In this edition of Category Closeup, BevNET reporter Brad Avery and a panel of CPG leaders take a look at one of the fastest growing (and most misunderstood) trends currently emerging within the food and beverage space: web3. This disruptive, decentralized technology platform – which includes NFTs, cryptocurrencies, blockchain and Metaverse – has emerged as a new, disruptive tool for companies of all sizes.
Fitness energy drink maker CELSIUS enjoyed record growth in its Q4 2021 and full year earnings report released this week, with revenue up 140% to $314.3 million. Domestic revenue rose 186% to $273 million for the year while international revenue was up 17% to $41.2 million from the previous year. Gross profit was up 111% to $128.2 million.
ZOA continues to be busy in the early months of 2022, announcing this week the launch of its first-ever line extension, a pre-workout energy drink called ZOA+.
Diageo North America has opened a 225,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Plainfield, Illinois, expanding the company’s production capacity by more than 25 million cases. Diageo Lincolnway, a $110 million project, includes the installation of two new high-speed canning lines, which will support production of both malt- and spirit-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs).
Just a few weeks after his former colleague Jeff Arnold joined LALO Spirits as its president and COO, another alumnus of Texas-based Waterloo Sparkling Water’s management team is entering the beverage alcohol category with the launch of Country Luau, a new spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktail line set to hit stores later this month.
Ready-to-drink canned cocktails from JuneShine began quietly hitting store shelves in Southern California last week and officially launched March 1. The release of the spirits-based canned cocktails marks the first non-hard kombucha product launch from the San Diego-headquartered company.
BetterBrand founder/CEO Aimee Yang spoke about how she analyzed the opportunity to create a better-for-you bagel, why raising her first $1 million was both remarkable and lamentable, the fortuitous way she met several investors, what she wanted to convey in branding and package design and why she embraces a “software mindset” when it comes to iteration.
Less than a year after launching its first non-kombucha offering with its functional Adaptonic products, Colorado-based beverage brand Rowdy Mermaid is taking another step beyond its roots in kombucha with Adaptonic Clarity, a line of sparkling drinks made with Lion’s Mane mushrooms.
What this week lacked in volume of new products, it made up for with releases from some of the leading names in major categories like juice, sparkling water and kombucha, not to mention soda.
ThinkThin founder Lizanne Falsetto is going from protein bars to animal-free dairy protein, announcing today the launch of betterland foods, a new company developing products made with Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy proteins.
Following a two-week period that saw five beverage brands collectively add nearly $60 million in new funding, the hosts discussed each deal and how the companies are planning to deploy the capital. They also spoke about the increasing prevalence of food and beverage conglomerates internally developing on-trend concepts while taking branding and design cues from entrepreneurial companies.
With rumors circulating that it may be closing in on a merger deal, Monster Beverage Corporation reported record growth for the fourth quarter and full year 2021 in an earnings report this week, with 2021 net sales up 20.5% to over $5.5 billion.
Gatorade is pivoting away from sucralose with the launch of Gatorade Fit, the first product from the sports drink leader that does not include either sugar or artificial sweeteners.
As the company celebrates the completion of its three-year merger period, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) reported high single-digit growth for Q4 and the full year 2021 in an earnings report today, posting an 8.7% net sales increase for the quarter and 9.2% growth to $12.6 billion for the year.
