The Flow: Monster, Ball get Dub; Developing the next winner

ON TOP


  • Monster Energy partnered with DUB Publishing and co-founder Myles Kovacs to develop Monster Energy DUB Edition, and has launched the new beverage in the first 32-oz., resealable Jumbo Cap Can from Ball Corporation. Link
  • From Beverage Spectrum Magazine: Developing The Next Winner – In our business, it’s good to always think about volume. Link
  • BevNET Live: 5 seats left! – Register today before it’s sold out. Link


ON THE SHELVES


  • Sportables LLC reached an agreement with functional ingredient manufacturer Electromin LLC to market IXL Sport Fuel powered by RATE proprietary compound. Link
  • The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. has rolled out special, ornament-shaped bottles for the holidays. Link
  • Go Fast Sports and Beverage Co. announced a new energy drink featuring coconut water and stevia that will be launching in 2010. Link


DISTRIBUTION


  • Apple Rush Co., Inc. announced that it will enter a marketing trial, selling its Apple Rush products at two freshii Stores in the Chicago market. Link
  • Play Beverages, LLC announced that it has expanded the availability of Playboy Energy Drink through three new distribution agreements in California. In Southern California, Play Beverages will be working with Allied Beverages Inc. of Sylmar, Mussetter Distribution Inc. of Auburn and Superior Products of Susanville. Link
  • New Leaf Brands, Inc. announced that it has expanded the distribution of New Leaf Tea into Whole Foods Markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions to include an additional 22 stores. Link
  • Bebida Beverage Company announced a new distribution agreement with Grantt Eddinger Distribution in Marion, Ark. Link
  • The Dad’s Root Beer Company, LLC announced new distribution with Hensley Beverage Company of Phoenix, Ariz. Hensley will distribute the Dad’s Root Beer, Bubble Up and Dr. Wells portfolios in 12 oz. cans, 12 oz. glass bottles, 20 oz. bottles, and 1 L bottles. Link
  • Skinny Nutritional Corp. announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Pennsauken, NJ-based Canada Dry Delaware Valley. Link
  • Simplifast expanded its reach into the Seattle area and Pacific Northwest with Metropolitan Markets. Link


LAW, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY


  • Makers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages have begun responding to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration letter asking whether it is permissible to add caffeine to alcoholic drinks. Link
  • The Coca-Cola Co. Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and other soda makers upped their lobbying spending in response to the soda tax proposed as part of healthcare reform, The Hill reports. Link The beverage lobby is “cautiously optimistic” that a tax on sugared beverages will not make it into the final version of Congress’ health care bill, according to National Journal. Link
  • Opposition to a water bottling facility in Columbia County, Fla. continued with a commission concluding that “Water from the Santa Fe River should not be used for bottling. Period.” Link


BRAND MARKETING & PROMOTION


  • Conspiracy Entertainment Holdings, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with XS Energy Drink to develop a branded version of the iPhone app, “Living Photo.” Link
  • This fall, The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. launched an educational marketing initiative with the goal of helping Hispanics learn English. Reinaldo Padua, assistant vice president of Hispanic marketing at Coca-Cola North America, recently explained the two elements of the in-store and mobile promotion to MediaPost. Link
  • Orangina has unveiled a new ad campaign urging customers to “shake that ass – shake that Orangina.” As a warning, the video is probably not safe for work. Link
  • The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. announced plans to replace the historic neon sign in San Francisco’s South of Market district. In its place will be a state-of-the-art LED display that is consistent in size and brightness with the existing sign but 80 percent more energy efficient and is to be powered by 100 percent sustainable and certified “green” energy. Link
  • The Orlando Titans announced an agreement to make Pepsi the official soft drink of the National Lacrosse League team. Link
  • Muscle Milk’s “Sexy Pilgrim” video has attracted national attention, appearing on KTLA Morning News in Los Angeles Link and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. Link


TRENDS AND STUDIES


  • Among people aged 75 and older, the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not prevent heart attacks, stroke or death, a new study finds. Link
  • Tabs on beverage cans still pose a danger to children, who can swallow the tabs and damage their digestive tract, according to a new study. Link
  • Vigorous exercise may be a good way to keep kids lean, but sitting around, in and of itself, doesn’t appear to have a major role in making them fat, new research shows. Link
  • Drinking more than five servings of sugar-sweetened cola a week prior to pregnancy appears to significantly elevate the risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to researchers from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. Link
  • Restaurants and Institutions performed a beverage census that found – among other things – that 72 percent of ordered drinks are non-alcoholic, diet cola is the most popular, and root beer is more popular than you might expect. Link


IN THE MEDIA


  • A new crop of relaxation drinks are hitting the market just as so many Americans are feeling more stress than ever, reports Maryland’s WJLA Link
  • With permission from the FDA, a barrage of products featuring stevia sweeteners hit shelves this year, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Link
  • The energy drink market has left more than a few people ruined, according to a San Diego City Beat story that focused on Who’s Your Daddy energy and Crown AMG, a promotions company that worked with Monster Energy. Link
  • A cast member on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien tried Jones Soda‘s Tofurkey and Gravy soda. Let’s just say the flavor didn’t receive a positive review. Link
  • Peter Van Stolk, who started a new private labeling venture called Box B in June, called his recent contract buyout with Jones Soda Co. “like a bad divorce,” according to BrandWeek. Link
  • The (Boulder Colo.) Daily Camera spoke to Carolyn Koss, CEO of biodegradable bottle-maker, Ciao Inc. Link
  • The Big Money at Slate.com published a list of the 50 most successful brands on Facebook. Included: Gatorade (#45) Dr Pepper (#38) Mountain Dew (#18) Red Bull (#9) vitaminwater (#6) and Coca-Cola at #1. Link


FINANCIALS


  • Skinny Nutritional Corp. announced net revenues of $1,543,799 for the three months ending September 30, 2009. This represents an increase of $573,206 (59 percent) over the Company’s net revenues of $970,593 for the three months ending September 30, 2008. Link
  • Cott Corporation announced the expiration of the previously announced cash tender offer and consent solicitation for any and all of its 8.0 percent senior subordinated notes due 2011. Link


DEALS


  • Nestle is moving the headquarters of its professional beverage division to downtown Tampa, the St. Petersburg Times reported. Nestle has announced it is buying Vitality Foodservice Inc., formerly the juice division of Lykes Bros., which operates from downtown Tampa’s Colonial Bank tower. Link


SUPPLY SIDE


  • Surefil LLC in Grand Rapids, Mich. announced that it has completed the installation of its second high speed filling line for the production of 2 oz. energy drinks. The line is capable of producing products including regular formulations and suspensions. The new capability features automated bottle unscrambling, filling, capping and shrink sleeving.
  • Frutarom announced that it has created 27 new natural and FTNF (From The Named Fruit) citrus flavor variants. Link
  • A research team at KAIST University and the Korean chemical company LG Chem claims that they have created plastic without the use of fossil fuels. Link


INTERNATIONAL


  • The industry’s favorite trouble-making energy drink, Cocaine, is making more trouble — this time, in Sweden. Link
  • The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. is facing the same public health criticism in Denmark as it faces in the U.S. Link


TOOTING THEIR HORN


  • PacificHealth Laboratories announced that CEO Jason Ash will present an update on the company’s progress, especially with its FORZE GPS appetite control bars and drinks, at the 2nd Annual LD MICRO Conference at the Luxe Hotel Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, on Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. (PST). Link


PEOPLE


  • PepsiCo Inc. has named Tom Bene president of its Pepsi-Cola North Americas Beverages business. Bene had been a senior vice president for sales and system transformation since 2006. Link


ETC.


  • Nissan North America, Inc. announced the lease of a X-TRAIL Fuel Cell Vehicle to Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Inc. The Sacramento Coca-Cola lease is for one year, with an option for two additional years. Link
  • Mother London added live-action arms and hands (along with some goofy and mildly smutty humor) to classic 1950s Christmas illustrations for a series of 10-second spots for Schweppes tonic water in the U.K. Link
  • The Hillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office believes Larry Eugene Tullis shot his roommate in the chest with a handgun Friday after an argument over a can of Coca-Cola. Link
  • Canadian scammers have been using PepsiCo‘s logo on a counterfeit check scam targeting residents in Wisconsin. Link