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Fueled by rising interest on issues regarding health and wellness, and a perfect storm in the legal and political landscape, the U.S. has seen a five-fold increase in the number of class action consumer fraud lawsuits brought against food and beverage companies from 2008 to 2012.
Koa, the first runner-up in BevNET's New Beverage Showdown 5, is marketed as an "organic water" made from 100 percent juice. Wait, what? A water made from juice? Yes, indeed. The company uses a unique and proprietary process to extract and clarify a blend of fruit and vegetable juices to create one of the most innovative water products that we've ever seen.
There’s no excuse – it’s time for my annual office cleaning column, where I look around my beverage collection and mine it for insight. This year it will be especially poignant (for me, at least) as in July I’m moving to a new office a few blocks from my present digs. I have to clear out as much as I can before the move, and that makes for sober reflection of the huge collection of beverages I’ve amassed over the course of 21 years in the industry.
Last week, BevNET Live Summer ’13 turned New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion into a networking and educational mecca for nearly 600 beverage entrepreneurs, suppliers, retailers, distributors. Below are five photo galleries from the event, each showcasing the range of premium content and opportunities offered to attendees of BevNET Live.
Sure, ready-to-drink tea remains a growth category, but the number of brands entering the space or extending current lines is increasing by the day. Crowded shelves makes branding and packaging of critical importance for brands to stand out amongst competing products. And the lack of a polished or innovative look is the most significant problem facing Pure Leaf, a line of iced tea drinks marketed by PepsiCo.
Filmed from within the cozy confines of the New Beverage Showdown lounge at BevNET Live Summer '13, we spoke with Justin Prochnow, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig LLP specializing in regulation affecting the beverage industry, who offered up a brief look at some of the most current and pressing legal issues facing beverage brands.
Seemingly every month, an energy drink company takes a black eye from a new, harrowing slate of news, another lawsuit, a demeaning study, a band of legislators with belts tied too tight and constituencies to appease. Whether justified or not, energy drinks have been painted as an evil that’s worthy of no more than the pariah life. But the industry isn’t exactly flabbergasted.
A semifinalist in the recently held New Beverage Showdown 5 at BevNET Live Summer '13, Minta is a new line of mint-flavored sodas. The brand comes in original and diet varieties, each of which are packaged in a proprietary 12 oz. bottle. While the drinks could use some minor tweaks in formulation, Minta has done a great job overall.
Accepting too many disparate offers has the potential to spread a brand too quickly or even to gut its identity. Therefore, several speakers at BevNET Live last week in New York City echoed Nancy Reagan, advising entrepreneurs to “just say ‘no.’”
As rising waves of demand attract new entrants into the probiotic beverage category, GoodBelly recently made a few significant moves to stand out from the crowd.
Neuro has found distribution in Target, and also killed Sun in favor of Daily. Although, since it's hard to have Daily without the Sun, it's kept the Vitamin D in Daily.
There are a number of energy drink companies that have incorporated coconut water into their products, but, generally speaking, it is an ingredient that often gets overpowered and lost among stronger flavors. Fortunately, that’s far from the case with this Hiball Energy's new Coconut Water variety. Instead, the beverage tastes, first and foremost, like a coconut water drink.
Simply put, the rapid emergence of Sparking ICE on the national stage has been nothing short of extraordinary. Yet, is it possible for the brand to sustain its stratospheric rise? Kevin Klock, the CEO of Talking Rain, has no doubt. In an interview at BevNET Live Summer ’13, Klock indicated that present sales of Sparkling ICE were just the tip of the iceberg and estimated that the brand would reach the $400 million mark by the end of the year.
Vita Coco, the number one-selling coconut water brand in the U.S., has introduced Vita Coco Kids to the market. Made with coconut water, filtered water, natural fruit flavors and vitamin C, the beverages, which come in wedge-shaped 6 oz. Tetra Pak containers with an attached straw, will hit shelves beginning in July.