Review: Honest Tea’s “Honest Zero”
Honest Tea’s “Honest Zero” is a USDA Organic and Fair Trade Certified green tea that is sweetened with organic stevia. While they’ve done an amazing job with this drink’s formulation,…
WSJ: Pepsi Taps Minaj to Lead New Global Marketing Campaign
Hoping to revitalize a brand tormented by sluggish sales and angry investors, PepsiCo enlisted hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj to lead a new global marketing campaign for its flagship cola, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. The endorsement deal with Minaj is one piece of PepsiCo’s estimated $600 million marketing budget in 2012, an increase of 15 to 20 percent from last year.
High 5 Distributors Goes Vegan
Already known for its portfolio of all-natural and organic products, Brooklyn-based High 5 Distributors has made the move to a strictly vegan product mix. Citing personal and ethical reasons, Steve Torres, the founder of High 5, stated that the company has stopped carrying all non-vegan beverages and snacks, and noted that all new and current High 5-distributed products also undergo an examination to determine that the ingredients are never tested on animals.
Review: Slap Frozen Energy
Slap’s Frozen Energy is a first of its kind energy drink that is retailed from a freezer case. Consumers simply allow the product to thaw for a few minutes and…
Early Registration for BevNET Live (June 4 & 5 in NYC) Ends TODAY. Register Now and Save.
Early registration for BevNET Live Summer 12, which is being held on June 4 & 5 in NYC, ends tomorrow, March 30. If you haven't already signed up, now is the time to do it. In addition to the recently announced New Beverage Showdown 3, we will have a variety of additional speaker and session announcements over the coming weeks. And, as with prior events that have sold out, we expect this event to be a packed house full of industry executives, investors, distributors, and suppliers. Click the link below to register or call 617-231-8888.
FDA Expected to Offer BPA Ruling Today
Lots of supplier and marketing organizations are on tenterhooks today as the FDA is expected to offer a ruling on a long-simmering request to remove the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage packaging. BPA is used to help provide plastic and epoxy resins to coat inside of cans and bottles, and there have been concerns that BPA could cause negative health effects.
BevNET TV: Coco Café – How the Vita Coco Deal Came Together
When Coco Café first appeared on store shelves last September, it would’ve been easy to assume that the coconut water/latte blend already had some sort of relationship with Vita Coco; the name, design, and packaging of both brands were – for certain - quite similar. Coco Café founders Brian McCaslin and Elan Eifer admittedly admired Vita Coco and its branding, though, at the time, the two companies had no affiliation, a fact that quickly changed following a chance meeting at BevNET Live.
Review: Golazo All Natural Sports Energy Drink
Golazo Energy Drink is an all natural “sports energy” drink that features both electrolytes and caffeine. It features a soccer theme and comes in four flavors, which utilize stevia to…
Avoid the Impact of Civil Suits: Attorney Justin Prochnow to Speak at BevNET Live
They were supposed to promote vigilance, but instead they’re promoting vigilantes: state consumer protection laws have opened a Pandora’s Box of civil litigation, and much of it is being aimed at beverage companies, many of which are at the cutting edge of ingredients and functionality. In the past few months, nearly a dozen class-action lawsuits have been filed against food and beverage companies that threaten their ability to grow.
Review: Fresh Ginger Ale Passionfruit
Fresh Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost is a line of super premium ginger ales that come in a variety of flavors. They’ve recently added a new flavor, Passionfruit, which, like…
Review: Guayaki Sparkling Yerba Mate
Guayaki, a maker of yerba mate based drinks and leaf “tea,” has expanded into the sparkling category. Their three flavor line, which was introduced at Expo West, features yerba mate…
BevNET Live “New Beverage Showdown 3” Announced + New Format
Beverage entrepreneurs, start shining up your business plans: the New Beverage Showdown will return to BevNET Live on June 4 and 5 in New York City. With an enhanced format featuring a “wild card” slot for two lucky brands and a profile raised by the near-instant acquisition of the previous winner, Coco Café, by Vita Coco, the stakes at the New Beverage Showdown 3 are even higher this time around.
Market Research: Bottled Water Market to Reach $125 Billion by 2015
In a new report on opportunities within the global beverage market, MarketResearch.com forecasts that sales of bottled water will reach $125 billion by 2015, and that short-term growth in beverages will come from China. The report, titled “Growth Opportunities in Soft Drinks," estimates that the market for bottled waters will grow by 4.8 percent annually over the next three years, and become the second fastest growing category behind functional beverages.
Review: Pepsi Next
Pepsi Next is a new cola that is being launched nationwide today. It’s a blend of elements found in Diet Pepsi and regular Pepsi, with the goal being to cut…