Beverage School to Hold Chicago Session on April 10

BevNET’s Beverage School is announcing that it will be hosting a live, one-day intensive introduction to the beverage business for aspiring entrepreneurs in Chicago on Wednesday, April 10. The event will offer a chance for beverage entrepreneurs from the area to enjoy a comprehensive overview of some of the key areas of the industry, including product formulation, sales and marketing, distribution, fundraising, and company organization.

Review: Life Support

As the hangover recovery category continues to expand, more companies are touting unique ingredients and packaging to attract new consumers to the space. Life Support is one of those companies.…

Starbucks Takes Evolution Fresh Eastward

Fourteen months after acquiring the brand, Starbucks today launched Evolution Fresh products in its cafés in New York City and Boston. The company said that while East Coast availability of Evolution Fresh will initially be limited to its stores in the two cities, the expansion “furthers growth plans to be in approximately 8,000 Starbucks and grocery locations by the end of the year.”

Review: Secret Squirrel Cold Brew

And the cold brew coffee train keeps a rollin' with the launch of Secret Squirrel. The company produces a cold brew coffee concentrate made with organic and Fair Trade coffee beans that are roasted and brewed in Los Angeles. From our perspective, the execution both inside and outside the bottle is top notch.

Say Aloe To a Rebrand: ChanTea Becomes TEAloe

Shedding the Asian-themed elements of the product in favor of an ingredient-focused name and package, Gourmetti Brands has rebranded ChanTea as TEAloe. The new label will place greater emphasis on the tea/aloe combination brand’s brewed tea content in hopes of eliciting stronger consumer awareness and connection to the brand, as well as a more robust presence alongside other tea beverages.

Review: Rock Melon

Rock Melon is a new all-natural cantaloupe juice beverage made with water, cantaloupe puree, sugar, and natural flavor. While the product is enjoyable from a taste perspective, but we have to wonder about the marketability of a cantaloupe drink, not to mention one with a rather high calorie and sugar count per serving.

Kraft Follows Success of MiO With Crystal Light Liquid

Hoping to tap into the runaway success of its MiO brand, Kraft has launched Crystal Light Liquid, a new line of line of zero-calorie liquid flavor enhancers targeted toward women. The line hit stores nationwide on Tuesday.

Morning Dew: Mountain Dew Goes for the A.M.

The details include a 5 percent juice component, artificial sweeteners (unspecified as of yet) to keep calories down to 80 per 16 oz. tall can, and a small boost in added caffeine to take the whole can up to about 92 mg -- about 20 more mg than an equivalent amount of regular Dew.

Last Chance: Get Listed in BevNET’s 2013 Functional Beverage Guide

Friday is your last chance to secure a listing in BevNET's 2013 Functional Beverage Guide. To be published as a special section in the March issue of BevNET Magazine, the Functional Beverage Guide will feature functional beverage brands and their suppliers. Listed alphabetically, beverage brands will be tagged with functional attributes (i.e. energy, relaxation).

Review: Urban Remedy

Based in Northern California, Urban Remedy is a company that produces a line of organic, handcrafted juice cleanses and meal replacement products. Billed as "nutrient-rich drinks and snacks to amplify health and mind," we sampled six varieties of Urban Remedy and had mixed reviews on the products, which ranged from excellent to not-so-great.

Beer Goggled: A Closer Look at Recovery Drinks

Does the hangover cure market look better than it really is? A still-emerging category in the beverage industry – recovery drinks – is hoping that there is a fortune to be made in helping provide that preparatory insurance against the day after.

Concentrating on Growth: Chameleon Coffee Gets Cash

Chameleon Cold Brew, one of the next-generation cold-brewed coffee concentrate companies that have recently entered the market, has pulled in investment from Houston, Tex. private equity firm Fortitude Capital.