Energy Shots: Big Money Little Package
Strike up the band. Living Essentials’ 5-Hour Energy is a billion-dollar brand. Recent Symphony/IRI numbers show that over the past year, 5-Hour has continued to grow at a rate of…
Review: Plan Tea
The ready to drink tea category is a crowded one, but new offerings are still popping up. Plan Tea is one of the better of those new entries, with a…
Capital Market Success: What Matters?
In the last year, hundreds of beverage companies have found themselves either looking for capital or a buyer. Neither is easy. What should they do to improve their odds of success? When raising capital of selling a company, what matters to the parties with the cash? To get to that “Promised Land”, what should entrepreneurs and their boards keep top-of-mind when handling key strategic decisions? All companies require capital at some point and investors need a return on their investment, likely through selling the company (the famous “exit”) or other methods like paying dividends and going public. In the last year, Silverwood Partners, where I work, has concluded multiple successful exclusive advisory engagements in the sale of beverage companies (Function Drinks to Sunsweet Growers) and capital raises (Zola, Maverick Brands/Sunkist Naturals).
Code Blue Revamps, Heads for Natural
It’s out of the nightclubs and into the health clubs for erstwhile hangover remedy Code Blue, which is relaunching with new packaging, flavors, and a slightly tweaked brand message this…
BevNET Live Winter 11: Early Registration Deadline Approaching
Early registration for BevNET Live Winter 11, which is being held on December 5 and 6 in Santa Monica, CA, is ending very soon (September 30th, to be exact). If you are planning on attending, it's time to register before the savings run out. Why should you attend? Aside from our recent program announcements (and more are coming...), BevNET Live Winter 11 will feature extensive learning and networking opportunities, including a reception (with open bar) on Monday evening. Plus, we'll have the Mini Expo and the return of the "New Beverage Showdown". Click here to find out more and to register.
Say What?
IT’S INTERESTING HOW EASILY we can slip from common-sense com-munication into the lingo of the beverage industry. I was reminded of this recently when speaking with the CEO of one…
BevNET TV: An Interview with Chris Cuvelier of Zola
Over the last nine months, Zola, which makes of a line of bottled Açaí and other superfruit juice products, completely redesigned its labeling, introduced two flavor line extensions, and launched…
Review: Karma Wellness Water
The latest entry into the cap dispensed enhanced water category (if such a thing exists) is Karma Wellness Water, an “acai pomberry” flavored product. The 18 oz. bottle starts out…
Pucker Up: Lemonade Becoming a Drink for All Seasons
Lemonade, that quintessential summertime drink, is becoming a drink for all seasons. No longer resigned to backyard barbecues and ball games, the category has seen a surge in year-round consumption.…
PepsiCo Shuffles Executive Deck: BevNET’s d’Amore Interview
About a month ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with PepsiCo’s Massimo d’Amore to discuss the role of entrepreneurial beverages and innovation within the Pepsi portfolio. I stumbled…
HINT’s Kara Goldin Selected as One of Fortune’s “Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs”
Fortune Magazine has chosen Hint’s Kara Goldin as one of its 2011 “Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs”. Goldin, the co-founder and CEO of Hint, a flavored water company, was selected among…
Review: Star Nectar
StarNectar resurrects a simple form of an ancient medical system known as Medical Astrology. Medical Astrologists based their treatments on the natural existing relationships between plants, planets, and the twelve…
Learn The Elements of Field Marketing at BevNET Live Winter 11
For upstart beverage brands, a field marketing "win" is the experience of having a potential consumer taste a product and enjoy it enough to buy it. But few brands approach the field with a full sense of how to achieve the most dynamic results with limited marketing resources. That's why BevNET Live is featuring an exciting presentation from Julie Suntrup -SVP Agency Marketing + Business Development at Switch, a St. Louis-based experiential marketing agency working to "move our clients' brands out of the consideration set and into trial, purchase, enjoyment and ultimately, advocacy." Their lengthy list of clients includesvitaminwater, Muscle Milk, 5-Hour Energy, PowerAde, NOS, Fuze, Coca-Cola, and Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Eye on Management: OJO Hires Cascadia
Remember OJO, the eye care beverage company that won the New Beverage Showdown at BevNET Live this past summer? They’ve signed a definitive management agreement with Cascadia Managing Brands to…