100 Coconuts Increases Footprint Under Expanded Executive Team
100 Coconuts has signed deals with three key distributors – Manhattan Beer, Savannah Distributing and Tennessee-based Lipman Brothers – unlocking new opportunities for its range of coconut waters in New York, Tennessee and Georgia.
Having just filled some key executive roles, 100 Coconuts’ goal is to increase its visibility with current partners but also to “open as many new doors as possible with current and new retailers,” newly appointed marketing director Sherina Garcia told BevNET.
The goal, Garcia said, is to open up at major grocery chains like Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Ralph’s and others, as well as expand distribution in mass merchandise and convenience channels. Currently, the brand is selling in about 1,100 Publix locations in the Southeast as well as select Walmart and H-E-B stores. The company has received authorization for Target and CVS partnerships and is also stepping into the international market this spring in British grocery chain Waitrose.
“We are confident in our product, and we believe our customers deserve the very best coconut water,” Garcia said.
100 Coconuts graduated L.A. Libations SIP (SoCal Incubator Program) last year and more recently has worked with the accelerator’s marketing unit L.A. Vibrations to help power its rapid expansion in the second half of 2022. The brand has received investment from former NFL player and television personality Michael Strahan as well as professional soccer player Guiseppe Rossi.
The focus will be on 100’s Pure Coconut Water and Tequila RTD products with its Coconut Water + CBD product distributed where legally allowed. Pure Coconut’s suggested retail price is listed as$1.99 per 11-ounce can while +CBD is $4.99 each. 100’s Coconut + Tequila cocktail (4% ABV) retails in 4-packs for $13.99. The company is preparing to launch new flavors on the Pure line in Q2 and Q3 2023.
Just Made Goes Expanding into 300 Stores, Launches Smoothie Line
Just Made, maker of tropical beverages, announced new distribution partnerships in 11 new states opening 300 new doors for the brand nationwide. The brand’s functional juices, smoothies and lemonades will now be in select Costco, Meijer, Lidl and Key Food stores in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
The Houston-based beverage brand also released a three-SKU line of low-sugar, probiotic smoothies. Just Made’s smoothies are a “long overdue” addition to the ready-to-drink smoothie category, said founder and CEO Walter Nimocks in a press release.
“Many leading smoothies are loaded with added sugar and have been processed with nutrient-depleting heat pasteurization, but Just Made’s use game-changing, high-pressure pasteurization, or HPP,” Nimocks added. “That means our fresh tropical fruit is pasteurized with cold water at high pressure, so our smoothies have better taste, nutrition and quality of calories, giving customers a smarter choice.”
The smoothies come in Avocado Greens, Mango Carrot Ginger, and Beets and Berries Ginger flavors and retail for $4.49 to $5.49.
Paris Baguette Partners With Lavazza Coffee
Lavazza’s organic cold brew RTDs enter Paris Baguette as part of a new partnership between the cafe and the 125-year-old family owned coffee company to use its products in all specialty coffee drinks at over 100 locations nationwide. Paris Baguette will be offering Lavazza’s Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees, including its “La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Selection,” which is sourced from communities supported by the sustainably-focused Lavazza Foundation.
The partnership also includes Paris Baguette carrying a selection of four Lavazza canned coffee drinks including: Classic Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew, Cappuccino Cold Brew with Milk and Double Shot Cold Brew with Oat Milk.
Lavazza is also providing co-branded coffee cups, brewing equipment, and staff training on its Italian brewing practices for Paris Baguette employees.
“We are excited to expand our footprint in the United States through this new partnership with Paris Baguette and introduce our line of products to their loyal customer base,” said Camille Vareille, Lavazza Group’s VP head of marketing americas. “As a value-driven brand, we believe Paris Baguette perfectly complements our mission to create quality products while also providing real, lasting impacts within our communities.”
Jibby Reaches Texas, Florida With GoPuff
CBD-infused coffee brand Jibby Coffee expands its partnership with grocery delivery company Gopuff into Texas and Florida. The functional beverage brand’s canned products were delivered to Illinois and New York customers via the Gopuff platform, broadening its reach into two key states.
Launched in 2021, Jibby’s makes canned Cold Brew Coffee, Oat Milk Latte, Oat Matcha Latte, and Oat Mocha Latte, each with 25mg of stress-relieving CBD. The company also recently launched a 90-fluid ounce boxed format of its Cold Brew.
“As an early power user of CBD, using it to help navigate my ADHD and anxiety, I found it difficult to find quality, trusted CBD brands in retailers around me or even online. Gopuff has really come in and filled a void as the curator of great CBD brands with honest products.” said Alvaro Ortega, co-founder of Jibby Coffee. “I’m excited to grow our mission of helping consumers to get started on their mental health journey through our on-going partnership with Gopuff.”
Me & The Bees Increases Midwest Presence
Me & the Bees Lemonade, a woman and Black-owned lemonade company founded by teen social entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer, is now available in select Meijer and all Pete’s Fresh Market locations in the Midwest. The new partnership puts the lemonade brand in more than 6,000 retail locations nationwide.
“We invite shoppers to buzz over to the grab-and-go coolers at select Meijer locations or all Pete’s Fresh Markets to pick up our fun and functional lemonades and join us in our mission to help save the bees. Buy a bottle. Save a bee,” Ulmer said.
Founded in 2009 when Ulmer was just four years old, Me & the Bees donates a portion of the proceeds from every bottle of lemonade to the Healthy Hive Foundation to help educate people about bees’ role in the ecosystem and the alarming decline in bee populations.
Me & the Bees now makes various flavors of honey and flaxseed lemonade in 12-ounce glass bottles. The Classic, Prickly Pear and the newest edition to the portfolio, Black Cherry, will be offered in Meijer and Pete’s Market locations. On the company website, 10-packs sell for $29. The lemonade brand is already found nationally in specialty stores like Whole Foods Market, The Fresh Market and Natural Grocers as well as Publix, Target, Cost Plus World Market and select Costco locations.
Toro Matcha Functional Powders In Costco.ca
Better-for-you energy drink maker Toro Matcha announced last week that it was adding its line of functional matcha powders to its current offerings of powdered drink mixes on Costco.ca. The brand first announced its powdered matcha partnership with Costco in June 2022.
Toro launched its functional matcha powder line last September in three flavors: Turmeric, Collagen and Chai. Each 40g bag retails for about $19.
The Montreal, Canada-based brand was founded in 2019. Toro imports ceremonial grade matcha powder from Uji prefecture in Japan which it uses as the base for a variety of RTDs, powdered drink mix products and a hard seltzer under the brand name Matcha Colada.
“No one wants highly caffeinated and sugar loaded beverages anymore. TORO Matcha is becoming an established brand in Canada and we are excited to continue expanding our direct-to-consumer business. Our partnership with Costco.ca provides us with a key presence online,” Toro CEO and president Oussama Saoudi (Sam) said in a statement.
Currently, Toro products are carried across Canada and in the United Arab Emirates with nearly 1,000 points of sale including select Loblaws, Whole Foods, Sobeys, IGA, Metro and Zoom stores. The company said it plans to expand into the U.S. in 2023.
Also:
- Chamberlain Coffee is now available in Sprouts locations nationwide. The specialty retailer will be carrying select products (Social Dog Blend, Family Blend, Variety Box Single-Serve and Cold Brew Elephant) from social media influencer Emma Chamberlain’s signature coffee brand. For a full list of participating locations, the brand launched a new store locator on its website.
- Sparkling tea company Sound announced it is expanding on the West Coast with distribution in San Francisco Bay Area chain Mollie Stone’s Markets.