Leisure Project, Wunderkeks Among Brands Selected for SKU’s Accelerator Program
Texas-based CPG accelerator SKU announced today the first cohort of six food and beverage brands for its upcoming Food & Beverage Accelerator track.
Headlines
Wheels Up: RTD Cocktails Take to the Skies with Major U.S. Airlines
As travel demand remains high despite inflationary pressures, many major U.S. airlines are capitalizing on the rapid growth of the RTD cocktail category through partnerships with emerging brands to diversify their in-flight offerings.
Taste Radio: Yes, Investors Love Healthy Brands. But All The Ingredients Matter.
Prior to the investment firm’s second annual Global Health Forum, we spoke with Ross Iverson, Brent Drever and Steve Young of Manna Tree for a trio of conversations about the urgency of making healthy and affordable food available to more people, why entrepreneurs are faced with shifting expectations for profitability and top line growth, their assessment of consumer confidence and spending and what emerging food trends are on their radar.
Remedy Drinks Re-Ups With Existing Investors To Fuel Retail Growth
Australian kombucha maker Remedy Drinks has closed a Series B funding round led by L Catterton and Australian investment firm Kin Group during Q4 2022. With this cash infusion, the brand plans to drive retail expansion with new and existing partners across the U.S.
Six Questions with Elizabeth McCall, Woodford Reserve Master Distiller
Earlier this month, bourbon brand Woodford Reserve named Elizabeth McCall as master distiller, one of the few women to achieve the title among major whiskey companies. She is also the second generation of her family with a career in the spirits industry, following in her mother’s footsteps who worked at the Seagram’s production facility in the 1970s and 80s.
hellowater Unveils Refreshed Visual Identity, Places Focus on the Consumer
Functional beverage maker hellowater is looking to fuel its next growth phase starting with a refreshed visual identity intended to grow its consumer audience.
This Week’s New Products: Peeps and Transformation-flavored Colas, Plus Chris Olsen’s Coffee Brand
In this week’s new products roundup, Coca-Cola teams up with a Grammy-award winning artist to unveil the newest addition to its Creations collection, Pepsi and XTEND take flavor inspiration from nostalgia candies and TikTok star Chris Olsen enters the CPG world with the debut of his coffee brand.
FDA: Ineffective Cleaning, Sanitation to Blame for Lyons Magnus Contamination
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is pressing aseptic food and beverage maker Lyons Magnus for more answers around the company’s response to health code violations that sparked a recall of around 35 million products last summer.
Tru Inc. Raises $6.5M Series A to Support Footprint, Team Expansion
Functional beverage maker Tru Inc. has raised $6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by BTomorrow Ventures, an existing investor and the corporate venturing arm of British American Tobacco.
Taste Radio: Identifying Next-Gen Prime Time Brands. It Starts Here… And There.
Taste Radio’s hosts discussed the value of attending CPG-centric community events, how Expo West 2023 exhibitors can best advise our editorial teams about their presence at the event, highlighted recent capital raises for two beverage brands and riffed on new and innovative products from two Mexican-inspired food brands and a trio of innovative energy drinks companies, among several others.
Coke: ‘Total Beverage’ Mission Drives Innovation, 2022 Earnings ‘Strong’ Despite Headwinds
The Coca-Cola Company is continuing its “total beverage” mission this year by putting more focus on categories with long growth runways such as coffee, sports drinks, and alcohol, CEO James Quincey said during the company’s Q4 and full year earnings call yesterday.
Four Loko, Koia Founder Chris Hunter Invests In Cannabis Beverage Brand Drippy
Drippy Enterprises, the makers of THC and CBN-infused Drippy Soda, announced that beverage investor and brand leader Chris Hunter has backed the company’s seed funding round in addition to joining as an advisor.
Backed By $13M Check, Playboy Spirits Makes a Play For RTDs, High-End Spirits
Playboy Spirits is building on its limited edition bottles by making a major hop into the high-end spirits and ready-to-drink world, backed by $13 million in new funding announced last month.
Buffalo Trace, Maker of Coveted Whiskeys, Doubles Production
Buffalo Trace, the producer of the popular Pappy Van Winkle bourbons, will double its whiskey production in the coming days. The expansion of the Kentucky-based distillery, announced last week, will allow the Sazerac-owned company to increase the production of its whiskey expressions like Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Weller, Blanton’s, and E.H. Taylor Jr.