Goldman: Believe in “Upbeat” Monster
Monster’s “upbeat and constructive” tone during its annual shareholder meeting yesterday has boosted confidence among Goldman Sachs analysts, per a report issued late last night.
With Help From UFC, Slate Finds Its Identity: ‘We Are Selling Strength’
Slate Milk signed a marketing deal with the UFC Wednesday marking the largest partnership to-date for the ultra-filtered chocolate milk brand along with adding $5 million onto its already $10.5 million Series A.
“Pantheon of Sustainability”: Lance Collins’ ZenWTR Evolves
ZenWTR, the sustainably-packaged bottled water brand created by beverage entrepreneur Lance Collins, is sporting a new look and a new format this week with the launch of a 16 oz. Alumi-Tek bottle and rebranded designs for its core line.
Rüfüs Du Sol, Diageo Veterans Launch Hard Kombucha in the U.S.
Armed with combined experience at Diageo, Firestone Walker, and JuneShine, the team behind Mate Maker has big plans for the hard kombucha category.
Keeping Bizzy: Cold Brew Brand Revamps Bottles, Label
Bizzy Cold Brew unveiled a brand refresh on Wednesday, keeping its multi-serve 48 oz. bottle size the same but changing to a new bottle shape, color palette, updated copy and a redesigned logo font that “better articulates what our true points of difference are to the consumer.”
Bands Over Booze: Non-Alc Makes Entrance Into Live Entertainment
The non-alc category has made gains in on-premise distribution finding inroads with local music venues, pop-ups events and smaller festivals where there is a lower cost of entry than larger live shows and the consumer base is easier to access.
Wildwonder Launches New Flavor Amid Rapid Distro Gains
After two years of working to expand distribution beyond its home market in San Francisco, functional beverage brand Wildwonder may have begun to hit its stride, launching a new flavor – Pineapple Paradise – on a 3-month exclusive with Sprouts nationwide.
Spirits Marketing: Cointreau Taps Aubrey Plaza; Smirnoff Champions Inclusivity
Orange liqueur Cointreau teamed up with Aubrey Plaza to launch a new creative campaign where the actor insists that the only way to enjoy a margarita is the “MargaRight” way— with Cointreau.
Taste Radio: Why Sweetgreen Wants Your Brand In Its Stores
Sweetgreen co-founder Nicolas Jammet spoke about how the mission-driven restaurant chain curates its offerings and designs new meals, how he evaluates CPG brands before adding them to the menu, utilizing technology to enhance productivity without compromising culture and lessons for new and emerging entrepreneurs about how to build a sustainable business.
Brown-Forman Sells Finlandia Vodka to Coca-Cola HBC
Brown-Forman has announced an agreement to sell Finlandia vodka to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) for $220 million.
Hawaii Volcanic Breaks On Mainland with $10M Raise, Partners with Bethany Hamilton, L.A. Libations
Premium water brand Hawaii Volcanic Water has raised $10 million in a funding round that includes an equity investment from beverage accelerator L.A. Libations, with surfing icon Bethany Hamilton also joining the team.
Taste Radio: We Had Drinks With An Academy-Award Winner. Only In New York…
On location at BevNET Live Summer 2023 in New York City, the hosts reflected on an exciting first day of the event, along with that of bar industry trade show Bar Convent Brooklyn, held on June 13 and 14. They also discussed an evening of cocktails with filmmaker and spirits entrepreneur Steven Soderbergh and a visit to Pop Up Grocer’s permanent location in Greenwich Village.
DISCUS Conference: Future of Spirit Growth-Drivers, Challenges to Crossover Product Regulation, Legislative Ramp Up
Leveraging learnings from the last 50 years was the theme of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) annual conference held in Chicago this week.
This Week’s New Products: Zero Sugar Drinkable Chobani, Plus Aprch, Jeng, TapouT and More
In this week’s new products roundup, Aprch Beverage Co. announces the second edition of its collaborative Partner Project, kumquat Energy dives into the energy drink scene and Three Trees unveils what it claims to be the first barista milk free of vegetable oils, gums, or stabilizers.