Approximately 12 months ago, Braintrust Investments, a Burr Ridge, Ill.-based private investment firm, announced that it had acquired premium white tea brand Inko’s. Over the past year, Braintrust, led by former Pabst Brewing CEO Kevin Kotecki, has tweaked Inko’s branding, formulation and product lineup, and the company showcased the updates at the recently held 2015 Natural Products Expo East.
Perhaps more than any particular hot new trend, what stuck out at last week’s Natural Products Expo East trade show at the Baltimore Convention Center was the visible growth and continued maturation of beverage categories and brands which were in their infancy just a few short years ago.
As demand for cold-pressed juice continues to expand, Goodnature, one of the largest manufacturers of commercial cold-pressing equipment, sees opportunity to make production simple and feasibly available for a wide range of retailers, particularly neighborhood cafes and small, independent grocers, with the launch of a new machine designed to fit on most commercial kitchen countertops.
In its response, Coca-Cola pledged to fight its bill, saying that it “firmly believes that the assessments are without merit and plans to pursue all administrative and judicial remedies necessary to resolve this matter.”
Within the natural channel, the development of the cold-brew coffee category has been rapid and highly visible, and a new report from market research company Mintel confirms that the beverage is a hot commodity.
Symbiosis “Truly Raw Coconut Water” is something that sounds impossible: no heat, no high pressure processing, no radiation, no preservatives, not from concentrate, shelf stable (for four months), FDA compliant and USDA Organic certified
Midori Matcha is self-described as a USDA Organic cold-brewed and high pressure processed (HPP) matcha green tea that is made with ceremonial grade organic matcha that’s imported from Nishio, Japan.
Earlier this year, Ito En extended its Matcha Love brand with a line of ready-to-drink organic products. Available in three unsweetened and zero-calorie varieties, the products are a nice extension of the company's continued foray into matcha and organic beverages.
KBI today announced the news, with president and co-founder Hannah Crum calling the latest initiative “the next logical progression for an industry that is proactively self regulating.”
While for years the Non-GMO Project has held a virtual monopoly on certification, NSF International, a global independent organization that writes standards as well as tests and certifies products for the food, water, health sciences, and consumer goods industries, is now launching its own program.
Fire Cider's Unsweetened variety has a potent flavor that’s quite heavy on the apple cider vinegar. From there, we taste horseradish, garlic, onions, ginger, and the habanero. While this might not sound overly appetizing, it’s really well-formulated and one of the more unique tasting products that you’ll ever sample.
The 10th edition of the New Beverage Showdown, BevNET’s signature beverage brand competition, will be prominently featured as part of the upcoming BevNET Live Winter ’15 conference in Santa Monica.
As volume sales of carbonated soft drinks remain in a freefall, major soda manufacturers continue to push the envelope with price increases, yet struggle to offset the sustained declines.
Asi Tea Company's line of Yaupon Tea products are made with wild harvested, U.S.-grown yaupon, which is sourced from the leaves and twigs of a yaupon tree. The ingreident definitely tastes similar to a black tea, and overall the formulation of the beverages that we sampled are quite nice. The packaging, however, leaves something to be desired.
