In 2019, the beverage market saw a veritable flood of CBD-based beverage innovations. Although competition in the space may be tight, CBD beverage leaders are now looking to work together to take the category out of legal limbo and into the mainstream.
Hoplark HopTea was born out of co-founder Dean Eberhardt’s desire to have a healthy and complex beverage while on a break from drinking alcohol. The company developed a line of zero calorie, zero alcohol teas brewed with hops, delivering a flavor profile similar to beer.
Bryan Crowley, CEO of Soylent, spoke about how his career experience shaped his leadership style and helped frame his vision for the future of the fast-growing “complete food” brand. He also how the brand’s mission and growth strategy have each evolved, why it has embraced GMO ingredients and what the notion of “better for you” means for modern consumers. This episode is presented by Flavorman, the beverage architects.
In kombucha, the story of the 2010s has been about the category’s rise from a niche beverage to a mainstream product. Having achieved that milestone, the question facing the industry at the precipice of a new decade is how to ensure that growth continues.
In this conversation recorded at BevNET Live Winter 2019 in Santa Monica, California, La Colombe CEO Todd Carmichael and Chobani president Peter McGuinness discuss how fear of a changing marketplace is a necessary ingredient in forward-thinking innovations and how it led both companies roll out new oat milk product lines this year.
Two ingredient development and innovation companies are joining forces: International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and DuPont Nutrition & BioSciences announced yesterday that the two will merge via a $26.2 billion deal. The new company is valued at $45.4 billion, with a projected combined revenue of over $11 billion for 2019, morphing the two into a single global ingredient powerhouse for food and beverage CPG brands.
Butterfly, the private equity group which acquired a majority stake in Orgain in November, is expected to inject new energy and resources into the brand, providing a boost in marketing and a path towards international expansion, along with "fuel to the fire on our innovation," according to founder Dr. Andrew Abraham.
Todd Berardi Exits Hiball; Rowdy Mermaid Names VEB, PepsiCo Vet as VP of Sales & Marketing; Mad Tasty Names Dan Holland as COO; Sprig CEO Michael Lewis Exits Company; Scott LaPorta Joins Sugarfina as CEO; Lemon Perfect Names VP of Sales, VP of Operations; Apple Rush Adds Randy Ornstein to Advisory Board
Next month, Mondelēz will begin piloting Ruckus and Co., a two-SKU line of ready-to-drink frozen fruit smoothies set for broad launch in summer 2020. Available in dairy-based Berry Banana Twist and coconut milk-based Tropical Tango flavors, each 6 oz. bottle is designed as a “pack-and-thaw” item that can go into kids’ lunch boxes straight from the freezer in the morning and be ready to consume by midday.
Megan Bent, founder and managing partner of Harbinger Ventures, spoke about why launching the investment firm was about “rethinking some of the fundamentals in how capital is invested,” why funding decisions are “probably more relational than anything else” and why she encourages “bite-sized actions” to support greater diversity in business.
Ferm Fatale’s Shrub-Bucha is a monk fruit sweetened probiotic mocktail that, as the name suggests, marries kombucha with a shrub. The line includes two flavors, Margarita and Cosmopolitan, both of which are packaged in 7 oz. glass bottles.
Aiming to expand its products across the refrigerated beverage set, plant-based protein drink maker Koia will launch a line of ready-to-drink coffees next month exclusively at Whole Foods stores nationwide. Koia Coffee contains 200 mg of caffeine, 5 grams of MCT oil, 9 grams of protein, zero sugar and 110 calories per 12 oz. bottle.
PepsiCo today announced the April 2020 launch of Pepsi Café, a blend of Arabica coffee and original Pepsi cola that will arrive at retailers nationwide in Original and Vanilla flavors.
Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs said that the acquisition of AZPACK allows Refresco to cover a regional white space in its growing national U.S. network. Based in Tempe, Arizona, AZPACK operates out of a 240,000 sq. ft. facility with hot fill, cold fill and flash pasteurization capabilities.
