Review: Love Grace

Based in New York City, Love Grace produces a line of cold-pressed, HPP organic juices and smoothies. The company has done an excellent job with the formulation of the beverages, often packing a wide variety of ingredients into very approachable and drinkable products. The one thing we would might tweak: packaging. But that's just nit-picking...

Got Other Milk?

Beverage companies continue to form novel takes on dairy products and consumers translate their interest into acquisition. By adapting to the demand for nutrition, versatility of occasion and portability, alternative dairy brands have made headway in a former no-fly zone.

Review: Tumeric Alive Mineral Green Elixir

Tumeric Alive’s Mineral Green Elixir is a nice riff on green juice, blending its core turmeric base with spirulina, barley grass, chlorella, cardamom and spearmint in a high-pressure processed formulation. From a flavor perspective, the turmeric is still very much a dominant flavor and aroma (it’s pretty hard stuff to overpower).

BevNET FBU Brings “Food & Beverage University” to Boston on March 27, 2014

Topics to be covered during the full-day program will range from those rudimentary design, sales and marketing, and production elements that are required of any new enterprise to distribution and retail launch strategies. Entrepreneurs and financial advisors will provide thorough understanding of the capital requirements food and beverage companies need for growth and sustainability, and the best ways to access potential investors at various stages of company maturity.

Distribution Roundup: Rooibee Red Tea Expands Presence Across U.S., Reed’s Partners With FreshDirect

Rooibee Red Tea, which markets a line of USDA-organic, ready-to-drink red tea made from the South African rooibos bush, announced Thursday that it has expanded its presence on both coasts and the South. The tea will be available in Whole Foods stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington D.C. at the start of 2014, Publix stores in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, and Bristol Farms and Nugget Markets in California.

Review: Healthy Mama Boost-It-Up

Healthy Mama “Boost-It-Up!” is an all-natural protein drink that was designed for pregnant women and nursing mothers. With a flavor that is much cleaner than other protein drinks out there, this product seems like something that could be more broadly applied than it currently is. As it stands right now, the target consumer is extremely narrow.

Starbucks Shuffles Executive Team; CEO Schultz to Focus on Digital, Mobile

Starbucks yesterday announced significant changes to its executive leadership team, including an expanded role for CEO Howard Schultz in the company’s "next generation retailing and payments initiatives,” according to a statement. Starbucks CFO Troy Alstead has been promoted to chief operating officer, a newly created role in which he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.

New Beverage Showdown 7 – Think Your Brand’s Got What it Takes? Apply TODAY!

Since its inception, the New Beverage Showdown, BevNET’s signature beverage brand competition, has offered significant exposure to dozens of early-stage companies and emerging beverage categories, with top awards and recognition going to some of most innovative new brands to launch in recent years, including Coco Cafe, Runa, ChiaVie and Health-Ade.

Review: Juiceology

Flash-pasteurized and aseptically-filled, Juiceology is a four-SKU line of juice blends that have been blended with whole grain extracts, including oats, barley and brown rice. While the beverages are pleasant to drink, the branding and packaging seem at odds with the name Juiceology. That said, will consumers look at Juiceology as simply another me-too super-premium juice brand?

Kombucha Crossover

Health-Ade announced Wednesday that it has added Christine Perich, the CFO and COO at New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc., to its board of directors. Perich began working at the Fort Collins, Colo.-based brewery in 2000 and will continue to do so. Slekys Trout credited Perich’s vast experience and ability to troubleshoot the abundance of difficulties faced by an ambitious kombucha company.

SodaStream Partners With Welch’s Amid Recent Setbacks

The trendy at-home soda kit company announced Wednesday morning that it will work with Welch’s to launch a line of sparkling drink concentrates that will be developed exclusively for SodaStream’s home beverage carbonation system. The products are expected to be available in the U.S. during the second half of 2014.

BevForce Founders Launch FoodForce

Extending its platform of full-service recruiting for the beverage industry to the food world, Force Brands has announced its official launch of Food Force, a new division designed to specialize “in hiring strategies and organizational design for food companies,” according to a statement from the company.

Review: REBBL Tonic

REBBL Tonic is a line of organic, herbal tonics that are made with a blend of exotic ingredients, such as cat’s claw bark extract. While we definitely enjoyed the taste of the drinks, it seems like the messaging on the bottle copy, which includes a heavy emphasis on "herbal tonic," along with the products being labeled as supplements, is something that might be a bit of a deterrent.is going to raise more questions rather than lure in buyers.

Bullseye: Life Juice Stays the Course, Lands National Deal with Target

Earlier this month, Life Juice founder Ety Salamone landed her biggest and -- for cold-pressed juice -- one of the most noteworthy retailers to date: Target. The brand is now distributed within the retailer’s 390+ PFresh concept stores, where Target sells refrigerated products and fresh produce. It’s a placement that, if successful, may have a significant impact on how Target and other mass retailers view the nascent category and its potential in that channel.