOn while doing all of their weekly shopping and seamlessly fitting our drinks into their ongoing health and wellness routine.”
According to Petersen, now that the brand has established Sprouts as its “anchor account” in Colorado, the plan is to develop a presence for CarryOn in other channels such as liquor, convenience, gas and on-premise. The relationship has also helped the brand land another distribution partnership with Hyperion Wholesale, which will start expanding CarryOn’s reach outside of the natural grocery channel in Denver by the end of the month, said Petersen.
The increase in distribution comes after CarryOn rebranded late last year, in response to consumer research and feedback from its pilot launch that indicated the brand’s positioning needed to be altered if the product was going to stand out in the growing CBD market, explained Petersen. The process resulted in significant label changes, with the addition of fruit imagery, a “bolder color scheme” and new flavor names that directly address the functionality of each SKU.
“Our team decided that we could improve our brand positioning and product communication at shelf, which is particularly important in a world where you may not have strong brand awareness. We had to make the drinks easy to shop,” Petersen said.
Although the FDA has yet to issue guidance on CBD use, Petersen said this has not significantly hindered CarryOn’s expansion so far. At the moment, the company is focusing its distribution efforts within the state of Colorado through partnerships with retailers and distributors that are “progressive, early adopters” of CBD.
CarryOn contains 20 mg of CBD and 10 calories in each 11.5 fl oz. can. Relax contains L-Theanine to support relaxation and Recover contains Choline to support muscle function.
BioSteel Partners With Provi
Sports drink producer BioSteel announced a partnership with the B2B e-commerce platform Provi this week. The agreement marks the alcohol distribution platform’s first expansion into the non-alcoholic beverage industry and will be in effect through February 2023.
According to a press release, the partnership between the two companies will leverage mutual target markets for both brands, specifically New York and California. For BioSteel, which is owned by Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp, this agreement will expand the brands presence in off- and on-premise accounts throughout the United States.
“As a company founded on innovation and transparency, BioSteel is thrilled to partner with a marketplace that shares our mission and approach to modern commerce,” said John Celenza, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, BioSteel in a press release. “We are excited to help unlock a new category for Provi as the first sports hydration drink on the platform, and together, we will be able to deliver clean, healthy hydration to customers nationwide.”
Provi’s services are currently available in 30 states. This expansion beyond the alcohol category with non-alcoholic and sports beverages was a “natural synergy” in the platform’s development, according to the release.
“We look forward to working with BioSteel to bring our customers even more options across the overall beverage category,” said Provi CEO, Taylor Katzman in a press release. “We know that business owners are looking for easier, streamlined solutions for product ordering and with a proven model for more efficient and affordable beverage stocking, non-alcoholic beverages are another step in helping our customers thrive.”
Kona Gold Beverages Signs Agreement With Central City Distribution
Kona Gold Beverages has partnered with Central City Distribution Company to bring its Hemp Energy drinks to retailers such as Woodman’s, Festival Foods, Save a Lot, BP, Mobil, Citgo and Walgreens across the state of Wisconsin. Kona’s team has been hands-on in the rollout this week with Kona’s employees merchandising and supporting the new retail partnerships on the ground.
“Central City Distribution Co is an established distributor who has the focus factor we look for in distribution partners,” said Robert Clark, CEO of Kona Gold Beverages in a press release. “Our team is in Wisconsin this week to kick off Central City Distribution Co, ride with their sales team, and get Kona Gold into key accounts.”
According to the release, Kona is working with several distribution partners to bring its portfolio of lemonades, hemp energy drinks, CBD energy waters and CBD Alkaline waters to new markets. Kona is specifically looking to increase the presence of its brands in grocery and convenience store channels.