Distribution Roundup: Docklight Brands Expands Reach of Marley; GURU Partners with PepsiCo Canada

 

Docklight Brands Expands Reach of Marley CBD Consumables

Docklight Brands, the CPG brand producing the Marley CBD line, announced it has signed distribution agreements with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Latin American distributor WB Canna Co. & Wellness.

Southern Glazer’s will introduce Marley’s consumable CBD portfolio, including Marley Mellow Mood Tea and Wellness Shots, to seven states nationwide with additional regions following soon after the launch. The brand will launch a line of infused gummies this fall that will also be distributed by Southern Glazer’s.

Docklight Brands and Southern Glazer’s are still finalizing their commercial planning and have not yet announced which states will carry the products. Through a partnership with WB Canna Co. & Wellness, Docklight will also expand distribution of Marley CBD consumables to five countries in the Caribbean and Central American markets.

“From a broadline perspective we have pretty solid distribution,” said Docklight Brands CEO, Damian Marano. “Obviously, the Southern program gives you best in-class, direct-store distribution. What we are really excited about is partnering with them in the way they activate in-store.”

The former Coca-Cola Company executive said he is using Coke’s price-package architecture model to continue to grow the Marley brand, offering products with the same CBD levels but in a variety of formats. Marano said the association with Bob Marley’s “of the people, for the people” sentiment elevates the brand’s public perception and made this partnership a natural step for both Southern Glazer’s and Docklight.

“The brand speaks for itself with Marley and I think that really has brought a lot of interest from more traditional folks because the brand truly resonated,” added Marano. “Once they got underneath the brand we put a lot of care and effort into the product itself with product quality formulation as well as the way we structured our go-to-market with our price-package architecture.”

These partnerships come ahead of the issuance of long-awaited FDA guidelines on consumable CBD use, which has been delayed due to a lack of research on CBD’s impact on liver function. Many national retailers will not carry CBD consumables until this guidance has been issued, but Marano said he believes this partnership will help accelerate the CBD market, especially once the expected guidance is issued.

“We support a robust FDA guideline for consumable CBD,” said Marano. “It feels like hopefully we will get some decisions sooner. I think that with the gravitas that Southern brings to the category it might give people pause.”

The partnership comes two months after Southern Glazer’s announced a distribution agreement with Canopy Growth Corporation to distribute CBD-infused beverage brand Quatreau in the U.S. Last month, the distributor announced it would distribute Martha Stewart branded CBD products including gummies and oil drops.

Marley consumables are currently in 14,000 stores across 38 states nationwide and will be introducing a line of gummies in early fall 2021, available in three flavors, according to Marano. Southern Glazer’s will also carry Marley products on its e-commerce platform at sgproof.com.

GURU Organic Energy Signs Distribution Agreement with PepsiCo Beverages Canada

Guru Organic Energy announced a national distribution agreement this week with PepsiCo Beverages Canada. The agreement with PepsiCo will bring GURU’s sales, distribution and merchandising in Canada under PepsiCo’s wing and the brand will no longer work with its variety of third-party brokers. GURU’s founder and CEO, Carl Goyette, said this partnership will accelerate the brand’s continued growth across the Canadian market.

“We have 10,000 doors in Canada, but there are close to 25,000 that are available,” said Goyette. “We expect PepsiCo to take us to those 25,000 much faster than we would have been able to do by ourselves.”

Based in Quebec, GURU went public on the Canadian Stock Market last fall after raising $30 million in private financing. The company also announced this week it raised over $50 million through a bought deal public offering. Goyette said the majority of these funds will be reinvested into marketing in order to enhance the new partnership with PepsiCo.

“When we were private it would have been more difficult because if you are going to play with the big guys you need to be very well funded,” said Goyette. “PepsiCo is such a well-oiled distribution machine we wanted to make sure that we would be able to support that distribution machine with the marketing investments that are required to support a distribution like this.”

According to Goyette, this partnership will allow the brand to better execute on its distribution strategy within its home market. Goyette also emphasized that this partnership will bring more doors across the remaining Canadian markets and allow GURU to access remote areas of the country through PepsiCo’s network. Additionally, the agreement will expand GURU’s presence in food service, a channel that he said will help target their primary consumers.

“Think about ski resorts in Canada, university campuses, trendy restaurants and bars, some gyms,” said Goyette. “PepsiCo is obviously much stronger in food service than we are. This is going to be accelerating our performance. Those prime food service locations are very difficult to get to if you are not playing with the big guys. We are going to be leveraging that relationship and partnership to get into food service.”

Although this partnership only applies to the Canadian market, Goyette said he hopes to replicate the strategy in the future with DSD partners in the United States, specifically throughout California. In the U.S. GURU has recently launched in RiteAid stores as well as The Fresh Market.

Swoon Partners With Four Regional DSD Distributors

Iced-tea and lemonade brand Swoon announced this week that it has partnered with four new regional DSD partners: Rainforest Distribution, Waterfall Beverages, Green Light Distribution, and Hi Touch Distribution. These agreements will primarily expand Swoon’s distribution in regions such as New York City, Texas and Southern California.

“We’re thrilled to be announcing our new DSD strategy,” said Cristina Ros Blankfein, Co-Founder of Swoon in a press release. “This model will allow us to better service our retail partners and grow deeper in our key markets, where we have already seen a lot of traction and success. We’ve already grown by 1,400% in NYC alone from the beginning of the year since we’ve brought these distribution partners on board.”

Through these new partnerships Swoon products will be available at retailers such as ShopRite, Fairway Market, FreshDirect, Royal Blue Grocery, Tiny Grocer, Manana, Loaf & Vine, Total Wine and Erewhon. Each distributor will carry the brand’s four SKUs: Pink Lemonade, Classic Lemonade, Half & Half, and the Peach Iced Tea.

Biotin Water Enters Publix Supermarkets

The maker of Biotin Water, 2T Water LLC, announced this week that its full beverage line will be available in Publix stores across the Southeast.

Biotin Water Hair, Skin, and Nails are packaged in 16 oz. bottles containing no calories or added sugar. Publix will carry all five Biotin flavors – Pomegranate, Mango Peach, Grape Elderberry, Lemon Ginger, and Watermelon Cucumber – and both companies hope to expand the partnership through sampling events and joint promotions, according to a press release.

“We are excited about the addition of Publix Supermarkets which is regarded as one of the premier retail grocery chains in the southeast to carry Biotin Water Hair, Skin, and Nails under the chain authorization,” said 2T Water’s Marketing Director Nakia Russell in the release. “This new introduction of Biotin Water gives consumers more locations throughout the southeast to purchase Biotin Water in a great grocery chain. We expect to continue increasing our footprint even more throughout the year.”