Sean Venus, who played a critical role in the development of Mamma Chia as a national brand, is leaving the company to start a new distillery. Venus has assisted with supply chain logistics and business strategy for the chia-based food and beverage company since 2010, and became the VP of Operations for Mamma Chia in October 2012.
Creative Iteration might sound like a little too much big-think for a just launched beverage company still finding its bootstraps, but it’s actually a concept that can save entrepreneurs time and money as they push new ideas out to the market, according to Tetra Pak executive Suleyman Muratoglu, who will be speaking during Beverage School in San Francisco on Thursday, Sept. 12.
With his playing days over, Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t need to sweat free throws any longer. Instead, however, he’s got health activists calling him out.
For beverage sales in convenience stores, Labor Day was the strongest holiday weekend thus far in 2013, according to a survey conducted by Wells Fargo Securities. The survey, which represents beverage retailers from more than 10,000 C-store locations across the country, indicates that C-store beverage sales increased by 4 percent over the long weekend.
Yes, the rollout of Body Armor has featured some missteps; yes, people have noticed. But founder Lance Collins, as grizzled a beverage veteran as any, is determined to achieve success with his multi-function, “superdrink” brand. But the current ultra-competitive pricing environment for beverages, in which new products face off against highly promoted brands made by bigger companies, has made that road tougher than ever, Collins said.
Looking to broaden its base of consumers, Suja has introduced Elements, a new line of 12 oz. cold-pressed, HPP and organic juice blends that bridge the gap between the company's flagship line and the bottled smoothie category. The new line comes in three flavors -- each with a more mainstream-focused price of $4.99 -- and from our perspective, Suja has done an excellent job with the formulation and branding of the products.
Whether you're new to beverages or an industry veteran, having a solid grasp on the fundamentals is paramount to success. Beverage School San Francisco will bring you up to speed on topics including Getting Started, Company Structure, Product Development, Branding & Design, Distribution, Retailing and Marketing. Also, hear experts present on relevant capital-centric topics including: Angel Investment, Crowdfunding, The Financing Lifecycle, and General Fundraising.
Three companies — Bai Brands, Drink Chia and Double Cola — announced news of expanded distribution this morning. Drink Chia, a growing part of a hot category, and Bai, a coffeefruit-infused beverage, both claimed new distribution in major marketplaces. Meanwhile, Double Cola announced regional expansion.
Long a supplier of chai and lemonade concentrates to the natural products giant, as well as independent coffee shops and natural food stores, Colorado-based Third Street Chai has developed a new 1 Liter tea line for national launch in Whole Foods and has changed its name to Third Street Inc. as well.
Beverage School attendees will get an inside look at what it means to try to break through in the Bay Area during an exclusive interview with Mateo Sluder, the Northern California "Cebador" for the vitally innovative yerba mate beverage company Guayaki.
Marketed as “100% Natural Greek Mountain Tea,” Tuvunu is a product is made with sideritis tea, wild blossom honey and not-from-concentrate lemon juice. Despite the exotic-sounding tagline, the beverage tastes nearly identical to a standard sweetened black tea with lemon. Figuring out some way to make this drink’s flavor memorable -- while maintaining the enjoyment of the beverage -- is the obvious next step.
Sipp, which produces a line of organic sodas, recently revamped its packaging and is now marketed as “sparkling organics.” The new look, which moves the Sipp into a 12 oz. longneck bottle and features new label design, definitely makes a good brand even better.
Indeed, cold-pressed, super-premium juices, the majority of which are sold by natural retailers, have attracted a tremendous amount of attention and enthusiasm, and sustained growth appears to be a forgone conclusion. However, a deeper examination of the category reveals a potentially challenging path for new brands.
Shortly after announcing a boycott of Stolichnaya Vodka, LGBT organizations and activists dumped Coca-Cola onto the streets of New York’s Times Square Wednesday to protest the soda giant’s sponsorship of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
