Sparkling coconut water drink CocoMazing is one of those ideas that you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Combining coconut water (from concentrate), sparkling water, flavoring, sugar and stevia, the product hits on a variety of trends, including coconut water, flavored water, organic sourcing and low-calorie sparkling beverages.
Cheribundi CEO Steve Pear told BevNET the financing was necessary to keep up with explosive growth: sales of the company's cherry juice beverages surged from $3 million in 2013 to $10 million last year.
Garden of Flavor, a marketer of cold-pressed high pressure processed (HPP) juice drinks, has added a second line to the company’s suite of products: Cold-Pressed Energy. Available in four varieties with a suggested retail price of $5.99, these products have 100mg of natural caffeine from guayusa as well as added probiotics.
Klock indicated that the line extension could create a path for the Sparkling Ice brand, whose flagship products are formulated with artificial ingredients, into the natural channel.
Natural alternatives account for just 1 percent of the global market for sweeteners. However, natural beverage companies are increasingly turning to alternative sweeteners for blending with innovative and healthy formulations.
Harmless Harvest has moved on from HPP and is now employing microfiltration to continue to avoid heat-intensive pasteurization. The company also uses a new bottle which uses 24 percent less plastic compared with the old one. What everyone will want to know about these changes are whether or not the changes are an upgrade, a downgrade, or a lateral move.
Convenience store sales of non-alcoholic beverages were up 6.6 percent for the first quarter of 2016, according to Wells Fargo Securities’ latest “Beverage Buzz” report, which polls retailers representing 15,000 convenience stores across the country.
Misfit Juicery was built on the premise of combatting food waste by using oddly shaped, bruised or blemished produce in cold-pressed juices. But it’s not a juice company -- at least that’s how co-founders Ann Yang and Phil Wong see it.
X.O.I. is Boston-based brand of Vietnamese Gac fruit beverages that launched with three flavors. Gac fruit, a “superfruit” from Southeast Asia, is, a relatively neutral-tasting fruit that is, at least in this application, similar to a melon in flavor and has a slightly gritty consistency.
Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda said the company will carry a new 12 oz. line of ready-to-drink Silk almond milks and cashew milks, as well as Stok, WhiteWave’s new three-SKU line of shelf-stable cold-brew coffee.
Teya Chia Tea is a line of chia-based beverages that were created with the mission statement “to create delicious, healthful products that are nutritionally balanced and feature unique flavor combinations from around the globe.”
Equity and investment crowdfunding platform CircleUp and venture capital firm the Collaborative Fund announced the launch of Collab+Consumer, a new fund on CircleUp for early-stage, mission-driven companies. The fund, which totals $10 million, will invest $500,000 to $3 million per company.
According to Courthouse News, the energy drink giant has asked a federal appeals court to reverse a decision to allow the case to be tried in state court, arguing that it should be resolved on the federal level.
In the month since Natural Products Expo West closed, food and beverage companies have announced millions of dollars’ worth of investment, from strategic investment in companies like Juicero and Body Armor to advanced funding rounds in brands like Perky Jerky and Health Ade.
