Exclusive Beverage Segues from Vita Coco to Foco

Long the manufacturer of an imported brand of canned, sweetened coconut juice, Foco, a Thailand-based company that sells largely to ethnic markets in the U.S., has debuted an all-natural, unsweetened coconut water in PET packaging -- and it is working with Exclusive Beverage, one of the chief builders of the category in Manhattan, as its distributor.

Skinny Water Pulls in $15 Million in Financial Support

Skinny has been searching for additional funding for a while; this came in the form of a sale of $9 million in preferred and common stock to investment firm Trim Capital, as well as a $6 million line of credit extended by the investment firm.

Legendary CCE Executive Henry Schimberg Dies

Henry Schimberg, who helped build CCE to such a level of prominence that it handled 75 percent of the entire case load of Coca-Cola in North America, died over the weekend while traveling in Europe.

Review: Grace Coconut Water

Coconut water entries just keep on landing in our office and today we’re taking a look at one of the more recent entries to land on our desks, Grace Coconut…

UBS: Monster, Red Bull Rolling Behind Line Extensions

Monster Rehab and Absolutely Zero both hit all-time highs of $21.4 million and $12.9 million over the last 12 weeks, while the addition of Red Bull Zero to that brand family was the most likely source of a 30 percent increase in Red Bull sales in the four-week period ending June 9.

CEO Bill Meissner Resigns from Jones Soda

Bill Meissner called the job of running Jones Soda – and trying to restore the legendary entrepreneurial brand to prominence – the ultimate opportunity. That opportunity ended before he reached his ultimate goal. Meissner, the CEO of the Seattle-based brand that has long been a youth favorite for its inventive flavors, creative, user-generated packaging and unconventional attitude, resigned yesterday following a series of disagreements with the company’s board of directors.

Review: Suavva

Suavva is a new beverage that is made with cacao juice, which comes from pure cacao pulp, for the purposes of providing the drinker with antioxidants and theobromine.  While the…

Rabobank’s Colbert: “Better For You” Alternatives Fuel Industry Growth

Calling it "the best of times and the worst of times for the beverage market," Ross Colbert, global beverage strategist for Rabobank, stressed the importance for retailers and vending operators to take advantage of current trends in the beverage industry to create new sales growth. Colbert explained that consumer demand for healthier and vitamin-fortified products is fueling the growth of "better for you" beverages, particularly in ready-to-drink teas, bottled waters, and functional drinks.

Review: Crave

Crave is the creation of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc., a food and beverage cooperative owned by dairy farmers in Western New York State.  When it comes to dairies who launch…

FDA Warns Rockstar on Coffee & Energy Line

For the second time this year, the FDA has warned a beverage company that products labeled as supplements must be sold and marketed as supplements, not beverages. It was revealed today that the agency sent a letter to Rockstar cautioning that, despite being labeled as supplements, its Coffee & Energy products are represented and sold as beverages. And because the products contain Gingko, an unapproved food additive, the agency deemed the line to be “adulterated.”

A Worldlier Zola Keeps Growing

Slow and steady is helping at Zola, which will follow a 60 percent sales increase last year with between 70 and 80 percent this year, according to CEO Chris Cuvelier.