Headlines

An article in The Wall Street Journal by reporter Mike Esterl notes that food and beverage products labeled as “natural,” such as PepsiCo’s Naked juice, are beginning to shed the hazy modifier. Also, last Thursday, the FDA proposed measures that would “all but eliminate” artificial trans fats, a major contributor to heart disease in the U.S., from the food supply.

A bacterial disease damaging Florida’s citrus groves has caused a spike in orange juice prices, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. While demand for orange juice is at an all-time low, pricing could still rise because of the amount of damage to crops as well as the imminent winter months.

VEB President Deryck van Rensburg has tapped Chuck Muth, Honest Tea’s VP of sales, with the responsibility for leading an internal group focused on selling VEB-affiliated brands to bottlers and Coke’s own distribution network. He will move into the role of SVP, Sales at VEB on Jan. 1.

Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory, the proprietors of KombuchaKamp.com, have long worked with kombucha companies and homebrewers to help explain the proper steps and characteristics of this widely-unknown form of beverage, which uses a live bacteria as its base. With the recent announcement that the two have founded Kombucha Brewers International, a kombucha trade group, their roles not only become more official, but they also expand.

In a recent interview with BevNET, Xyience president John Lennon said that amid new distribution and retail placement for the brand, the company is looking to further develop and enhance its reputation as an energy drink for athletes and plans to introduce a protein-infused line of drinks next year.

The report states that Morgan Stanley projects Monster’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 11 percent, ahead of the 9 percent market and consensus forecast. Monster’s shares are selling at $57.11, but with an overweight value, Morgan Stanley estimates that figure at $65.

Activate Drinks, which entered the East Coast less than one year ago, announced Monday that it has expanded its footprint by securing distribution in Stop & Shop and Shaw’s, two grocers that make up 30 percent of the total food stores in the region, according to a Nielsen report.

The executive team behind the launch of Marley’s Mellow Mood has teamed up with the brand’s former head of marketing to launch a company that will develop and sell a portfolio of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage brands.

Red Bull will produce a new documentary about Felix Baumgartner’s dive titled “Mission to the Edge of Space: The Inside Story of Red Bull Stratos,” which will premiere in late January 2014. Two other documentaries, “The Felix Baumgartner Story” and “Felix Baumgartner: The Cave,” which will focus on his jump in the Mamet Cave in Croatia, are also on the slate.

After a bitter campaign that pit global ingredient conglomerates against a range of food safety advocates, voters in Washington state rejected a measure that would have required foods and beverages manufacturers to label products made with genetically engineered or modified (GMO) ingredients.

By now, most consumers and retailers understand and approve of the idea of recycling. They’ve heard about carbon footprint and composting and other buzzwords with environmentally-friendly connotations. In 2011, Americans recycled about 35 percent of trash, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That’s not a number to scoff at, but it’s also a number that many key figures in the sustainability business believe should rise.

Following a successful test launch of its 3-Day Purifying Cleanse pack in Costco stores, Sambazon CEO Ryan Black said that the company will look to extend its presence in mainstream and club retailers with a new line of cleanse-inspired products as well as a variety of new multi-serve packages.