WATERTOWN, MA  — An exciting competition at this summer’s BevNET Live in Manhattan will allow one new beverage brand to win $5,000 in cash – as well as gain valuable exposure and advice – as part of the New Beverage Showdown, a two-day live product and  plan review debuting at this summer’s BevNET Live in Manhattan.

The new competition builds on the success of the Live Review Panel, one of the most popular segments of previous BevNET Live conferences. The new competition is sponsored by Venturing & Emerging Brands, which is a business unit of Coca-Cola North America.

The New Beverage Showdown will give beverage entrepreneurs a chance to apply to pitch their brand and company to the BevNET Live audience and a panel of expert judges. The participating brands will be chosen from the applicant pool before the event; their presentations will take place throughout the course of the two-day event and will give the judging panel an overview of the product, its marketing and branding strategy, and the background of the company and its founders.

After all the brands have presented, the judges will deliberate and choose one winning brand as the New Beverage Showdown Winner.  In addition to receiving the distinction of the award, the winner will receive the $5000 cash prize, as well as other prizes, including merchandising materials and ad space.

“Our goal with the New Beverage Showdown is to create a formal springboard for new and innovative entrepreneurial beverage brands,” said John Craven, Founder and CEO of BevNET.com, Inc.  “With the help of Venturing & Emerging Brands, who is sponsoring this segment of the event, participating companies will get their chance to showcase their products to our audience of distributors, investors, suppliers, and beverage entrepreneurs.  And of course, the prize and distinction of winning will help one lucky company push their idea forward.”

Brands who wish to present their brand should follow the instructions below.   Questions can be directed to John Craven, BevNET Founder and CEO, at jcraven@bevnet.com.

To Apply for the New Beverage Showdown

Applicants should apply at: http://bevnet.checkbox.com/nbsapply.aspx and should also register to attend BevNET Live.

About BevNET Live
BevNET Live will return to New York City on June 6 & 7, 2011 for the latest installment, BevNET Live Summer 11 at the Sheraton Tower Hotel.    Over the course of the two-day event, BevNET Live provides presentations from leading beverage executives, in-depth breakout sessions, a “mini-expo” of supplier and beverage exhibits, and ample networking time.  The conference is attended by entrepreneurs, suppliers, distributors, retailers, investors and others who are interested in the cutting edge of the beverage business.

About Venturing and Emerging Brands
Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) is a dedicated operating unit of Coca-Cola North America charged with identifying high-potential growth brands in the North American beverage space for investment or ownership by The Coca-Cola Company and exploring potential synergistic relationships with these investments. With direct access to the global resources and industry expertise of The Coca-Cola Company and its system, VEB is uniquely positioned to develop emerging beverage brands of The Coca-Cola Company to their full potential.  In addition to the recent acquisition of  Honest Tea, VEB currently manages brands such as illy issimo, Cascal, Sokenbicha and has an equity investment in Zico Coconut Water.