Here’s another marker that life is approaching a post-pandemic “new normal”: the reintroduction of free samples in grocery stores nationwide. To the relief of brands, who have long relied on sampling to win customers, many retailers announced plans this month to allow brands back in-store for product demonstrations.
With a trippy Southern California vibe and inspiration from mimosas, the SunDaze line of citrus ready-to-drink canned cocktails is aiming to unchain the juice occasion from brunch. SunDaze — which checks in at 6% ABV and comes in three flavors: Original Citrus, Botanical Citrus and Spicy Citrus — was founded by long-time CPG marketing consultant Arthur Gallego.
The pandemic triggered an increased demand for functional and immune-boosting products over the past year – something that founders and judges paid attention to as they vied for the top prize in BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown 21 Semifinals.
Ready-to-drink cocktail maker Ohza announced today it has closed a $4 million funding round led by CircleUp Growth Partners. The financing is expected to help the brand scale nationwide as it partners with distributors such as Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Breakthru Beverage group.
Chloe Epstein and Michael Sloan, the co-founders of better-for-you frozen novelty brand Chloe’s, explained why they shifted focus from foodservice to packaged goods, the leap from a slow and steady growth strategy to one that embraced national distribution and why Chloe’s is not shy about putting a target on the back of big CPG.
Online retailer Boxed announced this week that it would become a publicly traded company via a merger with SPAC Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp. The proposed deal values Boxed at roughly $900 million, Seven Oaks said in a presentation to investors today, and will leave Boxed with $334 million in cash to invest back into the company.
“Powerful branding, international exposure, and strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) credentials” are just three of the qualities making Oatly a major player in the plant-based food and beverage space, according to a new equity research report from Credit Suisse.
The phrase “food desert” gets used a lot, but when it comes to New Mexico it can be a tad more literal. On Thursday, New Mexico Fresh Foods (NMFF) will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to help change that, celebrating the opening of its new high pressure processing (HPP) tolling facility -- the first in the state.
First, we’ll hear from Monisha Dabek, the new Chief Commercial Officer and General Manager of Ocean Spray. Dabek, who has helped grow and scale innovation at WhiteWave, Danone, and PepsiCo. Next, a pair of entrepreneurs whose sales thrived online during the COVID-19 pandemic will share their plans for getting ready to pound the pavement once again.
Faire, an online marketplace for retailers and brands, announced yesterday that it had closed an additional $260 million in funding. The platform, which helps retailers connect with and place wholesale orders from emerging brands, recently expanded to Europe as well. #url#
Better-for-you CSD brand New Wave Soda is going national. The brand is currently available in about 2,000 stores nationwide and expects to be in roughly 8,000 doors by the end of the year, founder and CEO Nat Noone said; Cold-pressed lemon water brand Lemon Perfect is doubling down on DSD as it seeks to grow its retail footprint to 15,000 doors nationwide by the end of the year.
With the summer months approaching the ready-to-drink cocktail category expanded with a range of better-for-you options from hard Yerba Mate to the relaunch of VOCO’s vodka-based coconut water. Check out the gallery for the latest canned cocktail releases and new brand debuts.
After a decade spent building their portfolios by aggressively acquiring or investing in small, innovative beverage brands, the heady days for strategics may be ending. That’s according to a new report released this month by Rabobank in which analysts unpacked the various conditions that have seen the likes of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and others forced to adjust their investment strategies.
Ball Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans, will continue to allocate inventory to customers and import cans from overseas due to short supply throughout this summer, executive vice president and chief financial officer Scott C. Morrison said yesterday during a public session of the Deutsche Bank Global Basic Materials Conference.
