Mohsenian, Herzog Mixed on Monster Sales
Herzog was bullish on Monster’s recent performance – up nearly 15 percent over the four weeks ending June 7 – but that doesn’t include C-stores. For Mohsenian, the brand kept up with the category.
Stevia-Sweetened Coke Life to Make U.S. Launch
The Coca-Cola Co. is said to be readying a U.S. launch for Coke Life, a mid-calorie cola made with a sweetener blend that includes stevia.
First Beverage Ventures Invests in Field Team Management Platform Repsly
“The challenge for food and beverage companies is that we want to know what’s going on in the field," said Tom First, Managing Partner of First Beverage Ventures.
Review: Honest Tea Summer Refreshers
Last month, Honest Tea debuted its "Summer Refreshers" line, a five-SKU mix of juice-based drinks that are USDA Organic and use Fair Trade sugar as a sweetener. Packaged in 32 oz. glass bottles, the company has done a really nice job with the formulation and branding of the products, which look more mature and polished than some of the larger format products that it competes with.
Honest Tea Hits a Billion
For Honest Tea, the math works out like this: 16 years + 22 million pounds of organic ingredients = a billion beverages.
Consumer Reports: Ban “Natural” on Food and Beverage Labels
Consumers are increasingly seeking out foods and beverages labeled as “natural,” but their expectations for the term are often at odds with what is actually delivered, said Consumer Reports.
Review: Vital Juice Kids
Nearly a year after the brand's debut on the market, Vital Juice has introduced a kids' line. Featuring four varieties, each made with cold pressed fruits, vegetables and almond milk, the drinks are well formulated and come with playful labels that should appeal to young consumers. One significant issue for us: the lack of a strong call-out indicating that the product contains nuts.
A Stump With Room to Grow
Stumptown's recent partnership with Straub Distributing serves as one piece of the coffee company’s growing distribution network, one that president Joth Ricci envisions as a national juggernaut.
“The Beverage Whisperer” Assesses Emerging Categories
Ken Sadowsky, the senior beverages advisor in the U.S. for Verlinvest, offers his take on the development and growth potential for a number of developed, emerging and nascent beverage categories.
Review: Drink Maple
Marketed as a “pure maple water,” Drink Maple is made with a single ingredient: maple sap. If you’re like most people, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear maple sap is maple syrup. Yet when it comes to flavor, this product is a distant cousin from the stuff that you put on pancakes.
Vitaminwater Adds Stevia, Fans Go Bonkers
Visit the vitaminwater Facebook page and you’ll find that its columns are built with anger of the once faithful. All this because vitaminwater has begun using a blend of cane sugar and stevia.
CSPI: Marketing of V8 Juice Blends is “An Elaborate Con”
CSPI has threatened to sue The Campbell Soup Co. over what it believes to be misleading statements about the "juice content, nutritional value, and overall healthfulness” of V8 juice blends.
Supreme Court: POM Can Sue Coke for False Advertising
The Court ruled in favor of POM, stating that the company may support its claims under the federal Lanham Act, which covers false advertising.
Review: o2Living Kids Juice
o2Living has extended its platform of cold-pressed, high pressure processed juices to include a kids' line of drinks. The line is comprised of four varieties, each packaged in 8 oz. bottles with striking black labels, a welcome shift from the often clear or white packages that we've seen with most similarly-positioned juice brands.