BevNET has posted the final agenda for BevNET Live, to take place on Dec. 3 and 4 in Santa Monica, Calif. at the Loews Beach Hotel. Descriptions of breakout sessions and some remaining speaker bios will be posted in the days to come.
Calling it a "new direction" for the company, Mexican beverage marketer Novamex has launched Alova, a new all-natural, sparkling aloe vera drink. Novemex, which produces and sells a range of Mexican-inspired drinks including Jarritos soft drinks and Mineragua water, has gradually expanded its footprint in the U.S. and will look to Alova as a point of entry into the natural channel via growing consumer exposure of aloe and its aura of health and wellness.
Here’s the issue: GNC is a well-known retailer, but the process of rolling a beverage brand licensed from GNC into other stores presented a bit of a design problem for Shadow Beverage and Snacks, the company that licensed the right to develop the drinks. To begin with, there’s complexity – the company envisioned three kinds of products—an enhanced water, a sports drink, and a protein drink – covering both the average, aspirational grocery consumer and the highly involved athletic achiever.
While Election Day yielded few changes within the overall political landscape in the U.S., three referendum votes in California that were likely to have a significant impact on the sale of beverages in the state were defeated. Californians said no to Proposition 37, which would have required mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food, and voters in El Monte and Richmond, Calif. rejected measures that would have added a one-cent-per-ounce tax on purchases of sugary drinks.
Hoist has re-branded and repackaged its "rapid rehydration" formulation that the company once touted for hangover recovery, and is now positioning itself as an isotonic sports drink. The brand recently moved from an aluminum can to a 12 oz. plastic bottle that is more in line with the sports drink category. Still, there’s something about this product that feels ambiguous, particularly as a small package size and “Hoist” name that feels out of line with the overall sports segment.
Nine months after The Hershey Company acquired a controlling interest in the company, mix1 is set to launch a major revamp of its nutritional shake/meal replacement line of beverages.Now armed with a sleek upgrade in packaging, mix1 vice president of sales Kevin Conrad said that the company is taking direct aim at category leader Muscle Milk and building a new DSD network “from scratch” in order to position itself for a dramatic leap in sales.
BevNET Live’s second day will feature a rare industry discussion with two of the most important executives in the energy drink business, Joey Cannata and Jason May -- respectively, the EVP of Sales and Distribution and the EVP of Marketing for Rockstar Energy Drink.
Keeper Energy Drink is an Austrian-produced energy drink that comes in an 8.4 oz. can. Heard this one before? Yes, it is yet another energy drink to deliver “classic” (aka Red Bull-like) energy drink flavor, but there’s really nothing else to be said for what’s inside the can. And on the outside, things don’t get any better.
A few years ago, when high-end bottled water got slammed with the twin effects of a deep recession and an environmental backlash, many of us called it the perfect storm. A sector that was riding high suddenly was in an impossible situation: only fairly affluent consumers could afford those brands any more, and within that social stratum it suddenly had become unfashionable to be spotted carrying around plastic bottles containing water shipped from halfway around the world.
It went unnoticed last week, but fast-growing BluePrint -- which makes raw juices and direct-to-consumer juice cleanse products -- has been scooped up by natural foods conglomerate Hain Celestial. Hain did not disclose the amount of money it was paying for BluePrint. Hain Celestial CEO Irwin Simon called BluePrint "an innovative leader." Huss declined comment to BevNET, saying through a spokesman that the deal was not yet finalized.
Samu Thai Coconut Water is a not-from-concentrate coconut water that comes packaged in a 12 oz. aluminum can. With a tagline of “thirst intelligence” and the phrase “naturally the best tasting” on the front of the can, we were somewhat surprised to see that this product contains added sugar. We’re really not sure what factored into their decision to go down the added sugar path, but it has definitely hurt this drink...
We’re less than a month away from BevNET Live Winter 2012, and created a short - and quite entertaining - video to offer you a brief look at some of the exciting content and speakers who have appeared during past events. As at our past events, we’ve put together another stellar lineup to help you move your beverage business forward, as well as ample opportunities for networking, sampling, and strategizing. Many more announcements on presenters and breakout sessions coming soon...
BevNET is pleased to release the names several new speakers who are participating in the event, which will be held on Dec. 3 and 4 at the Loews Beach Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif. The new additions range from marketing and financing experts to retailing and regulatory experts who will help guide discussion on a variety of topics.
And the hits just keep on coming for Monster Beverage. The energy drink giant is facing new scrutiny about the safety of its products, this time from the city attorney in San Francisco. In a letter sent to the company on Wednesday, Dennis J. Herrera alleged that Monster's marketing campaigns have led to “unsafe and irresponsible consumption of its products,” and asked Monster to substantiate its claims that consuming large amounts of its highly caffeinated drinks is safe for consumers.
