Brown Departs as CEO of NWNA, Moves to Chobani

Last week Tim Brown stepped down as the CEO of Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), and today was named president and chief operating officer of Greek yogurt giant Chobani. He starts in his new position at the privately-owned company on March 20, reporting directly to Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya.

Review: Secret Squirrel Cold Brew Tea

Secret Squirrel has taken somewhat of a purist approach with its cold brew tea line. The three blends, which include Rwanda Black, Sencha Green, and, for the only flavored variety, Mint Green, are very lightly sweetened and have rather assertive tea flavors.

Say ‘Hola’ to Zola 2.0

Last year when KarpReilly purchased Zola, the new owners began rigorous rebranding project that became known internally as “Zola 2.0." With a new team, new packaging, and new innovation, the coconut water and acai juice company is ready to reveal the first stage of its makeover at the 2017 Natural Products Expo West.

Clearly Kombucha Launches Co-Packing Operations

The strategic initiative is intended to support a planned expansion of its production plant. The San Francisco-based company is currently working with two early-stage, non-competing brands and is looking for more, said CEO and co-founder Alison Zarrow.

Review: Rau Chocolate Salted Caramel

On the surface, salted caramel is something that says indulgence and dessert, so a pairing with a chocolate beverage is appealing and intuitive. But, just like the other Rau flavors, the flavor is quite mellow.

B Sweet Doubles Down on Nitro with New Teas

B Sweet, which added a canned Nitro Cold Brew Matcha Green Tea to its portfolio in recent months, will debut a Nitro Hibiscus Tea at Natural Products Expo West 2017 next week.

Happy Tree Completes Fundraising Round, Debuts Updated Label

In an interview with BevNET, Happy Tree CFO/COO Will Finkelstein called the new investment a recognition of the company’s potential and “a good validation of our brand and the maple water category” after a year in which the brand expanded to over 400 new retail locations and debuted several new SKUs.

Distill Ventures Delivers Innovation to Diageo

As the CEO of Distill Ventures, the venture capital arm of British spirits conglomerate Diageo, Shilen Patel is always on the lookout for emerging and innovative brands that are ripe for investment.

High Brew Drops Stevia

Based on internal research that found approximately one-third of coffee consumers have an aversion to stevia, High Brew has removed the zero-calorie sweetener from three of its products.