Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda oversees a distribution network that includes over 25,000 retail accounts in the tri-state area. It’s a 24/7 job, but Reda, who we recently interviewed for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, says that he wakes up every day and loves what he does.
After completing a round of funding led by food and beverage venture capital fund Boulder Food Group in March 2016, August Vega, founder and CEO of cold-pressed nut milk brand MALK Organics, confirmed in an interview with BevNET that the company was currently in the process of finalizing another round of investment.
The Campbell Soup Co. is struggling to rebound after it reported Friday that quarterly sales had declined across its beverage portfolio. The company is particularly focused on reinvigorating sales of its Bolthouse Farms Protein PLUS line following a tumultuous recall last June.
Speaking with BevNET at KombuchaKon 2017 in Long Beach, Calif., Chaluvadi, said that the category has matured to a point in which it needs to further integrate science to alleviate lingering concerns over kombucha’s sugar and alcohol content, as well as probiotics.
Coconut water leader Vita Coco is getting into the growing pool of dairy-alternative drinks with the launch of “Coconutmilk,” a new plant-based beverage made with coconut water, coconut cream and filtered water and contains no added sugar or carrageenan.
Not willing to sit idly as U.S. legislators seek to create and enforce tight, dairy-based definitions for the word “milk,” Ripple Foods launched a new digital media campaign this week that offers its take on the drink’s standard of identity.
An article in Fortune details Nestlé’s complete overhaul of its Nestea iced tea brand, while CNBC reports that a bipartisan group of U.S. Congressmen have introduced legislation aimed at eliminating federal alcohol taxes and updating regulations for kombucha.
The New Beverage Showdown, BevNET’s signature beverage brand pitch competition, will return for its 13th installment at BevNET Live Summer 2017 in New York City. With a $10,000 grand prize, plus massive exposure to the trade and media at stake, 15 emerging beverage brands will be chosen to take the BevNET Live stage in Manhattan on June 13 and 14.
Having originally started as a line of coconut-based juices before eventually morphing into a line of coconut smoothies, Genius is no stranger to innovating and evolving its product lineup and branding. But its latest retrench is the most drastic yet: Genius is no longer a coconut-based beverage.
The “Be Not Bland” campaign features a series of television advertisements designed to embrace “authenticity and individuality, celebrating the people, places and personalities that fill life with flavor and ‘not bland’ moments." In a call with BevNET, Talking Rain CEO Kevin Klock described the campaign as “a long-term platform that we can build on.”
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi announced that the company’s low- and reduced-calorie beverages were among its top and fastest-growing products in its 2016 Q4 and year-end report to investors on Wednesday. Spurred by an initiative to create and market healthier products, net revenue from new products has averaged more than $5 billion since 2013.
Speaking with BevNET at KombuchaKon 2017 in Long Beach, Calif., the Gustafsons said their business was growing 200 percent year-over-year, driven primarily by grocery retailers and private offices, as well as coffee shops and juice bars.
Betting that consumer demand for cold brew will percolate beyond coffee and into the RTD tea segment, Ito En North America has developed a new range of “ice-steeped” cold brew teas. The company will debut the products, which stretch across three of its brands -- matcha LOVE, TEAS’ TEA Organic and Oi Ocha -- at the upcoming Natural Products Expo West 2017.
Following a successful raise in 2016, Black Medicine is going for a second round of funding via equity-based crowdsourcing site CircleUp, a platform that netted the cold brew coffee maker $1 million last year.
