According to a survey released Wednesday by IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, the sluggish economic growth of 2013 has influenced all age groups to tighten purse strings in 2014. However, despite the widespread frugality, millennials have consistently struggled since the beginning of the economic slump.
With several intriguing product debuts and packaging updates from a number of the 50 beverage brands represented at the show, including Hint, Purity Organic, Califia Farms, ITO En and Q Drinks, attendees caught a glimpse of new beverage trends and innovation that are likely to remain on a steady course throughout 2014.
A student from the University of St. Thomas (UST) in St. Paul, Minn., has launched a cold-pressed juice vending machine, calling it Juice Cold Pressed. Nick Halter of The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal writes that after devising the idea in a business class at UST, Kalamel Mohamed plans to install 250 of the machines across the Twin Cities, along with business partners LJ Stead and Eric Ploeger.
Little Miracles produces a line of tea-based, organic energy drinks that are already distributed in 21 European countries. By signing with Acosta Sales and Marketing and Coast Brands Group, John Carroll, U.S. CEO of Little Miracles, said that the brand has begun to make its push into the U.S. marketplace.
The mango variety of INGO Cucumber Water follows in the footsteps of the company's two other flavors -- Lemon and Watermelon -- with its zero-calorie and sweetener-free formulation. However, it also brings a more enjoyable taste and improved packaging than what we previously saw in the other two varieties.
BevNET is now accepting listings for the 2014 Functional Beverage Guide, which will be published as a special section in the March issue of BevNET Magazine and will feature functional beverage brands and their suppliers. Listed alphabetically, beverage brands will be tagged with functional attributes (i.e. energy, relaxation).
Last week the Associated Press reported that San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera had started working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who issued subpoenas to several energy drink companies in 2012 as part of an investigation of his own, into the marketing practices, ingredients, and overall assessment of health risks that those products might present.
Talking Rain CEO Kevin Klock didn’t mind firing a few shots at the competition during a conference call for investors conducted Thursday by Bonnie Herzog, the managing director of beverage, tobacco and consumer research for Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.
Jay Street Coffee is a new line of ready-to-drink, aseptically-packaged coffee beverages marketed by Japanese tea maker ITO EN. The three-SKU line is made with coffee that is brewed from 100 percent Arabica Coffee beans and blended with milk and sugar. In terms of taste, the drinks are quite good, and we're also big fans of the name and labels, both of which pay homage to ITO EN's U.S. headquarters.
While HPP Food Services sees sustained growth in its high pressure processing business, a rising number of new and existing customers have begun to eschew capital investment in expensive juicing and pressing equipment in favor of contract production and co-packing services, and as result, it’s the company’s manufacturing arm that’s attracting an even greater level of interest and demand.
While Reed’s Culture Club Kombucha already has a small presence in the New York market via distribution from Abraham Natural Foods Corp., CEO and founder Chris Reed said that it was time for the next step.
Ciara’s Kombucha, which comes in 10 varieties, is one of only a few kombucha brands that we’ve encountered that emphasize taste. In this case, the company has go so far as to put “great tasting” on the front of the label. Given that kombucha is a fermented and often vinegary tasting product, that’s certainly a tall order to fill.
People aged 65 and older have never been more fit or mentally active, and they’re continuing to spend on products that reduce the signs of aging. Diana Cowland, senior analyst of health and wellness for Euromonitor International, writes that despite the widespread demand, functional food and drink marketers could do a better job of meeting the interest.
With a major round of investment in hand, Suja is set to launch a third line of cold-pressed/high pressure processed juice products, one that CEO Jeff Church hopes will catapult the brand into mainstream consciousness and attract a broad base of consumers.
