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.

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.

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.

Amid the recent wave of negative publicity surrounding energy drinks, and the ire of some elected leaders calling for greater oversight and regulation of the category, consumer perception of the top energy drink brands has fallen to its lowest level since 2009, according to consumer research firm YouGov.