WSJ: Glass Bottles Provide Growth Opportunity for Big Soda Makers

The package accounts for only 2 percent of all soft drinks sales, but The Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo are looking at glass bottles as a potential growth area for a category mired in decline, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. Buoyed by gains in the sale of soda in glass bottles and the premium price commanded by the package, the cola giants are increasing the availability of their products in glass.

Now On Polar Trucks, Something Natural is Ready to Roll

“It’s super-exciting right now,” said founder Randy Shefshick. “Clearly, Sparkling Ice is the hottest product on the planet, and they’ve proven there’s a market for flavored sparkling water. We think we’re the natural alternative to that – almost like the Honest Tea of the sparkling water category.”

Cold Coffee Disruption Heating Up

Proliferating independent coffee shops and efforts by the likes of McDonald’s to upgrade their coffee offerings are stimulating consumers to rethink their views about old man Joe, and stirring an abundance of new activity in the ready to drink coffee category.

Review: Purity Organic Teas

Purity Organic recently released a trio of new tea varieties -- Honey Green Tea, Peach Black Tea, and Raspberry Black Tea -- each of which are impressive additions to its line of organic juices and coconut waters. Outstanding in both formulation and packaging, one of the products garnered a coveted five-star review...

Flipping the Switch

Energy drinks marketed as dietary supplements have received their share of negative news stories over the past eighteen months, and many companies are weighing various options to find relief from the mounting concerns surrounding these products. One option that is being explored by many companies is the reclassification of liquid dietary supplements as beverages. However, making this switch is not as easy as just changing the name on the front of the can.

Review: Vita Coco Kids

At a time when a more and more consumers seek out healthier kids’ beverage options, we’re beginning to see a steady trickle of new products that offer all-natural and low-sugar…

ZICO’s New Tropical Flavor is an Exclusive at Trader Joe’s

It’s known and celebrated for a vast selection of namesake private label goods, but the relationship that Trader Joe’s shares with ZICO is a special one, indeed. ZICO is one of a handful of brand-name products -- and the only coconut water -- that Trader Joe’s carries in its stores. Now, the two companies have taken their close arrangement one step further with the quirky natural grocer’s exclusive release of new variety ZICO Tropical.

FRS CEO Dave Henderson on CPG, RTM, GNC, ETC.

According to new CEO Dave Henderson, the quercetin-based supplement company will take a broader portfolio approach and look to supplement-friendly retailers like GNC stores as its core channels

List Your Brand in BevNET’s 2013 Natural Beverage Guide

BevNET is now accepting submissions for its new Natural Beverage Guide, the industry's largest guide to beverages targeting the natural channel, including juices, teas, bottled waters, CSDs, concentrates, powders, and other natural beverage enhancers. This key resource will be aimed at beverage retailers and distributors who are looking to include additional natural products.

Review: Just Chill

Just Chill, a line of relaxation supplements, recently unveiled new packaging graphics and a few tweaks in the formulation of its products. Sporting a new tagline of “Promotes a Chill Mentality,” Just Chill has done well to stand out as one of the few products in the relaxation/stress relief category, that's a.) actually enjoyable to consume, and b.) can appeal to a broad audience.

Too Hot for Soda

In the wake of the great goat devastation wrought by a Mountain Dew advertisement directed by rapper Tyler, the Creator, for the citrus soda, the media was rife with stories about ways that brands that seek an “urban edge” often fall off that edge into the chasm of unintended consequences.

Sports Drinks Shifting Ingredients, Marketing Strategies

An ongoing move toward segmentation – the meshing of a product with an occasion – appears to be propelling the sports drink category forward and broadening the field beyond the traditional two-horse race with Gatorade and Powerade. With products that suit any hour of the day and pack a wider range of ingredients, consumers are now seeking sports drinks during times once reserved for water, juice or carbonated soft drinks.

Review: Blue Donkey Iced Coffee

Of the two flavors of Blue Donkey that we sampled (Original and Light), it was this one, Light, that we preferred. That being said, the two varieties aren’t all that different and, despite being named Light, this product really isn’t something that is low in calories (it has 120 per 8 oz. serving).