Six beverage startups emerged from a field of 12 contestants to secure a spot in tomorrow’s final round of New Beverage Showdown 30 at BevNET Live Los Angeles 2025, presented by Coca-Cola’s North America Revenue Streams Unit.
Tuesday’s final will feature Projo Power Coffee, Tizz tangerine fizz, Rhine Stone non-alcoholic drinks, Stursi zero-proof cocktails, No Cap! next-gen soda and Mocean energy drinks.
The finalists were selected from a group of competitors that also included Sparklinuts sparkling coconut tonic, Birdie sparkling tea, Banagua organic banana water, The NA Beverage Company, Skinergy collagen-infused energy drinks and Drizz zero-sugar cocktail and mocktail drops.
The participating brands each gave a two-minute presentation to the panel of judges that included Mike Schneider, CRMO of BevNET; Fred Hart, Founder and Creative Director of Hart Brands; Susan Buckwalter Hartman, co-founder of Recoup; and David De La Garza, Sr. Director of New Revenue Streams at The Coca-Cola Company North America.
Looking toward the final round, the judges encouraged entrepreneurs to address market opportunity and scalability.
“Even if you don’t have a ton of obvious traction, make sure you’re telling us about the wins that you do have and making it clear where you’re getting the right feedback and where you’re seeing green lights,” said Buckwalter Hartman.
Tune into BevNET.com tomorrow, Dec. 9, to watch the final round of the competition live, starting with part one at 8:30 a.m. PT and part two at 11 a.m. PT. The New Beverage Showdown 30 winner will be announced at 12:50 p.m. PT at the closing of BevNET’s annual Los Angeles conference. In addition to hard-earned bragging rights, the champion will walk away with a $10,000 awareness-building advertising package from BevNET, and join the ranks of previous victors, including Poppi (formerly Mother Beverage), Health-Ade, MALK and Cann.