Can’t We All Just… Chill?

Because formulations are not easily understood, the term “relaxation” is one that consumers define for themselves, independent of ingredients — creating meanings that are often at odds with how brands position and market their products. .

Press Clips: Another Rough Year for CSDs

CSD volume has declined for nine consecutive years, and the 3 percent decline in 2013 was worse than the 1.2 percent decline in 2012 and the 1 percent decline in 2011. Beverage Digest reports that while Coke added to its 42.4 percent market share in the CSD industry, volume declined by 2.2 percent. PepsiCo holds 27.7 percent market share, but saw volume decline by 4.4 percent. Dr Pepper Snapple’s market share is 16.9 percent, but volume declined by 9 percent.

Review: Little Miracles

Earlier this year, Little Miracles, a line of tea-based organic energy drinks that are widely distributed in Europe, made its U.S. debut. Despite being marketed as energy drinks, the products…

Global Change and the Big Guys

The glaciers can slowly erode; so can the big three soda companies. It may go beyond the overall decline in consumption of sugary products and artificial sweeteners – it might just be changing tastes.

Spring Cleaning After Expo West 2014

When you’re covering a show that crams nearly 70,000 people, including many with beverage news, it can be easy to pass something significant without a second look. The following list is written so, for the most part, that doesn’t happen.

Reed’s Partners With Haralambos Beverage Company

When Tony Haralambos considers a new brand for his distribution empire in Southern California, it seems that he doesn’t heavily weigh the opinions of Wall Street. That argument gained credence on Tuesday when Reed’s announced a distribution partnership with Haralambos.

Review: Love Birch

Love Birch is a new line of organic beverages made with birch tree sap, agave syrup, juice concentrates and other extracts and flavors. We enjoyed the flavor of the two varieties are in this review, however, the biggest challenge for this product is going to be convincing consumers that they want something birch-flavored (that isn’t birch beer).

Channel Check: Canned Juice Drinks

There’s plenty of interesting “fruit for thought” here in the canned juice drink aisle, home of AriZona’s lemonades, 1 year-old Mountain Dew Kickstart (hey, there’s juice in there – but they have apparently launched $165 million in caffeinated juicy soda – way to go innovation team!), and, further down, FOCO’s coconut water and even San Pellegrino and Izze. All in all, an interesting catch-all category.

Review: Texas Tea

Marketed as a brand run by "a couple of guys in Austin brewing tea that is all about Texas," Texas Tea is a new line of RTD teas that come in eight varieties. Packaged in familiar 16 oz. glass bottles, the teas are have a nice and marketable taste, but we feel as though the brand could use some help in connecting with the consumer (especially ones who don’t have ties to Texas).

Everyone’s Looking for the Big Squeeze

Prior to the launch of MiO, the term “liquid water enhancer” didn’t exist in the consumer parlance, and Kraft executives knew that it would take an exceptional marketing strategy -- and a bundle of cash -- to adequately support the rollout. So how did the company take MiO, a first-of-its-kind product with zero awareness, to a brand that, three years later, is leading a category worth over $400 million?

FBU Boston: Entrepreneurship Isn’t a Hobby

If attendees walked away with anything from FBU Boston, a business education and networking event held by BevNET on Thursday at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in South Boston, it’s that entrepreneurs are best suited to endure mistakes as early as possible and to fully commit to an idea.

The Winter of Discontent

Let’s face it: this winter has been one for the books, a tragedy, a horror story. Across the country, we have had to contend with record cold, brutal conditions, massive amounts of snow, sleet and freezing rain, all of which have made for an awful business climate. The only Polar I ever want to talk about is Polar Beverages, in Massachusetts, not polar vortex. Sadly, that weather is nevertheless the bane of the beverage business.