BevNET Magazine May/June 2023

The First Drop

By Jeffrey Klineman

With Buds Like These…

Forget a single personalized Bud Light can thirstily sent to a transgender influencer. Anheuser-Busch InBev executives have shown their true colors this spring, and they aren’t rainbows – they’re just a cowardly yellow.

And no amount of Pride cans will undo the dangerous caving to bigotry that was shown by A-B leadership in their betrayal of the LGBTQ community in recent months, one that came about because they ran scared from boycott bullies symbolized by minor league gun-wielders like Kid Rock and Travis Tritt, rather than stand up to these and other social media flamethrowers who are all too happy to trade lives for likes.

Faced with a social-media amplified boycott of their products that has led to share loss and threats – all following a playbook of political outrage that has little to do with that single message and personalized can shared with trans entertainer Dylan Mulvaney –Brendan Whitworth (U.S. CEO of A-B) and Michael Doukeris (CEO, A-B InBev) have both shown little backbone.

Smarter executives might have recognized the boycott as what it is – an outgrowth of the venomous fertilizer sprayed by a group of antitrans conservative activists to devolve an America that believes, rightly and by a wide majority, in protecting trans people from discrimination.

Braver leaders would have pushed back.

Here’s the right thing to do, regardless of the media environment: rather than lean into not wanting to be “divisive,” draw the line at hate. Acknowledge that you’re absolutely frightened by threats against your drivers and your company; wonder if you maybe didn’t pick the right spokesperson as an ally (Mulvaney’s own flamboyant, stage-entertainer driven style is by no means typical of many trans people, it should be noted), but, please stand up for the LQBTQ people you’ve tried to court, because those are the ones who suffer the most at the hands of a years-long political movement driven by bigotry and hatred against trans rights, and because even if you’ve decided they aren’t your intended core customer, it would be a show of moral decency toward a threatened group.

Instead, they put Bud Light’s marketing chief, Alissa Heinerscheid, and her boss, Daniel Blake, on leave. Whitworth backed away from the issue by saying A-B “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.” Doukeris blamed the social media environment, telling investors that Mulvaney’s post was “not an advertisement” while lamenting that “The reality is no longer what the fact is,” but is more about the comments the fact generates.

Here’s the reality, gentlemen: Since losing the battle over same-sex marriage, and particularly over the past five years, the religious right has thrown itself into battle against transgender rights as an increasingly vituperative rallying point to gather support and maintain its relevance in the national conversation. The number of anti-trans bills and executive actions introduced in states has grown from about under 20 in 2019 to more than 500 last year, with more than 11 states enacting laws limiting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, not to mention restrictions on books and lesson plans in schools and threats against drag performers. It’s a campaign that, starting with the wedge issue of whether transgender youth should be allowed to participate in girls’ sports, has evolved into templated letters and bills that are supplied by a variety of conservative groups that have pushed their agenda under the guise of “parental rights” or “defense of women.”

What’s so gross about this movement is that it’s political bullying of the worst kind, picking on the vulnerable to achieve political power.

“We knew we needed to find an issue that the candidates were comfortable talking about,” Terry Schilling, the head of social

conservative advocacy group American Principles Project, told the New York Times. “And we threw everything at the wall.”

That transgender kids are 7.6 times more likely to commit suicide that their peers is a fact that has been hammered into the mind of any parent whose child has come to them with the feeling that they aren’t who they are simply by what’s represented by their genitalia. In places like Texas, under its governor’s anti-trans fiat, here’s the grim calculus: If you support your trans kids, you risk getting handed a prison sentence. If you don’t, you risk handing your kids a death sentence.

Here’s how things have changed:In 2019, two major campaigns dealing with trans visibility hit the market, with little to no reaction from those same forces who now have both Bud and Target, which pulled Pride apparel after threats against employees, on the retreat.

The 2019 campaigns weren’t small, by the way: One was the Mastercard True Name campaign, in which the credit card company let cardholders with participating banks allow a chosen name to appear on the front of a credit or debit card without requiring a legal name change. It’s a move that removed danger and embarrassment for thousands of trans Mastercard customers in the U.S. The other was “First Shave, the story of Samson” – a short video in which a young trans man, Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, was shown shaving for the first time, under the guidance of his father. It went viral as part of Gillette’s #MyBestSelf campaign.

I reached out to Lucas Crigler, the ad exec – and trans man –behind True Name about the differences between 2019 and 2023 with regard to marketing campaigns based on trans outreach.

A veteran ad man, Crigler allowed that Mulvaney might not have been the right partner for Bud Light, that the company may have misjudged both its audience and the timing with the outreach. But he also lamented that the poor timing was nothing compared to the ginned-up outrage.

“This is not the first ad campaign in all of history to flop,” Crigler told me, “Yet the backlash is wildly disproportionate to the blunder. It’s abhorrent, the amount of violence that’s been threatened against not only Ms. Mulvaney, but also the A-B execs. What is this world coming to? It’s heartbreaking and terrifying, really.” If he’d pitched True Name in 2023, Crigler said, “I absolutely do believe it would not have been as easy to sell. There would have been more fears the MC execs would have had to work through. And I don’t think our campaign would have been as successful, no. We were lucky. Good prevailed, while evil seems to be running rampant these days. With none other than drag queen artists being the scapegoats and kids being the Trojan horses.”

I also reached out to Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, the young trans man featured in the First Shave commercial in 2019 about whether he thought things had changed.

“There probably was blowback on the First Shave ad, but I thankfully wasn’t privy to much of it,” he said. “Between the work that the PR, marketing and social media teams at P&G and Grey Advertising Canada did to delete comments and my own performance schedule at that time – 2 theatre shows back to back that I wrote and performed in – I was pretty shielded from negative responses.”

I asked him if he felt like he would have done the same ad today.

“I would have still done the ad today, in spite of the threat of controversy,” he said. “It’s possible that the results would have been the same for Gillette, but it’s hard to say. It may seem naive to say, but I wholeheartedly trust that I would still be protected from the vitriol due to the protections that are in place in my life.”

I didn’t ask him whether he felt he could put that trust in a company like Anheuser Busch. Of course it’s a different product, and he’s an artist, not an ad man. But at the same time, I have to worry – with cowardly friends like Bud, who needs enemies?

Photo by Samara

By Barry Nathanson

Here’s Hoping

Spring is finally sprung and it’s time to do some housekeeping in my little satellite office here in Manhattan. It is no simple task as every time I reduce the cases of beverages, they are quickly replaced by new submissions. That is actually a good thing as it means there are launches, new packaging and SKUs to be added to an array of brands that dot our shelves. There is great churn of products coming and going. My office is a reflection of that. I am grateful that the brand creators want me to sample their wares, though, a quick personal note must be added: When you send in product, I am just a palate of one and sending me cases fi lls up my usually small neat office with product I can never consume. There are simply too many brands that want my attention. I’m losing myself in the midst of all this liquid!

Activity is fast and furious as a bold new generation of marketers try their hand, trying to reach the same retailers, distributors/ wholesalers and investors who control beverages. Remember, something must be removed to make way for your brand. Shelf space is finite. There must be some compelling reason

for them to take on new brands. I am but one arbiter, but I want to give a small observation on what I’m seeing.

We are covering the energy drink in this issue, so I cite this category. I have been impressed with many brands that recently crossed my desk. Still, as I’ve stated many times, I don’t think the taste aspect has caught up to functionality, efficacy and positioning of the claims of many brands. Whether it’s the sweeteners, the formulations or creating the wrong SKUs, so many that I sample are just okay. The recent added negative sweetener coverage will exacerbate the hesitancy to take on new brands, and put pressure on creators to give great taste, but that is your task. Carve out your niche in the marketplace, be it with targeted demographics or lighter taste. Knowing if you can’t compete with the “big guys” , strive to compete in your unique way and hopefully you’ll succeed.

As we head to our BevNET Live here in my hometown next month, I look forward to a whole array of brands to sample on a bigger scale than my office, and hope for the best for them. And not too many leftovers.

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Gerry’s Insights

Public Eyes

By Gerry Khermouch

I wrote this column during one of four periods in the year when my chosen profession of journalist starts to blur with that of stenographer: I’m in the thick of earnings season, when publicly traded beverage companies come (mainly) clean to their investors on how the past three months have gone financially and operationally. True, this was a calendar obligation through all the years I’ve done this job, since the likes of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle have long been publicly reporting entities. (As I recall it, the information flow wasn’t always as wide open as now, and in my early days as a journo it helped to buy a single share of each company I followed to gain access to their events. Now I’m not supposed to buy any.) The past few years, though, those ranks of publicly traded beverage companies have swelled as many took advantage of a rare window of opportunity, both for strait-laced IPOs and for those kind of creepy SPAC deals, at a time potential exits to strategics were getting more elusive. There can be days now that I spend four or five hours dutifully chronicling the utterances of CEOs and CFOs on the webcasts, all while wishing I’d learned to type quicker.

Some of these reporting companies are exceedingly small entities, revenue-wise, and I occasionally wonder whether they’re worth the time and effort. But I always decide they are, if for no other reason than that some serve to highlight the blunders and overreaching that can sabotage the prospects of companies that otherwise have an appealing concept at their core. Unlike private companies, they more or less have to fess up to these blunders at some point, so these calls collectively provide an interesting laboratory of case histories with lessons for brand builders operating in both the public and private realms.

Let’s ponder the tradeoffs of taking the public route. Over the years, many – maybe most – senior leaders of publicly traded beverage companies of modest size have at some point confided to me that they regretted the whole idea. The expensive and time-consuming reporting requirement itself is pretty unwelcome, particularly for early-stage companies that have barely built sufficient infrastructure to generate revenue (meaning, like, sales guys). It kind of distorts their staffing priorities. Then there’s the fact that you render yourself naked to your competitors, disclosing what would otherwise be closely guarded information on your cost of goods, gross margins and salaries. There are less apparent ones too.

One that particularly irks me is the impulse to bring in senior managers with big-company resumes that may dazzle investors but who may be poorly suited to the all-hands-on-deck scramble of an early-stage company. Don’t get me wrong: there often comes a time when the gifted amateur running a public company needs backstopping, or outright replacement, but on the private side we’ve seen any number of youthful entrepreneurs show an impressive capacity to grow into the job. (Mike Kirban at Vita Coco, for instance.) The public markets don’t have the patience for that kind of evolution.

I question whether Flow Beverage’s recruitment of a semi-retired Nestle executive really added as much to its capabilities as it touted to investors. Whether because that proved to be true or because a depressed share price soured his dreams of quick riches, he soon enough moved on, the founder reclaimed that role and, honest, Flow’s operations seem tighter now than then as it fights through a thicket of challenges and tries to get the share price up again. (On that note, kudos to Celsius’ board for going with a bright but youthful bean counter for its CEO choice a few years ago rather than some of the fancy-resume types I heard it was pursuing. The results speak for themselves.)

Then there’s the need to continually placate those pesky investors. Let’s start with individual investors. Read the stock bulletin boards or listen to some of the questions that come up on the earnings calls of small-cap companies and it’s hard to maintain any belief that these people all are highly schooled in imputing performance trajectories from the minutiae of earnings statements and balance sheets. But the little people don’t matter, right? It’s those smart and ruthless institutional guys who count. The sad truth seems to be that these professionals can change their deeply held investment principles on a whim. Like consumers, they’re always right. So if the same investors who enthusiastically bought into your growthat-all-costs plan suddenly have turned skittish and hammered down your shares because you’re not making money, that’s not just their problem, it’s yours. If they’re being smart now, then they couldn’t have been that smart when they bought in just two years ago, right?

Obviously, we’ve seen a lot of that. Take the case of Oatly, whose road show on the path to its IPO didn’t include much discussion of profitability. The oatmilk pioneer painted a picture of an advantaged first mover that would plow every dollar of gross profit into building new extraction plants across the globe as it marched on to world domination. Investors clearly didn’t have any problem with that vision, sending its $10 billion valuation on its IPO issue date even further into the stratosphere, by a few billion. In the space of less than a year, market sentiment did a U-turn and investors turned on Oatly, sending its valuation down to the $1.25 billion range as I write this. In desperation, the company even briefly resorted to touting a suddenly “asset-light” operating model, which really meant spinning off a few filling operations to outside partners. Never mind that the brand continues to conquer new markets and new channels. Of course, dozens of other beverage companies are in the same boat.

So go on the public stage and be prepared to be showered with rotten tomatoes. It’s worse, of course, for the companies that really do stumble. For those operating early-stage beverage companies, there are lots of lessons to be gleaned listening to those quarterly calls. Take the case of Laird Superfood, the Oregon company founded by big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, his volleyball-star wife Gabrielle Reece and their friend and business partner Paul Hodge. Honest, over the years I’ve rarely encountered a Laird product that didn’t wow me. Kudos to the team for creating and continually improving good-tasting but functional products, whether their coffee creamers, coffees or hydration powders. But did it really make sense to be building and refining five separate product platforms with a collective top line of under $40 million, essentially all selfproduced? All while the ecomm-built company had to navigate a dramatically changed DTC and Amazon environment? Hodge wore out his welcome as CEO and was replaced by a CPG veteran, Jason Vieth, who’s been systematically rethinking the premises by which Laird operates. The production plant is gone. Laird has found ways to slash its DTC spend by two-thirds without dire consequences. So far he’s continuing all the product lines. As it turns out, Vieth is adept at explaining the headwinds the company has to push through. Whether or not he’s able to get Laird out of the woods, his quarterly discussions offer an informative primer on the changing economics of ecomm, and the levers one needs to pull to build a grocery-based business. Some day the company may be the subject of a formal business school case history, hopefully a positive one. In the meantime, you could do worse than follow Vieth’s narration on how the company is trying to get to a better place. And you don’t even need to own any shares to listen.

Michelle Obama Joins PLEZi as Co-Founder, Strategic Advisor

with stevia and monk fruit, PLEZi is formulated to have 75% less sugar than average leading 100% fruit juices, and is fortified with fiber and other nutrients.

In a piece of distribution news, Obama announced that the brand was planning to debut in Walmart over the summer, and that it had recently been added to the company’s online store.

“I want other companies to know that PLEZi is coming,” she said, adding that an important part of the idea behind the company was to make healthier options available outside of the just high-end stores.

Obama’s announcement also referenced the long-term plans for the brand as a healthy eating and drinking platform that could encompass both snacks and other drink products. PLEZi has promised 10% of its profits to a broader movement to promote kids’ health, while Obama herself announced a donation of $1 million to FoodCorps Nourishing Futures Initiative.

Michelle Obama, the former fi rst lady, announced in early May that she is joining fledgling kids drink brand PLEZi as a co-founder and strategic partner as part of her ongoing efforts to fight childhood obesity.

Obama cited a long record of work on children’s health and nutrition, including her Let’s Move! initiative and a record of working with food companies and restaurant chains to lower calories and remove salt, sugar, and trans-fats from products, as well as famously establishing a garden plot on the South Lawn of the White House. The next step, she said, was for her to get involved in the food and beverage industry as an owner and stakeholder.

“I’ve learned that on this issue, if you want to change the game, you can’t just work from the outside. You’ve got to get inside—you’ve got to find ways to change the food and beverage industry itself,” said Obama, speaking at The Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival.

“I’m proud to announce the national launch of a company designed not just to provide better products, but to jumpstart a race to the top that will transform the entire food industry.”

The theory will initially be tested by her work with PLEZi, a four-SKU line of beverages that is currently sold at Sprouts and Target stores. Sweetened

A public benefit corporation, PLEZi is currently led by CEO Leah Dunmore, who was hired recently after a career in which she had worked on wellness-focused brands at companies like Hain Celestial, Kraft, and Mars. The brand was largely shepherded through the product development, sales, and marketing process by L.A. Libations and also received financial backing investment group Juggernaut Capital. The two companies first worked together developing ZOA for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

As part of the launch, Obama noted that she was bringing together a “kitchen cabinet” of public health and nutrition policy advisors. That team will be led by Debra Eschmeyer, the former Executive Director of the Let’s Move! Initiative and a senior advisor to President Barack Obama for nutrition policy. Sam Kass, the former White House chef and another Obama advisor, was also announced as the PLEZi board chair.

“I still believe that businesses can move faster when it comes to our kids’ nutrition,” Obama said. “Because I believe there is a way to build a successful company and do right by our kids… that we can make products that are tasty and healthy and good for the bottom line. And I’m putting some skin in the game to put this theory to the test.”

In addition to her work on nutrition issues from the White House, Michelle Obama has at least a passing familiarity with the food business – and one of PLEZi’s likely retail partners. From 2005-2007, while her husband was still a U.S. Senator in Illinois, she served as a corporate director on the board of TreeHouse Foods, which makes private label food and drinks for a wide range of retailers, including Walmart.

Constellation Brands Bolsters Non-Alc Portfolio with Minority Stake in TÖST

Constellation Brands has acquired a minority stake in TÖST, an alcohol-free sparkling beverage brand.

Founded in 2017, TÖST produces beverages made from an all-natural blend of white tea, white cranberry and ginger.The champagne alternative is a “never alcohol” product, meaning there is no alcoholic fermentation at any point in the production process.

“Our investment in TÖST allows us to continue to optimize our higher-end portfolio by providing an alcohol-free beverage with a complex flavor profile for consumers that complements their lifestyle across a variety of occasions,” said Mallika Monteiro, executive vice president and chief growth, strategy, and digital officer at Constellation Brands.

The investment, made through Constellation’s venture capital group, gives the company another position in the fast-growing non-alc segment. It also comes at the heels of another non-alc addition to Consellation’s portfolio, Corona NonAlcoholic, which launched last week. In 2021 the company acquired a minority stake in HOP WTR, a non-alcoholic, calorie-free sparkling water infused with adaptogens and nootropics.

Constellation Brands’ beer business topped $7.456 billion in net sales, an +11% year-over-year increase (YoY), during its 2023 fiscal year, which ended February 28, the company reported during its full-year and fourth-quarter earnings report. However, net sales of Constellation’s wine and spirits sales declined -4%, to more than $1.987 billion.

In a statement, Constellation Brands highlighted that 82% of non-alcoholic drink buyers are also still purchasing drinks that contain alcohol, according to data from Nielsen IQ, “meaning TÖST extends the options and opportunity for participation on traditional beer, wine, and spirits occasions, making it a strong complement to Constellation’s current portfolio.”

Between August 2021 and August 2022, total dollar sales of non-alcoholic drinks in the U.S. stood at $395 million, showing a YoY growth of +20.6%, according to Nielsen IQ.

TÖST is currently sold online and in more than 40 states. In September 2022, TÖST CEO Brooks Addington said the brand found traction by being positioned as an affordable luxury for sophisticated drinking occasions and as a gift. The company offers two

bottle sizes: 750 ml and 250 ml, and is working on a canned format.

Two years after entering the market, the product was distributed across over 1,300 different accounts domestically with 18 distributors in 24 states. In October of 2021, after revenue reached over $1 million during the prior ten months, the company raised $360,000 of equity crowdfunding in the form of SAFE notes via Republic.

“We are excited and humbled to have Constellation Brands as a partner in our mission to bring TÖST beverages to even more consumers,” said Addington. “We believe our mutual consumer-centric focus and desire to deliver premium product experiences positions TÖST for exponential growth in the coming years.”

Ready to Scale, G.O.A.T. Fuel Closes $5M

G.O.A.T. Fuel, the mushroom-enhanced energy drink brand backed by three-time Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice, closed a $5 million seed funding round in May co-led by venture fi rms Stage 1 Fund and Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Jaqui Rice Gold, Rice’s daughter, and her husband and chief brand officer Trevion Gold, G.O.A.T. Fuel produces a line of 12 oz. canned, zero sugar energy drinks made with cordyceps mushrooms, electrolytes, BCAAs and 200 mg of natural caffeine. The brand offers eight fl avors and is sold in over 10,000 retail accounts nationwide, including about 600 Walmart and 700 Publix stores.

According to Gold, she and her husband came up with the idea for a healthier energy drink made with adaptogenic mushrooms in 2019, when both the performance energy category and functional mushrooms were gaining traction in the market.

“My background is not in beverage, I essentially was the consumer who was newly starting to drink energy drinks at the gym,” Gold told BevNET. “These better-for-you drinks were interesting to me and my husband, but some of the ingredients didn’t make us feel that great … we felt that there was an opportunity to really create a new formulation that was innovative, and that utilized an ingredient that we hadn’t seen in the marketplace before.”

Gold quickly involved her father, a former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver and 1988 Super Bowl MVP, whom she described as a “health nut.”

In addition to his own support – Gold said her father is “150% involved” in the business operations and regularly fields sales calls among other duties – Rice was able to tap into his broad

Seed Round

network of sports personalities to help Gold raise over $7 million in funding from individual angel investors, including former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and Minnesota Timberwolves owner Marc Lore.

With the new round of funding, Gold said the brand is preparing to scale the business nationwide. Since launching DTC in 2020, G.O.A.T. Fuel has gone from under $1 million in annual sales to eight figures in revenue, Gold said, and the company projects revenue to triple year-over-year.

The company now has 20 full time

time to do it with the traction we have and the run rate that we’re getting as we continue to scale,” she said. “We didn’t want to embark on this journey prematurely. We wanted to make sure even from a valuation standpoint that we all felt comfortable with the starting point.”

Looking ahead, however, Gold acknowledged there’s more competition in the energy set today than when she conceived the business in 2019, when Bang was the leading brand in the performance subset. Since then, betterfor-you brands like Celsius, C4, and Ghost have experienced significant growth by partnering with strategics.

employees and Gold said the fi nancing will go towards expanding the sales team and to bring in seasoned operations executives to help grow the business.

“We’ve been nimble up until this point, and we’re really looking forward to seeing the company grow and expand,” she said.

Currently, G.O.A.T. Fuel is serviced through a network of DSD distributors and has recently added new accounts such as H-E-B in Texas. The brand is also in accounts like Safeway and Lucky’s in California.

Although G.O.A.T. Fuel had already raised significant funding through angels, she said the addition of institutional investors will help open more doors for the brand as it looks to break into new markets.

“It’s essentially for us a catalyst for that [growth] process and it was the

However, Gold said the brand’s use of adaptogenic mushrooms has been a strong differentiator for the brand. When G.O.A.T. Fuel launched online only in 2020, she said 49% of the brand’s consumers – primarily Gen Z and millennials – were aware of cordyceps and the benefits of mushrooms. Much like performance energy, mushrooms as both a standalone food and an ingredient have grown their mainstream popularity over the past four years; Grand View Research reported in March that the global adaptogenic mushroom market is expected to reach $26.6 billion at a CAGR of 10.8% between 2023 and 2030.

As well, G.O.A.T. Fuel’s connection to the sports world has also been valuable. Beyond Rice’s involvement, the brand is also now the official energy drink of the Los Angeles Lakers and Gold said the focus on sports – down to the brand name – will continue to be a key part of maintaining its momentum.

“Early on, we were the fi rst to include the adaptogen mushrooms in an RTD energy drink,” she said. “I think by getting a head start in that space, we definitely have an advantage.”

Cure Hydration Brings in $5.6M Series A Round, Expands to 15,000 Doors

In April, Cure Hydration raised $5.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Lerer Hippeau. The new capital arrives as the New York-based functional drink mix brand has expanded its retail presence to over 15,000 doors nationwide.

Launched in 2019, Cure produces a line of better-for-you hydration mixes made with ingredients including coconut water and pink Himalayan salt. According to the company, Cure has grown an average of 230% annually since its launch and its retail expansion marks a rapid rise in footprint. Last year the brand reported it was entering over 6,500 new doors, and speaking to BevNET at Natural Products Expo West 2023 last month, founder and CEO Lauren Picasso put Cure’s door count around 13,000.

Lerer Hippeau, an early stage venture capital firm and existing stakeholder in Cure, led the round and was joined by a mix of new and existing investors including Valedor Partners, Simple Food Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Joyance Partners, Silas Capital and Kim Clijsters among others. Cure previously closed a $2.6 million funding round in 2020.

“We continue to invest in Cure because the team has proved that they can scale beyond direct-to-consumer to become an omnichannel brand with a national footprint,” said Caitlin Strandberg, partner at Lerer Hippeau, in a press release. “We are excited to see Cure’s continued retail distribution and disruption of the hydration category.”

The company said it will put the capital towards supporting its retail growth, product innovation, brand awareness and team expansion. Picasso said Cure is aiming to carve out market share in the functional drink mix market and has seen triple-digit growth in the natural channel over the last 12-weeks, up around 316% according to SPINS.

The brand’s expanded retail presence includes rollouts into Sprouts, Kroger, Albertsons, Stop & Shop, Wegmans and H-E-B. “This year, we will also be launching conventional Grocery with the launch of Kroger and Albertsons where we will be testing double placement both in mainline sets as well as checklane.”

“We will support this growth through demos and sampling programs since we’ve found this to be the most successful conversion tactic for Cure,” Picasso wrote.

In retail, Cure has sought to merchandise its products in the sports nutrition set. At Expo West, Picasso noted that many of the brands in the sports nutrition space today have a “medicinal” or “clinical” positioning, or feel intended for hardcore athletes, whereas Cure aims to be an inviting everyday product. Via email, she also pointed to recent disruption in the sports drink category that has seen some consumers move away from legacy brands like Gatorade and Powerade while embracing innovative new products.

“Sports Nutrition sets are supporting brands in the functional drink mix category and we prefer placement on shelf with functional foods and beverages, where shoppers have been trained to find our kind of product,” she wrote. “We drive conversion by offering our products at the single stick lev-

el and supporting stores with demos and sampling programs.”

Cure currently has 10 full time employees, recently bringing on a new CMO, former SmartyPants Vitamins senior director of marketing Laura Kendrick, and a VP of innovation, Stacey Gillespie, who held similar positions at Ora Organic, Rritual Superfood and Gaia Herbs. Picasso said the company is not immediately hiring additional roles but will seek to expand its team further next year.

Last year, the company rebranded its portfolio with new packaging that better visualizes its fruit flavors. Following the rebrand, Cure reformulated its Lemon flavor, relaunching the SKU as Lemonade. Most recently, the brand introduced a Strawberry Kiwi variety.

Beyond new flavors, Picasso said that the brand is currently developing innovations in additional product categories to launch in the next 12 months.

Chamberlain Coffee Enters RTDs With Walmart Exclusive Launch

Chamberlain Coffee made its much anticipated ready-to-drink debut in late April, partnering exclusively with Walmart to release its four-SKU line of canned plant-based lattes and further extend the influencer-driven coffee brand’s reach.

The launch had originally been scheduled for early May, but Chamberlain Coffee CEO Christopher Gallant explained in an email that the date was moved up to hit store shelves, Walmart.com and the retailer’s app simultaneously. The dairy-free line includes four flavors — Mocha Latte, Cinnamon Bun Latte, Vanilla Latte and Cold Brew Latte — in 12 ounce slim cans, each of which are sweetened with date syrup and made with almond milk and coconut cream. All SKUs contain 70 mg caffeine, 110-120 calories and 1 gram of sugar per can. The listed unit price on Walmart.com is $2.98.

In a press release, Chamberlain Coffee founder and YouTube star Emma Chamberlain called the RTD collection, inspired by her daily cold brew recipe, “a product I have been dreaming of making since we started the brand.”

“We’re inspired by all of the ways you can enjoy coffee, and are eager to continue exploring innovative coffee products,” she said.

Founded by Emma Chamberlain in 2019, Chamberlain Coffee started off as a D2C brand that marketed a range of organic blends in whole bean, ground, pods and steeped varieties. Since then, the business has grown into categories such as matcha, hot chocolate and chocolate covered espresso beans and into flavored blends (Witty Fox Hazelnut and Fluff y Lamb Vanilla) while expanding beyond D2C into limited retail with partners including

Sprouts, Bristol Farms and Erewhon, Pop Up Grocer and digital delivery market Gopuff. Last August, the brand announced it had closed a $7 million funding round led by venture builder Blazar Capital and Chamberlain herself.

The brand had previously flirted with RTDs through a collaboration with low-calorie lemonade maker Swoon last year.

Describing the Walmart launch as a “big moment for the brand,” Gallant said Chamberlain was well prepared to adapt quickly to the new launch date across the organization. The brand’s founder and namesake has taken a leading role in building awareness around the RTD release on her social channels, on her podcast and in one-on-one media interviews, while also shooting a commercial and conducting photoshoots.

The entrepreneur was a “big part” of the brand’s RTD-specific activation at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival earlier this month, he said.

Within the current RTD coffee set, Chamberlain Coffee’s products are positioned to offer popular indulgent flavors with less sugar and no dairy. The line will face competition from the likes of La Colombe, Pop & Bottle (another brand with close ties to Walmart) and Dunkin’, which launched a three-SKU line of iced coffees in 11 ounce cans in February.

Whole Foods Resets Regions, Promises Business As Usual for Brands

Whole Foods Market has redrawn its national footprint and dropped from nine to six total regions to create a new organizational structure that will result in “a more consistent number of stores per region,” the Amazonowned retailer said.

Though this may change which regions brands are sold in, a spokesperson told NOSH that suppliers will not be impacted when it comes to merchandising or distribution.

The news accompanies an April announcement that the company had laid off team members in its global and regional headquarters.

“We are evolving our operating structure and making adjustments to some corporate teams, so we can better support our stores as Whole Foods Market continues to grow and expand its reach to serve more customers,” the spokesperson said.

According to an internal company memo sent in April, the new structure will divide the retailer’s 500plus stores across six regions, resulting in “a more consistent number of stores per region.” The company said that the change will not result in any store closures, though it will decrease the number of regional presidents and some roles in regional offices.

Some notable changes include:

• The North Atlantic region will include all international stores in Canada and the UK.

• California is now its own unified region. The state’s stores were previously split between the Northern California and Southern Pacific regions.

• The rest of the Northern California region (which included part of Nevada), the Mountain Pacific and much of the Midwest regions have been combined into a new Central West region -- which will include the company’s flagship store in Austin.

• The majority of the stores in the former Southwest region, are now in the Southeast region.

In order to adequately staff these larger geographic areas, five regions will have multiple regional offices. For example, the North Atlantic will have staff in Boston, Vancouver, Toronto and London while the Central West will maintain headquarters in Denver, Austin and Seattle.

A spokesperson for Whole Foods Market said the regional realignment will not impact the company’s category review schedule, merchandising plans, or merchandising team, and brands should expect to have continuity in their points of contact.

Brands will also continue to be sold in their existing stores, even if that store is now part of a region

that does not currently sell its products. Stores are continuing to place and receive orders from their current distribution centers, the spokesperson confirmed.

Whole Foods Market sources new products using two methods: local foragers and global category managers. The former will remain a vital part of the organization, the spokesperson said, seeking out products from their respective individual regions.

Whole Foods defines a “global” brand as one having products sold in four or more regions, a designation that also requires commitment to a higher promotional spend. Despite the chain consolidating its regions, that point of delineation will remain steady, with the spokesperson noting that any brand sold in multiple regions is already managed by the global team.

The changes to the business come roughly six months after Jason Buechel, Whole Foods’ COO, took on the role of CEO from founder John Mackey, who retired in September 2022. Parent company Amazon has made trimming operations related to its “Stores Business” a core focus for 2023, CEO Andy Jassey said on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call in February. The news accompanies April’s announcement that Whole Foods had laid off team members in its global and regional headquarters.

At Whole Foods, regional and global departments including Team Member Services (TMS), Operations and Supply Chain Management will see their structures change: regional, category-specific store operations, for example, have moved to a new global Field Support team. Global and regional Support Team members were notified if their positions had been eliminated.

“As we simplify processes and improve how we operate, we will be able to quickly respond to evolving business needs, focus more on our most impactful work, and invest in new ways to serve all stakeholders,” the memo stated. “We are confident these changes will allow us to better support our stores, Team Members, and suppliers, elevate the customer experience position Whole Foods Market for continued growth.”

Hershey’s SkinnyPop Adds Manufacturing Muscle Via Copacker Acquisitions

With snacks trending upward and vertically-integrated supply chains becoming increasingly appealing to large corporations amid continued market volatility, The Hershey Company is doubling down on both.

Hershey announced plans in April to acquire two Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing facilities – one in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and another in Whitestown, Indiana – where its popcorn brand SkinnyPop is currently produced. The deal is still subject to standard regulatory approval and will be financed with cash on hand as well as short term loans, according to a press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a spokesperson for Weaver noted that the facilities’ current employees will transition to The Hershey Company.

“In response to consumer snacking trends, we continue to evolve our supply chain, making significant investments in the size, scale and capabilities of our network, improving resiliency while we continue to strengthen existing supplier relationships,” said Jason Reiman, chief supply chain officer at The Hershey Company, in a press release.

During the company’s Investor Day presentation in March, Hershey outlined its snack portfolio growth plans, which entails investing in supply chain capabilities and working to scale the operating model. According to its Q4 2022 earnings report, Hershey’s snack set brought in $272 million in net sales that quarter, a 71% increase year-over-year. In 2022, SkinnyPop’s retail sales alone totaled $495 million. According to IRI, U.S. packaged popcorn sales have increased 11.4% to over $2 billion in the past three years.

“Hershey has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, stemming from a combination of successful strategy execution and an increase in more snacking occasions among consumers,” said Kristen Riggs, president of salty snacks at The Hershey Company, in a press release. “In fact, SkinnyPop has been number one in retail sales growth for ready-toeat popcorn over the last three years.”

Riggs added that over the next three years, the company would seek to grow gross margin for its salty snacking business by 300 basis points, by utilizing “multiple levers, both commercial and operational.

The confectionary and snacking giant currently owns six candy-focused manufacturing facilities in the U.S. in addition to nine plants located across Asia, South America and Canada. Hershey’s owns over 50 brands including leading snack businesses SkinnyPop, Pirate’s Booty and Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels.

The company has spent the last seven years transitioning from a focus on confection, building a portfolio targeting the broader snack set. In 2017, the chocolate maker acquired Amplify Snack Brands which included SkinnyPop, Paqui tortilla chips and Tyrrells potato chips. Brands under Amplify division have waxed and waned over the years, with SkinnyPop accounting for the majority of the group’s sales. Within the broader company,

there have also been moves to increase its snack brand holdings. In 2018 the company bought Pirate’s Booty from B&G Foods, followed a year later by the acquisition of One Brands, maker of protein bar One Bar, for $379 million.

Other recent deals have been aimed in part at improving margins. The company acquired Dot’s in 2021 for $1.2 million alongside the brand’s manufacturing arm, Pretzels Inc., to further expand its salty snacks manufacturing capabilities. During the investor day presentation, Riggs shared that Pretzel’s Inc is also now producing other Hershey’s products, such as Pirate’s Booty.

Her colleague, Will Bonifant, VP of U.S. & Canada Supply Chain, noted in his own presentation that owning manufacturing capabilities would allow the company to also explore innovation where salty snacks could cross over into confection, using a chocolate drizzled popcorn as an example.

“Being able to take products that were outsourced and then insource them, gives us opportunities to expand margin,” Riggs said. “In the long term, there’s more of those supply chain capabilities and opportunities out there.”

FTC Puts Companies on Notice: “Don’t Play Fast & Loose With the Truth”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned around 670 companies to stop making unsubstantiated product claims or face the prospect of steep civil penalties.

In April, the agency sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses to the companies, a wide spanning group involved in the marketing of OTC drugs, homeopathic products, dietary supplements and/or functional foods. The list includes retail giant Amazon, pharmaceutical maker Johnson & Johnson, drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens, and wellness influencer Gwenyth Paltrow’s Goop, Inc., among others. Inclusion on the list is not an indication of wrongdoing by the companies named, according to the agency.

Within CPG, the list featured ingredient companies ADM Ganeden and Cargill alongside global conglomerates like Danone, General Mills, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Other names range from Bragg Live Foods and Brain Juice to Bigelow Tea, POM Wonderful, and Liquid I.V.

The Notice carries the potential for the FTC to incur civil penalties (up to $50,120 per violation) against any company that engages in conduct that it knows has been found unlawful. Such acts include having a lack of a “reasonable basis consisting of competent and reliable evidence” for product claims, lack of “reliable” scientific evidence to support health and safety claims, and at least one “well-controlled human clinical trial” that shows its effectiveness in “curing, mitigating or treating a serious disease.”

Other violations include misrepresenting the level or type of substantiation for a claim and misrepresenting that a product claim has been scientifically or clinically proven.

“The principles behind our substantiation program are simple. If a company makes a claim about what its product can do, it must back that claim up with reliable evidence,” said FTC Commissioner Kelly Slaughter in a statement on March 31. “If a company makes a claim about the health and safety benefits of a product, that claim must be based on scientific evidence. If a company claims that its product can cure, mitigate, or treat a serious disease such as cancer or heart disease, it must back up that claim through the accepted standards of scientific testing, including randomized control trials.”

Reigning in product claims has been a key piece of the FTC’s updated Health Products Compliance Guidance issued in December, which sought to tighten its interpretation of the “competent and reliable scientific evidence” standard. The Notice also represents a newfound willingness by the FTC to deploy its Penalty Offense Authority, which allows it to seek civil penalties if it can be proven that a company engaged in unfair or deceptive practices in violation of the FTC Act after receiving a warning.

The FTC’s interpretation of its authority may be challenged, though. Its position – that previously litigated cases, some from several decades ago, create precedent to justify penalties for current offenses – has not been the subject of court challenge

“The prospect of steep civil penalties will help ensure that advertisers don’t play fast and loose with the truth,” said Sam Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Brands have faced similar scrutiny for wellness claims in the past, though those were often centered around specific dietary or health issues. For example, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic both the FTC and FDA indicated they would crack down on products claiming to offer immune boosting or respiratory benefits that were not supported by scientific studies. CBD brands have also been the subject of warnings.

Meanwhile, other brands have challenged the validity of competitor’s claims via the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) and the National Advertising Division (NAD). After apple cider producer Bragg filed a complaint against supplement maker Goli, the latter was ultimately told to adjust their marketing and packaging.

Seeking to ‘Move On,’ Schinner and Miyoko’s Settle

After a tumultuous spring that saw the acrimonious breakup of vegan cheesemaker Miyoko’s Creamery and its jilted founder Miyoko Schinner unfold in an ugly public dispute, the two have settled their respective lawsuits.

According to posts shared on Schinner and Miyoko’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts, all claims by both parties have been withdrawn. No further details were shared.

“Miyoko and the company wish each other well as they go their separate ways,” the posts read.

Days after the company announced in February that Schinner was no longer involved in the company’s day-to-day operations(a move that had actually occurred over six months prior), Miyoko’s sued its former leader alleging poor leadership skills and the theft of company assets and recipes. In March Schinner retaliated with her own suit, claiming misogynistic treatment by the company’s board of directors and that her dismissal was in retaliation for her complaints of gender discrimination. Her suit also stated that the company must stop using her image and name.

In a May statement, Miyoko’s called Schinner a “true pioneer in vegan creamery products” with “integrity” and credited her contributions to the company. Schinner’s half of the statement said she “appreciates the dedicated team of people at Miyoko’s Creamer” who will be continuing her “legacy” through the production and selling of vegan creamery products.

On her LinkedIn post Schinner wrote “I am moving on. So important to close the door behind you so that new ones can open.” She added on Instagram that her future would include “friends, community and activism.”

Earlier this year Schinner released The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko, a cooking series on YouTube where she has over 20,000 subscribers.

Miyoko’s turned off the ability to comment on its LinkedIn and Instagram posts.

In tandem with the announcement, plant-based foods association founder Michele Simon shared on LinkedIn that she no longer is a member of the vegan creamery’s board of directors. During the past three months Simon has been an outspoken advocate for Schinner.

Simon’s LinkedIn entry for the role now includes “I was asked to join the board to support the company’s founder, Miyoko Schinner… In the 3 [plus] months I was on the board, it became painfully clear there would be no positive resolution and I was forced to step down.”

Craft Brewers Conference General Session: Slow to No Growth Craft’s ‘New Normal’

Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bob Pease shared a message of optimism during the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Nashville.

While craft brewers continue to deal with increased costs, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and more, Pease and the BA still “firmly believe that craft’s best days are ahead,” Pease said in his opening remarks during the conference’s general session on May 8.

To reach those best days, Pease encouraged members to collaborate both in innovation and in problem solving. That message was echoed at the close of the session during a panel with Pease and fellow trade group leaders Brian Crawford, president and CEO of the Beer Institute (BI) and Craig Purser, president and CEO of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

“We know when a consumer has an occasion … they have a choice, and we’ve got to be more relevant,” Purser said. “[The solution] I think it’s focus, it is execution, but I also think it is everybody collectively coming together and deciding we’re going to stop that trend of category decline.”

“Short term, there’s no doubt that hard liquor has been taking market share from us and part of it has been that beer has been somewhat asleep at the switch,” Crawford said. “We’ve been focusing inward and not watching what’s happening around us.

“We need to make sure that we’re aligned in fighting back and fighting for beer,” he continued. “The greatest opportunity is the fact that the three of us are on stage together and we’re singing off the same song sheet song sheet, and we’re aligned.”

While Pease and his compatriots preached for a positive craft beer future, BA chief economist Bart Watson gave craft brewers a bit of a wake-up call during his CBC keynote address. In it, he shared final numbers from the BA’s annual production survey, which indicate a “new normal” of slow to no growth for craft breweries.

Volume for BA-defined craft breweries in 2022 was flat yearover-year (YoY). The flat growth rate in a more mature marketplace – on the heels of two disrupted years due to the COVID-19 pandemic – has left craft brewers in a space where they need to innovate and reach new consumers to find future growth.

Over the last six years (2017-2022), Watson noted that the average annual growth rate over that period is +1.2%, a stark decline from growth rates in the previous decade.

“Those years of double-digit growth are clearly well in the rearview mirror,” he said. “And unless something changes, I don’t think we’re going to see them again anytime soon.”

Watson also added the caveat that “zero growth doesn’t mean no change,” and the industry is evolving with the convergence of non-alcoholic beverages with alcoholic beverages.

“All of the changes going on around us and beverage alcohol are one reason the craft industry growth is so slow, so we shouldn’t take this 0% number to mean that the industry is static,” he said.

Watson stressed multiple times that the things that got craft beer to the level it is now, with more than 9,500 breweries and over a decade of record growth, are not the things that will allow the segment to regain growth and momentum.

“The ideas that have gotten craft where it is were wonderful, they were ingenious, they changed the beverage alcohol world,” he said. “But that’s not the same thing as saying the ideas that got us here are the ones that are going to take us to the next level. We’re going to need new ways of thinking.

“I wish I could stand here and tell you that I have all the answers – that I know where the new occasions are, the new customers – but frankly, I don’t,” he continued. “What I do know is the first two-thirds of this talk showed us that if we continue to do things the same way we’ve been doing them, that’s the recipe for slow growth and stagnation.”

Watson’s suggestions:

• Expand where beer is sold, taking advantage of growing channels such as c-stores and reinvigorating “old channels” such as the on-premise;

• Create new beer occasions – like non-alcoholic beer has – and try to take back the occasions the spirits industry has taken over the last decade, including sporting events;

• Think differently about style trends, focusing more on what beer styles a craft brewery can make best and uniquely, rather than tying innovation to what style is growing the most in scan data – data that is often skewed by one or two companies anyway;

• And fi nd new consumers, including women and people of color, who are the largest demographics growing in beverage-alcohol and severely underindex in craft .

Founders Hit With Second Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

On the same day Founders Brewing announced it had permanently closed its Detroit location, a former employee filed a lawsuit against the company claiming the taproom’s work environment was “so objectively racially hostile that she had no choice but to resign.”

Plaintiff Naeemah Dillard filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division on May 1. On her behalf, attorney Jack Schulz detailed months of discrimination, unfair treatment and retaliation against Dillard in the complaint.

Dillard resigned April 23 and filed racial discrimination and retaliation charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC) on April 24, in which she alleged Founders violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Her complaint is the second high-profile lawsuit against Founders in which a Black employee alleged they were discriminated against at the Detroit taproom because of their race. Mahou San Miguel-owned Founders settled with Tracy Evans in his 2019 racial discrimination lawsuit, and closed the taproom for several months so it could handle “some challenges.”

“Throughout Ms. Dillard’s time as a manager at Founders’ Detroit Tap Room, she [was] utilized merely for the optics of having a Black manager while being treated completely different than her white counterparts,” Schulz wrote in a statement.

Dillard, a Black woman, was promoted to part-time taproom manager in July 2022 after joining the taproom staff as a server in June 2021. She was one of several managers, the rest of whom were white, and “was treated much differently than her Caucasian counterparts” “from the start,” according to the complaint.

Also on May 1, Founders announced it had permanently shuttered the Detroit taproom, which “has not been immune to the struggle to regain foot traffic after temporary COVID closure that have impacted restaurants and bars across the nation.” Founders added it was “working diligently to find new positions within the company for the [38] employees impacted by this closure.”

A press release issued to the media and social media posts announcing the closure made no mention of Dillard’s lawsuit, and Founders has since disabled comments on its Facebook and Instagram posts about the closure.

In a statement, Founders said it was “unaware” of Dillard’s complaint when it announced the taproom’s closing.

“We announced the closing to all of our Detroit staff on Monday morning, and did not learn about the lawsuit filed against Founders until that evening when a reporter contacted us,” the company said.

Since settling with Evans in 2019, the company has “instituted mandatory bias, discrimination and harassment training throughout our organization,” it said. “We have reexamined our policies and enacted new policies, along with implementing new procedures for the reporting of workplace concerns.”

New Interim CEO to Lead ‘Next Phase of Rhinegeist’

The intent is to be completely transparent with the Rhinegeist team on the vision for the decade-old company and the changes being made to achieve that vision.

“We’re a much larger company than we were 10 years ago, stating the obvious, so some of the things really do need to have a little more rigor and discipline behind them,” Bankovich said. “That being said, it’s always been important to me to add a level of transparency and understanding so people understand the why behind what we’re doing, so that’s been my focus over the past six months.

“This complex, diverse company that we have here, everybody needs to take a pause and know that what we did for the past 10 years isn’t what’s going to take us to the next 10, and it’s worth re-evaluating things and asking questions and figuring out what else we can do together,” he continued.

Rhinegeist Brewery’s April was a month of “a lot of disruption” but also “minimal anxiety and the sense of calm,” following the appointment of chief commercial officer Adam Bankovich to interim CEO, Rhinegeist co-founder Bryant Goulding told Brewbound.

Bankovich, whose new title was announced April 26, takes over for Michael Parks, who served as CEO for two years. Parks was the Cincinnati, Ohio-based brewery’s first CEO after Goulding and co-founder Bob Bonder took a step back from the company’s day-to-day operations and began transitioning it to employee ownership.

“We hired a CEO recognizing that us founders weren’t the best managers,” Goulding said. “To step aside creates the space for someone to come in and manage the vision, the strategy to get there, develop leaders and deliver on all of the awesome potential that exists here at the brewery.

“For the next phase of Rhinegeist, we need to create a space for our leaders to build strategic direction, so that it is actually running itself and we’re not just dictating strategy, and then execution happens,” he continued. “That’s us still leading, but from afar, which is suboptimal.”

Bankovich joined Rhinegeist as CCO in October 2022, following a nine-year stint at Stone Brewing. While he carries the “interim” tag at the moment, the situation is more of a “living interview,” with Rhinegeist planning to explore outside options for CEO, but no intention to “definitely” find someone new, Goulding said.

“We’ll know when we know and then react accordingly,” he added.

Rhingheist is handling the CEO transition “a bit differently” than last time, “recognizing that what we want as a CEO is someone who is open and curious and empathetic and really human oriented,” Goulding said. Bankovich is someone who embodies “that spirit,” he added.

Employees were made aware of the transition on Monday, April 24, via email. Video interviews with different departments and leadership were held the following two days to share questions, department challenges and more, Goulding said.

Goulding and Bonder founded Rhinegeist with the intent to stay away from the “styrofoam-tasting speak” and culture of the corporate world. That goal led to the creation of “geistiness,” a word to describe the Rhinegeist spirit of embracing individuality, ambition and creativity. As craft beer tackles a particularly challenging time as a segment, Rhinegeist is looking into how it can evolve and grow its business, while still maintaining that culture.

“There is a geistiness that will always be a part of this place, and then there’s a mature stance on how do we really give our people a framework to excel so that we keep the culture of excellence,” Goulding said. “Because geistiness is cute, but excellence is what has brought us here, and what will get us there. And better defining there, and how we invest and resource in getting there, is what I’m excited about.”

Rhinegeist was the No. 23 largest Brewers Associationdefined craft brewery by volume in 2022, jumping five spots after ranking No. 28 in 2021. The brewery produced 103,561 barrels of beer in 2021 – the most recent production year available from the BA – increasing production +6% year-over-year.

Listen to the full interview with Goulding and Bankovich on the Brewbound Podcast. The episode is available on Brewbound.com and on popular podcast platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify.

Beverage Veteran Kevin Asato Tapped to Lead National Black Brewers Association

The National Black Brewers Association (NB2A) announced its launch in May as the Brewers Association’s (BA) annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) kicked off in Nashville, Tennessee.

NB2A is a “first-of-its-kind non-profit organization” that aims to promote the Black brewing community; increase Black participation at all levels of brewery employment, “especially ownership and brewmasters;” develop and advocate for policies to bolster the community; and provide “historical context and legacy surrounding African American influence on brewing in the U.S.,” according to a press release.

The organization has tapped beverage industry veteran Kevin Asato as its first executive director. Asato’s career includes stints at PepsiCo, the former Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Bacardi and Republic National Distributing Company.

Asato made his first public appearance in the role in Nashville during Brewbound’s Brew Talks meetup.

“We want to be the most trusted and respected and impactful organization for Black brewers of America,” he said at Brew Talks. “We’re going to highlight the history and understanding of Black brewers, and from that history our mission is going to be driven towards, quite frankly, addressing the fact that only 1% of ownership is in the Black and African American communities, so we’re going to look to right that and increase that and be a little bit more rep of the demographics of the U.S.”

The NB2A’s inaugural year officers, as appointed by its board of directors, include:

• President Kevin Johnson, Oak Park Brewing;

• First vice president Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery;

• Second vice president Dr. J. Jackson-Beckham, Crafted for All;

• Treasurer Marcus Baskerville, Weathered Souls Brewing;

• Secretary Celeste Beatty, Harlem Brewing.

In addition to the aforementioned officers, the NB2A board of directors includes:

• Clarence Boston, Hippin’ Hops Brewing, Atlanta;

• Alisa Bowens-Mercado, Rhythm Brewing, New Haven, Connecticut;

• Denise Ford-Sawadogo, Montclair Brewing, Montclair, New Jersey;

• Rodney Hines, Métier Brewing, Seattle;

• Aaron Hosé, filmmaker;

• Teo Hunter, Crowns & Hops Brewing, Inglewood, California;

• Khris Johnson, Green Bench Brewing, St. Petersburg, Florida;

• Jon Renthrope, Cajun Fire Brewing, New Orleans;

• Dennis Malcolm Byron, Ale Sharpton beer media and content, Atlanta. Asato was joined on the Brew Talks stage by Beatty and Harris. The full discussion is available to watch on Brewbound.com.

POWDERS

Turtle Power! GHOST has teamed up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to launch its latest limited-edition flavors, Ooze and Shredder. The former is available in the brand’s PreWorkout, Pump, Gamer and Gamer Non-Stim products, while Shredder is available in the GHOST’s Thermogenic product. Paying homage to the turtles’ favorite food, the brand has also released a GHOST x TMNT Pizza Box that contains all four Ooze-flavored products (4 tubs total) for $174.99. For more information, visit ghostlifestyle.com.

Just in time for summer, GNC has added Iced Tea Lemonade to its Beyond Raw powder lineup. The LTO is available in both Beyond Raw LIT and Beyond Raw LIT AF pre-workout formats designed to help consumers increase endurance and fight fatigue. Iced Tea Lemonade joins the Beyond Raw line’s existing flavors, which include Fruit Punch, Gummy Worm, Icy Fireworks, Strawberry Lemonade and Raw Mango. The new offering is available in-store and online for $44.99 per 14.5 oz. tub. For more information, visit gnc.com.

CSDs

Prebiotic soda maker Poppi has announced the launch of its newest flavor, Grape. The nostalgic new offering provides a fresh twist on a childhood favorite with functional benefits and a hint of lemon “for a non-traditional flavor.” Each 12 oz. can has 25 calories and 5 grams of sugar. Poppi Grape is now available on Amazon for $28.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit drinkpoppi.com.

In anticipation of the UEFA Champions League Final, Pepsi has rolled out limited edition cans featuring star players like Lionel Messi, Leah Williamson and Vini Jr. According to the brand, the cans were “designed as a canvas to capture the human emotion and energy that lives in football lovers everywhere.” As Pepsi is an official partner of the UEFA Champions League and Women’s UEFA Champions League, fans will be able to pick up the limited edition cans in countries across the world, including the U.K. For more information, visit pepsi.com.

SPIRITS

Paying homage to the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s favorite snack, Elvis Whiskey has released ‘Midnight Snack,’ a peanut butter, bacon and banana-flavored expression. The new whiskey joins the brand’s flagship offerings, Elvis ‘Tiger Man’ Tennessee Straight Whiskey and Elvis ‘The King’ Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey. Bottled at 70 proof, ‘Midnight Snack’ is available at retailers nationwide for $34.99 per 750ml bottle. For more information, visit elviswhiskey.com.

Lux Row has announced the launch of its Blood Oath Pact 9 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The LTO combines a 16-year-old ryed bourbon, a 12-year-old ryed bourbon and a 7-year-old ryed bourbon finished in oloroso sherry casks from the Sherry Triangle region in southwest Spain. Bottled at 98.6 proof, Lux Row Blood Oath Pact 9 Kentucky Straight Bourbon is available for a SRP of $129.99 per 750ml bottle. For more information, visit luxrowdistillers.com.

RTD COCKTAILS

NightOwl splashed into the red hot espresso martini category with its two debut products: Vodka Espresso Martini and Tequila Espresso Martini. Canned at 12.5% ABV, both styles are offered in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans for a suggested retail price of $19.99. NightOwl’s espresso martinis are currently available in 38 states via its direct-to-consumer website. The brand also plans to self-distribute across New York and Florida via alignment with Park Street. For more information, visit drinknightowl.com.

OTR Premium Cocktails has unveiled the first Midori Sour offered in a RTD format, the brand claims. The limited edition cocktail features midori melon liqueur infused with Japanese melons, vodka and notes of lemon and lime. Bottled at 20% ABV, the OTR Midori Sour is available in 375ml and 200ml formats in select markets nationwide. For more information, visit otrcocktails.com.

Grey Goose is capitalizing on the nationwide martini resurgence with the launch of a readyto-pour Classic Martini Cocktail. The new offering – crafted with Grey Goose vodka, dry

French vermouth and orange bitters – is available in two formats. The first (375 ml) serves four to five martinis while the second (750ml) serves eight to ten. The bottles retail for $16.99 and $27.99, respectively. For more information, visit greygoose.com.

ALT DAIRY

So Delicious Dairy Free has splashed into the evergrowing oat milk category with the release of its Organic Oatmilk in Original and Extra Creamy flavors. The new offering joins the dairy-free brand’s other beverage offerings including coconut milk, wondermilk and coconut milk creamer. So Delicious Organic Oatmilk is now available at retailers nationwide for a SRP of $5.99 per 59 oz. carton. For more information, visit sodeliciousdairyfree.com.

Nutpods has launched its first sweetened oat creamer, Oat Brown Sugar. According to the brand, the new variety was the “perfect flavor to expand oat into our zero-sugar sweetened line.” The brand’s existing lineup of oat products includes Unsweetened French Vanilla Oat Creamer, Unsweetened Cinnamon Swirl Oat Creamer, Original Barista Oatmilk and Cinammon Dolce Barista Oatmilk. Nutpods Oat Brown Sugar Creamer is available on the brand’s website as well as Amazon for $14.95 per 3-pack of 11.2 oz. cartons. For more information, visit nutpods.com.

CANNABIS

Portland, Oregon-based CBD beverage maker Aprch announced the release of its newest limited edition flavor, Huckleberry. According to the brand, the new variety was inspired by the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and features tasting notes of freshly picked wild mountain huckleberry and vanilla. Each 12 oz. can contains 25mg of broad-spectrum hemp extract as well as Vitamin C and L-theanine. Aprch Huckleberry is available for purchase via the brand’s website for $35.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit drinkaprch.com.

Aptly timed for 4/20, ayrloom launched a THCinfused lemonade in New York dispensaries. Each 12 oz. can contains a 1:1 ratio of 5 mg of THC and 5 mg of CBD and the drinks retail for $16 per 4-pack. Lemonade joins ayrloom’s existing lineup of Pink Grapefruit, Pineapple Mango and Black Cherry flavors. For more information visit ayrloom.com/.

Cannabis-infused soda brand CommCan has launched SIP Terp Tonic into Massachusetts dispensaries. Available in a single SKU, Pacifier x Ap-

ple Juice, the soda aims to highlight and celebrate the flavors of cannabis rather than mask them. Made with nano-emulsified THC, the drinks rolled out this week in time for 4/20. For more information visit commcan.com/.

COFFEE

Portland, Oregon-based small batch coffee company Water Avenue Coffee has introduced an RTD organic cold brew coffee line, ZigZag. The drinks are available in Original and Nitro varieties in 12 oz. slim cans, as well as 5 gallon kegs. ZigZag can also be purchased in concentrate form for wholesale. For more information visit https://wateravecoffee.com/.

BLK & BOLD unveiled its newest specialty offering, Nitro Sweet Cold Brew. The new variety joins the brand’s existing lineup including Unsweet Cold Brew, Sweet Cold Brew and Nitro Caramel Cold Brew. BLK & BOLD Nitro Sweet Cold Brew will be available at 247 Target stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $3.29 per TK can and $10.99 per 4-pack. For more information, visit blkandbold.com.

Starbucks Coffee shared the latest additions to its long-running RTD partnership with Pepsi, which includes two non-coffee and non-caffeinated drinks from the cafe menu: Pink and Paradise. Other new drops include mini-sized Frappuccinos, Double Shot Caramel and a pair of Iced Americanos in multi-serve bottles. For more details, athome.starbucks.com.

JUICE

Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company has expanded its lineup of juice blends with two new additions, Fresh Pressed Tomato Reishi and Tangerine Pineapple Aloe Juice. The former combines tomato juice, Himalayan salt, black pepper juice and Reishi mushroom to support the immune system and reduce stress. The latter features oranges, tangerines, pineapples, aloe vera and sweet basil. Both juices are available at select Publix stores and via the brand’s website. For more information, visit orchidislandjuice.com.

Minute Maid added Pineapple Horchata 52 oz. multi-serve bottle to its Latin American-inspired Aguas Frescas line. The new offering features a “twist on the traditional sweet and creamy flavor of horchata with a touch of tangy pineapple flavor,” according to the brand. The Aguas Frescas line also features 16 oz. cans available in three flavors: Hibiscus, Mango and Strawberry. For more information, visit minutemaid.com.

Channel Check

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY SPORTS DRINKS

PRIME time? It looks that way — the sports drink powered by a partnership with Logan Paul has had a massive first year, shooting up to close to $275 million in sales with more to come as it continues to plow into conventional channels, particularly convenience. Electrolit has taken a much longer path but is cruising in the fourth place spot, up 29% over the past year from a solid base and leading a pack of other mega-strength functionals like Biolyte, Pedialyte and Hoist. Meanwhile, if powder brand Liquid IV was a liquid, its sales would be the same as PRIME’s. At $275 million, it’s far and away the powdered sports drink mix leader.

SPORTS DRINKS

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME

REFRIG RTD TEA

RTD COFFEE

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 04-23-23

FLAVORED CONVENIENCE/BOTTLED STILL WATER

NONFLAVORED CONVENIENCE/BOTTLED STILL WATER

CRAFT BEER

PREMIXED COCKTAILS

2023 Summer Fancy Food Show Returns to The Big Apple

The Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show, the largest U.S. show devoted exclusively to specialty foods and beverages, is set to return to The Big Apple in June.

The 2023 edition of the show will take place in person on June 25-27 at the Javits Center in New York City and will feature a variety of educational seminars and exhibit halls. Highlights of the Summer Fancy Food program include:

• Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis will deliver a keynote address discussing the emerging trends in the food space that are propelling her businesses, including restaurants, catering, direct-to-consumer Italian food and lifestyle website Giadzy.

• SFA’s panel on the rise of specialty in alternate channels, where attendees will hear from buyers and decision makers who are redefining how food is selected, merchandised and sold.

• Ori Zohar, co-founder and CEO of social enterprise Burlap & Barrel, will present Perfect Pairings: Synch Your DTC and Grocery Strategies. During the session, he will cover the best uses and practices for each channel and way to build your direct-to-consumer following through product offerings and programs.

The show will also feature a startup pavilion, state and international pavilions, what’s new and what’s hot showcases, end-of-show food rescue and donation, and more. Additionally, scheduling will include ample time for networking and peer feedback from exhibitors and attendees.

‘ALL BANGED UP ’

By Brad Avery

In May 2019, around the height of Bang Energy’s rocketship rise towards becoming a billion dollar brand and the number three player in the energy drink category, Jack Owoc, the bombastic founder and CEO of Bang parent company Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) agreed to an email interview with BevNET to discuss the rapid growth and its ongoing legal battles with its chief rival, Monster Energy.

At the time, Owoc wrote that Bang had surpassed then-independent competitor Rockstar Energy in sales, achieved its first $5 million sales day, and opened a 250,000 square foot warehouse with seven canning lines, capable of producing 2,000 cans per minute. The company certainly had every reason to invest in expansion: In the 52-week period ending June 15, 2019, per NielsenIQ, retail dollar sales of Bang grew 724.7%, while its top competitors were facing muted

growth or declines. Within the fitness and performance energy niche, the brand’s only serious competition was Monster’s newly launched Reign, which had ignited a fresh set of lawsuits between the companies over alleged trade dress infringement (which Monster ultimately won).

took over Bang’s position as Pepsi’s exclusive energy drink distribution partner last year. Bang’s dollar sales performance was matched by its volume, which fell -61.4% in the two-week period. Extended to 52-weeks, Bang’s dollar sales were down -33.5% for the full year with volume at -35.7%.

As of this writing, Owoc is no longer with the company he founded and VPX is set to go up for auction – originally scheduled for April, it was pushed back to this summer. As the company’s struggles have been met with intrigue, opportunism and occasional schadenfreude, understanding how the billion dollar brand fell apart is just as important as knowing what will happen next.

How Did We Get Here?

VPX was a 25-year long overnight success. Founded in 1993, Owoc had been a high school science teacher prior to starting the business and through its first two decades VPX mounted several launches into the sports nutrition and ready-to-drink beverage segments, including shake line Protein Rush and Redline, an energy drink line that amped up the category’s caffeine content by offering 250 mg per 8 oz. can. Redline had maintained sales throughout the 2000s despite its own trademark battle with Red Bull, which VPX won, and controversies over health risks, but the brand never rose to the level of the category leaders Owoc sought to supplant.

As the sole owner, CEO, chief science officer and chairman of VPX, Owoc had made himself the face of the Bang brand, presenting himself as a larger than life personality through a series of online posts ranging from him playing the drums to offering motivational quotes. Owoc also, as he was wont to do, frequently made grand proclamations about the looming demise of Monster both in the market and in the courtroom, positioning himself as the man responsible for revolutionizing the energy drink industry. In both interviews and in public statements he took regular aim at the company and its CEO, whom he had dubbed “Rotten Rodney” Sacks.

“Bang #1!” Owoc declared in a social media post that summer. “Monster, all Banged up, takes another Bang beat down into negative obscurity and irrelevance!”

But even a year later, the cracks in Owoc’s energy empire were beginning to show as an exclusive distribution deal with PepsiCo, signed in April 2020, turned sour, and a wave of insurgent performance energy brands – bolstered by Bang’s success – presented themselves as worthy competition who were ready to serve as level-headed alternatives to Bang’s over-thetop reputation.

By October 2022 the company had fi led for bankruptcy, owing more than $478 million in combined damages to Monster after multiple legal defeats.

According to NielsenIQ, in the two week period ending May 6, 2023, retail dollar sales of Bang fell -58.8%, and the brand has lost its long-held third place spot in the energy category, falling to fift h behind PepsiCo and fellow Florida brand Celsius, which

The company introduced Bang in 2012, presenting its new caffeine-packed beverage (a whopping 300 mg per 16 oz.) as a better-for-you alternative to mainstream energy drinks with zero sugar and added ingredients to support fitness and muscle growth. Offering consumers functional benefits with BCAAs and other performance supporting additives, Bang’s star ingredient was “Super Creatine,” a proprietary supplement developed by Owoc that claimed to be a more effective and watersoluble version of creatine – a notoriously difficult ingredient for beverage due to its bulkiness and tendency to separate. VPX built out a national DSD network for its beverage portfolio, including numerous Anheuser-Busch InBev and other beer houses, hired numerous energy category veterans, and by 2018 Bang had hit its hot streak, eventually breaking over $1 billion in annual retail sales.

In March 2020, PepsiCo cleared the way to bring Bang on board its blue truck fleet by purchasing Rockstar Energy for $3.85 billion, thereby removing an exclusive distribution agreement it had with the Las Vegas-based brand. The next month, the conglomerate announced a new exclusive agreement with Bang set to last through October 2023, but by October 2020 the collaboration was already deteriorating. Bang had experienced a reversal of its triple-digit growth streak, facing declines under their new partnership, and Owoc wanted out ASAP.

Transitioning distribution networks will invariably create disruptions, and Bang was making the move from indie DSD to Pepsi’s system amid the early days of the pandemic, when retail foot traffic – in particular convenience stores – had dried up under lockdowns. However, Owoc insisted loudly and repeatedly that Pepsi was failing to properly service the brand, claiming that Bang’s retail coolers were being misappropriated for other Pepsi products, among other issues. That fall, Bang is-

sued a press release calling for an immediate dissolution of the agreement, sending the two companies to court barely six months after the partnership began. After a judge found in favor of Pepsi, Bang remained in the network – with scanner data regularly showing sales in decline or at best achieving muted growth – until the summer of 2022, when VPX was able to negotiate an early end to the contract.

While the breakup fee was not disclosed, bankruptcy documents fi led last year listed PepsiCo as VPX’s third largest creditor, owed $115 million.

As Owoc worked to rebuild and reactivate Bang’s old DSD network – a difficult task given the number of new performance energy brands that had taken its place on trucks in the two years since it joined with Pepsi – the restructuring was sandwiched between two devastating legal losses to Monster. The first was a breach of contract and trademark infringement lawsuit involving a small family-owned beverage brand called Orange Bang, which had partnered with Monster to go after their shared legal target. Orange Bang claimed that VPX violated an agreement between the companies that allowed it to use the Bang name on products containing creatine by releasing products without the ingredient. VPX was ordered to pay $175 million, an additional $10 million in attorney fees, and a permanent 5% royalty fee on every can of Bang sold thereafter.

The second blow came in September when a jury found VPX had violated the Lanham Act by falsely marketing its Super Creatine ingredient as efficacious and that Bang drinks barely contained any creatine at all. The trial, which included a two-day witness testimony from Owoc where his combative statements were repeatedly stricken from the record, concluded with an order for VPX to pay Monster $293 million in damages from lost sales.

One month later, Bang fi led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but by then the damage to Bang’s reputation was done and several retailers quietly dropped the brand from their stores following the verdict.

As the original April date for the auction of VPX’s assets neared, it was announced abruptly in March that Owoc was no longer with the company he had

founded 30 years prior. While he remains the company’s sole shareholder, Owoc called his exit an “ousting,” telling beverage industry consultant and YouTuber Joshua Schall in May that his firing constituted a hostile takeover.

Owoc was also ordered by a judge to delete disparaging social media posts railing against Monster, VPX’s bankruptcy consulting firm and the Florida bankruptcy courts, among others.

Although VPX said in November it would redesign its cans to remove the offending “Super Creatine” name from its products, a judge found in April that the company had continued to produce more cans with the same label, leading to an order on April 12 for all infringing cans to be pulled from stores within 60 days.

Even before the order to pull cans, Bang had been suffering severe out-of-stocks and delistings. Goldman Sachs Equity Research, in its quarterly Beverage Bytes survey, noted that in Q1 36% percent of the retailers it polled had experienced “significant” out-of-stocks for Bang – the highest in the energy drink category – and another 29% reported “some” out-of-stocks. That uneven reliability has led to concerns for at least some of the retailers who carry the brand; one told Goldman that Bang had gone from three shelves to one at its stores. About 29% of survey respondents said they expect to allocate no shelf or cooler space to the brand at all, while another 50% anticipate reducing their facings. Just 7% said they’re likely to give Bang more

space in the coming months, compared to rising competitors like C4 (73%) and Celsius (60%) whom a vast majority of retailers plan to expand.

As of April, convenience retailers projected a -19% annual sales slide for the brand this year, faring even worse than their October 2022 expectations of a -15% decline and directly inverse to their positive 19% growth expectations for the overall category.

Where Do We Go From Here?

As of this writing, an auction hearing was scheduled for May 25 and a sale hearing planned for June 7. Ahead of the hearings, Monster has been suggested as a strong candidate to buy up the remains of Bang. In April, investment banking firm Stifel sent a research note to clients making a case for Monster as the best positioned buyer of its old nemesis – although the firm admitted it had no inside knowledge of the discussions and the analysis was purely speculative.

“We view Monster as best-positioned to acquire Bang given it is the largest creditor in bankruptcy and co-rights holder to a 5% perpetual royalty/license for use of the Bang beverage trademark," Stifel wrote. "Relatedly, Monster is challenging Bang's ability to transfer the Bang trademark license to an acquirer, which, if successful, would give Monster near total control over Bang's future.”

Schall noted in a May video that VPX also owns a West Coast manufacturing facility in Arizona, which could be of value to Monster or any other prospective buyer, assuming it isn’t sold off prior to the auction.

“Bang Energy had Q1 net revenues of $72.8 million,” Schall said in the video. “That should give you a strong picture of how far and how fast Bang Energy has fallen from a brand that reported $1.4 billion in retail sales in 2021.”

Indeed, there’s the question of whether any other company would want or need Bang. While there’s arguments to be made for a number of prospective

buyers, including private equity, Bang’s considerable debt, Monster’s royalty claims, and the need to turn around steep declines would all complicate an acquisition. As well, most beverage strategics have already made bets in the energy category – and at least a couple have previously passed Bang over for smaller brands.

In August 2022, prior to the false advertising case verdict, talks between VPX and Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) about a possible acquisition quickly fell apart after a potential deal was reported by business media. In December, KDP entered a strategic partnership with C4 parent company Nutrabolt, and the conglomerate also has a stake in smaller performance energy player A-Shoc.

Besides the sour relationship with Pepsi, the conglomerate already owns Rockstar and MTN Dew and last year it made a $550 million investment into Celsius as it signed a new exclusive distribution agreement with the fastgrowing fitness energy brand – not to mention its existing partnership with

ENERGY DRINKS

ENERGY SHOTS

Starbucks. As well, Coke is aligned with Monster, AB InBev is matched with Ghost, and Molson Coors has ZOA. Even Red Bull, which has always remained staunchly independent, entered a strategic partnership with KDP last year to service its Mexican business.

If Bang’s rise and fall reshuffled the deck for the energy drink category, it’s already created an environment where the major buyers are all spoken for – a shift that represents a serious long term challenge for new startup brands looking to break in today.

Nevertheless, Bang’s impact on the industry has led to a wave of better-foryou energy innovation and, perhaps unexpectedly given its own proclivity towards sex-driven advertising, a marketing tone shift that has broken away from the gendered, macho-minded ad campaigns that defined the space for years. While Bang may be rapidly losing market share, it can’t be denied that its focus on sports nutrition and functionality opened the door for this new generation of brands to build on.

In an email to BevNET, Howard Telford, head of soft drinks at Euromonitor International, said the rise of brands like Celsius, Alani Nu and Ghost suggests the energy drink category is “(finally) growing up.” The need-state for energy, he said, has segmented, with performance and pre-workout, “gamer fuel,” wellness, hydration and refreshment all becoming more important to consumers and each requiring unique ingredients and sources of caffeine.

“Consequently the marketing approach and positioning of these brands has evolved and become more inclusive – this is no longer a one size fits all category geared to young male consumers,” Telford wrote.

Telford compared the demographic shift of the category to the way hard seltzer and other RTD alcoholic beverages have attracted consumers through a focus on lower calorie counts and new flavors. In energy, flavor innovations such as tropical fruit and candy – another trend where Bang was out in front – have been a big growth driver for in-

surgent brands. The trend has even led established players to seek out ways to grow their own bases: Monster this year launched Reign Storm, a subline intended to speak more to female consumers than the core Monster brand.

While brands experiencing sudden success and sudden collapse is not unusual, Bang and its founder’s grandiose personality have made this story anything but ordinary. In the event VPX is acquired and its new owner opts to keep the brand going, then it will be contending with a Balkanized shelf set and fighting to regain the trust of loyal consumers who believed in the Super Creatine difference. More so, the Bang identity was, for better or worse, inextricably tied to Jack Owoc, and without him it’s hard to imagine the voice of the brand remaining the same.

But whether Bang can be saved or if it eventually fades away, it’s become perfectly clear that no matter what happens, its impact on the industry has been made, and will continue to be felt for years to come.

GORGIE has launched three bright, bold and vibrant new flavors this summer: Paradise Punch, Mango Tango and Citrus Burst. The brand also has several major retailers launching this summer: Sprouts, Erewhon, Albertsons Southern and United Supermarkets.

At the end of April, Bucked Up expanded its energy drink lineup introducing LFG Burn, a breakthrough fat-burning performance energy drink modeled after the brand’s LFG Burn pre-workout. The new LFG Burn line is specifically designed to not only deliver long-lasting energy, laser-sharp focus, endurance and stamina, but also a fat-burning boost just like its pre-workout namesake.

UP TO GOOD Energy has launched in Whole Foods Market in the Southeast division. The line of mindfully caffeinated sparkling CSDs is crafted from upcycled Cascara (also known as coffee fruit)the fleshy fruit surrounding the coffee bean. They come in three flavors: Cascara Mint, Lemon Ginger and Hibiscus Berry. Each drink is plant-based, glutenfree, non-GMO, contains no added sugars, and is low in calories with only 5g of naturally occurring fruit sugar.

BAWLS Guarana is now offering its highly caffeinated premium soda as a multipack option at retail. The new BAWLS Guarana multi-pack is available in 3 flavors including BAWLS Guarana Original, Cherry, and Root Beer. All multipacks include the signature 10oz. glass iconic bumpy bottle.

After an incredible year in 2022, with over $100 million dollars in sales and +138% growth versus 2021, ZOA Energy has launched a new visual identity, new flavors and a new campaign: "Fuel Something Bigger." The new can identity features vibrant colors on the outside, and an enhanced formula inside, increasing the amount of both natural caffeine and Vitamin C by 33% per ounce. Each 12 oz serving features 160mg of natural caffeine and 90mg of Vitamin C (100% DV).

Clutch Energy Drink’s newest distributor partner, C & M Sales of Little Rock, expands its footprint across the entire state of Arkansas. Additionally, the brand has formulated its newest, most unique flavor, Huckleberry Rush. The new variety is a combination of both sweet & tart with no aftertaste targeting the western states as a core market.

The latest launch in CELSIUS’ Vibe line is Oasis, a sparkling prickly pear lime flavor containing 200 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. can. The Florida-based energy drink brand celebrated the launch last week with activations at the Coachella music festival.

Chasing Rabbits Vitality Tea, a line of teas formulated with a blend of yerba mate and black tea extracts with naturally occurring caffeine, is available at a growing list of Northern California retailers and online direct-to-consumers (D2C). The drinks are available in two flavors: Tropical Citrus and Raspberry Mist.

Alani Nu is getting into the summer spirit with its latest flavor innovation, Kiwi Guava. Like the rest of the brand’s energy drink varieties, each 12 oz. can packs 200mg of caffeine and has a “dash” of vitamins B6 and B12. Alani Nu Kiwi Guava is available on the brand’s site for $29.99 per 12-pack.

Nutrabolt announced the rebrand of its C4 Smart Energy line, a lineup of energy drinks formulated to “sharpen mental focus and elevate alertness.” Available in six new flavors – Strawberry Guava, Peach Mango, Cherry Berry Lime, Blood Orange Yuzu, Watermelon Burst and Tropical Passionfruit – the updated drink formula features InnovaBean, a plant-based green coffee bean caffeine source, and Cognizin, a patented form of citicoline designed to support focus and attention.

GURU has expanded its lineup of organic energy drinks with its latest innovation, Theanine Fruit Punch. The new beverage is crafted with organic green tea caffeine, organic monk fruit juice,

cherry, strawberry and yuzu and stevia extract. Each 355ml oz. can packs 100mg of caffeine and has 100mg of L-theanine. GURU Theanine Fruit Punch is available on the brand’s site for $62.99 per 24-pack.

Monster spinoff brand Reign has unveiled its new Reign Storm ZERO sugar line with just 10 calories, 200mg of plant-based caffeine, plus B vitamins, Biotin and an immunity support blend containing Zinc, Vitamin A and C. The line extension is available nationwide in four refreshing flavors: Valencia Orange, Kiwi Blend, Peach Nectarine and Harvest Grape. Take your world by Storm!

A-Shoc Accelerator is launching four new 12 oz. flavors in 2023. The same great formula with new great-tasting flavors Rocket Pop, Berry Lemonade, Peach Paradise and Starberry. Featuring zero sugar, sustained energy from 150 mg of natural caffeine, plant-based thermogenic blend of Capsaicin, ECGC and Ashwagandha to accelerate your metabolism and COQ10 to increase your mental focus, Accelerator’s proprietary formula is specifically developed to enable peak performance for the modern athlete.

Odyssey Wellness LLC , a manufacturer of a leading sparkling mushroom energy beverage brand, announced they are now available in over 800 Publix Supermarkets across the southeastern region of the US. The bubbly drinks are rich in nootropics and adaptogens specifically formulated to keep your mind clear, sharp, and feeling good all day long. Available in Passion Orange Guava. Blackberry Lemon Twist, Dragon Fruit Lemonade and Orange Ginger, these elixirs also double as a great warm-weather mocktail.

Exponent has partnered with beverage incubator L.A. Libations to catapult its product into the market. Available in three flavors – Blue Nova, SectorC and Eclipse – the energy drink is a scientifically balanced confluence

of healthy ingredients from multiple proven functional product categories. A fusion that boosts productivity, aids recovery, improves mood and powers ambition. For modern day visionaries and relentless overachievers driven to make a difference.

As temperatures increase and summer plans begin to take shape, Red Bull is encouraging people to ‘reach new heights this summer’ with the introduction of its newest Red Bull Edition series flavor, Red Bull Summer Edition Juneberry. The limited-time offering, which has tasting notes of juneberry, red grape, cherry, and red berries with a slight floral fi nish, will be available at Walmart and select SONIC Drive-In locations on April 3 and then nationwide on May 1, just in time for the summer season.

Kiwi Strawberry, Monster Energy’s newest addition to its signature Monster Reserve line, is sure to please with its delicious citrus and fruity blend of flavor. Monster Reserve Kiwi Strawberry packs a flavorful punch with 160 mg of caffeine but has a smooth and delicious blend of citrus and fruit flavors.

Just in time for summer, Rockstar Energy has unveiled its newest limited edition flavor, Pure Zero Pineapple Mango. Each 16 oz. can packs 240mg of caffeine and has just 20 calories. Rockstar Energy Zero Pineapple Mango will be available exclusively at Maverik convenience stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Taking inspiration from a classic summertime treat, A SHOC has launched its new Accelerator Rocket Pop flavor. The new offering brings the summertime fi reworks with its explosive cherry, blue raspberry and lime flavors. Each 12 oz. can contains 150mg of caffeine and has just 10 calories. A SHOC Accelerator Rocket Pop is available via Amazon for $23.88 per 12-pack.

Raising

As a singular product, protein drinks are simple — when the key ingredient is in the name, you kind of know what to expect. But protein drink brands? That’s a whole other story.

By:

While established names like Muscle Milk, CORE Power and Premier Protein continue to rack up sales pumping out the dairy-based whey protein drinks consumers have long been familiar with, others may find little room to grow in adhering so closely to a narrowly defined space. Following a path forged by energy drinks, where straightforward caffeineboosts have evolved into a dynamic category with its own specific functional brands, SKUs, and use occasions, protein’s profi le is changing from a musclebuilding ingredient to an essential part

Whether via new formats, innovations or sales channels, protein shakes are eager to add muscle.

Martín Caballero

the Bar

of overall health and nutrition, allowing brands to develop innovations outside of the category’s traditional borders. Those developments aren’t just changing the way consumers think about a “protein drink” brand — they’re influencing decisions around everything from product format to audience building to retail positioning and top-line growth strategy.

Formats Flex

If any brand has been particularly aware of changing sensitivities and preferences within the protein category, it’s OWYN (Only What You Need). The company has made plant-based ingredients a founding principle that has remained consistent as it has grown, but greater flexibility in both format and payload are opening up new

avenues – and, apparently, instilling further confidence in leadership.

“My 2023 prediction is that this will be Evolve’s last year and Nestle will quickly realize that Orgain will never be successful with RTDs,” wrote OWYN CEO Mark Olivieri on LinkedIn in January. “The next billion dollar nutrition beverage brand has been found.”

Part of that enthusiasm is coming from OWYN’s success in moving from primarily single-serving 12 oz. bottles to multipacks; in his post, Olivier cited his brand’s velocities at nearly twice that of competitors Evolve and Orgain in 4-packs, which he called “the format that drives the majority of category unit share in FDM.” Since OWYN began offering its core shakes and extra-strength Pro Elite line (32 grams

of protein, down from 35 originally) in 4-packs of Tetra Pak aseptic cartons, the format has quickly emerged as a growth driver, amounting for nearly 80% of the total business, the CEO told Beverage Business Insights in April. Multi-packs have helped open up more shelf space at major retail partners like HEB, Walmart and Kroger; buoyed by the warm reception for 4-packs, the brand has moved up into 12-packs at the latter chain.

Where does this leave the likes of Coke and Pepsi? For the latter, it’s a mixed bag: while Muscle Milk continues to be one of the most popular and widely recognized brands in the whey protein space, the other brand it acquired from Hormel Foods – plant-based Evolve (20 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber per 11 oz Tetra

Pak) – has struggled to gain meaningful traction despite overhauling branding and formulation in 2021. It introduced another round of “new and improved” formulations this spring.

Powering Forward

As protein becomes just one more element (rather than the central hub) of the greater conversation around sports nutrition drinks, those drinks may in turn become just one plank in a larger brand platform. It’s not that consumers don’t want protein anymore, but it may not be quite enough to exclusively support a brand with bigger ambitions within the ever-changing world of fitness, health and wellness.

For meal replacement brands, product diversification is also one way of trying to circumvent one of the biggest advantages of the larger companies: their strong connections with the hospitals and health care providers that are among their biggest customers. The likes of Ensure, owned by baby formula maker Abbott, and Boost have long been a part of doctors’ nutrition plans for patients with special needs or medical conditions (both are approved for intravenous feeding), making them difficult for new disruptive brands to dislodge. There have been some success stories: see Kate Farms, which has a presence in stores and in health care. But even when touting superior macros and ingredients, ambitious upstarts targeting the space like Perennial and Choose Health – which is backed by Honest Tea co-founder Barr Nalebuff and celebrity nutritionist Dr. David Perlmutter – have stalled or failed outright.

to play in non-protein categories, the first being this summer’s launch of pre-workout energy drinks in 12 oz cans before the meal replacement drinks are later reintroduced in a more focused capacity.

Indeed, energy seems to be exerting the most pull on brands in the protein space at the moment. Though it already has a cold brew coffee SKU in its core line, OWYN is exploring the potential for a more energycentric product with Double Shot, first teased at the company’s booth at Natural Products Expo West 2023 in March. The coffee shake features the same nutrition profile (20 grams of protein, 5 net carbs per serving) but with a stronger caffeine payload of 180mg. Further afield, even protein-adjacent brands are feeling the need to diversify: see Super Coffee, leaning further into caffeine and less into protein with its new line of energy drinks. Refrigerated player Koia has similarly leveraged its clean-ingredient, plant-based credentials to move into coffee and other functional categories.

For those players who have less impetus to radically change their current product range, there is still plenty of manufacturing muscle to keep building. In response to high demand for RTD products, the Swiss food giant Nestle (maker of Boost) committed to investing $43 million to boost capacity at the Eau Claire, Wisconsin production facility where it makes Tetra Pak-packaged shakes. Elsewhere, BellRing Brands’ Premier Protein is believed to have contracted with SunOpta in Texas for more production capacity for its RTD shakes, which grew dollar sales over 10% across channels in the past year, with the exception of ecommerce. And in New York, Coca-Cola is backing billion-dollar dairy brand Fairlife – producers of dairy-based CORE Power protein shakes and Nutrition Plan meal replacement drinks – to the tune of a new $650 million, 745,000 square-foot facility in the Town of Webster that is expected to go online in late 2025.

and Ensure drinkers, then followed

Avoiding that risk is part of the plan for Don’t Quit!, the Keurig Dr Pepper-distributed nutrition beverage platform backed by celebrity trainer Jake Steinfeld and accelerator L.A. Libations. The company started in 2020 by targeting a single product — its two-SKU line of meal replacement beverages in Tetra Paks — towards Boost and Ensure drinkers, then followed that up with Max Protein (33 grams of protein) in 12 oz bottles in 2021. After merging with with sportsenergy drink maker X2 in March and revamping the executive leadership team working under new CEO Mark French, the company is being restaged as a “complete clean sports nutrition brand” able

New look, same OWYN Complete Nutrition! OWYN recently changed its Complete Nutrition Shake packaging to better represent the value that the product is delivering to customers and to help the product stand out amongst its 20g and 32g Protein Shakes on retail shelves. As always, OWYN delivers on its promise of providing products that are Top 8 Allergen Free, 100% Gluten Free, 100% Plant Based and Non-GMO. The new look will roll out in Q4 2023. Additionally, OWYN has announced the launch of its Double Shot Coffee Shake line. Available in three flavors – Caramel Macchiato, Mocha and Latte – the shake packs 20 grams of plant-based protein and contains 180mg of caffeine and will launch in Sprouts and on e-commerce this summer.

Ladder, the sports nutrition company founded by LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced that its products, including Whey Protein and Plant Protein, are available for the first time in retail stores via an exclusive partnership with The Vitamin Shoppe. Ladder products are now on shelves at over 690 locations of The Vitamin Shoppe and on vitaminshoppe.com, as well as the company’s Super Supplements stores, across the country.

California-based plant-based beverage company Koia has transitioned to a vertically integrated production model with the acquisition of a production facility in Anaheim. Vertical integration will allow the brand to experiment more with innovation through the release of limited and seasonal flavors, or retailerexclusive products.

Orro, the nutritional plant-based RTD meal solution, teamed up with equity partner and actress Tabitha Brown to launch its newest flavor inspired by one of her favorite vegan recipes: Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Each 11.1 oz. bottle contains 16 grams of plant-based protein and 23 vitamins and minerals, and is free of gluten, lactose, soy and artificial sweeteners. Pineapple Upside Down Cake joins Orro’s existing flavor lineup

alongside Chocolate, Vanilla and Coffee. The new flavor is available via the brand’s website for $37.99 per 12-pack.

While it may not look entirely different, Orgain has announced some changes in its packaging. with some key improvements that make it easier for consumers to find their perfect protein, superfood, shakes, and more. That includes: updated nutritional labels with more measurements – including soluble and insoluble fiber, mono- and Polyunsaturated fats – and tubs, barrels, and bars that have gotten a little bit of a makeover to make them easier to spot on the shelf.

Premier Protein is bringing its beloved taste, affordable price point and easyto-understand nutrition credentials to the vegan protein space with its new Plant Protein Powder. Whether you’ve been plant-based for years or are just looking to try something new, Premier Protein Plant Protein Powder is offering consumers a creamy and delicious take on the brand’s beloved protein powder flavors, but with the flexibility to support plant-based preferences. With 25g of protein from pea and rice protein, the formula is perfect for shaking, baking and making all of your favorite plantbased protein creations.

Plant-based protein and superfood shake brand Pirq has landed its products on costco.com. Available in all four of the brand’s flavors – Golden Vanilla, Decadent Chocolate, Very Strawberry and Caramel Coffee – ship within 48 hours of purchase and consumers do not need to be a Costco member to order the shakes. Additionally, all Walmart stores throughout Florida now carry Pirq in 4-packs.

Vega has added two new nut butter varieties to its lineup of plant-based shake powders, Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Banana. Each scoop packs 20 grams of protein and features ingredients like peanuts and flax seeds. According to the brand, each serving has 85% less fat and 60% less calories than adding 2 tbsp of peanut butter to a shake.

MALTERNATIVES :

WHAT’S the ( HARD ) TEA?

By ZOE LICATA

In a time of uncertainty for beer, flavored malt beverages (FMBs) have found steady success and growth above nearly every other segment.

Nearly halfway through 2023, FMBs and non-alcoholic have been the only two beer segments to consistently record double-digit dollar sales growth in off-premise channels. FMBs increased dollar sales +20.6% year-to-date (YTD), accounting for 8.8% of category sales in NIQ-tracked channels (total U.S. xAOC + liquor plus + convenience) in the period (ending May 13), according to data shared by Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).

Hard Teas are driving the growth within FMBs; the subcategory increased dollar sales +38.7% YTD, to nearly $385 million, now accounting for 2.3% share of total beer dollar sales in NIQ-tracked channels. Across all outlets (on- and off-premise), dollar sales for hard tea have improved +31% YTD versus 2022, maintaining that momentum in the last four weeks (+39% L4W), according to BWC.

With such significant growth above all other “beyond beer” and FMB segments, one would think there must be a few new hard tea brands hitting the market and driving growth through innovation. While this is somewhat true, the real king of hard tea has reigned for more than 20 years: Twisted Tea.

Boston Beer’s Twisted Tea accounts for 91% of hard tea sales in NIQ-tracked offpremise channels (through May 13), according to BWC. Through Q1 2023, Twisted Tea accounted for 27% of total FMB sales in off-premise channels, increasing dollar sales +34% year-over-year (YoY) in the quarter, according to Boston Beer’s Q1 earnings report. And while the brand is more heavily weighted in the off-premise channel, it still accounts for 50% of FMB volume and 82% of FMB volume growth in the on-premise, Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick shared during the company’s Q1 call with investors.

Boston Beer is “confident” that Twisted Tea will maintain double-digit growth through the rest of 2023, with plans to expand both package and on-premise distribution and increase the brand’s presence in undeveloped markets, according to Burwick. To stay fresh, the brand continues to innovate by providing a range of offerings that speak to consumer trends, such as fruit- and flavor-forward beverages, variety packs, and Twisted Tea Light, a lower-calorie option that Boston Beer is expanding nationally this year.

“We are answering pretty much all the consumers’ needs in the tea category for products that have any kind of volume,” Boston Beer founder and chairman Jim Koch told investors in April. “There are niche tea products, some of them that [have] higher prices, but they’re less than 1% share. I’m not seeing anything that I would consider meaningfully different or better than Twisted Tea.”

Fighting to Knock Twisted Off the Throne

Twisted Tea is two decades of consumer familiarity ahead of any hard tea entering the market today, suggesting competitors might be a “a bit late to come into a category that’s so owned by one product,” Koch said.

“[Twisted Tea’s] got 90-some percent of the category and the next product might have five,” Koch told investors. “I don’t see what would differentiate another tea to make significant inroads in Twisted Tea.”

But Twisted Tea’s dominance hasn’t shied anyone away from trying to get

their own piece of the pie (or slice of the lemon?). Several new hard tea competitors have entered the market in the past year, including offerings from large beverage brands, such as Lipton Hard Iced Tea from FIFCO USA and PepsiCo and Peace Hard Tea from Molson Coors and Coca-Cola. Even restaurant chains are getting in the mix, with the release of Bojangles Hard Sweet Tea, a 5% ABV FMB that’s a collaboration with the North Carolina-headquartered fast-food chain and Appalachian Mountain Brewery, a former Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned craft

hard tea flavors and packages – have increased from 161 in 2020 to 216 in 2023, according to BWC.

When excluding Twisted Tea, hard tea brands only account for 0.2% of beer dollar sales in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels. However, those brands are recording trends that are “just as strong, if not stronger” than Twisted Tea, according to BWC VP of analytics and insights Dave Williams. Hard tea brands other than Twisted Tea increased dollar sales +49.6% YTD in NIQ-tracked channels through May 13, to nearly $34 million. In the last 4 weeks, hard tea, excluding Twisted Tea, increased dollar sales 62.5% versus the same period in 2022, while the total segment increased dollar sales 39.4%.

“I can't think of another consumer category where the number one player has over 90% share,” said Kyle Cooke, co-founder and CEO of Loverboy, an independent hard tea company “Find another consumer category where there’s a true monopoly.

“That excites me,” Cooke said. “There's Twisted and then there's a blue ocean of opportunity for a better-for-you brand.”

brewery recently bought back by its original founders. The Bojangles spinoff is remaining under A-B’s ownership, with Appalachian’s new owners advising the brand.

Both beer and spirits brands are also trying their hand at hard tea, with craft breweries such as Cape May launching a new summer seasonal Hard Iced Tea and Deep Eddy Vodka launching Vodka + Tea Hard Seltzers (5% ABV) this summer.

The number of hard tea brands on the market has grown exponentially in the past three years, increasing from about 80 in 2020 to nearly 150 so far in 2023, a +80% increase over the period, according to BWC.

Year-to-date, hard tea brand counts increased +22% versus 2022.

SKU counts for hard tea –the number of

The closest other incidence would be hard cider, which has been dominated by national brands such as Boston Beer’s Angry Orchard for years. But in 2022, regional hard cider brands passed national brands, accounting for more than 50% of the segment’s dollar sales. If hard tea follows a similar pattern, regional hard tea brands could overtake Twisted Tea. But Angry Orchard also skidded ahead of the segment switch, recording significant declines before the rankings shook up. Twisted Tea continues to record growth.

Loverboy is up for the challenge. The New York-based company launched in 2018 as a better-for-you hard tea brand,

and has since expanded to 47 states, with a portfolio that includes canned spritzes and wine-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs). The company is “on track to be a million case brand,” supported by placements at national retailers such as Total Wine and Kroger, according to Cooke.

Loverboy is the No. 4 ranked hard tea brand in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels, increasing dollar sales +40% in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels (L52W, through April 22), according to data shared by 3 Tier Beverages. Its next competitor, No. 3 Clubtails, owned by Geloso Beverage Group, increased dollar sales +24% in the period.

Cooke believes Loverboy is fully capable of putting a significant dent in Twisted Tea’s share of the segment, but it will rely on retailers jumping on board and giving brands more shelf space.

“I think retailers, just like wholesalers, are still trying to make sense of how to allocate space,” Cooke said.

Retailers and wholesalers have been burned by the rapid growth and then stagnation of other beyond beer segments, such as hard seltzers. For a short time, it appeared hard tea might see the same fate, with beer brands extending hard seltzer lines with hard tea versions, such as Bud Light Seltzer Iced Tea from A-B and Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer from Boston Beer, both since discontinued.

“What excites me is the stuff that's getting cut are the extensions on extensions,” Cooke said. “We’re in the early innings of hard tea now.”

Retailers might need some more convincing. The Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI), the National Beer Wholesaler Association’s (NBWA) monthly indicator of beer distributor purchases and segment demand, reported a FMB/hard seltzer reading of 24 in April, indicating wholesalers are shrinking their FMB inventories. A reading greater than 50 indicates a segment is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates a segment is contracting.

FMB’s April 2023 reading is significantly below its April 2022 reading of 40 and even more below its April 2021 reading of 90. However, those numbers may be skewed by retailers contracting hard seltzer space, and could return to above 50 should hard teas and other FMBs continue their growth trends.

Can Hard Tea Growth Last?

While FMBs are one of the few beer segments growing right now, it remains a small part of the category. And with FMB trends rising and falling quickly in the past, some wonder how long this period of growth can last.

The rollercoaster is par for the course with FMBs, according to Danelle Kosmal, VP of research at the Beer Institute (BI), a beer trade organization.

“[FMBs], it tends to be a segment that's somewhat cyclical,” Kosmal said during the BI’s 2023 state of the

industry webinar. “We see a new subsegment within FMBs launch, it does really well for a couple of years, it does a good job to engage new drinkers – to engage drinkers that are just seeking something new, different types of flavors, something fun – and then we see a bit of a decline and then an introduction of another sub-segment.”

The trend has turned FMBs into a tool for the beer category, allowing companies to innovate and capitalize on consumers' wants. It's an “important role” but not necessarily a role with “longevity,” Kosmal said.

In the end, longevity “doesn’t matter” for FMBs, as there will always be “a new innovation that’s going to come and enter the space” which will “continue to drive excitement for drinkers,” Kosmal said.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES GUIDE

• 2023

21st Amendment Brewery has reimagined its state-of-the-art, 120,000 sq. ft. facility in San Leandro, CA to become the premiere canned beverage co-packing facility on the west coast. They have the capability to make malt/sugarbased alcohol, cider, ready-to-drink cocktails, and package a wide variety of alcohol, and non-alcoholic beverages, including beer, seltzers, energy drinks, juices, and more

Tea, Coffee & Specialty items

A. Holliday & Company Inc.

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

Scientific & Regulatory

AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

For over 47 years, we've traveled the world to connect people with the finest products. At A. Holliday & Company, we source, test, and ship every product we carry. We supply bulk tea varieties (extracts & leaf), coffees (extracts), antioxidants, herbal & superfruit extracts, natural caffeine, polyphenols, EGCG, Rooibos, coconut water powder, and much more.

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

21st Amendment Brewery

Premiere Co-Pack Facility

Abelei Flavors

Flavor Supplier

aTULC: Premium Can Packaging Created Specifically for Craft American Canning

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

Phyto-Fortify Your Functional Beverages

Artemis International, Inc

Quality Testing for You!

Connecting Nutrition & Health

BENEO Inc.

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

Contract Manufacturer

Azpack

From energy drinks to protein and meal replacement beverages, low glycemic Palatinose™ (isomaltulose) opens the door to nutritionally optimised beverages. Its slow release of glucose…the main fuel for body and brain…supports blood sugar management while keeping you supplied with sustained energy, whether for exercising, training/competitions, or simply for those long, demanding days.

The BevSource Advantage

BevSource

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

BevSource is the largest ingredient and packaging distributor exclusively focused on the beverage industry.?In addition to supply chain assurance and access to suppliers, we provide beverage development, regulatory compliance, and operations support. With our deep experience in the beverage industry, we're well-positioned to anticipate & navigate growth opportunities and supply chain challenges.

AZ Laboratories

Axiom Foods

Botanical Extracts Are What We Do! Bio-Botanica, Inc

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

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

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

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

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

High speed co-packing & cans on-demand with Best Bev Best Bev

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

Beverage Canning Manufacturer

Blue Marble Productions

Callisons

Beverage canning co-packer specializing in slim, sleek and standard sizes for non-alcohol and alcoholic beverages. Capabilities include but not limited to private label, tunnel pasteurization, in-line sleeving, in-line cartoning, carbonation & nitrogen dosing, and bulk liquid storage; TTB services, SQF, Kosher, WMS & SAP/Hanna and supply chain management. Centrally located in Indianapolis, IN USA.

Brew Hub

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

High-quality contract production and co-packing, strategically located in the southeast. We offer 360° procurement, pasteurization, and production. Beverage capabilities include beer, wine, spirits, non-alcoholic, RTDs, FMBs, energy drinks, tea, juice drinks, cannabinoids, and more. Contact us today and find out why we are Where Crafted Beverages Go to Grow!

With more than a decade of experience, CanSource is your one-stop-shop for custom beverage cans. Sleeved, printed and brite cans - we offer them all as a proud distributor of Ball. We leverage a nationwide footprint and a service-obsessed team to achieve 99% on-time delivery. Call us today and mention this ad for a special promotion.

Contract Production/Co-Packing

CanSource LLC

Custom Beverage Cans

Fermentasty Tanks

Black Forest Container Systems

Beverage Flavors & Innovation Blue Pacific Flavors

Process Authority for Beverages Caporale Consulting Caporale Consulting

As a global leader, Cargill combines decades of application experience with a full-portfolio of industry-leading ingredients. Our tailored solutions reflect your needs, addressing sugar reduction, sustainable sourcing, label-friendly and functional health formulation, leveraging stevia, erythritol, starch, hydrocolloids, plant protein, postbiotics, cocoa and more to create great-tasting beverages.

Strategic Branding for Success

Christie & Co.

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

Beverage Product Development

Drink Me Taste Solutions

Our clients say it best: "We are grateful to have Christie & Co as our communications, social media and influencer partners. From helping us craft our brand journey and strategy to building our thought leadership, they have been by our side every step of the way. Their deep intrinsic understanding of our purpose and core values has helped at all touchpoints. We highly recommend them." CEO, REBBL

Functional Ingredient

Chemi Nutra

Tight on cash but still ready to disrupt the non-alcoholic beverage industry? That's where we come in! Knowledgeable in the latest trends, we can bring your idea to life by creating great tasting beverages that are certain to drive repeat purchases. By offering below market rates while still providing world class expertise, Drink Me Taste Solutions makes it easy to create your next winning product

Brand Identity and Packaging Cornerstone Strategic Branding

At Creamy Creation we develop and produce a wide range of cream-based alcoholic beverages and RTDs for customers around the world; from traditional cream liqueurs, vegan, oats, and egg nog options to mixable creams, as well as no- and low-alcohol drinks. We are the global leader in the B2B cream liqueur segment, while also specializing in other alcoholic emulsified beverages. From ingredient solutions to tailor-made formulations, concept development & product launch support, we work with our customers to bring their ideas to life. To ensure a smooth launch, we offer support every step of the way by providing market and regulatory knowledge, quality assurance and technical sales support.

Our story started in 1979, in the heart of dairy country in the Netherlands and expanded from there. Flash forward to today, we have production facilities in both Rijkevoort, the Netherlands and Batavia, New York and a sales team that covers every corner of the globe.

Pushing the Boundaries of your Brand’s Image Digican Printing

The Superhero of Hangtags ElastiTag - Bedford Industries

Established in 1865, DWS is a 5th-generation, family-owned and operated label and packaging company. Located in Long Island, NY, our capabilities include Cut and Stack, Pressure Sensitive, Shrink Sleeves, Pre-Sleeved Cans, Digital, and Roll Fed Labels. Every step of the way DWS will lead you through the process with our amazing client service department. Have a story to tell? Contact us today!

Clean Label Ingredients

Farbest Brands

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

Beverage Development Services

Flavorman

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

Digitally Printed Cans 2.0

Fast Track Packaging Inc.

Creating beverages in every drink category is what we do—but it’s not all we do. With nearly 30 years in the business, Flavorman offers a wide range of professional services—from R&D, product re-formulation, and value-engineering, to shelf life testing, regulatory assistance, production support and planning, consulting, and much more. Partner with Flavorman and change what the world is drinking.

Our Forté is Delicious

Forté Flavors

Fast Track Packaging Inc. brings you innovative, high-quality decorated beverage cans. Specializing in next-gen high speed direct digital printing, sleeved, and painted cans, we light up your brand like never before. With production plants on both the East and West Coasts, we ensure rapid, reliable service with our 2-4 week lead time. Make a powerful visual impact and leave a lasting impression!

Alcohol & AAB Ingredients

FFP

At Forté Flavors, we believe that great taste is the key to success in the food and beverage industry. That's why we are so passionate about creating mouthwatering flavors that will take your products to the next level! Get in touch and let's work on something amazing together!

Coconut Ingredients

Franklin Baker, Inc.

At FFP, we’re proud of our proprietary research and product development capabilities. Our extensive expertise in beverage innovation supports everything from alcohol and functional beverages to low/no alcohol mocktails sourced from our botanicals. Our skilled team of flavor and technical experts provide openly collaborative, customized natural ingredient solutions from concept to completion.

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the largest processor of coconut ingredients in the Philippines as the premier supplier to the global beverage & food market. Franklin Baker offers an extensive portfolio of coconut products including Coconut Water, Coconut Milk/Cream, Coconut Concentrate, Creamed Coconut. Our extensive third-party certifications are unrivaled to the highest product standards.

Custom Flavor Solutions Foodarom

Coffeeberry® Coffee Fruit Juice Concentrate FutureCeuticals

Your Go-To Packaging Supplier Gamer Packaging, Inc.

Brite Cans Available

G3 Enterprises

Avela™

Geno

EXBERRY® Plant-Based Colors

Grower Direct Nut Ingr. Supply

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

Prickly Pear Cactus Ingredient

GAIA fruits

(R)-1,3-Butanediol

Avela™ natural (R)-1,3-Butanediol is an functional ketogenic ingredient that provides a fast and easy way to raise blood BHB levels without restricting diet. Avela™ is self-GRAS affirmed for its intended use as a source of energy in beverages, bars and gels. Reach out for your professional sample kit today at avelaup. com!

Mergers & Acquisitions

Glover Capital, Inc.

EXBERRY® by GNT is the leading brand of natural, plant-based colors for the food and beverage industry. EXBERRY® colors are non-GMO, vegan, kosher and halal certified, and certified organic colors are also available. Our team of technical experts can guide customers through each stage of the formulation process — from color matching, stability testing to upscaling support.

Co-Packing & Co-Manufacturing

Green Mountain Beverage

Grower Direct Nut Ingredient Supply is part of Grower Direct Nut, a California grower, processor, packer of walnuts and value-added walnut, almond, pecan, pistachio (and more) ingredients including beverage-grade Nut Butter for plant based milks. Roasted and Seasoned walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and more. State of the art BRC Certified facility. Organic Certified. OU Kosher Nutty Gourmet brand.

Gusmer Brewing Solutions

Gusmer Enterprises

Prickly Pear strengthens the Immune System. It is been attributed with healing properties since it is rich in Bioflavonoids that have strong antioxidant properties and give this fruit its distinctive bright red-violet color, and help the body detoxify and reduce inflammation. GAIA fruits is your trusted supplier of prickly pear puree and concentrate as a functional ingredient with an exotic flavor

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.

Green Mountain Beverage offers a full range of contract production and packaging services. With over 30 years of beverage manufacturing, we are uniquely positioned to meet your needs for quality, scalability, and production capacity for canned, kegged, or bottled (RTD, FMB, cider, beer, wine) alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Let us show you why co-packing with us makes sense for you.

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

Natural Clean Label Sweetening Solutions & Prebiotic Fibers Icon Foods

Hidell International is a 54 year old, global Bottled Water and Beverage Consultancy. The company specializes in identifying water resources, completing hydrogeological investigations and developing health and wellness formulas for clients.

Mobile Canning Solutions

Iron Heart Canning Co

Beverage Repack Specialists

Keller Warehousing & CoPacking

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

Clean Label Extracts

Javo Beverage Company

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

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

Tropical-ize Your Beverage Line with Natural Fruit Ingredients iTi Tropicals

Your Next Innovative Beverage Starts Here Kerry

International Food Products Co

Ingredient Supplier

JBT Avure’s HPP systems inactivate foodborne pathogens, like salmonella at 87,000-psi. Unlike thermal processes, HPP retains taste, texture and nutrition. Flavor isn’t the only reason manufacturers choose JBT Avure. HPP beverages last longer – up to 120 days in their final consumer packaging. We also revolutionized the HPP industry with the most efficient HPP bulk solution for liquids - FlexiBulk

Krier Foods

Lagersmith Can Supply Co.

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

Flavor & Taste Solutions

McCormick FONA

Krier Foods is a leading beverage contract manufacturer known for quality & innovation. We produce a wide range of beverages from local to national beverage brands, offering expertise in non-carbonated & carbonated drinks, fruit juices, teas, functional, energy drinks, & more. We ensure high standards of quality control & customer satisfaction, making us a trusted partner in the beverage industry.

Clean & Natural Protection

Lanxess Corporation

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

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

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

Benefits of Velcorin® include:

• No impact on sensory profile

• Clean label solution

• Compatibility with all types of common packaging

• Cost-effective

• Application-specific advice and services from Velcorin® team Nagardo® (Dacryopinax Spathularia) is a natural guardian that protects against beverage spoilage to secure and prolong shelf life.

Benefits of Nagardo® include:

• Achieve natural & consumer friendly claims

• Efficient control of a broad range of spoilage organisms

• No impact on sensory profile

• Broad application in a variety of beverages

• Easy integration into production process

• Application-specific advice and services from Nagardo® team

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

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

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

Midwest Contract Manufacturer

Private Label Functional Gum Liquid Core Gum Company

Equipment for all your Craft Beverage Needs

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

MATCHA.COM

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

• Largest Organic Matcha Production Facility in Japan

• Guaranteed Best Price to Quality Ratio on the Market

• Advanced U.S. Market Expertise

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

• All QA paperwork ready to go

• Japanese Matcha from our vertically integrated farms and production facilities

• Aggressive lead-times to meet any production timeline

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

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

*Contact bulk@matcha.com

Mojonnier has a complete line of customized equipment for the production of soft drinks, fruit juices, hard seltzers, waters, and other beverages.

From individual filtration, clarification, pasteurization, thermal exchange, deaeration, mix blending, carbonation systems to completely automated syrups rooms our technical customer focused organization is dedicated to providing the best possible processing solutions to meet the requirements of both small and large producers.

Mojonnier has a full line up of Mix Processors to handle your RTD mixing needs. Our systems’ main operation mix ratio is 1/4 - 1/5 and can achieve outputs ranging from 6 gpm (70 cans per minute) to 265 gpm (2,800 cans per minute). Our processors can be developed for small and large production operation by introducing semi-automated vs fully automated machines. All our machines have the capability of holding quality expectation by means of electronic measurement. Some of the quality points we can monitor are Mix Ratio, CO2 dosing, Brix, Dissolved Oxygen, Product Flowrate Output, and Temperature just to name a few.

As an American-owned, family operated organization we remain dedicated to providing your company with new equipment, processes, service and parts allowing for a more consistent production environment.

Over 100 Years of Beverage Processing Industry Excellence! Mojonnier

Monk Fruit Corp.

New Barn Organics

Mybrandforce - Activate Your Brand MyBrandForce

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

Flavor Manufacturer

Mother Murphy's Flavors

New Barn Organics makes the FIRST & ONLY Regenerative Organic Certified® almond milk, ever. Made with truly regenerative almonds grown in California, these deliciously rich almond milk ingredients will delight your customers with our fresh almond taste & clean-label claims. Since our almonds are grown using low-water and soil-building practices, our almond milk products are truly eco-friendly!

Contract Manufacturer

NOR-CAL BEVERAGE CO

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

Enhance & Fortify

MORRE-TEC Industries

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

Nutraceutical Ingredients for Successful, Nutritious Products

Nature’s Power Nutraceuticals

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

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

For over twenty years NP Nutra® has supplied the finest quality plant-based nutraceutical ingredients. Our diverse catalog features more than 130 ingredients, and in addition to a unique Signature Ingredient line and an extensive certified Organic product line (Nutra Organics), our portfolio includes popular categories such as Nutra Protein, Nutra Flow, Nutra Pura, Nutra Ayurveda, SuperFruits, SuperGreens and Nutra Pet.

NP Nutra® strives to provide ingredients at the best possible price, and agreements established with growers worldwide ensure uninterrupted supply year-round, enabling us to offer customers the reliability that large projects require.

Prioritizing quality, NP Nutra’s Triple-T Verification® program follows industry best practices and ensures supply chain transparency, and ingredient quality, safety and traceability. As part of this program our carefully selected manufacturing partners comply with GFSI regulations and have passed a rigorous validation process.

NP Nutra’s ongoing commitment to purity, quality and reliability has earned the trust of the world’s leading functional food and beverage, dietary supplement, cosmetic and pet food manufacturers, who have become loyal customers.

Our experienced, friendly team is committed to helping satisfy your ingredient needs and developing a long-term partnership.

Visit npnutra.com to request Free Samples!

The

Cutting Edge Formulation

The Key To Commercialization

PTM Food is your premier food & beverage product development and manufacturing team. Our wide range of formulation expertise and trend-setting creativity achieves an exciting point of difference between your product and others in the market. We uncover key industry insights and innovative ingredients to create products that give brand owners a competitive edge.

Your Creation Partner

Robertet Solutions

Struggling to launch a new beverage product? From cost reduction strategies to packaging, and label approvals, we'll help navigate the complexities of formulation, production, and promotional channels. Don't let commercialization challenges get in your way -- Turnkey Bev can support your brand every step of the way. Contact us today for a free, noobligation consultation.

Insurance for Beverages

Specialty Food Beverage-PCI

Robertet Group, world leader in sustainable naturals is now offering contract creation services to food & beverage companies. Experts in product development, Robertet Solutions is your innovation and co-creation partner, delivering exceptional products with superior taste. Robertet Solutions is your partner for the future!

We work with specialty beverage manufacturers and importers covering a wide variety of beverage types to include, alcoholic, non-alcoholic, functional, energy drinks and supplements. Policy types include General Liability, Product Liability, Excess Liability, Property, Product Recall and Ocean Cargo. Very familiar with wholesale and retail insurance requirements for many major vendors.

PTM Food

A Century of Canning Expertise Scaled For Craft Beverage Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Sweet Brown Extracts & Flavors PROVA

Full-Service Packaging Solutions Supplier Saxco International, LLC

Saxco is a full-service packaging solutions supplier. We have served the distiller, wine, and craft beverage community for more than 90 years, combining our expertise, passion, and commitment to your success with modern packaging technologies. We are uniquely positioned as your single source supplier, offering standard glass bottles and cans to fully proprietary packaging solutions, and in-house services ranging from artwork management, can sleeving, fully automated pack-outs, and more. We leverage a world-class global network of manufacturers to give you the surety of supply you can depend on. And with inventory planning and management, and flexible contract and credit terms, we make it easy to scale your business. Contact us today to receive a FREE consultation from a dedicated packaging expert.

Keg Management and Beverage Logistics

SLG BevPros (a DHL Company)

Sensient Flavors and Extracts offers value-added flavors, systems and extracts that bring life to products. We inspire our customers to deliver products that offer multi-sensory experiences that are “just picked from nature.” Thanks to our wide-ranging product library, development teams and cutting-edge facilities, we’re able to implement thoughtful solutions for complex challenges. With industry-leading expertise in the savory, beverage and sweet markets, we provide comprehensive solutions that meet our customers’ flavor, color, and functionality requirements. At Sensient Flavors & Extracts, we use our advanced proprietary development technologies to create fresh, unique flavor systems. Additionally, we have a complete line of masking & flavor enhancing technologies. Particularly in beverage, we have a TrueBoost portfolio that enhances mouthfeel & creaminess, and a natural extract portfolio from named sources.

We are experts in the science, art and innovation of taste. We are market-savvy influencers, grounded in facts and driven by the needs & occasion of our consumers. We are problem solvers,and you are what makes us a collaborator, and a true partner. Together, we can solve the most challenging product puzzles and together, we can make products that are delicious, craveable and truly inspired.

Packaging Line Automation

Ska Fabricating

About the BevPros

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

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

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

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

Mastering the Craft of Flavoring Sovereign Flavors Inc.

Blending and Process Experts

Statco-DSI Process Systems

Outsourced

Sunset Strategic Brands, LLC

We Design to Taste

Takasago International Corp

Algae

Triton Algae Innovations

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

Fruit & Vegetable Ingredients

Stiebs

We Make Life Taste Better

T. Hasegawa

Built on technology, Takasago has an extensive innovation platform including true to nature VIVID® Natural Flavors, taste modulating INTENSATES® Flavors, Consumer Insights and Market Research, etc. Vertically integrated in citrus, coffee, tea, mint, and vanilla to drive quality and sustainable raw materials for flavor creations, we promise to deliver impactful flavors for your product development.

The Formulation Experts

Trisolutions

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

Trisolutions is the top choice for all your beverage development needs. Your project will benefit from our extensive expertise in all beverage categories. In our applications laboratory, our team of food scientists will develop your initial concept into a commercial reality including full scale production support. Reach out to us to find out how we can provide the solution you are looking for.

Our purpose-built brewery centrifuges precisely separate unwanted solids, protect flavors, and increase production 30-50% by reclaiming beer bound in sediment and decrease overall cellar time. Our centrifuges protect the consistency of beer purity, clarity or haze, aroma, and flavor without creating more work. Take control of crafting your beer—speak with our experts today!

Beverage Ingredients-One Stop Solution Sunland Nutrition Inc Brand Strategy & Identity | Package Design | Digital Design The GRO Agency

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

United Food and Beverage specializes in buying and selling used processing, packaging, bottling and canning equipment for the Food and Beverage Industry. Our 24 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 auctions. 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.

Win at the shelf with Trax Dynamic Merchandising Trax

Quality Used Equipment for Food and Beverage Plants United Food and Beverage, LLC

We pride ourselves on being more than a supplier — we're a service company, first and foremost. In addition to supplying fully documented raw materials and ingredients, our main goal is to help our clients effectively and efficiently manage their supply chains. Grow your brand and let us navigate the challenges associated with sourcing ingredients. Visit us at UniChemSupply.com.

Turnkey Beverage Services

US

Beverage Manufacturing

We can turnkey develop and copack/manufacture all types of beverages, alcoholic and nonalcoholic, liquid and powder, in aluminum cans, PET bottles, glass bottles, and flexible packaging. If you are looking for a one stop shop that can develop, formulate, and manufacture your new beverage concept, then look no further! We can help supply all ingredients, materials, and manufacturing services.

Leave the bottling to USH!

USHydrations

Brewery Software System

Vicinity Software

Drain and compress filled cans in one easy step with a WEIMA E.200! WEIMA America, Inc.

VicinityBrew is flexible brewing software that eliminates time-consuming recipe conversions, provides quick batch processing to ease your reporting requirements, gives you enhanced visibility to eliminate inventory blind spots, meeting compliance requirements like TTB & much more. VicinityBrew is an affordable brewery software that can be customized to your specific needs.

Branding & Package Design

Watermark Design

WEIMA’s line of drainage presses drain the liquid from out-of-spec or underfilled aluminum cans and compress the packaging in one easy step.

The E.200 drainage press from WEIMA offers an efficient way to drain partially filled cans in one easy step, increasing quality control and decreasing waste.

Since 2007, Watermark has been designing award-winning designs for the beverage industry that convert to sales. We begin with your logo and brand since that needs to live separately and beyond your package, and then we create a package that is true to your story and also stands apart from the crowd.

The E.200 drainage press works by ejecting rejected cans directly into the machine’s hopper, which punctures them so the contents can be drained into its collection bin. The machine can also be hand-fed if necessary, and all rejected cans are easily compressed into Ø200mm discs for convenient recycling.

The compressed discs of aluminum take up significantly less space than partially filled cans, maximizing valuable floor space between trips to the recycler and increasing the value of the aluminum due to its compressed form.

For breweries and canning operations, WEIMA’s drainage press technology allows more time to focus on what matters most: sustainably creating a delicious, quality product.

Beverage Cans & Ends

West Coast Container, Inc.

We deliver competitively priced packaging solutions to customers of all sizes. Our customer service is second to none. We sell BPANI Printed and Brite cans, along with glass, plastic and closure solutions to meet your everyday packaging requirements. Delivery options include direct full truckloads or purchasing pallet quantities from our convenient warehouse network. Call us for a quote, today.

With four (4) state-of-the-art, blow/fill bottling lines and industry-leading capabilities, USHydrations is a premier co-packer of global brands. Located in Northeastern PA, USH occupies over a million square feet of production and warehouse/distribution space, in close proximity to over 120 million consumers. USH is AIB, Military, and SQF Level 3 certified. At USHydrations, we make your brand, with the highest quality, precision, and efficiency.

Zuckerman Honickman

Zuckerman Honickman is a full service packaging company specializing in supplying glass and plastic bottles and aluminum beverage cans. With more than 100 years of experience our company prides itself in being experts in 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 within 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 in being able to supply custom packaging, hard to find packaging, as well as stock packaging...all 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 let’s see how Zuckerman Honickman can help!

COMPANY

21 Holdings LLC

21st Amendment Brewery

A. Holliday & Company Inc.

Abelei Flavors

AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

Amcor Rigid Packaging

American Canning

Arryved Point of Sale

Artemis International, Inc

Axiom Foods

AZ Laboratories

Matt Ingemi West Chicago IL (630) 231-7590 sliqspiritedice.com

Vee Feyling San Leandro CA (650) 255-1232 21st-amendment.com

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

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

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

Krishna Valluripalli Shrewsbury MA (773) 383-5944 amcor.com

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

Rachel Kesley Boulder CO (720) 441-4863 arryved.com

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

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

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

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

BENEO Inc.

Berlin Packaging

Best Bev

Kyle Krause Parsippany NJ (003) 216-8013 beneo.com

Jason Loper Chicago IL (312) 607-6642 berlinpackaging.com

Ashleigh Baldwin Waverly NY (215) 534-1014 bestbev.co

BevSource - Saint Paul MN (866) 956-4608 bevsource.com

Bio-Botanica, Inc

Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

Black Forest Container Systems

Blue Marble Productions

Blue Pacific Flavors

Brew Hub

Callisons

Jim Bartlein Hauppauge NY (631) 615-9825 bio-botanica.com

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

Laura Schneider Greenville SC (864) 386-7414 blackforestmktg.com

Ben Miller Indianapolis IN (888) 400-3090 lovebluemarble.com

Roya Sayyah, Lori Banks-Keller City of Industry CA (626) 934-0099 bluepacificflavors.com

Diane Schoen Lakeland FL (314) 406-9660 brewhub.com

Kim Carson Cincinnati OH - callisons.com

CanSource LLC Robert Renfro Longmont CO (870) 329-4990 cansource.com

Caporale Consulting Mark Caporale Middletown CA (707) 987-9703 caporaleconsulting.com

Cargill - Wayzata MN (800) 932-0544 cargill.com

Chemi Nutra Chase Hagerman Austin TX (512) 823-2500 cheminutra.com

Christie & Co. Gillian Christie Santa Barbara CA (805) 969-3744 christieand.co

Contract Packaging Association Ron Puvak Herndon VA (571) 287-6818 contractpackaging.org

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

Creamy Creation Georgia Dina Konstantopoulos Rochelle Park NJ (585) 820-0430 creamycreation.com

Digican Printing Becky Tipton Ofallon MO (177) 033-5237 digicanprinting.com

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

DRINK LABS Dennis Morales Simi Valley CA (833) 437-4657 thedrinklabs.com

Drink Me Taste Solutions

DWS Printing & Packaging

ElastiTag - Bedford Industries

Farbest Brands

Fast Track Packaging Inc.

Rachel Dannemeyer - - (949) 677-5369 drinkmetastesolutions.com

Hope Staib Deer Park NY (631) 327-8770 dwsprinting.com

Patsy Youngblom Worthington MN (507) 376-4136 bedford.com

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

Ryan Bedrosian Salt Lake City UT (519) 835-5522 ftpackaging.ca

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

Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

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

Flavorman Spencer McGuire Louisville KY (502) 289-5549 flavorman.com

Foodarom

Forté Flavors

Franklin Baker, Inc.

FutureCeuticals

G3 Enterprises

GAIA fruits

Gamer Packaging, Inc.

Noémie Loiselle - - (801) 975-2604 foodarom.com

Janet Guzman Valencia CA (661) 309-1163 forteflavors.com

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

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

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

Roberto Garfias San Luis Potosí - +524441595829___ gaiafruits.com

Sarah Swansen Minneapolis MN (612) 788-4444 gamerpackaging.com

Geno - San Diego CA (858) 306-4352 genomatica.com

Glover Capital, Inc.

GNT USA, LLC

Marion B. Glover Atlanta GA (404) 523-2921 -

Jeannette O'Brien Dallas NC (704) 469-5555 exberry.com

Green Mountain Beverage - Middlebury VT (802) 398-2050 gmbeverage.com

Grower Direct Nut Ingr. Supply

Tony Varni Hughson CA (209) 448-6105 gdnis.com

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

hidell international

ICI Foods

Icon Foods

International Food Products Co

Iron Heart Canning Co

Henry Hidell Hingham MA (781) 749-8040 hidelleyster.com

Kate Nadolski Bensenville IL (224) 301-3133 -

Thom King Portland OR (310) 455-9876 iconfoods.com

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

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

iTi Tropicals - Lawrenceville NJ - ititropicals.com

Javo Beverage Company

JBT Avure Technologies

Keller Warehousing & CoPacking

Kerry

Krier Foods

Lagersmith Can Supply Co.

Lanxess Corporation

Lion Beverage

Liquid Core Gum Company

Lotus Beverage Alliance

MATCHA.COM

McCormick FONA

Mibelle Biochemistry

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

Lisa Wessels Middletown OH (513) 783-3661 jbtc.com

Adam Bates Defiance OH (419) 782-4084 kellerlogistics.com

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

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

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

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

Andrew Van Blargan Pittston PA (814) 935-1355 lionbeverage.com

Scott Schaible Denver CO (720) 795-5547 liquidcore.store

Matt Rennerfeldt Lincoln NE (402) 442-4774 lotusbevalliance.com

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

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

Alice Olufeso Buchs - +41628361731____ mibellebiochemistry.com

Mojonnier Bob Green Streetsboro OH (844) 665-6664 mojonnier.com

Monk Fruit Corp.

MORRE-TEC Industries

Mother Murphy's Flavors

Paul Paslaski Libertyville IL (847) 367-6665 monkfruitcorp.com

Maria Jewelyn Mendoza Union NJ (908) 688-9009 morretec.com

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

MyBrandForce Chris Hughes Greenwood Village CO (312) 953-3012 mybrandforce.com

Nature's Power Nutraceuticals

New Barn Organics

Niche Logistics

Nidra Packaging

NOR-CAL BEVERAGE CO

Eric Guggenheim Gardena CA (310) 694-3031 npnutra.com

Hannah Youngblood Fullerton CA (800) 326-3220 newbarnorganics.com

Casey Werderman Ashland VA (804) 316-5878 nichelogistics.com

Joshua Canada Virginia Beach VA (757) 613-2737 -

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

O-I Glass - Perrysburg OH (567) 336-5000 o-i.com

Octopi

Isaac Showaki Waunakee WI (608) 620-4705 drinkoctopi.com

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

Pizzey Ingredients

Pneumatic Scale Angelus

PROVA

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

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

Julie Pickette Beverly MA (774) 454-0793 provaus.com

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

REV Copack

Andy Josuweit Pittston PA (619) 735-0696 revcopack.com

Robertet Solutions Henry Rosset Piscataway NJ (732) 261-9806 robertet.com

Saxco International, LLC

Sensient Flavors & Extracts

Ska Fabricating

Thomas Hoffmann Concord CA (512) 925-3339 Saxco.com

Rob Babikan Hoffman Estates IL (847) 558-0427 sensientflavorsandextracts.com

Elise Mackay Durango CO (970) 403-8562 skafabricating.com

SKU Story Joey Brennan Fort Myers Beach FL (239) 250-0663 TurnkeyBev.com

SLG BevPros (a DHL Company)

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

Sovereign Flavors Inc.

Specialty Food Beverage-PCI

Statco-DSI Process Systems

Stiebs

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

Tom Wallace Ballston Spa NY (866) 461-0709 specialtyfoodbeverage.com

Randy Smith Huntington Beach CA (714) 375-6300 statco-dsi.com

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

Sunland Nutrition Inc - Lake Forest CA (888) 201-7888 sunlandnutrition.com

Sunset Strategic Brands, LLC

Ken Messick Westbrook CT (201) 615-1766 sunsetstrategicbrands.com

T. Hasegawa Mark Webster Cerritos CA (610) 400-4523 thasegawa.com

Takasago International Corp

Walter Crawley Rockleigh NJ (201) 767-9001 takasago.com

The GRO Agency - New York NY (212) 725-6710 thegroagency.com

The Jel Sert Company

Kyle Harrington West Chicago IL (630) 818-7374 jelsert.com

Trax Georgios Tzafis New York NY - traxretail.com

Trisolutions

Triton Algae Innovations

Trucent

David Neely Vancouver - (778) 381-6060 trisolutions.ca

Amy Kushner San Diego CA (858) 480-1222 tritonai.com

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

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

UniChem Enterprises

United Food and Beverage, LLC

US Beverage Manufacturing

USHydrations

Vicinity Software

Matthew Kairys Ontario CA (201) 889-9899 UniChemSupply.com

Jeremy Sanders Hickory NC (843) 622-8434 unitedfoodandbeverage.com

Zach Mosesian Las Vegas NV (702) 476-1021 usbeveragemanufacturing.com

Joseph Lapchak Pittston PA (570) 655-7755 ushydrations.com

Jamey Kirsch - GA (770) 421-2467 vicinitybrew.com

Watermark Design Darcey Lacy Charlottesville VA (434) 295-5625 watermark.design

WEIMA America, Inc.

West Coast Container, Inc.

Whale Pod Shipper

Yakima Valley Hops

TJ Van Thullenar Fort Mill SC (803) 802-7170 weima.com

Kevin McInerney - - (614) 420-1830 westcoastcontainer.com

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

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UFC Champion Aljamain Sterling Joins NERD Focus as Official Ambassador and Equity Partner

NERD Focus – the energy drink with powerful nootropics and performanceboosting nutrients – announced it signed as the exclusive energy drink partner of UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling. This comes in the highly anticipated run-up to the UFC 288 fight on May 6, 2023, at the Prudential Center, Newark, NJ.

UFC champion Sterling takes to the ring to claim a championship win, backed by the “Original Think Drink”, NERD Focus, which became the exclusive energy drink partner of the Prudential Center earlier this year.

“As we expand our Northeastern U.S. footprint, with the recent Prudential Center partnership and New York metro area retail expansion coming very soon, it makes sense for us to team up with local, professional athletes like Aljo,” says Beverage USA Co-Founder, Rocco LaVista. He continues, “We’re looking forward to supporting the champ as he prepares for fight day fueled by our functionally-formulated and vitamin-packed energy drink.”

“Training can be very stressful and you can’t afford to lose focus on the goals of each training session, just like a fight. I have to be dialed in for 25 minutes to perform at my best and Nerd Focus helps me stay locked in.“ says UFC Champion Aljamain Sterling. “I’m really excited to be partnering with NERD Focus and look forward to helping build the brand. We have some really cool initiatives in place to help support the full-scale launch of NERD in my home state of NY”.

The focus drink is currently available in Green Original and Blue Zero Calorie, offering consumers a smarter and safer alternative to traditional energy drinks with a refreshing citrus taste packed with vitamins and natural ingredients. The proprietary formula aims to aid mental acuity for those that need it most – from college students to healthcare workers to professional athletes.

Roar Organic Named Official Hydration Partner of the Professional Pickleball Association

ROAR Organic, the fast-growing Complete Hydration beverage brand, announced an exciting new partnership with the leading organization behind the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., the Carvana PPA Tour. Known for providing a refreshing blend of vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes, ROAR has exclusively been named the Official Hydration Partner of the PPA Tour for the 2023 pickleball season.

ROAR Organic’s Complete Hydration beverages offer 100% daily value of vitamins

C, B5, B6 and B12, with only 20 calories and 3g of sugar or less per bottle. These multi-functional drinks come in five fruity flavors, including Mango Clementine, Cucumber Watermelon, Georgia Peach, Blueberry Açaí and the newest addition, Strawberry Lemonade, offering pickleball enthusiasts a delicious and refreshing option to stay hydrated. ROAR Organic will execute this tour partnership via on-site activations and sampling to PPA tour attendees, professional players and amateur leagues.

“This collaboration is a perfect match as both brands are known for their energetic and fun approach, making ROAR an ideal choice as the Official Hydration Partner of the PPA Tour,” said Sofia Hexsel, Marketing Director of ROAR Organic. “We recognize the incredible growth pickleball has seen, so becoming involved with the fastest growing sport in the country was a nobrainer for our brand. Players and fans will now have essential hydration during matches throughout the remainder of the 25-stop tour.”

“Pickleball has an incredible community behind it, and we pride ourselves on bringing people together with a shared love for the sport,” said Connor Pardoe, CEO of the PPA Tour. “We’re proud to welcome ROAR Organic to the tour, as the brand’s values and energy perfectly align with our community.”

The ROAR Organic and PPA partnership kicked off at the OGIO Newport Beach Shootout in California.

Health-Ade Partners with Ryan Seacrest to Bring Kombucha to Every Fridge in America

Health-Ade, the makers of delicious, bubbly beverages that support a happy and healthy gut, has announced a multi-year partnership with host, producer, and media personality, Ryan Seacrest. The media mogul and long-time Health-Ade Kombucha lover is partnering with the company as a brand advocate to share the benefits of kombucha with America and encourage people to swap their sugary sodas for Health-Ade, a satisfying alternative that packs a probiotic punch.

Seacrest will partner with the brand to create advertising and omnichannel media content that will reach millions of people who have traditionally been left out of outreach from other functional beverage brands.

“As someone who loves to always be on the go and in motion, I try to find alternatives that help me stay healthy and keep my body and gut balanced,” said Seacrest. “I’ve been a longtime fan of Health-Ade and their mission of inspiring people so I decided to partner with them to get the word out on how their kombucha can

help people to live their version of their happiest and healthiest lives.”

Through the partnership, Seacrest joins Health-Ade in inspiring more people to discover the power of their gut with Health-Ade Kombucha, a betterfor-you beverage made with fermented tea and flavored with organic juices that pairs well with all types of foods and occasions. Full of probiotics, organic acids, and antioxidants, Health-Ade Kombucha promotes a healthy gut microbiome, which supports overall wellness and can help boost mood, support digestion, and immunity, as well as promote skin and hair health. Beyond being a wellness beverage, however, Health-Ade Kombucha is also known by its longtime brand fans for being craveably delicious, and a perfect solution for any moment where you need a flavorful, bubbly beverage that you can feel great about.

“We’re beyond excited to partner with Ryan Seacrest, someone who’s incredibly passionate about health and wellness, and has been a longtime fan of the

brand,” says Health-Ade Chief Marketing Officer, Charlotte Mostaed. “Health-Ade Kombucha has been widely sold in the US for over 10 years, and yet so many still haven’t tried it, and even more are still drinking beverages that carry no nutritional value. We’re excited to have Ryan share how he’s incorporated kombucha into his life and inspire his many fans to give it a try.”

Health-Ade continues to grow and gain households nationwide with new insight-driven innovation. Earlier this year, Health-Ade Kombucha expanded its offerings with a line of 11.5 oz aluminum cans in four fan-favorite kombucha flavors: Pink Lady Apple, Ginger Lemon, Passion Fruit-Tangerine, and Pomegranate. The move to add cans to the brand’s beloved 16 oz glass kombucha lineup allows Health-Ade to reach new refreshment occasions and responds directly to requests from loyal customers who love cans for their easy portability, recyclability, and smaller serving size.

Rockstar Energy Drink and Angus Cloud Drop Into PUBG MOBILE

The “Fuel What’s Next” campaign, which launched in November 2022, has given Rockstar Energy the opportunity to explore and contribute to a variety of joint passions that Angus Cloud and the brand share – from motorsports, to art, to fashion, to skateboarding. Now that journey is continuing into 2023 with what’s next for Angus: being at the center of the gaming world with his own in-game skin in PUBG MOBILE.

“I grew up playing video games with my friends and always thought it’d be cool to be in one, so it’s beyond crazy to me that Rockstar Energy and PUBG MOBILE actually made that dream come true,” said Angus Cloud, Rockstar Energy Drink brand partner. “You know, I just hope that people out there playing with my skin see it as inspiration that anything is possible if you follow your passions and continue to push the limits.”

Inspired by Angus Cloud’s IRL fashion sense, his “What’s Next Set” includes a gold puffer jacket, black hat and sunglasses. Players will be able to compete in the “What’s Next In-Game Challenge” over a four-week period to unlock in-game rewards and exclusive Rockstar Energy inspired items. The first player to beat the challenge will score the grand prize: a real life one-

of-a-kind Rockstar Energy Polaris Slingshot available to U.S. players and valued at $38,000 USD.

“It’s exciting whenever we have the opportunity to partner with an immensely popular celebrity who connects with our players in PUBG MOBILE, so when Rockstar Energy approached us with the idea to bring Angus Cloud into the world of PUBG MOBILE, we felt it was a perfect fit,” said Anthony Crouts, Senior Director of Marketing for PUBG MOBILE. “We’re always striving to create ways to provide unique experiences for our players and this partnership is a great example of howwe bring compelling content, challenges and in-game rewards to the battleground.”

“It’s been incredible to show fans that possibilities are truly endless through this journey we’ve been on with Angus Cloud. The new collaboration with PUBG MOBILE has taken our journey to a whole new level in the virtual world, where anything is possible,” said Sean Bonthuys, PepsiCo Senior Director of Brand Marketing, Energy Portfolio. “We’re excited to give fans the opportunity to be a part of this milestone with us through an exclusive livestream launch event where we can all celebrate what’s next together.”