Yerbae, the maker of a line of functional sparkling waters made with yerba mate, is looking to raise $10 million as it grows its national retail presence. But rather than turn to private equity and venture capital, the Arizona-based brand is turning to the public for support in launching a crowdfunding campaign through website StartEngine.
After settling a lawsuit for not meeting a 2012 deadline set by the Obama administration, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week published a long awaited proposed rule requiring producers and processors of “high-risk” foods to keep more detailed records to improve supply chain traceability.
On Sept. 29, Supercharge D2C’s Roundtable Breakout sessions allow event attendees the chance to focus on specific areas of the D2C experience and ask questions directly to subject matter experts, speakers, and even their peers. Also, because we love to have brands teach each other, we’ve added one more case study -- Miyoko Schinner, a D2C pioneer in the cold chain space.
Repositioning itself as a functional offering, better-for-you soda maker Sipp has discontinued its entire portfolio and relaunched with a new line of seltzers made with antioxidant-rich ingredient camu camu. The rebranded Sipp products went on sale this month on Amazon and will roll out to retailers in the Tri-State area next year.
Brighter is a line of sparkling beverages that feature raw apple cider vinegar as the hero ingredient. The products are lightly sweetened with maple syrup and have only 20 calories (and 5 grams of sugar) per 8 ounce can.
Jason Barrett, founder & CEO of craft spirits producer Black Button Distilling, spoke about how a stint in small business consulting impacted his vision for the company, why he didn’t seek outside capital to launch Black Button and why he credits an effective systems management strategy as the key reason that spirits conglomerate Constellation Brands invested in the distillery.
The California-based cold-pressed juice maker’s strong performance over the course of the last 12 months — dollar sales of its refrigerated organic fruit drinks across MULO plus-convenience were up 517% to $18.6 million through August 18, according to IRI — is a welcome sign for both the Coca-Cola owned brand and the cold pressed juice category as a whole.
Cleen Craft is a line of hemp enhanced carbonated soft drinks that come in a variety of classic soda flavors. The products are sugar sweetened and include 16 mg of hemp extract as well as velvet bean (mucuna pruriens).
Pete Speranza, former business development principal at 301 Inc, General Mills’ venture arm, left the company on August 14 and will join venture firm Unovis as an operating partner.
The organization will start with three initiatives: a mentorship program, monthly community building events and a digital community on LinkedIn.
When you tune in to Supercharge: D2C on Tuesday, Sept. 29, you’ll get more than advice from experts, you’ll also hear from a pair of brands on their recent experiences in growing their businesses in the Direct-to-Consumer environment.
Joyride Coffee has secured a partnership with food and beverage service provider Aramark Corporation to cover distribution and equipment service for both existing and future office accounts, the company announced Friday. Under the terms of the deal, Aramark has acquired all assets of Joyride’s delivery business and will create a new division, called Joyride by Aramark.
New York-based coconut water brand 100 Coconuts announced last week that Walker has joined the startup as board member, while fellow beverage marketing veteran Lee Brody is coming on as an advisor. Elsewhere, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) veteran Charles Murray has joined Boxed Water is Better as the brand’s Director of Operations overseeing R&D, production and distribution.
Joseph Carr, founder of top-selling wine brand Josh Cellars, spoke about how diligence and self-education were critical in turning his passion into a career and why he left a lucrative job to launch his own company. He also explained how he defines hard work and how Josh Cellars has articulated a positioning that is both premium and accessible.
