Headlines

It’s fraught with controversy, but the latest in certifications -- which have in the past decade ranged from carbon impact statements to recycled content, from Organic to Fair Trade to Kosher and Gluten-Free -- is non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms). Runa co-founder and co-CEO Dan MacCombie recently volunteered to help BevNET readers understand some of the work involved in the process, as his company found it to be fraught with speed bumps. Here’s his story.

While our sources don’t necessarily sort by marketed demographic, here’s an interesting look at some of the top kids’ beverages via a look at the $1.1 billion aseptic juice drinks category. No surprise that Capri Sun is the leader here, but there are rising brands in the mix, including Honest Kids and V8 V-Fusion.

The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. has once again extended the Dasani brand name to a new line of products and today introduced Dasani Sparkling, a five-SKU line of naturally flavored, unsweetened and lightly carbonated waters. Coke will roll out Dasani Sparkling in select outlets beginning in December, and launch the brand nationally in February 2014, according to a statement from the company.

Amid rising consumer concerns about obesity and sagging demand for highly sweetened ready-to-drink (RTD) teas, U.S. beverage marketers should look to the evolution and growth of unsweetened and fresh-brewed tea products in Asian Pacific markets as a way to jumpstart stagnant growth in the category, according to a new report from Euromonitor International, a London-based market research firm.

Whether or not The Coca-Cola Co., Inc., is feeling the heat from a growing onslaught of detractors and health nuts, changes are afoot.

Jenny Burns, Honest Tea’s mission director, said that she’s encouraged by the company’s continued dedication to organic ingredients. The mission report states that in 2012, the company purchased approximately 4.9 million pounds of organic ingredients. This represents a 13 percent increase from the previous year and compares favorably to 2007, she said, before The Coca-Cola Co., Inc., acquired Honest Tea.

Kombucha Brewers International, a Kombucha trade group, announced its launch on Tuesday afternoon. According to a press release, the group will set industry-wide standards, create marketing campaigns, educate consumers, retailers and restaurants, conduct research and serve as a point of communication regarding the Kombucha industry.

After a five year run on the shelves, entrepreneur Scott Lerner and his investors have sold Solixir, a line of naturally functional sparkling drinks powered by botanical elixirs, to the owners of Eternal Beverages, Inc., the maker of a nationally-distributed brand in the fast-growing alkaline water category.

Kroger's highly anticipated entrepreneurial beverage set, Taste of Tomorrow, has become a program of the present. The supermarket giant's natural foods team activated the promotional and merchandising strategy, designed to help incubate innovative beverage brands in the supermarket giant’s retail system, earlier this month in King Soopers in Colorado.

We extended the submission deadline for BevNET's Best of 2013 Awards + New Beverage Guide until the end of Wednesday, October 23. That means you have just two days left to submit your product for BevNET's "Best of" Awards and inclusion in BevNET's New Beverage Guide, the most comprehensive collection of non-alcoholic beverages compiled annually.