Citing the “continued impact of the COVID-19 crisis on events and travel,” New Hope this afternoon cancelled Natural Products Expo East 2020, which was to be held September 23-26 in Philadelphia.

Kickback Expands SoCal with Los Angeles Distributing; Doctor D’s Launches Canned Line in Over 1,200 Stores; Goodwolf Water Kefir Makes Distribution Gains; KeHE to Carry Alkaline88 Aluminum Products; Lumen Adds Whole Foods; Elemental Beverage Co. Adds Whole Foods

The Millerton, N.Y. facility that’s home to Harney & Sons, the second-generation family tea business in which Paul and Mike Harney have spent a combined 30-plus years, is now also the headquarters for The Hemp Division, a standalone vertically integrated grower and manufacturer that has steadily and quietly expanded since going online in 2019.

Office Hours returns Tuesday, June 16 at 3 p.m. ET. Jeff Klineman, BevNET’s Editor-in-Chief, will bring Melissa Facchina and David McCormick, two of the leaders of Siddhi Capital and Siddhi Ops on the livestream to discuss money and operations and take questions from viewers.

Launched in 2017 as Canvas, plant-based milk brand Take Two Foods is ready for its second act. Under its new name and branding, the company has released a reformulated version of its sustainably sourced “barleymilk” in local markets over the last few months with ambitions of becoming a plant-based food and beverage platform.

This month, the San Francisco-based brand, which launched last September with a line of CBD infused sparkling water, is rolling out its first line extension, Daytrip Go.

Relaxation drink Moment took home the title as New Beverage Showdown 19 champion today in the first-ever virtual edition of BevNET’s biannual pitch competition, which was sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company’s Venturing and Emerging Brands unit (VEB).

Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) announced yesterday that it had acquired the majority of collagen-focused function food and supplement brand Vital Proteins. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but Vital Proteins will remain a standalone entity and continue to operate out of its Chicago headquarters.

Birch water maker TREO announced this month it has raised $5 million in a financing round which will support a distribution expansion focused in the Northeast. According to founder and CEO Robert Golden, the company quietly closed the financing round -- which consisted entirely of individuals including friends and business partners involved in real estate -- late last year.

Kitu Life Super Coffee has signed a master distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB) that will place the brand on DSD trucks nationwide, the company announced today. AB’s investment arm ZX Ventures will also take a minority stake in the brand, pending the closure of an open funding round.

Danone North America announced today its partnership with Brightseed, a biosciences company which maps plant nutrients using artificial intelligence technology, to identify previously unknown nutritional benefits from plant-based ingredients used in Danone products.