ON TOP
- Deadline Today: 2010 Energy Guide – The beverage industry’s guide to energy drinks, energy shots, powders, tablets, and suppliers to the energy drink category. Your brand will be promoted to 17,000 print readers in Beverage Spectrum and 50,000 digital readers via BevNET.com. Link
- DS Waters, owner of the Sparkletts and Alhambra bottled water brands, announced that it has acquired the assets of Yosemite Waters‘ home and office bottled water delivery, coffee and filtration service business. Link
- Adina recently announced a coming investment from CIC Partners, which includes former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Roger Enrico. The San Francisco Business Times notes that the company now has two strong connections to the Pepsi family. Acting CEO John Bello sold SoBe and IZZE to PepsiCo. Link
ON THE SHELVES
- PepsiCo ist test-marketing a new, 12 oz. AMP Energy Juice in resealable bottles. Link
- UCAN is introducing a beverage mix designed for people afflicted with glycogen storage disease, but the mix could also work as a next generation sports drink, reports WSHU. Link
- BRANDCO announced that it has acquired the distribution rights for Waiwera Artesian Water in the U.S., as well as for Mexico and the Caribbean. BRANDCO’s initial U.S. expansion plans for Waiwera Artesian Water will focus on growth of on-premise accounts in California and Hawaii, followed by a nationwide rollout. Link
DISTRIBUTION
- Odwalla secured a distribution deal with all 50 state parks. Link
- Fahr Beverage of Waterloo, Iowa is merging with Dale Lee Distributing Co. of Cedar Rapids and Kirchhoff Distributing Co. of Dubuque to form a new company, 7G Distributing LLC. All three companies are Anheuser-Busch beer distributors. Link
- Alabama C&M Distribution Group, Inc. of Alabama added Purple Stuff and Red Stuff to its portfolio. Link
- Heathrow Natural Food & Beverage, Inc. announced that it has expanded its distribution channels to include the military and drug chains. Link
LAW, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY
- A Mukilteo, Wash. resident did the math on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed 1 cent per oz. tax on bottled water. Combined with the state’s sales tax, the letter writer said he would pay $4.11 in taxes on a 24-pack of 16 oz. water botthes – an item he reported retails for $2.88. Link
- The Alliance for a Healthier New York launched an ad campaign called “Just a Few Pennies” to build support for Gov. David Paterson’s proposed tax on sugary beverages. Link
BRAND MARKETING & PROMOTION
- Las Vegas based CHROME SODA became the sponsor for the Vegas Am-Jam Extreme BMX and Skate Boarding competitions.
- XYIENCE will hold a model search Wednesday, March 24 at the Blue Martini in Las Vegas to find the face of Xenergy Xtreme. Link
- underWAY, a line of appetite suppressing beverages, has named Brooke Burke as brand spokeswoman. Burke will also appear in underWAY’s televised and print advertising campaign that will begin running in early 2010. Link
- Convenience store chain Quickway is partnering with beverage company New Leaf Brands Inc. to co-sponsor the Mirabito Outdoor Classic hockey game, taking place Saturday at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y. Link
- San Pellegrino announced that celebrity chefs Katie Lee, Ralph Pagano and Fabio Viviani will host its 8th annual Almost Famous Chef Competition. Link
- GIVE Energy is collaborating with The Sprout Fund, a Pittsburgh nonprofit, to conduct a contest for sustainable and alternative energy funding. The “GIVE Energy Pittsburgh Prize” will award one grand-prize winner up to $10,000 to implement their project, and five runners-up will receive up to $1,000 to support their work in the field of sustainable energy.
- For the 3rd straight Olympics, The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. will present “Live Positively Awards” to individuals who make positive choices and inspire others.
TRENDS AND STUDIES
- Drinking diet soda could lead to poor decision making by triggering the body’s famine mode, according to a study published in Psychological Science. Link
IN THE MEDIA
- BevNET founder John Craven appeared on Good Morning America for a story about coconut water. Link
- Now that the federal soda tax proposal is effectively dead, more states are considering their own version of the measures, the L.A. Times reports. Link
- An educator in Utah travels from school to school warning students against the potential danger of energy drinks, reports Utah’s Fox13now. Link
- Nestle reported that its water division saw a 5 percent drop in revenues in 2009, which may be evidence that consumers are turning back to tap water, reports public radio’s Marketplace. Link
- “Fructose has nothing to do with obesity” is looking like the “cigarettes don’t cause cancer” debate for the 21st Century, writes Huffington Post‘s Martin Luz. Link
- There’s no scientifically supported reason to avoid soda for fear of pancreatic cancer-at least not yet, concludes Megan Dailey at Newsweek. Link
FINANCIALS
- PepsiCo, Inc. announced the preliminary results of the elections made by The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. and PepsiAmericas, Inc. stockholders as to the form of merger consideration they wish to receive in the acquisitions of PBG and PAS by PepsiCo. 50 percent of the shares of PBG common stock not held by PepsiCo or its subsidiaries will be converted into the right to receive $36.50 in cash. The remaining 50 percent will be converted into the right to receive 0.6432 shares of PepsiCo common stock. 50 percent of the shares of PAS common stock not held by PepsiCo or its subsidiaries will be converted into the right to receive $28.50 in cash. The remaining 50 percent will be converted into the right to receive 0.5022 shares of PepsiCo common stock. Link
SUPPLY SIDE
- W. Amsler Equipment Inc. launched a redesigned semi-automatic palletizer. Link
- Imperial Sugar Company and PureCircle Limited announced the launch of Natural Sweet Ventures LLC. The joint venture will combine the natural benefits of both sugar and stevia to develop reduced-calorie natural sweet product solutions for the beverage and food industries. Link
- W. Amsler Equipment Inc. introduced the L515 convertible reheat stretch-blow molding machine. Link
PEOPLE
- Hall of Fame Beverages announced the addition of Lawrence Twombly as acting CEO and Mark Hammill as acting COO. Calvin Ross, one of the founders of Hall of Fame Beverages, will be staying through the transitional period ensuring that it’s a seamless transition. Link
- Nikken Foods USA, Inc. announced the recent promotion of Koichi Sato as President. Prior to joining Nikken Foods Company, Sato worked in management positions in the Japanese electronics and film industries.
ETC.
- vitaminwater and Chex Mix were among the food and beverage products most often tried for the first time by U.S. consumers in the last 30 days, according to surveys by Colorado’s Market Force Information Inc. The list also included Starbucks coffee and Kashi cereal. Link
- Red Bull ran afoul of Olympic rules by tweeting about the games and its sponsored athletes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Link