Fighting Functional Myopia

You’d think Carl Sweat, the hard-charging CEO of FRS, would have it easy by now. Strong investors, a dynamite functional additive, popular endorsers and clever marketing have been wrapped together into a very cold-box-friendly package. But the company is still fighting it out every day, trying to convince consumers that the quercetin compound that powers the product is worth its sometimes challenging taste and its hard-to-define health benefit.

Review: COCO Coconut Water

COCO Coconut Water is a Canadian brand (the product is made in Brazil) of not from concentrate coconut water. While it’s bilingual packaging is a plus for the Canadian market…

Spotlight Category: Single Serve Fruit Drinks

It’s amazing what distribution can do – look at FUZE, which is coming on strong in single-serve, and at Lipton, which is also showing major growth in what is a very minor part of its line (Brisk). Meanwhile, wouldn’t you love to get a peek at Tum E Yummies’ Wal-Mart numbers, since they just passed Bug Juice in the big four-channel listing? That’s strong growth for a company that continues to move up in the pack.

Review: Sambazon Supergreens Kale + Ginger

Sambazon’s line of super premium acai beverages recently got an update to its “Supergreens” Kale + Ginger flavor. The revised formulation is enjoyable, although more kale and ginger flavor would…

Cleansing the Juice Category: Blueprint Juice

Overindulgence. It’s an issue that has plagued man since the beginning of time; after all, what urbanite doesn’t enjoy heathen-like amounts of food and booze on occasion? Sprung from such urges is a burgeoning beverage category of juice cleanses, enabling the body an opportunity to detoxify itself. One of the most popular of those cleanses is BluePrint, a direct-to-consumer company that produces blended organic juices designed to counteract the effects of such binges.

Silverwood Partners Releases Natural/Organic Industry Analysis

On the eve of the Natural Products Expo East trade show, investment bank Silverwood Partners has released a detailed analysis and deal review of the natural products industry. In its assessment, Silverwood cited continued reports of sales and volume growth of natural products “at rates far exceeding those of the conventional consumer market.”

Review: SEKSI Pearl Infused Beauty

SEKSI is a low-calorie, lightly carbonated, pomegranate flavored beverage that is enhanced with a unique ingredient: pearl powder. Pearl powder has been used throughout the centuries to help reduce the…

Who Makes the Call? Beverage vs. Supplement

The distinction between beverages and dietary supplements has become harder more difficult to discern. Walking down the “beverage” aisle of any grocery store or supermarket, one may see similar-looking products sitting side-by-side; yet, a closer look reveals that some of the products are labeled and sold as dietary supplements, while others are labeled and sold as beverages. How can this be?

Download BevNET’s 2012 Natural Products Expo East Show Planner

New Hope Natural Media’s annual Expo East show returns to the Baltimore Convention Center this week. Expo East along with its sister show Expo West, are the leading venues to see and sample all-natural and organic products. As always, BevNET.com will be on hand to cover and report on the beverage-related exhibitors at the show – over 100 in total this year.

Don’t Blame HFCS for Obesity Crisis, Say Scientists

On the heels of New York City’s landmark beverage ban, one intended to curb rising rates of obesity in the city, a new article published in the International Journal of Obesity indicates that beverages produced with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) should not be singled out as less healthy than their sugar-sweetened counterparts.

Review: Just Chill’s New Flavors

Recently, Just Chill added two new flavors to their lineup of natural stress relief products, Rio Berry and Caribbean.  These new flavors, combined with their recent deal with LA Libations,…

New Nielsen Scanner Data Shows CSDs Continue Slow Decline

As sales of carbonated beverages continue to tumble, manufacturers remain aggressive in pricing, according to Nielsen scanner data culled from its new AOC (All Outlets Combined) database. In addition to sales information from grocery, drug and mass merchant channels, Nielsen now captures data from a broader range of retailers and channels including Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, dollar stores and military outlets.