Monster: We Don’t Need No Stinking TV!

Quick – can you name a beverage company that avoids mainstream marketing and employs no ad agency, yet still generates over a billion dollars a year in sales? As few as there may be in any industry, in the beverage world, there’s only one that we know of: Monster.

Expo West Intro: ZICO Latte, New Sizes

Zico will be introducing its first caffeinated product when it unveils Zico Latte at the Natural Products Expo West show later this week. The product, a blend of coconut water from concentrate, sugart, coconut cream, coffee and vanilla, weighs in at 120 calories and has 85 mg of caffeine. The product is expected to officially launch in June.

Review: Coco Exposed Wheatgrass

Coco Exposed, which is a line of beverages from the makers of ALO that blends coconut water and aloe vera juice, has added a new flavor: Wheatgrass.  In addition, they’ve…

Expo West Debut: ALO – New Flavor, New Coco Exposed Packaging

Aloe drink maker ALO is introducing a new flavor called ALO Escape and new packaging for its Coco Exposed line at Natural Products Expo West. The company is also launching ALOtones, a value-added promotion in which a free music download comes with purchase of an ALO product.

O.N.E. Makes Three: Another Coconut Water Civil Suit

The big news at O.N.E. today might have been the departure from day-to-day operations of founding CEO Rodrigo Veloso, but the company is also facing a potential long-term issue in the face of a class action civil lawsuit filed Feb. 29 in California concerning some of the company's nutritional claims. The suit centers on electrolyte claims made by the company and a nutritional study released by testing firm ConsumerLab.com last summer.

Founder Veloso Leaves Operational Role at O.N.E.

The founder of O.N.E. Coconut Water, Rodrigo Veloso, is giving up his day-to-day operational role at the company. Veloso, who had been CEO of the company since he started it with his wife - and former president, Emilie Fritz Veloso -- is moving into a position he calls "Chief Visionary Officer," or CVO. In that job he will be more focused on international growth and supply chain objectives, as well as other broad goals, he said.

Expo West Intro: Cuvelier, Zola, Can Coconuts

Zola, long known as a purveyor of Brazilian superfruit juices like acai, mango, and cupuacu, has turned to trendy coconut water to broaden out its portfolio. The company is launching a canned 17.5 oz. pure (not from concentrate) coconut water at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim next week. While acknowledging there has been something of a run on the category in recent months, Zola founder Chris Cuvelier says the company is promising a great tasting product to consumers.

Expo West Intro: New Products from Q Drinks

Q Drinks has added Q Kola and Q Club to its line of sparking drinks and will sample both new products at Natural Products Expo West. Q Kola is a cola made with a number of organic fruits and spices including cinnamon, cloves, coriander, kola nut, lemon, lime, orange and nutmeg . The cola is lightly sweetened with organic agave, contains no sugar or high fructose corn syrup, and contains 70 calories per serving.

A New First: Oatworks

Entrepreneur-turned-investor Tom First is apparently going into the oat drink business with a product called Oatworks, a new health and wellness drink that uses a water-soluble form of oat fiber to provide nutritional benefits, satiety, and energy. The product, which uses a Swedish ingredient called PromOat, currently has two flavors, pomegranate and blueberry, and mango and peach.

Early Registration Discount for BevNET Live Summer 2012 Ends on March 30

Just a reminder: the early registration discount for BevNET Live Summer 2012 ends on March 30. BevNET Live, the industry’s largest conference for beverage entrepreneurs and executives, is being held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan on June 4 and 5. The event features numerous networking events, including a half-day Expo and the popular New Beverage Showdown competition for start-up brands.

Review: GolferAID

Billed as “The World’s Most Advanced Functional Golf Beverage,” GolferAID is a doctor developed beverage that was designed with the golfer in mind.  Unfortunately, it seems as though they’ve taken…

Sokenbicha to Debut New Aloe Flavor in March

Sokenbicha, a Japanese-blended RTD tea brand managed by Coca-Cola's Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) unit, has introduced a new aloe flavor. The new flavor is called Replenish and is a jasmine tea blend made with aloe, organic green tea, jasmine flower, rose hips, ginseng and ginger, and is flavored with mint and pear.

Expo West Debut: Harmless Harvest Coconut Water, 16 oz.

Harmless Harvest is set to launch a 16 oz. bottle for its 100 percent raw and organic coconut water. The new package size has a suggested retail price of $4.99 and will be distributed nationally - along with its 8 oz. counterpart - at natural foods stores, grocery stores, and co-ops through UNFI. Harmless Harvest wrapped up a three month exclusive deal with Whole Foods on January 1, and its coconut water is now sold in over 1,000 stores across the country.