Last Call: Apply NOW for New Beverage Showdown 5 at BevNET Live Summer ’13

We're just three weeks away from BevNET Live Summer '13, and now is the LAST CHANCE for beverage companies to apply for New Beverage Showdown 5, which takes place June 4 and 5 at BevNET Live Summer 2013 in New York City. The winner of the Showdown, presented by Venturing & Emerging Brands, an operating unit of Coca-Cola North America, will receive $10,000 in cash and prizes.

Review: Muscle Milk Evolve

Evolve is Muscle Milk’s new “naturally flavored protein shake” that is geared towards female consumers. All in all, what they’ve put inside the carton is a credible and enjoyable formulation, with 12g of protein, 20 vitamins and minerals, 5g of fiber, and Tonalin, an ingredient that is marketed as helping reduce body fat. We think they’ve got a nice start that, with a few packaging tweaks, could certainly be a formidable offering.

Golazo Triples Distribution Throughout West Coast

Less than 18 months since the brand’s debut, Golazo, which markets a line of soccer-inspired energy and sports drinks, has more than tripled the number of retail locations where its products are sold. The company today announced that Golozo drinks are now sold in 1,600 stores in eight states throughout the West Coast, including all Safeway and Whole Foods locations in the region.

BevNET Live: Get Cultured with Vita Coco, Food Should Taste Good, and Sambazon Executives

Peter Lescoe, the founder of snack chip brand Food Should Taste Good, will join coconut water category leader Vita Coco's co-founder Michael Kirban and veteran food and beverage marketer Greg Fleishman, currently the CMO of Sambazon, for a discussion of the role their companies’ distinct cultures have had in their ability to grow and be profitable.

Spotlight Category: Bottled Water

High-end water continues to grow as Smartwater and Fiji strongly outpaced gains for the rest of the category. That said, evian appears to have slowed ahead of new bottle innovation and other varieties that Symphony IRI lumps into the category, like the Vitaminwater family, SoBe and Capri Sun are also showing some share erosion.

Video: BevNET Live = Opportunity

More than just a business conference, BevNET Live Summer ’13 offers a range of networking options with dozens of distributors, retailers and investors that will be in attendance at the show. To get a better sense of what BevNET Live is all about, here’s a brief look at the range of speakers and content-driven opportunities that we’ve featured at past events.

Aiming for Enhancement

Adapting to the millennial generation’s desire for variety and convenience (dubbed “the chill hustle” by MTV trendspotter Nick Shore at BevNET Live Winter 2012), a multitude of brands have altered their approach to beverages. It’s not just what the beverage is—it’s what you can add to the beverage. As a result, powder and liquid enhancers have further cemented their positions in the beverage industry, symbolizing the new-age thirst for portable interaction and healthy products.

Review: Motto Sparkling Matcha Green Tea

Motto is a new brand of sparkling matcha teas made with honey, agave nectar, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. The brand has done well to hit the ground running with an excellent flavor profile and a minimalist, yet striking, label and bottle.

Sparkling Ice Ups Stock in Lemonade

Sparkling Ice, the core brand of TalkingRain Beverage Co. and one of the fastest growing non-alcoholic beverage lines in the country, has expanded its lemonade portfolio with three new flavors: Raspberry Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade and Lemonade with Tea.

Preliminary Agenda for BevNET Live Summer ’13 is Now Available

BevNET has released the preliminary agenda for BevNET Live Summer ’13, which will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City from June 3-5. The conference will be packed with expert speakers and panels on cutting edge beverage trends, emerging channels for investment and distribution, and captains of some of the most successful brands in the beverage industry, including AriZona Beverages Chairman Don Vultaggio, Vita Coco CEO Mike Kirban, and many more.

Review: Runa Clean Energy

Natural and organic energy drinks are becoming an increasingly familiar sight these days with a number of new entrants hitting the market following debuts at the 2013 Natural Products Expo West show. One of the companies throwing its hat into the ring is Runa, which markets a range of Amazonian guayusa tea products, and recently launched Runa Clean Energy.

BevNET Live: KeVita Co-Founder to Discuss Blueprint for Going Mainstream

BevNET is delighted to announce that KeVita co-founder and CEO Bill Moses will be presenting a case study on the transition from natural and specialty to mainstream supermarket channels during the BevNET Live event taking place on June 4 and 5 in Manhattan.