BevNET Magazine July/August 2023

The First Drop

By Jeffrey Klineman

Lukewarm Results for Cold Brew Brands

There’s a couple of different ways of looking at the recent transactions involving RTD coffee brands La Colombe and High Brew. The first is that, when you add in the recent sale of Yasso ice cream treats, is that there’s been some thaw in the CPG M&A slowdown.

But the paired deals last month of cold brew brands High Brew (majority sale to Latin American beverage house BeLIV) and La Colombe ($300 million for a 33 percent stake to KDP), are also evidence of the slow road and many detours cold brew brands are going to continue to face on the road to a final exit.

High Brew’s quiet deal arrived for a brand that, despite hard work, an experienced team, and a head start with a solid strategy, ultimately failed to reach its commercial potential via a sale to one of the beverage giants. La Colombe, the majority of which is still owned by Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya, raked in a lot of growth capital but still has a long way to go in terms of category dominance. Both brands will continue to be important players in cold brew, but overall the transaction news seemed to go over like, well, lukewarm Joe.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Think back just a few years ago, when the coffee business all of a sudden seemed to expand from just the Pepsi/Starbucks distributed Frappuccinos to all manner of cold brewed, concentrated, refrigerated, bottled, canned, ambient and exotic riffs on coffee, with specialty “third wave” shops like Blue Bottle, Stumptown, and Cuvee joining RTD entrepreneurs from Grady’s, Rise, Nitro, Pop & Bottle, Wandering Bear, Califia, Lucky Jack, and more.

Early exits for specific product types - Chameleon, for example, on the strength of its concentrate focus, sold to Nestle early on - coupled with a massive jump in overall quality and a growing thirst for caffeine among consumers ratcheted up interest among entrepreneurs, brands, and investors. Like craft beer, this new wave of canned coffee showed improved taste and hyped up caffeine levels, encouraging founders who could take an alternative attitude and aggressive branding to the store at a very tidy margin, one whose high price point had been buoyed by years of consumers getting accustomed to the prices at fancy chains.

So why haven’t we seen more coffee entrepreneurs sell their brands? After all, there have been so many launches and such incredible innovation, from snap-chilling to Nitro-infusion to functional additions like mushrooms, protein, Ashwagandha, flavor variety, milk and alt-milk variations, small cans, big bottles, shots and plastic reproductions of the typical Greek diner to-go cup.

Oh. Maybe that’s why? At least, over proliferation of varieties, while something that might be great for consumers, isn’t something that has helped the brands. Too many great choices, and too many small variations, with so many changes that they hamper loyalty and repeat purchase. Bulletproof leaned into the keto-diet associated MCT craze, which traded taste for functionality. Forto, another early coffee brand that touted its heavy caffeine content and received investment from KDP, also had flavor problems.

Meanwhile, the pandemic wreaked havoc on the plans of so many of these brands. Just as energy drinks were hit during the pause in grab-and-go business as so many workers stayed

home, so too were RTD coffee pick-me-ups. Coffee was easier to make at home, and the rise of brands like Chamberlain Coffee, which started as a D2C bean and bag play, helped distract an in-home audience from the stuff available in stores.

For some reason, aside from the North American Coffee Partnership that brought you the RTD Frappuccino, big beverage companies haven’t been able to wrap their heads around coffee distribution. KDP, after all, makes billions of dollars selling coffee machines and pods, but still hasn’t been able to get an RTD brand off the ground (we’ll see how they do with La Colombe). Ditto for Coke, which bought European brand Costa coffee but has still spent years beating the bushes for a domestic brand.

Also -- and this is something that hurt the HPP juice explosion as well – coffee is available everywhere, in so many forms, and just as juice brands competed with the superior products available fresh, the expansion of high-end coffee joints (many of whom also sell their own premium iced drinks) are an effective competitor to the RTDs. Beyond that, the primary consumption state, at least if you’re not from Boston and addicted to Dunkin’s Iced Coffee, is hot, not cold. The founder cohort in RTD has done a remarkable job of rewiring consumer brains to improve the viability of cold coffee as an option, but for most use occasions, a hot cup of Joe still rules, Additionally, in the cold box, while many coffee brands saw themselves making inroads as substitutes for energy drinks, that category is also finding its way into the coffee space as well. Monster Energy’s Java Monster is a huge seller in its own right (and it’s locked down trademarks against competitor Super Coffee abroad) and as with the Frappuccino, it appeals to a generation of C-Store consumers who feel like their coffee energy should come in the form of a sweet treat.

There is one insurgent brand, Black Rifle Coffee Co., that has at least partially cut through the clutter, although its ultimate ability to consolidate share is in question because it’s a polarizing brand. BRCC effectively rode early political rhetoric and a bean, cafe, and eventually RTD strategy into a position among category leaders. But after going public via a SPAC, it’s faced a variety of legal challenges and is now judged as much by share price as it is by revenue. Still, its founders cashed in on the brand’s potential in a category where few founders have been able to say the same.

Whether there are more deals to come in the space is likely to be the topic of many discussions running late into the evening. At least there’s plenty of product around to keep the conversationalists alert.

Photo by Samara

By Barry Nathanson

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ART & PRODUCTION

In two weeks I will be turning 75, so allow me to be a bit philosophical. It’s unfathomable to grasp that number, yet here it is. I still think of myself as the hippie I was, spending my twenties on the road. I have been blessed with good health, good friends and, most of all, a great family. They are my reason for being. Having both kids, their spouses, and my granddaughter all living within a half mile of us is the most joyful feeling of all. I’ve also been blessed professionally, spending 32 years involved in the beverage industry. As you get to this stage, most people have a greater appreciation of what’s important in life, personally and professionally. I’m lucky, I guess, in that I’ve always had that appreciation, I’m lucky, I guess.

I still wake up every day excited about coming to my satellite office in midtown Manhattan. I spend my day immersed in the business of beverages. I touch and am touched by so many people that I come in contact with, that the day seems to fly by. I love to hear/see the excitement of a new launch, reposition, new branding and packaging. When someone has a successful funding raise, I’m as happy as they are. I want everyone to succeed. I’m flattered that so many want my advice or taste buds when they are putting

together their game plan. I guess seeing and sampling thousands of products qualifies me as an expert. I always try to be honest and transparent in sharing my opinion. Whenever possible I serve as a conduit to bringing people together, be it suppliers, investors, personnel hires and creative sorts that can assist in bringing brands to life. Sometimes, just being a sounding board or shoulder to cry on is one of my most important roles.

I have witnessed the evolution of an industry over these 32 years. I’ve seen generations of beverage marketers come and go. There are so many legends I’ve come to know, and I don’t know that their time will ever be seen again. The climate has changed and so have the larger than life personalities. It’s more of a business now. I guess that’s progress. I’ve seen categories created, formulations unimaginable years ago. branding brilliance and the long overdue movement towards healthier products. The brands coming out are a touchstone of what beverages should be.

I’ve been blessed to be involved in such a great industry, with the greatest of people. It’s been a beverage life well lived; only 25 more years to go before I celebrate a century with you all. Maybe then I’ll get back on the road again.

Aaron Willette DESIGN MANAGER

Nathan Brescia DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY BEVNET.COM, INC.

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Gerry’s Insights

By Gerry Khermouch

Bang Gets Bumped

“Not with a bang but a whimper,” the poet T.S. Eliot wrote in “The Hollow Men.” With the pun intended, that pretty much sums up the end of Bang Energy’s run as an independent company. As I wrote this, a judge had just approved the sale of the assets of its owner, VPX Sports, to its largest creditor – and intense rival –Monster Beverage. A Federal Trade Commission that at least theoretically is more pugnacious these days certainly had ample grounds to question the potential anticompetitive impact of the #1 energy player buying what until recently was the #3, but the agency punted under pressure from Bang attorneys who warned that the company would spiral into liquidation during the weeks it took to make any such determination. What happens from here remains unclear: if the brand doesn’t slide into the bottling system of Monster’s strategic distributor Coca-Cola but rather into the beer houses Monster cultivates for its alcohol entries and its non-energy entries on the non-alcoholic side, it may retain a vestige of its clout as a profit-maker for the distributors outside the soft drink systems who’ve been so crucial to the path of innovation in non-alcoholic beverages. That’s probably a long shot, and in any case, it enters a Monster Beverage portfolio that already is stocked with the purported Bang-killer Reign and a plethora of lower-priced, “fighter” brands. That doesn’t augur well for the continued relevance of Bang.

So in most ways, it’s the end of an era. Or, as I wrote in my newsletter Beverage Business Insights, the end of an error. Really, a decade-long series of errors, from the branding to the overstepping of its now ousted owner and CEO Jack Owoc and his gratuitous taunting of the coCEOs of Monster. Still, if the whimpering end of the company as an independent player was a fairly predictable outcome of Owoc’s compounded errors, that still doesn’t much soften the sense of loss this event has brought for the brand that inaugurated the performance energy segment and unleashed a broad bout of innovation in a consolidating sector. Certainly, even as the clock ticked in the courtroom, there was no lack of beer wholesalers who thought that, in the right hands, the brand was ripe for resurrection.

So what are some of the errors I’m talking about? For starters, the branding itself was an error. (And not just because the B in Bang had to be quickly changed after Beats headphones marketers cried foul.) Though Owoc brilliantly leveraged his internal media machine to ride the efficacy of its core “super creatine” ingredient for all it was worth, that turned out to be a lie. There is no such thing as super creatine, as Monster’s attorneys showed in their successful lawsuit over the issue, and that case’s outcome helped to send Bang spiraling into bankruptcy protection last fall. That key identifier now has been stripped off the cans and scrubbed from most online communications, though it’s not clear how many Bang users have noticed or would even care at this stage. As another lawsuit funded by Monster showed, VPX erred in another way: in not taking seriously a warning from Bang brand licensor Orange Bang that it was abusing its rights, using brand far beyond the limited channels it had been granted. That yielded another adverse ruling that contributed to the bankruptcy.

Then there is the heightened 300-mg caffeine level ushered in by Bang and much imitated by other players. Was that another error? It’s too early to say on that one, although as of this writing there are ominous signs that this may be resurging as an issue among our guardians of public health, both institutional and self-appointed. By chance, Bang came along just before energy drink leaders were about to be summoned to Capitol Hill to address concerns that their products were causing health issues, particularly among vulnerable groups like kids. The major companies agreed to revamp their marketing codes and assured listening senators they would keep caffeine content to responsible levels. But that was before Bang ignited. As it did, that assurance got harder for them to uphold. By now, most leading brands except Red Bull have incorporated 300 mg products into their energy portfolios. After those hearings a decade ago, Congress ordered FDA to do a deep dive into the dangers of caffeine but the agency couldn’t find anything alarming and the issue subsided. Some in the energy business have warned all along that it could arise again and it is now, this

time in a segment with a lot more brands nudging closer to the FDA’s 400 mg recommended daily caffeine limit.

Finally, Owoc definitely erred in his unrestrained personal attacks on his actual and perceived adversaries. Those included his erstwhile distribution partner PepsiCo, whom he publicly “fired,” Trump-style, never mind that his contract didn’t allow him to do that, moving that already strained relationship into its toxic terminal phase. Owoc would have had ample warnings of the risks of that, given a rich history of beverage founders whose intemperate outbursts wore out their welcome at strategic allies. Just as fatally, those targets also included Monster’s co-leaders, Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg, whom Owoc continually called out on social media. Sacks (a highly successful lawyer before he became an entrepreneur) and Schlosberg were stocked with a formidable corporate arsenal with which to take Owoc to the wall legally, and they dismantled his legal defenses and quasi-defenses brilliantly in the two cases I mentioned earlier. The combined judgments, along with fallout from the unwinding of the Pepsi distribution alliance, put VPX into that financial death spiral that eliminated a true disruptor to the energy segment. Whatever happens to the brand now in the hands of its new, unsympathetic owner, it truly is the end of an era. Sure, Owoc probably had it coming, but among those I talk to, there isn’t much glee in this outcome.

Longtime beverage-watcher Gerry Khermouch is executive editor of Beverage Business Insights, a twice-weekly e-newsletter covering the nonalcoholic beverage sector.

KDP, La Colombe Partnership Shakes Up Canned Coffee Category

Keurig Dr Pepper announced on July 20 that it is investing $300 million in Philadelphia-based coffee company La Colombe, making it the second largest investor in the brand – behind majority owner and chairman Hamdi Ulukaya –with a 33% equity stake.

The long-term licensing, manufacturing and distribution agreement positions KDP to expand its coffee portfolio with a trailblazer in the ready-to-drink category. La Colombe is expected to benefit from KPD’s distribution network and the beverage giant’s influence on the coffee pod segment while using the capital infusion to “accelerate growth and pay off debt,” the company reported in a press release.

According to the two companies, KDP will begin distributing La Colombe products later this year with a launch of a K-Cup line planned for sometime in 2024.

“We are excited to partner with Hamdi and the La Colombe team to drive value for both companies,” KDP chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort said in a statement. “This partnership will enable KDP to expand its reach into high growth ready-todrink and super premium coffee segments and will meaningfully increase La Colombe’s availability to consumers.”

The expansion of its premium and RTD offerings comes as KDP has seen a slight decline in its coffee business. On its most recent Q1 earnings call, KDP leadership reported that coffee segment net sales decreased -1.3% to $931 million during the quarter as net prices increased 5.3% and volume fell -6.6%.

The deal should allow KDP to stanch some of the losses that are coming in its K-Cup business – sales dropped -6% in 2022 – and gives it another shot at tapping into the RTD coffee category, which has grown significantly in the past few years, powered largely by innovative, premium brands like La Colombe itself, as well as rising competitors such as Califia, STOK and Black Rifle.

KDP has been steadily building out a premium coffee pod business, landing recent partnerships with Philz, Intelligentsia and BLK & Bold. While La Colombe serves as a

solid addition to its K-Cup business, the partnership represents an even more serious play in the RTD category for the strategic, with La Colombe’s vertically integrated canned coffee business giving it a new brand to pit against Starbucks’ Frappuccino and other brands like Monster and Super Coffee.

La Colombe started as a cafe and coffee roaster more than 30 years ago. The company initially made waves in retail with cold brew and single-serve nitro-infused lattes, the brainchild of co-founder and former CEO Todd Carmichael, who largely left the brand’s leadership team in 2021.

According to figures provided to BevNET by Circana, as of April 23, La Colombe’s RTD draft latte and other single-serve products had trailing 52week sales in combined retail channels (including C-Store, Grocery, Drug, Mass Market, Military and select Club and Dollar stores) of just over $28 million (a -4.3% decline over the previous 52-week period), while its ambient cold brew had sold just over $12 million during the same period (down -9.3%) and refrigerated coffee sales were at about $24 million, up 86% over the same time. Those retail figures don’t include the brand’s robust vending and on-premise sales, its cafes, ecommerce, or its roasting business.

The joint announcement noted that the $300 million investment represented a multiple of approximately three times La Colombe’s expected net sales for 2024. KDP will participate in any value created from the deal – something that worked well for the company with the sale of BodyArmor to Coca-Cola, for example, when the company took home approximately $800 million for its 12.5% stake.

“With a 30-year legacy of delivering the best coffee and exceptional brand experiences for our customers, we have become a beloved coffee brand with the highest standards of quality. This remarkable journey sets the stage for our continued expansion, and partnering with KDP is the ideal next step to accelerating our growth and continuing our mission of making people happy with coffee,” said Chuck Chupein, President of La Colombe.

PRIME Responds After Sen. Schumer Calls for FDA Investigation

As a pro fighter, Logan Paul has gone up against Damian Priest, Floyd Mayweather, and even his own PRIME co-founder KSI. But could his next public bout be with the senior Senator from New York?

In a letter sent to the agency on July 9, U.S. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for the Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME’s energy drink line, arguing the beverage contains an “eye popping level of caffeine for a young kid’s body.”

Operated by Congo Brands, PRIME’s sports drink line launched in January 2022 and is now one of the fastest growing beverage brands in the country thanks to its nigh-instant popularity with Paul and KSI’s fanbase and has been particularly desired among kids and teens.

According to Circana, as of April 23, 2023 PRIME’s core hydration line had become the fifth largest brand in the sports drink category – just behind Electrolit, and catching up – reporting over $273.1 million in retail dollar sales at a four-digit growth rate. The brand has also launched internationally, including the U.K., Australia and more.

But it’s PRIME’s canned energy drink, introduced in January, that has Schumer calling for an investigation. The line contains 200 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. can, which places it well above products like Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar, but is about in line with the caffeine content offered by other next gen energy drinks like Celsius, Ghost and C4. It even rates well below the 300 mg per 16 oz. caffeine loads offered by Bang and Monster’s Reign.

The FDA considers up to 400 mg of caffeine per day as being safe for “healthy adults,” bearing in mind there is a wide variation in caffeine sensitivity person to person. On its website, the agency refers consumers to their healthcare providers to receive guidance on monitoring childrens’ caffeine intake.

The company is now defending its products and said it is open to talk with the FDA about industry guidelines. In a statement to BevNET, the brand said it is “very important to make the distinction” between its non-caffeinated PRIME Hydration line and the energy drinks, noting that PRIME Energy “con-

High Brew Sells Majority Stake to Beliv

High Brew Coffee, one of the first “third-wave” canned cold brew brands in the U.S., was acquired by Latin American beverage portfolio company Beliv in late July.

Beliv has taken a 78% stake in the company, with the remaining 22% still owned by High Brew’s investors and its founder and CEO David Smith. Smith will remain with the brand as a consultant. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“This acquisition is essential to continue developing a wellpositioned and solid portfolio, backed by a consumer-centric vision,” said Beliv founder and CEO Carlos Sluman in a press release. “With High Brew we are adding a disruptive product in a booming category, through its distribution to 15,000 sale points in the U.S. and the collaboration with 54 strategic partners”.

“Undoubtedly, we share the same identity, commitment and vocation,” Smith stated, adding that “sustainability will continue to be a differential value in the operation since High Brew needs the best beans to make the best coffee, and this means supporting all those who participate in the value chain.”

Founded in 2013, High Brew helped to kickstart the cold brew coffee trend in the U.S. In 2016, it received a $4 million investment from CAVU Venture Partners and entered into a stra-

tains a comparable amount of caffeine to other top selling energy drinks, all falling within the legal limit of the countries it’s sold in” and that the line is “not made for anyone under the age of 18.”

“As a brand, our top priority is consumer safety, so we welcome discussions with the FDA or any other organization regarding suggested industry changes they feel are necessary in order to protect consumers.”

Circana reported that PRIME Energy had surpassed $42.5 million in U.S. retail dollar sales in the 52-weeks ending April 23, after fewer than four full months on the market.

However, PRIME’s wide popularity with kids has already led schools in the U.K. and Australia to issue bans for the energy drink in school out of concern for student health.

Schumer claims there’s been little difference in the online marketing between PRIME’s caffeine free hydration line and its energy drink, arguing that the brand “feverishly targets” kids, and he suggested any FDA investigation should focus on both ingredients and marketing.

tegic distribution agreement with what at the time was Dr Pepper Snapple Group, prior to its transition into Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP). In 2018, the brand closed a $20 million Series C round.

Though its distribution arrangement with KDP has since ended, High Brew is sold in 15,000 retail locations nationwide –including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Albertsons/Safeway, Kroger, H-E-B, Costco, Raley’s, Wegmans and The Fresh Market – as well as online. The brand offers 11 flavors made with 100% Arabica beans.

According to the release, the deal fits into Beliv’s U.S. expansion strategy, which has focused on building a portfolio of better-for-you beverage brands through acquisition (such as its 2021 purchase of kombucha brand Big Easy) and innovation (plant-based energy line OCA).

While it proved pivotal to establishing the cold brew trend, High Brew has since seen much of its market share overtaken by competitors in the set like Starbucks, Danone North America’s STOK, La Colombe and Chobani.

Market research firm Circana reported retail dollar sales of High Brew cold brew coffees was down -31% to about $4.8 million in the 52-week period ending April 23. Ecommerce data was not included.

Star Buzz: Blake Lively Launches Low-Alc RTD

Blake Lively is the newest celebrity to jump into the booze world, although she’s already had one foot in the door.

Lively’s Betty Buzz, a sparkling mixer brand, announced in June its newest venture, Betty Booze, a low line of lowalc, premium sparkling cocktails.

The launch is part of the company’s strategy “to win new audiences and occasions by challenging conventions of taste in sparkling beverage – and beyond,” read a statement.

Betty Booze will debut with three 4.5% ABV cocktail offerings made from highquality fruits, spices, herbs, and spirits, that come in 4-packs of 12 oz cans for $14.99. Flavors include: Sparkling Tequila with Lime Shiso, Sparkling Tequila with Oak Smoked Lemonade, and Sparkling Bourbon with Apple Ginger Sour Cherry. The new product is rolling out in most key markets this year with plans to expand nationally by spring 2024.

The actor, who herself doesn’t drink

alcohol, worded her inspiration for the line carefully. Another high profile recent ready-to-drink cocktail launch, Jennifer Lopez’s Delola, received some criticism from fans who pointed to comments from Lopez referencing her alcohol-free lifestyle.

“These are the recipes I’ve been making for loved ones for years. But I have four kids now. And I’m tired. So here they are in a can. Enjoy. Responsibly… ish,” Lively said in a statement.

Known for her roles in shows like Gossip Girl and films such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Lively, working alongside co-founder Andrew T. Chrisomalis, has found a niche in the mixer category, which grew double-digits following consumers making their own cocktails at home during COVID lockdowns. Mindful drinking trends have also helped fuel start-ups in the space.

Since 2021, Betty Buzz has reported year-over-year retail sales growth, ex-

tending its distribution to the UK and Canada, and becoming the official sponsor of the UK-based Wrexham Association Football Club (AFC), which is coowned by Lively’s husband actor and gin entrepreneur Ryan Renolds.

The move into low-ABV cocktails comes as the no/low $11 billion global business is projected to grow 7% in volume over the next four years, according to IWSR.

Coffee Connection: Equator Teams With Swiss Dairy Giant on Premium RTD Cold Brews

Equator Coffee is teaming with Swiss dairy giant Emmi AG on a joint venture that kicks off with the launch of a fourSKU line of premium refrigerated cold brews this summer.

For publicly traded Emmi Group, a more than century-old milk and cheese processor that raked in over $4 billion in revenue last year, the partnership with San Francisco Bay Area-based thirdwave coffee specialists Equator represents its entrance into the U.S. RTD market, but its international presence in the category is well established. The company’s Caffe Latte brand is a leader in Europe, selling over 200 million units annually of its mini to-go coffee cups, according to the company.

Former KeVita and Ugly Drinks exec Brett Lanford is leading the Emmi Equator RTD project, which formally launched in 2022, three years after Emmi’s leadership and Equator co-founders Helen Russell and Brooke McDonald agreed to form a U.S.-based LLC. The specialty coffee roaster has been around since 1995 and has developed traction in culinary circles through collaborations with chefs like Tanya Holland and Brandon Jew, but is previously untested in the RTD world.

“We believe that coffee is more than just a beverage,” said Russell in a press release. “It’s a way to connect with others, to create memories, and to build community. We’re delighted to team up with Emmi on a premium cold brew range that broadens our existing selection of specialty coffee and lets customers enjoy the experience they’ve come to expect from Equator Coffees while on the go.”

Despite Emmi’s success with Caffe Latte, its U.S. release takes a decidedly different approach, starting with the packaging. That may be due to copyright restrictions – Dyla Brands’ Forto coffee reportedly has the patent on coffee cup packaging for RTDs – but not according to Lanford, who identified glass bottles as one of the primary distinguishing factors gleaned from a year’s worth of R&D and consumer testing, along with Fair Trade and organic certification.

“The other thing that we heard [from consumers] was wanting something that tasted like it came from a cafe,” he said. “And so that was something we leaned into heavily: getting that right balance of coffee to milk to sugar ratio with our recipes so that you get that cafe experience you get that crafted beverage feel.”

The final result aims to align the straightforward (and sweeter) flavors favored by RTD fans with Equator’s serious coffee credentials: organic, Fair Trade certified cold brews in 8.5 oz glass bottles in four varieties– Pure Black, plus the dairy-based Hint of Milk and Sugar (16 grams of sugar), Velvet Mocha (18 grams) and Hint of Vanilla (16 grams). The suggested price is $3.99 to $4.99 each.

The Emmi Equator joint venture is just one of several divisions of the Swiss corporation operating independently in the U.S., and certainly the leanest. Lanford is leading the business alongside VP of sales Ryan Sowards, who joined the company after helping another glass bottle coffee brand – Lucky Jack – expand its reach from specialty to conventional grocery channels in the later 2010s. Each company will retain its existing sales teams for other parts of its respective businesses, whether wholesale coffee or dairy, while manufacturing of the RTDs is being handled by a California-based co-packer.

Getting an early start has paid off: Sowards was already talking with San Francisco area retailers about the prod-

uct while it was still being finalized, Lanford said, securing a slate of 270 stores to enter on day one, including Safeway, Whole Foods, Mollie Stone’s, Nugget and others. The line has since entered Erehwon in Los Angeles, with Bristol Farms set to come online next month. The company is also working with The Touch Agency as a broker.

In terms of marketing, Equator’s RTDs will be featured alongside the roaster’s whole bean coffees within existing social channels. The brand is also hoping that placements inside its 10 cafe locations across California will help lift awareness for the new product.

Even as momentum behind RTD cold brew continues, the venture faces a complex route to growth. Despite its partnership with an international goliath (JAB Group), fellow Bay Area specialty roaster Peet’s struggled to gain traction for its similarly positioned glass bottle, refrigerated cold brews, even with its own dedicated cold-chain distribution setup. Within single-serving coffees, La Colombe’s new partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) may result in tighter competition for placements, although that product is shelf-stable.

“I just saw a white space here that Equator can be a national brand,” Lanford said. “There’s this great opportunity to introduce this beautiful, early stage third-wave coffee to the entire U.S. market and I just wanted to be a part of that.”

MASH Appeal: Boylan-Owned MASH Rebrands with Ambitions Beyond N.Y. Market

Founded in 1891, craft soda maker Boylan Bottling has proven it knows a thing or two about maintaining a national beverage business. And in revamping its sparkling fruit drink line MASH, it’s aiming to do it a second time.

Earlier this summer, Boylan announced a rebranding and new format for MASH, moving the product from proprietary 16 oz. plastic bottles to 12 oz. slim cans. As well, the products have been reformulated to remove artificial coloring and the line has been reduced from six flavors to four, with the updated offering featuring Ripe Mango Blood Orange, Pomegranate Blueberry, Grapefruit Citrus Zing and Watermelon Lemon Lime.

It’s a big change for MASH, which launched in 2008 as a lighter indulgence drink built around “smashing” together different fruit flavors. Each can contains 60-70 calories and is sweetened with fructose and sucralose.

According to Boylan Bottling COO Chase Slepak, MASH has been a small but profitable business for the company, however it has consistently struggled to break out beyond its cult favorite status in independent New York City delis and bodegas, where it has been serviced by DSD house Big Geyser. Outside of New York, the brand is sold as a grab-and-go beverage in quick service restaurants and in “very, very limited grocery” accounts with fewer than 10 distribution partners, Slepak added.

“I’ve heard multiple people refer to it as a bit of a sleeper brand,” Slepak told BevNET. “The liquid is great, but it just never really had mass appeal outside of the Northeast and in a few secondary markets.”

One big issue holding MASH back, Slepak said, was also what some at the company saw as its greatest strength: the unique squat plastic bottle. While the bottle design helped to entice consumers, it was difficult for retailers to fit onto glide racks, took up more ambient shelf space, and made multipacks impos-

sible to produce – effectively killing any chance for the brand to grow in conventional grocery stores.

Although moving into a canned format risks robbing MASH of a defining visual difference, the switch also has some big benefits beyond simplifying logistics. Aluminum packaging gives MASH a boost in its sustainability bonafides, while also giving it more flexibility in use occasions; the company noted that the new design has a “mocktail” feel, better positioning the product as a mixer or non-alcoholic alternative in addition to basic refreshment.

The cans have already begun rolling out to stores in New York through a prelaunch with Big Geyser and the company will support the rebranding this summer with a marketing campaign focused on bodegas, including point of sale displays and branded trucks. For a company that traditionally keeps its ad expenses as minimal as possible – it spends next to nothing annually to promote the core Boylan soda brand – the increased marketing support reflects a big investment in MASH.

According to brand and insights manager Cassidy Meyer, the new campaign

will kick off in August and will bill MASH as “the second best thing you’ll find in a bodega” – second only after the bodega cat, of course.

“It’s really targeting that younger consumer that likes the tongue-in-cheek self aware brand attitude,” Meyer said. “We know we’re not Coke or Pepsi, we’re not the functional beverage that will make your life 100 times better. We’re just a really good product that’ll go great with the sandwich that you’re grabbing.”

Boylan will also support MASH with new hires on the sales and marketing team, while Slepak noted that the brand has restructured its national accounts team to focus more on expanding MASH outside of NYC, with new distribution partners coming online this summer including a bigger push into Massachusetts.

“We’re in a unique situation where for a lot of the country it’s not a refresh, it’s a new product,” Slepak said. “For legitimately 90% of the U.S. it’s a new brand, but for that 10% legacy market where we’ve been very successful, it’s a refresh. So our strategies are very different, kind of by geography and market given those unique challenges.”

Oatly: Forecasts Slashed After Asia Slowdown

Oatly is pushing to simplify and streamline its operations after a disappointing quarterly earnings report saw the Swedish oat product maker slash its 2023 revenue forecast range from 23% to 28% to a dire 7% to 12%. Still, CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin said the company continues to make “progress towards our goal of achieving profitable growth in 2024.”

“As expected, we continued our sequential improvement of gross margin and increased our advertising investments to continue to fuel growth,” Flatin said, adding that he still expects the company to achieve its target Q4 gross margin percentage in the high 20s and hit positive adjusted EBITDA in 2024.

Overall, revenue increased 10.1% year-over-year to $196 million; on a constant currency basis, revenue was up 11.1%. Gross margin increased 340 basis points in the quarter (+19.2%), with volume rising 3%.

Oatly’s sagging business in Asia was a particular focus during the quarter; last year’s optimistic outlook was driven in part by predictions of a “large post-pandemic tailwind” in the region that “has not materialized,” admitted COO Daniel Ordoñez. However, revenue during Q2 dropped 14.9% ($6.5 million) to $37.2 million. In response, the company announced actions around “simplification of the portfolio of products and reduced operating costs.”

In the post-pandemic era, Flatin said, consumers have ”behaved differently than we had originally expected, and we need to adjust.”

Elsewhere, Oatly performed better. With supply issues seemingly addressed, revenue in the Americas was up 19.4% ($10.1 million) to $61.8 million in Q2, driven primarily by price increases across all customers and channels. Around 51.2% of Americas revenue was

from retail, compared to 55.3% in the same period last year. EBITDA improved $8.1 million to a loss of $12.6 million, down from a loss of $20.7 million.

The oat milk brand is targeting around $85 million in cost savings in 2024, with fewer project-related expenses, less spending on outside consulting and the elimination of certain jobs. Marketing will not be part of those cuts, however. Back in March, Ordonez noted that, with U.S. supply chain snags under control, “The reality is now we can unleash the power of the brand.”

Failing to Find New Source of Funding, Tattooed Chef Declares Chapter

11

Frozen plant-based meal brand Tattooed Chef has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the publicly traded company announced via a press release on July 5.

“Our business has continued to be impacted by a challenging financing environment and an inability to raise additional capital,” Tattooed Chef chairman and CEO Salvatore “Sam” Galletti, stated in the press release. “The actions we are announcing today are designed to promote a fast, efficient, and value-maximizing sale, which will allow us to provide clarity on the future of the company for all our stakeholders.”

Filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, court documents indicate the company plans to pursue a sale of “substantially all of its assets” under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Next steps, lawyers said in the filing, are to list all assets and evaluate any bids received, a process that will be overseen by the bankruptcy court. In emergency motions, Tattooed Chef also petitioned for access to cash collateral and $3 million in loans in order to keep the business afloat and maintain its value for a future sale.

The company cited an inability to raise additional capital, either by selling additional shares or via “alternative financing and funding solutions.” In addition, the bankruptcy filing noted, the company explored various “reductions in expenses” such as reductions in its labor force. At this point, the company has more than 1,600 creditors.

“Due to the debtors’ restated financial statements, changes in the capital markets, and the general economic conditions affecting the Debtors’ market segment, the debtors were unable to obtain any new financing,” the filing noted. “[Between 2020 to 2022], the debtors’ liquidity became constrained and the debtors fell behind on payments to suppliers and other parties necessary to the continued operation and profitability of their business.”

For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, Tattooed Chef reported revenue of $230 million, up from $208 million the year prior, for a year-over-year growth rate of 11%. Still, net loss grew to $141 million for the fiscal year and adjusted EBITDA was negative $91.7 million. Though the company was able to reduce total operating expenses in the first quarter of 2023 by 37% compared to the same period in 2022, and reduced losses from Q4 of 2022, net revenue also declined by $8.6 million to $59 million.

Founded in 2017, Tattooed Chef produces an array of frozen products, including meals, pizza, burritos, smoothie bowls, sold under its Tattooed Chef brand as well as private label offerings. In total, the company sells 132 SKUs across 21,000 retailers and has 175 concepts and recipes in the R&D stage. Tattooed Chef was created, and went public, via a 2020 reverse merger between Ittella International and the publicly traded Forum Merger II Corporation, a transaction that valued the plant-based meal company at roughly $482 million.

Alongside Sam Galletti, his daughter, Sarah Galletti, serves as the company’s chief creative officer and largely acts as the public face of the company. In addition, the company has 800 full time employees in the U.S. and 140 full time employees in Italy.

From April 2021 through August 2022, Tattooed Chef spent over $66 million to acquire a sizable pool of assets including: Ittella Italy SRL (“Ittella Italy”), a 100,000 square foot processing plant in Italy; New Mexico Food Distributors; Karsten Tortilla Factory; Belmont Confections and Desert Premium Group. The debtors also lease processing facilities in California, New Mexico and Ohio; as well as storage facilities in Italy and California.

According to the court filing, at the time of Tattooed Chef’s IPO the brand had household awareness of under 6% and was only available in 4 major retailers, for less than 4,000 doors. By 2022, household awareness was at over 26% and door count had increased to around 20,000 doors. To try to further drive sales, earlier this year the company expanded beyond frozen into refrigerated snack bars and tortilla chips.

Still, this accelerated growth has come at a cost, with the bankruptcy document stating that Tattooed Chef has invested over $100 million into marketing and promotions over the three year time period. Revenue also did not keep pace, the company reported in the document, growing from $147 million in 2020 to $230 million in 2022.

The bankruptcy filing comes on the heels of other legal woes, with several lawsuits stemming from the company’s October 2022 disclosure that its 2021 annual report and first, second and third quarter earnings contained material errors such as overstating revenue and understating net losses. According to the allegations, even once the error was discovered, executives continued to downplay the scope of the company’s financial difficulties or the lack of internal controls that had led to the issue.

The bankruptcy news also follows several other notable closures by plant-based companies, with both The Meatless Farm and The Very Good Food Company running into financial difficulties in the last five months.

Unilever Buys Yasso As Part of ‘Premiumization Strategy’

stick bars, frozen greek yogurt sandwiches, mochi and Poppables – a chocolate coated frozen yogurt snack that was recently relaunched as a better-for-you, Dibs-like competitor.

Frozen novelty brand Yasso announced it will be acquired by global conglomerate Unilever in a deal that is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor to Yasso in the transaction, and Ropes & Gray served as the Company’s legal advisor.

“I am delighted to welcome Yasso to the Unilever family,” said Matt Close, president of ice cream for Unilever, in a statement. “It has built a strong customer appeal in the fast-growing, premium ‘better for you’ segment.

At NOSH Live last winter, Yasso CEO Craig Shiesley said the company estimated its 2022 sales would hit $240 million and said the brand was on track to eclipse $300 million in 2023. Unilever’s ice cream portfolio also includes Magnum, Breyer’s, Talenti and Ben & Jerry’s.

Yasso was founded in Boston by Amanda Klane and Drew Harrington in 2009 and backed by Castanea Partners, also an investor in ice cream brand Jeni’s. In 2019 the company brought on Shiesley as CEO and relocated to Colorado in order to focus on growing beyond its homebase in the Northeast.

Yasso is now distributed in thousands of retailers including Whole Foods Market, Walmart, CVS, Target, Kroger, Costco and Safeway with a low-calorie product line that includes stick bars, dipped

Though the emphasis on bars has remained constant since its founding, the brand’s portfolio has taken various shapes over the years and once included pints and smaller kids’ bars. In 2021, as it evaluated possible line extensions, Yasso launched popsicle brand Jüve and tested sales online as well as in a limited number of retailers; however, Jüve’s website now says the line has “melted away.”

For Unilever, adding Yasso will support the multinational’s planned “premiumization strategy” for its ice cream division. The brand will likely roll up to Russel Lilly, President North America Ice Cream at Unilever, a 17-year veteran of the company who has worked within the division for the last five years.

In January 2022 Unilever executives announced the company would be reorganized into five distinct business units, one of which would be dedicated solely to ice cream. Moving forward, each division would be “fully responsible and accountable for their strategy, growth, and profit delivery globally.”

The move was beneficial, Close noted in a recent Unilever blog post,

allowing the group to better focus its domain expertise and “get to market faster, make quicker decisions and take more experimental risks.” Digital solutions and delivery programs will be another core focal area for growth, he said, in order to offset a portion of the seasonality the category faces in retail and out-of-home. For example, last summer Unilever expanded the reach of its ghost storefront, The Ice Cream Shop, through a partnership with Instacart. That program now allows consumers across the country to have Unilever-owned treats delivered in as fast as 30 minutes.

There’s a lot of cash at stake given how much of Unilever’s overall sales come from ice cream. At last December’s annual investor presentation, Clouse said that at the end of 2021, Unilever’s ice cream business was valued at $7.7 billion and had grown 3% over the last three years.

In addition to looking for expansions in low-sugar and low-calorie spaces, the ice cream team saw the greatest opportunity for growth in its premium lines, where it could invest heavily in R&D and marketing. At the time of the presentation, Clouse said premium brands Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum alone were expected to represent 50% of Unilever’s share of ice cream sales by 2025.

Mars Enters Agreement To Buy Kevin’s Natural Foods

Mars, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Kevin’s Natural Foods, adding the ready-to-eat meal business to its portfolio of better-for-you brands. The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but a representative of Kevin’s said that the purchase includes the company’s Kevin’s California production facility.

“We have been hugely inspired by Kevin’s, a business whose mission fits squarely with our purpose: Better Food Today. A Better World Tomorrow,” Mars Food & Nutrition President Shaid Shah said in a statement. “We look forward to drawing on our experience of nurturing and scaling founder-led brands to help bring their products to even more people.”

Following the sale, Kevin’s will operate as a standalone business within Mars’ Food & Nutrition segment, reporting up to Shah. The sale will also enable an exit for the brand’s minority partners, investment firms TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. and NewRoad Capital Partners.

The company declined to comment on whether its founders, Kevin McCray and Dan Costa, will continue on in their respective roles as COO and CEO after the sale has been completed.

“As a standalone business within Mars Food & Nutrition, we’ll be able to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and authenticity of our brand while getting the support and capabilities to continue our long-term growth journey,” said CEO and co-founder Dan Costa in a company press release.

McCray launched Kevin’s as meal kit company Chef’s Menu in 2012, which evolved both its name and business model in 2019 alongside investment partners Dan Costa and Kelsie Costa-Olson of Innov8 Partners. The concept was inspired after McCray changed his own diet as a result of an auto-immune disorder. All of Kevin’s Natural Foods prod -

ucts are keto- and paleo-certified as well as dairy-, glutenand soy-free.

Interest in the ketogenic diet has declined in recent years as brands have pivoted away from marketing themselves as keto-based. Kevin’s has increasingly leaned into its paleodiet credentials expanding its refrigerated meals as well as shelf-stable sauces in the last year.

Rumors about an exit began to circulate in January when Axios reported that the company was seeking an IPO or a buyer for the business. Initially, the company rejected the claims. Last month, an anonymous source tipped Bloomberg that the ready-to-eat meal business was seeking a valuation between $700 million to $800 million.

In the four years since it was founded, Kevin’s has experienced “double-digit growth,” according to the company, and is available in over 17,000 retail locations in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Mexico, according to the company.

The multinational food maker has been building out its better-for-you snack portfolio with the acquisition of KIND in 2020, and subsequently Nature’s Bakery, and whole-fruit snack maker Trü Frü last December.

Tony’s Chocolonely Brings In $21M To Expand Mission

Tony’s Chocolonely has tapped into its existing shareholder base to raise $21.8 million (or €20 million) that will see the organization accelerate the growth of its mission, brand and B2B business, according to a June announcement. The round saw participation from majority shareholder Verlinvest, investment firm Jam Jar and holding company Genuine Chocolate, among others.

The Netherlands-based company still needs to secure Competition Authority approval from regulators in its home country in order for the round to

officially close. A few investors “will sell a small percentage of their stake” as part of the deal.

“This investment will help us accelerate our progress towards our mission of ending exploitation in the cocoa industry,” said CEO Douglas Lamont, in a press release. “I am delighted that all the funding was raised from within our existing shareholder base, who we know are all committed to supporting our long-term mission.”

Lamont can back up that long-term mission commitment claim too. Jam

Jar is run by the founders of Innocent Drinks, where Lamont’s was last CEO before joining Tony’s. Investor Genuine Chocolate is a holding company started by Tony’s former CEO Henk Jan Beltman.

The news also puts some weight behind Tony’s performance over the past twelve months and Lamont said the new funds will go toward accelerating that rapid global growth. The company operates both its branded chocolate business, Tony’s Chocolonely, and a global business-to-business ethical bean trad -

ing company, known as Tony’s Open Chain. The chocolate brand sells a wide range of flavors and formats including Big Bars (6.35 oz.), Small Bars (1.8 oz) and Tiny Tony’s (0.32 oz.) as well as cobranded and seasonal chocolates.

In late May, Tony’s locked in its mission for the long haul via a new corporate governance structure. Known as the Mission Lock, the independent foundation is chaired by Eat the Change Founder and CEO Seth Goldman and supported by two Mission Guardians, Anne Wil Dijkstra, ex-CoCaptain of Tony’s, and Ikeena Azuike, a former lawyer turned social activist and broadcaster. That new structure gives Goldman, Wil Dijkstra and Azuike the ultimate decision-making power over proposals that affect how Tony’s does business.

As it shored up its sourcing model, in February the sustainable and ethical cocoa company brought on a second processing partner, Baronie & Cémoi, to give its Open Chain brand partners additional options for intermediary

processors. Barry Callebaut, which has served as the company’s sole processing partner for the last decade, will continue to manufacture Tony’s transparently-sourced beans into chocolate.

Tony’s commitment to end modern slavery, child labor and deforestation has inspired numerous other companies to join the cause including wellness brand Huel, cheesecake maker

Pleese and mission-driven ice cream company, Ben & Jerry’s. Each has agreed to source a portion, or in the case of Huel all, of its cocoa through Tony’s Open Source chain in addition to introducing new products made with the transparent chocolate. With the new capital, Tony’s will have the bandwidth to bring in more mission-aligned names to that list.

For more stories, check out nosh.com

Anchor Workers, Union and More React to Sapporo Dropping HIstoric

Craft Brand

The collective craft beer community shared mixed emotions this summer when Japanese beer giant Sapporo announced plans to cease operations at Anchor Brewing, one of the nation’s oldest craft breweries.

The San Francisco craft brewery, which was acquired for $85 million by Sapporo in August 2017, cited “a combination of challenging economic factors and declining sales since 2016” for the decision to close and liquidate its business. Ultimately, the company said the economic pressure “made the business no longer sustainable.”

Workers at Anchor were given 60 day’s notice on July 12 “with intent to provide transition support and separation packages in line with company practices and policies,” according to a press release. Some workers found out about the news through media reports first, rather than the company directly, according to Anchor’s union workers on social media.

Production has ceased at the brewery, but packaging and distribution of remaining beer continued.

It was already a tumultuous year for Anchor, leading up to the big news. The company started the year with reports that union contract negotiations were delayed, with workers claiming Sapporo was not transparent on its purchase of Stone Brewing the year before, and the sale was muddying the waters for Anchor workers seeking better wages and benefits.

Later, Anchor announced it was pulling back its national distribution to just its home state of California and cutting production of its beloved seasonal offering, Christmas Ale. Those cost cutting measures were part of what the company termed “final attempts … to evaluate all possible outcomes” but “expenses simply continued to outstrip revenues, leaving the company with no other viable choice.”

Two days after the Anchor news dropped, Narragansett launched a petition to save Anchor.

In its change.org campaign memo, Narragansett wrote: “18 years ago, our community rallied together and provided unwavering support to resurrect our beloved company. Today, we are calling upon all craft beer enthusiasts and supporters to do the same for a fellow pioneer in the industry, Anchor Brewing Company.

“Being a good neighbor is not merely about existing alongside one another; it is about standing shoulder to shoulder during times of adversity,” the brewery continued. “We have an opportunity now to show our support and help save this iconic brewery. While the path forward is uncertain, be it Chapter 7, 11, or sale, we are starting this petition to create a community of like-minded crafter brewers and consumers interested in the preservation of Anchor Brewing Company. Again, we do not know where this conversation will take us, but we should have the conversation nonetheless.”

Narragansett highlighted the historical significance and influence of Anchor, as well as the economic impact of the

brewery closing, including the loss of more than 200 jobs. As of July 21, the petition had more than 6,000 signatures.

Shortly after, Anchor workers launched their own effort “to purchase the brewery and run it as a worker co-op,” Vine Pair’s Dave Infante reported, citing a letter sent by the union’s business agent to Sapporo USA president Mike Minami.

The letter from Pedro de Sá of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6, which represents the brewery’s union labor, stated:

“We are not asking for a handout or charity. All we want is a fair shot at being able to continue to do our jobs, make the beer we love, and keep this historic institution open. We do not want the brewery and brand we love to be sold off before we even had a chance.”

The union is giving Sapporo USA a deadline of Friday, July 21, to respond as to whether it will work with the union on a potential sale.

“Welp, here ya go,” Union members wrote in a post on Twitter. “Time to put everyone’s love of this brand to the test. Let’s work this out together and bring back what we’ve almost lost. Welp. Here ya go. Time to put everyone’s love of this brand to the test. Let’s work this out together and bring back what we’ve almost lost.”

Several other potential buyers have been listed by various publications, including a handful of investors in San Francisco. One of those investors even expressed the desire to create a reality T.V. show out of the purchase, documenting the journey of bringing Anchor back to life.

But the reality of any of these efforts is unknown. Sapporo seems determined to let the liquidation process go through unchanged, according to a statement from Anchor spokesman Sam Singer, first reported by Infante:

“It is heartening to see so many stepping forward to possibly carry on the tradition of an iconic San Francisco company and beer,” Singer said. “We remain hopeful that Anchor will be purchased and continue on into the future, but it will be in the hands of the liquidator to make that decision and is dependent on what is offered by potential purchasers.”

Union Struggles Continue to Hit Craft Beer

Anchor isn’t the only craft brewery facing union conflict this year.

In late June, Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) updated its unfair labor practices (ULP) filings against Creature Comforts to include employee retaliation firing, after an employee of the Athens, Georgia-based brewery was allegedly fired for his union efforts.

Spencer “Spicy” Britton – who worked for Creature Comforts for more than six years – was fired from the company on June 12, after a more than 10-week suspension, for allegedly making threats against other employees, according to a BUG Instagram post. BUG has said the claims against Britton are false, and that the firing was actually a result of Britton and others’ involvement with the union.

“Spencer’s treatment has been really motivating because he’s a super beloved coworker and friend to so many people at the brewery,” Katie Britton, Creature Comforts brand marketing manager and one of the BUG organizers, told Brewbound. “To see someone that everybody’s like, ‘This is one of our the nicest people here’ and to see what’s being done, it’s been really enraging and motivating for people.”

Creature Comforts employees first announced union efforts in early January, forming BUG as an independent union to bring “positive workplace culture and core values” to Creature Comforts and other Georgia breweries. The majority

of the brewery’s employees signed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to formalize the union and schedule an election.

Less than two weeks later, BUG filed two complaints against Creature Comforts with the NLRB, alleging ULP and failure to recognize the union. Brewery leadership denied the allegations.

“The charge contains false and baseless claims and shows that the Union lacks a fundamental understanding of the National Labor Relations Act,” Herron and Creature Comforts chief product officer Adam Beauchamp told Brewbound in a January statement. “We are confident that after reviewing the evidence, the NLRB will conclude that these claims are invalid. We are committed to continuing to communicate directly with our employees and to ensuring they feel supported and empowered to exercise their legal rights and engage in this process.”

In early February, a two-day pre-election hearing with the NLRB was held, with witnesses advocating for the union to be recognized. BUG is still waiting on the results of that hearing, as the NLRB has been “completely swamped” and the increase in labor movements across the country has “put them under water,” Britton said.

“We’re really frustrated with the company and angry with them for what they’ve been doing,” Britton said. “They took us to a hearing back in February be-

cause they knew it would delay us having an election, and the fact that they’ve continued to amp up their union busting within that time period of just waiting has been extremely frustrating.

“We keep saying every time something else happens that we’re baffled by, we’re like, ‘This is why we’re doing this, this is why we need this,’” they continued. “Because once we have this established, we can protect against these things happening.”

In April, BUG filed two additional ULP complaints against Creature Comforts, after Spencer Britton and another known union leader were suspended. The two employees were allegedly told not to speak to any other coworkers, with an investigation underway, and were escorted from the premises by police officers.

The continuation of alleged union busting hasn’t deterred employees from pushing for the union, but has rather “solidified how much we need this,” Katie Britton said.

“Everybody’s really fired up and angry about the firing of Spencer, and we’re just ready to have our election and be able to move forward,” Britton said.

Leinenkugel’s Workers on Strike After ‘Meager’ Wage Increase Offer

On July 10, 40 workers at Leinenkugel’s Brewing Company, represented by Teamsters Local 662, went on strike after rejecting “the meager wage increases offered” by the Molson Coors-owned brewery, according to a press release.

“Leinenkugel’s has been brewing beer in Chippewa Falls for over 150 years, which is a point of pride for both the facility’s workers and the entire community,” Local 662 secretary-treasurer Tom Strickland said in the release. “That storied history of success wouldn’t have been possible without the hardworking Teamsters who keep this operation running. Molson Coors needs to respect these workers by agreeing to a fair contract.”

“We are sick of the corporate greed and want a fair and equitable pay increase,” added Leinenkugel’s maintenance technician Dann Jackson, who has worked at the brewery for 16 years. “We are underpaid given our qualifications and the number of different jobs that we do.”

Brewers Association 2023 Harris Poll: Equal Number of Craft Beer Consumers Drinking More Craft in 2023 than Consumers Drinking Less

In craft beer data news, Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson recently detailed the results of the BA’s annual Harris Poll evaluating craft consumer trends.

For the first time since at least 2015, an equal number of craft beer drinkers surveyed in the 2023 poll said they were drinking more craft beer in 2023 than the amount who said they were drinking less craft beer – about 25% each.

The survey includes responses from more than 2,000 craft consumers, defined as consumers who drink craft beer several times a year or more.

The amount of respondents who are drinking more craft beer has always outpaced those who are drinking less in previous surveys, dating back to at least 2015. One caveat is that the survey does not include consumers who have left the segment completely or no longer fit in the “craft consumer” definition.

The survey backed up other data, such as Scarborough USA data from 2020-2021, which showed the number of consumers who bought craft in the last 30 days was static versus the previous year, after steadily increasing in years prior, according to Watson.

Watson dove into why consumers are choosing craft more – or less – and other bev-alc attributes that factor into consumer buying decisions. Here are some of the highlights:

Drinking Other Products No. 1 Reason Consumers Drinking Less Craft

Of the respondents who said they were drinking less craft beer than last year – again, about a quarter of total respondents – the No. 1 reason cited for drinking less was they were drinking more of something else. More than half of respondents who are drinking less cited drinking more of other bev-alc products as the reason for the change, significantly above the next highest reason, “opting for a healthier lifestyle” (less than 30%).

The third largest reason was “cutting back on overall calories consumption,” followed by “cannot afford it anymore” due to higher prices and “less disposable income.”

The significance to craft producers is that breweries can do more to counteract the shift to other products, while inflation and interest in health are less in their control, according to Watson.

“You can’t control inflation,” Watson said. “You can control how your brand is positioned relative to other beverage-alcohol offerings.

“That gives some agency back to brewery owners as you’re thinking about the challenges and the headwinds that craft faces, that the No. 1 challenge is still that people are thinking more of something else” he continued.

Flavor Most Important to Craft Buyers

When choosing which craft beer to purchase, flavor was the No. 1 reason – important to about 95% of respondents – followed by freshness (just over 90%).

Flavor has been in the mid- to high-90s every time the BA has conducted the survey, Watson said.

“If you’re not thinking about flavor as the No. 1 value proposition of craft, then you’re not where most customers are when they think about craft,” Watson said.

The emphasis on flavor could be the reason why craft lagers have struggled to get a foothold, but they could have success by leaning into consumers’ desire for “freshness,” Watson added.

Younger Consumers Care More about ABV, Less About Locality

The amount of craft consumers that care about whether a beer is locally made has been on a decline since 2021, with just over 60% of 2023 survey respondents saying locality was “somewhat” or “very” important.

That decline is expected to continue as younger consumers make up more of the bev-alc consumer base, Watson said.

Millennials were the generation that pushed the most for locality, emphasizing the importance of local business to local economies. Gen Z cares more about supporting a business that

supports causes they align with, rather than supporting a business just because it’s in the same area code. It’s a shift that’s happening across most consumer goods, not just beer, Watson said.

Younger legaldrinking-age (LDA) consumers also care more about ABV when making purchasing decisions, Watson said. The importance of high ABV and low ABV were both the highest with respondents aged 35-44, followed by respondents aged 21-34.

While younger LDA consumers being interested in higher

ABV beers isn’t a total surprise – possibly some “bang for your buck” buying – it is “interesting” that they’re also interested in low-ABV offerings more than 45-and-older consumers.

“These two youngest groups care the most about this, [which] to me suggests in the future this is going to be more important,” Watson said.

For more stories, check out brewbound.com

ENERGY

Lifestyle brand GHOST celebrated its seventh birthday with a new energy drink flavor, BUBBLICIOUS Cotton Candy. Like the rest of the brand’s energy drink line, each 16 oz. can packs 200mg of caffeine and has zero grams of sugar. The LTO will be exclusive to Kroger for 90 days in addition to hitting GNC shelves in the specialty space. For more information, visit ghostlifestyle.com.

Pro wrestling legend Ric Flair has unveiled his new mushroom-infused energy drink, Wooooo! Energy. Available in three flavors –Dragonfruit, Lemon and Strawberry Banana –the beverage features a blend of Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Chaga, Turkey Tail, Shiitake Maitake and Reishi mushrooms. Each 12 oz. can contains 150mg of caffeine and just 6 grams of sugar. Wooooo! Energy is available online for $30 per 6-pack. For more information, visit woooooenergy.com.

JUICE

Kids snack and beverage brand good2grow has announced the launch of BIGGER, a larger, 10 oz. size of its juice compatible with the brand’s iconic, collectible licensed character tops. Available in two flavors at launch – Raspberry Lemonade and Orange Mango –good2grow BIGGER contains 65% more juice than the brand’s classic 6 oz. products. BIGGER is slated to hit the shelves of major retailers including Walmart, Target, Meijer, Publix and Casey’s this summer. For more information, visit good2grow.com.

Pressed has always been tied to health & wellness, but this time it’s approaching athletic performance and recovery a bit more headon with the launch of Hydration+ collection, which includes 2 juices and a high-electrolyte fitness shot. For the former two, there’s amped-up green juice Hydration+ Greens ($6.95) and Hydration+ Dragon Fruit ($6.95), alongside Hydration+ Watermelon Fitness Shot ($3.75) aimed at post-workout occasions. The line is the second “+” line from pressed, following Refresh+ earlier this summer. For more information, visit pressed.com.

POWDERS

GNC has dropped its first hydration and performance product, GNC AMP Amplified Hydration. The enhanced electrolyte mix is designed to support hydration, recovery and multi-action digestion, the brand claims. The first drop, currently available online and at GNC stores, features seasonal flavors Acai Berry, Tropical Punch and Lemon Lime. For more information, visit gnc.com.

C4 has again teamed up with the Wounded Warrior Project to launch its newest product, C4 x WWP Pre-Workout Powder. The new powder features 300mg of caffeine, citrulline, dual creatines and CarnoSyn Beta to increase alertness and combat fatigue. Available in two exclusive WWP flavors – Mango Foxtrot and Freedom Ice – C4 x WWP Pre-Workout Powder is available via the brand’s website for $44.99 per 11.1 oz. tub. For more information, visit cellucor.com/pages/c4-energy.

Liquid I.V. has unveiled its biggest product innovation to date, Hydration Multiplier SugarFree. Available in three flavors at launch –Lemon Lime, Green Grape and White Peach – the new, sugar-free offering features a blend of allulose and amino acids. Each packet delivers three times the amount of electrolytes as the leading sports drink, the brand claims. For more information, visit liquid-iv.com.

CSDs

Coca-Cola has partnered with Riot Games, the publisher and developer of League of Legends, to create its newest Coca-Cola Creations offering, Coca-Cola Ultimate. The new LTO marks the company’s first collaboration with a gaming company on a Coca-Cola flavor. Described only as a “flavor that will give players an exhilarating taste as they queue up for a game,” the new offering marks the second Creations launch this year following Coca-Cola Move. Coca-Cola Ultimate is available in both regular and zero-sugar versions in the U.S. and Canada. Accompanying the product’s release, the company will release in-game and digital experiences to players across the globe. For more information, visit us.coca-cola.com.

To celebrate its nationwide launch with Sprouts, prebiotic soda brand VINA has unveiled two new Sprouts-exclusive flavors: Dr. Spice and Peach Pop. Both flavors feature 40mg of caffeine (sourced from yerba mate extract and green coffee beans) per 12 oz. can. In addition to Dr. Spice and Peach Pop, Sprouts will also carry the brand’s Pomegranate and Cherry Pop flavors. All four flavors have a SRP of $2.49 each. For more information, visit drinkvina.com.

CBD

Just in time for Summer, Shimmerwood has announced the return of its Chai Cherry seltzer. Like the rest of the brand’s flavors, Chai Cherry contains 5 milligrams of Maine-grown, full-spectrum CBD per can. Previously distributed in 11.5 oz. cans, the latest batches of Shimmer Seltzer fill to 12 oz. due in part to the brand’s relationship with Portland-based copacker Geary Brewing. Shimmerwood Chai Cherry is available via the brand’s website for $40 per 8-pack or $59 per 12-pack. For more information, visit shimmerwood.com.

SPARKLING WATER

Aura Bora has expanded its lineup of flavored sparkling waters with the addition of Raspberry Vanilla. The new flavor, formulated to taste like berries and cream, is a “refreshing and cooling summer treat,” according to the brand. Like the rest of Aura Bora’s products, the new sparkling water is calorie-free and contains no added sweeteners. Raspberry Vanilla is available via the brand’s website for $33 per 12-pack of 12 oz. cans. For more information, visit aurabora.com.

PepsiCo’s sparkling water entrant Bubly is debuting a Key Lime Pie flavor. The drink has zero calories and zero sugar, with natural flavors. Key Lime Pie is available in 12 oz. cans in individual and multipack formats. For more information visit bubly.com.

HOP WTR has expanded its portfolio of nonalcoholic sparkling waters with the addition of Ruby Red Grapefruit, crafted in partnership with brand ambassador Dustin Poirier. The new flavor joins the brands exist-

ing fruity lineup including Classic, Mango, Blood Orange, Peach and Ginger Limeade. HOP WTR Ruby Red Grapefruit is currently available for preorder via the brand’s website for $36.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit hopwtr.com.

RTD COCKTAILS

Vermont-based Barr Hill Gin has teamed up with The Beer Guy to launch its first canned cocktail, Gin & Tonic. The new offering is crafted with gin, tonic made from cinchona tree bark, lemongrass, citrus and Barr Hill honey. Bar Hill Gin & Tonic (9.3% ABV) is available at grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations across Vermont for $19.99 per 4-pack of 12 oz. cans. For more information, visit barrhill.com.

Deep Eddy Vodka has expanded its lineup of hard seltzer with the addition of Deep Eddy Vodka + Tea Hard Seltzers. Available in three varieties at launch – Lemon Tea, Sweet Tea and Peach Tea – the new offerings are crafted with vodka, tea, juice and “a hint of bubbles.” Each 12 oz. can (4.5% ABV) contains 180 calories. Deep Eddy Vodka + Tea Hard Seltzers are available at retailers nationwide for $16.99 per 6-pack. For more information, visit deepeddyvodka.com.

SPIRITS

Costa Tequila has unveiled its latest innovation, Costa Tequila Café. The new tequilabased coffee liqueur is made with Blue Weber Agave and Mexican coffee beans and features tasting notes of caramel and vanilla. Costa Tequila Café (35% ABV) is available for purchase via the brand’s website for $33.99 per 750ml bottle. For more information, visit costatequila.com.

Bacardi has turned up the heat with its newest flavored rum expression, Mango Chile. Inspired by the classic Mexican snack, the new expression is crafted with natural mango extracts, chili spice and Bacardi white rum. Bacardi Mango Chili is available at retailers, bars and restaurants nationwide for a SRP of $12.99 per 750ml bottle. For more information, visit bacardi.com/us/en.

Channel Check

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY

COLD BREW AND RFG. RTD COFFEE

Lots of financial action among cold brew brands this month, with transactions involving both High Brew and La Colombe, as well as the recent sale of Lucky Jack. So let’s take a look at the numbers as they stand, which tend to have some overlap between these two categories. Remember, a lot of these brands could be ambient, and still get put in the cold box.

RFG. RTD COFFEE

ICED COFFEE/CAPPUCCINO

BOTTLED JUICE

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 06-18-23

ENERGY DRINKS

RFG KOMBUCHA

FLAVORED CONVENIENCE/BOTTLED STILL WATER

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 06-18-23

BevNET Live Summer 2023 Recap

Industry experts ranging from long-time entrepreneurs to grocery buyers and beverage investors shared their optimism about the road ahead for emerging brands, while also emphasizing the importance of a strong focus on business fundamentals and managing growth within the bandwidth of your current balance sheet. Those themes manifested in main stage discussions throughout BevNET Live Summer 2023 with topics ranging from online channel strategy to managing changes within established brands.

Tricia Wallwork, chair and CEO of family-owned Milo’s, never thought she’d be leading her family’s business, but in 2011, the former corporate lawyer and vegetarian took the helm at Milo’s – an operation that included a chain of hamburger restaurants and a now lucrative CPG line of sweet tea.

On stage this morning, Wallwork spoke about the complexities of navigating growth and change within a 77-yearold, family-run business. She explained that creating economic prosperity for her family, and the families of Milo’s nearly 700 associates, has remained the company’s north star since her grandfather opened the first restaurant in 1946.

“You’ve got to run a great business,” she stated. “We have done that by [being] really obsessed with customer service… making sure [we] deliver on time and in full, being honest with [our] customer about what we can do and can’t do.”

“It is also having those brutal conversations and being willing to say no, that is not what’s right for your category, that’s

not what’s right for our business, and it’s not what’s right for [our] shopper,” she continued. “When you do this, you unlock that honest relationship with your customers that, for us, has allowed us to be the category driver.”

Wallwork also credits that inward-looking nature and business success to its strategy employees. She highlighted that all Milo’s associates have roadmaps for growth within the organization, however, as the business has managed explosive growth that has also meant making difficult personnel decisions and shifting roles for individuals best suited to keep pace. She said the company aims to keep communication transparent across the entire business structure and that has allowed it to make those difficult decisions while retaining employees, and their trust.

Despite the headlines signaling an economic era of doom and gloom, not all investors are equally as pessimistic. Elliot Begoun, founder of TIG Brands, Michael Burgmaier, managing director of Whipstitch Capital and Erin Wall, partner and CRO at Lunr shared their impressions of the market, and what brands should be prioritizing on stage this morning and

the outlook hinges on each entrepreneur’s ability to plan for profitability as soon as possible.

According to Burgmaier, though deal flow is down 50% compared to this time last year, over the past six weeks it has “improved dramatically.” He said the fears of an economic downturn, coupled with bank failures and rate hikes, hindered deal flow in the first half of the year, but has since brought the market back to “a sense of calm.”

“I find myself, at this moment, both terrified and optimistic,” added Begoun. “I’m terrified that the change that needs to happen isn’t going to happen fast enough for some of the brands who are on the edge and I’m optimistic that the things that we’re talking about now as an industry are things that we should have been talking about earlier – putting profit before growth and cash before everything and trying to think about better alignment between founders and funders…. [Brands] also have to be realistic about who they are right now. Are they a rocket ship? Or are they a Camry?”

However, all three panelists agreed that those lingering questions about the market don’t matter if the entrepreneur is not focused on building a good business with a path to profitability and plan to reduce cash burn. They agreed that while raising capital is tough right now, for early stage companies there are a lot of other methods to notch some wins like looking outside the banking sector to fintech or being aggressive within your operations to streamline and cut costs that could set you

ahead down the line.

“For entrepreneurs, thinking of how you cannot dilute yourself over time is still incredibly important and a good strategy so that when you are ready to exit, you own the most of that company,” said Wall.

Why are many beverage companies starting to build out ready-to-drink cocktail brands within their portfolios? The easy answer, according to Matt Hughes, former president and GM at The Coca-Cola Company’s Venture and Emerging Brands, is that consumers are asking for it. Yet, for beverage makers like Spindrift and Boston Beer, which

spoke alongside Hughes on a panel yesterday, creating a lane in this highly competitive and fast-moving category is harder than just launching a new product and requires patience and the ability to pivot.

Boston Beer Company had to relaunch Twisted Tea three different times before it got the right branding and marketing strategy for the product, said Lesya Lysyj, CMO at Boston Beer Company.

Being flexible and having patience to understand the target market was important to building Twisted Tea into the biggest brand in Boston Beer’s portfolio, Lysyj explained, adding “it’s twice as big as Truly [Hard Seltzer] and four times as big as Sam Adams beer.”

What is becoming apparent now is that the non-alcoholic beverage category (soda, seltzers, teas, etc.) is starting to lead the convergence into the mixed drink set. As consumer demand has grown for hard seltzers, canned cocktails and alcoholic RTDs, more non-alc brands are leaning into the category.

Hughes explained that Coke has been able to leverage its brand awareness and household penetration to jump into the RTD alcohol category. By utilizing partnerships with alcohol brands like a spiritsbased RTD Jack and Coke, the company has been able to further diversify itself to its core consumers who have been using Coke as a mixer for years.

Yet, all three panelists emphasized that patience is really the key to this strategy.

In the case of Spindrift, it took 10 years to just get its core product line correct, said founder and CEO Bill Creelman, so to diversify itself into hard seltzers took careful planning, a desire to step outside of the brand’s comfort zone and a slow, deliberate launch to make sure the brand was “testing and learning” what its consumers wanted.

2023 Summer Fancy Food Show Review

From June 25 to June 27, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Fancy Food Show returned to the Big Apple. The event represents an important showcase for CPG brands looking to grow in the specialty food market, which hit $194 billion in 2022 and is expected to rise at a CAGR of 6% between 2023 and 2027 with improving profits and margins.

In the top 10 categories, ranked by dollar, snacks topped the list for the first time. Overall, popcorn, potato chips and snacks combined for more than $4 billion in sales. This was heavily reflected on the show floor, with bold-flavored snacks abounding.

Tochi Snacks, a producer of salmon chips, has added popcorn to its expanded snack portfolio. Available in four flavors at launch – Salted Egg, Black Sesame, Ube and Black Milk Tea – the new line aims to introduce Asian-inspired flavors to a wider array of consumers via a familiar product.

“[We asked ourselves] what in the U.S. is somewhat familiar to people here, but also allows us to be playful? We wanted the [unique flavors] in a form that was easy to consume and easy to understand,” said co-founder Ian Seah.

Elsewhere, Mediterranean-inspired snack brand Zesty Z highlighted its newest flavor of popcorn, Organic Olive Oil, a better-for-you stand in for classic buttered popcorn. The brand may have started in condiments and spices, but its future largely lies in other categories, CEO Alexander Harik said at the show.

The new flavor rounds out Zesty Z’s other popcorn SKUs, Harik said, which include Feta Cheese, Spicy Chilli and Honey and Sea Salt the latter of which launched this year. Packaging now features a bigger callout for “air popped,” a reference he believes indicates to consumers a low calorie count.

While the brand will continue to sell its flagship Za’atar spice mix, that product will largely be for D2C sales and foodervice. According to Harik, beyond snacks, frozen and refrigerated products are also under consideration for future

innovations.

B.T.R Nation’s CEO, founder and chief snack officer Ashley Marie said the snack brand has raised $600,000 in capital. In tandem, with the raise, B.T.R’s Republic equity-funding campaign raked in over $100,000. According to its Republic pitch, the brand is on track to hit over $2 million in sales this year. The news comes after B.T.R. last year expanded from its line of zero-sugar, functional protein bars into chocolate truffles.

Also on the floor, several startups debuted rebrands as they aim to build momentum and raise consumer awareness.

Bravado Spice (which you may know from online sensation Hot Ones) showed off their revamped packaging, which rolled out late last year. Formerly sporting all black packaging across its line, the brand now has three colorways to segment out the different lines of business: black for extra hot offerings, white and gold for premium options and bright

colors for its retail-focused collection of hot sauces. What’s stayed the same: a focus on culinary flavors, with its newest offering featuring a blend of passion fruit, manuka honey and ghost peppers.

Elsewhere, after growing its distribution to 700 locations, eatery-turned CPG co. Dumpling Daughter has refreshed its packaging and reduced the pack size of its frozen Chinese meals in hopes of widening its appeal. The company downsized its 16 oz. dumpling pack to 9 oz. and its buns from 17 oz. to 11 oz., a move that allows Dumpling Daughter to cut its MSRP from $15 to around $7.99.

“For independent grocers in New England where people recognize our name, they would buy it [at the higher price],” said founder and CEO Nadia Liu Spellman. “But if we are really trying to grow the brand and make it approachable, you have to downsize it.

The SFA Summer Fancy Food Show is set to take place on June 23-25, 2024.

Sweet

Tea Consumers Just Won’t Quit Sugar Victory:

By: Brad Avery

For years many innovations in the iced tea category have sought to meet the data-backed consumer demand for lower sugar and clean label products by cutting sweetness, simplifying ingredients and embracing organic sourcing. Although zero sugar products have continued to drive growth in the soda and energy drink sets, a commensurate rapid expansion of the tea shelf hasn’t arrived – despite an understated level of innovation from new and emerging brands. In some regards, then, tea is among the top RTD categories that feels most overdue for a radical shakeup.

In fact, among the top eight largest beverage categories, ready-to-drink tea has seen the slowest level of retail dollar sales growth over the duration of the pandemic, per NielsenIQ data. On a four-yearstack basis, tea has grown just 24.6% in the 52-weeks ending July 15. For perspective, sports drinks grew 53.4% and energy drinks were up 50.2% in the same time, while RTD coffee nearly doubled tea, up 48.3%. Even CSDs, with their reputation marred by sugar and artificial sweeteners, climbed 39.9%.

More recently, NielsenIQ reported annual tea sales up 8.2% in the 52-weeks ending July 15, outpacing still flavored water (+5%) and sparkling flavored water (+4.8%), but still on the lower end of beverage category growth. Meanwhile, some major established manufacturers like Snapple-producer Keurig Dr Pepper (-1.2%) and Red Diamond (-1.4%) have seen sales slide in that time while Coke (+9.2%) and AriZona (+10.7%) have outpaced the category.

That’s not to ignore certain tea success stories. Yerba mate maker Guayaki has been experiencing a strong growth run to bring an energy-tea product to the mainstream (+15% in the 52-weeks per NielsenIQ), Milo’s has dominated the refrigerated set (+29.9%, more on that below), and there’s always kombucha – typically separated from most RTD tea data sets and measured independently – which after a rapid rise has seen its growth level out, save for some top-level brands like Health-Ade. But the core of the category, at least on the shelf-stable side of the business, has grown and innovated at a plodding pace.

“[Tea] has been much slower to innovate than ready-todrink coffee,” said Jim Watson, senior analyst for beverages at Rabobank. “There’s just a lot less consumer excitement and new product development, and I think it's been held back for a long time by having a couple really dominant brands that go out at a very low soft drink-esque price point that has made it really hard for other brands to come in.”

Between the top three tea players – Lipton/Pepsi (Pure Leaf), Coke (Gold Peak) and independent player AriZona – Watson suggested that the consumer perception of what iced tea is – a familiar sweet or semi-sweet product – is entrenched and it’s been hard for startup brands to “redefine” the category the way that cold brew coffee was able to dis -

rupt the dominance of the Starbucks Frappuccino (which, to speak generally, had more or less been the U.S. RTD coffee category a decade ago).

There has been some tea innovation from the top to the bottom of the category, though nothing that has reshaped the set so far. After its shock announcement that it would discontinue Honest Tea last year, The Coca-Cola Company said it planned to put its strength behind its Gold Peak and Peace Tea brands while budget-friendly AriZona has introduced a number of new premium product lines.

A number of emerging and startup brands have been hopping in to bring some new life to the category, like Liquid Death who previewed their new lightly caffeinated canned tea line last fall and have now begun rolling out to market. Not to forget Shaka Tea (acquired by King’s Hawaiian last year), Weird Tea, The Ryl Tea Co., Saint James, Swoon, Halfday and Just Ice Tea, to name a few.

However, many of those brands also offer some sort of sweet or semi-sweet tea option. Despite a number of “clean” tea innovations over the past decade, Watson suggested that chasing the low and zero sugar macro trend, in hindsight, may have not been the right play for iced tea makers hoping to compete outside of the natural channel.

“Innovating on pure lower sugar and health simply was less appealing to the consumer,” Watson said. “There's only a very small band and consumer that wants a kind of pure, unsweetened iced tea set at a premium price point.”

“I think you see the same thing in coffee,” he added. “If you look at ready-to-drink coffee, you simply don't see that much in the way of pure black coffee. And if you do, it’s for the most part with the expectation – like a multi-serve cold brew – that somebody will add something to it later.”

While the “pure tea” approach certainly has a sizable consumer base to support some brands – case evidence: Just Ice

Tea, which has largely filled the void Honest Tea’s discontinuation left in the market – Watson said it is ultimately proving to be a niche, as mainstream consumers have embraced sweeter brands.

Milo’s Carries Refrigerated Teas

Among refrigerated teas, one brand has effectively carried the set: Milo’s Tea Company.

At a distance, Milo’s may have appeared to be an unlikely candidate for insurgent expansion. The Alabama-based, family-owned manufacturer has been making tea since the 1940s and features fairly humble, old-fashioned downto-earth branding and standard plastic milk jugs for packaging. But under the leadership of CEO Tricia Wallwork, whose grandfather founded the company shortly after World War II, the brand has reached a compound growth period and since 2021 has been the largest refrigerated tea brand in the U.S.

According to Nick McCoy, co-founder and managing director of Whipstitch Capital, Milo’s accounted for “almost dollar-to-dollar” the entirety of refrigerated tea growth over the past two years. Citing SPINS data, McCoy said the brand has managed to hold onto strong double-digit dollar and velocity sales, while most other refrigerated iced teas have either reported low single-digit increases or declines.

“The refrigerated category, outside of Milo's, doesn't have that much to it,” he said. “Shelf-stable is really where the bulk of the sales are.”

Market research firm Circana reports Milo’s as the category lead of the refrigerated tea category with a 31.50% dollar share, as of the 52-weeks ending June 18. In that period, the brand grew sales 30.4% to over $497.6 million, compared to category growth of 10.6%. Its next largest competitor (besides private label) is Gold Peak, which weighs in at roughly half Milo’s size – around $230.3 million and a 14.58% share – with far slower growth at just 1.3%.

While the brand does offer an unsweetened tea and a zero sugar sweet tea made with sucralose, Milo’s also has a mighty strong sweet tooth. Milo’s flagship Famous Sweet Tea, which is according to Tricia Wallwork the company’s best selling SKU, contains 44 grams of sugar and 180 calories per single-serve 20 oz. bottle (or 26 grams per 12 oz. serving in its gallons-sized multiserve offerings). Its Extra Sweet flavor, meanwhile, ups the ante to a whopping 72 grams and 290 calories per 20 ounces.

However, even with that level of sugar, the products can still match the requirements for clean label: the brand’s front labels call out that the drinks are made with just three ingredients: tea, water, and pure cane sugar.

During a presentation at BevNET Live in June, Wallwork said Milo’s is exploring different types of sweeteners for its portfolio products, but, she said, the brand will go where the consumer leads them.

“We offer no-calorie and low-calorie options everywhere our beverages are and we ask the consumer to decide. And right now the consumer, in the channels where we are, is choosing sugar beverages,” she said. “Ultimately I think it’s the consumer’s decision.”

New Brands Hit the Shelves

Despite the past hurdles innovative tea brands have faced in trying to gain a foothold in the category, some founders see the slow growth as marking even more potential to disrupt than ever. Some are off to a strong start.

With its lightly sweetened (6 grams of sugar from agave per 19.2 oz can) tea line, Liquid Death has already shown velocity sales competitive with the top five tea brands over the course of July, albeit with only a few months on the market, McCoy said. Circana placed the brand’s refrigerated teas at around $5.1 million in dollar sales for the 52-weeks ending June 18.

Ready-to-drink boba tea makers like Joyba and Inotea are also beginning to make headway in the category. According to Circana, Joyba was up 719.5% to over $33.5 million, while Inotea rose 253.5% to $4.8 million.

Jason May, co-founder and CEO of canned tea startup Weird Beverages, said he believes his company’s unique branding and semi-sweet positioning could yet help it to crack the convenience channel. Launched in 2021, Weird produces a line of organic iced teas in 16 oz. cans with sweetness levels ranging from 12 to 23 grams of sugar per serving, as well as a “Weird Yerba” SKU. The brand has been growing its business in the natural channel to start, but May said it is now beginning to enter c-stores with accounts like Jacksons Food Stores.

“Jacksons, I think, is the first real proof of concept that we can take something that's worthy of specialty grocery with

REFRIGERATED TEA

regard to the quality offering, apply the lifestyle positioning to it, and sell it in convenience and make it work,” May said. “So we are now in talks with many top names for national convenience. We will be executing market tests next year and if we continue to see the take-rates like we're seeing in Jacksons, I believe that that will develop really rapidly for us.”

Not dissimilar to Liquid Death, Weird Tea has taken its brand cues from alternative culture, drawing inspiration from heavy metal music, underground zines and other quote unquote “niche” sources that have proven to be more mainstream than the past conventional branding wisdom has suggested. For May, he said the brand has received strong feed-

CANNED AND BOTTLED TEA

back on its formulations and sugar content, while its colorful brand identity is helping it to stick out on shelf and drive affinity with consumers.

“You have to have a brand that stands out, or else you're just gonna get lost in the mix, and I think we have that,” May said. “Being an independent brand allows you the ability to take more risks than the large conglomerate companies are going to be willing to take, or are even going to come up with to begin with. I don't see a brand like Drink Weird in its new incarnation making its way through the R&D Department of Coke or PepsiCo, because it's just not what they specialize in.”

But just because consumers want sweet teas, doesn’t mean there isn’t room to still make a zero sugar product work. Startup brand Swoon has billed itself as “The Zero Sugar Beverage Company,” producing a variety of teas and lemonades sweetened with monk fruit. By still offering the sweet tea occasion across its portfolio, Swoon is hoping it can likewise use strong, distinctive branding to appeal to mainstream sensibilities. Similarly, another startup brand Ryl has a zero-calorie sweet taste, and a partnership with country star Morgan Wallen.

This year, Swoon partnered with Mattel to promote the Barbie movie, introducing a line of co-branded cans which co-founder Jennifer Ross said has helped introduce the brand to new consumers and open up new field marketing opportunities in stores. While Swoon is still primarily sold in natural and conventional grocery, she said the uptake

has been strong as the brand has foregone “diet” branding while still offering the benefits of a full flavor, better-foryou drink.

“It’s a zero sugar iced tea, so it's not something that people have a hard time wrapping their heads around,” Ross said. “It's a drink that people know and love and with flavor. So, I think for us, you can kind of put it anywhere.”

Just in time for summer, lemonade and iced tea brand Swoon released two new products, Lemon Iced Tea and Raspberry Iced Tea. Like the rest of the brand’s portfolio, the new monk fruit-sweetened offerings offer zero-sugar takes on old favorites.

Herbal iced tea brand Hrbvor (pronounced herbivore) debuted its first line of still and sparkling teas. Available in three flavors – REVIVE (white peony, hibiscus, lemongrass), FOCUS (tulsi, guyana, rosemary) and CALM (chamomile, skullcap, passionflower) – the still format comes in 12 oz. glass bottles while the sparkling format comes in 8 oz. cans.

Halfday Iced Tea, which touts itself as the world’s first prebiotic iced tea, has announced Raspberry iced tea as its newest flavor. Raspberry will join Lemon, Peach and Green tea with honey and ginseng as part of the brand’s core offerings. Halfday also has a winter seasonal flavor, Cranberry iced tea.

Liquid Death has expanded its lineup of iced teas with the addition of Slaughter Berry. Each 19.2 oz. can of the raspberry-flavored beverage, sweetened with agave, contains just 30 calories and has a 30mg microdose of caffeine. The new flavor is available at Walmart for $14.95 per 8-pack.

Oh, Canada! Vancouver-based Wize Tea has expanded its lineup of sparkling iced teas with Honeycrisp Apple. The new flavor “combines the sweetness of apple juice with the crisp taste of apple cider,” according to the brand. Wize Tea Honeycrisp Apple is available at select stores in British Columbia and at Summerhill Markets in Toronto.

Huckleberry’s Natural Market and Pop Up Grocer have added Teakoe to their betterfor-you beverage selection, increasing the brand’s national retail footprint. Huckleberry’s Natural Market is adding Teakoe Fizzy Tea to all 16 of its locations, increasing Teakoe’s availability in the Pacific Northwest region. Teakoe is offering Honey Lemon, Minty Pear, Pineapple Mate,

Peach Lavender, Orange Ginger Punch, and Pomegranate Hibiscus at Huckleberry’s Natural Market in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. The flavors offered vary per location.

Space Tea announced that its adaptogenic mushroom iced tea and lemonade beverage – available in Original, Mango, Lemon Zero and Matcha Zero varieties – is now available at The Vitamin Shoppe locations nationwide. Space Tea is certified organic, nonGMO, gluten-free, and kosher, using Reishi mushrooms and Lion’s Mane mushrooms.

Milo’s Tea Company broke ground at the site of its future manufacturing and distribution facility in Spartanburg County, S.C. The ceremony was attended by Governor Henry McMaster, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Ashely Teasdel, Vice-Chairman of Spartanburg County Council David Britt, and other elected officials and local leaders to celebrate the exciting new economic development in the Upstate.

8th Wonder Tea announced its launch at Pop Up Grocer New York City with its lineup of organic sparkling superfood teas. A retailer that curates natural and innovative brands from a variety of small businesses, Pop Up Grocer now carries all five of 8th Wonder’s flavors including their newest release – Organic Sparkling Matcha Cherry Blossom Reishi Tea.

Push Beverages has launched its new Tribe Tea packaging. The new bottle was chosen to address various areas of feedback from clients over the years including being able to see the iced tea from the bottle, smaller easy-to-handle 12 packs with no cardboard waste and reduced per-unit calorie count. The bottle is replacing the full-wrap 20-ounce bottle Tribe Tea had been using since its debut in 2011.

Sparkling Botanicals by Rishi, ready-todrink beverages that elevate sparkling botanical tea, introduced their newest flavor, Blue Tea Jasmine. The new offering is made by blending rare ingredients sourced directly from artisan growers across the earth to create a sparkling violet color liquid and concord grape-like flavor.

ACTIVE ADAPTATION:

By: Lukas Southard

SPORTS DRINK CATEGORY EVOLVES TO MEET NEW CONSUMERS

Gatorade’s familiar orange lightning bolt has fended off strikes from the Coca-Cola Company’s tag team of sports drinks, Powerade and Body Armor.

Now, however, the attacks are less direct.

Pepsi’s signature sports drink is seeing competition from hydration and energy brands that are nibbling at the edges of a blurred border between functional and exercise-oriented beverages. A rising interest by fitness-focused and activelifestyle consumers not drawn to brands solely for their professional athlete endorsements is providing opportunity for upstart electrolyte-infused recovery drinks focusing on weekend warriors and practitioners of alternative sports.

Despite acquiring BodyArmor in 2021, Coca-Cola’s tandem of sports drink brands have struggled to put significant pressure on Gatorade. In Coca-Cola’s Q1 earnings call, chairman and CEO James Quincey said that the company was “focused on stabilizing the portfolio” with new innovation.

That innovation turned out to be BodyArmor Flash I.V., launched in May, which was simply a more intense, “rapid rehydration” product along the lines of Electrolit and Biolyte. That the brand moved to embrace rapid rehydration – at a time when Gatorade has its own Gatorlyte in the same space – says more about where the category is going than BodyArmor itself, however.

Gatorade still comfortably maintains its role as category leader. Pepsi’s sports drink sales were $6.6 billion, growing 10.1% against -4.3% volume and pricing up +14.4% in the last 52-weeks, according to NielsenIQ data.

When looking at a 4-year stack of scanner data, sports drink sales for BodyArmor (+131%) and Coca-Cola’s portfolio overall(46.3%) both outpaced PepsiCo (+43.8%), but off a much smaller revenue base.

More recently, BodyArmor sales were down -10.5% on -16% volume with pricing up 5.5% in the last 52-weeks ending July 15, according to NielsenIQ data by Goldman Sachs Equity research.

PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta remained optimistic about Gatorade holding its place at the top of the heap in the company’s most recent Q2 earnings report.

“We feel good about the sports category,” Laguarta said in the question-andanswer section. “In general, we think the category continues to have healthy metrics in terms of penetration and usage and everything else.”

But Gatorade has undergone its own line extensions as it adapts to an amorphous sports drink category. Along with Gatorlyte, launched in 2021, the brand released a caffeinated drink Fast Twitch this year, in part, to counter the rapid rise of Congo Brands’ newcomer PRIME, which is drawing attention and sales in both the energy and sports drink categories.

PRIME’s growth has been rapid and impactful – it has surpassed Electrolit in sports drink sales while pressuring the traditional category leaders. According to Circana data in the 52-weeks ending June 18, with over $377 million in sales,

PRIME was up 1676% this year, while Electrolit saw 20.9% growth on $370 million in sales.

Following the example of PRIME, other brands, like Coco5 and Barcode, are also trying to change up the marketing game, offering basketball stars the potential upside of equity in their up-and-coming brands rather than a high-figure endorsement deal with a category leader. Both brands have investments from a number of high-profile NBA players and personalities, with Barcode landing arguably the biggest prospect in the last 20 years, French phenom Victor Wembanyama, to a five-year exclusive partnership that includes an equity stake in the company.

While PRIME reaches consumers who aren’t necessarily the targets of the typical sports drink companies, and Coco5 and Barcode try to grab sports stars early on in an atypical manner, elsewhere a cohort of rapid rehydration brands is stretching the meaning of the category itself.

Gym Walls Are Closing In From Multiple Directions

Sports drinks are starting to be infiltrated by emerging marketing that focuses on hydration, not simply point-of-sweat, as well. Brands traditionally positioned in the hydration space like Hoist, Liquid I.V., Nuun or Hydrant are all making a play for consumers looking to refuel, said Caleb Bryant, associate director of Food & Drink Reports at

“These aren’t really sports drinks in a traditional sense, but they’re very much kind of playing into similar consumption occasions as traditional sports drinks,” he said.

Hoist, a product originally started by college students in Ohio, has gone through a number of iterations, repositioning itself within the hydra-

tion category as it has slowly inched closer towards the fitness community. Along with being the official partner of the U.S. Department of Defense, it has aligned itself with power-lifters like Katie Jones to put the brand inside gym walls. The brand recently noted that it has found good traction among high school and college-level athletes as well.

According to Circana data, Hoist sales were nearly $3.5 million, up 33% compared to last year.

Powder and tablet brands are tapping into a consumer desire for convenience, hydration and sustainability, Bryant said. Unilever-owned Liquid I.V. sits atop the category with $293 million in sales showing a 66.4% increase yearover-year, according to Circana data.

As always, Gatorade is responding to these trends with the release of healthconscious, clean-label products like G Fit and the expansion into more powdered or Nuun-like tablet formats. Per Circana sales numbers, Propel (+ 53.1%) and Gatorade (+25%) are vying for that top seat by continuing to innovate.

Bryant’s colleague at Mintel, Adriana Chychula (also a registered dietician), has been interested in how hydration brands are using messaging to move further into the sports drink category.

“The language is more about that rapid hydration and it’s being branded as this novel technology. When in reality that’s exactly how sports drinks have always functioned – which is based on those ratios of fluid to electrolytes,” Chychula said.

The hydration category has grown over 61% in the last 52 weeks ending May 21 and over 150% in between May 2021 and May 2022, according to SPINS data.

Hydration brands are using the vague understanding that everyone needs more energy and more replenishment of fluids throughout the day to sell products into a category that has largely been dominated by professional athletes or people engaging in heavy exercise, Chychula said.

Replenishment of sodium and potassium is not the only message these days, but a “tacking on of functionality” is resonating with consumers, Chychula said, in many ways breeding a new subcategory of casual sports beverages.

Activity Beverages For The Pickleball Player In All Of Us

New athletic beverages brands are attempting to reach a different consumer base by capitalizing on new sports trends, as well.

Pickleball is one example of a hobby among casual athletes that has burst into the spotlight. Major League Pickleball’s significant interest from professional athletes, investors, and food and beverage brands has shown there is money to be made by attaching onto a casual sports activity.

Everything from premium water brands like Richard’s Rainwater to coffee company BLQK and yerba mate maker CLEAN Cause are just some of the beverage brands sponsoring teams and events on the court. In May, ROAR Organic became the Official Hydration Partner of the Professional Pickleball Association.

Pickleball fever is also being used in marketing materials of many emerging sport drink brands. The homepage of Austin, Texas-based Sap’s shows people sweating it out with paddleboards inhand on the pickle court.

Positioning itself as “a drink for sports and everything else,” Sap’s is tapping into an opportunity in the market for rehydration drinks for non-athletes. Launched by former BIOLYTE executive Jordan Wilson, the brand has leaned into a retro-look and a marketing strategy featuring people biking, hiking and enjoying watersports.

Like many emerging sports and hydration beverages, Sap’s has also positioned itself as an alternative to traditional category leaders with a clean ingredient list,

zero sugar and functional benefits. The canned beverage is made with coconut water powder and fortified with ginger root, shiitake mushrooms, ginseng root, and a number of vitamins and minerals formulated to detoxify, recover and hydrate the body.

Caleb Bryant calls the strategy a “casualization” of the sports drink category.

Brands like Sap’s are “recognizing that most folks consuming these beverages are doing it in just normal consumption occasions,” Bryant said. “They might not be playing basketball. It’s a bit more general health and wellness focused.”

Sustainable Packaging Takes Center Court

And like Sap’s, many brands in this new generation are different for another major reason: aluminum packaging.

Soon-to-be-launched Los Angelesbased brand Local Weather has spent the last two-and-a-half years formulating the perfect amalgam of elements to position itself as a nootropic, sustainable sports drink brand for the casual athlete.

This September, Local Weather is planning to launch a coconut water-based beverage packed with nootropics like Ltyrosine and L-theanine for focus and ashwagandha for stress relief. Along with its functional benefits, the brand is banking on its packaging in 16 oz. all-aluminum, resealable bottles that retail for $2.49 as a pillar of its marketing message.

The packaging choice positions the brand as the only sports drink brand offered in an aluminum capped bottle making the brand “infinitely recyclable and highly sustainable,” co-founder Jon Alagem said.

Although not resealable, Courtside is also using its aluminum packaging as a selling point to a new generation of sports drinkers.

“Plastic was never really thought of in our minds,” co-founder Ariel Irby said. “I think a lot of it just came from our own insights and never really wanting to purchase something plastic. That’s just something that’s growing in the younger demographic and [we’re] trying to produce

a product for that younger demographic.”

Environmental sustainability fits with the consumers the brand is targeting. Co-founder Austin Bezinger describes them as “socially athletic or casually-active individuals.” The brand has kept its focus around connecting with the community in the Los Angeles area – where Courtside is based – by sponsoring hiking clubs and hosting surfing and skateboarding events.

“We’re comfortably living in the leisure space,” Benzinger said.

The company is about to do its first big production run in anticipation of growing its distribution pragmatically through small-to-medium sized independent natural food stores; mostly focused on young, urban areas like Nashville, Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Irby and Benzinger noted that one of the biggest hurdles that Courtside sees is communicating to the public how this new subset fits into the evolving understanding of sports drinks.

“If we call it activity, or if we call it hydration, we can call it an activity/hydration beverage,” Benzinger said. “If we can acknowledge that it is an independent category…we can communicate to retailers effectively the type of beverage that we’re selling.”

BYLT Sports Drinks is launching in The Vitamin Shoppe online on August 1 and will subsequently roll out to the company’s brick-andmortar stores. Additionally, BYLT is slated to drop a yet-to-be-announced new flavor as part of the partnership.

Wellness company Lifted Blends recently unveiled its new sports drink that features hemp CBD with zero THC, Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) and electrolytes. Available in three flavors – Strawberry Pineapple, Lemonade and Blue Razz – each 12 oz. can contains 25mg of hemp CBD.

Ready, a sports nutrition company, announced the debut of a light version of its Ready Sports Drink. Ready Light Sports Drink features the same essential elements to replenish fluid and electrolytes and boost energy, such as superfruits and B vitamins, but with only 20 calories. The new product will be available initially in 16.9 oz. bottles in Classic Lemonade, Mango Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade and Watermelon Lemonade flavors.

The Alkaline Water Company Inc. has begun initial sales of its Alkaline88 Sports drink in brick-and-mortar grocery stores. After a successful e-commerce launch earlier this year, all four flavors of Alkaline88 Sport – Jolly Watermelon, Fruit Punch, Very Berry and Limón Citrus – are now available in over 250 Harris Teeter stores across seven South Atlantic states and Washington, D.C.

AriZona Beverages announced an exclusive partnership with Marvel Entertainment to develop a functional drink called Super LXR Hero Hydration, marking the iced tea maker’s first true leap into the sports drink category. The new hydration beverage is currently available online in a 16 oz. bottle format that is custom designed for the collaboration. Twelve-packs of each flavor are listed at $24.99 and, initially, the new product line will be targeting c-stores through DSD and direct channels as well as ecommerce, including with GoPuff in the Northeast.

Complete hydration beverage brand ROAR Organic announced an exciting new partnership with the leading organization behind the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., the Carvana PPA Tour. Known for providing a refreshing blend of vitamins, antioxidants and electro-

lytes, ROAR has exclusively been named the Official Hydration Partner of the PPA Tour for the 2023 pickleball season.

Barcode is excited to announce its rapid expansion throughout the State of Texas, with its products now available in Albertsons, Randalls, and Tom Thumb stores. This expansion is a significant milestone for the brand, further solidifying its presence in the thriving Texas market after announcing their partnership with this year’s NBA draft first pick Victor Wembanyama.

Hermosa Beach, California-based Adapt SuperWater expanded its lineup of enhanced hydration beverages with the launch of Sleep (Tart Cherry Kiwi) and Focus (Watermelon, Beet & Lime) flavors. Each 14 oz. bottle contains 25mg of hemp extract. Additionally, the brand’s new On-The-Go single-serve drink mixes are currently available for pre-order online. Mirroring the brand’s RTD products, the powdered mixes contain 25mg of hemp, providing athletes and nutritionists the opportunity to bring Adapt on the road.

DEFY, a performance beverage company, has signed an agreement with John Lenore & Co. to distribute its Boost+Immunity performance drinks and ionized, alkaline, pH 9.5+ water throughout San Diego County. DEFY Boost+Immunity features 80mg of Clean Caffeine, plus amino acids and an immunity blend.

Cure Hydration has raised $5.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Lerer Hippeau. The funding arrived as the New York-based functional drink mix brand has expanded its retail presence to over 15,000 doors nationwide. According to the company, Cure has grown an average of 230% annually since its launch and its retail expansion marks a rapid rise in footprint.

BIOLYTE, which touts itself as the first hydration beverage to offer the same amount of electrolytes as an IV bag, continues to build its presence nationwide with its expansion into CVS HealthHUB locations across the country. The clinical hydration drink, offered in five flavors – citrus, berry, melon, tropical and punch – is now stocked on the shelves of over 850 HealthHUB stores plus available for purchase at CVS. com for in-store pickup in select markets, marking the fifth major retail expansion for the Atlanta-based beverage in the last six months.

WHAT’S NEXT for Pre-Mixed RTD Cocktails?

By: Ferron Salniker

Ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage alcohol consumption has grown 104% in the past two years, according to NIQ, but how are trends shifting for spirit-based RTDs, and what are the next big opportunities for producers?

After a meteoric three-year rise –from $3.2 billion in 2018 to $8.9 billion in 2021 – sales of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails and hard seltzers leveled off in 2022, according to Circana’s State of Beverage Alcohol industry report. Those malt-based seltzers, in particular, have struggled to keep momentum, dipping from $4.7 billion in sales in 2021 to $4.4 billion towards the end of last year.

That’s because, despite a slight slowdown in premiumization this year, consumers are still trading up and driving long-term growth in categories like tequila and bourbon, as well as RTDs. More consumers are adapting a “less but better” philosophy, which bodes well for those spirit-based options. In 2022, the volume sold of premium RTDs rose 38%.

While overall growth may have leveled off, the thirst for new canned boozy options has not dried up. When seltzer brands like White Claw and Truly launched, they were among a limited set of options that helped jumpstart sales. Now, the mass proliferation of RTD offerings makes it difficult for consumers to stick to one product or type, and brands are trying to keep up.

“RTD has such a fast rate of innovation, I think the last time I checked 20% of the dollars comes from innovation,”

NEXT Cocktails?

said Andrew Esstman, Director of RTD strategy for Beam Suntory at NIQ’s 360 conference this summer. “You can’t just launch a product and forget about it, RTDs are different from a spirit offering, they are products that people are buying every day so you really have to be agile.”

But as RTD brands and producers from outside the adult beverage category experiment with different types and formats of spirit-based offerings, the producers know that the biggest opportunity lies beyond innovation: it’s channel proliferation, accessing those accounts where they haven’t yet been able to go.

After Vodka and Tequila, What’s Next?

But don’t discount innovation. There’s plenty of room for new varieties. With tequila and vodka battling it out to be America’s favorite spirit, it’s no surprise that the two are also most frequently mixed into RTDs. Vodka and tequilabased RTDs make up 77% of total dollar sales (60% and 17%, respectively), according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data from 3 Tier Beverages. The top seven cocktail types under

cocktail RTDs are all vodka and tequila based, and six of the top 10 SKUs in cocktail RTDs are variety packs, all tequila and vodka based.

Leading brands High Noon and Cutwater have maintained their hold on the segment; dollar sales for the two brands have grown 75% and 39% YoY in the last 52 weeks ending July 15. Like other brands, High Noon recently jumped on the opportunity to appeal to a growing audience of tequila drinkers. The company launched its tequila seltzer in March, with the goal to reach the tequila-first customer.

It’s not the only brand to enter the category this year: Molson Coors expanded to spirits with Topo Chico Spirited and Boston Beer Company is also testing its spirits-based Truly Tequila Soda this summer.

The increase in RTD tequila and vodka brand families reflects how quickly the category as a whole has grown: since the start of 2021, vodka-based brand families have gone from 139 to 261, and tequila bases have more than doubled from 60 to 135, according to 3 Tier Beverages.

The quick proliferation of products has bled into whiskey, gin, and rum-based RTDs too, which make up 34% of total brand families available in the market, even though they only bring in 18% of total dollar sales for cocktail RTDs. However, the distribution growth of RTDs with those bases points to openings on the shelf.

”If I look at rum or whiskey or gin, they're all still growing dollar sales by an impressive amount and they’re all growing their distribution a ton,” said Stephanie Roatis, a consultant at 3 Tier Beverage.

Weighted distribution for vodka and tequila-based RTDs only increased by 3 and 3.8 points respectively in the last 52 weeks, less than RTDs with rum (6.5) American whiskey (7.5) and Canadian whiskey (18) bases.

“These aren't necessarily taking away dollar sales from the other alcohol basis, but rather shelf spaces are opening up for other placements and things outside of vodka and tequila are taking its place,” Roatis said. “I just think the category is still expanding.”

For example, whiskey and cola (+86%) and gin and juice (+122%) are outpacing total category dollar growth, and big brand names are finding running room off of those different spirit bases. One of the brands driving whiskey and cola is Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola canned cocktail, which launched in the U.S. in May and combines two of the world’s most recognizable beverage brands in one packaging. Heineken also recently launched a spirit-based portfolio extension for its Jamaican beer, Red Stripe Rum Drinks.

But innovation in RTDs isn’t just about what’s inside the bottle. While 60% of the 20 most popular products released on Drizly in April, May, and June came in a single-serve format, other ready-to-drink (or pour) formats are picking up. RTD growth was 7% over the last 52 weeks (as of May 13) in off-premise channels, but the premium plus ready-to-serve segment clocked 105% growth, or $298 million in sales. One of the most popular new offerings on Drizly sits in that category, Jennifer Lopez’s recently launched Delola Spritz, a group-sized spritz variant in a 750-ml bottle.

Delola has been joined by other ready-to-serve premium

debuts, including Grey Goose’s Martini and William Grant & Sons’ Milagro Margarita.

Battle for the C-Store

With recent premiumization and home-premise trends, innovation in the premixed cocktails space represents the opportunity to meet consumers looking to treat themselves in a more affordable fashion.

“RTD is skewing much heavier to the Friday wind-down occasion, and that’s where the bulk of the opportunity will be,” said Jon Berg, VP of Beverage Alcohol Thought Leadership at NIQ.

But first, availability has to ramp up. Legislative efforts are heating up in an effort to increase those opportunities. Lobbying for legislation that expands the reach of spiritsbased RTDs, as well as the reduction of states’ excise tax rates on them, is a priority for industry trade groups like the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), which has

argued that products with similar ABVs, regardless of the alcohol base, should be treated equally.

Much of that effort is to provide spirits-based RTDs with access to the convenience and grocery channels, which in some states restrict spirits or high ABV products.

“The C-Store channel is the one to watch,” said Berg. “This is where the Beer business ‘lives’ and it’s where RTD gets some of its biggest consumer pull through.”

As it stands, only about 20% of C-stores are able to sell spirits, he added. Until spirits-based RTD’s can get on a level “availability” playing field with beer and malt-based RTDs, obstacles remain high – but so does the overall opportunity. As laws shift, the SKU rationalization process could change overnight, impacting C-stores the most.

“In other words, the sales threshold to stay on the shelf might take out brands that otherwise thought they were meeting expectations,” said Berg. “RTD is still the wild west, at least for a while.”

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Jove Alkaline Water, Deep Hydration for Skin & Cellular Health

Jove Wellness

Jove is a smooth, great tasting premium alkaline water that is clinically shown to promote Skin and Cellular Health. Jove’s ACH technology® is unique and delivers Deep Hydration® that hydrates at a cellular level to flush out toxins in the body.

A new perspective on hydration

LEVL Beverages Inc.

LEVL is formulated with 20mg of Hemp CBD, Terpenes, a powerful blend of adaptogens, electrolytes, and organic fruit juice. It’s non-carbonated, contains NO THC, 2g of natural sugar, and only 10 calories. LEVL offers additional SKUs with no Hemp CBD.

Marin Kombucha

Made with a uniquely active culture to support performance and recovery. Great tasting signature flavors reflect the bounty of our winecountry inspired local harvest. Organic ingredients and proprietary blend of highest quality black & green teas.

Introducing the cleaner, healthier sports drink for you and our planet

Local Weather

The First Bottled Moringa Iced Tea Mori Leaf

Sparkle from the Inside Out Nixie Sparkling Water, Inc.

Craft Brewed, Organic and NSF GMP for Sport Certified Kombucha

Adaptogenic Beverages for Focus and Stress Relief with 0 Added Sugar

Moment

Moment supports mental wellness through beverages made with fruits, adaptogens, nootropics and mushrooms. With 0 added sugar, 0 caffeine, & low carb/ calories, it's perfect for a morning boost, afternoon reset or evening unwind without the hangover.

LOCK'DIN Nootropic Energy: The Ultimate Brain Performance Cocktail!

Next Gen Beverages LLC

LOCK'DIN is proud to debut NOOTROPIC Energy, the ultimate brain performance drink featuring AMATEA MAX, PURCAF & nooLVL! ZERO artificial flavors or colors! This revolutionary formula delivers mood boosting effects that must be felt to be believed!

A New Kind of Soda™

OLIPOP

OLIPOP combines the classic soda flavor you know and love with prebiotics, plant fiber, and botanicals to support your microbiome and digestive health. Finally, a refreshing soda that's actually good for you.

The Future of Bottled Water

PATH

As the first 100% refillable bottled water in a sleek, durable and recyclable aluminum bottle, PATH provides a sustainable solution to the single-use plastic water bottle crisis plaguing our planet today.

BRAND LISTINGS

#1 Sugar Free sports drink tablet Keeping teenagers healthy & hydrated

Play Hydrated

Teenage athletes deserve better than diabetes, mental health issues, and gut disorders, don't you think? Play Hydrated SUGAR FREE tablet Electrolyte, Energy, Recovery & Immune System. Our family pack has 4 flavors.

Organic Dairy-Free Lattes and Super Concentrated Coffee

Pop & Bottle

Organic, plant-based, and free of refined sugar and fillers, our coffee & tea lattes offer delicious taste, without compromise. Like to customize your coffee? Our Super Concentrated Brew lets you craft your perfect cup in seconds with just 1 Tbsp.

Soda, but better

poppi

poppi is breaking all the soda rules and putting the fun in functional with its gut healthy prebiotic soda that's 25 calories and 5 grams of sugar... or less. Yep, it's the flavor you've known and loved, but better.

RISE Brewing Co's Organic Nitro Cold Brew, Coffee, Tea and Oat Milk

RISE Brewing Co. Our mission is to create the best tasting beverages on the planet using the highest quality Organic ingredients we can source. Enjoy the great taste of our Organic line of Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, Tea, Oat Milk Lattes & Oat Milks at home or on the go.

Fizzing Delicious, No Sugar Kombucha and Functional Drinks

Remedy Drinks

Good Mood Soda - made with 200mg Ashwagandha Rowdy Mermaid

Spirit Based RTD made with Organic Ingredients-Crafted by Chef & Somm

Robin Road Cocktails

We are here for cocktail enthusiasts, busy professionals, the health-conscious, and people who value convenience. Each cocktail is made with organic ingredients to provide an upgraded craft option and a real cocktail experience without sacrifice.

Organic Brewed Tea

BRAND LISTINGS

100% Plant Powered Natural EnergyFUEL YOUR FORCE! ®

SLAM! Super Fuel

ZERO SUGAR - ZERO

ARTIFICIAL - ZERO

B.S.: Natural Energy for Stamina and Performance; Natural Sweeteners for Great Taste with Zero Sugar; Natural Electrolytes for Better Hydration and Recovery; Natural Nootropics for Enhanced Focus and Concentration

Spirited Hive Premium RTD Craft Cocktails Infused with Organic Honey

Spirited Hive

Spirited Hive Premium

RTD Craft Cocktails

Infused with Organic Honey

True Nopal Cactus Water - The Original Cactus Water

True Nopal Cactus Water

True Nopal is the original cactus water!

100% all natural with no added sugars or sweeteners. Contains less than 1/2 the calories & sugar of coconut water while supplying electrolytes, potassium & magnesium. Now Non-GMO Project verified!

Standard Wormwood Distillery Offers a New Model

Standard Wormwood Distillery

Founded in 2012 by lifelong friends and New York State natives Taras Hrabowksy and Sasha Selimotic, Brooklyn’s Standard Wormwood Distillery pushes the boundaries of Wormwood-derived spirits while also creating a new model for cocktail bars.

Delicious, Clean, and Functional Protein with a Purpose

TATU Protein Water

TATU is a convenient source of high-quality protein. Each 12-oz can is packed with 15g of whey protein isolate and has 0g sugar, 0g carbs, and just 60 calories. The only thing better than TATU's taste is our commitment to the planet.

Saint James Iced Tea is a flavor-packed, organic, ready-to-drink beverage dedicated to minimal environmental impact. Equal parts refreshing and uplifting with only 0-4g sugar and 0-25 calories. Our beverages are nutrient dense, non-GMO, with no additives and nothing artificial.

SHINEWATER. All Natural. Vibrant Flavor. Zero sugar. Vitamin D.

ShineWater

Sunshine In A Bottle®! 100% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin D in every bottle. ShineWater is naturally sweetened with ZERO added sugar. Our formulas are full of key electrolytes including Potassium, Magnesium, and Zinc. No artificial color

Sovany Sparkling Water - Organic Fruit. Pure Taste

Sovany Beverage LLC

Sovany Organic Sparkling Water contains 12% real Organic fruit juice. Today’s consumers are looking for brands that reflect their values and beliefs in their products. We're Women Owned, Non-GMO, Vegan with no added sugars. Organic Fruit. Pure Taste

Naturally Flavored Sparkling Waters in 6 Delicious Flavors

Tower Beverage USA

Tower Beverage Brand Alliance with T2T. Since 9/11, The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has been helping America’s heroes by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children. Tower Beverage - NEVER FORGET

Low Sugar, Vitamin Packed, Flavored Electrolyte Water

Victory Beverages

No caffeine, no carbonation, no added color, and only 6g of sugar. Packed with electrolytes and daily vitamins its a great way for the whole family to rehydrate.

Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer & CBD Wine

War Chief Collection

First Native American woman-founded brand is dedicated to promoting wellness and empowering Indigenous communities to make conscious choices. Craft beer in four flavors. Craft Wine in five flavors. Clean • Natural • Low Sugar

• Low Carb • Low Calorie

Saint James Iced Tea

for Cocktail Bars

VOSS+ Water That Works Harder For You Voss Water

ZenWTR Ultra-Pure Vapor Distilled Water in 100% Recycled Bottles

ZenWTR Alkaline Water

For over 48 years, we've traveled the world to connect people with the finest products. At A. Holliday & Company, we source, test, and ship every product we carry. We supply bulk tea varieties (extracts & leaf), coffees (extracts), antioxidants, herbal & superfruit extracts, natural caffeine, polyphenols, EGCG, Rooibos, coconut water powder, and much more.

Abelei Flavors

AIBMR is an industry-leading scientific and regulatory consulting firm, founded in 1978. AIBMR offers key services specifically tailored to the natural products marketplace, including GRAS Independent Conclusions, FDA GRAS & NDI Notifications, toxicology studies, label reviews, claims substantiation, FDA & FTC compliance, and manuscript preparation & publication.

Demos, Events, Experiential

Attack!

Phyto-Fortify Your Functional Beverages

Artemis International, Inc

As a flavor manufacturer abelei creates delicious, application-specific flavors assisting our clients in getting to market faster with flavorings that fit their product requirements. abelei specializes in creating great-tasting sweet brown, citrus fruit, soft fruit and other top-note flavors perfect for the beverage, food, dairy, confectionery, health & nutrition, and pet industries.

Attack! enables brands to accelerate growth through comprehensive, consumer-focused sampling initiatives. National Coverage combined with geo-focused, performancedriven results. Demos, Street Team Sampling, Events & Experiential Activations. Managing all logistics, inventory, fulfillment, staffing, training & metrics. KPI-driven activations to get you promoted!

Extend Your Product’s Shelf Life with aTULC Can Packaging

American Canning

In 2022, American Canning, an Austin-based can packaging company, introduced aluminum Toyo Ultimate Can (aTULC) packaging to the United States for the first time in a brand-new, compactconcept can manufacturing line designed specifically for craft.

Developed by Toyo Seikan Group Holdings in Tokyo, Japan, aTULC is an award-winning and trusted technology that promotes an innovative alternative to traditionally manufactured aluminum cans. Rather than applying internal coatings by spray application post production, aTULC cans are made from BPA-free, pre-coated aluminum sheet. This creates a more consistent and robust barrier between the raw aluminum and the can contents, which is particularly beneficial for storing higher-acidity products. Pre-coating also eliminates the need for water and/or any lubricating and washing chemicals within the manufacturing plant. Added benefits of the aTULC liner include minimal flavor absorption and drastically increased shelfstability for hard-to-hold products.

To discover the complete benefits of aTULC and learn more about how this packaging solution not only protects your brand, but the environment as well, contact American Canning. Low minimum order quantities, quick lead times, and volume and bundling discounts available. Brite cans, shrink-sleeve and printed decorations options, all from Austin, TX, USA.

Finally! Clear Plant-based Proteins For Low pH & High Acid Beverages! Axiom Foods

Flavor Manufacturer

We have served our clients over the past decade testing a wide variety of products! Ranging from beverages, supplements, to raw materials, we have the grounds covered with our science. Our team is confident in operating and testing through our approved analytical methods to provide you the honest, and reliable results you can count on. Feel free to contact us today, we would love to hear from you!

Since 1903, Callisons has created authentic flavors using the highest quality, natural extracts directly from nature. Known as the leader in mint, Callisons develops a diverse portfolio of flavors with a passion for the Beverage, Confection, Oral Care, and Bakery industries. As tastes change and the market expands, we evolve and innovate to remain on the forefront of the next flavor revolution.

Fully automated canning for high-acid beverages with variety pack capabilities, state-of-the-art 350,000 sf facility, 2 million can daily capacity, tunnel pasteurized or cold fill preserved carbonated, still or alcoholic beverages, organic, kosher, halal and sqf level 3 certified. *AZPACK is a refresco beverage company.

Game-changing, Branded Ingredients Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

CanSource is your one-stop-shop for beverage cans. We supply Sleeved, Printed & Brite cans to nearly 1,000 brands as a proud distributor of Ball. We leverage a national footprint and service-obsessed team to provide short lead times, low MOQs & 95% on-time delivery. Call us today and mention this ad for a special promotion.

Brand Identity and Packaging

Cornerstone Strategic Branding

Clean Label Ingredients

Farbest Brands

We’re re-imagining the possibilities for functional beverages. Great things can happen when you sharpen your competitive edge with Bioenergy Ribose and RiaGev because our patented ingredients do more, and they do it better.

We use proprietary core technology and more than 30 years of experience to develop a variety of specialty ingredients and product solutions for healthier living. We help people of all ages feel, perform and look better from the inside out.

We’ve got you covered with innovative ingredients and technology to give you an edge in such high-demand categories as energy, sport performance, metabolism, healthy aging, digestive health, women’s health, cosmetics and personal care, and more.

In addition, we offer value-added services such as product concepts; formulation; market-ready and custom premix services to meet the growing demand for raw material processing prior to manufacturing beverages, food, nutrition bars and dietary supplements (with high- and lowcapacity batch sizes); wax-matrix sustained release tableting; private/white label solutions; bulk packaging; small-pack options for start-ups (5K-plus); quality and regulatory; and marketing.

BLS is your Total Solution Provider. We partner with you to develop or refine your formulations and line extensions with our game-changing, branded ingredients. Let’s take your business to the next level.

Our focus Is connecting your brands package and message with your consumer. We develop the visual communication, strategy and look and feel for your retail package. We are a full service agency, and can take the project from an idea to final print. With 30+ years of experience, we know a thing or two on how to win at retail. Make your brand a winner!

Sustainable by Nature

Our Ingredients. Your Sourcing Simplified. We can help you meet the demand for clean-label ingredients with a full range of high-quality dairy and plant proteins, gum acacia, vitamins, sweeteners, natural colors, as well as USDAcertified organic, and NON-GMO Project Verified ingredients No matter your budget, application, or label claim we can guide you to the ingredients that are right for you.

Clean Label Ingredients

FFP

Doehler is a global producer, marketer and provider of technology driven natural ingredients, ingredient systems and integrated solutions for the global food, beverage and nutrition industry. Our ingredients are derived from natural raw materials. Being sustainable by nature, we help to nourish the world better – good for people, good for planet. WE BRING IDEAS TO LIFE.

FFP’s all-natural beverage ingredient portfolio offers the great, refreshing taste consumers demand with functionality and health benefits they desire. With tea, herb, and cold brew coffee extracts, fermented vegetable juice concentrates, fruit juice powders, and more—FFP has everything beverage manufacturers need to formulate delicious, natural products that keep consumers coming back for more.

CanSource LLC

Cans Supplied Nationwide

Azpack

Contract Manufacturer

Doehler North America

We Create Brands That Connect CBX

The

Social Show

Firebelly Marketing

Natural Beverage Development

Coffeeberry® Cascara: From An Upcycled Superfruit

We feature leaders of mission-driven food and beverage brands. Come listen to origin stories—and insights about current industry trends, connecting with your audience, building a community, making the world a better place, and of course, #founderlife.

Custom Flavor Development

Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

Natural beverages are tricky—but the benefits they provide won’t matter if nobody drinks them! Luckily, the Beverage Architects at Flavorman can make your natural beverage as flavorful as it is functional. With 30 years in the business, Flavorman is the best partner to custom formulate your natural beverage to your unique specifications. Together, we'll change what the world is drinking.

Our Forté is Delicious

Forté

Available

We are the perfect choice for your beverage flavors. Our experienced team is guided by a commitment to creating innovative, superior quality products. Our "AA" BRC audit grade represents our commitment to food safety and quality assurance. Ask us for your clean label requirements, including Organic, Non GMO, Natural, Gluten free and Vegan. Our team is up to the challenge. Call us today.

At Forté Flavors, we believe that great taste is the key to your beverage's success. That's why we are so passionate about creating mouthwatering flavors that will make your taste buds dance. Let's raise our glasses and toast to the wonders of natural or organic beverage flavors! Get in touch and let's work on something amazing together!

G3 is a leading packaging and logistics provider. G3 Packaging provides aluminum cans and can ends with a variety of brite cans sold by the pallet to full truckloads. We have fast turnaround times as cans are sourced domestically and in stock: 100ml, 12oz std & sleek, 250ml, 330ml, & 16oz std. G3 Logistics offers bulk and finished good transportation and 3PL warehousing nationally and regionally.

Flavorman

Flavors

Firebelly

FutureCeuticals

Brite Cans

G3 Enterprises

Coconut Beverage Ingredients

Franklin Baker, Inc.

Gusmer Brewing Solutions

Gusmer Enterprises

Mobile Canning Solutions

Iron Heart Canning Co

Krier

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the largest processor of coconut ingredients in the Philippines as the premier supplier to the global beverage market. Our extensive portfolio of coconut products includes Organic & Non-Organic Aseptic Coconut Water, Coconut Milk 17%/Cream 24%, Coconut Concentrate, Creamed Coconut. Our extensive third-party certifications are unrivaled to the highest product standards.

EXBERRY® Plant-Based Colors

GNT USA, LLC

Since 1924, Gusmer has taken a revolutionary approach to serving the brewer’s vision. It’s why Gusmer offers a full line of solutions for the brewing industry including fermentation and processing aids, filtration media and equipment, analytical products and instrumentation, processing equipment, and analytical laboratory services. Contact your local Gusmer Technical Sales Representative today!

Ingredient Supplier

International Food Products Co

IHC is your solution to guide you through the canning process! With over 250 MILLION cans filled to date, IHC offers unmatched Experience and Expertise. We service the Eastern US and deliver Quality you can count on – Guaranteed seams, All beverage types, All can sizes, Materials sourcing, & Co-Packaging Partners –whatever your situation we can get your product canned. IHC is your one stop shop!

Clean Label Extracts

Javo Beverage Company

Krier Foods is a leading beverage contract producer recognized for excellence and innovation. We specialize in non-carbonated & carbonated drinks, fruit juices, teas, functional drinks, energy drinks, & more. Our commitment to quality & customer satisfaction has established us as a trusted beverage industry partner for over 100 years.

Cans: Printed, Sleeved & Brite

Lagersmith Can Supply Co.

EXBERRY® by GNT is the leading brand of natural colors for the food and beverage industry. Our colors are non-GMO and derived solely from fruits, vegetables, and edible plants through a process of chopping, pressing, filtering and blending. Our team of technical specialists are available to guide customers through each stage of the formulation and upscaling process.

Over the last two generations, our family-owned company has grown from a sugar supplier to a one-stop ingredient shop. We have 14 distribution centers across the country and manufacture custom ingredient systems at our SQF-certified facility, Aviator. From functional ingredients to custom sweetener systems, we have what you need to create a successful beverage.

North America’s Premier Print and Packaging House Since 1981

Glenmore Printing + Packaging

Founded in 2001, Javo is an extraction company that uses a proprietary process to produce fresh, clean-labeled coffee, tea and botanical extracts for the food and beverage industry. We use clean ingredients to craft products for global and emerging brands. Our production facilities located in Vista, Calif. and Indianapolis, Ind. are Safe Quality Foods (SQF), QAI organic and kosher certified.

Your Next Innovative Beverage Starts Here

Kerry

Alluminate your brand with Lagersmith printed cans. Specialty finishes & tactile effects. Advanced ink adhesion technology withstands pasteurization. Industry leading pricing from our dock to yours. Lightning fast turnarounds. Visit our website to request a sample. From ends to case trays, we stock all the canning supplies needed to complete your order.

Looking to safeguard the quality and shelf-life of your beverage? LANXESS Corporation offers two unique and innovative technologies, Velcorin® and Nagardo®, which provide microbiological protection in a wide variety of beverages.

Velcorin® (Dimethyl Dicarbonate) is a cold sterilization agent that kills microorganisms during production, resulting in cleaner and more stable beverages.

Benefits of Velcorin® include:

• No impact on sensory profile

• Clean label solution

• Compatibility with all types of common packaging

• Cost-effective

• Application-specific advice and services from Velcorin® team

Nagardo® (Dacryopinax Spathularia) is a natural guardian that protects against beverage spoilage to secure and prolong shelf life.

Benefits of Nagardo® include:

• Achieve natural & consumer friendly claims

• Efficient control of a broad range of spoilage organisms

• No impact on sensory profile

• Broad application in a variety of beverages

• Easy integration into production process

• Application-specific advice and services from Nagardo® team

LANXESS Corporation hopes to conveniently meet all of your microbiological protection needs with our widely applicable technologies and services.

For more information on Velcorin®, please visit velcorin.com.

For more information on Nagardo®, please visit nagardo.com.

MATCHA.COM Organic Bulk Matcha, Best Price & Quality Japanese Matcha MATCHA.COM

Mojonnier USA, LLC

Why Switch to MATCHA.COM for your Bulk or Private Label Matcha Needs?

• Largest Organic Matcha Production Facility in Japan

• Guaranteed Best Price to Quality Ratio on the Market

• Advanced U.S. Market Expertise

• No order too big or small - We regularly fulfill orders 10,000KG+

• All QA paperwork ready to go

• Japanese Matcha from our vertically integrated farms and production facilities

• Aggressive lead-times to meet any production timeline

• Refrigerated shipping and warehousing = Longest Shelf Life & Freshest Matcha

Our services are approved by all major manufacturers, distributors, certifying bodies, and retail outlets. Aggressive lead-times and can meet any production timeline. We are a verticallyintegrated Japanese provider of both USDA Organic matcha, and conventional matcha. Our independent network of multi-generational farm cooperatives allow us to hit ANY price and quality your project requires. No order too large or too small or too big. From 1.1lb (500g) bags all the way to FCL (Full Container Loads). As the authoritative U.S. experts in all things matcha we offer advice and education to help you understand matcha in the context of your application as well as the history, production practices, health benefits, and anything else you want to know to help you create the most popular SKU and market it effectively to your customers.

*Contact bulk@matcha.com

At Mojonnier, we pride ourselves on being responsive to our customers’ needs and goals through personal and direct customer service. We will be your single source supplier for all of your needs to minimize your downtime and increase revenue. Mojonnier team members have decades of experience in the beverage processing industry.

Our equipment offerings include:

Mix Processors

Meter-based mix processors designed to produce carbonated beverages metering syrup, deaerated water and CO2. The mix product is cooled by a plate heat exchanger with glycol. Finished mix product can also bypass the blender portion of the mix processor and be chilled and carbonated. Instruments, automatic valves and controls.

Syrup Rooms

Complete customizable syrup room solutions to meet product and ingredient mixing needs.

Flash Pasteurizers

Flash pasteurizer units are designed to eliminate microorganisms and enzymes to preserve product characteristics.

Tunnel Pasteurizers

The tunnel units are designed to ensure suitable thermal treatment to products of various sizes and package types.

Deaeration Systems for Beverage

GTS deaeration system with nitrogen option. GasTran Systems designs and manufactures complete systems to deliver deaerated water for up to three different bottling lines simultaneously.

Flavor & Taste Solutions

McCormick FONA

Flavor Manufacturer

Mother Murphy's Flavors

Consumers today want it all—you’re balancing the demands of great taste, supply chain challenges, regulatory hurdles and consumer acceptance. The experts at McCormick FONA can help. From ideation to launch, we can create a seamless, winning path for you. Design, develop and scale up using our Beverage Innovation Studio in Geneva, IL or Irvine, CA. We'll bring the best taste solutions to the table.

Trust the Monk.

Monk Fruit Corp.

Mother Murphy's is a full service flavor manufacturer dedicated to supporting customer needs through quality and flavor innovation. At Mother Murphy's we specialize in flavor and prototype development for the beverage industry and have over 60,000 flavors in our portfolio. We have made the world taste better since 1946.

Contract Manufacturer

Nor-Cal Beverage Co

Monk fruit is an ingredient that allows you to create great tasting, innovative products with significantly less sugar and calories - all from the goodness of fruit. Monk Fruit Corp., the recognized global industry leader, offers the best quality and widest range of monk fruit products on the market. Looking for monk fruit - Trust the monk.™

Nor-Cal Beverage Company, Inc. is a full-service Contract Manufacturer with two production facilities in Northern and Southern California. Both locations offer a range of production capabilities and certifications. We also offer finished goods and distribution service centers positioned to supply West Coast fulfillment needs. Family owned and operated since 1937 also Women's Owned Business.

Perfectly Smooth Flax for Beverages Pizzey Ingredients

Filling and Closing Solutions

Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Blending and Process Experts

Statco-DSI Process Systems

Pneumatic Scale Angelus is a global leader in the design and manufacture of packaging solutions for filling, capping, seaming, and labeling applications, as well as versatile container handling systems and aftermarket support. We design innovative equipment, using the most advanced technologies, to the unique specifications of our customers in Food, Beverage, Craft Beverage, and Personal Care.

Beverage & Food Development

PTM Food

Statco-DSI is a full-service equipment and integration service provider to the food and beverage industry, with specialties in dry powder mixing, continuous inline blending, as well as de-aeration and carbonation. Operating from 11 offices coast-to-coast, we are able to assist with all of your beverage processing requirements.

Operations & Production

Steele Craft Consulting

PTM Food is your premier product development & manufacturing support firm. Our wide range of expertise, development, and creativity achieves an exciting point of difference between your product and competitors. We work hard to uncover key industry insights, developing products that have a competitive edge. Whether your project is simple or a complex one, we’re your team!

With over 17 years in operations and production, I have brought companies from incubator to production, from small-scale to nationwide. My team and I can manage all aspects of operations, production and supply chain or jump in and assist in short-term projects as needed. Together we will build your brand and bring it to market. Let's do this thing!

100% Recycled Multipacks PakTech

Keg Management and Beverage Logistics

Fruit & Vegetable Ingredients

Stiebs

Beer Centrifuges

Trucent

Stiebs, since 2005, has been devoted to sourcing, processing & delivering the world's finest plant-based products. We offer a full line of fruit & vegetable based ingredients as Single Strength Juice, Juice Concentrates, Purees and IQF Cubes. From the beginning stages of product development to delivering an on-going supply of premium natural products, our team is here to help you succeed.

We Make Life Taste Better

T. Hasegawa

About the BevPros

SLG, a DHL company, has provided keg management, beverage disposal, and beverage logistics services to producers, importers, and distributors for almost 40 years.

We offer two options to build your keg inventory: either lease-to-own (KegFleet) or used keg sales. KegID is a robust tracking app to manage those assets, their contents, and keg maintenance schedules. When your kegs leave your custody, Kegspediter (reverse logistics) will retrieve and return empty kegs to the brewery.

We are also dedicated advocates for sustainability and environmental stewardship. EcoBev, our turnkey solution for managing the disposal (and applicable recycling) of unsaleable alcohol, cider, beer, and spirits has been helping producers since the early 2000’s.

Our services can grow with you through any stage of your business. www.BevPros.com

T. Hasegawa has been recognized around the world for flavor innovation that creates value for our customers and allows them to build their brand's flavor to unrivaled standards for more than a century. Our culinary passion uniquely positions new product development or enhancements for all of your food and beverage formulations.

Efficient brewery operation and consistent, high-quality production is more critical than ever. If you're experiencing drags in production, a beer centrifuge could significantly enhance your process. Trucent sells, rents, and services centrifuges designed for beer. With ten different sizes and multiple automation options, Trucent accommodates all beer styles and facility sizes. Contact us today.

Revenue Management Software

UpClear

UpClear makes Revenue Management software used by more than 90 leading food and beverage brands. Its BluePlanner platform is an integrated SaaS solution supporting Trade Promotion Management, Trade Promotion Optimization, Integrated Business Planning, and Revenue Growth Management. UpClear services global and regional brands in over 20 countries across America, Europe, and Asia.

SLG BevPros (a DHL Company)

Mastering the Craft of Flavoring Sovereign Flavors Inc.

Boost your drinks with our natural and functional agave ingredients. The Agave Sweetener Company.

MORRE-TEC Industries Inc., founded in 1987, has established a leading position as a global supplier of specialty vitamins and mineral supplements for the nutrition, beverage and personal care industries. With the acquisition of the Vitacyclix business and in 2016, the company gained a unique technology for the production of water-soluble formulations for fat soluble vitamins, which is especially useful for the fortification of dairy products, functional beverages as well as other food and nutritional applications.

A complete selection of vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids and proteins as well both vegan and kosher options are available. We welcome the opportunity to develop custom formulations of blends for your specific needs.

For any questions or inquiries please visit our website, www.morretec.com; call 908-688-9009 or email sales@morretec.com

Beverage Shipping Solutions

Whale Pod Shipper

UpCup Creations

We are 100% dedicated to new beverage creation and innovation. We work with emerging and established product brands and categories. UpCup is a nimble, resourceful - boutiquestyle firm focused on concept development, formulation, and commercialization to help you bring new things to market quickly.

COMPANY

!MPROV Booze-Free Cocktails

A. Holliday & Company Inc.

Abelei Flavors

AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

Amaz

American Canning

Aqua ViTea

Ardor Organic, Inc.

Artemis International, Inc

Attack!

Axiom Foods

AZ Laboratories

CONTACT NAME CITY STATE PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Alex Brooks San Diego CA (858) 449-8808 improvcocktails.com

Christine Renken Toronto - (416) 225-2217 teacoff.com

Mike Allegretti North Aurora IL (630) 859-1410 abelei.com

Jared Brodin Seattle WA (253) 286-2888 aibmr.com

Gustavo Nader Santa Monica CA (310) 310-0672 liveamaz.com

Tammy Duhaime Austin TX (512) 931-1226 americancanning.com

Nicole Palmer Middlebury VT - aquavitea.com

Allison Wilson Napa CA (503) 332-0456 ardororganic.com

Randy Kreienbrink Fort Wayne IN (260) 436-6899 artemis-nutraceuticals.com

Christian Jurinka Portland OR (415) 777-5236 attackmarketing.com

Rick Ray Bell Canyon CA (800) 711-3587 axiomfoods.com

Xin Wang Tempe AZ (480) 329-8779 azlaboratories.com

Azpack - Tempe AZ (480) 449-7770 azpack.com

Babe Kombucha

Beliv

Big Easy

Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

Blind Tiger Spirit-Free

Bollygood

Boxed Water Is Better

Brew Dr. Kombucha

Vinnie Pavan San Diego CA (619) 961-5037 babekombucha.com

Gabriela Ramirez - CA (305) 979-0805 drinkoca.com

Chris Han - - - drinkbigeasy.com

Penny Portner Ham Lake MN (763) 746-3926 bioenergylifescience.com

Rebecca Styn Erie PA (814) 881-9791 blindtigerspiritfree.com

Maxine Henderson Carmel IN (678) 591-9006 Bollygood.com

Robert Koenen Holland MI (616) 856-0558 boxedwaterisbetter.com

Rob Nollenberger Portland OR (503) 984-1561 brewdrkombucha.com

BUBBL'R Zach Lastrilla Windsor WI (608) 354-4359 drinkbubblr.com

C&B Beverage LLC.

Mike Robinson Las Vegas NV (702) 591-3049 essenceph10.com

Callisons Kim Carson Cincinnati OH - callisons.com

Cann Sabine van der Linden Los Angeles CA (718) 708-1087 drinkcann.com

CanSource LLC

CBX

Clarendon Flavors, LLC

CLEAN Cause

Robert Renfro Longmont CO (833) 228-3959 cansource.com

Mark Christrou New York NY (212) 452-5423 cbx.com

Brad Compton Louisville KY (502) 548-6393 clarendonflavors.com

Cortney Hollinger Austin TX (512) 677-5780 cleancause.com

CoAqua Jay Ponte Vedra Beach FL (704) 557-6151 drinkcoaqua.com

Cocovibe

Cornerstone Strategic Branding

daio Company

Dudley Fitzpatrick Lawrenceville - (215) 499-4149 cocovibe.com

Jill Tapia New York NY (212) 686-6023 cornerstonebranding.com

Jason McAlpin Atlanta GA (240) 455-2734 drinkdaio.com

DECIBEL Frank Nicholas Miami FL (847) 922-2625 drinkdecibel.com

Digican Printing

Becky Tipton O'Fallon MO (770) 335-2371 digicanprinting.com

Doehler North America Customer Service Cartersville GA (888) 367-8327 doehler.com

Drink Weird

Enesis USA, LLC

Ronnie Bruland Austin TX (512) 987-2864 drinkweird.com

Michael Pizzimenti Los Angeles CA (917) 747-6263 DrinkScrubber.com

eon Longevity Yashmay Gordhon Fort Worth TX - eon-longevity.com

Eternal Water - Walnut Creek CA (925) 378-7388 eternalwater.com

Exponent Energy

Farbest Brands

MIke Pullam London - (519) 671-8700 drinkexponent.com

Tracey Jordan Park Ridge NJ (201) 573-4900 farbest.com

Fever-Tree Amanda Stein New York NY (917) 601-4873 fever-tree.com

FFP

William Kirkland Lake Mary FL (352) 357-4141 floridafood.com

FIJI Water Alex Van Lang Los Angeles CA - fijiwater.com

Firebelly Marketing Duncan Alney Indianapolis IN (317) 557-4460 firebellymarketing.com

Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

Colleen Roberts South Plainfield NJ (908) 822-8855 FlavorDynamics.com

Flavorman Spencer McGuire Louisville KY (502) 301-8136 flavorman.com

Flow Beverages Inc.

Forté Flavors

Franklin Baker, Inc.

Krystal Pena Aurora - (646) 319-4973 flowhydration.com

Janet Guzman Valencia CA (818) 307-4062 forteflavors.com

John Slade Memphis TN (901) 881-6681 franklinbaker.com

FutureCeuticals Ryan Wories Momence IL (888) 452-6853 futureceuticals.com

G.O.A.T. Fuel, Inc. Tim Adam Plano TX (309) 269-6594 goatfuel.com

G3 Enterprises Catlyn Dzioba Modesto CA (209) 480-4124 g3enterprises.com

Glenmore Printing + Packaging - Vancouver - (604) 273-6323 glenmorecustomprint.com

GNT USA, LLC Jeannette O'Brien Dallas NC (704) 469-5555 exberry.com

Goldthread Tonics Lindsey Hurtt White Plains NY (212) 996-9646 drinkgoldthread.com

Greene Concepts, Inc. Lenny Greene Clovis CA (559) 434-1000 bewaterbeyou.com

Gusmer Enterprises - Mountainside NJ (866) 213-1131 GusmerBeer.com

H2Om International, Inc. Lex Lang Los Angeles CA (818) 761-5759 h2omwater.com

H2OPS Paul Tecker Anaheim CA (714) 392-4414 h2ops.com

Hawai‘i Volcanic Beverages

Donovan Princeville HI (808) 639-9394 hawaiivolcanic.com

Honeydrop Andrew Lorig New York NY (917) 913-6363 Honeydrop.com

Humanitea Company Joe Garza Riverside CA (951) 966-9432 drinkHUMANITEA.com

Icelandic Glacial

ICI Foods

International Food Products Co

Iron Heart Canning Co

Javo Beverage Company

Jove Wellness

Kerry

Krier Foods

Lagersmith Can Supply Co.

Lanxess Corporation

LEVL Beverages Inc.

Local Weather

Marin Kombucha

MATCHA.COM

McCormick FONA

Mojonnier USA, LLC

Cliff Benoit Los Angeles CA (424) 201-6800 icelandicglacial.com

Nina Vincent - - (804) 935-1700 x501 -

Mathew Brady Fenton MO (314) 422-2324 ifpc.com

Roger Kissling - - (908) 619-5449 ironheartcanning.com

Joanne Sheean Vista IL (760) 330-1141 javobeverage.com

Steve Crouppen Boca Raton FL - drinkjove.com

Amanda Wolff Beloit WI (608) 201-5107 kerry.com

Nicole Depies Random Lake WI (920) 994-2469 krierfoods.com

Nathan Smith St. Paul MN (612) 800-2169 lagersmith.com

Michael Turpin Pittsburgh PA (817) 357-5851 velcorin.com

Matthew Kemper Corona Del Mar CA (310) 987-7361 drinklevl.com

Jordan Shulman - - (831) 345-6613 drinklocalweather.com

Mike Stern Corte Madera CA (404) 281-5646 marinkombucha.com

Team Matcha Tucson AZ (520) 273-2110 matcha.com

John Fishel Geneva IL (630) 578-8638 fona.com

Bob Green Streetsboro OH (216) 225-7906 mojonnier.com

Moment Yasmina Bennis West New York NY (171) 350-4223 drinkmoment.com

Monk Fruit Corp.

Mori Leaf

Mother Murphy's Flavors

Melina Ovassapian Libertyville IL (847) 367-6665 monkfruitcorp.com

Julie Lee Los Angeles CA (917) 603-2177 morileaf.com

Michael Oden Greensboro NC (336) 273-1737 mothermurphys.com

Nexira Franck Gillet Somerville NJ (908) 707-9400 nexira.com

Next Gen Beverages LLC

Nixie Sparkling Water, Inc.

Nor-Cal Beverage Co

Odyssey Wellness LLC

OLIPOP

Mike Holley Jackson WY (602) 326-8290 lockdin.com

Sarah Alexander Larkspur CA - drinknixie.com

Pete Grego West Sacramento CA (916) 372-0600 ncbev.com

Margie Adelman Fort Lauderdale FL (916) 220-3500 odysseyelixir.com

Leah Dockstader Oakland CA (949) 525-3698 drinkolipop.com

PakTech - - OR (541) 461-5000 PakTech-opi.com

PATH - Fremont CA - drinkpath.com

Pizzey Ingredients

Mary Ekman Russell - (651) 797-3168 pizzeyingredients.com

Play Hydrated Gerardo Flores Castro San Antonio TX (525) 521-0955 playhydrated.com

Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Pop & Bottle

poppi

Gigi Lorence Stow OH (800) 992-0491 psangelus.com

Amelia Winslow Covina CA (310) 484-6140 popandbottle.com

Sophia Sesto - - - drinkpoppi.com

PTM Food Don Rodgers Wall Township NJ (888) 736-6339 ptmfood.com

Remedy Drinks

RISE Brewing Co.

Robin Road Cocktails

Anne West Hermosa Beach CA (310) 408-5061 remedydrinks.com

Jarrett McGovern Stamford CT (914) 646-1655 RiseBrewingCop.com

Theresa Robbins New Philadelphia OH (330) 606-0631 robinroadcocktails.com

Rowdy Mermaid Arielle Madilian Boulder CO (303) 396-0498 rowdymermaid.com

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

COMPANY

Saint James Iced Tea

CONTACT NAME CITY STATE PHONE NUMBER WEB SITE

Roy Warren Boca Raton FL (561) 632-0995 saintjamesicedtea.com

ShineWater Clare Verdery Bay City MI (312) 543-0521 shinewater.com

Ska Fabricating

Jake Kolakowski Durango CO (970) 403-8562 skafabricating.com

SLAM! Super Fuel Joe Liebke Los Angeles CA (800) 712-2800 drinkSLAM.com

SLG BevPros (a DHL Company)

Sovany Beverage LLC

Sovereign Flavors Inc.

SPI West Port Inc

The BevPros Westerville OH (281) 902-5500 BevPros.com

Robert Saunders Las Vegas NV (714) 270-4400 Sovany.com

David Ames Santa Ana CA (714) 437-1996 sovereignflavors.com

Brian Choi South San Francisco CA (650) 616-7777 alodrink.com

Spirited Hive Pete Young Denver CO (303) 886-3176 spiritedhive.com

Standard Wormwood Distillery

Sasha Selimotic New York NY (718) 635-4368 standardwormwood.com

Statco-DSI Process Systems Randy Smith Huntington Beach CA (714) 375-6300 statco-dsi.com

Steele Craft Consulting Rachaal Steele Los Angeles & Vancouver CA (604) 259-2026 -

Stiebs Brian Nova Madera CA (559) 661-0031 stiebs.com

T. Hasegawa

TATU Protein Water

Mark Webster Cerritos CA (714) 736-7121 thasegawa.com

Jacoba Gundle Portland OR (503) 369-9644 drinktatu.com

Tetra Pak Ross Peets Denton TX (940) 977-0693 tetrapak.com

The Agave Sweetener Company. - Zapopan - (523) 332-0199 theagavesweetenercompany.com

Tower Beverage USA

Bill Richards New York NY (212) 220-6674 TowerBeverage.com

Trax Georgios Tzafis New York NY - traxretail.com

Trucent Jeremy Vogel - - (734) 474-8554 trucent.com

True Nopal Cactus Water - Scottsdale AZ (480) 636-8044 truenopal.com

TWG Health and Nutrition - Lafayette LA (337) 783-3096 twghealthandnutrition.com

UpClear Kurt Kaiser New York NY (212) 989-5000 upclear.com

UpCup Creations Jill Talcott Seattle WA (206) 618-6410 upcupcreations.com

Victory Beverages Kevin Swindell Alexander AR (901) 486-8656 DrinkVictory.com

Vitacyclix, Div of MORRE-TEC Maria Jewelyn Mendoza Union NJ (908) 688-9009 morretec.com

Voss Water Scott Munz - - (914) 714-4300 Vosswater.com

War Chief Collection Jody Colbert Walters OK (580) 483-3905 warchiefcollection.com

Whale Pod Shipper Jim MacGregor Okemos MI (517) 386-1375 whalepodshipper.com

Yesly Water Storm Miller Sarasota FL - yeslywater.com

ZenWTR Alkaline Water - Long Beach CA (833) 332-3936 zenwtr.com

Day One Beverages Announces Stadium Retail Partnership With

Phoenix Rising FC

Sparkling water + CBD brand Day One Beverages announced an exclusive stadium retail partnership with Phoenix Rising FC. This partnership marks the first collaboration between a professional sports franchise in Arizona and a CBD brand.

Starting July 22 and continuing until the team’s final regular season home game on Oct. 7, attendees will have the opportunity to buy 12-ounce cans of Day One in three flavors: lemon, lime and grapefruit. Beverages will be available for purchase at select concession stands at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium, located at 3801 E. Washington Street in Phoenix.

As part of this exclusive partnership, Day One Beverages and Rising will launch a sweepstakes kickoff challenge. Two lucky fans will compete on-field at halftime during the club’s next $1 Beer Night on Wednesday, Aug. 30, for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Colorado Springs and attend the club’s final game of the USL regular season on Oct. 14, 2023.

To participate, entrants must be 18 years or older and live in Arizona. Airfare, ground transportation and hotel accommodations are included. Fans can enter online at PHXRisingFC.com. Rules and regulations will be provided upon entry.

“Joining hands with the Phoenix Rising FC is a game-changer for Day One,” said Chris Clifford, Day One Beverages founder and CEO. “We’re incredibly excited to amplify the match-day experience by introducing our refreshing CBD-infused beverages to fans, igniting a new wave of enjoyment, well-being and mental wellness. We truly believe that your better tomorrow starts today, and Day One provides a pathway to tranquility and a revitalized mindset.”

Phoenix Rising’s partnership with Day One Beverages is built upon the organizations’ shared commitment to overall wellness, improving mental health and being active within the community.

“Phoenix Rising fans are active, fun-loving and community orientated,” said Bobby Dulle, club president for the Phoenix Rising. “We hope those shared attributes are the foundation for a beneficial partnership between Rising and Day One for years to come. We look forward to enhancing our gameday experience by offering CBD-infused beverages at our matches.”

Livvy Dunne Joins Accelerator Active Energy As Newest Brand Ambassador

LSU Gymnast and TikTok sensation Livvy Dunne is the newest brand ambassador of Accelerator Active Energy, a modern, better-for-you performance energy drink. Accelerator Active Energy is specifically formulated to enable peak performance for the modern athlete. With a proprietary blend of natural caffeine, plantbased thermogenics, antioxidants and other proprietary ingredients to provide sustained energy, accelerate your metabolism, enhance your focus with zero sugar and great flavors so you can take on the day. It’s imperative for athletes to know exactly what they’re putting in their bodies is of the highest quality of nutrients, and that is exactly what Accelerator is and the reason some of the best athletes on the planet have implemented Accelerator into their daily routine. Accelerator is NSF Certified. Accelerator is available nationwide at Target, Walmart, 7-Eleven, Dollar General, QuikTrip, Meijer and more.

“Livvy is one of the most impactful people in the lifestyle space as both an immensely popular creator and a top collegiate athlete. She has all of the intangibles we look for in a partner to join our growing roster at Accelerator,” said Michael Fine, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Accelerator Energy. “It’s really exciting for us as a brand to have her on board, and we know the Accelerator consumer is going to love the things we do with our partnership together.”

Livvy joins a star-studded group of Accelerator Active Energy ambassadors, including Aaron Judge, Travis Kelce, Jalen Hurts, Freddie Freeman, Lexi Thompson, Darius Garland and Brooks Koepka. As part of the partnership announcement Accelerator will be running a social contest where Livvy will be following one fan back on their social channel.

Jove Water Announces Undefeated World Champion Boxer Seniesa Estrada As Celebrity Brand Ambassador

Jove, the leading premium, functional alkaline water brand, proudly announces the appointment of undefeated world champion boxer Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada as their newest celebrity ambassador. This announcement marks an exciting collaboration between Jove and one of the most talented and inspiring athletes in the world of boxing with the mission of providing Deep Hydration for the sporting community.

At only 31 years old, Seniesa Estrada has made a remarkable impact on the sport of boxing. As an American professional boxer, she holds an undefeated record and has earned two world titles. Her dedication, skill, and unbeatable spirit have propelled her to the top of her division, making her a true force to be reckoned with.

“We are honored to have Seniesa join Jove Water as one of our ambassadors,” says Tammy Hobbs, Jove Chief Executive Officer. “We believe Seniesa’s partnership will inspire individuals

around the world to push their limits and stay hydrated while pursuing their passion,” she added.

Seniesa Estrada’s partnership with Jove Water showcases her unwavering dedication to maintaining peak performance both inside and outside the ring. As a professional athlete, she understands the importance of hydration in maximizing her potential. By choosing Jove Water as her hydration partner, Seniesa ensures that she remains at the top of her game and ready for any challenge.

“As a rising female athlete who’s always in front of the camera, it’s very important to me that my skin is as hydrated and healthy as possible,” said Estrada. “Hydration is a crucial element in my training and performance and with Jove, I’ve found a superior hydration solution that keeps me feeling light and energized during my workouts. I am excited to promote the benefits of staying hydrated and inspire others to

Seoul Juice Creates First Ever Beverage

pursue their goals while prioritizing their health.”

Being chosen as Jove’s first athlete ambassador holds significant importance for Estrada, particularly as a woman. “Being Jove’s first athlete ambassador is so exciting, especially as a female,” she notes. “I want people of all ages to know my story/journey to the top in hopes of giving a positive influence in whatever it is that they choose to do while inspiring both audiences of myself and Jove.”

As Jove Water’s ambassador, Seniesa Estrada will actively engage in social media campaigns and community initiatives. She will also have Jove by her side as she defends her WBC and WBA minimum weight world titles on Friday, July 28 at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Through her partnership with Jove Water, Estrada aims to inspire individuals to embrace an active lifestyle, pursue their dreams, and prioritize their well-being.

With The Cavinder Twins

NIL Fund

Seoul Juice, a healthy all-natural Korean Pear beverage that is available in Bristol Farms and Costco nationwide and is the first of its kind in the United States inspired by the Korean Pear juices that are readily available overseas, has brought on-board mega social media stars Hanna and Haley Cavinder aka The Cavinder Twins.

The Twins — who became top NIL earners while playing basketball at the University of Miami — have joined the beverage company as “Head of Partnerships” and have joined as equity partners in the business. They will be responsible for running the newly formed Female NIL Fund created by Seoul Juice

Seoul Juice’s founder Luis Manta tells BevNET exclusively, “Less than 30% of total NIL funding goes to female college athletes and NIL deals have only been around for 2 years. We were extremely disappointed when we heard that statistic and wanted to do something to help change it. We will be the first brand to start a Female NIL focused campaign where we help partner with and support female collegiate athletics. The Cavinder Twins were trailblazer’s for NIL partnerships and were the perfect partner to help spread awareness. They

will be leading the charge in helping us bring more female college athletes onboard to help spread the word about Seoul Juice and clean hydration. Female athletes are our main customer demographic so it means a lot to us to help support their athletic and collegiate goals.”

Along with the Cavinder Twins, Seoul Juice recently announced a partnership with Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders and Jordan Morris of the Seattle Sounders. Other investors/partners/advisors for the growing beverage include John Cerasani of Glencrest Global Venture Capital, Jacob Jaber, the founder of Philz Coffee, Zack Teperman, the founder of ZTPR, Jeffrey Chernick, Bob Sirmans and other angel investors.

Electrolit Pushes Limits With Summer Ad Campaign Splash

Electrolit – the preferred, premium hydration beverage made from pharmaceutical quality ingredients – kicks off summer with a multi-million dollar advertising campaign. Anchored to the premise of reaching, living and pushing limits, the advert is part of its omnichannel media strategy to raise awareness among consumers of where Electrolit’s scientifically-backed formula fits into their lives.

Until August 30, 2023, the advertising campaign will run targeting markets where Electrolit is most available across the U.S., keeping the brand front of mind during hydration season. This will support traffic and trial among its retail partners, which include 7-Eleven, Walmart, Kroger and Publix, among others.

“The instant hydration Electrolit provides has a place in everyone’s lives, everywhere,” said Jake Sloan, Sr. Marketing Director of Electrolit USA. “Whether rehydrating after a workout in the warmer weather or replenishing electrolytes post-party, our summer campaign captures the versatility of Electrolit and viewability will be front and center where it matters most across the country.”

Tapping into multiple creative modalities – including TV, billboards, transit center displays, social media, and geomobile display – the high-impact campaign embodies the work hard, play hard lifestyle through a series of static

and moving athletic, wellness and night out images that Electrolit seamlessly fits in with bold colors and a bold tagline.

Electrolit is the perfect boost for individuals of all energy levels. Scientifically formulated with magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium and glucose, it prevents and treats dehydration, targeting electrolytes and ions to promote noticeable re-energization after only one bottle. With over a dozen different flavors as well as zero-sugar options, there is a place on every shelf for Electrolit.

The premium hydration beverage is available at Walmart, Kroger, HEB, 7-Eleven and more, and through online channels.

Pickle Juice Looks to Prevent People from Buying… Pickles?

As word spreads about the benefits of pickle juice, The Pickle Juice Company has crafted a tongue-in-cheek campaign to educate consumers and athletes alike on the difference between Pickle Juice and pickle brine. The former is a supplement beverage scientifically proven to prevent muscle cramps and dehydration that does not actually contain any pickles, whereas pickle brine is a result of pickling cucumbers, and is the high sodium mixture of food and juices remaining in the jar. Seeking to clear up any confusion between the two, the #SavethePickles campaign is Pickle Juice’s latest attempt to spread the word and assist cramp-prone individuals about the benefits of Pickle Juice vs. pickle brine.

Pickle Juice EVP Filip Keuppens elaborates, “We have seen a good deal of misinformation over the years confusing pickle brine with Pickle Juice.” He continues, “To double down on the difference and continue to help consumers stay cramp-free, a new offensive was needed. We look forward to creating a movement with Save the Pickles and seeing how far we can take it.”

Leaked information has revealed plans for mobs of “angry” protesters to arrive in full force at upcoming summer festivals, trade shows and cookouts. The Pickle Protesters may even see appearances from appointed leaders and mascots Peter and Piper.

Peter and Piper have made it their mission to advocate for Pickles worldwide – to stop having their jars needlessly drained of brine causing them to dry out. Every day millions of pickles are drying out due to consumer confusion about Pickle Juice. People have been drinking the brine from jars for years thinking that this will stop their muscle cramps, when in reality, this just drains the life slowly away from the pickles left behind.

Keuppens adds, “From our inception, Pickle Juice has always been involved in supporting non-profits and a variety of causes. But now there’s one cause we’re especially passionate about.” He explains, “Every year, millions of cucumbers are sacrificed to make pickles, and with your help, we can put an end to this.”

Pickle Juice is a proprietary, certified organic formula combining dual filtered water, organic vinegar, salt,

organic dill oil, potassium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin E that is scientifically proven to stop muscle cramps. A cramp happens because it is the neurological response to a physiological problem. Whether caused by an unbalanced diet, exhaustion from exercise or poor circulation, the grain and vinegar mixture in Pickle Juice blocks the nerve signal being sent from brain to muscle.

No pickles were harmed in this campaign.