BevNET Magazine May/June 2018 by BevNET.com

MAY-JUNE 2018

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Contents / May – June 2018 / Volume 16 / No. 3

COLUMNS

FEATURES

4 First Drop Where the Gut Checks Happen

30 Malternatives – A Time to Sparkle with brand news

6 Publisher’s Toast It’s Now an Avalanche

32 Ingredients – Sugar Swap with brand news

26 Gerry’s Insights Putting it all Together

41 Coconut Water – Winds Change for Island Evoking Brands with brand news

DEPARTMENTS

46 Energy Drinks – Energy’s Evolution with brand news

8 Bevscape/NOSHscape/Brewscape Dunn’s River & Temple Turmeric, Jonny Moseley Snacks, MillerCoors Trademark

SHOW COVERAGE

18 New Products CBD Nitrogen Cold Brew

28 Summer Fancy Food Show Preview

22 Channel Check Malternatives in Spotlight

52 Craft Brewers Conference Drives Dustup Between Big and Small Brewers

78 Promo Parade Jaime Foxx & GREY GOOSE OFF SCRIPT

SPECIAL SECTION

54 Expo West Show Recap

57 Supplier and Services Guide

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THE FIRST DROP BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN

Where the Gut Checks Happen I’ve spent the last few months working as a volunteer mentor with Boston Chai Party – a brand started by a pair of tea entrepreneurs living in the Boston area. Part of my work has been focused on helping them get better distribution, branding, sourcing and strategy. You know, the basic selfimportance of the low-impact advisor. While I won’t be with them long enough on this project to truly gauge the final outcome, one thing that the experience has confirmed for me is the huge importance of connections. Over a brief period in March, for example, I was able to arrange for my advisees to get consultations with a branding expert (thanks, Fred Hart); to hear pricing advice from a CPG veteran (thanks, Neel Premkumar); to explore sources for organic tea leaves (thanks, Seth Goldman) and to reach out to several grocery store buyers I’ve encountered in the course of my travels. I’ve been able to reach out to operations pros about co-packing questions (thanks, Paul Pruett!) and to dairy processing experts about the options for extending the shelf life of an almond milk or dairy milk blend (thanks, Darold Sauber!) It’s been refreshing to find so many people willing to share wisdom and advice with a pair of rookies (as well as a longtime industry observer who knows that there are so many mistakes to be made). But it’s also bone-chilling, 4 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 2018

because no matter how much good advice a brand can get, ultimately, the decisions and positioning require a leap of faith on the part of the entrepreneurs to put that advice into the format that they think will perform the best in the market. That uncertainty is one that many entrepreneurs must feel, particularly starting out: is the product ready for prime time? How do they face the potential for rejection that will accompany even the best-planned product strategy? How do they face the inevitable negative feelings that come when the crowds don’t flock to their drinks? The guys, the indefatigable Rushil Desai and Vishal Thaipur, have reported disappointments back to me: in one instance an engagement at a health food store failed to inspire the same number of sales as it has in the past. I tell them the weather had to have an effect: we did have a Nor’easter around here that same day. In another, they waited out the long decision process of several grocery retailers, and were forced to swallow the decision that they weren’t quite ready for those chains. Those rejections add even more gravity to the mounting key decisions that remain to be made: For the direction of the product, do they add a nut milk based SKU for a non-dairy option? Do they push forward with a zero-sugar spiced tea? Do they cut sugar more, or add more, to enhance the taste profile and give consumers the train-

ing wheels they sometimes need for an unfamiliar product? A buyer I met told me he was concerned that chai was “over.” I disagree, I don’t think it belongs to a category that booms and splats. I think you want the best possible expression of a product that’s drunk the world over. But at the same time, things are shifting – that best possible expression might have to be delivered via the internet, and the guys aren’t yet at a scale that could provide easy fulfillment of that kind of enterprise. But it’s early days, the tea is sweet and spicy, and their determination is strong. I think, seeing these two feel their way along, I’m once again getting to understand how brands find themselves, even after several years on the market, as still-incomplete propositions. There are always so many questions to be asked and answered, so many problems to solve. Some fires, you know you have to put out right away – but I’m starting to see that it’s more about the entrepreneur’s ability to learn which ones you can let burn more slowly, while you try your hardest to contain them, that will eventually determine how far these groups can go. It’s an amazing thing, this willingness to embrace risk and do something new. The near constant questioning that follows reveals for me the sureness one must have in the proposition. Because even if you can answer them all, there’s still so much lying in the path forward to trip you up. Photo by Samara Doole on Unsplash

PUBLISHER’S TOAST BY BARRY NATHANSON

www.bevnet.com/magazine

What Started as a Trickle is Now an Avalanche

Barry J. Nathanson PUBLISHER bnathanson@bevnet.com Jeffrey Klineman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF jklineman@bevnet.com Ray Latif MANAGING EDITOR rlatif@bevnet.com Martín Caballero ASSISTANT EDITOR mcaballero@bevnet.com Brad Avery REPORTER bavery@bevnet.com Chris Furnari BREWBOUND EDITOR cfurnari@bevnet.com Justin Kendall BREWBOUND ASSISTANT EDITOR jkendall@bevnet.com Carol Ortenberg PROJECT NOSH EDITOR cortenberg@bevnet.com Meagan McGinnes PROJECT NOSH SENIOR REPORTER mmcginnes@bevnet.com

SALES

John McKenna DIRECTOR OF SALES jmckenna@bevnet.com Adam Stern SENIOR ACCOUNT SPECIALIST astern@bevnet.com John Fischer ACCOUNT SPECIALIST jfischer@bevnet.com

I have written hundreds of columns from the bully pulpit of my role as publisher. For 26 years I’ve given my thoughts and opinions on almost anything, usually beverage related, but including personal aspects of life, civility, relationships and society. Of all my columns over the years, none elicited as much response as one from about 6 years ago. Obviously, I don’t expect you to remember it, but “Put Down the Blackberries” had the biggest reaction. I am from the old school, fearful of the new technologies, admittedly so. While they have revolutionized technology, business and efficiency, the lost of personal touch and communication has been the byproduct. What I feared back then has come to fruition, on steroids. I’ve railed about the lack of respect and consideration when one pulls out their phones at meetings, lunches, and simple walks through a trade show floor or convention. There is never a moment when one doesn’t have one’ devices. For the life of me, I can’t see what is so damn important that people are transfixed to them, searching for the next email or text that will revolutionize their existence, or the next Facebook post from one of your hundreds of “friends” while you are supposed to be engaging me and others in conversation. It amazes me that you can’t show courtesy and respect to the person 6 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

you are actually talking to, instead glaring at your smartphone. It’s funny that what separates humans from other creatures is our having two hands to utilize, but now one appendage is rendered useless because it’s always clasping the phone. This technology was supposed to make life better, allowing more time and energy for your personal and professional sides. Instead it has diminished your ability to relate, devote time to your kids and pursue leisure activities. I play tennis in Central Park every weekend. As I wait for my court time, I’m struck by how many people are on their phones. In between changeovers, everyone picks up their phones instead of talking about the last game.You can’t walk the streets without bumping into people so engrossed, and oblivious, to their surroundings. On my subway ride each morning, at least 80 percent of the riders are glued to their phones. What ever happened to eye contact and people watching, or good old fashioned spying? The business climate of today is one of communicating through our devices. You can’t read nuance from a text or email, yet most people don’t answer their phone. It’s now standard operating procedure. It’s so intuitive yet, most of you are phone addicts, unaware of how it has impacted your world. In the old days the expression was stop and smell the roses. If only it were that simple today. Photo by Courtney Clayton on Unsplash

Jon Landis SENIOR BRAND SPECIALIST jlandis@bevnet.com Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi SALES & MARKETING ADMIN kadugyamfi@bevnet.com

ART & PRODUCTION

Matthew Kennedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Willette SENIOR DESIGNER Nathan Brescia PHOTOGRAPHER

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WIIINGS FOR YOUR SUMMER.

WITH THE TASTE OF COCONUT BERRY.

ONLYS THI ER M SUM

BEVSCAPE

THE LATEST BEVERAGE BRAND NEWS

Dunn’s River Brands Invests in Temple Turmeric Texas-based beverage portfolio management company Dunn’s River Brands acquired a majority interest in elixir and wellness shot maker Temple Turmeric, closing a deal on April 3 for an undisclosed sum. The deal is the second acquisition by Dunn’s River

Brands, a portfolio company formed in partnership with private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners, following its purchase of the Tradewinds Tea and Sweet Leaf Tea brands from Nestlé Waters North America last December. “We were looking for

new approaches to product development and Dunn’s River Brands can really bring the strategic resources on the human and capital resource side to really execute on those plans,” Sullivan told BevNET in April. “Their shared resource model really gives Temple that

competitive advantage because we’ve got collective scales of multiple brands.” Under the terms of the deal, Temple Turmeric founder Daniel Sullivan has stepped down as CEO but will remain with the company as Chief Innovation Officer.

Hangover Recovery Shot Raises $8M Los Angeles-based startup 82 Labs, makers of the hangover detox shot Morning Recovery, closed an $8 million round of fundraising at a $33 million valuation in April. The majority of the investment came from three venture capital firms with strong backgrounds in technology: R7 Partners, Slow Ventures, and Californiabased Altos Ventures, with the latter leading the round. 82 Labs founder Sisun Lee said the three firms contributed a total of $6.25 million. Lee said the investment would be used to support research initiatives, help grow the company’s retail presence and boost marketing efforts ahead of this summer’s launch of the new version of Morning Recovery, which will feature new packaging and a new formulation that improves the efficacy of its unique natural ingredient. The company has brought in $6.8 mil-

8 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

lion in revenue and has generated over 40 percent in repeat purchase revenue since January. The product is sold primarily through ecommerce channels, and is in about 200 retailers nationwide. “We are trying a lot of different things to increase the playbook of how we scale

this thing across different cities, and what we learn that works we will replicate [in other locations],” Lee said. “A lot of the growth for this is going to be dependent on word of mouth, which has to be condensed in a small geography, so we start with big cities.”

BEVSCAPE

Kick

Caffeine To The Curb.

10 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Kombucha Dog Targets Four Brands in Lawsuits Having filed multiple lawsuits over the past year against brands such as Health-Ade, Humm, and GT’s Living Foods, Tortilla Factory – the parent company of Kombucha Dog, which contains about 1.4

limit required by U.S. law for a product to be considered nonalcoholic is 0.5 percent ABV. Test results also allegedly showed higher sugar content than each brand stated on its labels.

percent alcohol per 8 oz. serving – filed complaints against four kombucha brands in April, alleging that third party testing showed higher sugar and alcohol levels than labeled. Trader Joe’s, The Bu, Better Booch and Rowdy Mermaid were named in separate complaints, filed in California by Kombucha Dog on April 9. According to the lawsuits, third party testing conducted within the last six months found that kombucha sold by each brand respectively had alcohol by volume (ABV) levels of 1.1-2.2 percent, 0.6-1.9 percent, 1.9-2.7 percent, and 1.00-1.2 percent. The legal

“One of the reasons we’re doing this, and by we I mean [company founder] Michael Faye and Kombucha Dog, is to affect change in the industry,” said LevatoLaw attorney Stephen Weisskopf, who is representing Faye in all cases. “It needs change. It needs the bright light of sunshine to expose what’s going on.” In addition to creating an unfair advantage in the marketplace, Weisskopf also stressed the public safety risk inaccurately-labeled levels of alcohol in kombucha can pose, particularly to children, pregnant women, and recovering alcoholics.

Vita Coco Launches PET Bottle in 7-Eleven Vita Coco began offering three coconut water SKUs – original, pineapple, and twist of lime – in a 16.9 oz./500 ml PET bottle exclusively at 7-Eleven stores nationally in April. The bottles, which have a suggested retail price of $2.99,

the retailer’s locations. In addition to launching a PET package, Vita Coco is also preparing for the debut of a new line of sparkling coconut water next month exclusively at Kroger stores nationwide. The line will be available in

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are an opportunity for Vita Coco to focus on developing its presence in C-stores, according to executive VP of global brand strategy and development Jane Prior. The convenience channel currently comprise about 23 percent of its total business. The initiative will put Vita Coco into 90 percent of 7-Eleven stores nationally; the brand is currently available in approximately 60 percent of

12 oz. aluminum cans in four flavors – grapefruit, lemon ginger, raspberry lime, and pineapple passionfruit. Each single-serving can will contain approximately 280 mg of potassium and no added sugar. “It’s the sparkling experience that you love but also the benefits of coconut water,” she said. “Using coconut water, it has a naturally sweet, more robust flavor profile than sparkling waters.”

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NOSHSCAPE

For more stories, check out ProjectNOSH.com

THE LATEST FOOD BRAND NEWS

SmartSweets Raises $3M to Slay Sugar With the announcement of a $3 million round of funding and a launch in Whole Foods Market nationwide, the Canadian brand SmartSweets is trying to provide a cross-border answer. Founder Tara Bosch started the company in Vancouver In 2015 after she couldn’t find a low-sugar gummy that was free of sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners. Armed with $15,000 she had saved from odd jobs, such as working at McDonalds, Bosch dropped out of college, Googled ‘how to make candy’ and bought molds on Amazon. “When I started SmartSweets I was really honest with myself that I understood that I really knew nothing about

what I was doing, but I had the conviction in my heart that I knew I was going to figure it out,” Bosch told NOSH. “[My

Bosch’s convictions are being borne out at retail. After getting into 2,000 stores in Canada by what she calls ‘force

Foundation – she attracted the attention of Jason Krolikowski, the global candy buyer for Whole Foods.

motivation] was because growing up I developed a really unhealthy relationship with food and it affected my self esteem and my body image.”

of will,” – and being selected as a fellow in both Ryan Holmes’ The Next Big Thing (TNBT) program as well as by the Thiel

“It was very clear that [Whole Foods] wanted their consumers to invest in their health… They really got the ‘why’ behind what we were

doing.” Bosch said. “For them, they want their consumer to have the ability to shop the candy aisle without worrying about [ingredients].” In March, SmartSweets rolled out in Whole Foods nationwide and the brand completed a redesign to stand out the shelves of the natural product retailer. That growth in distribution required capital, however. So in February the SmartSweets closed a $3 million round of funding from a group of angel investors including Scott Elaine Case, founder of Consumer Private Equity Investors, Terry Tierney, CEO of Daiya Foods and Eric Patel, former board chair of Daiya Foods.

Cleveland Ave. Backs Farmwise Don Thompson seems to still have an affinity for burgers and fries. Farmwise LLC, the Bostonbased makers of Veggie Fries, Veggie Tots and Veggie Rings, announced last month that it closed a $4.5 million financing round led by Cleveland Avenue LLC, the venture capital firm founded by Thompson, the former president and CEO of McDonald’s Corporation. Other companies in the round include repeat investor Home Market Foods, Inc, the maker of frozen meat brands Cooked Perfect and Fire Grilled. Additional terms of this most recent investment were not disclosed.

“We really genuinely like [the Cleveland Avenue] team,” Farmwise co-founder Dave Peters told NOSH. “Their chief portfolio officer Keith Kravcik completely understood our vision and saw the tremendous business potential from the very first day we met. And our first meeting with Don Thompson was just electric, with great questions and incredible insights. The fact that they also have so much restaurant and foodservice expertise is really exciting for us too, since we see tremendous potential in those channels.” Farmwise founders Dave and Cristina Peters started the company in 2013 with the goal of developing healthier alternatives

12 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

to consumers’ favorite — but traditionally unhealthy — foods. Taking on the french fry to start, Farmwise’s products use a blend of vegetables and beans, and a patent-pending process to make this healthier alternative. Since then, Farmwise’s portfolio has grown to include three varieties of Veggie Tots (broccoli, cauliflower and beets) and two varieties of Veggie Rings (cauliflower and butternut squash).

The brand is sold in more than 8,000 retailers such as Kroger, Wegmans, Stop & Shop, Giant Foods, HEB, Walmart, Safeway, Whole Foods Market and Sprouts, as well as Metro Supermarkets in Canada. Cleveland Avenue’s previous investments include plant-based burger alternative brand Beyond Meat, as well as Drink Maple, Bhakti, Farmer’s Fridge and SomruS.

How Real Good Foods Is Seeing ‘Real Good’ Success In late 2016, pizza shop owner Josh Schreider was searching for the answer to his stomach woes: a pizza that wouldn’t make him feel like he’d eaten, well, a pizza. After testing a variety of fibers that could replace wheat in the crust, Schreider

and on QVC. This growth has been achieved using minimal slotting fees and avoiding third part distributors for the bulk of its distribution. Along this journey, Schrieder brought on CPG vet Bryan Freeman as CEO. Schreider

“By going direct to consumer and making that a really meaningful part of the business, number one, it helps you understand what your community wants and loves and what they want next.” As a frozen product with higher shipping costs, e-com-

reasons to bring consumers to their stores and especially center store,” Freeman said. “I believe retail is becoming a point in distribution. It’s not a place to advertise your product… You have to create demand outside of the store. That’s what drives

stumbled upon the concept of using antibiotic-free chicken and cheese as a replacement for flour, corn or rice, and soon after launched Real Good Foods (RGF). The low carb and low calorie chicken crust pizzas were a hit, first at his restaurants and then online. Now, 18 months later, the company has launched a line of chickentortilla enchiladas and is seeing rapid growth in retail. The brand expects to be in roughly 8,000 grocery doors by summer 2018. It currently is sold in retailers including Kroger, Publix, Walmart and the Fresh Market. Additionally, the line of pizzas is sold in 2,000 specialty nutrition retailers such as Vitamin Shoppe

now serves as president and oversees product development. The two, along with many of RGF’s 20 employees, previously worked together at Better Bakery where Freeman was also CEO. Through his venture fund, Slingshot Consumer Partners, Freeman also invested in the company. Freeman believes that much of RGF’s growth has been thanks to its robust online community. The brand’s digital fans have helped develop every new product, serve as a testing ground for ecommerce and help create buzz. “We’re of the strong belief that everything starts and ends and then begins again with our community,” Freeman told NOSH.

merce is still not the largest part of RGF’s business. However, Freeman said it helps them get on shelves at certain retailers where young, tech-savvy category managers and buyers are watching what products have a cult following on social media. Because of this, RGF maintains an affiliate program and a wholesale distribution program where smaller stores and gyms can purchase a branded, standalone freezer and then get larger orders dropped shipped directly to them for resale. RGF’s online popularity has also created a demand for the product that “drives consumers to the point of distribution,” Freeman added. “Retailers are looking for

incremental revenue for the retailer, so the retailer wins, and the company succeeds.” Going forward, the company plans to continue to expand in center store. In 2018 RGF will launch two new product lines that “may or may not” be in frozen. What is off the table, however, is using “exotic” protein isolates or sugar alcohols to hit certain macronutrient claims, Freedman said. “What our community wants is delicious real food that’s low in carbohydrates and high in protein.” he said. “So from that, that gives us permission to go into adjacent categories, such as snacks and appetizers, and it no means restricts us to a source of protein.” 13

NOSHSCAPE Plant Protein In Bloom Clean meat startup Future Meat Technologies (FMT) announced in May that it closed a $2.2 round of funding, co-lead by Tyson Ventures, the investment arm of CPG giant Tyson Foods. FMT is a biotechnology company that aims to design a more cost-efficient manufacturing processes for

turing process until we brought it down to $800 per kilogram today, with a clear roadmap to $5-10 per kg by 2020.” The investment comes at a time when alternative protein sources — both plant based or lab grown — are seeing increased interest and capital investment. However, many

lab grown – or “clean” – meat. Tyson Ventures has also previously invested in plant-based meat company Beyond Meat, as well as cultured meat producer Memphis Meats. The investors in the round are indicative of the global interest in the new category. Also taking part in the round was the Neto Group, an Israeli food conglomerate, S2G Ventures, a Chicagobased venture capital fund and BitsXBites, a Chinese food technology venture capital fund. Though interest in this sector is high, one of the largest hurdles for clean meat companies to clear is its high production costs, which is currently preventing the brands’ final products from being competitive on shelf with conventionally raised meat. “It is difficult to imagine cultured meat becoming a reality with a current production price of about $10,000 per kilogram,” Yaakov Nahmias, FMT’s founder and Chief Scientist said via a press release. “We redesigned the manufac-

questions remain. What will happen when this technology comes to market? Will mass market consumers embrace the products, and how will they be regulated? In April, members of the Missouri House of Representatives widely approved a bill that prohibits lab-grown meat and meat substitutes to be labeled as “meat.” The bill now goes to the Missouri Senate and if approved, would represent the first state to take on labeling definitions for the new category. The bill was backed by the state’s pork producers, the Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. The United States Cattlemen’s Association recently also filed a petition with the US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) to “exclude products not derived directly from animals raised and slaughtered from the definition of ‘beef’ and ‘meat.’” That petition is currently open for comments.

14 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

CrossFit to Grow Presence in Food

Exercise brand CrossFit is bringing its “RX” standards outside of the gym and into the grocery store via a partnership with meat company Strauss Food. Customers will be able to get a selection of “CrossFit approved,” grass fed beef and free range chicken – first via a subscription box, and soon after, in more than 3,000 grocery retailers across the U.S. Soon after, the two will develop a line of jerky as a partnership under the CrossFit brand itself. It’s the first time the high-intensity workout plan, which often influences its participants’ nutrition habits, has developed its own food and beverage products. CrossFit is hoping its new licensing partnership will allow consumers who identify with the high-intensity fitness community to more easily find products that fuel their workouts. It’s a strategy that another diet and lifestyle brand, Whole 30, has rolled out in partnership with companies including Nutpods and The New Primal. The brand’s official entrance into food should come as no surprise. The sport’s athletes have long been tapped to act as brand ambassadors for natural food brands. Brands such as RX Bar, Fuel for Fire and Kill Cliff have all targeted the CrossFit consumer and seen adoption of their products spread from the gym to the grocery store. That’s because when a company wins over that consumer, they win over a niche audience with a massive following: There are more than 13,000 CrossFit affiliate “boxes” in over 120 countries, and in 2018 alone, about 416,000 people registered to compete in CrossFit’s annual fitness competition, the CrossFit Games. “This is just the exact audience that will understand the importance of what we are accomplishing [with Strauss],” Randy Strauss, the co-president and CEO of Strauss Meats, told NOSH. After the meat partnership has rolled out, Strauss will also help CrossFit establish a co-branded line of jerky to be sold inside CrossFit affiliated gyms and grocery retailers. The jerky brand is still in the innovation stage, but will have no added sugar and be held to the same quality standards as the rest of Strauss’s meat products. In the future, CrossFit will consider partnering with other like-minded food and beverage brands to launch more lines of CrossFit branded snacks and food products beyond jerky, though there is nothing in the works as of yet, according to Gary Krakower, VP of Licensing at IMG, a global sports and talent management company that works with CrossFit. Krakower noted that CrossFit is particularly interested in products within the categories its athletes turn to, such as nuts, seeds and bars. But the company is most concerned with the quality of products rather then scaling quickly. “We have zero interest in products that don’t align with our exercise methodology or nutrition prescription,” Cain said. “CrossFit is leading a metabolic revolution that is changing consumer habits. Mainline brands are aware of this and everywhere we see them adapting.”

Jonny Moseley Goes From Slopes to Snacks with Iota benefits, including a smaller environmental footprint than nuts, relatively short period (a few months) to reach full maturity, less allergen issues then nut-based products and far less water to grow, a key factor in the Mosleys’ home state of California. A star ingredient in hand, the trio then tapped family friend Alyssa Warnock, the designer behind energy drink Hiball, to help them with design. The packaging contains three mountains for the three founders, several seed-esque petals on a flower, and a prominently featured bird, a joking nod to the fact most Americans see sunflower seeds as bird food. The 2.5 oz. package is a wide-mouthed, spouted, resealable pouch, for better eating on the go, as well as a line of .75 oz. “shots” for one-time use. “I have two children who were born in the age of spouted pouch baby food, and it’s such a freeing format because you really can be on the go and it’s clean and efficient and reliable,” Malia Moseley said. “You [also] can eat according to how hungry you are, not according to the size of the bag you just opened.”

Jonny Moseley has quite a resume. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer was a Medalist at the Olympics, World Cup and X-Games, has hosted Saturday Night Live and MTV’s The Challenge, and was one of People Magazine’s 50 most eligible bachelors in 2002. Now Moseley is looking to add CPG entrepreneur to the list, joining with his wife, Malia Moseley (it was 2002, after all), and longtime family friend Johanna Creighton to launch Iota – a line of plantbased, seed-derived snacks. The brand’s first product, a spouted pouch of roasted, flavored sunflower seeds, was quickly picked up as an offering at Peet’s Coffee and made its national debut at this year’s Natural Products Expo West. The Moseleys had been looking for a business venture, originally thinking of suncare, that would draw from Jonny Moseley’s years in the ski industry. However, at a dinner with Creighton, who had just left snack brand KRAVE, the trio sprouted the idea that became Iota. Creighton and Malia Moseley chose seeds as the basis for the snack, touting numerous

True Fresh and NutriFresh Launch Bi-Coastal Deal

True Fresh HPP and NutriFresh Services, two of the country’s largest high pressure processing (HPP) operations, announced a joint partnership in April that will make the combined entity the largest HPP tolling enterprise in North

America, according to a press release. The two facilities, based in Buena Park, Calif.-based and Edison, N.J., which contain a total of seven Hiperbaric HPP machines, will have a combined annual output of up to 200 million lbs. The

two companies will continue to operate independently, but will offer suite of services designed to give customers a comprehensive solution on the East and West Coasts, including logistical support, dropshipping and pick and pack fulfill-

ment for e-commerce. “What this did was align NutriFresh and True Fresh so that customers can get a one-stop blanket service,” said TrueFresh CEO Alan Fresh. “It’s a handoff that’s seamless and quick and enables those brands to take

business or go after business that may have felt like it was difficult to accomplish.” True said the bicoastal partnership did not involve any financial transaction and that the two companies were motivated by the opportunity to increase their national footprint. “We try to make it feel like a merger without having an economic exchange,” said True. “It’s a fully transparent sharing of leads and resources, so it’s a win-win and a positive for all the customers who come through our door.” 15

BREWSCAPE

THE LATEST CRAFT BEER BRAND NEWS

Green Flash Brewing Sold to New Investor Group Following months of uncertainty about the future of Green Flash Brewing, the San Diego-based craft beer company announced in early April that it had finalized a sale to a new investor group. In a note sent to Green Flash Brewing shareholders, founder and CEO Mike Hinkley said the brewery’s primary lender, Comerica Bank, had “foreclosed on its loans” and sold the company’s assets to WC IPA LLC via a foreclosure sale.

The new group, according to California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control records, includes Hinkley and four other members, one of whom was already a member of Green Flash Brewing’s board of directors. The announcement came about a week after Green Flash ceased operations at a $20 million production facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and shuttered its Cellar 3 barrelaging facility and taproom in Poway, California. The brewing equipment assets inside of the Virginia facility would later be sold to Atlanta’s New Realm Brewing, which also negotiated a new lease with the property owner, The Miller Group. In addition to completing a sale to the newly formed WC IPA LLC, Green Flash Brew-

For more stories, check out Brewbound.com

Deschutes Reworks Plans for Virginia Brewery

ing also announced that Dave Mills, the former chief sales officer for Ballast Point Brewing, who departed that company last September, would join the struggling company as its vice president of sales and business development. He supplants former VP of sales Jim Kenny, who had been with Green Flash for eight years. “Jim’s Hungwah-spirit and GSD work ethic pushed us to great heights,” Hinkley said via a press release. “I wish Jim

all the best and I know he will find a great position in the beer business.” Chris Ross, the former tech executive who joined Green Flash in mid-2015 as its chief operating officer and was later named president, also departed the company. As a result of the sale to WC IPA LLC, the company believes it has emerged from an over-leveraged financial situation that occurred as a result of taking on “too much debt” to build a $20 million secondary production facility in Virginia Beach in 2015. In February, BevNET’s beer news website, Brewbound, first reported that Green Flash was looking to recapitalize the business and that it was seeking new investors to continue operating.

16 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Two years after announcing plans to build a $95 million secondary brewing facility in Roanoke, Virginia, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery has hit the pause button. The company, which was set to purchase 49 acres of land by May 1, is in the process of renegotiating an incentive package in order to maintain “flexibility” on the timeline, size and scope of the project, Deschutes CEO Michael LaLonde told BevNET. Speaking to BevNET, LaLonde, who said the company’s “plans haven’t changed for the project at all,” confirmed that Deschutes has agreed to buy the plot of land for $3.2 million by the end of May. In doing so, the company will free itself from a string of performance-based incentives that the original deal would have triggered. “What we decided to do was to give up some really important incentives, and instead just go ahead and buy the property,” he said. “That way we’re decoupled from any timeline.” According to the Roanoke Times, which first reported the news, had the original deal for the land gone forward, the city of Roanoke would have paid back the land purchase in 20 percent increments over a five-year period. The Bend, Oregon-based craft brewery first announced plans to open its Roanoke brewery in March 2016. The company was one of several West Coast brewing operations – including Ballast Point, Stone Brewing, Green Flash and Sierra Nevada – to set its sights on building an East Coast hub. Under the original project timeline, Deschutes was slated to break ground in June 2019, start commissioning and flavor matching in 2020 and begin shipping beer brewed at the facility in 2021. LaLonde said those plans, as well as plans to build a sizable production facility, remain. “We predict that the first year we’ll sell just under 200,000 barrels at that location,” he told BevNET, noting that the company still intends to invest about $55 million and hire 70 full-time employees.

MillerCoors, Stone Brewing Embroiled in Trademark Dispute In mid-February, Stone Brewing filed a lawsuit against Molson Coors Brewing Company subsidiary MillerCoors, which makes and markets the “Keystone” line of beers, alleging that the multinational company infringed on the San Diego craft brewery’s “Stone” trademark. According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. district court of Southern California, Stone Brewing asserts that MillerCoors is purposely trying to “steal the consumer loyalty and awesome reputation of Stone’s craft brews” with its recently rebranded Keystone packages.

Introduced last April, the new Keystone cans and multi-packs were refreshed to more prominently feature the word “Stone” in capitalized letters. In a February press release, Stone Brewing co-founder Greg Koch claimed that MillerCoors was “deliberately creating confusion in the marketplace.” “MillerCoors is threatening not only our legacy, but the ability for beer drinkers everywhere to make informed purchasing decisions,” he said at the time. Two months later, MillerCoors responded with several counterclaims, asking the court to grant it the “exclusive” right to use the “Stone” mark in conjunction with U.S. beer sales. In its 82-page retort, MillerCoors, a

subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company, called the claims in Stone Brewing’s February lawsuit “misleading and ultimately meritless” as well as a “publicity stunt and a platform to market its beer.” “Stone Brewing’s complaint makes grandiose allegations, but leaves out most of the facts relevant to this dispute,” the filing alleges. According to MillerCoors, among the facts omitted from Stone’s lawsuit is that all Keystone cans and packages are labeled “Keystone” and include the “Coors Brewing Company” logo. MillerCoors also noted prior use of the term “’Stone” in ads promoting the Keystone brand dating back to 1992. The company shared images of a 1996 newspaper advertisement using the tag line “Start Your Party with the ’Stone.” “If anything, it is much more likely that Stone Brewing copied the Stone name from Coors, since Keystone beer was already advertised as such in the market,” the lawsuit said. In the weeks since MillerCoors answered back, Stone Brewing has taken to Twitter to attack the maker of beers like Miller Lite and Coors. In an April 18 tweet, Stone said the issue boiled down to a 2009 attempt by MillerCoors to register “Hold My Stones,” which was rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “But with this new rebrand, they started ignoring all that,” Stone wrote on April 18. “The fact is it’s up to us to defend our trademarks. If we don’t, we lose them. So we’re not backing down. #PutTheKeyBackInKeystone, @MillerCoors. We’re not going away.”

Laura Bell to ‘Step Away’ as CEO of Bell’s Brewery Bell’s Brewery co-owner Laura Bell will “step away” as CEO of the Michiganbased craft beer company, she wrote in an April letter to distributors.

Citing her desire to “explore other passions and interests,” Bell said she would relinquish the position on May 18. She was appointed CEO on February 3, 2017. In her memo, Bell, who will remain on the company’s board of directors, said the move did not signal an impending sale of the business. “We are not selling and will remain a 100% independently owned family business,” she wrote. As Bell steps back from the business, her father, Larry Bell, who founded the company in 1985, will take the reins once again. “Day-to-day operations will be overseen by Larry Bell in addition to senior leadership, of whom I have the utmost confidence,” Bell wrote. Bell, who began working full-time at the brewery in 2007, served as a marketing director between 2009 and 2013. That year, she took over as vice president and would later be named CEO. Bell’s, ranked as the seventh largest craft brewery in the U.S. by industry trade group the Brewers Association, recently expanded its distribution footprint to seven new states in the Northeast. Under Laura Bell’s leadership, the company grew off-premise sales by more than 18 percent in 2017, according to market research firm IRI Worldwide. Dollar sales of Bell’s brands are up 10.7 percent through the first four months of 2018, according to IRI.

NEW PRODUCTS

THE NEWEST BEVERAGE OPTIONS

Teas Pure Leaf will unveil Apple Cider Iced Tea this July, which will be available in grocery stores nationwide through mid-September with a suggested retail price of $2.59. Available in a 59 oz. bottle, the tea contains 100 calories per 12 oz. serving. For more information, please contact Pure Leaf at (866) 612-2076. Kickback Cold Brew debuted its line of cannabidiol (CBD) infused cold brew teas. Available in Matcha’cha and Just Peachy flavors, the teas contain 20 mg of CBD. Matcha’cha has a suggested retail price of $7.99; Just Peachy’s suggested retail price is $6.99. Kickback Cold Brew is distributed throughout the Southern California region and is also available on the company’s website. For more information, please email Kickback Cold Brew at info@kickbackcoldbrew.com.

Coconut Water Eliya launched its King Coconut Water, which contains 9 g of of natural sugar per 300 ml bottle and has a suggested retail price of $5. Eliya recently partnered with Store2DoorDirect.com and FreshExpress to grow distribution, and is planning to open additional warehouses in Florida and Texas. For more information, please contact Eliya at (551) 226-1977.

Soda Dr Pepper Snapple Group released its Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Lemonade, which contains 36 g of sugar and 140 calories per 12 oz. serving and will be available in 12-packs of 12 oz. cans and in 2 L bottles. The soda will be distributed nationwide with pricing subject to individual retailers. For more information, please contact Dr Pepper Snapple Group at (972) 673-7000. Red Bull recently launched its Organics by Red Bull soda line. Packaged in 8.4 oz. slim cans, 18 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

the sodas are available in four varieties: Simply Cola, Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale and Tonic Water. The sodas are currently available in San Diego County and one area in North Carolina, as well as on Amazon. For more information, please contact Red Bull at (310) 393-4647. The Double Cola Company released Tropical SKI, which will be available this summer in select markets across the Midwest and Southeast. Typically, the suggested retail price ranges from $1.29 to $1.69 per 20 oz. bottle, though the distributors set the price. For more information, please contact The Double Cola Company at (423) 267-5691.

Sparkling Water Perrier recently added Peach to its sparkling natural mineral water line. Like all SKUs in the line, Perrier Peach contains no calories or sugar. The drink will be distributed at select retailers nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $6.95 for 10 8.45 oz. slim cans. For more information, please contact Perrier at (800) 937-2002.

Vinegars Young Scent launched its line of Premium Fruit Vinegars, available in Mulberry, Passion Fruit and Pineapple flavors. Packaged in a 250 ml bottle, each drinking vinegar has a suggested retail price of $28.99 and is available in supermarkets across Los Angeles. For more information, please contact Young Scent at (888) 785-0423.

Water Lluvia H20 is a new mineral spring alkaline water product with a natural pH of 7.8. The water is distributed throughout New York, Connecticut and New Jersey and is available in 7-Eleven stores in Pittsburgh. Lluvia H20 has a suggested retail price of $1.49 per 500 ml bottle. For more information, please contact NexBev Industries at (845) 735-5292.

Kombucha GT’s Living Foods has released its latest limited-edition seasonal flavor, Bloom, which is available at retailers nationwide through June 30. Bloom has a suggested retail price of $4.99. For more information, please contact GT’s Living Foods at (949) 444-4702.

Coffee Cuvée recently introduced a new nitrogeninfused cold brew coffee made with hemp oil that contains 10 mg of CBD. The coffee is available at select natural and conventional stores and has a suggested retail price of $3.99. For more information, please contact Cuvée Coffee at (512) 264-1479. Peet’s Coffee recently launched it Baridi Black nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee. The coffee

will be available primarily in grocery, natural and speciality stores across California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada but will also be in select national grocery retailers. Packaged in a 10.3 oz. can, Baridi Black Nitro Cold Brew has a suggested retail price of $4.99. For more information, please contact Peet’s Coffee at (800) 999-2132. Ferris Coffee & Nut Co. has released a line of nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee, made with no added sweeteners, creamers, preservatives or flavorings. The product is available in kegs and in cans, the latter of which has and a suggested retail price of $3.75. For more information, please contact Ferris at (616) 459-6257. Wandering Bear Coffee recently released two new flavors for its cold brew coffee line: Black with a Splash of Cream and Mocha with a Splash of Coconut Milk. The coffees have a suggested retail price of $3.99 and will launch in New York in May and will be available online in June. For more information, please contact Wandering Bear Coffee at (404) 725-7283.

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NEW PRODUCTS Probiotic KeVita launched Rose Sparkling Probiotic, which will be available across Sprouts stores along the west coast in mid-May and in Whole Foods nationwide by the end of the summer. The drink, which contains 10 calories per serving, has a suggested retail price of $3. For more information, please contact KeVita at (888) 310-6106.

Spirits Single Prop released its Single Prop rum, which is available at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores across Pennsylvania. The rum, a blend of Caribbean rum and coconut water, is 80 proof (40 percent ABV) and has a suggested retail price of $19.99 per 750 ml bottle. For more information, please contact Single Prop at (215) 268-6071.

Stoli Group USA introduced Stoli Cucumber, a vodka that contains 37.5 percent ABV. The Vodka is available nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $19.99 for a 750 ml bottle. For more information, please contact Stoli Group USA at (212) 858-9090.

Juice JuiceShots recently launched The Best Stuff, a dietary supplement that contains no sugar, calories or carbs. The 1.9 oz. shot will be available on Amazon and has a suggested retail price of $4.99 per bottle. For more information, please contact JuiceShots at (561) 544-0719.

Wine Blue Bear International Corp. has released five new flavors in its Wine of Fire line: Rose Gold, Sky, Lavender, Vulcano and Fortune. The wines are produced in the Andalusia region of Spain and will be available at select Total Wine locations throughout the U.S. as well as select locations in South Florida. The suggested retail price is $17.95. For more information, please contact Wine of Fire at (305) 923-1734. Cooper & Thief has released its 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, which is aged for three months in exCasa Noble Añejo tequila barrels. The wine has a suggested retail price of $29.99 and is distributed by Constellation Brands. For more information, please contact Constellation Brands at (415) 601-6412.

Functional (or Fitness) Nutrabolt launched Cellucor’s C4 On The Go Carbonated, a pre-workout drink available in Frozen Bombsicle, Twisted Limeade, Strawberry Watermelon Ice and Tropical Blast flavors. The drink will be available at all GNC and Vitamin Shoppe locations across the country and has a suggested retail price of $3.49. For more information, please contact Cellucor at (866) 927-9686.

20 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

CHANNEL CHECK WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY Malternatives

As our story on page 30 indicates, it’s tough to stay on top when it comes to Malternatives. The base is just too easy to flavor, and when flavor’s the deal, it’s tough to beat any flavor that’s new. Hence the fast decline of “hard” root beers (the favorite son just a year ago) and the fast growth of spiked seltzer brands. Still, the only thing better than flavor in the beverage game is distribution – and that’s where Smirnoff, the Bud Light family, and Twisted continue to keep on top.

MALTERNATIVES BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Smirnoff

$298,681,172

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER 10.2%

Bud Light Lime PAB

$290,269,901

-14.9%

Mike’s Harder

$283,568,264

16.0%

Twisted

$279,045,027

25.4%

Redd’s

$276,630,723

-11.4%

Mike’s Hard

$275,480,732

3.9%

Four Loko

$153,519,138

1.2% 344.5%

White Claw Hard Seltzer

$67,216,994

Steel Reserve FMB

$62,568,741

14.5%

Small Town

$57,186,414

-33.9%

Truly Spiked & Sparkling

$52,215,923

190.8%

Henry’s

$50,265,486

-33.4%

Johny Bootlegger

$32,302,854

57.3%

Spiked Seltzer

$25,283,593

394.4%

Cayman Jack

$22,194,979

23.7%

Best Damn

$21,097,614

-62.4%

Zima

$11,551,193

N/A

Palm Breeze

$11,379,587

-33.6%

Joose

$9,242,597

1.3%

Kinky

$7,601,034

-26.2%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME Beer

Energy Drinks

$12,026,330,112

2.98%

-1.09%

Tea/Coffee

$1,685,353,344

10.70%

5.20%

Drink Mixes

$843,671,936

-1.65%

34,686,400,902

1.7%

Bottled Juices

$7,122,510,336

Bottled Water

$15,890,748,416

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/25/18

22 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

CHANNEL CHECK BOTTLED WATER

TEA

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$2,654,354,176

6.73%

Lipton Pure Leaf

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES $721,312,128

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER 10.67%

Dasani

$1,080,558,080

-2.55%

AriZona

$589,517,056

-8.07%

Aquafina

$1,073,291,008

-1.50%

Gold Peak

$392,651,072

10.42%

Nestle Pure Life

$875,448,832

-4.87%

Lipton Brisk

$372,260,992

11.83%

Glaceau Smart Water

$821,246,336

-5.12%

Lipton

$288,272,608

-7.50%

Poland Spring

$692,761,152

-0.49%

Snapple

$235,573,680

6.33%

Glaceau Vitamin Water

$494,834,112

-1.30%

Lipton Diet

$179,313,328

-7.44%

Fiji

$462,853,952

17.17%

Diet Snapple

$148,765,024

-12.37%

Deer Park

$414,080,416

-3.54%

AriZona Arnold Palmer

$125,864,088

-7.42%

Ozarka

$378,638,560

11.53%

Peace Tea

$84,210,744

59.43%

SPARKLING BRAND

COFFEE / CAPPUCCINO

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$512,219,104

10.43%

Starbucks Frappuccino

$1,090,055,168

-2.25%

La Croix

$394,013,056

46.35%

Starbucks Doubleshot

$657,520,896

3.23%

Sparkling Ice

$390,686,368

4.85%

Java Monster

$396,780,960

-0.89%

Perrier

$274,954,336

15.89%

Coca-Cola Dunkin’ Donuts

$157,292,256

509.09%

Polar

$153,197,280

26.22%

Starbucks

$62,942,604

6.29%

San Pellegrino

$134,971,008

4.65%

Private Label

$45,773,752

136.58%

Topo Chico

$84,083,416

25.30%

Starbucks Cold Brew

$33,391,522

N/A

Schweppes

$65,156,840

-0.61%

Starbucks Doubleshot Light

$29,870,546

5.96%

Dasani

$57,435,368

29.88%

High Brew

$20,347,410

61.57%

La Croix Curate

$55,834,768

15.94%

La Colombe

$9,800,008

N/A

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ASEPTIC JUICE DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Capri Sun

BRAND

$377,556,992

-2.48%

Kool Aid Jammers

$265,757,376

0.82%

$75,301,872

18.83%

$70,724,248%

-1.51%

Honest Kids Hi-C Jumex

$24,482,170

8.41%

Capri Sun Organic

$21,066,274

-2.94%

Apple & Eve Fruitables

$13,596,779

-23.60%

Private Label

$10,578,905

0.90%

Petit

$10,449,431

16.46%

Goya

$10,289,535

5.54%

BOTTLED FRUIT DRINKS BRAND Bai

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

$308,698,720

38.39%

Snapple

$221,319,168

6.30%

Hawaiian Punch

$210,570,064

-6.09%

V8 Splash

$176,215,552

-6.92%

Private Label

$108,707,632

41.67%

Tampico

$108,537,240

-7.69%

Minute Maid

$90,692,544

18.92%

Welchs

$85,890,952

-1.26%

Tum-E-Yummies

$69,017,512

-4.68%

AriZona

$64,820,416

-2.31%

DOMESTIC BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Bud

$7,651,662,294

-4.8%

Coors

$2,608,094,846

-1.7%

Miller Lite

$2,032,118,225

-0.6%

Michelob

$1,849,890,431

22.2%

Busch

$1,517,017,213

-0.9%

Natural

$1,315,463,313

-3.0%

Bud Specialty

$683,752,907

-5.6%

$487,195,191

9.6%

Miller High Life

$466,108,790

-0.8%

Yuengling

$390,420,737

5.2%

Keystone

CRAFT BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Blue Moon

$343,195,889

2.8%

Samuel Adams

$273,809,099

-13.3%

Sierra Nevada

$244,986,786

-2.3%

New Beligium

$205,919,664

3.7%

Lagunitas

$181,291,096

7.0%

Leinenkugel Specialty

$177,267,618

5.2%

Shiner

$134,496,589

0.0%

Shock Top

$109,635,587

-14.4%

Founders

$87,157,721

48.9%

Bellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

$76,574,615

19.4%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/25/18

GERRY’S INSIGHTS BY GERRY KHERMOUCH

Putting It All Together As a business writer I go back long enough to have caught the tail end of an era when corporate honchos sought growth by assembling unwieldy collections of unrelated businesses into giant conglomerates, on the theory that their different dynamics and business cycles would provide a hedge against relying on a single business. (As occasional scandals at conglomerates like Tyco International brought into high relief, having enough moving parts also makes it difficult for investors to get a good read of what’s actually going on under the hood.) The trend really got started in the 1960s, thanks to low interest rates and a lurching business cycle that often enough left weakened companies vulnerable to acquisition overtures. So we ended up with soda companies (Coca-Cola) getting involved in unrelated businesses like motion pictures (Columbia Studios) and wines (Wine Spectrum). Often enough, these turned out to have fewer synergies than managers had anticipated and they ultimately were shed in favor of operating a more focused, streamlined corporation. While I can’t claim that financial analysis is my forte, I’ve been mystified by quite a few spinoffs over the years. Barnes & Noble, for instance, seemed to me to have a pretty good counterbalance to the vagaries of the book business with its GameStop videogame chain, which operated under dynamics that didn’t seem entirely alien to those of B&N. After all, both were retail operations that carried physical copies of media items that could be most effectively sold by an informed, enthusiastic sales force. But B&N spun off GameStop in 2004, at a time its hold on the book business already seemed to be slipping. True, that made it easier for top executives there to focus on the core bookstore business, but I sometimes wonder whether managers at B&N didn’t subsequently wish they had the cash flow and diversity of GameStop’s thousands of stores. By now, of course, both are grappling with the existential threat of the Internet. In our world of beverages, the one that mystifies me the most is Dean Foods’ decision to spin off its WhiteWave operation a few years ago – precisely at the time 26 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

that dairy alternatives were picking up momentum and retailers were beginning to cut over big chunks of space to merchandise them. With its well-developed DSD system, Dean Foods seemed to me to be highly synergistic to the WhiteWave Foods operation: after all, as milk volumes declined, WhiteWave’s soy and almond and other beverages were poised to neatly fill the void, in the process getting into the impulse nooks and crannies where those brands could really accelerate. It wasn’t lost on me, either, that Dean’s CEO, Gregg Engles, wasn’t staying put with the mother ship but instead fleeing aboard the good ship WhiteWave. So how has that panned out? Of course, we all know that WhiteWave soon enough was scarfed up by Danone, which had been struggling with some of the same headwinds on the dairy side as Dean Foods. So it picked up some needed diversification – and Dean Foods can look at having indirectly empowered a key global rival. Did Danone get a good deal at that $12 billion sticker price? I’m not sure it did, and there are rumblings of some buyer remorse at the French giant as it delved more deeply into WhiteWave’s operations post-acquisition. But strategically, it made great sense. Meanwhile, Dean has been left scrambling to deal with the difficult economics of the milk business and trying to plug some of the gap via such means as its joint venture with the growing organic co-op Organic Valley. That just reinforces to me that the whole spinoff idea is overrated, if not entirely misconceived. In the name of “unlocking shareholder value,” Dean disabled itself in the longer run in a manner that ended up vaporizing a lot of its market capitalization. Readers who’re more financially astute than me, am I missing something here? Indeed, if you can scan the corporate landscape, there are plenty of examples of conglomerates that are performing well – say, the complex assortment of companies that Warren Buffett and his team operate under the Berkshire Hathaway umbrella. And there are examples of close-in, stick-to-your-knitting acquisitions that have been disastrous – say, Quaker Oats’

fumbled acquisition of Snapple, which cost the company its independence. It turned out that the difference between the warehouse-delivery system that Quaker used for its Gatorade brand and Snapple’s DSD orientation was simply too great a chasm for Quaker’s managers to surmount – as daunting, in retrospect, as trying to weld together soda and movies into a growth powerhouse. If Dean’s rationale for spinning off WhiteWave mystified me, so am I flummoxed by the continued drumbeat of abuse that PepsiCo has to weather for not breaking apart its beverage and snack businesses. Justified via rubrics such as “The power of one,” the logic actually seems quite sound to me: beverages and snacks are highly complementary, impulse-driven, DSD-reliant categories and, as major traffic drivers at retail, do serve to make Pepsi more important to its national accounts. If Pepsi’s North American Beverages unit is losing ground to Coca-Cola, it’s certainly not clear to me that the solution is to spin off beverages into a separate company that would be a distant No. 2 to Coke. To me, any benefits the operation would receive from greater focus would be offset by that loss of retail clout. So I guess where I net out with all this is that some conglomerates succeed, others fail; some single-business corporations thrive, others falter. It’s hard to point to the corporate structure alone as being the determining factor. Maybe Dean Foods should have just held on to WhiteWave, and maybe PepsiCo just needs to execute better on beverages. Longtime beverage-watcher Gerry Khermouch is executive editor of Beverage Business Insights, a twice-weekly e-newsletter covering the nonalcoholic beverage sector.

WHISKEY & SHINE

REDEFINED

Shine Responsibly

OL E SMOK Y . C O M @OLE S M O K Y

SHOW PREVIEW BY BEVNET STAFF

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

WHO

Summer Fancy Food Show,

Jacob Javits Center

June 30 – July 2

Over 25,000 buyers

presented by the Specialty

New York, NY

Sat & Sun: 10 a,m, - 5 p,m,

and 2,600 exhibitors

Food Association

Mon: 10 a,m, - 4 p,m, (D&E Halls open at 9:30 a.m.)

ALPHABETICAL EXHIBITOR LIST Exhibitor

Booth

Exhibitor

Booth

Exhibitor

Acai Roots

3056

Dream Foods International LLC.

2659

Morris Kitchen

Affinity Beverages LLC

5341

DRY Soda Co.

5340

nutpods

3821

ALO Drink by SPI West Port, Inc.

5846

Eden Foods, Inc.

1958

Orchid Island Juice Company

1359

Elmhurst Milked, LLC

4212

Owl's Brew

6153 6352

Alpina Foods Inc.

377

Booth 6126

American Beverage Marketers

6058

FAWEN Ready-To-Drink Soup

5587

Pervida

American Juice Company LLC

3514

Fentimans North America, Inc.

3822

Pickett Brothers Beverage Co., LLC

6155

Fever-Tree

1952

Powell & Mahoney

6220

3843

Powerful Yogurt

3611 5556

Annie's Ginger Elixir

NBOTS

Appalachian Brewing Company

3617

GoLive Products

Asarasi, Inc.

5351

Grady's Cold Brew

4516

Private Spring Water LLC

Aroma Bursa Fruit Juices & Food Ind. Inc.

2116

GURU Beverage Co.

5887

Q Drinks

6110

Arteasans Beverages LLC

5716

GuS - Grown-up Soda

5611

Revive Kombucha

2268

BCGA Concept Corp

5582

Halen Brands

343

S. Martinelli & Company

1154

Be Mixed, LLC

5574

Half Moon Bay Trading Co.

1351

Saratoga Spring Water Co.

6118

Bittermilk LLC

5849

Hal's Beverage LLC

3804

Savor California

2674

Blue Monkey

5115

Harmless Harvest

5117

Silk Road Teas

4712

Bonafide Provisions LLC

5210

Harney & Sons Tea Company

5827

SIPP eco beverage co., Inc.

6365

Brands of Britain LLC

1753

Health-Ade, LLC

4922

Skinny Mixes, LLC

5324

Brands Within Reach

5720

Hella Cocktail Co.

6160

Smart Juices, LLC

5212

Brew Dr Kombucha

3735

HFACTOR

3707

Spindrift Beverage Co. Inc.

6208

B-Tea Beverage, LLC

2070

Humm Kombucha LLC

1047

Stirrings, LLC

6237

Buttermilk

5156A

International Delights, LLC

5682

Suja Life LLC

5673

C2O Pure Coconut Water, LLC

5854

ITO EN (North America) INC.

5928

Surprise Drinks a.s.

6060

Cafe Grumpy

6145

Joe Tea & Joe Chips

6009

The Ginger People

2662

Califia Farms

5553

Joni Juice, LLC

3847

The Republic of Tea, Inc.

5608

Ceres Fruit Juices

5929

Karoun Dairies Inc.

3165

Tincture Distillers LLC

6345

Chameleon Cold Brew

3620

Kimino Drinks, Inc.

5345

Tio Gazpacho

5413

Cheribundi

6119

Kohana Coffee

2642

Toast Beverages LLC

6128

Classic Beverage Imports

5659

Lemoncocco

3605

Treo Brands LLC

5860

Coastal Cocktails Inc.

1851

LifeAID Beverage Company

5651

Up Mountain Switchel

6459

Cocktail Crate

6163

Lifeway Foods, Inc.

1970

Vasinee Food Corp

5016

Cold Brew EvyTea

6243

Makomas, LLC

6228

Vermont Village

4126

Copper Moon Coffee LLC

5562

MatchaBar

6020

Vink & Beri LLC

3149

Davidson's Organic Tea

3710

McClure's Pickles LLC

5623

Wandering Bear Coffee

5873

Doc's Tea, LLC

5911

Milkadamia

5987

Wild Tonic

5862

Dona Chai LLC

6114

Mingle Beverage Company LLC

5823

Dora's Naturals, Inc.

3836

MOJO Cold Brewed Coffee, Inc.

6225

28 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

A TIME TO SPARKLE |

By Jeff Cioletti

HARD SELTZER SHOWS A BIT OF STAYING POWER AS AN FMB CATEGORY GROWTH DRIVER The flavored malt beverage segment has had its share of ebbs and flows in the two decades that it’s been a full-fledged category -- and its ability to regularly reinvent itself has kept things a bit more flow than ebb in recent years. But what’s most remarkable is how eager consumers seem to be to move on to the category’s next incarnation. However, it seems, at least for now, that they may be sticking with its current growth driver, hard seltzer. Alcoholic sparkling water has grabbed most of the momentum of its predecessor, the sweet, CSD-like hard soda. The big story about three years ago, hard soda is looking more and more like a flash in the pan, if recent figures from Chicago-based market research company IRI are any indication. The Not Your Father’s brand family, created by Wauconda, Ill.-based Small Town Brewery and distributed through Pabst’s network, saw its volume drop by more than 30 percent in most major offpremise channels in the 52-week period that ended in late March. Meanwhile,

30 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

MillerCoors’s Henry’s Hard line saw a similar drop of 33.6 percent, according to IRI. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Best Damn case volume suffered the steepest decline, dropping more than 60 percent versus the same period the prior year. The numbers are much better for some of the major hard seltzer brands, with the caveat that there were barely any players in the segment before about two years ago to draw any significant year-on-year, apples-to-apples comparisons. Boston Beer’s Truly Spiked & Sparkling, which launched in the spring of 2016 saw its volume climb about 200 percent over its (roughly) first full year on the market. Boston sold more than 1.5 million cases of Truly, accounting for more than $52 million in retail revenue, between late March of 2017 and late March of 2018 at the major off-premise channels that IRI tracks. The Spiked Seltzer brand, which launched in 2013, seems to have gotten quite a boost from its fall 2016 acquisition by AB InBev. Spiked Seltzer, volume jumped more than 400 percent to just

over 760,000 cases and retail revenue just over $25 million. But the segment leader right now is White Claw, launched in June 2016. IRI reports that White Claw sold nearly 2 million cases in that time period, representing about $67 million in revenue. White Claw benefits from some sizeable flavored malt beverage cred, as it’s a product of Mark Anthony Brands, the same parent company behind Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Auburn, Mass.-based Atlas Distributing carries most of the major hard seltzer brands and has seen rapid growth among all of them. “Year-to-date, we’re up 75 percent across the board,” reports Atlas vice president Jamie Salois. “Last year we did about 110,000 [case equivalents] of hard seltzers and this year we could be close to 200,000. “It’s a great thing that we have the whole portfolio [of hard seltzers], so we can participate in building that category in our accounts. We’re just seeing tremendous growth.” A few years back, you could’ve said the same thing about the likes of Not

The difference between hard sodas and hard seltzers is that the latter are more in line with broader consumer trends—particularly involving health and wellness.

Your Father’s Root Beer, but Salois is quick to point out that there isn’t necessarily a sense of déjà vu. “With the hard sodas, it was a new innovation and it was a really big incremental purchase for a lot of consumers,” Salois explains. “When Not Your Father’s came out, it grew and grew and was steady into the next year and then we were kind of hitting the same number of cases month to month. And that has slowed.” The difference between hard sodas and hard seltzers, he says, is that the latter are more in line with broader consumer trends—particularly involving health and wellness. Think about the non-alcohol side of the business. Beverages perceived as “better for you”—including regular, alcohol-free seltzers like LaCroix—have been growing, while CSDs have been losing volume for about a decade and a half. The same dynamic appears to be playing out in the adult beverage sector. “It’s a more health-conscious consumer looking for an alternative beverage that can play against wine, against beer and against spirits,” Salois notes. “And I think there’s a ton of run room left.” And there’s room for new players

to get into the space. Even though the top-selling brands are all tied to larger companies, smaller, boutique brands have been finding a place in the market. Among those is Press Alcohol Seltzer, which founder Amy Walberg calls “one of the only craft seltzers in the category.” (The case could be made that Nauti, from Massachusetts craft brewer Wachusett, fits in that space as well). “It’s really an evolution of hard soda, which are very sweet and so forth,” says Walberg. “[Hard soda] was a novelty. The average consumer was longing for something that was an alternative to beer and wine. I like beer and I like wine, but not always—when I want something lower ABV, I don’t want a big, bold red.” A 12-oz. can of 4 percent ABV Press contains 100 calories. The lower-ABV and lower-calorie aspects are the main reasons that Salois and Walberg feel hard seltzers aren’t likely to be competing for the same consumption occasions as the growing number of RTD, spirit-based craft cocktails, whose ABVs and calorie content tend to be a bit higher. “When I originally started the company, I was drinking a lot of La Croix, but I

wanted a little something in my LaCroix at the end of the day—that and to have the best flavor profile,” Walberg says. Flavor innovation likely will be the key distinguishing factor for new brands as they enter the space. Walberg says the varieties Press offers—Blackberry Hibiscus, Grapefruit Cardamom, Lime Lemongrass and Pomegrante Ginger—are ontrend with evolving consumer tastes for premium ingredients. Truly Spiked and Sparkling offers a comparable array, with Colima Lime, Grapefruit & Pomelo, Pomegranate, Blueberry & Açai, Lemon & Yuzu, Raspberry & Lime and Sicilian Blood Orange. Salois says variety packs have been the big sellers for Atlas, as it drives trial across a brand’s flavor spectrum. One flavor you’re likely to see a bit more of this year is rosé, as hard seltzer producers are capitalizing on the surge in popularity of rosé in the wine space, especially during the warmer months. Nauti already has unveiled its rosé offering and others are likely to follow. “We should see some pretty big volume as the weather starts to turn,” Salois says, “and people get more active and get outside.”

SUGAR SWAP

Ingredient Companies Innovate with Alternative Sweeteners By Ray Latif In September the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would extend the July 2018 deadline for companies to adopt its revised Nutrition Facts panel, one that incorporates a bolder, highlighted calorie count and a new line for added sugars. The updated panel requires companies to disclose added sugars in grams and as a percent of a day’s recommended maximum intake. The addition of the added sugar line is expected to have an adverse effect on sales of beverages that are highly sweetened with sugar. Global ingredient supplier Ingredion recently conducted a consumer study to examine the impact of the new line and found that it would negatively impact purchase intent with at least 50 percent of customers stating that they are less likely to buy the product based on the amount of added sugar. Depending on their size, food and beverage manufacturers will have up to three years to implement the new panel. However, a growing number of beverage manufacturers, relying on new and innovative sweeteners, have already begun to release or reformulate products with naturally derived and zero-calorie sugar substitutes, such as stevia and monk fruit, as a way to reduce sugar content inside in the bottle and on Nutrition Facts panels. According to global market research firm Mintel, new beverages containing stevia grew by 11 percent from 2016 to 2017. Concurrently, consumers are increasingly buying food and beverages formulated with sugar substitutes. Market research group SPINS reported a significant increase in sales of products made with alternative sweeteners, including stevia (up 19.9 percent in 2017), monk fruit (9.5 percent), coconut/palm sweetener (18.6 percent), and erythritol (4.5 percent). In turn, supplier companies are innovating with a range of sugar substitutes and designing new products intended to meet increased demand for alternative sweeteners that taste similar to and blend like sugar.

S T EV I A A plant-based, zero-calorie sweetener, stevia has long been divisive because of its high intensity flavor and bitter aftertaste. However, breakthroughs in processing methods, particularly with previously underutilized compounds present in the stevia plant, are expected to give beverage companies greater latitude to incorporate the sweetener into their products. Global ingredient supplier Cargill, which

has over the past decade developed a range of stevia-based sweeteners, recently announced the launch of EverSweet. A zero-calorie sweetener made with Reb M and Reb D, compounds found in less than 1 percent of the stevia leaf, EverSweet is produced via fermentation. Cargill isolates and processes the compounds with baker’s yeast to create EverSweet, which it claims has an “improved sweetness quality, with-

32 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

out bitterness or licorice aftertastes associated with stevia leaf extracts at high use levels.” Earlier this year, Ingredion announced the availability of BESTEVIA Reb M, a new stevia leaf sweetener produced by Sweetgen. Derived from 95 percent pure Reb M, BESTEVIA is promoted as 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar with significantly less bitterness and aftertaste than conventional stevia

sweeteners, according to the companies. Sweetgen states that in sensory mapping research, Reb M produces a sweetness much closer to that of sugar as compared to Reb A, the most abundant compound in stevia. Meanwhile, GLG Life Tech Corporation, a maker of high-quality zero-calorie natural sweeteners, in collaboration with global ingredient supplier Archer Daniels Midland

Company (ADM), has launched a new high Reb M product line. The products are sourced from its proprietary Dream Sweetener stevia leaves, which produce very high quantities of Reb M. GLG notes that because its stevia extracts are sourced directly from the plant, they can be used in Europe and other places that don’t permit use of stevia when produced using bioconversion or fermentation methods.

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MONK FRUIT Like stevia, monk fruitbased sweeteners have faced challenges due to their intense flavor and lingering aftertaste. Manufacturers, however, are claiming headway with new zero-calorie products sourced from

the extracts of monk fruit, a small sub-tropical melon indigenous to East and Southeast Asia. Ethical Naturals, a maker of specialized, botanical extracts, recently entered the food and beverage space

with LOHAN-50, a new zero-calorie monk fruit sweetener. The company claims that LOHAN-50 contains none of the astringent, pungent or bitter aftertastes often associated with monk fruit extract

or other natural, zerocalorie sweeteners. Along with the new stevia Reb M line, GLG and ADM announced the launch of VerySweet, a non-GMO monk fruit-based sweetener that is promoted as

having a similar sweetness potency to stevia. The companies claim that it is versatile in its ability to be blended with other sweeteners and provides a monk fruit-based solution with no bitterness.

OTHER SWEETENERS Beyond stevia and monk fruit, a handful of innovative – albeit caloric – sweeteners are gradually coming to market. hopes of finding favor with beverage companies. Carolina Innovative Food Ingredients (CIFI), a supplier of ingredients sourced from North Carolina sweet potatoes, last year introduced Carolina Sweet. The 75 brix sweetener boasts higher levels

of calcium, iron, and potassium than high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup, honey, and other natural sweeteners and is Non-GMO Project Verified. CIFI also states that the sweetener naturally adds consistency to applications, allowing for the reduction or elimination of thickeners like xanthan gum and modified corn starch. Palatinose, a low-glycemic sugar derived from sugar beets,

34 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

has found some traction in the beverage industry, particularly among sports drinks. Patented by functional ingredient maker Beneo, palatinose is a slowreleasing carbohydrate with a glycemic index of 32 (lower than agave, sucrose, fructose and other conventional sugars) and is said to provide prolonged energy without blood sugar spikes. In a similar vein, allulose, a monosaccharide found natu-

rally in some fruits, including jackfruit, figs and raisins is promoted as having no impact on blood glucose levels. Allulose is approximately 70 percent as sweet as sugar absorbed by the body, but is not metabolized, making it nearly calorie-free. Tate & Lyle, British-based multinational agribusiness, is the primary marketer of allulose in the U.S. under the brand name Dolcia Prima.

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BRAND NEWS INGREDIENTS

Idaho Milk Products recently developed IdaPlus 1085, a functional milk protein that works well in protein-enhanced readyto-drink beverages. IdaPlus 1085 exhibits improved solubility over most other proteins, leading to quick and efficient hydration and dispersion, as well as high heat stability.

Gellan gum provides protein protection, texture, gelling properties and particle suspension in a variety of applications including fruit juice beverages, alternative dairy beverages, flavored milks and ambient yogurt drinks. Xanthan gum provides thickening, stability, and mouthfeel to soft drinks and clear beverages.

Cargill announced it has begun commercial production of its next-generation sweetener, EverSweet. Produced via fermentation, EverSweet is a zero-calorie sweetener made with Reb M and Reb D, two of the sweet compounds found in the stevia leaf. Cargill’s use of a fermentation process allows for large quantities of these compounds to be commercially produced in a sustainable and cost-effective way.

BioOriginal released its Coconut MCT powder, which provides 7.5 g MCTs, 2 g of dietary fiber and 1 g of protein in each 10 g serving. The product is positioned as a convenient, on-the-go powder alternative to regular MCT oil that is maltodextrin-free. BioOriginal’s Coconut MCT Powder can be added to beverages such as shakes and smoothies, or incorporated into new and existing beverage formulations for added energy and cognitive health benefits.

Global Organics’ supply partner for organic cane sugar, the Native Green Cane Project, has been awarded certification from Fair Trade USA. The Fair Trade Certified label means that products are made with respect for people and the planet in partnership with the agricultural communities who produce and process the raw materials. BioEnergy Life Science (BLS) recently announced its newest ingredient RiaGev, which is a combination of two molecules that offers greater benefits than either ingredient can deliver individually. RiaGev can be used in functional beverages including fortified waters, protein shakes, nutrition bars, gum, chews and ready-to-drink beverages. Martin Bauer Inc. has introduced Strong Infusions by Martin Bauer Group, which are made with premium brewed natural tea and herbal raw materials without any concentration process. Puredia Monk Fruit extract is a 100% natural, calorie-free sweetener and is approximately 150-200 times sweeter than sugar. Puredia works with local farmers in Southern China to offer different strengths of monk fruit extracts, ranging from 25 percent to 60 percent, organic and conventional. CP Kelco, a leading global producer of specialty hydrocolloid solutions, announced 22 Non-GMO Project verified KELCOGEL Gellan Gum products KELTROL Xanthan Gum products in its comprehensive portfolio. 36 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Ethical Naturals Inc. (ENI) recently introduced their LOHAN-50 monk fruit extract, a zero calorie natural sweetener without the astringent or bitter aftertastes often associated with monk fruit extract. LOHAN-50 is viable in formats standardized to 50 percent or 25 percent mogrosides. Food Color recently released Fruit Juice Color 5100, a head and light stable natural red color similar in shade to red 40 in acidic beverages. The fruit is naturally di-acylated fort stability. NP Nutra recently launched organic NutraProtein Power Blend for protein and energy. The blend contains over 55% plant-based protein content, as well as ashwagandha, broccoli, chia, quinoa and turmeric. FutureCeuticals created Organic Coffeeberry Energy by extracting the caffeine and polyphenols from coffee cherries. Sourced from Rainforest Alliance certified farms, soluble Coffeeberry Energy provides organic energy ideal for a variety of functional beverage applications. Carolina Innovative Food Ingredients (CIFI) now offers Carolina Sweet, a 75 brix, sweet potato-based, clean label sweetener. It offers higher levels of calcium, iron, and potassium than high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup, honey, and other natural sweeteners. Carolina Sweet is also Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan, allergen-free and gluten-free.

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Born on Brazil’s Famed “Coconut Coast” Obrigado is brought to the U.S. by Aurantiaca USA LLC, an affiliate of Grupo Aurantiaca LLC, based in Conde, Bahia, where the company owns hundreds of thousands of trees on their own farms. This area is known as the Coconut Coast, world renown for producing

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30% of the land that they farm. They then divided the farmland into their unique Arista System that creates distinct areas that are under the complete control of their highly skilled, highly trained Arista farmers. Because the company is committed to the most eco-

Sustainable Farming Obrigado means “Thank You” in Portuguese, the language of Brazil. And “Obrigado” is more than a brand name, it’s an expression of gratitude the company has to the fertile land of Bahia, Brazil. To care for the earth Obrigado practices a revolutionary,

friendly, sustainable practices, their goal is to create zero waste, utilizing 100% of the coconut. For example, the dry husks of the brown coconut are used to create biodegradable fiber blankets for soil erosion control. They also want to reduce waste in landfills so their #1 PET bottles are recyclable here in the U.S.

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Commitment to People The company also expresses its gratitude for the people of Conde in Bahia through Fair Trade practices. “We have 52 Aristas who are no longer merely manual labor workers but partners in our business” said Luis Carlos. Not only did the company create new employment opportunities for hundreds of locals, to support the children of Pedra Grande, a rural community in the municipality of Conde, they founded Instituto Gente, an organization whose mission is to “help identify and reveal the enormous human and natural potential which already exists, regardless of the conditions of today.” Instituto Gente began transforming the precarious learning space of the local school, Castro Alves School, into a state-of-the-art, modern school building with classrooms, a computer room, music classes, reading rooms, leisure and sports areas, a kitchen and dining hall. The school seeks to implement a full-time education model geared to multi-facet development in and

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In its journey to the mainstream, coconut water has cycled through many different identities. First-to-market brands in the category often focused on sports and fitness use occasions, targeting yoga studios and road races for sampling. As the category grew, those same brands adopted new approaches, highlighting better-for-you everyday functionality. Today coconut water has evolved into an around-the-clock lifestyle product and as consumers think about the category differently, brands are continuing to evolve along with it.

VITA COCO RETURNS TO FUNCTION With dollar sales totalling over $201 million for its core coconut waters as of January, according to IRI, Vita Coco still remains the category leader by a country mile. But even at the top, the company is evolving its pitch to consumers, and for founder and CEO Michael Kirban the future is a return to the past. Speaking to BevNET in April, Kirban said when Vita Coco first launched, American consumers were wholly unaware of coconut water and in turn the branding focused on functionality. Emphasizing the health benefits and better-for-you qualities of

coconut water was essential for moving the product and driving trial, but soon demand for the product grew and the market filled out with dozens of brands seeking to corner shelf space, so Vita Coco shifted gears from function to lifestyle. “We felt we had to do more than just tell people, now that the category was becoming a mainstream category, more about our brand and further hone in and push our brand and our character and our lifestyle and everything else in order to stand out from the competition in the category,” Kirban said. “I think we’ve done a good job with that over the last several years and now we’re at a point where we really dominate the category.” Now, Kirban wants Vita Coco to return to its initial pitch around functionality, with the drink’s high potassium content being a strong selling point. New 16.9 oz. PET bottles exclusive to 7-Eleven stores will call out that the beverage is “nutrient rich” and is a source of electrolytes. As well, the launch of Vita Coco Sparkling, a new canned line debuting in May with Kroger stores, is a play to bring more functionality to the sparkling water space, where the leading brands have seen success without providing consumers with any additional health or wellness benefits. 41

“WE’RE ABOUT THE FUNCTIONALITY; TELLING PEOPLE WHEN AND WHY TO DRINK COCONUT WATER, TELLING THEM ABOUT THE NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS. A LOT OF OUR BRANDING IN OUR PACKAGING NOW HAS MORE CALLOUTS ABOUT THE FUNCTIONALITY. I THINK WE LOOK AT OURSELVES AS A NUTRITION BRAND.” MICHAEL KIRBAN | FOUNDER & CEO - VITA COCO “We’re about the functionality; telling people when and why to drink coconut water, telling them about the nutritional benefits,” Kirban said. “A lot of our branding in our packaging now has more callouts about the functionality. I think we look at ourselves as a nutrition brand.” While the coconut water category is growing at a rate of about 10 percent, Kirban said, his goal for Vita Coco’s latest brand turn is to help speed up that growth.

“Everything we’re doing now is more geared toward category than solely brand,” he said. “That’s kind of a shift we’ve had this past year.”

ZICO EMBRACES LIFESTYLE As Vita Coco looks to wellness, Zico is going all in on lifestyle, renewing its vision from coconut water as a single product to coconut water as a versatile and in-demand ingredient. Speaking with BevNET by phone, Zico’s president and general manager, Tom Larsen, said grab-and-go cold consumption of coconut water is on the rise and the old consumer usage occasions are now transitioning to an around-the-clock assemblage of need states. The company is “doubling down” on its shift to lifestyle brand, and with that the channel focus has shifted from grocery to c-stores, drug, and transportation hubs such as airports to ensure the brand is meeting on-the-go consumers. “You’re seeing a pervasive expansion of the category in usage occasions that really weren’t prevalent three years ago,” Larsen said. “The accelerated rates are coming in new channels outside of mainstream grocery where they purchase it cold and have that immediate consumption experience. When you’re thinking about new usage occasion it’s really new day-parts as well.” 42 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Larsen credited Zico’s adoption of PET packaging in 2015 as having helped to facilitate this sea change in consumer behavior, calling it an “enabler” for the channel expansion outside of retail. On the same phone call, VP of Marketing Meghann Seidner said Zico is in turn focusing its innovation on organic products, new and unique flavors like Jalapeño Mango, and category crossover products such as its recent partnership with Coca-Cola stablemate Suja for its Coco-Lixirs line of coconut water-based cold-pressed juices. Zico’s standing as one of the top premium coconut water brands has given it the opportunity to build off its name recognition and use its credibility to work outside the box with its innovations, Larsen said. With more unannounced products in development, Seidner said the brand is building around a “holistic wellness” philosophy and a “trifecta of mind, body, and spirit.” “We have a pretty robust set of guidelines and pillars associated with current and future innovations, these are our guardrails,” Seidner said. “We want to make sure under our pillars everything ladders back up to holistic wellness, so we’ll never as a brand do anything in an overly indulgent space. We’ve thought about ‘beauty,’ for example, but we won’t even go into that if it’s about

external beauty, it needs to be about beauty from the inside out.” According to Seidner, Zico is planning to spend more than $10 million during 2018 to grow its base business, including a marketing push that will grow its field marketing unit, and activate media ads, shopper marketing, social media, and PR.

APPEARING AUTHENTIC Vita Coco, Zico, and the PepsiCo-owned O.N.E. Coconut Water place as the top brands nationwide, but the category remains rich in smaller, premium players who are leaning on their connections to the source as a way to reach consumers with a message of authenticity and social cause. Harmless Harvest has made the “coconut cause” its brand backbone, highlighting its USDA Organic and Fair For Life certifications and calling out its connections to its Thai farmers. On its website the brand proclaims “capitalism does not have to be detrimental to the environment or the communities at the source” and recently unveiled new packaging that highlighted the work of its laborers. For family-owned brand Taste Nirvana, which launched in 2006 during coconut water’s early entry into the U.S. market,

authenticity and freshness have been key to building a longstanding brand throughout the gold rush period of startups in the category. Founded by father-son team Jack and Kris Wattanaporn, Taste Nirvana has long touted its connections to Thailand as communicating its authenticity to consumers. Speaking to BevNET, director of marketing Tiffany Wattanaporn said she believed this connection has given the brand not just market appeal but the strategic knowledge of the supply chain needed to stand out. “When we started there were about five different competitors, now when you go to expos there’s 20 or more coconut water brands,” Wattanaporn said. “A lot of them end up cycling through and don’t make it because a lot of these companies that come out are just co-packed brands. They will go to Thailand, go to the same factories everyone goes to, stick their label on there, do the marketing thing, and some will do a great job and some won’t.” With its own HPP facility in Thailand, Taste Nirvana exerts tight control over its supply chain and processing to ensure a unique flavor profile, Wattanaporn said. The company harvests its coconut water and processes it immediately, before freezing the product for shipment to the U.S. The company doesn’t co-pack or allow third parties to handle the product. Now, in what Wattanaporn admits is a big gamble, Taste Nirvana is looking to sell its coconut water frozen in the freezer section of U.S. grocery stores. Once coconut water melts, she said, it immediately begins to lose flavor, so selling frozen and having consumers defrost the product at home will ensure the highest

“When we started there were about five different competitors, now when you go to expos there’s 20 or more coconut water brands. A lot of them end up cycling through and don’t make it because a lot of these companies that come out are just co-packed brands. They will go to Thailand, go to the same factories everyone goes to, stick their label on there, do the marketing thing, and some will do a great job and some won’t.” TIFFANY WATTANAPORN | DIRECTOR OF MARKETING - TASTE NIRVANA

quality taste possible. While there would be a heavy amount of consumer education required, Wattanaporn said this approach is common in Asia. But it’s this kind of risky innovation that Taste Nirvana believes most strongly communicates the brand’s authenticity. As the company embraces social media marketing, Wattanaporn said it is able to sell consumers on its “Thai foodie family” identity that believes in freshness. “On social media now big brands have begun to realize consumers are very savvy to when a product isn’t authentic,” she said. “So [social media] has been really great for us.”

Put your mind in the Tropics! Subscribe to the iTi Innovation blog for recipes, infographics, and more.

ititropicals.com/blog 43

BRAND NEWS COCONUT WATER

thirty-two degrees. Organic coconut water kefir maker thirty-two degrees recently announced a new distribution partnership with United Natural Foods (UNFI). Raw C recently added Watermelon and Lime flavors to its 400 ml sparkling coconut water range. The sparkling line is 100 percent natural with no added sugar, artificial flavours, colors or preservatives. Kalena is coming out with four new flavors: Acai, Blood Orange, Watermelon, and Lime, which will be distributed through KeHE distributors nationwide. The brand also announced expanded distribution in New Seasons/New Leaf, Central Market and all Safeway locations in Colorado. Obrigado. Brazilian coconut water brand Obrigado will introduce a line of natural exotic juice blends to the U.S. in June in two varieties: Mango & Acerola and Pineapple. The company also recently expanded its presence on the East Coast with the addition of Hudson Distributors. Coconut Beach is moving into the organic coconut water space due to increasing demand. The new product will display a revised nutrition facts panel that is compliant with the new FDA regulations. Dr. Antonio Martins recently launched Coco sparkling coconut and passion fruit juice blend, which is packaged in fully recyclable 0.33 L PET bottle. Buddha Brands Co. Thirsty Buddha recently launched Sparkling Coconut Water with Grapefruit. The product is gluten-free, certified vegan, Non-GMO Project verified and is available in 330 ml BPA-free cans throughout North America.

Taste Nirvana recently launched three new coconut water SKUs: a coconut water-based kefir, a roasted coconut flavor, and a high-pressure processed coconut water made from cold-pressed coconuts. The latter is made from naturally sweet Thai coconuts that are bottled within hours of harvest. Vita Coco. In April, Vita Coco introduced its sparkling coconut water line, available in Grapefruit, Lemon Ginger, Pineapple Passion Fruit and Raspberry Lime flavors. The sparkling coconut waters will be available nationwide at Kroger in May and in Target stores across Southern California in June. Pure Brazilian Coconut Water is preparing to launch in a newly designed long-neck bottle that showcases its core values and process on the package label. The new bottles hit the markets in early May in the U.S. and mid-June in the EU. Zola is set to unveil updated packaging that features the Non-GMO Project Verified logo this summer. The company has also inked a partnership with Life Rolls On, a non-profit organization that creates surf and skate events for wheelchair athletes. KOH Coconut. In April, KOH Coconut expanded it’s 500 ml PET offering to 3,200 Walmart locations. The company will launch its new watermelon and coconut water blend, which was showcased at Natural Products Expo West 2018 in March, sometime during Q3 2018.

Coco Taps has eliminated 94.5 percent of waste in its supply chain and is opening its first Coco Taps recycling center this year in Las Vegas.

New Age Beverages Corporation launched its carbonated CocoLibre Sparkling coconut water line earlier this year. The product is packaged directly at the source and is available in six flavors: Coastal Coconut, Coconut Lime, Coconut Watermelon, Melon Grapefruit, Peach Pear and Passion Mangosteen.

CoAqua. New to the United States, CoAqua is 100 percent pure coconut water sourced directly from young green coconuts in Southern Vietnam and packaged in glass bottles. The product is sold direct-to-consumer exclusively on the company website.

Harmless Harvest. In May, Harmless Harvest launched its new “Harmless Is…” brand campaign, which kicked off in New York and Los Angeles. The campaign will prominently feature the company’s local farming partners in Thailand.

44 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

ENERGY’S EVOLUTION It’s a huge category. But where do energy drinks go next? By Martín Caballero

Energy

drinks are heading into the future riding a healthy buzz. Across the category, there’s reason for optimism. According to a May 2017 report by market research group Mintel, U.S. energy drink and energy shot sales grew 5.8 percent in 2016, with still more room for growth. Analysts from Mintel forecast U.S. energy drink sales to rise 47 percent from 2016-2021, reaching a projected $19.2 billion. Energy drinks also enjoy strong traction with several key demographics; according to the Mintel report, males 18-35 and Hispanics have deep engagement with the category, while millen-

nial consumers over index for regular usage of energy drinks. Furthermore, over the next decade, trends indicate that energy drinks will continue growing as millennials and Hispanics comprise a larger share of the American population. Yet even with such commercial momentum behind them, energy drink manufacturers are not exempt from the larger forces shaping the beverage industry as a whole. Consumer demand for products that contain less sugar and are made with natural ingredients is rising, as is interest in drinks that can offer different functional benefits than typically seen in energy products. From legacy brands to startups,

46 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

energy drinks are in the midst of an evolution that is set to redefine the category in the coming years.

GOING NATURAL The impact of rising consumer demand for natural, better-for-you products has been felt across a range of beverage categories. In energy drinks, that change may be more drastic than in others. In its May 2017 executive summary on energy drinks, analysts from Mintel wrote: “In a context where consumers are concerned with weight gain and overall health, the high sugar content, synthetically sourced caffeine, artificial ingredients and additives associated with traditional energy

drinks pose a challenge to some traditional suppliers. This may lead some consumers to cut back on energy drink consumption and lead other potential users to seek more natural products, associated with less sugar and artificial ingredients.” Though the market for natural energy remains less than one percent of the total category – around $64.9 million annually, compared to approximately $10.8 billion for conventional – it is growing at a much faster rate. According to data from SPINS, year-over-year growth for natural energy is 16.2 percent, while conventional growth remains flat at around 1.8 percent.

“We expect natural energy drinks to make a greater dent in this category as distribution picks up in the coming years and consumers' growing preferences for clean food and beverage options disrupt even the most established legacy brands' sales trajectory, such as we've seen happen in the soft drink segment,” wrote Jane Knepper, Product Library Solutions Manager at SPINS, in an email. Natural energy aside, calories remain a concern. Over the past year, Red Bull has responded to shifts in consumer attitudes towards energy drinks by expanding its range of sugar-free SKUs, after internal company research noted strong growth for

low-calorie drinks. Sales of Red Bull’s sugar-free energy drinks were up slightly to around $727 million in a 52-week period ending on January 28, 2018. “We also see overall beverage trends reflected in the energy drink category,” wrote the Red Bull Insights Team, in response to written questions. “Consumers are are showing interest in flavors, sugar-free/ diet/zero offerings and natural and organic versions.” Investors have also shown interest in the category, none as much as Anheuser-Busch InBev. The beer conglomerate purchased organic energy drink brand Hiball for an undisclosed fee last year, a move that founder and CEO

20 UNIQUE FLAVORS INCLUDING 6 SUGAR FREE OPTIONS FOR SALES AND DISTRIBUTION INQUIRIES CONTACT US AT: TEAMRIPIT@RIPITENERGY.COM

Todd Berardi said has added to the momentum behind natural energy drinks. “Since our acquisition, there’s been a raising of the bar towards where the trends are going, where everybody is trying to move their product that may not have had those attributes since the beginning,” he said. “I think an acquisition by Anheuser-Busch obviously validated not only that we were the leading brand but also validates where the trends are going, and it’s happening at a more rapid clip now.” The shift to natural has not been limited to smaller brands, as evidenced by a slew of new

line extensions. Earlier this year, energy shot brand 5-Hour introduced its first natural product, a sugar-free, four-calorie SKU made with caffeine from green tea leaves. In August, PepsiCoowned Amp Energy launched a four-SKU line of USDA Certified Organic energy drinks made with five ingredients: organic caffeine from green coffee beans, carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavors and organic cane sugar. Another legacy brand in the category, Rockstar, launched an organic non-carbonated yerba mate drink called

Yachak late last year, which is distributed by PepsiCo.

As part of the shift towards healthier beverages, future energy drinks may even look to emphasize a different kind of functionality than previously seen in the category. “We are also seeing a big pick up in nootropic, mood, clarity and brain functionfocused energy drinks, many based on adaptogens,” said Knepper. “Energy drink formulations are moving toward a more holistic, centering, mental performance type of beverage – a beverage to

an attempt to position matcha as “a modern day healthy alternative to taurine.” More specifically, he sees the potential for L-theanine – a slow release amino acid found in matcha that acts as a natural calming agent – to appeal to consumers looking for a more fine-tuned energy experience. “On the back of every bottle it says: “L-theanine keeps you calm and focused as you are getting stuff done,” he said. “I think as we move into the next five years, [the category] will be moving away form the harder, better, faster, stronger of yesterday and more into the dialed-in

boost not just energy levels but something to boost one’s overall sense of wellness and optimized function.” MatchaBar, a Brooklynbased maker of ready-to-drink matcha tea products, has built its brand around the edges of the energy drink category; its 10 oz. bottled product even includes the call out of “better energy” on the label. Speaking with BevNET, cofounder Graham Fortgang explained that MatchaBar’s summer launch of its new energy drink, called Hustle, is

performance of tomorrow.” Fitness-related energy drinks, such as FitAid and Celsius, also offer unique types of functionality in the guise of a traditional energy drink. The latter, which claims to help users boost their metabolism and burn more calories, grew by just over 40 percent in MULO sales in the past year after closing a $15 million investment round led by Hong Kong-based Horizon Ventures in March 2017. The movement towards lower-sugar products may also

BEYOND ENERGY

48 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

affect the energy drink market in unexpected ways.

DEMOGRAPHICS & DISTRIBUTION Whether they are moving to an all-natural formulation or showcasing different kinds of functional benefits, energy drinks are motivated to make changes by the desire to reach the same young, well-off consumers that are driving the shift towards better-for-you food and beverage products of all types. “I think the demographic for energy drinks has changed in recent years, possibly driven by younger, more affluent consumers who grew up in a world where clean food and

a product diversity always existed,” Knepper wrote in response to a question about the changing face of the modern energy drink consumer. “I believe we’re seeing energy drinks being formulated for the office – again, not just a burst of energy but a formula-driven nootropic focused on a balanced elevation of energy levels.” At 25 and 28 respectively, MatchaBar co-founders and brothers Graham and Max Fortgang are ideally suited to understand what young

consumers want out of a modern energy drink. Using the tag line “Good things come to those that hustle,” the Brooklyn-based brand, which operates matcha cafes in New York and Los Angeles, has ingrained itself with youth culture, welcoming rap superstar Drake as an investor in August 2017 and landing on the menu at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last month. In creating Hustle, Graham Fortgang said the idea was hone in on matcha as the preferred source of energy for the modern young millennial.

Even as the overall channel reported relatively flat growth of 0.1 percent, according to Nielsen data reported by Wells Fargo Securities, energy drinks saw a 3.3 percent increase in sales during a 12-week period ending on April 21. Yet in order to reach the types of consumers Fortgang is talking about, energy drink brands may need to balance their presence in C-stores and conventional channels where the category has traditionally thrived. While noting that c-store sales and other grab-and-go opportunities for single-unit

ENERGY DRINKS BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Red Bull

$2,891,614,208

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER -1.11%

Monster Energy

$1,649,169,408

9.11%

Red Bull Sugar Free

$732,722,688

-0.02%

Monster Energy Zero Ultra

$623,692,160

13.77%

NOS

$438,815,392

3.73%

Monster Rehab

$303,711,872

-2.94%

Monster Energy Lo Carb

$295,709,408

-3.95%

Monster Mega Energy

$241,450,592

-2.29%

Rockstar

$228,359,456

-10.84%

Red Bull The Blue Edition

$203,234,928

-0.26%

Monster Juice

$191,586,160

9.12%

Red Bull The Yellow Edition

$179,638,672

-1.31%

Rockstar Pure Zero

$156,082,096

3.87%

Monster Energy Ultra Sunrise

$148,391,056

13.36%

Red Bull The Green Edition

$138,053,872

526.15%

Rockstar Punched

$135,458,912

3.72%

Monster Energy Absolute Zero

$122,465,272

-4.09%

Full Throttle

$121,381,824

-1.02%

AMP Energy

$114,057,736

-16.08%

Red Bull The Red Edition

$113,413,472

-8.26%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/25/18

“It plays into everything from the person trying to start their own business but also calls into everyone else who’s working a 9 to 5 and hustling to get done what they need to get done throughout the day,” he said. “Everything we’ve done with this product is creating an experience behind it and really owning that idea of ‘the hustle’ rather than focusing too much on the actual product itself.”

purchases will continue to grow, SPINS content strategist Jessica Hochman also saw millennial consumers pushing next-generation energy drinks into new distribution channels. “These wellness-oriented energy drinks will find even more outlets in non-traditional distribution: foodservice, gyms/ yoga centers, and newer and healthier vending machines in offices with fresh offerings.” 49

BRAND NEWS ENERGY DRINKS

Miron, an energy drink made which contains 70 mg of caffeine from green coffee beans, has released four new flavors: Fuji Apple, Mango Acai, Peach Pear and Kiwi Passionfruit. Each SKU is made with five ingredients and are all natural, Kosher, gluten free and soy free.

months into the Safeway Southern Division in Randall’s, Tom Thumb, and Albertsons. The drink is currently available in over 1,000 Safeway/Albertsons accounts as well as Sprouts, H-E-B, Save Mart, Lucky, and will be coming soon to Meijer stores.

Hackamore, a premium energy shot sold in 1 L frosted glass bottles, recently unveiled its miniature 50ml package, as well as new distribution in over 200 locations in New York City.

Scheckter’s Organic Energy has reduced sugar by 30 percent across its range of Organic Energy drinks, without the use of artificial sweeteners or stevia. The reformulated product will be available in stores beginning in May.

NatureWise has launched a new line of energy drinks infused with a clinical dose of Sensoril Ashwagandha, an herbal extract with proven benefits for stress relief, mood uplift and mental focus. The drinks are USDA Certified organic, naturally caffeinated, and come in five sparkling fruit and tea flavors. Hiball, producers of organic energy drinks available in sweetened or unsweetened SKUs, are now available nationwide in health food stores, in addition to a variety of natural and conventional retailers such as Whole Foods, Kroger, CVS, Target, and Safeway. They are also available for purchase via Amazon and Hiballer.com Steaz will add three new flavors to its current organic energy platform this June – two zero calorie options, Zero Pear Pomegranate and Zero Super Fruit, as well as one sweetened flavor, Yumberry. All Steaz energy drinks contain 100 mg of natural, plant-based caffeine in every can, sourced from yerba mate, guarana, and green tea. Mamma Chia has revamped its Chia Energy line and released it under a new name: Clean Energy, which includes 2,500 mg of Omega-3 and 90 mg of natural caffeine per serving. Clean Energy is available across the U.S. at mainstream grocery stores and natural food markets in two flavors: Blackberry Blast and Raspberry Razz. Monster Energy has expanded their coffee portfolio with the latest addition - Caffé Monster. Caffé Monster is an energy coffee made with 100 percent Arabica coffee, real milk, B-vitamins, coffee fruit, and sugar. The drink is now available in a 13.7 oz. glass bottle in Mocha, Vanilla, and Salted Caramel flavors. Diabolo Beverages, which markets energy drink Energizing Loco, is actively expanding distribution of the line over the coming 50 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

MatéBros, a non-carbonated yerba mate energy drink, is projected to launch a refreshed design for its 8 oz. cans and a new organic formulation this summer. EnerBee is now available in more than 100 H-E-B stores in Texas and is fast expanding in Northern California in the Silicon Valley area with new distribution through office vending group Oh My Greens. SPIKE, a sugar free zero-calorie energy drink, has launched its new flavor, Strawberry Lemonade, into 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores and Holiday Station stores. The brand is also now available at Kroger Convenience locations and Hy-Vee stores. Feel Energy is Non-GMO Project verified and offered at Fresh Thyme, Whole Foods and Kroger stores in Michigan, with distribution by UNFI and KeHE. Fleeb Juice, an energy drink developed by impulse item maker Boston America, is based off of the hit animated television show Rick and Morty on Cartoon Network. The 12 oz. cans can currently can be found at retailers such as Spencer Gifts and FYE. Xpress Energy Drink is a new product launched earlier this year in 16 oz. cans and is available in original and low-carb flavors. Xpress is distributed across the U.S. XYIENCE Energy will introduce in May a new packaging design to increase shelf presence and better communicate its zero calorie and zero sugar value proposition. XYIENCE will be available at CVS starting in May and at Target in June. BAWLS Guarana, a highly caffeinated soda made with guarana berry, has named FedEx

Supply Chain as the company’s exclusive fulfilment provider. Rhino Rush, which uses the herb Ephedra, released its energy drink in three flavors: Grape, Kiwi Strawberry, and Blue Raspberry. IMMORDL, a plant-based, paleo-certified, functional energy elixir, will be released in an aluminum bottle this June. Spider Energy Drink is expanding distribution for its Original Citrus Bite and MIMIC flavors into Dollar General stores throughout the United States.

Marquis continued its expansion across the country by landing new placements in Albertsons, Safeway, Fresh Thyme, Meijer, Sendik’s, and Shaw’s. Go Fast Beverage recently released Colorado Special Edition, a SKU which contains no artificial flavors or sweeteners and will be available at King Soopers/City Markets and in select 7-Eleven locations in the Midwest. Dark Dog Energy Drink Company recently launched a USDA Certified Organic, nonGMO and sodium-free energy line in four flavors: Coconut Water, 50 Calories, Blood Orange and Original.

RUNA. In January, RUNA expanded its line of 12 oz. clean energy drinks with five new SKUs, including Pomegranate, Mango, Pineapple, unsweetened Mint Strawberry, and unsweetened Watermelon. RUNA is also rolling out nationwide in 13 new accounts.

Celsius. Fitness energy drink Celsius recently added Apple Jack’d and Orangesicle to its HEAT line. Both drinks contain 300 mg of caffeine per 16 oz. can and no sugar.

Rockstar recently released Recovery Fruit Punch, which contains 10 calories and 160 mg of caffeine per 16 oz. can.

Red Bull, in collaboration with Live Nation, released its first-ever ultraviolet blacklight can, which will be available at select music festivals this summer. The brand also launched its latest Summer Edition variety, Coconut Berry.

SHOW REVIEW BY CHRIS FURNARI

Craft Brewers Conference Drives Dustup Between Big and Small Brewers The Brewers Association used its annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) gathering, held earlier this month in Nashville, Tennessee, to further draw a line between the companies it represents – small and independent U.S. breweries – and those brands owned by larger, international beer conglomerates. “The many faux craft, crafty, captive, capitulated and acquired brands are weapons in the arsenal of the big breweries and used to control as much of the market as possible,” Left Hand Brewing co-founder and BA board chair Eric Wallace told 52 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

thousands of industry professionals attending the event’s first general session. Wallace – who pointed to a lack of ownership disclosure on acquired craft breweries’ labels, “monopolistic practices” that he claimed prevented small breweries from accessing raw materials and distribution channels, and “rampant violations of trade practices,” among other accusations – made an impassioned plea for greater adoption of an independent craft brewers seal unveiled by the BA last June. That badge, an upside down beer bottle with the words “independent craft,”

helps “clear the smogginess in the air created by the lack of transparency and obfuscations by the large multinational breweries,” he argued. “These guys are out to eat our collective lunch and take your kids’ lunch money as well,” he said. In many respects, the 2018 Craft Brewers Conference – which was attended by upwards of 14,000 brewers, distributors, retailers, suppliers and other industry professionals – served as the BA’s biggest opportunity to promote the indie seal to more than 6,300 breweries that compete

within the broader U.S. beer marketplace. “If you package your beer, please think long and hard about adding the seal to your packaging,” Bob Pease, the CEO of the BA said during his first general session remarks. “We know that is not an easy ask, but it’s important.” To stress the importance of adopting the seal, the BA heavily promoted it throughout the week. In addition to pitching it from the main stage, the BA plastered images of the seal throughout the Music City Center, where the event was held, and named the WiFi network “Independence Matters.” In his remarks on day one of the conference, Pease – who noted that more than 3,300 BA-defined craft brewers had already adopted the seal, placing it on labels, marketing materials or in their taprooms – argued that the seal is a sign of unity among BA members, and that it helps smaller companies clearly differentiate their brands from those acquired by large brewers such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors. According to Pease, those companies “seek to blur the lines of independence and confuse the beer drinker.” But after the weeklong event concluded, a rebuttal from Molson Coors chairman Pete Coors emerged in the form of an “open letter.” In it, Coors claimed that BA leadership, through its ongoing campaign against “big beer,” “does a great disservice to the entire beer value chain by attempting to pit one part of the industry against another.” “You undermine your credibility by pitting us against one another to the ultimate detriment of the entire beer industry,” Coors wrote. Coors – whose company owns several craft brands, including San Diego’s Saint Archer, Oregon’s Hop Valley, Texas’ Revolver Brewing and Georgia’s Terrapin Beer Company, among other craft labels – instead believes that industry competition should be “honored and cherished.” “There should be no room for cheap shots and insults (“faux”, “crafty”, “capitulated” beers) for each other,” he wrote, noting that the BA’s definition of what it means to be a craft brewer encour-

ages “prioritizes insults” and encourages division within the industry. Once Coors’ remarks hit the Internet, Ninkasi Brewing co-founder Nikos Ridge, who has staunchly defended independent craft breweries over the years, took to the company’s blog to offer a rebuttal. “What’s insulting is for you to lie to craft beer customers about the origins of their beer and then argue that it’s a problem when we [craft brewers] point it out,” Ridge argued. “Why don’t you call it ‘MillerCoors Hop Valley?’ Because you know what you

purchased is the ability to lie to customers and to cash in on craft credibility.” Sales of Ninkasi, which launched in 2006 and was ranked by the BA as the 38th largest craft brewery in the U.S. in 2017, declined last year. That’s because growth for more established craft beer companies is harder to come by, BA chief economist Bart Watson shared during the conference. According to Watson, breweries

founded after 2014 are driving the majority of segment growth. Those breweries collectively added 916,000 barrels to the category in 2017, which represents growth of 52.6 percent versus 2016. Breweries founded before 2014, however, added 285,000 barrels to the craft segment and collectively grew just 1.3 percent. Watson, along with BA director Paul Gatza, shared these statistics and other figures during the duo’s annual “State of the Industry” presentation. Watson’s advice to some of the newer breweries in the room? Set “realistic expectations.” “While you’re growing fast now, don’t expect that you’re going to beat the odds when so many older or experienced breweries were not able to,” he said. During their presentation, Watson and Gatza confirmed growth figures that were released in March — one in eight beers purchased in 2017 came from small and independent brewers. Watson said craft’s 12.7 percent share of U.S. beer market volumes last year was a record, and noted that craft dollar share increased to 23.4 percent. “Craft share is at an all-time high,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s more competitive than ever out there, in particularly with competition from the world’s largest brewers and not to mention wine and spirits.” That’s something Coors himself no doubt agrees with. “We have enough competition inside the beer business and outside it with wine, spirits and, increasingly, marijuana,” he argued in his letter to the BA. Nevertheless, craft’s market share would be a lot higher if it were not for acquisitions made by big brewers, Watson said, noting that those purchases “have pulled a lot of volume out of the craft data set.” In 2017, BA-defined craft grew volume by 5 percent. According to Watson, craft has settled into a “more realistic” longer-term growth pattern in the mid-single digits. He added that while the extra 1.2 million craft barrels produced in 2017 was “impressive,” compared to the past, “it’s certainly down.” “I don’t think we’re ever going to see a year with three or three and a half million barrels added again,” he said. 53

SHOW REVIEW BY MARTÍN CABALLERO

EXPO WEST 2018 Show Recap Already one of the food and beverage industry’s biggest trade shows, Natural Products Expo West 2018, held in March at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., only keeps growing yearover-year. From new takes on existing categories to truly disruptive innovations, the BevNET editorial team was there to cover the latest trends, products, brands, formats and categories that emerged from this year’s show. As cold brew has evolved into a ubiquitous presence across all retail channels, coffee brands exhibiting at Expo West 2018 sought ways to keep this increasingly saturated market growing by expanding into more use occasions, flavors and package sizes. Peet’s shared a first look at its new dairy-based iced espresso line; available in Vanilla Latte, Caramel Macchiato, Mocha and lightly sweetened Black & White flavors, each SKU contains 130 calories and between 10 and 17 g of sugar and will retail for $2.99. Elsewhere, Chameleon and High Brew both shared innovations that fit in different parts of the ready-to54 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

drink coffee set. The former, exhibiting for the first time since its acquisition by Nestle last November, presented its new threeSKU line of coffee and organic whole milk

blends in a multi–serve 46 oz. package. High Brew shared a three-SKU sparkling cold brew line — available in dairy-free Black, Vanilla and Mocha flavors. Elsewhere at Expo West, coffee shots continued to develop as a convenience-

oriented sub-category. In addition to a pair of shelf-stable RTD cold brew lines — one made with organic coffee, the other with non-GMO coffee — Austinbased Kohana Coffee shared an early look at its 2 oz. cold brew shot product, packed with 200mg of caffeine each, which are due this summer. Sir Owlverick’s also had a cold brew shot called Owlmighty at its booth. FORTO, an early entrant into the coffee shot category, also shared a new Vanilla flavor as part of its Extra Energy line, each with 200mg of caffeine. Kombucha also continues to make strides in its journey from niche beverage to mainstream viability, thanks mainly to innovations in flavors and formats. As well as a new “verified nonalcoholic” seal, Bend, Ore.-based Humm Kombucha showcased a new three-SKU line of reduced sugar kombuchas, each with 5g of sugar. Brew Dr. Kombucha shared a look at its new 12 oz. cans, which will go to market along with a 32 oz. multi serve glass bottle. Suja, which debuted its kombucha line last year, went for a smaller size with its new 8.5 oz.

Mech Spin the bottle 2.3" x 10.125"_Layout 1 5/10/18

“Mini Booch” bottle size, which will be sold in 4-packs. Facing a market insurgency from plantbased alternatives, some dairy brands at Expo West looked for ways to push back against the tide. Powerful Yogurt unveiled a packaged smoothie line launching in May to 3,000 stores. Dreaming Cow debuted a drinkable yogurt line last year and is now rolling it out with 1,100 Walmarts and Sprouts stores signed on to carry the line. However, plant-based dairy alternatives was also a prominent category at the show. Califia Farms debuted a line of almond-based drinkable yogurts, MALK added new strawberry cashew milk and chocolate almond milk flavors, and Forager Project announced a “full fat” cashewmilk. Silk announced a number of functional products including prebiotic, omega-3, and protein nut milks. Suja has added peabased plant protein milks to its portfolio, introducing an original and chocolate

its newest SKU: coconut water made with fresh pressed coconut, giving the liquid a more coconut-forward taste and somewhat more complex mouthfeel. Zico is also buying in with a line of “Cocolixirs” made with cold-pressed juice from Suja and coconut water. New product innovations within the bottled water category at Expo West 2018 may not have been as prominent as those in other categories, but there were some new developments. Icelandic Glacial used the show to introduce three new flavors in its sparkling water line which will be in stores next month: Tahitian Lime, Sicilian Lemon and Elderflower. Elsewhere, Boxed Water shared new 6-pack and 8-pack formats for its 500ml paper carton packages, with the 1L size also available in a 4-pack. In soda, Live Soda introduced its zero-calorie probiotic carbonated soft drink line at the show, while Wave Soda

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flavor with 8g of protein per serving. Two of the category’s most successful brands — Zico and Vita Coco — exemplified a more progressive approach to the coconut water category. The former, which had previously been exclusively shelf-stable, debuted its first ever flash pasteurized coconut waters, available in original and Pineapple Mango flavors in 400 ml and 1L formats. Vita Coco shared

announced it had increased direct store distribution (DSD) in Los Angeles and is planning to launch in Northern California soon. Dry Soda sampled its previously announced sugar-free line, ahead of a spring launch. Sparkling water brand Spindrift introduced its newest SKU: a new take on the classic “half & half,” made with black tea, sparkling water and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

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2018

GUIDE

SUPPLIER AND SERVICES

Tea, Coffee & Specialty items A. Holliday & Company Inc.

Bookkeeping and Accounting Accountfully

Agropur–Contract Manufacturing Agropur Ingredients

Investment Bank Arlington Capital Advisors

For over 43 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 variety’s (extracts & leaf), coffees (extracts), antioxidants, herbal & superfruit extracts, natural caffeine, polyphenols, EGCG, Rooibos, coconut water powder, and our newest product, oil soluble tea polyphenols.

Accountfully is your fully outsourced bookkeeping and accounting firm. We work with emerging food and beverage entrepreneurs who have unique business challenges. Our team reviews and discusses our clients inventory and financials on a regular basis so they know when it’s time to restock inventory, adjust pricing to support higher profit margins, and identify external funding sources.

Agropur Ingredients is a global leader supplying the food, beverage & nutritional industries with superior quality contract manufacturing services and innovative functional ingredients. Whether your objective is to streamline production processes, improve texture, increase shelf-life, enhance nutrition, boost output, balance cost, or achieve better sensory perception - we have a solution for you.

ACA is a boutique investment bank focused on all consumer sectors. Our practice provides middle market sell-side, buy-side and capital raising advisory services to founder-led and sponsorowned consumer companies coast to coast with experience in CPG, brewing, distilleries, wineries, franchising and restaurants. Securities offered through an unaffiliated broker-dealer, M&A Securities Group

Flavor Manufacturer Abelei Flavors

Creative Marketing Solutions Affinity Creative Group

Scientific & Regulatory AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

Highest Throughput HPP Machine Avure HPP Technologies - JBT

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 beverages, dairy, confectionery, bakery, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceutical applications.

Affinity Creative Group connects brands with their audiences at essential consumer touchpoints. Our mission is to stir the imagination of our clients and their consumers through beautiful design and impactful marketing strategies and experiences. From branding and packaging, to retail promotions and displays, to digital media and video, we provide creative solutions for your brand.

AIBMR is a scientific & regulatory consulting firm founded in 1978. AIBMR offers consulting to the natural products industries, such as: toxicology studies; GRAS Self-determinations; FDA GRAS Notifications (for foods); FDA NDI Notifications (for dietary supplements); label reviews; claims substantiation; FDA and FTC compliance, manuscript preparation and publication, and more.

With more than 60 years of experience and expertise in HPP science and manufacturing, AVURE specializes in HPP systems for beverage processing with the fastest and most reliable systems in the industry. AVURE helps producers implement HPP from recipe development and process validations to packaging, installation, regulatory affairs, and post-installation support.

Innovative Beverage Solutions

Functional Beverages, Organic

ADM

Allen Flavors, Inc.

Whether you are looking for sophisticated tea blends, functional beverages, enhanced waters, soft drinks, spirits, exotic cocktail mixers or rich aromatic coffee flavors, our knowledgeable staff will work with you fine-tuning YOUR concept to get the precise flavor, aroma and feel you are looking for in a stable formulation in our state-of-the-art beverage development laboratories. Our regulatory department will provide documentation for kosher, organic, natural, TTB (for alcoholic products) or non-GMO certification. Allen Flavors will be with you from raw material selection to the production room floor where documented procedures for batching and bottling your custom formula will be provided to your co-packer. As your trusted advisor, ADM helps you take your next great beverage idea from concept to commercialization supported by an unrivaled portfolio of on-trend ingredients, systems, technologies and technical know-how. Call to discuss how ADM can help you get to market faster with beverages consumers love while meeting your stringent taste, cost, nutrition, labeling and quality standards. 844-441-FOOD food@adm.com

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You may be a distributor seeking to replace brands lost through acquisition, an entrepreneur building a product from the ground up, an established beverage or coffee company extending product lines or someone seeking their own signature amenity beverage. Look to Allen Flavors. We have the knowledge, equipment and industry experience to “build in” the precise batch-to-batch consistency required for the success of your unique Custom Formulation.

Organic Functional Ingredients

Plant Protein Manufacturing

Applied Food Sciences (AFS)

Axiom Foods

Formulate with functional, organic extracts designed for solubility. Applied Food Sciences specializes in functional organic ingredients designed to work in beverages. By designing botanical ingredients that are highly water soluble and with a neutral flavor profile, AFS supports beverage companies to easily incorporate functional benefits with a clean formulation. Sustainability and ethical sourcing are CORE to AFS’ values. Ingredients are fully water soluble, USDA Organic, NON-GMO Project Verified, and GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe - an FDA requirement for U.S. beverages).

Innovating plant protein manufacturing since 2005 & recently receiving The New Economy’s Clean Tech Food & Beverage Award, Axiom is the world’s first & largest manufacturer/distributor, starting with its signature Oryzatein® brown rice protein. Perfecting its patent-pending hexane-free processes, Axiom expanded into pea protein, including the largest authentically organic supply, sacha inchi & now hemp. With more plant proteins, milks and factories in the pipeline, this California-based company has been known for the largest commercial supplies — doubling almost year over year, the only GRAS certification, an extensive Quality & Heavy Metals Management Program, and the only third-party research showing Oryzatein rice protein is as good as whey at building muscles & aiding exercise recovery.

Highlights of AFS’ Portfolio: • PurCaf® Organic Caffeine (your choice: coffee or tea based) • Organic Ginger (functional flavor) • Organic Turmeric (functional flavor) • Organic Vitamin C (functional flavor and organic preservative) • Organic Guayusa (Novel Energy) • Detoxification Complete Water Purification

Analytical Lab Testing

Aqua-Chem, Inc.

AZ Laboratories

Food/Beverage/Nutritional Supplement/Pharmaceutical Manufacturing/Marijuana Products AZ Laboratories operates top caliber equipment and employs knowledgeable quality and technical professionals to develop and validate the analytical methods you need to meet your requirements for quality and safety. AZ Laboratories boasts technical capabilities to utilize USP, AOAC, and other industry standard methodologies. AZ Laboratories services include: - Nutrient and composition services to verify your product meets your requirements - Chemical residue analyses on raw materials and finished products to ensure you are confident in the safety of your product. - Cannabis potency and contaminant analyses enhance patient experience and increases your competitive advantage. - Shelf life analysis service can assure the stability of your products. - Sensitive detection of food allergens and raw material characterization ensures your supply chain remains reliable - Microbiological detection service can enhance the safety of your products. - Early phase pre-clinical pharmacokinetic support streamlines your development process to accelerate launches of new pharmaceuticals. - Method development/validation/transfer services to support launches of unique and innovative products and formulations. - Our analytical consultation service brings our experience to your organization. AZ Laboratories LLC 7255 S Kyrene Rd Suite 103 Tempe, AZ 85283

Phone: 480-717-7813 Fax: 480-858-9398 info@azlaboratories.com www.azlaboratories.com 59

Contract Manufacturing AZPack

The Ultimate Hang Tag Bedford - ElastiTag®

AZPack is one of the fastest growing co-packers in the country. We offer tolling and turnkey solutions in cans, bottles & powders. Our team of dedicated & professional staff are focused on delivering the highest quality products to our customers. Capable of producing cold fill, hot fill & tunnel pasteurized products with onsite lab services. Visit our website to find out what we can do for you.

ElastiTag® engages shoppers with its distinctive personality on your product. The colorful elastomer loop grips bottles and cans. Even in refrigeration, this durable tag keeps its cool and stays put. Add value and draw attention by using ElastiTag® to communicate health benefits, product launches, coupons, or recipes. This ultimate hang tag offers endless POS marketing possibilities!

Plant based ingredients Bay State Milling Co.

BOTTLES, CAPS & PACKAGING Berlin Packaging

Bay State Milling is 5th generation family owned, specializing in plant based ingredients for snacks and bakery foods. Through our supply chain management & unique processing capabilities we provide superior quality nutritional ingredients, including whole grains & flours, ancient grains, edible seeds & blends available as sprouted, organic, gluten free, nonGMO verified and heat treated.

Berlin Packaging supplies glass, plastic, and metal containers and closures. We offer a wide array of packaging for beverage companies along with design, financing, consulting, and warehousing services. From simple plastic caps to high-end glass bottles and more -- we deliver excellent value and promote real results for companies of all sizes. We exist to help companies be Greater, Faster.

Beverage Packaging Equipment Bevcorp LLC

Bevcorp has been a full-service provider of packaging equipment and parts solutions since 1992. We provide new and Bevcorp Certified equipment, parts, and service through our Bevcorp Filling, FCI Handling, Microblend, and East Coast Seamers Divisions. Our customers include those in both the beverage and food industries. We produce high quality new and remanufactured parts at competitive prices. A number of replacement and repair parts are available with design improvements and upgraded materials, such as stainless steel and hard chrome plate. Specialty items can be quickly produced with our extensive in-house machining capabilities. Avoid hours of lost production time during an unexpected crash, by tapping into Bevcorp’s store of quality, used structural components. Some parts seldom need to be replaced and could take weeks to manufacture, while a used, nonwearing equivalent part is often available immediately at a fraction of the cost. All Bevcorp equipment is made in the USA. Visit our newly re-designed website, www.bevcorp.com, or contact our sales team at 440.954.3505 today for more information.

Make Your Brand Smarter

Do More Than Outsource

BeerBoard

BevSource

BevSource is an integrated provider of beverage development, production, sourcing, and logistics solutions to new and established beverage visionaries. Our goal is to make your beverage vision a reality more efficiently, effectively, and successfully than you ever dreamed possible. Bringing your beverage idea to life requires hundreds of interconnected data points and decisions. The right formula with the right manufacturer in the right package with the right paperwork. BevSource helps you see the big picture – from your initial vision to the finished product, and every single operational step in between. Then while we manage the daily details of developing, producing, delivering, and managing your beverage operations, you’ll have more time to build your brand, business, & customer base. We’re not just advisors that point you in the right direction and hope for the best. We are beverage industry navigators who collaborate with clients to build a custom operational strategy for your beverage, identify a unique mix of services and vendors to support it, then execute on the plan. We make it happen. Visit www.bevsource.com today to find out more!

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Turnkey Beverage Services Big Brands, LLC

Brewery Hiring & HR Services Brewsource

Plastic Bottle Manufacturer Captiva Containers

Kick Caffeine to the Curb Chemi Nutra

We can turnkey develop and manufacture all types of beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, in aluminum cans, PET bottles, glass bottles, and flexible packaging. If you are looking for a one stop shop to take your beverage concept and create a finished product, delivered to your warehouse, look no further! We can supply all ingredients, materials, manufacturing, and delivery.

Brewsource is a hiring and HR consulting firm with a unique focus on the brewing industry. With a mission of contributing to the growth of the brewing industry, we provide a consultative and hand's on approach with clients and candidates alike. People are at the heart of every organization and having the right people in the right positions is crucial to your success! Cheers!

Captiva is a friendly family company manufacturing innovative plastic (PET) bottles. We are a one-stop-shop for your product packaging needs. You may choose from our wide selection of stock bottles in different sizes and shapes or we can create a custom design for your product! We also offer in-house decoration: label application, direct printing, shrink sleeving and more!

AlphaSize® Alpha-GPC is a powerful ingredient that boosts mental energy and physical performance while avoiding the negatives associated with caffeine. In addition, AlphaSize® is stable, tasteless, and completely water soluble in any beverage.

Healthier Ingredients

Vegetable Juice Concentrates

Bioenergy Life Science, Inc.

Carolina Innovative Food Ingr

Creating innovative ingredients for healthier living is the mission of Bioenergy Life Science (BLS). We develop new scientifically-based, all-natural, and pure ingredients that help people feel, perform, and look better. Our core technology lies in the development of the multi-functional molecule D-Ribose, making us best known for the only patented and FDA GRAS-certified Ribose on the market, Bioenergy Ribose®. We use that core technology and experience to develop other clinically-proven ingredients that support digestive health, weight management, anti-aging, heart health and many other health-enhancing benefits. We sell in bulk to businesses who manufacturer or formulate functional foods and beverages, dietary supplements and sports nutrition products.

Tax, Assurance, Advisory BPM LLP

A Different Approach to Labels Brightfish Label

Cask Global Canning Solutions Cask Brewing Systems

Organic & Non-GMO Ingredients Ciranda, Inc.

Founded in 1986, BPM is one of the largest California-based accounting and advisory firms, ranking in the top 50 in the country. With six offices across the Bay Area and one in Oregon, we have served emerging and mid-cap businesses as well as high-net-worth individuals for over 30 years.

At Brightfish Label, our state-of-the-art digital printing equipment produces consistent, top quality labels to best represent your brand. We've been leaders in digital label printing since 2008, and offer personal service, fast turnaround times, and extensive material versatility to cater to your beverage application needs. Give us a call to see how we can help with your next project.

Cask provides innovative and affordable canning systems to the world’s small and medium-sized creators of craft beer, cider, wine, cold brewed coffee, kombucha and other life-enhancing beverages. We have installed 875+ canning lines in 46 different countries. Official supplier of Ball Corporation for printed aluminum cans to our customers.

Since 1994 Ciranda has supplied brands and manufacturers with the highest quality Organic, Non-GMO and Fair Trade ingredients. Expertise includes tapioca syrups and other nutritive sweeteners; flours and starches; oils and fats; cocoas and chocolates; coconut products; and liquid and powdered lecithins. Ingredients are stocked throughout North America for fast, responsive service.

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Closure Systems Solutions Closure Systems International

Global Food Ingredients Corbion

Real. Smart. Logistics. Coyote Logistics

Label & Packaging Specialists DWS PRINTING

CSI is recognized as a global leader in closure design, manufacturing and high speed application systems. In addition to quality closures and capping equipment, CSI provides unparalleled customer and technical services. CSI's closure systems solutions help customers maximize profits by increasing the marketability of their brands and optimizing their cost of operations.

Corbion is a global food ingredient company for food manufacturers. We strive to be the leader in keeping food tasty, consistent and fully safe. With our proven solutions based on conscious choices, we work side by side with customers and empower them to create affordable food that people love.

Headquartered in Chicago, Coyote Logistics LLC, a UPS company, is a leading third-party logistics service provider in North America. Coyote provides truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal, air, and ocean brokerage services, and transportation management services to more than 14,000 shippers of various sizes and industries. We believe in a "No Excuses" commitment to shippers and carriers.

Established in 1865, DWS is a 5th generation, family-owned & operated label printing and packaging design company. We are the last step in the visions of a lot of passionate people. We take an anonymous container and provide its story. Let us help tell your story through Cut & Stack, Pressure Sensitive, Shrink Sleeve, Roll Fed and Digital Printing and Design.

Control System Solutions ControlTec, Inc

Testing and Design Solutions Covance Food Solutions

Co-Packaging/Co-Manufacturing CraftPack Beverage, LLC

Beverage Software Solutions Encompass Technologies

We specialize in control systems for all aspects of the brewing process. Brewhouse PLC systems, and traditional Brewhouse panels. The most diverse offering of Cellar systems available anywhere. Two cellar PLC systems to choose from, traditional panels with temp. controls, tank mounted controls, Remote Connectivity solutions. We also supply Valves, Temperature Sensors, Flowmeters and more!

Covance offers integrated solutions that span the life cycle of your product. Our experts offer you insights and services in product and process development, nutritional and contaminant analysis and food safety consulting and training. We provide custom, precision delivery at our locations across the globe. Together weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll build the program you need. Please visit our website.

CraftPack is a co-packaging and comanufacturing facility for small-batch, artisanal beverages located in Baltimore, MD. We also offer in-house canning services and a provide all packaging materials related to the canning process.

Encompass Technologies provides a cloud-based Software as a Subscription RAS and WMS used by DSD Beverage companies in the US, Canada, Australia and Guam. Since 2001, Encompass has worked to build the industry's first all-in-one RAS, WMS, WCS, Reporting, Routing, Fleet Tracking, and EDI system with apps designed for iPhone and Android to support Sales Execution, Inventory Control, and Voice-Pick.

Custom Bottled Water Co-Packer Creekside Springs, LLC

Clean-label Ingredients Farbest Brands

Full-line supplier of bottled water products for a variety of brands. Bottle purified, spring, flavored & enhanced products in 12 oz. to 1 Liter unit sizes in ribbed and cylinder bottles. PA & OH facilities certified SQF Level 3. Permitted in all states. Primary focus is on product quality and packaging for established and emerging brands, serving as eastern and mid-western production source.

Farbest Brands brings the highest quality food, beverage and nutrition ingredients to you. We offer USDA-certified organic and conventional clean label ingredients for dairy and plant proteins, vitamins, natural colors, specialty nutrients, gum acacia, and specialty sweeteners. Our line of natural colors can be custom formulated to meet your specific color target, shelf life or process.

Flavors & Ingredients Doehler

Brewery Management Software FermentAble LLC

Doehler is a global producer, marketer & provider of natural ingredients, ingredient systems & integrated solutions for the food & beverage industry. Our global sourcing network, comprehensive application expertise & vast processing capabilities deliver endless solutions. WE BRING IDEAS TO LIFE.

FermentAble is brewery management software built by brewers, for brewers. We take the paper out of your brewhouse and streamline your management so you can get back to doing what you love most, making beer. With features like drag and drop scheduling, automated TTB tax reporting, and inventory management you'll be out of the office and back on the brew deck in no time.

Your Complete Brewing Solution Country Malt Group

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Unique Ingredient Solutions Ethical Naturals, Inc.

Tea & Coffee Extracts Finlays

CHANGE WHAT THE WORLD DRINKS! Flavorman

Finlays is your ideal partner, delivering highquality extracts for creating versatile coffee and tea beverages in an easy, convenient and consistent manner. Through an established history of coffee and tea expertise with a focus on innovation, Finlays can help your brand develop unique beverages with great flavor, in a variety of formats suitable for food service and ready-todrink products.

Do you want to win on the grocery shelf and backbar? Do you want to take market share off the industry giants? Do want to realize your vision for a totally new kind of drink? We can help you do all those things. Visit our site today and sign up for a free, confidential consultation. We'll help you jump-start your new brand! Flavorman Changing what the world is drinking for 26 years & counting.

Flavor Development Flavor Producers

Flavor Designers Foodarom

Flavor Producers is a leading manufacturer of premium quality conventional and certified organic flavors along with our line of essences, extracts and natural emulsions. Your partner in flavor development.

We personalize flavors to meet your needs and create flavor profiles that help your products to stand out above the rest. Our experienced team knows the functional beverage market well and understands the impact your active ingredients have on taste. Our flavor development capabilities will help you stay ahead of the competition. WE CREATE FLAVORS THAT MAKE YOUR BRAND UNFORGETTABLE.

Decorative Label Solutions Fort Dearborn Company

Coconut Products Franklin Baker, Inc.

We’ve got you covered. Fort Dearborn Company offers shrink sleeve, stretch sleeve, pressure sensitive, roll-fed, and cut & stack labels and promotional printing in a variety of substrates, inks and finishing options to support your beverage brand building objectives. We service brands large and small. Contact us today to discuss your application.

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the premier supplier of coconut ingredients to the global food & beverage market for over 120 years. We offer an extensive coconut portfolio of products including Desiccated, Toasted, Sweetened, Coconut Oil, Sugar, Flour, Creamed, Coconut Water Single Strength and Concentrate among other products. We are USDA Organic, RSB, Kosher, Non-GMO Project Verified.

Promotional Marketing Goods Foundry Brand Services Group

The Probiotic That Delivers GanedenBC30

Founded by beverage marketing professionals for marketing professionals, The Foundry BSG is your one stop for all of your branded marketing needs. The Foundry BSG works as an extension of your team to streamline the procurement of all of your marketing tools. From field marketing tents to t-shirts, cooler clings to car wraps, you can rely on the Foundry to manage it all so you don't have to!

GanedenBC30® (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086) is a spore-forming, patented probiotic ingredient that can be formulated into many food and beverage products. Backed by 25+ published papers, GanedenBC30 has an exceptional safety record with FDA GRAS status. Part of Kerry’s nutrition and wellness portfolio, GanedenBC30 is natural, vegan, Non-GMO Project verified, organic compliant and allergen-free.

Branding and Package Design Frooishen LLC

Hopzoil pure distilled hop oil Glacier Hops Ranch, Inc.

Advanced Beverage Formulas Hidell International

Cold-Pressed Juice Equipment Goodnature Products, Inc.

Put a "WOW" in your beer with the intense, fresh-hop aroma of Hopzoil™, the distilled pure essential oil made only from fresh hops on the farm. Looking for a better dry-hopping solution to eliminate filtration losses? Look to Hopzoil™. Looking for more shelf life, less storage and less shipping? Look to Hopzoil™ Need processed hops? See us for Show Specials on domestic and imported hops.

The company creates innovative nutritional formulations for the bottled water industry. These formulations are water neutral in that they have no color, taste or odor. They are pleasing to the palette and yet offer highly efficacious micronutrients for human consumption. The effort is to provide healthy hydration to bottled water consumers. The company has six international patents on file.

Nature Supplies, We Deliver Global Essence Inc.

Icon Foods: All-Natural, High-Intensity Sweetening Solutions Supplier Icon Foods

Ensure your products’ success with the innovative touch of Global Essence! A leading supplier of premium-quality ingredients to the flavor, fragrance, consumer products, food, beverage and allied industries. Decades of hands-on experience help us satisfy our customer’s unique flavor and fragrance needs.

Icon Foods (formerly Steviva Ingredients) is a natural food ingredient supplier with a focus on all-natural, high-intensity sweetening solutions. Icon Foods sweeteners and bulk ingredients are certified organic and Kosher and are free of GMOs.

Mergers & Acquisitions Glover Capital, Inc.

Coffee Refreshment Programs GoodWest Industries

Glover Capital, Inc., negotiates the purchase, sale, merger or restructuring of industry-specific assignments that are national and international in scope. The company also advises owners and senior management on a wide spectrum of corporate financial issues.

GoodWest has been delighting consumers with real dairy products, iced coffees, coffee sweeteners and flavorings for over 20 years. We have over 30 premium products in our line, dispensed from our propriety equipment, provided on a loaner basis and made in the USA. Our products are shelf stable and pre-bagged with integrated dispensing valves. Fully customizable branding and graphics are available.

Natural Color Solutions GNT USA Inc.

Merchandising-Sales-Events GOTHAM BRAND MANAGERS

The GNT Group is the world leader in clean-label coloring solutions made exclusively from fruits and vegetables. Our brand of EXBERRY® colors bring vibrancy and stability to any beverage application — from sports drinks and juices to sodas and hard ciders — and may be listed on ingredient labels simply as Fruit and Vegetable Juice (for color). Find out more on our website.

We provide professional sales teams selling at retail, dedicated merchandising teams for the east coast, in-store sampling and refrigerated and traditional DSD. We also specialize in Guerilla Sampling sending your customers to retail when in-store sampling is not an option. These programs include our event staff with unique trucks and vehicles to sample your brand at events and busy NYC streets

66 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Serve beer the right way Happy Cog

Healthy Ingredients

Culinary Bulk Matcha

Healthy Food Ingredients

ITO EN (North America) INC.

HFI is a growing family of global specialty ingredient brands, which includes SK Food International, Hesco/Dakota Organic Products, Suntava, and Heartland Flax. Combined, we offer non-GMO, organic, certified transitional, gluten-free, and identity preserved pulses, soybeans, grains, seeds, flax, expeller oils, and our signature product, Suntava Purple Corn®. Our latest innovation, IntegriPure®, is our microbial reduction solution that means industry-leading validation for a 5-log reduction providing food safety, naturally.

MATCHA, the finely milled green tea powder revered for its antioxidants & natural energy boost, is a trend forward ingredient for healthy beverages, baking and cooking products. 100% Authentic Matcha from Japan. Bulk available for food service.

We are dedicated to delivering safe, healthy, premium-quality ingredients and supply assurance in partnership with our diverse grower network.

Ideal Milk Proteins Partner Idaho Milk Products

Innovative Merchandisers Iowa Rotocast Plastics

Premium Label Solutions Labeltronix

We consistently provide the highest-quality products, the best all-around service and the sustainable supplier partnership you need. Our new IdaPlus 1085 offers great value in proteinenrichment applications such as RTD & RTM beverages. It delivers improved solubility, texture, hydration, consistency, flavor, and longer shelf life. Let us help you with your next high-protein formulation project.

Labeltronix provides high-quality label solutions with unique dies, exquisite embelishments, and distinctive materials to the craft beer and wine industry. Labeltronix has delivered on the promise of quality and reliability in every customer solution it creates. Our labeling experts translate clients’ brands for a public that demands the best and most appealing labels on the products they buy.

Custom Beverage Development Int'l Beverage Management

All Your Container Labeling LANGGUTH

Iowa Rotocast Plastics is a manufacturer of premier merchandising products for the food & beverage industry. Their clientele includes Fortune 500 companies such as AnheuserBusch, MillerCoors, PepsiCo/Gatorade, Coca-Cola, Constellation Brands, Nestlé Waters, and many more. IRP has become synonymous with words such as Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Reliability, and Value. IRP products have unparalled craftsmanship because every product is manufactured and shipped from their plant in Decorah, IA. We offer custom, innovative beverage development in all areas of the beverage arena - functional, tea, energy, sparkling, cocktail mixers, supplements and powdered. Our team has over 100 years of industry experience, and our family owned company will make your venture our priority!

The IRP family of brands offers a wide range of products, including a line of outdoor coolers known as Grizzy Coolers, ice merchandising solutions, wire racks, and electronic refrigeration for convenience stores, grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. IRP also specializes in fabricated food & beverage equipment for venues, stadiums, and arenas. IRP equipment can be found in over 200 professional and collegiate sports venues, spanning 6 continents.

During 85 years of family ownership LANGGUTH continues to build among the most diverse portfolio of high efficiency labelers for the beverage industry. Roll-Fed, Cut & Stack, and Pressure Sensitive labelers arranged in rotary and inline formats are designed for dependable fast changeover. Round, square, and tapered containers all have a LANGGUTH solution.

Brewing Equipment Solutions Loeb

Turn-key Product Development MetaBrand

For five generations since 1880, Loeb has been a trusted provider of equipment & related services that help manufacturers leverage their industrial assets by managing the equipment lifecycle. Loeb provides: equipment sales, purchases, rentals, & leasing, certified market appraisals from Loeb Appraisal, auction services & asset disposition from Loeb Winternitz & financing from Loeb Term Solutions

MetaBrand is a world class team of experts which helps you create, launch, or grow your food, beverage, supplement, or personal care brand. We provide strategic planning, market analysis, branding and design, product formulation and development, inside and outsourced operations and manufacturing, and sales and marketing execution.

Decorated Cans Lucky Clover Packaging

Trusted Advisors Since 1941 Miller Kaplan Arase LLP

Lucky Clover Packaging is a materials supplier to the craft beverage industry. We are a one-stop shop for shrink sleeved aluminum cans and other packaging materials such as crowlers, Paktech handles, brite cans, and ends in all sizes. With locations in Baltimore and Sacramento, we allow beverage producers across North America to avoid large order minimums from manufacturers and package for retail.

We provide food & beverage businesses, from new-to-market to well-known brands, entrepreneurs, and companies, a full range of accounting, auditing, tax planning and compliance (including R&D credits), and advisory services. We work with manufacturers, distributors, franchises, growers and producers, restaurants and restaurant groups. For more information, please visit our website.

Teas, Botanicals and Extracts Martin Bauer Inc.

Trusted Monk Fruit Supplier MONK FRUIT CORP.

The Martin Bauer Group is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of tea & botanical extracts and raw materials for the food & beverage and nutritional supplements industries. Supplying off-the-shelf ingredients and tailormade products for your requirements. Safe, high quality products you can trust.

As the world's leading monk fruit company, we produce the majority of the global monk fruit extract supply, and have the best quality and widest range of monk fruit products on the market - juices, flavors and sweetening ingredients. We'll help you innovate or re-create great-tasting products, with less sugar and fewer calories, from the goodness of fruit. Looking for monk fruit? Trust the monk.

Branding & Packaging Design McLean Design

Screen Printed Labels Monvera Glass Décor

McLean Design has been creating winning beverage packaging and brand strategies for over twenty-five years. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, we specialize in brand strategy, naming, packaging design, and structure design.

Your label has a powerful influence on buying behavior. Monvera provides unique bottle decoration options. We specialize in screen printed labels on glass, with both ceramic and uv ink options available. Whether you want to refresh a current brand or launch a new one, screen printed labels will make your bottle stand out. It's your alternative to paper labels.

68 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Flavor Manufacturer Mother Murphy’s Laboratories

Mother Murphy’s is a full service 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 and snack industries. Our flavors make the world taste better.

LEADING WEST COAST CO-PACKER NOR-CAL BEVERAGE COMPANY

Nor-Cal Beverage Company, Inc. is a full-service Contract Manufacturer with two strategically located production facilities in the state of California. Both of our locations offer a variety of production capabilities as well as possess GFSI, GMP, Kosher, & Organic certifications. We also offer finished good warehouse and distribution service centers that are positioned to supply your West Coast fulfillment needs. Nor-Cal Beverage has been family owned and operated since 1937 and proud to be a Certified Women’s Owned Business. Anaheim Facility Offers the Following: • Krones 100 valve volumetric filler can line (12oz – 24oz) • Tunnel Pasteurized Still and Carbonated • Cold Fill Carbonated • Hot Fill Still (HTST) • 8.4oz Filling Capabilities TBA! • Two Hot Fill Single Serve PET Bottle Lines (12oz – 32oz) • Hot Fill Multi-Serve PET Bottle Line (64oz -128oz) • Chilled Gable Top Line (59oz-64oz) • 2 ESL 59/64oz Fillers • Chilled HDPE & PET Bottle Line (89oz-128oz) • Transportation/Shuttling Svcs w/ Drop-Trailer Capabilities • Certified DOT Public Truck Scales • Warehouse Storage West Sacramento Facility Offers the Following: • Cold Fill Carbonated Can Line (12oz – 16oz) • Hot Fill Can Line (12oz – 16oz) • Hot Fill Can Line (24oz) Dedicated • Hot Fill Single Serve PET and Glass Bottle Line (12oz - 32oz) • TetraPak Aseptic Lines • Warehouse Storage • Offline Repack Services • Transportation/Shuttling Svcs

Co-packing Norwich Beverage Company

Norwich Beverage Company, formerly CT Currant has moved into a larger plant with additional blending, pasteurization, bottling lines and cold storage. We bottle Flash Pasteurized refrigerated juices, smoothies, enhanced waters and other functional beverages . We are located in Connecticut centrally located for easy access to the whole N East. Please call us to discuss your project Nutraceutical Ingredients NP Nutra

For twenty years NP Nutra® has supplied customers with the finest nutraceutical ingredients produced at our approved partner facilities around the world. Our commitment to purity, quality and reliability have earned the trust of a growing clientele including leading functional food & beverage, dietary supplement, cosmetic and pet food manufacturers who have become our loyal customers.

Your Label & Packaging Experts PackagingArts

#1 Food and Beverage Cloud ERP Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite Global Business Unit, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle, pioneered the Cloud Computing revolution in 1998 and established the world’s first company dedicated to delivering business applications over the Internet. Today, NetSuite provides a suite of cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and omni-channel commerce software that runs the business of companies in more than 100 countries. NetSuite delivers the worlds’ #1 cloud ERP solution for food and beverage companies, providing the technology and business process control to enable businesses to grow. Built on the pillars of financials, CRM, and ecommerce, NetSuite is engineered to scale with businesses as they grow and to streamline mission-critical processes. This allows our customers to continue focusing on what they do best and to react to new market opportunities swiftly and confidently. From order management, inventory control, manufacturing and financials to supply chain management, billing and beyond, NetSuite ERP gives food and beverage companies the tools they need to accelerate growth and drive innovation.

Contract Manufacturing Leader

NOT YOUR TYPICAL LABEL COMPANY

NVE Pharmaceuticals

Overnight Labels, Inc.

The team at PackagingArts is all about innovative design, strategy and turn-key packaging solutions for brands on the retail floor, as well as on-premise environments. We connect leading brands to the market and the consumer with a high level of merchandising experience. We work with your brand team to create and promote greater brand value. Package/Bottling/ Canning Palmer Canning Systems

Palmer Canning provides 45-600 CPM rotary and in-line counter pressure filling systems that provide accurate fill volumes, low oxygen, greater operating latitude, and low spoilage. Our 6- to 36-head filling valve systems provide good fill accuracy volume with low spillage and controlled foaming. UL/CSA/CE safety and electrical compliance.

PLAYING SPIN THE BOTTLE WITH YOUR LABEL PRINTER? IT COULD GET UGLY... Call Overnight Labels In business for 30 years, Overnight Labels, Inc. is an award-winning, full service label and flexible packaging printing company. In addition to labels, we manufacture shrink sleeves, flexible films and offer prototyping. We’re often first to market with new innovations, such as cold foil on shrink sleeves and narrow web flexible packaging But, we’re best known for our high standards, competitive pricing, low set up costs/minimum quantities and as our name implies…quick turnarounds! *Broad experience in the food and beverage industries; we understand the demands of your market and all phases of container decorating & product co-packing. *10 flexographic presses & 2 digital presses, so we can work with any size company, including start-ups and large corporations. *Technologies include embossing, rotary silkscreen, seamless cylinders, tactile, and other specialty varnishes, cold foil application, and more. *Blue Level Graphic Measures International (GMI)/Walgreens and CVS certified printer and a Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) printer. For more information about what we can do for your brand, or to receive a FREE POSSIBILITIES KIT, call 800/472-5753, or email info@overnightlabels.com.

Ideal Flax for Beverages Pizzey Ingredients

Beverage & Food Development PTM Food Consulting

Plant Based Solutions PURIS™

Bottles By Sailor Plastics Sailor Plastics

Pizzey Ingredients’ BevPur™ Flax enhances beverages with the nutritional benefits of flaxseed while providing a smooth and rich texture. BevPur™ has a guaranteed shelf life of two years and is available in organic and conventional varieties (both are non-GMO, pesticide-free and gluten-free). BevPur™ is ideal for flax milk, smoothies, meal replacement shakes, and other nutritious beverages.

PTM Food Consulting 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!

The ONLY vertically integrated USA manufacturer of Non-GMO Project Verified and Organic options for Pea Protein suitable for neutral pH beverages, acidic beverages and high protein inclusion. PURIS™ continues to grow rapidly with a strong focus on its PURIS® sustainable plant based solutions including PURIS Pea Starch™ and PURIS Pea Fiber™ all derived from the goodness of the whole pea!

We manufacture over 300 variations of stock PET bottles. We can have your new product idea or business concept up and running in no time. Add our custom labels to match our bottles and you have a winning combination to boost or launch your brand. We sell by the case or by the truckload. Custom designs available. Visit our website or call us.

Increase Product Appearance Printpack

Purpose Driven Publicity Firm Publicity for Good

Food safety and sanitation Rochester Midland Corporation

Natural Colors & Antioxidants San-Ei Gen F.F.I. (U.S.A.)

Printpack develops innovative packaging solutions that deliver a distinct advantage at the shelf, strengthen brand identity in the minds of consumers and help brand owners increase speed-to-market. Our vast portfolio of packaging solutions along with Printpack’s technical and commercial expertise in materials science and barrier solutions, gives brand owners peace of mind, enhances product protect

Publicity for Good is a PR firm that focuses primarily on companies in the F & B space, as well as those brands which believe that doing good work is as important as the product or service they provide. We are passionate about working with early stage, emerging and fast growth companies who focus on results and believe PR is more important than just a checkbox inside their marketing plan.

RMC's BrandGuard is a comprehensive HACCPbased food safety program that supports GFSI standards. We specialize in sustainable solutions through process improvements, multi-location standardization of food safety programs, products, high intensity training, and protection against recalls and failed audits.

San-Ei Gen specializes in vibrant natural colors and protective antioxidants. With our expertise in beverages, we work closely with you – delivering customized color matching, natural shelf life extension solutions, and more – to achieve your formulation goals. Plants are FSSC 22000 certified. Kosher, Halal, non-GMO available.

Packaged Chiller Systems Pro Chiller Systems, Inc.

Pyure Trio Organic Stevia Pyure Brands LLC

Brand Mgt./Sales/Distribution SAS Sales and Marketing

Pro Chiller Systems has the largest range of Packaged Air Cooled Chillers systems in the industry.

SAS Sales and Marketing provides executive level management and sales expertise to emerging brands in the most cost efficient fashion. Including KICKSTART FLORIDA: Dedicated sales team for all chain and key account calls. Initial DSD service, merchandising, invoicing & collections. Inventory control, monthly recaps. Demo team. East-West coast warehouses. Full visibility/reporting on REPSLY.

Creative Packaging Solutions ProAmpac

Contract Manufacturing Scoular Contract Manufacturing

ProAmpac has a strategic geographic footprint and enhanced product offerings unparalleled in the industry. ProAmpac is a global flexible packaging company whose capabilities include adhesive and extrusion lamination, pouching, bag converting and a broad range of flexographic, rotogravure and offset writing solutions for the food, pet food, medical, security, industrial and retail markets.

Scoular Contract Manufacturing offers precisely tailored contract manufacturing solutions in beverage manufacturing and powder blending. We handle your supply chain so you can focus on sales and marketing. Seamless execution is our specialty. Fast, reliable, experienced – you can count on the Scoular team.

70 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Global Ingredient Solutions Shanghai Freemen Americas LLC

Innovation Development Scaling SOLUTIONTOPIA

Synergy - Inspiring Taste Synergy Flavors

We help develop, launch & scale your food & beverage brands. We assist start-ups, mid-tier to Fortune 100/50 companies offering award wining services around innovation in product, packaging/design. We act as “Co-Packer Whisperers” finding the best 3PM for your brand, our team provides services around product recipe development, cost & revenue forecasts, outsourced COO, to full turnkey solutions.

Synergy Flavors is a global manufacturer and supplier of flavorings, extracts, and essences for the food, beverage and nutrition industries. With more than 130 years of expertise, Synergy combines a heritage of flavor development with proprietary extraction technology to deliver high quality taste solutions that captivate the senses and inspire innovation.

Fruit & Vegetable Ingredients Stiebs

Top Sucralose Manufacturer Techno Food Ingredients

Stiebs, formed in 2005, is devoted to sourcing, processing & delivering the world's finest plantbased products. We offer a full line of fruit & vegetable based ingredients as single strength juice, juice concentrate, purees, extracts & powders. 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.

Techno Food Ingredients has been one of the leading sucralose manufacturers in the world for over ten years. Techno Sucralose™ is being utilized by many of the top beverage, pharmaceutical, nutritional and food companies in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Our new line of products included L(+) Citrulline; L-Tyrosine; and R-Alpha Lipoic Acid.

NonGMO Plant Based Ingredients Top Health Ingredients, Inc.

Tree Top Fruit Ingredients Tree Top, Inc.

Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Plant-Based proteins, fibers and sweeteners. Top Health Ingredients has been supplying the sports nutrition, and food & beverage industries with high-quality non-GMO and organic, plant-based ingredients for almost a decade. Add functionality and taste with AdvantaFiber™, our prebiotic soluble fiber, and increase protein with our new AdvantaFAVA™ 90% fava bean protein!

Tree Top Fruit Ingredients processes virtually every fruit under the sun into a variety of highquality, wholesome fruit products, including fruit powders, frozen strawberries, fruit juice concentrates, fruit purées, formulated fruit preps, dried apples, and bulk apple sauce. Some of our fruit types include apple, cherry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, peach, pear, and plum.

Organic Bulk Ingredients Tradin Organic USA

Sustainable Multi-packing WaveGrip

Tradin is a leading manufacturer, importer/ exporter of certified organic ingredients. Some of our ingredients include organic: fruit & vegetable (IQF, purees, JC & NFC), cocoa products, honey, coconut sugar & syrup, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, alternative sweeteners, cane sugar, coconut products, grains, seed proteins & more, with extensive strategic global sourcing and supply capabilities.

WaveGrip is the leading multi-packing solution for cans, with a range of carriers and applicators suitable for the smallest craft brewers through to the largest drinks distributors. Every applicator is designed to apply our sustainable and costeffective multi-packing; available in a range of colours or as our innovative WaveSafe solution, designed to keep your cans safe from factory to store.

Quality Used Equipment United Food and Beverage, LLC

United Food and Beverage specializes in buying and selling used processing, packaging and bottling machinery for the Food and Beverage Industry. Our 19+ years experience propels United to be a worldwide leader in used equipment. Our 80,000 square foot warehouse is based in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Services include plant liquidations, rigging, and certified appraisals. Industries that we serve include bottled water, soft drink, dairy, co-packers, tea, breweries and food production plants. Quality Late Model assets are our specialty.

Your Partner in Fermentation

Wisdom Natural Ingredients

White Labs Inc.

Wisdom Natural Brands

Wisdom Natural Brands® (WNB), makers of SweetLeaf® Stevia Sweetener, now offers ingredients for a wide variety of foods and beverages. Beverage manufacturers seeking an innovative, no-sugar sweetener with no artificial ingredients now have a solution. Widely recognized as the leader in the stevia taste profile, SweetLeaf is a whole-leaf extract of a variety of glycosides specially selected for their taste and sweetness. Free from the taste of solvent artifacts, a water-based extraction system produces a wonderfully sweet, zerocalorie food and beverage ingredient. White Labs Inc. provides pure liquid yeast, fermentation products, services, analysis and education to brewers, winemakers, distillers and other fermentation professionals. We are committed to giving you the highest quality pure liquid yeast cultures and being your partner in creating the best products possible. White Labs has production facilities in premier beer regions in the U.S. and Europe and is dedicated to making pure yeast cultures accessible to all in the fermentation industry. White Labs offers instant ordering through our mobile app, online at yeastman.com or through our Customer Service Representatives. Visit whitelabs.com for more information. Complete Outsourced Solutions Whole Brain Consulting, Inc.

The WNB ingredient division provides proprietary and customized blends developed by a team of world-renowned stevia experts. Providing quality control and assurance, R&D support, a sustainable supply chain, and unmatched customer service, SweetLeaf is the only stevia brand to consistently win global awards for taste and innovation. The highest quality ingredients are available in powder or liquid forms, or in blends of stevia and bulking agents, for a variety of beverages ranging from soft drinks to sports drinks, teas to juices, flavored waters, and more. Visit SweetLeaf.com/Ingredients for more information. We brand beverages WonderWild

2018

Whole Brain Consulting, cutting edge food industry consultants and outsourced operations experts, works with food companies to streamline operations and improve relationships with co-manufacturers. We transform your processes so your food company outshines and outlasts the competition. Our clients range from new to established food companies. Most new food companies don’t have relationships in the industry and struggle to get the attention of co-manufacturers. We help emerging food companies establish relationships with co-manufacturers and tackle complicated issues related to scaling of business. Established food companies need assistance with efficiency in outsourcing operations, veteran business owners tire of spending all their waking hours managing everything. We provide relief through expert outsourcing of third-party services so you can do what you do best: innovating new food products. We cherry-picked the best in the industry of contract negotiation, food quality and safety, and outsourced operations management, carefully building a staff that truly is the best of the best. With over 200 clients on the books, we have the experience you need to get ahead. Whole Brain Consulting understands the intricacies of the food industry. Leverage our knowledge and connections to transform your business into a competitive food company. We are your unfair advantage. 72 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

Our job is to make you look good. We’re a brand identity + design studio built to take beverage brands to the next level through emotionally engaging design. From logos to packaging to merch, we'll help you make an impact.

Contract Manufacturing Wyandot, Inc.

Wyandot, Inc. is the premier custom manufacturer of great tasting better for you plant based snacks. We offer extensive technical support, with a team of seven food scientists that manage your projects from innovation through development, commercialization, and then onto processing and packaging. Our Central Ohio manufacturing facility is located within a day's drive to 2/3 of the U.S. population.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES

GUIDE

Premier Packaging and Printing

Packaging: Bottles and Cans

Zion Pack

Zuckerman Honickman, Inc.

Zuckerman Honickman is a full service packaging company specializing in supplying glass bottles, plastic bottles and aluminum beverage cans. With more than 100 years of experience, our fourth generation family owned company prides itself on being experts on the supply side of the beverage industry. Our strengths are in our ability to provide beverage brand owners with many unparalleled advantages, such as volume buying, preferred production scheduling, custom packaging design, supply side networking, logistical planning, and much more. Our market expertise lies with our ability to supply a full spectrum of glass, plastic and metal containers to companies of all sizes. Our knowledge base gives us the unique opportunity to enable beverage brand owners to take their ideas from inception to reality to success. With hundreds of manufacturer supplier partners, Zuckerman Honickman prides itself on being able to supply custom packaging, hard to find packaging, as well as stock packagingâ&#x20AC;Śall at a competitive price. Our national footprint enables us to supply packaging to all corners of the US and beyond. Zuckerman Honickman provides bottles and cans to all beverage verticals, including sports drinks, sparkling beverages, craft beer, craft soda, bottled water, tea, coffee, enhanced beverages, wine, spirits, and many more! Reach out to us and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see how Zuckerman Honickman can help.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

A. Holliday & Company Inc.

Christine Renken

Toronto

(416) 225-2217

teacoff.com

Abelei Flavors

Shelley Henderson

North Aurora

(630) 859-1410

abelei.com

Accountfully

Rebekah Collinsworth

Charleston

(843) 501-2774

–

Chicago

–

Nick Azevedo

Mare Island

(707) 558-0744

affintiycreative.com

Emily Ross

La Crosse

(800) 359-2345

agropuringredients.com

John R Endres

Seattle

(253) 286-2888

aibmr.com

John Wilson

Edison

(908) 561-5995

allenflavors.com

Jackson Zapp

Austin

(512) 732-8300

appliedfoods.com

ADM Affinity Creative Group Agropur Ingredients AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc. Allen Flavors, Inc. Applied Food Sciences (AFS)

accountfully.com adm.com

Aqua-Chem, Inc.

Brian Linkous

Knoxville

(865) 544-2065

aqua-chem.com

Arlington Capital Advisors

John Goldasich

Birmingham

(205) 488-4384

arlingtoncapitaladvisors.com

Avure HPP Technologies - JBT Axiom Foods AZ Laboratories

Lisa Wessels (Pitzer)

Erlanger

(859) 534-1545

avure-hpp-foods.com

David Janow

Los Angeles

(800) 711-3587

axiomfoods.com

Dr. Zhaoxing Shi

Tempe

(480) 717-7813

azlaboratories.com

–

Tempe

(480) 449-7770

azpack.com

Bay State Milling Co.

Colleen Zammer

Quincy

(617) 328-4400

baystatemilling.com

Bedford - ElastiTag®

Patsy Youngblom

Worthington

–

elastitag.com

John Boyle

Syracuse

(315) 640-4902

beerboard.com

AZPack

BeerBoard Berlin Packaging Bevcorp LLC BevSource

Monika Puzelyte

Chicago

–

Sales

Willoughby

(440) 954-3505

BerlinPackaging.com bevcorp.com

Michael Opperman

St Paul

(866) 956-4608

bevsource.com

Big Brands, LLC

Zach Mosesian

Las Vegas

(702) 476-1021

usbeveragemanufacturing.com

Bioenergy Life Science, Inc.

Penny Portner

Minneapolis

(763) 746-3926

bioenergylifescience.com

Carol O'Hara

Santa Rosa

(707) 544-4078

bpmcpa.com

Becky Northrup

Forest Park

(872) 333-2739

brewsourcellc.com/bhome

BPM LLP Brewsource Brightfish Label

–

Largo

(727) 521-7900

Fred Morgenstern

Miami

–

Carolina Innovative Food Ingr

Barry Horne

Nashville

(252) 908-2909

cifi1.com

Cask Brewing Systems

Peter Love

Calgary

(403) 640-4677

cask.com

Chemi Nutra

Chase Hagerman

Austin

(866) 907-0400

cheminutra.com

Ciranda, Inc.

Tonya Lofgren

Hudson

(715) 386-1737

ciranda.com

Clint Rush

Indianapolis

(317) 390-5067

csiclosures.com

Captiva Containers

Closure Systems International ControlTec, Inc

brightfishlabel.com captivacontainers.com

Dwight Kelly

Canonsburg

–

craftbrewcontrol.com

Corbion

–

corbion.com

Country Malt Group

–

(844) 637-7106

countrymaltgroup.com

Covance Food Solutions

–

US, Europe & Singapore

–

(608) 395-3777

covance.com/foodsolutions

Brooke Kotz

Chicago

–

coyote.com craftpackbev.com

Coyote Logistics

–

Balitmore

–

Creekside Springs, LLC

CraftPack Beverage, LLC

Dave Carlson

Ambridge

(724) 266-9000

creeksidesprings.com

Doehler

Maria Whitsett

Cartersville

(770) 387-0451

doehler.com

Andy Staib

Deer Park

(631) 667-6666

dwsprinting.com

DWS PRINTING Encompass Technologies

Darin Spence

Fort Collins

(970) 449-8000

encompass8.com

Ethical Naturals, Inc.

Roy Fleischer

San Anselmo

(866) 459-4454

ethicalnaturals.com

Farbest Brands

Lorna Samgour

Park Ridge

(201) 573-4900

farbest.com

FermentAble LLC

Darin Haener

Fresno

(559) 313-0879

getfermentable.com

–

Lincoln

(800) 288-6272

finlays.net

Flavor Producers

Janet Guzman

West Hills

(661) 257-3400

flavorproducers.com

Flavorman

Sara Bowman

Louisville

(502) 301-8136

flavorman.com

Finlays

74 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Foodarom

Phillip Kraemer

San Diego

(541) 213-7005

foodarom.com

Fort Dearborn Company Foundry Brand Services Group Franklin Baker, Inc.

Gwen Chapdelaine

Elk Grove

(847) 357-9500

fortdearborn.com

Brandon Lutz

Culver City,

(310) 584-7168

foundrybsg.com

John Slade

Memphis

(901) 881-6681

franklinbaker.com

Frooishen LLC

Casey Harshman

Sylvania

(440) 241-4217

frooishen.com

GanedenBC30

–

Cleveland

(440) 229-5200

GanedenBC30.com

Tom Britz

Whitefish

(406) 862-4677

hopzoil.com

–

Hamilton

(732) 677-1100

globalessence.com

Glacier Hops Ranch, Inc. Global Essence Inc. Glover Capital, Inc.

Marion B. Glover

Atlanta

(404) 523-2921

–

GNT USA Inc.

Jeannette O'Brien

Tarrytown

(914) 524-0600

gnt-group.com

–

Buffalo

(800) 875-3381

goodnature.com

Goodnature Products, Inc. GoodWest Industries

John Ludwig

Douglassville

(800) 948-1922

goodwest.com

GOTHAM BRAND MANAGERS

Trent Moffat

New York City

(877) 931-3030

gothambrands.com

Happy Cog Healthy Food Ingredients Hidell International Icon Foods Idaho Milk Products International Beverage Mgmt. Iowa Rotocast Plastics ITO EN (North America) INC. Labeltronix

Greg Hoy

Philadelphia

(215) 701-3936

happycog.com

Jay Johnson

Fargo

(844) 275-3443

HFIfamily.com

Henry "Bob" Hidell

Hingham

(781) 749-8040

hidellinternational.com

Thom King

Portland

(310) 455-9876

iconfoods.com

Hélène Fournier-McConville

Jerome

(208) 324-4746

idahomilkproducts.com

Dianne Hustus

Monroe

(203) 880-9370

internationalbeveragemanagement.com

–

Decorah

(800) 553-0050

irpinc.com

–

(718) 250-4000

itoen.com

Jill Sambol

Anaheim

(800) 429-4321

labeltronix.com

In a market overrun with extreme, pedal-to-the-metal energy drinks, Sunshine is energy for the rest of us. It's a glorious pick-me-up with only 60 calories and no artificial flavors. Each can is full of good energy that jump-starts mornings, spurs adventure and makes cocktails shine.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

LANGGUTH

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

David O'Keefe

Kohler

(920) 889-8595

langguth-america.com

Loeb

–

Chicago

(773) 548-4131

loebequipment.com

Lucky Clover Packaging

–

Elkridge

(443) 873-0103

luckycloverpackaging.com

Martin Bauer Inc.

–

Secaucus

(201) 659-3100

martin-bauer-group.us

McLean Design MetaBrand Miller Kaplan Arase LLP MONK FRUIT CORP. Monvera Glass Décor

Rifle Hughes

Walnut Creek

(925) 944-9500

mclean-design.com

Debbie Wildrick

Edison

(888) 611-5573

metabrandcorp.com

–

North Hollywood

(818) 769-2010

millerkaplan.com

Jack Heffern

Libertyville

(847) 367-6665

monkfruitcorp.com

Caitriona Anderson

Richmond

(510) 444-9463

monvera.com

Mother Murphy's Laboratories

Morgan Murphy

Greensboro

(800) 849-1277

mothermurphys.com

NOR-CAL BEVERAGE COMPANY

Jeff Coulter

West Sacramento

(916) 372-0600

ncbev.com

Norwich Beverage Company NP Nutra NVE Pharmaceuticals

Allyn Brown

Norwich

(860) 886-8080

norwichbeverage.com

Samantha Portello

Gardena

(310) 694-3031

npnutra.com

Walter Orcutt

Andover

973-601-8484

nveusa.com

Hayley Null

San Mateo

(650) 627-1000

netsuite.com

Don Earl

Deer Park

(800) 472-5753

overnightlabels.com

PackagingArts

Dave Miller

Mare Island

(707) 562-2787

packagingarts.com

Palmer Canning Systems

Mike Palmer

Chicago

(773) 394-4913

palmercanning.com

Mary Ekman

Russell

(204) 773-3532

pizzeyingredients.com

Alisha Howard

Atlanta

(404) 460-7000

printpack.com

Damon Reed

Auburn

(800) 845-7781

prochiller.com

–

Cincinnati

(513) 671-1777

proampac.com

Don Rodgers

Point Pleasant

(888) 736-6339

ptmfood.com

Oracle NetSuite Overnight Labels, Inc.

Pizzey Ingredients Printpack Pro Chiller Systems, Inc. ProAmpac PTM Food Consulting Publicity for Good PURIS™

Heather DeSantis

San Diego

(833) 782-5289

publicityforgood.com

Lauren Perez

MINNEAPOLIS

(305) 333-1220

purisfoods.com

Pyure Brands LLC

Philip Coggins

Naples

(239) 384-5977

pyureingredients.com

Rochester Midland Corporation

Lauri Calarco

Rochester

(585) 336-2200

rochestermidland.com

Sailor Plastics

Trevor Heeren

Adrain

(507) 483-2469

sailorplastics.com

San-Ei Gen F.F.I. (U.S.A.)

Amy Darwick

New York

(212) 315-7850

saneigen.com

SAS Sales and Marketing

Andy Stallone

Boca Raton

(561) 350-6397

SASsalesandmarketing.com

Scoular Contract Manufacturing

Vikki Anderson

Minneapolis

(612) 252-3556

scoular.com

Shanghai Freemen Americas LLC

Christine Balediata

Piscataway

(732) 981-1288

shanghaifreemen.com

Daniel Karsevar

New York

(646) 981-5466

solutiontopia.com

Brian Nova

Madera

(559) 661-0031

stiebs.com

SOLUTIONTOPIA Stiebs Synergy Flavors

Joe Boehrer

Wauconda

(847) 487-1011

Techno Food Ingredients

PENGFEI MU

San Gabriel

–

Debbra

Edmonton

(780) 439-1424

Top Health Ingredients, Inc. Tradin Organic USA

synergytaste.com – tophealthingredients.com

–

Scotts Valley

(831) 685-6565

tradinorganic.com

Tree Top, Inc.

Jeannie Swedberg

Selah

(509) 698-1435

treetopingredients.com

United Food and Beverage, LLC

Jeremy J. Sanders

Hickory

(843) 622-8434

unitedfoodandbeverage.com

Aaron McIvor

Greenock

+44 (0) 1294 842014

wave-grip.com

WaveGrip White Labs Inc. Whole Brain Consulting, Inc Wisdom Natural Brands WonderWild Wyandot, Inc. Zion Pack Zuckerman Honickman, Inc. 76 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

–

(888) 593-2785

whitelabs.com

William Madden

Chicago

(312) 208-5986

whole-brain-consulting.com

Althea Randel

Tucson

(520) 903-7874

–

Jameson Rexilius

Lincoln

(402) 205-7275

wonderwild.co

Paul Hritz

Marion

(740) 375-3922

wyandotsnacks.com

Brad Martin

Corona

(951) 335-4600

zionpack.com

Michael Zuckerman

King of Prussia

(610) 962-0100

zh-inc.com

PROMO PARADE

INDUSTRY PROMOTIONS & EVENTS

Lipton Partners with WE to Empower & Support Female Tea Farmers in Kenya Lipton and WE are working together to empower 80,000 women in tea farming communities across Kenya by providing them access to financial and business skills training. Program participants will learn financial fundamentals from budgeting and cost-pricing to creating business plans and applying for loans in addition to:

• Financial literacy including communication, bookkeeping and loan distribution • Leadership fundamentals like conducting corporate elections, drafting policies and establishing group constitutions • Entrepreneurship tools from marketing to pricing • Health management, including stress and

78 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

substance abuse education Powered by WE’s ‘Track Your Impact’ promise, tea drinkers can help support the program by purchasing their favorite Lipton product with a Track Your Impact sticker. Each sticker has a code that consumers can enter on we.org/ Lipton to see exactly where and how every purchase has made an impact on women tea

farming communities. Lipton’s Track Your Impact products are available now at grocery retailers nationwide while supplies last. Lipton and WE recently visited Kenya to speak with the tea farmers and see how the program was making a difference in their lives. Hear more from the women about this important initiative at YouTube.com/LiptonTea.

FIJI Water Partners With SoulCycle As Official Water Partner

FIJI Water, America’s No. 1 premium imported bottled water brand, launched its new Sports Cap bottle and announced its official partnership with SoulCycle, the world’s leading lifestyle brand that offers a powerful, fun and transformative fitness experience, on and off the bike. The FIJI Water Sports Cap bottle is the perfect companion for active, on-themove hydration and features a convenient and new flip-top cap perfect for fueling even the toughest ride. Fans of both FIJI Water and SoulCycle can expect big collaborations between the two powerhouses in the coming months. The duo will bring Destination SOUL, SoulCycle’s highly anticipated pop-up experience that brings SOUL to top hot-spots nationwide, taking fitness and hydration to a whole new level.

The new bottle is now available through FIJI Water’s Home Delivery website and will roll out to retailers nationwide just in time for summer. It will also be supported by an integrated marketing campaign including a new TV commercial, print and digital advertising, social media, influencer marketing, in-store promotions and signage, public relations and event marketing efforts. FIJI Water is bottled at the source in Fiji at an ancient artesian aquifer deep within the earth, where it is protected from external impurities. As tropical rain slowly filters through volcanic rock, it gathers the electrolytes and minerals that give FIJI Water its signature soft, smooth taste. In fact, FIJI Water has significantly more naturally occurring electrolytes than other brands. It’s Untouched By Man—until you flip open the cap.

World Renowned Designer Zac Posen Partners With Acclaimed Vievité Côtes de Provence Rosé for a Limited-Edition Bottle

A strategic collaboration between fashion, luxury, and lifestyle has brought about a partnership between one of the world’s most respected fashion designers and a premium Côtes de Provence rosé wine. VieVité, one of the leading Provençal rosés available in the U.S. market, has tapped the expertise of celebrated designer Zac Posen to create an exclusive, limited-edition bottle. The limited-edition design wraps around the VieVité bottle in an arching palm pattern in Posen’s signature color, midnight palm. It is accented with iridescent rose gold inlay, evoking luxury and the tropical paradise that one dreams of while sipping VieVité Rosé. Inspired by

the architecture of New York City’s famed Chrysler Building, the bottle bearing Zac Posen’s name is sleek and modern with colors that complement the translucent salmon- colored wine within. VieVité hails from Domaine Sainte Marie, a picturesque, organic winery tucked in a small valley in the heart of Provence. It lies within the most prestigious appellation in the region: AOC Côtes de Provence. Produced in limited quantities, the special edition Zac Posen bottle of VieVité Rosé will be available in select retailers and venues in New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Texas, Illinois and Washington D.C. 79

PROMO PARADE Deadpool Named New Creative Director for Espolòn Tequila Espolòn, one of the fastest growing tequila brands in the U.S., has a new Creative Director – none other than loquacious antihero Deadpool, who assumed the role of Creative Director for Culture ‘n Stuff

leading up to the theatrical release of his highly anticipated movie, Deadpool 2. The unique tequila brand with the Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art on its label has teamed up with the leather-clad

80 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

mercenary after he expressed “interest” in working with them. While Deadpool has absolutely zero experience in marketing anything other than himself, Espolòn feels he truly wants to develop cutting-edge

consumer tactics that will help broaden the brand’s reach. Deadpool will bring his self-declared “creative genius” to a movie-themed ad campaign which he promised would be “all over the place…

but in the good way.” It is assumed he was referring to the breadth of the promotional campaign, which will include custom packaging, in-store displays, outof-home, social media, and more.

Dirty Lemon Announces Partnership with Vogue Dirty Lemon’s first and highly anticipated collaboration with Vogue is now available to the public. The newest elixir, presented in a matte black bottle with a contrasting black glossy V, is the second ideation of the collaboration and first to be available for purchase. The product was initially introduced in a limited edition, glitter-embellished bottle in December at a pre-holiday bash celebrating the partnership and featuring an exclusive performance by Cardi B. Presented in Dirty Lemon’s signature

sleek bottle, the newest elixir is crisp and refreshing with a marked ginger flavor. The elixir features a combination of ginger, acerola and hibiscus flower, promoting healthy digestion and daily immune support with 150mg of vitamin C per bottle. The pairing of ginger and lemon is time tested and is long recognized as a highly functional blend used in natural health remedies. True to Dirty Lemon fashion, the elixir has less than 1g of sugar and only 15 calories per serving.

Notch Brewing Launches Traveling Pop-Up Biergarten Experiences in Greater Boston

The Trustees, the world’s first and Massachusetts’ oldest conservation and preservation nonprofit, and Salem, Mass.based Notch Brewing have announced a new partnership to bring a series of familyfriendly, pop-up biergarten

experiences to the conservation nonprofit’s outdoor parks, farms, and cultural sites in the Greater Boston area. The Trustees is the first, exclusive outdoor partner to feature Notch Brewing’s engaging new Traveling Biergarten featuring outdoor seating, authentic ceramic steinkrugs, and critically-acclaimed session beer served from a customdesigned draft beer van set against the backdrop of some of its most spectacular properties. The outdoor series kicked off in May and will be

held on weekends through October 2018, including many multi-evening events. Each experience will be designed to highlight the unique character, history, and natural wonders of the Trustees host site while providing family-friendly activities, food, refreshments, and entertainment for all ages. In addition, The Trustees will include Notch’s biergarten at several upcoming signature events and festivals to complement other on-site offerings.

The biergartens will be located at scenic spots on each property and will offer a range of engaging activities to highlight the site’s unique features including live music, lawn games, scavenger hunts, and Notch’s signature Meters for Liters fun runs. The biergartens themselves will offer free admission, though some of the events they complement will have an entry fee and require pre-registration, including Oktoberfest-themed events in September and October.

Yellowstone Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Launches Program Supporting America’s National Parks Yellowstone Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has launched a cause marketing program that harkens back to its iconic roots, as the bourbon was originally named after Yellowstone National Park. The brand is

partnering with National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Since its founding in 1919 – and with their 1.3 million members and supporters – NPCA has been an independent, nonpartisan voice working to strengthen

and protect America’s national parks. Since May 1, the brand has donated a portion of its sales proceeds to National Parks Conservation Association, to help ensure the nation’s 417 national park sites are

protected for their 330+ million annual guests. In addition, the brand has also launched an online contest where consumers are encouraged to show their pioneer spirit for the chance to win a trip to Yellowstone National

Park, as well as branded outdoor merchandise. The grand prize will allow five winners and guests to enjoy an all-expense paid to Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2019. The contest runs through August 2018.

PROMO PARADE

Jamie Foxx and GREY GOOSE Launch OFF SCRIPT GREY GOOSE vodka announced the launch of OFF SCRIPT, a new eight-part digital series hosted by Academy Award winner, Jamie Foxx. Set in a custom built and luxury fitted trailer, the series follows Foxx as he goes “off script” to have one-onone conversations with A-list talent, including Jeremy Renner, Vince Vaughn, Denzel Washington, Gabrielle Union and many more.

In each episode, Foxx and his guest will have a free flowing and spontaneous conversation about their lives and the iconic films that shaped their careers. OFF SCRIPT provides a rare peek into the captivating lives and brilliant imaginations of some of the biggest names in film. Through Foxx’s perceptive interview style, viewers will come away with an intimate understanding

82 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2018

of their favorite actor’s creative breakthroughs and influences. OFF SCRIPT represents the next step in a continually growing trend of iconic brands as creators. GREY GOOSE first entered this arena with the hit series “Iconoclasts,” launched in partnership with Sundance Channel. With OFF SCRIPT, GREY GOOSE is assuming a true production role with

full ownership over the creation and execution of the series. A natural extension of the brand’s longstanding dedication to supporting iconic film, OFF SCRIPT is an innovative digital series that will meet consumers where they consume content. The series will spark culturally relevant conversations that galvanize audiences through subjects that are universally relatable.

FEEL GOOD ABOUT

GREAT TASTE TASTES LIKE A DELICIOUS, DECADENT

TREAT! YET, OH SO

HEALTHY! JESSICA D. REAL PREMIER FAN

TOO GOOD TO BE

GOOD.

PEACHES & CREAM

COOKIES & CREAM