BevNET Magazine May/June 2017

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MAY-JUNE 2017

THE BULL-RINGING OF AMERICA It’s been 20 years since Red Bull created the energy drink category.

Here’s how they did it.

THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF COCONUT WATER

ALCOHOL SELTZERS DOMINATE FLAVORED MALT BEVERAGE

WITH BEVNET's 2017 SUPPLIER & SERVICES GUIDE

ANTHONY RIZZO 2016 WORLD CHAMP

2016 MVP

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BODYARMOR SuperDrink™ is not associated or affiliated with Major League Baseball. © 2017 BA Sports Nutrition, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

MLBPA trademarks and other intellectual property rights are owned by MLBPA and may not be used without MLBPA’s consent.

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Contents / May – June 2017 / Volume 15 / No. 3

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61

COLUMNS

FEATURES

6 First Drop Keeping Up With the Juiceros

40 Malternatives A Moment of Clarity with Alcohol Seltzers

8 Publisher’s Toast Restoring Faith

44 BevNET’s Functional Focus Science, Sweeteners, and Safe Raw Milk

32 Gerry’s Insights OverEXPOsed

48 Coconut Water The Next Wave. with Brand News

DEPARTMENTS

54 Red Bull at 20 The Bull-Ringing of America. with Brand News

10 Bevscape/NOSHscape/Brewscape Inside Food and Beverage Investment 18 New Products Caliwater, WTRMLN WTR Extend Brands 28 Channel Check Juice Drinks Tell the Tale 82 Promo Parade A Real Long Swim

SHOWS 34 Summer Fancy Food Show Preview 36 Expo West Wrap 38 Craft Brewers Conference Wrap

SPECIAL SECTION 61 Supplier and Services Guide Follow Us Online

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THE FIRST DROP

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN

Keeping Up With the Juiceros If there’s one company that couldn’t be happier about Juicero’s recent troubles, it’s PepsiCo. The month began with the PepsiCo’s disastrous Kendall Jenner ad, which offended everyone for appropriating social movements in a highly inappropriate manner. It ended, however, with a slow drip of embarrassment for the company behind Doug Evans’ megajuicer, which offended everyone for its investors’ dogged attempts to burn money on a product whose high price was driven by an even higher level of over-engineering.

Well, these things happen. And PepsiCo should know. Few brands are known to be as adept for stepping into a controversy, wiping it off its corporate shoe and moving on as the Blue system– and that includes the New Coke disaster.

After all, it’s Pepsi that has been associated with everything from Michael Jackson’s hair bursting into flames to an angry Felicia the Goat threatening a witness in a Mountain Dew commercial.

So the company knew enough to reverse course on a Tropicana redesign nearly as quickly as it did on Jenner’s advocacy for better police hydration.

For Juicero, however, the problem isn’t only the bad press, but that it came as the result of a story questioning the entire premise of the device and its subscription model. And that’s not even the biggest problem. It also may lead to questions about the entire premise of juicing itself, which is a way of transferring nutrients sans fiber that often leads to accusations that its proponents are selling “empty calories.”

As I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t “juice,” I “salad.” I’ve always found it to be a satisfying way to get in a nutritionally appropriate number of vegetables while maintaining my glorious Dad Bod.I haven’t yet started to suffer from scurvy. But I believe there are many ways of achieving that glorious bod of your own, so I’ve learned to live alongside the juicing crowd.

While I’m certainly not immune to the minor sense of enjoyment that comes from seeing people who are either richer than me or chasing popularity via fads getting a little bit of humility, I’m still not sure that the game is up for Juicero just yet. Certainly, 6 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

there are audacious bets originating from the Left Coast that have created a whole new team of folks for me to envy, and they’re obviously smarter than yours truly.

But my concern isn’t the recent public flogging that the company sustained. Similar doubts about an idea’s subjective silliness surrounded other products, including the SodaStream, the Keurig, home sousvide makers and even the George Foreman Grill. Still, they’ve returned money to their investors and become parts of the home product market to varying degrees of success and ubiquity.

But here’s my belief why Juicero, as a concept, carries a lot of risk: It sits on so many linked assumptions that it teeters.

First, the juicing-as-nutrition category must continue to sustain momentum rather than be seen as something of a fad.

That’s something that has not yet been proven: the category has grown and brands like SUJA (in CPG) and Juice Press (onpremise) have done well, but they have also been much less capital-intensive.

Second, if juicing-as-nutrition sustains that momentum, it would have to do so in a way in which home usage becomes a significant, if not dominant, portion of the market. This contends with on-premise or Ready-to-Drink formats where many of the new gains have originated until now.

The company has in some ways hedged that assumption by creating an on-premise branch of its business, but that is also in the early stages. It might be time for Le Pain Quotidien to think about taking the “Made by Juicero” call-out off of its in-

house juice menu for a little while.

Third, if juicing-as-nutrition grows at home, it will be the Juicero’s particular solution that consumers will adopt – the idea that an end-to-end juicing solution is the real problem to solve. However, this assumption was cast into doubt in late April when what some of what the company and its investors saw as advantages – WiFi! Bags! Bar Codes! Tons of Pressure! – were decried by skeptics as disadvantages. This realm is also a place where a cheaper, simpler solution might win out since the company has done itself no favors against a potential competitive technology.

Fourth, even if people buy it, they’ll have to keep wanting to use it. That’s been the problem for SodaStream, which continues to have problems with people buying it and then storing it forever after realizing that they can simply get a great deal on, say, a bottle of Polar Seltzer instead of having to listen to that awful inhouse carbonation buzzing sound again.

Fifth, Juicero and juicing will move to the mainstream. And that’s possibly the biggest problem. The Juicero gaffe has once again exposed a cultural gulf in America between the “ordinary people” and Silicon Valley – or Washington – elites who want to tell the gulf between the populist nature of soda and the the elitism of the Silicon Valley crowd that supported it. There’s a move toward better nutrition, but if you have to spend the better part of a grand to get it – and then you have to buy your juice at a per-serving cost that’s equivalent to a case of Pepsi – a preachy, expensive lifestyle.As they say, it’s not going to bring those coal jobs back.

Again, there are better minds than mine that have probably played with the assumptions here, and seen a much bigger payoff that justifies the risks they represent. But on the other hand, the original story that caused the ruckus about hand-squeezing vs. the machine was prompted by a leak to Bloomberg by one of the company’s investors. So maybe the assumption train has run out.

Still, at least they haven’t started advertising. As we all know, to really screw that up, you’ve got to turn to a “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” personality.

PUBLISHER’S TOAST

BY BARRY NATHANSON

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

SALES

John McKenna DIRECTOR OF SALES jmckenna@bevnet.com Adam Stern SENIOR ACCOUNT SPECIALIST astern@bevnet.com John Fischer ACCOUNT SPECIALIST jfischer@bevnet.com Jon Landis SENIOR BRAND SPECIALIST jlandis@bevnet.com Shannen El-Qasem BRAND SPECIALIST selqasem@bevnet.com

Restoring Faith Let’s face it. Beverages are a tough industry. When I was younger I always heard that the restaurant business had a high failure rate. It does. Then I became a lifetime member of this crazy marketplace, and saw that restaurants have nothing on us. We always discuss the high percentage of brands that launch that eventually go down in flames. Anyone who has visited me at my office in New York has seen my wall of shame, with over 200 failed brands gathering dust. Before I moved from a larger office, I had over three times as many on the shelves, but had to decide which ones to move with me. No easy task.

Every day, our readers and followers see the good and the bad. We see large layoffs from the big guys, lawsuits between distributors, marketers and retailers, promises made but not kept. I’m often the shoulder to cry on, and that makes me sad. I wish only the best for these brave souls, but know the outcome too often.

We’re in a cutthroat industry, and it’s hard to watch people you like with the knives out – or with cut throats.

Then I spent a glorious day last Friday at the Big Geyser Spring/Summer Sales Event and all was right in the world.

As most know, Big Geyser is New York

City’s formidable independent distributor. They are one company that does it right. I drove out with Gerry Khermouch in tow. We share a strong, longstanding friendship and have a mutual passion for beverages. The event was a love fest from the start. They bring together their vast portfolio of brands they represent.

Set up like a miniature trade show, each company showed their array of brands and what is next on the horizon.

The energy was palpable, the excitement real. It was also a time for old friends, and colleagues from companies past, to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company. With the retail attendance topping all previous events numbers, the positive vibes were everywhere. There was innovation, creativity and mutual support and respect. In one room, with so many friends I’ve made over the years in a more intimate setting, I found a powerful reminder that you can achieve success and do it in positive, uplifting manner. It demonstrated why we all got into this arena.

So, whenever I get down about the state of the industry, I can re-visit, in my mind, the terrific day I spent seeing the industry function in all its glory. It makes up for the dry-cleaning bills, certainly.

Anthony Ferranti SALES & MARKETING ADMIN aferranti@bevnet.com

ART & PRODUCTION

Matthew Kennedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Willette SENIOR DESIGNER Nathan Brescia PHOTOGRAPHER

BEVNET.COM, INC.

John F. (Jack) Craven CHAIRMAN jfcraven@bevnet.com John Craven CEO & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR jcraven@bevnet.com

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BEVSCAPE

THE LATEST BEVERAGE BRAND NEWS

The Investment Picture across Food and Beverage CB Insights Offers Look at Entrepreneurship, Funding Along with record levels of funding from both private and corporate entities, the rise of plant-based protein and new products and services that combine convenience and health were identified as two of the major disruptive trends reshaping the food and beverage space by data analytics firm CB Insights.

In late March, Zoe Leavitt, Retail & Food Technology Analyst at CB Insights, laid out the numbers, and they were huge.

like CAVU Ventures, New Crop Capital and S2G Ventures.

Since 2012, 1,300 deals involving private food and beverage companies, valued collectively at $5.9 billion, have been completed. With 72 deals worth a combined $485 million already completed, 2017 is on track to be a record year in private market funding.

In food, startups working with condiments and spices have had the most deals since 2013, while enhanced waters

period are in beverage. On that list, Coke-backed cold-pressed juice brand Suja claimed the top position with $196 million raised. Other notable inclusions were Joint Juice, backed

by Nestle, at $124 million, Blue Bottle Coffee ($115 million), Juicero ($100 million), FRS Healthy Energy ($92 million) and BodyArmor ($55 million). New York-based All Market, maker of Vita Coco, is the most well-funded beverage startup in the U.S. with $208

for $286 million), PepsiCo (KeVita for $200 million) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (Bai Brands for $1.7 billion).

Deals in which large corporations have participated hit a new high of 24 in 2016, worth a total of $235 million. With nine deals already completed in 2017, the full-year projection is set to break that record with 42 deals valued at an aggregate amount of $321 million.

Since 2015, several corporations have also launched their

Reviewing the last several years of mergers and acquisition activity, Leavitt noted that the competition amongst investors was increasing after a record high 338 deals were made in 2016. She pointed out that as the space has become more crowded, the environment has given rise to new investment firms focused solely on food and beverage startups,

– such as plant-based waters and electrolyte-infused ‘performance’ waters – have been the subject of the most deals in beverage. Over 80 percent of all investment has gone to U.S.-based startups.

Leavitt noted that while food has attracted the greater number of deals since 2013, more than half of the top ten most well-funded startups in that

million raised, though not from venture capital.

While private investment has increased, large corporations have hardly been ignoring M&A activity. Acquisitions of startups by major companies have increased every year since 2013, hitting a new record with 17 deals in 2016, including acquisitions by Hormel Foods (Justin’s peanut butter

own venture funds, often with different strategic philosophies.

301 Inc., the investment arm of General Mills, has looked toward vegetable and plantbased products through brands like Kite Hill and kale-based snack company Rhythm Superfoods, which has raised over $16 million in total, including a $6 million Series D in January. Meanwhile, Acre Venture

10 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

Partners, whose sole limited partner is Campbell’s Soup, has focused on the technologies behind food distribution with funding for home cold-pressed juice machine Juicero and Spoiler Alert, which aims to reduce food waste.

TRACKING TRENDS Assessing the current trends impacting food and beverage overall, Leavitt described plant protein as possibly the most significant.

She pointed to high activity in the category amongst 24 investor groups that CB Insights has classified as “smart money” due to past performance and exit history, as well as plant protein’s ability to reach the type of returns that smart money VC firms might expect.

At the top of its disruptive capabilities is the potential to fundamentally alter the entire

beef and dairy industries; that opportunity dwarfs those from packaged goods startups offering new flavors or new brands.

As an example, Leavitt cited Impossible Foods, which uses molecular engineering to create meatless hamburgers that have a similar texture to real beef and can even bleed. The company has raised $183 million from investors such as Google Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates, with plans to roll out a new production facility and expand to over 1,000 restaurants locations in 2017.

Meanwhile, CPG giant Tyson Foods made plant-based meat-substitute brand Beyond Foods the first investment from its Tyson New Ventures division in 2016.

Beyond meat substitutes, ingredients such as peas and chickpeas have pushed into the plant-based protein space.

Chickpea-based pasta company Banza has raised $5 million in funding thus far, while Ripple, a dairyfree milk alternative made with peas, has raised $43.6 million.

For a truly alternative protein source, Leavitt said that crickets were beginning to make some noise. Exo, which makes snack bars made with cricket-based protein, has raised $5.3 million, and

Leavitt noted that the total global market for insect-based protein could expand to $371 billion when other applications, such as livestock feed or industrial uses, are considered.

As the popularity of oncehot ingredients like kale and coconut water have plateaued, Leavitt pointed to maple water, chia and moringa as the next wave of “superfoods” with high ceilings for growth.

Probiotics has been another busy category for investment, as $32 million went into brands in the category in 2016, including a $6.5 million investment in fermented products company Farmhouse Culture led by 301 Inc. The industry is also actively looking for ways to combine healthy eating with convenience. Few companies have attracted as much attention for their efforts as Soylent, which sells ready-to-drink and powdered meal products that could theoretically replace all other food items in a person’s diet. The brand has raised $21.5 million from investors including Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.

Others companies are repackaging established items, such as jerky, to emphasize convenience. Krave, for example, raised $22 million and reached $35 million in annual sales before being acquired by The Hershey Company for a reported sum of $200 to $300 million. That deal was followed

by General Mills’ acquisition of meat bar maker Epic Provisions in 2016 and ConAgra’s purchase of Thanasi Foods, the makers of Duke’s meat snacks, earlier this year.

FURTHER INNOVATION Disruption in food and beverage goes beyond consumer packaged goods, however.

Leavitt said that new methods of discovering and purchasing products – such as meal-kits, online grocery ordering services and nextgeneration vending machines – were offering brands new opportunities and synergies within the industry.

After soaring to a record high $455 million in funding in 2015, meal kit startups fell by over 50 percent last year to just $135 million raised.

Leavitt said that the startups that have been most successful have been those with a strong appeal to health; the largest raise in the category this year, for example, has been a $15 million Series C for Sun Basket, a meal kit startup that focuses on paleo-friendly and gluten-free options – and is reportedly considering an IPO as well. Leavitt added that meal kits are also showing potential as strong sales vehicles for food corporations.

Looking further ahead, Leavitt explained that the growth of alternate distribution channels like meal kits, on-demand grocery delivery and placement in co-working spaces, will likely force CPG brands to adapt new strategies for getting product into consumers’ homes.

And as new “smart home” technologies are developed, the possibility of home appliances that can automatically order items – which would then be delivered via drone, naturally – could herald the death of the grocery store.

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BEVSCAPE Trying Times at Reed’s Reed’s Inc. is shifting gears following a disappointing financial performance in fiscal year 2016, as the company announced the resignation and reassignment of founder and CEO Chris Reed. Industry veteran and Reed’s director Stefan Freeman has taken the reins as interim CEO while Reed assumed the newly created role of Chief Innovation Officer (CIO).

Reed’s, a publicly traded company with a brand portfolio that includes Reed’s Ginger Beer and Virgil’s, announced the move on the same day as an earnings call in which it revealed a 7.6 percent drop in annual revenue, which fell from $45.9 million in 2015 to $42.4 million last year.

The company also announced the closing of a $3.4 million private placement in the form of the sale and issuance of convertible note and warrant to purchase of 1.4 million shares of common stock.

Interest on the note is 12 percent per year and the warrants are for a five-year term.

As described in a press release, Reed will focus on new product development in his new position as CIO. He will retain his seat as a non-independent director on the company’s board of directors.

“Reed’s has never had a more impressive portfolio of new products waiting to launch in the history of the Company,” said Reed

Correction: In last issue’s article “Over the Hill? Legacy Craft Brewers Weather the Industry’s Slowdown,”

in a press release. “My transition from CEO to Chief Innovation Officer allows me to focus my full energies to bringing these exciting new products to fruition.”

Reed also highlighted the company’s line of natural soda fountain products, currently on trial at a large national fastcasual restaurant chain, and development of low-calorie offerings as examples of its strategy for opening new markets and strengthening brand equity.

Freeman, a former regional vice president at Coke, thanked Reed in the release, while pointedly noting the company is “going through a critical transition.” He added, “We are targeting greater operational efficiencies and better margins and we believe that will translate into more profitability and accelerated marketing programs. I am excited to be here and look forward to reporting our progress and enhancing shareholder value.”

John Bello, Chairman of the Board of Directors, thanked Reed for his “extensive contributions” and for “pioneering the craft soda revolution,” while praising Freeman’s 25 years of experience in the beverage industry and ability to lead the company through “this transitional phase.”

“When the shareholders elected this board they strengthened the Company with a great team of experienced and capable executives,” he said in the release.

“We will all be working together to drive growth under the leadership of Stefan while we search for the permanent CEO who will lead this Company through the next stages of growth.”

The company will look to Freeman to help it rebound from a year in which

supply chain issues spurred a loss of shelf space at retailers, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer Dan Miles.

In an interview with BevNET last October, Reed said that those issues resulted in the company losing somewhere between 15 to 20 percent of its distribution in the marketplace, about a quarter of which had been recovered at the time.

As it recalibrated its supply chain, Miles said the brand initially prioritized the Reed’s Ginger Brew product line, which saw gross sales grow 2 percent for the year, followed by the Virgil’s line, which was down by around 10 percent. Reed’s Culture Club Kombucha suffered the heaviest losses, as product went out of stock for up to six months, fueling a 54 percent drop in 2016. That drop, Miles said, “caused the most sales impact in our year-over-year comparison.” He also noted the company was hampered by idle plant costs due to lower sales of Culture Club Kombucha, produced exclusively at the company’s Los Angeles production facility, as well as other products manufactured there.

“Our current plans to improve margins in 2017 include a combination of plant projects coming online, better packaging, pricing, and innovations, and better sourcing to save on raw materials,” he said in a separate press release.“The $3.4 million financing transaction announced today strengthens our financial position significantly and will help us achieve our objectives. I look forward to working under the leadership of Stefan Freeman, our new Interim CEO, who has extensive operational experience to support our sales recovery.”

Correction: In the January/February issue’s article

BRAND

“Look Behind: The Year in Review” a table on the

OKF

DOLLAR SALES $23,079,663

CHANGE 15.9%

size of the Aloe Vera Juice category did not include

ALO (by SPI WEST PORT)

$16,986,708

34.9% 13.5%

several brands that had been classified in other

Fruit of the Earth

$14,320,497

gested that Bell’s Brewery had ties to a

product categories by the data company that

Viloe

$7,463,208

4.2%

strategic or private equity partner. Bell’s

supplied the sales figures. The following table

Tropking

$7,309,580

0.8%

Brewery is an independently-owned

represents the leading brands in the Aloe Vera

Visvita

$7,261,692

19.7%

craft brewery that has not received

Juice category for the 52-week period ending

Savia

$5,911,218

3.9%

funding from a larger foreign or domes-

on February 17, 2017.

Faraon

$4,720,867

16.9%

Iberia

$4,168,707

128.8%

Aloevine

$4,147,460

12.4%

inaccurately sug-

tic brewery, or a private equity firm.

12 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

NOSHSCAPE

THE LATEST FOOD BRAND NEWS

The Courts: Trademarks Battle Popping in Snack Aisle Amplify Snack Brands, the company behind SkinnyPop Popcorn, and snack giant Snyder'sLance began a legal battle over the word “skinny” last month.

Amplify filed a federal trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Snyder’s over the company’s plans to start selling Metcalfe's Skinny in the U.S.

Amplify, however, is alleging otherwise.

The company says the potential launch infringes on its Skinnypop brand, which brought in $200 million in sales in the U.S. last year. Skinnypop is a company Amplify has been actively growing.

The brand recently expanded beyond readyto-eat popcorn with its

Western District of Texas. To prove infringement and prevent Snyder’s from bringing Metcalfe’s to the U.S., Ryan Kaiser, Chair of Amin Talati Upadhye's Class Action and Business Litigation team, said the Austin-based snack maker will need to “allege and prove that it owns prior rights in a protectable mark, and

either company, said.

There is also a question of timeline. Skinnypop was launched in Chicago in 2010, while Metcalfe's was established in 2009.

Kaiser said he expects Amplify will argue that SkinnyPop could be confused with any brand that tries to use “skinny” in connection with popped or corn prod-

proceeding. He also suggested that brands involve counsel in the selection and clearance of any new mark early in the process.

“There’s an inherent conflict, when choosing a trademark, between the marketing and legal teams,” Kaiser said.

“Marketing likes to use descriptive terms, or variations of descriptive

Metcalfe's is a U.K.only line of healthy popcorn that was purchased

by Snyder’s last year as part of the company’s expansion of its betterfor-you portfolio.

Snyder’s filed their own suit the same day in response to Amplify’s claims, asking the court to find that there is no infringement.

In Synder’s filing, the company states “skinny” is descriptive and can’t be trademarked.

launch of microwave popcorn and popcorn cakes in February.

"We believe in fair play and fair competition,” Amplify's CEO Tom Ennis said in a press release. “SnydersLance's and Metcalfe's effort to copy our brand name is flattering but not how trade competitors should behave.”

The case is currently assigned to Judge Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the

that the junior mark is likely to cause consumer confusion.” But, unlike standard trademark issues, Kaiser told NOSH it’s more difficult to protect words or phrases rooted in descriptive or every-day terms.

“The real battle will be over whether the marks are confusingly similar, and more importantly, the scope and strength of Amplify’s rights,” Kaiser, who does not represent

ucts. If the ruling favors Amplify, it could set a precedent for future cases that trademarks can apply not only to a word itself, but also to the context of a word with certain goods.

It can be difficult – and expensive – for a brand to protect a mark that’s arguably descriptive. Kaiser said companies planning to use descriptive terms in their branding should weigh their options before

terms, because it helps convey the marketing message about the product to consumers, with less marketing dollars.

But the legal team has to explain that descriptive terms don’t make strong trademarks – at least not initially – and that the marketing spend a company might save by using a descriptive mark will often be eaten up by the legal budget required to police and enforce the mark.”

14 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

For more stories, check out ProjectNOSH.com

Investor: Sunrise’s Vital Investment in Grass The hens have come home to roost for pasture-raised egg maker Vital Farms, which has announced a new minority investment from Sunrise Strategic Partners. The investment will help the Austin-based egg company scale its operation and grow its distribution.

Terms of the deal were not revealed but Sunrise typically invests $10-$25 million per investment. Vital Farms has

facility to clean, sort and pack its eggs but the company will be opening its own processing facility in Springfield, Missouri this fall. Sunrise Strategic Founder and CEO Steve Hughes told NOSH that the new facility will allow the brand to lower costs and pass that savings along to consumers.

Vital plans to get its price point to roughly a $1 premium to conventionally-raised eggs;

packaging or marketing about the differences between caged, cage-free, free-range and pasture-raised eggs.

“Cage-free has certainly been in the spotlight given that retailers and restaurant chains are all pledging to go cage-free in the next 3-5 years,” O’Hayer told NOSH. “This is a move in the right direction, but as consumers learn that cage-free is not at all that they think it is, and

previously taken capital. Vital Farms CEO and Owner Matt O’Hayer, said it only considers investment from “organizations that invest in sustainable and humane practices.”

Founded in 2007, Vital Farms has a partnership with over 100 family-owned farms in six states who produce eggs for the brand. Previously Vital Farms had used an external

Hughes says research has shown that customers are willing to pay that increase for a better, more humanely-raised product.

Along with a new pricing model, Vital Farms is also launching new packaging that features “augmented reality” via an app, said O’Hayer.

The app is part of the company’s 2017 focus on educating consumers through

we continue to do our work in educating them about the difference, they will continue to turn to pasture-raised eggs.”

That’s not to say consumer demand and awareness has not been high. Hughes says Vital Farms’ all commodity volume (ACV) is 15 percent, implying there is much room for expansion. O’Hayer told NOSH that in 2016 Vital Farms had the

top-selling egg item across the natural channel.

Following consumer demand, Sunrise has made grass-fed and pasture-raised based companies a key focus area of the fund’s portfolio. Of the group’s seven investments, three – Vital Farms, Maple Hill Creamery, and Teton Waters Ranch – are in companies where pasture-raised or grass-fed products are central to the company. One other, Perky Jerky, has begun to shift its beef supply to grass-fed.

By investing across the space, Hughes believes, any investment in consumer education around grass-fed and pasture-raised products benefits several of Sunrise’s portfolio companies.

“Cage-free and free-range are the biggest pieces of marketing BS I’ve ever seen,” Hughes told NOSH. “I’m a marketing guy from way back, what people think cage-free and free-range are is a gimmick. It’s no better for the animal, it’s no better for the egg.”

Having spent time working at White Wave and ConAgra and then founding Boulder Brands, Hughes has been exposed to a variety of consumer trends and marketing strategies. He believes that grass-fed and pasture-raised have the potential to be as big as low-fat or gluten-free.

But, unlike those trends, Hughes noted, it’s not necessarily easy to launch a grassfed or pasture-raised product.

“The nice thing about [Maple Hill, Vital Farms or Teton Waters] is that it’s hard to follow. The barriers to entry are high,” Hughes said. “It’s hard for people to follow you quickly. Because they have to do what Matt did for the last ten years at Vital Farms.”

15

BREWSCAPE

THE LATEST CRAFT BEER BRAND NEWS

Koch Sounds the Alarm for Craft. Op-Ed Shakes Things Up On National Beer Day, Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch got the craft world stirred up after he penned an op-ed for The New York Times hyperbolically titled “Is It Last Call For Craft Beer?”

Koch, a craft beer pioneer and the man behind Samuel Adams, painted a bleak future for the industry despite it being what he called “the greatest time in history to be a beer drinker in America.”

Among Koch’s signs of the coming craft beer apocalypse: “slack government antitrust oversight” allowing global beer giant mergers such as last year’s Megabrew deal between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, craft brewery acquisitions by larger industry players (Koch pointed to A-B’s acquisition of Karbach in Texas, where A-B owns 52 percent of the beer market) and wholesaler consolidation that has thinned the ranks of the middle tier to less than 3,000 distributors. Many of those wholesalers, Koch said, are incentivized to sell A-B or MillerCoors products and are protected by outdated laws that “have the unintended consequence of creating an unfavorable balance of power.”

“Get some craft brewers together, and they’ll tell you that if we continue down this path, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the American craft beer revolution,” Koch warned.

In his op-ed, Koch, a member of the Brewers Association board of directors, made sure to celebrate the “5,300 small, innovative craft breweries making unique, flavorful, creative brews” but not the “cute-sounding brands,” such as Goose Island and Terrapin

that no longer meet the BA’s definition of “craft.”

But Koch’s piece also ignored the threat from within. As the craft segment matures and slows to single-digit growth, legacy brewers have found themselves struggling to compete with more than 5,200 “small and local” BA-defined craft brewers who are all chipping away at market share, as Koch himself noted during his company’s latest investor call. Many hyperlocal beermakers are winning the battle for drinkers’ share of stomach by serving an increasing amount of fresh beer directly to consumers via their brewery taprooms. On top of that, emerging regional players are quickly becoming a thorn in the side of companies like Boston Beer, which continues to lose shelf space and tap handles to the 3,300 upstarts that have launched since 2011.

In fact, Boston Beer sales declined 2.2 percent in grocery and convenience stores last year, according to market research firm IRI Worldwide.

Many of its brands, including flagship Boston Lager, declined by double digits in 2016. Those trends didn’t improve during the first six weeks of 2017 either, as companywide depletions dipped 15 percent, largely due to the the poor performance of its latest seasonal release, Hopscape.

And even as Koch claimed that distributors are “free to favor their primary supplier over independent craft brewers when it comes to promotion, visibility, shelf space, and marketing support,” he neglected to mention that his company enjoys far greater wholesaler support in contrast to smaller craft enterprises. Earlier

16 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

this year, Koch even touted his company’s middle-tier muscle during an investor call, claiming that Boston Beer’s products would eventually stand out amongst the swelling number of craft beer SKUs that have saturated the market.

“I believe that in the long run, the brands that are well supported, that maintained consistent quality that stand for important societal values, they ultimately prevail,” Koch said. “We plan on maintaining our distribution strengths, particularly our sales force, both on-premise and off and our supportive retailers and our wholesalers with the belief that in the long run, Sam Adams will return to growth.”

Both A-B and MillerCoors – which have lost millions of barrels over the last decade – have responded with objections.

"We understand Boston Beer sales are hurting right now and it is easy to blame the bigger brewers,” wrote Gemma Hart, A-B’s vice president of communications. “But with 5,300 breweries out there, the numbers don't stack up, and we only see positive, exciting things ahead for our industry and for craft in particular, certainly not its demise! Some of Koch's stats are also misleading and I want to point out that we employ people too – lots of them, over 16,000 in fact – and we are embedded in our com-

Though Koch lamented A-B’s and MillerCoors’ foray into craft, his own company, the second largest craft brewer according to the BA, has expanded considerably through the creation of brands such as Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea, Truly Spiked & Sparkling, and through its A&S Brewing incubator, which oversees smaller craft subsidiaries Angel City, Traveler Beer Co., Concrete Beach Brewery and Coney Island Brewing Co.

munities across the country."

On its blog, MillerCoors wrote: “Has the creation of ABI and MillerCoors, together with the three-tier system, hampered the growth of craft beer? It’s a tough case to make based on the explosive growth of craft. As Koch himself notes, craft brewers are coming down from an extended run of annual doubledigit growth. It’s a tough case to make based on the proliferation of breweries since ABI and MillerCoors were formed.”

For more stories, check out brewbound.com

Crowl Around Texas Cuvee Coffee’s crowler is finally free from the clutches of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

The 20-month saga between the Austin, Texas-based coffee company and the Texas regulatory agency finally concluded with the TABC returning Cuvee’s crowler canning machine, which it seized during a September 29, 2015, raid of the retail store.

Cuvee founder and CEO Mike McKim appealed to the state lawmakers, who supported the return of the machine, which finally came back to the company in April.

McKim celebrated the news on Twitter: In a conversation Thursday with Brewbound, McKim sounded relieved that the fight was finally over.

“It’s over man,” he said with a bit of a sigh. “It’s all over. The great news is now retailers in the entire state of Texas, if they have a BG license and can sell beer and

wine for off-premise consumption; a crowler is now a vessel that they’re allowed to use.”

To refresh: Despite several rulings in favor of Cuvee, the TABC continued the fight to stifle the use of crowler machines, which seal 32 oz. cans of to-go beer. In November, a Texas administrative judge ruled in Cuvee’s favor and dissected the state’s claim that a crowler “jeopardizes the general welfare, health and safety of the people” because “beer in crowlers is not properly oxidized, organisms can get into the product.”

“It appears disingenuous for (TABC) Staff to assert crowlers are dangerous to

the public, unless they are sold at brewpubs,” Texas administrative judge John Beeler wrote.

The case didn’t end there. The TABC fought on with the allegation that Cuvee was illegally manufacturing beer, filing exceptions in December, which were overruled earlier this year, and the case was seemingly over.

Except, the TABC still had Cuvee’s $3,000 crowler machine.

“I learned, which is crazy, they don’t have to accept the judge’s ruling, even though we went through the whole process,” McKim said.

And it became obvious to McKim that the state agency wasn’t going to return his property. So he reached out to the governor’s office as well as state Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., who has also introduced a bill attempting to legalize the machines.

Enough pressure was put on the TABC that the state agency finally relented with executive director, Sherry Cook, signing an order on March 13, and the agency returning Cuvee’s crowler machine.

McKim estimated that Cuvee sold about 1,000 crowlers in the few months before his business’ machine was seized by authorities.

In contrast, growler sales have been “fantastically unsuccessful” due to the cost ($12 for beer and $15 for a glass container), he said.

“In the past 20 months, we’ve done 16 growler fills,” McKim said. “There’s a huge difference, man.”

In light of the Cuvee raid, retailers such as Whole Foods and Central Market had their crowler machines removed.

“Hopefully they’ll put crowlers back in all of their locations,” McKim said.

“They’re so much more economical. Unlike growlers, they give you an opportunity for an impulse buy.”

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NEW PRODUCTS

THE NEWEST BEVERAGE OPTIONS

CSD PepsiCo has extended its Izze brand with Izze Fusions. A blend of sparkling water and natural fruit juices, the new product line comes in three varieties: Orange Mango, Lemon Lime and Strawberry Melon. The beverages are sweetened with a blend of cane sugar and stevia and contain 60 calories per 12 oz. can. They contain no artificial sweeteners or flavors. The drinks have a suggested retail price of $1.29. For more information, please call PepsiCo at (914) 253-2000.

PepsiCo has also expanded its 1893 craft soda line with Citrus Cola (infused with grapefruit essence) and Black Currant Cola varieties. Inspired by the original recipes created in 1893 by Pepsi founder Caleb Bradham, 1893 is a blend of kola nut extract, real sugar, sparkling water and the essence of each flavor’s respective fruit.

Packaged in 12 oz. cans, the sodas have a suggested retail price of $1.79. For more information, please call PepsiCo at (914) 253-2000.

Functional Drinks Fitness drink brand Celsius has introduced a new line of products formulated with natural ingredients. The products are non-GMO, Kosher, and contain no artificial ingredients. They are made with caffeine from green coffee bean extract and an all-natural sweetener blend. The line includes six flavors: Grapefruit, Cucumber Lime, and Orange Pomegranate in sparkling, and Pineapple Coconut, Watermelon Berry, and Strawberries & Cream in non-carbonated.

Packaged in 12 oz. cans, the drinks have a suggested retail price of $2.49 and are available nationally at Sprouts. For more information, please call Celsius at (561) 276-2239.

Caliwater Cactus Water has launched a new flavor, Cactus + Lime with Fresh Ginger. It is made with nopal cactus extract and organic ginger juice and is certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified. Packaged in an 11.2 oz. Tetra Pak, the beverage has a suggested retail price of $2.99 and is available at Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, CVS and Target. For more information, please call Caliwater at (323) 834-2924.

BiPro has added a new Berry Burst flavor to its BiPro Protein Water line. It is naturally flavored 18 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

and contains 20 grams of protein per 16.9 oz. bottle. The product is made with five natural ingredients and contains no sugar, carbohydrates or fat. It is also lactose- and gluten-free. The beverage has a suggested retail price $4.25 and is available at select retailers. For more information, please call Agropur Inc. at (608) 781-2345.

Water Unify Water is a new spring aquifer-sourced premium bottled water brand. The company was founded on the premise that for every bottle sold in stores or online, it will donate one gallon of water to an area where there is limited access to clean drinking water. The water is naturally alkaline and has a pH of 7.3 – 7.7. It has suggested retail price of $1.89 for a 20 oz. bottle and $2.39 for a 1 L bottle. For more information, please call Unify Water at (213) 359-8881.

Agua Brands has added two new flavors for its Agua Fruit Essence line: Blueberry Coconut and Watermelon. The naturally flavored, electrolyteenhanced waters contain zero calories, zero sugars and zero sweeteners. Agua Brands has also moved this line into a proprietary 20 oz. bottle, mirroring the look and feel of its 20 oz. Agua Active Hydration line, and offering 25 percent more product to the consumer at the same price point. The have a suggested retail price of $1.39. For more information, please call Agua Brands at (516) 597-5440.

Premium water brand evian has launched a new 750 mL sport cap bottle. It is available for a suggested retail price of $2.29 and available in drug, convenience and large retail stores nationwide. For more information, please call Danone North America at (914) 872-8400.

Flow Water, a naturally alkaline spring water brand from Canada, has launched in the U.S. The naturally alkaline spring water is sourced in Southwestern Ontario from the founder’s family-owned aquifer. Due to the unique geological conditions at the source, Flow’s water is naturally packed with electrolytes, essential minerals, and an alkaline pH of 8.1. Packaged in Tetra Pak cartons, Flow is available in 500 mL and 1 L sizes and distributed in 12 states at retailers, including Earth Fare, Central Market and Kowalski’s. For more information, please call Flow Water at (844) 356-9426.

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NEW PRODUCTS Dairy Beverages Dreaming Cow Creamery, the maker of grass-fed and 100 percent pasture-raised cream top yogurt, has launched a new line of products called LUSH, a nutrient dense grass-fed and 100 percent pasture-raised yogurt drink. The full-fat yogurt drinks contains significant RDA of antioxidants, vitamin A and C, iron, calcium, potassium and B vitamins in a 12 oz. bottle. It has 11-13 grams of protein and is lightly sweetened. LUSH includes more than 20 billion colony forming units of Bifidobacterium-12, a clinically studied probiotic well-known for promoting immune and digestive health, according to the manufacturer. LUSH is made with only natural ingredients and without preservatives or stabilizers. Dreaming Cow’s cows are not treated with rBST and rBGH hormones.

LUSH is available in four flavors: Strawberry, Raspberry, Purple Carrot & Beet, Blueberry, Boysenberry, Purple Carrot & Beet, Peach, Ginger, Pumpkin & Carrot and Lemon, Passionfruit, Carrot & Pumpkin. The beverages will be available nationwide and have a suggested retail price of $2.99. For more information, please call Dreaming Cow at (229) 859-2677.

Nut Milks Califia Farms has launched Organic Homestyle Nutmilks, a new line of USDA Certified Organic nutmilks. Packaged in Califia’s distinctive carafe-style 750 mL bottles, the organic nut milks come in three varieties — almond, cashew and coconut — and are made with four ingredients: organic nuts, water, oat fiber and a dash of sea salt. The ingredients are processed differently than the company’s existing nut milks to have a more nut-forward taste and slightly different textural profile. They contain no gums or binders. As with all Califia Farms products, they are vegan, dairy-free, GMO-free, soy-free, carrageenan-free, and gluten-free. The line has a suggested retail price of $4.79 and is available nationally at natural retailers.

Califia Farms has also reformulated and extended its line of protein-infused almond milks, which now include two additional grams of plant-based protein and are infused with Peruvian maca root powder. The drinks contain eight grams of protein sourced from rice and peas and one gram of of maca root powder per serving; the company also reduced the sugar content. The line includes Maca-‘Nilla, flavored with vanilla 20 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

and cardamom, Choc-A-Maca, Maca-Spresso, a blend of Califia’s almond milk and Direct Tradesourced cold brew coffee. The products are packaged in 10.5 oz. bottles and retail for $2.99.

Califia also launched two new multi-serve nutbased milks. Toasted Oats ‘N Almond Almondmilk is an almond milk product blended with toasted oats and no added sugar. The company promotes it as a fiber-rich, creamy offering similar to cereal milk. Califia’s new Go Coconuts product is its first 100 percent coconut milk beverage in a multi-serve package. The product is made with coconut milk, coconut meat and coconut water and contains no added sugar.

Both retail for $3.99. For more information, please call Califia Farms at (213) 694-4667.

Coffee Hotbox Roasters has introduced a Nitro Cold Brew. The coffee is made with premium Arabica coffee beans that are roasted in Longmont, Colo. and brewed for 24 hours with cold, crisp, filtered Rocky Mountain water. Nitrogen is infused into the coffee during the brewing process. The product contains 420 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. can. It is available at major grocery stores in Alabama, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Kansas and Missouri and retails for $3.69-$4.20.

For more information, please call Oskar Blues Brewery at (828) 883-2337.

Juice WTRMLN WTR has introduced a line of three new functional blends. WTRMLN GNGR (Ginger Lemon), WTRMLN LME (Lime), and WTRMLN TRT CHRRY (Tart Cherry) are each made with WTRMLN WTR’s base of watermelon flesh and rind and the addition of organic juices and organic extracts. The products are designed to offer functional benefits for athletes and those who lead an active lifestyle. The products are packaged in 12 oz. bottles for $3.99 and available exclusively at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide through July. For more information, please call World Waters at (212) 905-2393.

Organic juice maker Uncle Matt’s has introduced new organic Orange Energy Juice and Honey Lemonade products. Organic Energy is made with coffeeberry and ashwagandha and contains 100 mg of organic caffeine. It contains

160 percent RDV of Vitamin C and B vitamins and has no added sugar. The Honey Lemonade is sweetened with organic honey and contains less sugar and calories than traditional lemonades, according to the company. Both drinks are packaged in 12 oz. bottles and retail for $2.49.

They are available nationally. For more information, please call Uncle Matt’s at (352) 394-8737.

PepsiCo has launched Naked Pressed Botanical Juices. An extension of the Naked Pressed line of cold-pressed juices, the new products are made with fruits, vegetables and botanical ingredients. They contain no added sugar, no preservatives and are Non-GMO Project verified. The juices come in two varieties: Apples to Lavender, a blend of apple, cucumber, beet, cranberry, lemon, passionfruit and lavender oil, and Citrus Lemongrass, a blend of orange, apple, cucumber, pineapple, spinach, lemon, passionfruit and lemongrass oil. The drinks have a suggested retail price of $3.99 for a 12 oz. bottle and are available nationwide at major retailers. For more information, please call PepsiCo at (914) 253-2000.

Tea AriZona Beverages has launched a Green Tea with Cucumber and Citrus variety. Made with a touch of Sue Bee Orange Honey, the tea is packaged in AriZona’s iconic 23 oz. can. Like all other AriZona Beverages it contains no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Available nationwide in select supermarket chains across the country, the product has a suggested retail price of $0.99. For more information, please call AriZona at (516) 812-0300.

Numi Organic Tea has launched a line of readyto-drink teas in five flavors including Black Lemon, Jasmine Green, Hibiscus Red, Aged Earl Grey & Classic Mint. The products are USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and made with Fair Trade Certified sugar and tea. The line is available in caffeinated and caffeine-free varieties, each lightly sweetened and containing 60 calories. They have a suggested retail price of $1.79-1.89 per 12 oz. bottle and are available at retailers in Southern California. For more information, please call Numi at (510) 534-6864.

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NEW PRODUCTS Kombucha Good Omen Bottling has launched Wild Tonic 5.6% ABV Jun Kombucha. The product is fermented using honey, rather than sugar, and is a “living” alcoholic beverage that contains with probiotics and beneficial acids, according to the manufacturer. Available in Blueberry Basil and Tropical Turmeric flavors, the drinks are packaged in the brand’s signature 16 oz. cobalt blue bottle. For more information, please call Good Omen at (928) 634-5434.

Cocktail Mixers Q Drinks has introduced Q Indian Tonic Water as the newest offering in its line of premium cocktail mixers. The product was designed to complement juniper-forward London Dry gins.

Along with this introduction, the company has refreshed its packaging for the full range, which includes Tonic Water, Club Soda, Kola, Ginger Beer, Ginger Ale, Grapefruit Soda, and now Indian Tonic Water, giving each its own unique personality and signifying colors. Packaged in 6.7 oz. bottles, the mixers are sold in 4-packs for a suggested retail price of $5.99. For more information, please call Q Drinks at (718) 398-6642.

American Beverage Marketers has introduced four new products to its Master of Mixes line of cocktail mixers: Blood Orange Margarita, Blue Curaçao, BigBucket Mango Margarita and Michelada. The new products are available at retailers nationwide. The suggested retail price for the BigBucket Mango Margarita is $6.99 while the Blood Orange Margarita mixer, Cocktail Essentials Blue Curacao and Michelada Gourmet Mixer are priced at $3.99. For more information, please call American Beverage Marketers at (812) 944-3585.

Hard Soda and Pre-Mixed Cocktails Bravazzi Hard Italian Soda is a new citrus-flavored, 4.2 percent ABV carbonated beverage. Produced with six ingredients, including a proprietary alcohol base derived exclusively from cane sugar, the beverage contains no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial flavors, colors or ingredients. It is available in three flavors: Grapefruit, Limonata and Blood Orange. Packaged in 12 oz. cans, the 24 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

drinks are sold in 6-packs for a suggested retail price of $9.99 and distributed in Louisville, Ky. and Nashville, Tenn. For more information, please call Vivify Beverages at (417) 623-6153.

Austin-based beverage company Mighty Swell Sparkling Cocktails has launched a new mango flavor. The new variety delivers a taste of the tropics with sweet, ripe fruit balanced with slightly tangy citrus notes along with fragrant floral aromatics, according to the company.

Mighty Swell cocktails are made with premium ingredients including real fruit juice and pure cane sugar. They are then carbonated to create a distinctive cocktail with five percent alcohol by volume. The drinks do not contain high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, sodium benzoate, or food dyes. They are available at select retailers across the U.S. with a suggested price range of $8.99 to $9.99 for a 6-pack. For more information, please call Mighty Swell at (512) 652-8193.

Wine Sonoma County second-generation grape farmer Tom Gore introduced his first Alexander Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, adding a fifth wine to his namesake label: Tom Gore Vineyards.

Selected from the highest quality grapes from Alexander Valley vineyards, the 2014 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon boasts of slowly ripened fruit for intense, delicious flavors. A full-bodied, supple tannin wine, marrying the complex aromas of dark fruit, caramel, tobacco, and oat toast with a long, lingering finish, according to the winemaker. It has a suggested retail price of $40 for a 750 mL bottle and is available nationwide.

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Tank Garage Winery has launched Lost at Last, a skin-fermented California white wine with aromas and palate of citrus, grapefruit and honey, floral accents and tropical nuances. The wine is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Grenache and Mourvèdre and has a hue of orange and pink. The label’s imagery of Joshua Trees, a lone highway and glowing desert sun was designed to mimic the wine’s color. It has a suggested retail price of $30 for a 750 mL bottle and is available in California.

For more information, please call Tank Garage Winery at (707) 942-8265.

Meiomi has released its first Rosé. Similar to Meiomi Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the

2016 Meiomi Rosé blends premium grapes from Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, Light salmon in color with a pink hue, the 2016 Meiomi Rosé opens to delicate aromas of watermelon, orange peel, and subtle hints of rose petal, while the palate offers a lush mouthfeel with flavors of stone fruit and strawberry and a cool minerality on the finish, according to the winery. The wine is available at select locations nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Constellation Brands at (585) 678-7100.

Michael David Winery has added a second wine to its 7 Deadly Zins brand. The 2015 7 Deadly Red was crafted from the diverse soils of the Lodi Appellation. Featuring fresh vibrant blackberry and dark cherry fruit, the wine was aged in both French and American oak barrels.

It is line priced with 7 Deadly Zins at $16 for a 750 mL bottle. It is available in most major U.S. markets. For more information, please call Michael David Winery at (209) 368-7384 Opici Wines has launched “me du Vin” 2016, a luxury French rosé from the Cotes du Provence. A 70/30 Garnache/Cinsault blend, the wine is produced at the sustainably farmed Caves du Commandeur estate near the historic Provençale village of Montfort-sur-Argens.

Harvest took place in September 2016, with the resulting wine fermented in cement tanks, followed by stainless steel vats, prior to five months’ bottle-aging ahead of release. The new wine is presented in a sleek, stylish, clear-glass bottle, sealed with a glass closure and featuring an elegant silk-screen design. The wine has a suggested retail price of $17 per 750 mL bottle and is available at restaurants and fine wine stores nationwide. For more information, please call Opici Wines at (201) 689-3256.

González Byass, a leading Spanish wine and spirits producer has launched La Copa, a Sherry Vermouth. To create the distinctive fortified wine, González Byass recovered recipes and techniques dating back to 1896. The company transformed sherry into vermouth by leaving the wines to macerate with a selection of aromatic spices and botanicals: wormwood, clove, orange peel, nutmeg, angelica, quinine and savory. It has a suggested retail price of $22.99 for a 750 mL bottle and is available at select retailers nationally. For more information, please call Colangelo & Partners at (646) 624-2885.

25

NEW PRODUCTS Michael Mondavi Family Estate has released its 2016 Isabel Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon, a first for the winery. Released under the Isabel Mondavi brand, the wine is a family affair, created by vintner Dina Mondavi, Michael and Isabel Mondavi’s daughter. Although produced in a Provençal style, Isabel Rosé holds true to both its Napa roots, made up primarily of Cabernet, while also paying homage to the Mondavi family’s Italian heritage with the additions of Barbera and Muscat Canelli. It has suggested retail price of $20 for a 750 mL bottle and is available nationally. For more information, please call Michael Mondavi Family Estate at (707) 256-2757.

HBO Global Licensing and Vintage Wine Estates have launched a new line of wines inspired by the hit TV show “Game of Thrones.” Created by Vintage Wine Estates and acclaimed winemaker Bob Cabral, a fan of the show, the Game of Thrones Chardonnay, Red Blend and Cabernet Sauvignon come from specially selected vineyard lots and are aged in the premium oak barrels. The 2016 Chardonnay, Central Coast and 2014 Red Blend, Paso Robles, made from Syrah, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah, have a suggested retail price of $19.99. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is priced at $49.99. The wines are available across the U.S. For more information, please call Vintage Wine Estates at (707) 921-2600.

Whiskey Devils River Whiskey is a new small-batch bourbon. Distilled in Texas, the bourbon is crafted with carefully selected grains and a proprietary fermentation process. The mash is distilled in traditional copper pot stills then the whiskey is aged in dark #4 charred oak barrels to enrich the amber color. It is combined with pure, limestone-filtered spring water of the whiskey’s namesake Devils River. The spirit is finished with the company’s proprietary chill filtration process.

The 90 proof whiskey is available across Texas and has a suggested retail price of $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Giant Noise at (210) 701-8370.

3 Badge Beverage Corporation’s Mixology division has introduced an innovative new oak barrel aging program for its Masterson’s Rye Whiskey.

Masterson’s Barrel-Finished Expressions is made with Masterson’s small-batch 100 percent rye whiskey that has been finished in American, French or Hungarian oak barrels. The rye comes from the Pacific Northwest and pure glacial wa26 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

ter is sourced from the northern Rocky Mountains. The company distills the spirit using an old-fashioned pot still. It is then aged in charred white oak casks for ten years. Following cask aging, a limited quantity of the rye whiskey is then selected for the Barrel-Finished Expressions program for additional aging in either American, French or Hungarian oak barrels that have been air-dried outdoors for more than two years.

Each of the oak barrel types imparts the optimal amount of complexity and flavors with varying times in barrel. Masterson’s Barrel-Finished Rye Whiskey retails for $79 and is available at select retailers. For more information, please call 3 Badge Beverage at (707) 996-8463.

Limestone Branch Distillery has introduced Minor Case Straight Rye Whiskey, featuring straight rye whiskey with a sherry cask finish and bottled at 90 proof. Available in 750 mL bottles and aged two years, Minor Case Straight Rye Whiskey offers a warm rye spice complemented by the dried fruit notes from being finished in a sherry cask barrel, according to the distillery. The whiskey is packaged in a unique flask-style bottle with a letterpress label and a cork topper. The spirit is available nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $49.99. For more information, please call Limestone Branch Distillery at (270) 699-9004.

American Born has introduced an 83 proof bourbon and two 70 proof fruit-infused whiskeys.

Paying homage to the recognition of the country’s independence in 1783, the bourbon’s mash bill, a proprietary blend of corn and rye grains, was designed to honor and reflects the tradition and spirit of America, according to the distillery.

American Born’s Peach and Apple whiskeys are infused with real fruit juices and all-natural flavors. The spirits are available in select states across the U.S. for a suggested retail price of $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Milestone Brands LLC at (512) 476-4477.

WhistlePig has launched FarmStock, the company’s much-anticipated estate release featuring whiskey distilled, aged, and bottled on its farm in Vermont. The company describes the product as the culmination of its founding vision to create a truly farm-tobottle distillery, housing nearly every aspect of the whiskey-making process in one place.

FarmStock is composed of 1.5 to 2-year aged whiskey distilled from rye grown on the farm and aged in Vermont oak barrels. It is balanced with 5- and 12-year-old ryes from WhistlePig’s

special reserves to create the ideal marriage of new and old. FarmStock is “Crop One” of what will be future triple-terroir releases. It’s composed of 20 percent 1.5 to 2-year aged whiskey made entirely on the WhistlePig farm, 49 percent 5-year aged whiskey from Alberta Distillers finished in WhistlePig’s Vermont oak, and 31 percent 12-year aged whiskey from MGP’s Lawrenceburg distillery. It is hand bottled at 86 proof, and the suggested retail price is $89.99. For more information, please call WhistlePig at (802) 385-1093.

Vodka Stoli Vodka has expanded its portfolio with Stoli Crushed, a line of vodka and fruit juice blends.

Available in Pineapple and Ruby Red Grapefruit varieties, the 60 proof spirits are distilled and blended at the brand’s Riga, Latvia distillery along with Stoli’s entire range of vodkas.

Made from naturally gluten-free ingredients, including corn and buckwheat, and blended with real fruit juice. for a suggested retail price of $16.99 for 750ml. For more information, please call Stoli Group USA at (212) 858-9090.

Heaven Hill Brands has extended its Deep Eddy Vodka line with a new orange variety.

Handcrafted in small batches at the Austinbased distillery, the vodka is created using a sweet, natural citrus flavor that is blended with Texas aquifer water. It is gluten-free and pulpfree. The spirit is available nationwide beginning and has a suggested retail price is $19.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Heaven Hill Brands at (502) 413-0217.

Other Spirits The House of Martell has launched Martell VS Single Distillery, a cognac from a sole distillation source. The innovative blend unites eauxde-vie from a single distillery, drawing the same sensorial profile and flavor characteristics for a richer expression of the Martell style. The eauxde-vie come together in perfect harmony, resulting in an even smoother cognac with an elegant, fruitier profile, according to the company. The spirit is available select U.S. markets, from California to Washington D.C. and has a suggested retail price of $34.99. For more information, please call Pernod Ricard at (914) 848-4800.

27

CHANNEL CHECK WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY: CANNED JUICE DRINKS A lot of trends are mixing together in this category; full calorie energy, as represented by Kickstart, is being undermined a bit by natural products like Bai and Guayaki; meanwhile old line valuepriced brands like Hawaiian Punch and AriZona are down, and more gourmet drinks like San Pellegrino are showing gains. Ethnic brands like Goya, Foco, and Jumex are all on the march as well – as we saw in the final season of “Girls,” the hipsters love that stuff as much as they do their LaCroix.

CANNED JUICE DRINKS BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs.YEAR EARLIER

Mountain Dew Kickstart

$245,842,144

-19.90%

AriZona

$175,162,528

-7.43%

San Pellegrino

$74,209,008

9.70%

V8 V Fusion

$63,320,216

2.10%

Jumex

$58,535,232

3.76%

Minute Maid

$51,015,900

12.43%

Goya

$34,823,420

15.18%

Bai5 Bubbles

$32,851,760

40.95%

Guayaki Yerba Mate

$24,809,096

101.01%

Kerns

23,720,452

5.50%

Foco

$21,270,742

10.85%

Hawaiian Punch

$16,139,876

-8.16%

Minute Maid Light

$15,355,523

5.03%

V8 Plus Energy

$13,382,900

386.75%

Parrot

$10,133,703

27.29%

AriZona Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear

$9,800,982

-27.13%

Izzer Fortified

$7,672,380

8.84%

Ocean Spray Sparkling

$6,380,792

N/A

Lipton Brisk

$4,712,184

-57.49%

El Mexicano

$4,393,633

-2.67%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME $34,300,326,812

2.0%

Energy Drinks

$12,213,258,240

3.55%

Bottled Juices

$7,190,133,760

1.77%

Tea/Coffee

$5,503,348,224

5.67%

Bottled Water

$15,085,901,824

7.24%

Drink Mixes

$854,230,144

-2.54%

Beer

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/19/17

28 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

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CHANNEL CHECK SPORTS DRINKS

TEA RTD

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Gatorade Perform

$3,253,947,392

-1.45%

AriZona

$652,364,480

-3.44%

Powerade Ion4

$779,847,296

-2.03%

Lipton Pure Leaf

$609,765,312

7.52%

Gatorade Frost

$770,506,432

65.55%

Gold Peak

$345,420,192

32.75%

Gatorade

$340,295,616

-16.39%

Lipton Brisk

$332,595,584

-2.14%

Gatorade Fierce

$313,196,576

0.15%

Lipton

$312,442,464

-2.02% -1.42%

Gatorade G2 Perform

$296,973,536

-2.65%

Snapple

$222,132,304

Powerade

$226,191,072

-5.41%

Lipton Diet

$194,355,584

1.43%

Powerade Zero Ion4

$212,534,000

3.66%

AriZona Arnold Palmer

$189,615,904

-5.11%

BodyArmor

$107,712,280

113.61%

Diet Snapple

$170,552,368

-5.00%

Powerade X Ion4

$54,810,028

N/A

Honest Tea

$57,452,976

8.59%

BOTTLED WATER

COFFEE RTD

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$2,468,317,440

6.97%

Starbucks Frappuccino

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES $1,115,247,360

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER 7.28%

Dasani

$1,103,325,184

2.72%

Starbucks Doubleshot

$606,550,080

10.45%

Aquafina

$1,088,564,992

$5.41%

Starbucks

$39,080,272

-36.89

Nestle Pure Life

$926,480,576

4.45%

Starbucks Doubleshot Light

$27,995,366

69.35% N/A

Glaceau Smart Water

$867,728,128

6.46%

Coca Cola Dunkin Donuts

$22,352,198

Poland Spring

$694,663,424

5.53%

Starbucks

$19,552,590

N/A

Glaceau Vitamin Water

$503,853,856

3.08%

Private Label

$17,796,524

237.34%

Deer Park

$436,545,440

2.93%

STOK

$16,730,471

N/A

Fiji

$396,433,088

23.02%

High Brew

$12,091,815

154.73%

Ozarka

$344,619,648

-5.98%

Starbucks Frappuccino Light

$6,559,018

-19.59%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/19/17

30 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

CRAFT BEER DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Blue Moon

BRAND

$335,893,022

-3.8%

Samuel Adams

$318,422,440

-9.2%

Sierra Nevada

$251,868,502

-5.6%

New Belgium

$199,333,722

3.1%

Leinenkugel

$170,633,393

-5.1% 19.8%

Lagunitas

$169,280,898

Shiner

$135,776,080

-3.5%

Shock Top

$129,250,223

-16.2%

Deschutes

$78,176,645

6.3%

Goose Island

$74,808,254

20.9%

#KnowYourCaffeine

DOMESTIC BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Bud Light

$5,939,276,353

-2.0%

Coors Light

$2,432,605,256

0.6%

Budweiser

$2,062,573,938

-2.8%

Miller Lite

$2,051,574,787

0.3%

Michelob Ultra Light

$1,394,367,017

24.2% -1.6%

Natural Light

$1,022,717,446

Busch Light

$857,446,047

0.1%

Busch

$612,627,501

-0.6%

Miller High Life

$445,576,699

-0.2%

Keystone Light

$413,042,569

-3.6%

IMPORTED BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Corona Extra

$1,731,965,053

8.9%

Modelo Especial

$1,263,318,062

24.4%

$753,872,181

2.5%

Heineken Dos Equis XX Lager Especial

$350,659,340

6.0%

Stella Artois Lager

$333,864,103

15.8%

Corona Light

$282,296,424

6.6%

Tecate

$138,286,030

-6.9%

Pacifico

$97,358,521

24.9%

Modelo Especial Chelada Tecate Light

$92,371,915

31.4%

$84,688,406

26.5%

Highly Water Soluble Neutral Taste ProďŹ le Perfected for Beverages

NON GMO GMO

SPARKLING WATER DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

BRAND

$460,606,592

12.45%

Sparkling ICE

$377,351,360

4.37%

La Croix

$266,701,872

64.90%

Perrier

$237,074,720

18.32%

San Pellegrino

$129,205,064

10.12%

Polar

$120,607,472

23.15%

Topo Chico

$67,516,872

27.19%

Schweppes

$64,810,776

11.74%

Sparkling ICE Lemonade

$52,612,600

-25.03%

La Croix Curate

$47,720,268

105.91%

Email us for pricing & info

caffeine@appliedfoods.com

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/19/17

31

GERRY’S INSIGHTS

BY GERRY KHERMOUCH

OverEXPOsed I’ll begin by reminding us all what a remarkable show Natural Products Expo West has been. I’m speaking as a business journalist who in a varied career has regularly covered major shows not just in food, beverage and beer, but in durable goods manufacturing, robotics, computers, consumer electronics, licensing and architecture/design. Among those, Expo West must rank among the most continually vibrant shows I’ve ever attended, for the sheer abandon with which exhibitors release new products, the increasing thirst of mainstream chains for those innovations and the general sense of pride and accomplishment in a show that’s helping to foster a better way of feeding Americans. Even in the wake of the 2007 financial meltdown, when even that other juggernaut of a beverage showcase, the NACS convenience store show, seemed to feel a tremor, you would not have noticed at Expo West that anything was awry, judging by the attendance, energy and innovation there.

But has it become too much of a good thing? At this latest installation, I’ve never heard so many show-goers and exhibitors complain of the sheer unmanageability of the show. More than once, it has occurred to me that Expo West has become like a richly varied all-you-can-eat buffet that the host invites you to savor to your heart’s content, but warns you to leave in 30 minutes. It’s simply too rich a repast for the time available.

The New Hope Network, which puts on Expo, still gets a lot of things right: the bands playing and food trucks parked outside by the plaza offer some creature comforts to those able to take a break from giving up their weekend to the largely windowless Anaheim Convention Center halls. For those willing to wander a bit afield, there are longstanding foodie meccas like Little Arabia on Brookhurst Avenue, the more recently blossoming Orange Circle, with its gastropubs, barbecue joints and brewpubs, and an increasingly rich craft brewing scene capped by The Bruery a few miles away. Home rentals and ride sharing keep broadening the

32 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

lodging options beyond corporate chains and kitschy Disneyland standbys. And for the first time in a while this year, I heard no complaints from exhibitors of inadequate policing of products that don’t qualify as natural.

But, still. As the natural products sector has boomed, the show has accommodated the increased demand by adding exhibition spaces in the athletic arena and two nearby hotels, opening the hotels a day earlier so they get a fairer crack at buyer traffic. By now the show draws 3,100

exhibitors and 80,000-plus attendees.

That’s including the co-located Engredea ingredients show, which I’ve heard is a trove of cutting edge items (though in 14 straight years of visiting Expo West, I’ve never once been able to carve out enough time to set foot in the joint).

In ways big and small I’ve never heard so many participants complain, and not just the usual gibes about the mixed quality of the crowd, particularly as the weekend advances. Among the beverage people who populate my world, I heard frequent questions as to why NPA can’t do more to consolidate food/beverage exhibitors in more easily walkable confines. Some were stranded in that out-of-way arena; others were buried behind an acre of supplement exhibitors in the main halls, while many

buyers with limited time made a beeline for the below-ground ghetto where lots of cool brands seem to end up, and a third-floor area with a similar tilt. Some exhibitors showed me end-of-row spaces that had come in a couple of feet below plan, forcing them to shave their signage and rejigger their booth furniture; by now, the booth numbers on the printed floor plan have become so tiny that even a pair of 20-somethings I approached for help couldn’t read them. (So I guess you’d better use the phone app or else.)

There is inevitable talk among exhibitors that the show needs to move to a venue like Las Vegas, though I cannot imagine a place less psychically hospitable to a show like Expo West. There is some hope: a new structure called ACC North is publicly anticipated to be open by this fall, adding a couple of hundred thousand feet of additional exhibition space and 1,350 parking spots. (I’m no construction manager, but to my untutored eye, it looks like it’s got way longer than just a few more months before it will be housing kombucha- and cold-brew-dispensing Expo exhibitors.)

And the increasing relevance of the sibling Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore in the fall may take a bit of the load off Expo West in coming years.

Meanwhile, a few brand owners I know, even though they’re national in scope, are choosing to skip Expo West. One frequent past exhibitor, fed up with playing the slotting game with chain, emailed me before the show on why he took a pass this year on what he calls Expo Worst. “Expo is such a fool’s gold show,” he wrote. “You see all the bodies and hubbub, but it’s tons of riffraff and non-decision-makers. Then an occasional Safeway and Kroger guy walks by . . . and I actually don’t want to play their little extortion game. So why am I there?”

I don’t believe Expo West is in any danger of suffering an avalanche of similar defections. But it might be wise to pay some heed to the growing murmurings of discontent.

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

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SHOW PREVIEW SUMMER FANCY FOODS

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

WHO

Summer Fancy Food Show, presented by the

Jacob Javits Center,

June 26-28

Over 25,000 buyers and

New York, NY

Expo Hours:

2,550 exhibitors

Specialty Food Association

June 25 & 26: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

June 27: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

(Note: North Hall opens at 9:30 a.m. each show day)

ALPHABETICAL EXHIBITOR LIST EXHIBITOR NAME

BOOTH#

EXHIBITOR NAME

BOOTH#

EXHIBITOR NAME

BOOTH#

All Beauty, LLC

3615

H2rOse

4522

Reliant Hydration, Inc

3708

ALO Drink by SPI West Port, Inc.

5739

Harmless Harvest

5638

Revive Kombucha

5665

Blossom Water, LLC

6120

Harney & Sons Tea Company

5718

Sapp Inc.

5653

Bonafide Provisions LLC

5352

Health-Ade, LLC

4813

Saratoga Spring Water Co.

4113

Brands Within Reach

5633

Healthy Beverage LLC

6251

Shire City Herbals

6103

Brooklyn Brew Shop, LLC

5906

Hella Bitter LLC

6006

siggi’s dairy

6000

Bruce Cost Ginger Ale

5514

illy

1259

SIPP eco beverage co., Inc.

6248

B-Tea Beverage, LLC

5372

ITO EN (North America)INC.

5858

Smart Juices, LLC

5210

C2O Pure Coconut Water, LLC

3610

Jindilli Beverages

4313

Smith & Salmon, Inc

6343

Califia Farms

5756

Joe Tea & Joe Chips

5605

Spindrift Beverage Co. LLC

6100

Chameleon Cold Brew

4515

LifeAID Beverage Company

4319

Stirrings, LLC

6116

Cheribundi

6013

Lifeway Foods, Inc.

5840

Suja Life LLC

5872

CideRoad, LLC

5851

LIVE Soda LLC

5240

teapigs

5553

Coastal Cocktails Inc.

1949

MANCAN Wine LLC

5472

The Pickle Juice Company

3542

Cocktail Crate

6017

Mansi Inc.

5600

The Poseidon Group Int'l LLC

5632

Cold Brew EvyTea

6131

MatchaBar

154

Tio Gazpacho

4122

Copper Moon Coffee LLC

5261

Moon Shot Energy LLC

4110

Torani / R. Torre & Co.

2250

Crafted Cocktails

5947

Morris Kitchen

6042

Treo Brands LLC

3141

Crio Inc.

4714

Nature's Guru

3830

Trickling Springs

669

Dona Chai LLC

6043

Numi Organic Tea

2961

Vasinee Food Corp

5941

Dora's Naturals, Inc.

3838

nutpods

4715

Vink & Beri LLC

4511

Dr. B's Beverages, LLC

5836

Orchid Island Juice Company

1857

Vita Coco Coconut Water

3344

Drink Maple Inc.

6337

Organic Valley

871

Waiakea Inc.

5010

DRY Soda Co.

3607

Owl's Brew

5612

Wild Poppy Company

4711

Fentimans North America, Inc.

3822

PLNT Water

NBOTS

Yaupon Tea Company LLC

3536

Formula Four Beverages (USA) Inc.

3748

Pocas International Co.

3504

Zest Tea, LLC

5119

Four Blue Palms, Inc.

5811

Polar Beverages

6115

Zevia LLC

4512

Grady's Cold Brew

3547

Powell & Mahoney

5005

ZUPA NOMA

5470

GURU Beverage Co.

5981

Q Drinks

6023

GuS - Grown-up Soda

5506

Reed's, Inc.

1680

34 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

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CARBON NEUTRAL

SHOW REVIEW

BY Martin Caballero

Scanning for Innovation at Expo West As expected, this year’s Natural Products Expo West attracted scores of beverage companies to the Anaheim Convention Center, with booth-dwellers ranging from young, emerging brands to established industry power players. As usual, the breadth of new products and innovative offerings seemed to grow even wider, from fresh takes on familiar favorites to disruptive innovations with the potential to birth entirely new categories.

Within the kombucha segments, brands at Expo West seemed eager to take advantage of the category’s growing mainstream penetration to introduce consumers to a wider variety of flavor profiles, ingredient combinations and production techniques. Bold, dynamic flavors were prevalent: Brew Dr. debuted a seasonal Habanero Mango and a new core line addition, Mint Lemonade. Humm leaned toward citrus notes with the launch of a Hopped Grapefruit variety, while Wonder Drink debuted several organic, culinaryinspired SKUs with flavors like Thai Carrot and Strawberry Basil. Other brands looked to buttress kombucha’s existing functional benefits with the addition of adaptogenic ingredients, such as the inclusion of reishi mushroom in HealthAde’s new Reishi Chocolate flavor.

As kombucha has established its foothold in the marketplace, drinking vinegars are making gains of their own, as brands featured at Expo West sought to bring more consumers to the category with formulations designed to be more palatable to the mainstream. Suja’s new organic coco36 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

nut vinegar-based line, as well as BluePrint Organic’s reformulated Daily Apple Cider Vinegar line, aimed to fill that space. Elsewhere, switchel brand Cide Road teased a forthcoming sparkling variety called Spritzel. The shot format continues to be fertile ground for vinegar drink manufacturers, as evidenced by new shots from Kor (“Gut Check”) and Vitox that each contain a daily serving of apple cider vinegar.

Within tea brands, two notable trends were the emergence of cold brewing and the integration of adaptogenic ingredients.

Japanese tea conglomerate Ito En showcased a pair of cold brew teas for each of its Matcha Love and Tea’s Tea lines, while coffee brands Secret Squirrel, Caveman, Beach Coffee and Fogdog also entered the category with new cold brew products.

In other innovations, 10th Avenue Tea presented a powdered tea line sold in portable bottles with salt shaker-style caps.

While cold brewing is a relatively new development for tea brands, coffee brands are already looking towards cold brew’s next wave by experimenting with nitros, lattes and new flavor combinations to disrupt an increasingly crowded marketplace. Secret Squirrel unveiled a significant expansion of its cold brew offerings with two new latte flavors — Chicory and Citrus Caramel — and four new black coffee-based SKUs: unsweetened, lightly sweetened, cinnamon and brown sugar, and maple and brown sugar. Meanwhile, former New Beverage Showdown finalist IMMORDL was one of several coffee brands, including Caveman Coffee, Sun-

niva and Picnik, offering functional coffee innovations with ingredients like grass-fed butter and coconut oil-derived MCT oils.

Having broken down barriers for acceptance of plant-based waters as a category unto itself, at Expo West coconut water continued to demonstrate its evolution, both as a stand-alone product type and as a base for other drinks. INVO launched an ambitious new six-SKU line of coconut water-based blends called Coco Collisions, each targeting a different specific functional benefit, including detox, balance and immunity. Blue Monkey’s new sparkling variety, packaged in an eye-catching blue glass bottle aimed to appeal to food service, and ALO’s new aloe vera-infused coconut water were also notable introductions at the show.

Other plant-based waters sought to broaden the category’s appeal. WTRMLN WTR added four new blended products to feature alongside its flagship flavor, while the Vermont-based Maple Guild showcased an athlete-focused version of its maple water enhanced with electrolytes and B-vitamins. Pushing the category into new areas, alkaline water brand BLK revealed BANU, an organic bamboo leaf-based water with zero calories and zero sugar.

Probiotics, already a prevalent trend in beverage, were explored in new ways at Expo West. Organic beverage brand Pressery wholeheartedly embraced the idea, debuting a line of probiotic drinkable soups alongside a new sparkling probiotic line that will replace its still variety. Lifeway, Farmhouse Culture, Solti

and The Water Kefir People followed suit with fizzy probiotic offerings of their own, while Harvest Soul and Uncle Matt’s Organics rolled out juice products with added probiotics.

Juice has long been a category that has embraced innovation, a trend that continued at Expo West this year. Evolution Fresh showcased a four-SKU line of organic smoothies called “Superfoods,” each powered with ingredients like turmeric, ginger, baobab and cocoa. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Daily Greens went for a simpler formulation with its new two-ingredient fruit and veggie juice blends, while Naked extended its line with a pair of botanical-infused varieties. The 2 oz. juice shot format, as represented by new products from Juice Served Here, Vive Organic and early adopter KOR, proved to be an increasingly popular one.

In dairy, Expo West saw new drinkable yogurt products from Siggi’s, Stonyfield Farm, and Dreaming Cow, which debuted a new line of veggie-infused yogurt

smoothies positioned to serve as meal replacement beverages.

However, the category was rivaled by developments in the non-dairy space.

Califia Farms was particularly active: Homestyle Nut Milks, the brand’s first line of organic products, debuted in a

750 mL multiserve format, while Toasted Oats ’N Almond Almondmilk and Go Coconuts, a blend of coconut milk and coconut water, also made their bows.

Bolthouse Farms was also in the mix with a line of plant-based milks that will launch this summer in 48 oz. carafe-style bottles.

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37

SHOW REVIEW

BY CHRIS FURNARI & JUSTIN KENDALL

Independence, Slower Growth and Diversity Addressed at 2017 Craft Brewers Conference As the sun set on the 2017 Craft Brewers Conference, held last month in Washington D.C., a few key storylines have emerged from the nation’s largest gathering of small and independent brewers.

Addressing thousands of industry professionals who joined the first of two general sessions, Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease set the tone for the weeklong event with a familiar rallying cry: Independence matters.

In his opening remarks, Pease accused the “old order” – companies like AnheuserBusch InBev and MillerCoors, who in recent years have spent hundreds of millions of dollars acquiring small craft breweries — of attempting to “put the genie back in the bottle” and “use big money to squeeze out craft brewers from the marketplace and limit beer drinker choice.”

In describing those purchases as a “deliberate effort to eliminate the differentiation between small and independent craft brewers and those owned by larger conglomerates,” Pease resuscitated a four-yearold debate that first began in late 2012 when he, alongside BA chairman Charlie Papazian and Schlafly Beer co-founder Dan Kopman, penned an op-ed extolling the virtues of independently owned craft breweries for the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch.

At the time, Pease argued that “large international” brewers were “capitalizing on the unprecedented growth” of craft and producing “faux-craft beer.”

That message has since been refocused around four pillars: independence, authenticity, collaborative spirit and community-mindedness.

“These values are in your DNA and ours (the BA) too,” Pease told those in the crowd. “And consumers — America’s beer drinkers — know that.”

In an interview with Brewbound, BevNET’s daily beer business publication, Pease said the BA would be “hanging its hat” on the value of independence.

“We think it does matter to the beer drinker – who makes the beer – and that is where you will see renewed energy and focus from the BA,” he said.

Allagash founder Rob Tod, who also

38 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

serves as the chair of the BA board of directors, echoed Pease in his own day one address and characterized the state of the beer business as in the midst of a “tectonic shift.”

“We should be gravely concerned when we hear themes like ‘independence does not matter to the beer drinker,’” he said.

Tod implored brewers to continue having conversations with beer drinkers, and members of the media, about the differences between independently-owned craft breweries

6 percent, the pair noted, while import volumes grew 7 percent, Watson shared. At the same time, U.S. non-craft beers saw a 2 percent decline while large brewery domestic specialty brands grew about 2 percent.

Watson urged those who track the industry to keep in mind that the doubledigit growth of past years was unsustainable as the industry matured.

“You can’t keep growing 18 percent year, over year, over year, when you get

BOB PEASE - CEO, BREWERS ASSOCIATION and those owned by larger conglomerates.

“For the sake of beer, we need to tell our story and keep the steering wheel for beer in the hands of the small and independent brewers,” he said.

That “tectonic shift” Tod referred to also came up when BA director Paul Gatza and chief economist Bart Watson delivered their annual “State of the Industry” presentation that highlighted slower growth trends and looked at the evolving makeup of businesses within the craft segment.

The days of double-digit growth in the craft beer category might be a thing of the past, the pair said, but that doesn’t mean many small and independent brewers won’t continue to thrive.

“It’s slowing down, that’s true,” BA director Paul Gatza said. “But there’s still a lot of growth out there, and somebody’s going to get that growth.”

Last year, craft beer volumes grew by

to an industry of our size,” Watson said.

“At 25 million barrels, 18 percent is more than 4 million barrels. That’s just not happening anymore.”

Nevertheless, BA-defined craft brewers added 1.4 million barrels to the beer category last year, which Watson called “the fifth best year that craft has ever had.”

“I think we sometimes lose that sentiment,” he said.

Watson also noted that growth trends typically vary by state; those with an above average craft share grew just 1.9 percent last year while those with a below average share grew 7.7 percent. He also recommended that brewery owners in the crowd think about the future of their businesses.

“As we’ve seen nationally, 18 percent becomes 6 percent pretty rapidly,” he said.

During the presentation, Gatza also addressed a lack of diversity within the craft beer industry. He urged the organi-

Don’t get caught with your pants down zation’s’ members to be inclusive in order to reach women and minorities, not only as customers but also as employees.

“I think we want to stay away from names and labels that can be offensive,” Gatza said.

Then, at a press briefing following the presentation, the BA announced steps to prevent breweries that use offensive or sexist names and labels from marketing their businesses with the industry

her ankles), Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Chesapeake Stout, SweetWater Happy Ending Imperial Stout, Stark Brewing’s Mt. U Golden Cream Ale and Village Idiot Brewing Co. Thong Remover Belgian Tripel. Some have been discontinued.

Others live on.

“We will not allow them to market their award using our intellectual property,” Pease said, adding that the BA would not allow its name to be associated with labels

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PAUL GATZA - DIRECTOR, BREWERS ASSOCIATION trade organization’s intellectual property in regards to World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Fest awards and medals.

The organization’s leaders said they will still allow those brewers using questionable names to participate in its awards competitions and join its membership ranks, but noted that winners with offensive names will not be celebrated during awards ceremonies.

“If a brewery with an offensive name or label were to win an award, we would not read that name from the stage,” said Brewers Association president and CEO Bob Pease.

The beer industry is littered with past and present examples of innuendo for names and questionable labels such as Pig’s Mind Brewing PD California Style Ale (the PD is an acronym for Panty Dropper and the label features a drawing of a woman with her underwear around

and marketing efforts that it feels would damage its image.

The new policy is written into the BA’s advertising and marketing code, which was first enacted in 2008, and leaders admitted that they’re wading into a “sticky,” “subjective” and “sensitive” subject.

“We want our members to be responsible corporate citizens,” Pease said. “We want to err on the side of tolerance. It’s not going to be black and white. There’s a subjective element to that, and the Association, we’re going to find ways to be inclusive. But at the same time, we do think this step is the right thing to do and shows the leadership that is needed. But it’s gonna be sticky. It’s going to be hard.”

Also during the press briefing, the BA announced the formation of a Diversity Committee, which aims to bring “a more diverse group of brewers and beer lovers into the craft brewing community.”

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MOMENT OF CLARITY

ALCOHOL SELTZERS DOMINATE FLAVORED MALT BEVERAGE ROLLOUTS

By Jeff Cioletti When did things get so clear?

Barely two years ago, consumers started going crazy for hard sodas, led by Small Town Brewery’s Not Your Father’s Root Beer. But the segment is already showing signs of fatigue and the industry seems to be moving on to the next thing.

That next thing isn’t something completely different, however, and it can be read as more of an evolution of the fledgling category that gave us alcoholic versions of root beer, ginger ale and orange soda.

Actually, it is, in a sense, something of a regression, as its got significantly less sweetness and color – none of the latter, in fact.

Hard seltzer is still a tiny sliver within the relatively small flavored malt beverage (FMB) category, but it’s a subsegment in which the industry has been investing in fairly significantly in the past year.

A good measure of how seriously the market takes an emerging segment is how much skin the large, multi-billion-dollar beverage companies have in the game. And there’s been quite a bit of activity on that front. Anheuser-Busch InBev last fall acquired Boathouse Beverage LLC, creator of the popular SpikedSeltzer brand, 40 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

barely a year after the former launched the Best Damn line of hard sodas. Then, in March, MillerCoors (now officially a wholly owned subsidiary of Molson Coors) expanded its Henry’s Hard Soda line to include Henry’s Hard Sparkling, which it describes as a “new line of light and refreshing sparkling waters.” Each of the two initial Henry’s Hard Sparkling products is lightly flavored – one with lemon and lime and the other with passion fruit.

“The popularity for sparkling water brands has been on the rise for some time now,” says Elizabeth Cook, brand manager for Henry’s Hard Sparkling. “We saw an opportunity to tap the sparkling water trend with Henry’s Hard Sparkling. We also know that people are looking to explore options to meet their changing lifestyle.”

Diageo Beer Co. USA is approaching the segment via a slightly different route. It bypassed the root beer stage entirely and went right to hard seltzers and it’s leveraging a longstanding trademark in the FMB space, Smirnoff Ice. The product has been a leading player in the space since its introduction nearly two decades ago – market research group IRI ranks it as the category’s No. 5 brand – and now the familiar brand name appears on the label of

one of Diageo’s newest product lines: Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer. Its first offerings also are lightly infused with fruit flavors: watermelon, orange-mango and cranberry-lime.

Diageo sees the hard seltzer boom as an outgrowth of trends involving its non-alcohol counterpart.

“Consumers have seen seltzer as a top choice when it comes to mixers for years,” notes Krista Kiisk, brand director, flavored malt beverages, for Diageo Beer Co. USA. “In fact, the non-alcoholic seltzer and sparkling water category has grown more than 50 percent over the last five years alone.”

The stellar growth of La Croix, for instance, illustrates that trend.

“We have seen a shift in the malt beverage category that reflects this preference,” Kiisk adds, “and the evolution of consumers’ taste preferences from higher-calorie, more sugar-forward malt beverages, to ready-to-serve, less sweet, lower-calorie options.”

“Light” is a recurring theme among many hard seltzer brands’ marketing campaigns. They manage to be a lower-calorie alternative to hard sodas without being “diet,” and they fulfill a particular need state since a low-cal hard soda segment hasn’t emerged.

“More than half of consumers feel there are not enough lowcalorie options available and tend to go outside the beer category and choose wine or spirits instead,” Kiisk says.

At 90 calories and 1 gram of carbs per 12 oz. slim can, Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling is the lightest option among the major brands.

Henry’s Hard isn’t far off, at 93 calories and 2.9 grams of carbs for the lemon lime flavor and 92 calories and 2.6 grams of carbs for passion fruit. Boston Beer Co.’s Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand has 100 calories and 2 grams of carbs in each of its varieties.

“Drinkers are looking for ways to make their calories work harder for them and spiked sparkling waters like Truly Spiked and Sparkling deliver on this,” says Casey O’Neill, part of Truly Spiked & Sparkling’s innovation team.

White Claw, from Mark Anthony Brands – the company behind one of the best known FMB brands, Mike’s Hard Lemonade – clocks in at 110 calories for each of its three flavors, Natural Lime, Ruby Grapefruit and Black Cherry.

SpikedSeltzer, meanwhile, is the most caloric of the bunch, at 140 calories and 5 grams of carbs (there’s a bit of crystalline fructose in the mix).

Clearer, lighter and less sweet sparkling FMBs seem to have come on the market at the right time, as full-flavored hard sodas might be hitting a ceiling. A good bellwether is the segment leader, Not Your Father’s. When Small Town Brewery signed a distribution partnership with Pabst about two years ago, sales volume increased several hundred percent through the end of 2015.

But for the 52-week period that ended mid-March, Not Your Father’s case sales and revenue in most major off-premise channels dropped more than 37 percent versus the prior 52-week period, according to IRI. Best Damn and Henry’s Hard grew nearly 200 percent and 400 percent respectively, but neither had been on the market for much of the prior 52-week period (Best Damn was available for about a quarter of that period and Henry’s Hard for about one-sixth of it). The figures for Best Damn six to eight months from now might be a better gauge of where that segment is heading. It may be more difficult to get a read on Henry’s Hard in the short-term, as IRI measures the entire trademark family, which will include the newly launched seltzers.

It remains to be seen whether hard seltzers will help offset some of the softness that could be on the horizon for the root beers and their ilk. Anecdotally, the prospects seem a bit mixed – particularly on the distribution tier.

“The category is slower than anyone expected, I think, in starting,” reveals Gary Thompson, executive vice president and general manager of Orion, Mich.-based Powers Distributing. “I know that there is much talk about the rapid growth of La Croix waters and the expectation that its growth would start to translate into growth on the alcoholic side.”

How much the segment picks up depends on how aggressively the mega-players market their product lines.

“The big guys drive the category,” offers Thompson. “ABI may promote the category enough that it starts [selling] in earnest…So, if I had to guess – in five years, if it gets the support from the larger brewers, it might be about 3 to 5 percent of the beer business. “ At the same time, Thompson is concerned that it could become “a flavor game” – one with “not a lot of branding and loyalty, a lot of SKUs and fractionalized volume.”

And that’s been, more or less, the prevailing narrative in hard sodas, not to mention the FMB category as a whole.

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

% CHANGE

BUD LIGHT LIME PAB

$345,410,208

-10.4%

REDDS

$314,955,324

-7.6%

MIKES HARD

$266,302,994

5.6%

MIKES HARDER

$243,885,783

16.9%

SMIRNOFF ICE

$233,102,730

6.1%

TWISTED

$221,452,727

17.9%

FOUR LOKO

$153,071,210

12.0%

SMALL TOWN

$88,631,629

-37.1%

HENRY’S

$76,849,045

378.6%

BEST DAMN

$57,432,984

190.4%

SMIRNOFF PREMIUM MIXED DRINKS

$38,563,549

-4.3%

JOHNY BOOTLEGGER

$19,804,674

19.8%

CAYMAN JACK

$18,053,436

31.6%

PALM BREEZE

$17,180,311

-19.1%

KINKY

$10,591,223

-9.0%

SPARKS

$9,072,110

-39.2%

JOOSE

$8,861,596

-20.9%

GREAT AMERICA

$6,853,373

-19.8%

BUD LIGHT MIXX TAIL

$6,320,356

-88.5%

ROCKSTAR

$3,550,466

1711.4%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/19/17

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Consumer and health trends force some products to decline, and others to ascend.

But in the face of these trends, new innovations in food science are still playing with long-accepted formulas, trying to keep markets open and expanding. Researchers and innovators in the lab working on functional ingredients and sweeteners keep finding ways to further disrupt and stretch outt established categories.

While the dairy industry has frequently touted its nutritional superiority to dairy alternatives, raw milk is an area of unrealized potential in the category. In sweeteners, sugar replacements have frequently struggled to prove themselves superior in flavor.

But breakthroughs are made every day, and there’s a new set of ingredients with the potential to shape the future of beverage.

Raw Milk The Right Way Last year, lawmakers in West Virginia celebrated legalizing the right to drink raw

44 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

milk with glasses of the unpasteurized beverage, only to find themselves in national headlines after many of them suddenly fell violently ill. While some of those legislators would go on to claim their mysterious stomach virus was just a coincidence, the raw milk law passed against the urges of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which cites an unnecessarily high health risk with the beverage.

But people have long advocated drinking raw milk for its health benefits; for example, a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in 2011 found that European children who drank raw milk were significantly less likely to develop asthma, due to a lack of certain proteins that are destroyed in the pasteurization process.

And that’s great, but when it comes to health problems, the choice between asthma and dysentery is a tough one.

But now, California-based Tamarack Biotics may have finally found a way to get the

best of both worlds. Working with ultraviolet light technology developed by South African company SurePure, Tamarack Biotics has released TruActive, a powdered dairy ingredient which retains the immunity-boosting complement proteins from raw milk.

In March, TruActive received Generally Regarded as Safe approval from the FDA. According to Tamarack Biotics founder and CEO Bob Comstock, TruActive can reduce the risk of asthma in children. In older consumers, it not only boosts immunity but can also help improve the effectiveness of vaccines, making it valuable for the elderly for whom flu shots are less likely to work.

The proteins, Comstock said, are 20 to 50 times more effective for immunity than those found in pasteurized milk.

“You can’t get these immune-active proteins from soy, or pea, or broccoli or anything,” Comstock told BevNET. “They’re only created in mother’s milk.

So throwing them into heat and damag-

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ing them is an overabundance of safety and caution that’s destroyed the potential benefits of a fantastic biofluid.”

While ultraviolet (UV) light treatment has long been an effective way to kill pathogens in water, until recently it could not do the same for milk due to its opaque color, Comstock said. But SurePure’s technology, which Tamarack has exclusive rights to use, makes milk flow around the outside of a UV lamp so the entire batch is sterilized while retaining the valuable proteins. The milk is then dried into a powder form at a low temperature; too much heat during the drying process could still destroy the protein.

Currently, most of the early customers for TruActive are sports drinks, Comstock said, as the proteins are also effective for recovery. One brand working on a health drink for elderly consumers has also purchased the ingredient.

and try to remove more and more calories and more and more sugar, you tend to bring out the more negative attributes of stevia, like the bitterness and lingering,” said Andy Ohmes, global product line manager for Cargill.

One of the latest attempts at solving the issue is Cargill’s EverSweet. In April, Swiss biotech company Evolva announced it had entered an agreement with Cargill to produce and commercialize the sweetener as it gears up for a 2018 launch.

To bring out the best in stevia flavoring, Cargill broke down the plant to its individual glycosides, of which more than 50 have been identified. After testing the glycosides individually, researchers found that the best tasting ones, Reb M and Reb D, came in too small a quantity to mass produce through extraction alone. That’s where the age old method of fermentation came in. Using a specially crafted baker’s

Tamarack Biotics is also preparing a clinical trial in Europe comprised of 3,000 children to further test TruActive’s ability to prevent asthma, eczema, and food allergies.

The trial will take five years to complete.

yeast, Cargill produces the same molecules naturally produced in stevia but at a scaleable size fit for the market.

“When we look at some of the changes that are coming today with labelling laws, reduced sugar trends, taxation and things like that, there’s a big push to remove sugar but maintain sweetness and maintain great taste,” Ohmes said. “The opportunity is broad, it’s not just beverage.

Everywhere from baked goods to confection are all feeling the pressure to come out with new choices for their customers using alternative sweeteners.”

While there is no set date for EverSweet’s release, other products that have been on the market for years working to mask stevia’s more off-putting qualities are starting to see their popularity pick up.

Sweetening Up Stevia Stevia’s profile has risen high in the beverage world as a go-to, natural, calorie-free sugar alternative. But where there is success there is backlash. Some beverage brands, such as High Brew Coffee, that once used the ingredient, have abandoned it due to a bitter aftertaste that many consumers dislike. Much of this comes from the Reb A glycoside, which while tasty in products like flavored waters, becomes overbearing in others.

“As you start to use it at a higher rate 46 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

That is the case with Corbion’s PURAC FIT Plus, in which the lactic acid works to improve the flavor of red fruit and cola while masking the lingering flavor of stevia with its own mild sourness.

“Sugar is not that easy to reduce,” said Ardie van Lankveld, global market manager sweet at Corbion. “It has much more than only the sweet taste to it, it has a mouthfeel.

And when beverage started to work with stevia, they really had these off-notes. Now we are on, say, the fifth generation of stevia but still you have this off-note.”

PURAC FIT Plus, Lankveld said, captures the off-note flavor to improve sweetness and mouthfeel. The ingredient can also increase shelf stability in juices by as long as 30 days and can help stabilize coloring.

Reducing the Sugar Impact Ingredient company the Beneo Institute got a boost in April after a study confirmed their oligofructose, prebiotic fibers derived from chicory root, can lower a person’s blood glucose response when used as a partial sugar replacement in food and beverages. The study used a sample yogurt drink in which only 20 percent of sugar had been replaced with the oligofructose and found that participants had a 14 percent reduction in blood glucose.

While many consumers are aiming for zero sugar in their diets, it’s hard to underestimate the selling power of betterfor-you beverages, and finding ways to manage the impact of already reduced amounts of sugar can go a long way toward building a brand’s health credentials.

According to Katrien Lambeens, the product manager for functional fibers at the Beneo Institute, oligofructose bears a strong similarity to sugar. It not only resembles it physically, but also boasts a high solubility and sweetness that allows companies to significantly cut sugar content without impacting on flavor or texture. In addition, oligofructose is only 2 kcal to sugar’s 4 kcal.

“If you replace sugar by 30 percent and replace it with oligofructose consumers actually cannot taste the difference,” Lambeens said, citing taste panels the company ran.

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Coconut water is officially in phase two.

Affirmed as a viable category by the pickup of Zico and O.N.E. by Coke and Pepsi, respectively, coconut water has become a fixture of the modern beverage landscape, an industry generating over $2.7 billion in global sales and projected to double by 2020, according to a report from Zenith Global.

But after penetrating the mainstream, coconut water is facing a new challenge: how to stay relevant and innovative within the exploding plant-based waters category which they helped cultivate.

In discussions with BevNET, industry experts, market analysts and brands themselves shared their thoughts on the current state of the coconut water category, as well as its potential for further growth and retail penetration.

MIXED FORTUNES IN RETAIL Taking the pulse of the coconut water market begins with an examination of 48 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

the category’s sales performance. While still the dominant force in the alternative waters market – accounting for 96 percent of volume and 86 percent of value in 2016 – there are indications that coconut water may have reached a saturation point that some industry experts believe may inhibit its potential to match the massive gains of several years ago.

According to statistics provided by market research firm SPINS, both refrigerated and shelf-stable coconut waters have posted modest gains in combined channel sales; in a 52-week period ending on March 19, the former is up 12 percent and the latter by 7 percent.

“We are living in a post-coconut water world,” said Brent Coons, Director of Natural Industry Insights for SPINS. “Coconut water is still hugely significant, but I draw parallels to kombucha and what happened there; it has proliferated everywhere, it has mainstreamed. The product itself is more commonly known across all con-

sumer types and retail channels and it has paved the way for other beverage types.”

However, within the natural channel, the spread of the product may have killed the novelty for the consumer. Refrigerated coconut water sales are down by 11.4 percent, while shelf-stable has dropped by 10.6 percent. The numbers in specialty gourmet channel tell a similar story: refrigerated sales have fallen 11 percent and shelf-stable by 9.9 percent.

“Beverage is often about new discovery, so folks have probably tried the products and now they are trying other things like maple water and probably trading back and forth in some cases,” Coons speculated.

Meanwhile, falling sales figures for coconut water blends made with coffee, juice and tea suggest a tepid response from consumers for these types of innovations. Combined channel sales for refrigerated coconut water and coffee blends dropped to $338,631, a 66 percent decrease from a year ago to date, when

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we’re seeing that coconut in general, not just the water side, as an ingredient being brought into so many different food categories as well as a substitute ingredient.”

Even as sales have flattened somewhat, coconut water’s impact on the market can be felt in the rise of the plant-based water category as a whole. Both refrigerated and shelf-stable plant-based waters posted triple digit gains in combined channel sales, with the former up around 332 percent, pushing sales past the $4 million mark. “Tree waters and cactus waters have officially arrived,” Coons said. “I’d say let the distribution gains begin.”

INVESTMENT COOLS OFF

sales cracked the $1 million mark. Shelfstable coconut water and coffee blend sales, valued at over $7 million last year, fell 37 percent to around $4.4 million.

Outside of the pure product, coconut water blends made with juices represent the largest dollar share of products within the category. Combined channel sales for refrigerated coconut water and juice blends were down 14 percent, while shelf-stable blends, valued at roughly $60 million in the same period last year, were down 16 percent to around $50 million.

“Some of the other plant waters are maybe playing in that position a little bit with lower carb counts, lower sugar counts and sometimes lower calorie counts,” Coons said, suggesting that some consumers’ concerns about sugar content in juices could be carrying over onto juice and coconut water blends. “Since coconut water is a mainstream product, folks are trading from carbonated sodas to coconut waters, probably not a big deal. But thinking in terms of core natural consumers, that might be some of the reason why we’re seeing a sense of slowing down there.”

Similar to what’s happened within the kombucha and cold brew categories, 50 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

Coons said a decentralization of the category, in which consumers are more attuned to the nuances and different characteristics of individual brands and regions, could spur further growth.

“You can go anywhere and get your mainstream coconut water, but natural and specialty consumers especially are starting to look for that differentiated product, which sometimes comes from the ingredients, organic certification, sourcing, backstory, maybe transparency around sourcing, the social side, the environmental side.” he said. “I think all of those could come into play more and have more of an opportunity for brands to continue to use those aspects to differentiate themselves.”

As the category has evolved, beverage manufacturers are increasingly exploring uses for coconut water as a base ingredient for other products. Sports drink brand BodyArmor, for example, is just one brand that sees coconut water as the main ingredient. Also, juice brands have been swapping in coconut water to cut calories and sugars.

“Anytime there’s a trending ingredient, there’s an opportunity to swap one out and put that trending one in,” said Coons.

“I do think that there’s legs to that and

While the coconut water market continues to evolve, the relative silence coming from investors observing the segment in the last few years has been conspicuous. Four years after Coca-Cola’s purchase of Zico, private investment activity has slowed significantly, leaving lingering questions as to what that means for the health of the category overall.

“We haven’t seen many new coconut water startups getting off the ground and raising funding over the past two years, but we are starting to see acquisitions of the larger brands as the segment matures,” said Zoe Leavitt, consumer technology analyst at CB Insights. While noting New Age Beverage’s acquisition of Maverick Brands, maker of Coco Libre, in April, Leavitt said that most of the major investment in the category came in 2013-2014, culminating in Reignwood Group’s $165 million investment in All Market in 2014, which represent an outsized portion of coconut water funding figures.

Zico founder Mark Rampolla’s insight into the private investment space echoes Leavitt’s. After driving the first wave of coconut water on the domestic market, culminating in Zico’s acquisition by Coca-Cola in 2013, Rampolla has since co-founded Powerplant Ventures, an investment firm that works with startups addressing social challenges in food, beverage and technology.

“I frankly don’t think so,” Rampolla responded when asked if coconut water was still an exciting space for investors.

“I remember studying the energy drink market before launching Zico and finding out that something like 80 percent of the value in the category was captured by the two or three major brands. I think the same is true in coconut water.”

Like Rampolla, Ken Sadowsky was an early believer in the potential of coconut water, having invested in All Market, the New York-based makers of Vita Coco, in 2006. He is a Senior Beverage Analyst for Belgium-based investment holding company Verlinvest and still serves as a director at Vita Coco.

“I still see a very bright future [for coconut water],” he told BevNET in an interview. “I just look at the Vita Coco brand and see that our household penetration is at four perecent. That leaves 96 percent still open.”

Sadowsky’s optimism is in part fueled by the recent launch of Vita Coco’s first-ever national television ad campaign featuring model and lifestyle guru Chrissy Teigen, calling it “the beginning of something great.” He said he hoped other brands in the category would follow suit and help build awareness for coconut water with new and ambitious marketing efforts.

“There’s nobody else is advertising, basically,” he said. “We are the biggest, so I guess the expectations are that we will do it. But I think two things have to grow: one is co-

conut water household penetration, and it’s tough to have one company do that when it’s a category. So it would be great to have Coke with Zico or Pepsi with O.N.E., somebody sort of join in the choir of preaching how great the benefits of coconut water are.”

Rampolla, while noting a personal interest in coconut-water based probiotics and kefirs, also voiced his uncertainty that the proliferation of different coconut water SKUs and types – such as exotic flavors, carbonation, and functional ingredients – were indicative of a growing, healthy category.

“It could be too much money and too many brands chasing too many shiny new objectives,” he said. “To me, the health of a category should be measured by the creation of sustainable profits reasonably distributed across the entire supply chain, good jobs, improving efficiency, falling environmental impact and the health and wellness of the consumers it serves.”

Still, Rampolla voiced doubt that the drop-off in private investment in the category has had much of an effect on its development.

“Coconut water brands need capital to grow,” said Rampolla. “They are competing against thousands of other products for share of stomach and shelf and that takes money. It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate so brand must play a stronger role.”

Sadowsky noted that it was difficult to put himself in the place of an investor observing the coconut water space today, but pointed to over a decade of growth in the category as an indicator of its sustained strong performance.

“I guess you would have to look at other categories that are still growing and gaining momentum and say, logically, if someone is doing something right in a growth category, investors should be rewarded,” he said.

While the category continues to adjust to the new opportunities and challenges of its second phase of development, coconut water clearly still has plenty of runway left to grow.

“I’m waiting for someone to show me how to grow a producing coconut tree in my backyard,” he said. “That’s premium.”

51

BRAND NEWS COCONUT WATER

Munkijo Organic Coconut Water is now Non-GMO Project Verified and available in 11.2 oz. Tetra Pak cartons.

Harmless Harvest recently launched a line of organic probiotic cultured coconut beverages called Harmless Harvest Probiotics. The line is available in Original, Strawberries, Blueberries & Acai, Mangos & Acerolas varieties. Harmless Harvest also introduced a 32 oz. bottle for its flagship coconut water.

Califia Farms introduces its first multiserve, 100 percent coconut beverage called Go Coconuts, a sweet and fullbodied blend of coconut milk and coconut water made with no added sugar. It is packaged in the company’s carafe-style 48 oz. bottle.

CHI. In January 2017 London-based CHI announced the addition of two new products to its portfolio of coconut water offerings: Organic Cold Brew Coffee and Organic Matcha Tea. Both products are sweetened with high pressure processed organic coconut water and packaged in250 mL PET bottles.

ZOLA. In addition to introducing a redesigned logo and packaging, Zola has launched a new Coconut Water with Pineapple variety. The company has also removed dairy and carrageenan from its canned Espresso and Chocolate Coconut Water.

COCONUT BEACH. Along with a revised Nutrition Facts panel, the 16.5 oz. cans for Coconut Beach Coconut Water now prominently feature the Non-GMO Project Verified logo.

Pure Brazilian announced its partnership with Rainforest Distribution to supply retailers in the New York Tri-State area in April.The company also recently appointed former Happy Tree executive Adam Litvack as its new vice president of trade.

52 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

COCOMAZING. After debuting at Expo West 2016, Cocomazing has reformulated its organic sparkling flavored coconut water, removing lemon juice and stevia and replacing them with monk fruit.

The reformulation reduced the calorie content to 40 per 12 oz. bottle. The company also launched a new flavor, Peach Mango.

THIRSTY BUDDHA. Recently launched in the U.S. and Canada, Thirsty Buddha Sparkling Coconut Water is vegan, Non-GMO Project verified and is available in natural, pineapple and watermelon varieties.

NATURAL RAW C. Australian brand Natural Raw C has launched a new sparkling coconut water available in BPA-free 400 mL PET bottles in four flavors – dash of lime, mango/passionfruit, elderflower/ mint/lime, and blueberry/pomegranate – that contain less than 5 g of natural sugar per 100 mL. Obrigado, which launched in Southern California last year, will be pushing into the Eastern U.S. this year, placing advertisements in Times Square in New York City and landing on store shelves at retailers including ShopRite, Fairway, Kings, and Balducci’s, starting in early May. Blue Monkey has launched a new fiveSKU line of sparkling coconut waters in 11.2 oz. cans made with a 99.7 percent juice content in each flavor: Natural, Mango, Key Lime, Kiwi and Watermelon.

Purity Organic will expand Northeast distribution for its 1 L pure coconut water SKU, where it will be available as part of Ahold’s Summer Shipper Program, as well as in Stop & Shop and Giant Carlisle at a promotional price of $4.99.

THE

BULL-RINGING OF

AMERICA It’s been 20 years since Red Bull created the energy drink category.

Here’s how they did it.

By Brad Avery

hen it comes to pop culture, the late 1990’s were marked by extremes. Tony Hawk was one of the top athletes in the world, the X-Games were all the rage, and food and beverage companies were all looking for the best way to amp up the excitement and inject some attitude into their branding.

54 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

And then, almost out of the blue, van teams began rolling out in California, Texas, and New York. They were going to retailers, offering a sleek, but tiny silver and blue can that didn’t scream “radical.” In the center was a yellow circle with two wild animals charging at each other. The sales team called it an “energy drink” and anyone who tried it couldn’t deny that it delivered on that name; the stuff may not have tasted great but it sure gave you a buzz.

Impressed retailers sought to give the drink a chance, but then came the catch: the price point was $2 for an 8 oz. can and the salesmen wanted three facings and a sticker on the door. There would be no free cases handed out, money had to exchange hands, and the company wouldn’t pay slotting fees. No bottom of the fridge placement allowed, either. Today a no-name brand walking into bodegas, let alone chain stores, and making these demands sounds untenable. At the time, however, this brazen, strongarm strategy cemented Red Bull as the first and largest energy drink in the country and ultimately the world.

“If people said no, then we just said ‘That’s okay, you’re not ready for it yet, but we’ll be back,’” said Christopher Ustick, the executive vice president of Red Bull’s New York and New Jersey distributor The Beverage Works.

With a lineup of regular sports and record-breaking stunt events, the brand associated itself with the high octane worlds of extremophiles and landed priceless press coverage. Despite the premium retail price – and an even more ridiculous markup in nightclubs – Red Bull quickly swept through cities, college towns, sports clubs, and the suburbs to entwine itself into the cul-

ture as a household name in shockingly few years. Rumors spread, hospitalizations made headlines, and although to outsiders the brand’s often controversial press and incongruous adverts made it feel more like a bull in a china shop somehow rampaging its way to success, the actual story of how this niche drink rose to the top is a story of precise, aggressive, and daring sales and marketing techniques that turned Red Bull into an enigma in consumers minds.

Hailing from Austria, Red Bull first hit U.S. shores in 1997. In honor of its twentieth anniversary, BevNET spoke to several people associated with the brand in the early days to find out how the drink got off the ground.

THE BULL RING

Red Bull was invented in Thailand by Chaleo Yoovidhya and sold by his company TC Pharmaceuticals as a tonic for truck drivers and workers in need of extra energy during long shifts. Originally known as Krating Daeng, the “energy drink,” as it was called, drew its functional power from a blend of taurine, caffeine, and B vitamins. Much like CocaCola before it, Red Bull’s humble, medicinal beginnings, would quickly grow into an international phenomenon.

Krating Daeng was becoming well known in Thailand when, on a work trip during the early 1980’s, Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz discovered the drink and instantly saw the product’s potential. He contacted Yoovidhya, and in 1987 he launched in Europe the company that would make the both of them two of the richest men in the world.

It would only be a brief 10 years before Red Bull launched in America, springing up on the West Coast with

a bare bones staff in 1997. In 2000, operations opened up on the East Coast as well, and to many American consumers, the appearance of the drink on the market would feel like an overnight sensation; the result of years of careful planning.

When Peter Strahm joined Red Bull North America in 2000, as the Vice President and General Manager in New York, he thought his prior decade of experience in the beverage world would give him a sense for how the business might operate. Coming from tenures at PepsiCo, Snapple, and Jones Soda, he had a good spread of knowledge working with big and small brands, but Red Bull turned out to be a very different beast.

“The energy level was high, literally, but the weird part was that was internal,” Strahm told BevNET. “The external stuff we were dealing with was who the hell would buy an 8 oz. can of soda for a buck ninety-nine.

It was an internal joke that everyone at Red Bull was drinking the water, but nobody else was.”

According to Strahm, one way to get the word out was to focus on the on-premise world of exclusive New York nightclubs. The brand was already an essential mixer in Europe’s infamous club scene, so it made sense to try a similar strategy stateside.

If Red Bull attempted to be just another Coke or Pepsi competitor it may not have gotten far; instead, it became a lifestyle brand. Red Bull began by opening accounts with a few dozen bars throughout New York City, L.A., Boston, and Philadelphia. Bartenders could sell Red Bull and Vodkas at high markups, with some clubs charging as much as $18 for a single drink, Strahm said.

But the word spread, and the speedball of upper and downer became the source of many

unforgettably forgotten nights throughout the party scene.

“The number one issue they would have is people trying to pass off fake stuff for Red Bull,” Strahm said. “Rarely, do I ever see now someone asking for Monster and vodka. Red Bull becomes the core item, and all the liquor becomes the mixer. What brand do you know that’s able to do that and the reason why is they stuck to what made them great.”

Bruce Trent, Red Bull’s vice president of national accounts and off-premise sales from 1997 to 2006, said Red Bull was incredibly strict about entering all markets as on-premise only to begin in order to set the brand’s price point. They would start by penetrating the hot nightclubs to “get the crowd hooked on paying the higher retail” before strategically focusing on a handful of key convenience chains near colleges and other consumer hotbeds and offering early exclusives.

Ken Tenace, the company’s field sales manager from 1999 to 2005, started on the West Coast in Los Angeles. In the first few months the team might high-five each other for selling 10 cases in a day, he said. But within a few months the van team built a network and they would go from 10 cases to 100 to 1000.

“This was all before Monster launched, before Rockstar,” Tenace said. “We were just trying to create this category called energy drinks.

People didn’t understand what energy was. You were doing more educating on that than on what Red Bull was.”

But Red Bull’s brand became so strong so quickly that the sales teams could eventu-

55

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs.YEAR EARLIER

Red Bull

$2,935,291,392

-0.98%

Monster Energy

$1,558,833,792

3.61%

$734,252,416

7.94%

Monster Energy Zero Ultra

$547,174,272

18.64%

NOS

$407,631,584

-1.32%

Red Bull Sugar Free

Java Monster

$401,831,168

8.16%

Monster Rehab

$313,157,888

-1.40%

Monster Energy Lo Carb

$309,040,832

-1.31%

Red Bull The Summer Edition

$293,781,856

45.29%

Rockstar

$256,414,288

-1.96%

Monster Mega Energy

$248,458,512

-0.40%

Red Bull The Blue Edition

$203,911,088

-2.76%

Rockstar Pure Zero

$148,604,624

23.81%

AMP Energy

$135,577,424

-12.82%

Monster Energy Ultra Sunrise

$130,514,352

10.64%

Rockstar Punched

$129,856,136

11.10%

Monster Energy Abolute Zero

$128,359,712

-12.75%

Red Bull The Red Edition

$123,922,760

-10.37%

Full Throttle

$117,890,880

-11.75%

Rockstar Sugar Free

$115,107,992

-0.83%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 3/19/17

ally twist the arms of retailers even further. In California, Tenace recalled getting Red Bull into a Ralphs supermarket by first wowing a skeptical buyer with stats about outselling 7UP, Pepsi, and Coke combined. Once the buyer was on board with the sale, Tenace made “one small request” of the store – control of all nine of their checkout coolers.

While the store had to honor their contract with the major CSDs, Red Bull’s success as an independent company eventually helped push a change to the way stores arranged their coolers, Tenace said. Many retailers now feature mixedbrand coolers, largely as a means to find top placement for independent energy drinks.

As Red Bull evolved and its name spread, imitators soon began popping up. Tenace recalled collecting as many as he could, eventually hoarding more than 500 cans of different drinks in his office, the vast majority now defunct today.

But in 2002, Monster Energy Drink premiered and began giving Red Bull a serious run for its money, sometimes

stealing big accounts out from under them. When this happened, Strahm said there was a strategy for getting customers to fall in line: The Bull Ring. In one instance, he recalled Monster getting into a major Las Vegas hotel and pushing Red Bull out. Rather than take the loss, Red Bull got to work stirring up some envy by getting placement in every location around that hotel. Consumers who wanted Red Bull would end up taking their business across the street, ultimately forcing the loss onto businesses.

“We would call it bull ringing and figure that if that location doesn’t want us then every other bar and every other hotel around is going to have it,” Strahm said.

MARKETING & MURKETING

In 2002, writing for Outside, journalist Rob Walker observed Red Bull’s vague, Rorschachstyle marketing strategy.

Remarking that it the brand’s slogans and promotions appeared to deliberately obscure what the product actually was, he dubbed this approach

56 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

“Murketing” and called the brand identity “nebulous” despite it having an identifiable target audience of athletes, nightclubbers and students.

“You could argue that what Red Bull drinkers have in common is a taste for the edgy and faintly dangerous,” Walker wrote. “But what does this really mean? Obviously any attempt to articulate such a thing would immediately destroy it.

The great thing about a murky brand is that you can let your customers fill in all the blanks.”

Walker was certainly on the right track in his analysis.

Part of the beauty of Red Bull as a brand was its mystique, Strahm said, and there was a deliberate vagueness in all of its promotions.

Much of this came in the form of Red Bull’s famous slogan: “It Gives You Wings.”

Strahm said the catchphrase worked so well because it could mean different things to different people, something TV spots could capitalize on. For some, “wings” meant energy, for others creativity, some people even called the company to complain that it didn’t physically make them grow wings. But most of all it was just a good catchphrase that combined with a noticeable buzz from caffeine and sugar, made the brand name stick.

“You may not have even known what the brand was, but I don’t know a person today in the United States who can’t tell you ‘Red Bull Gives You Wings,’” Strahm said. “Every single person from an old person to a young person can tell you that. It’s sort of like ‘Just Do It’ for Nike. It’s one of those things that is iconic enough because the phrase is so inclusive to what the brand is.”

But perhaps what built Red Bull’s mystique most of all was the way the company turned fears and rumors that grew around it into momentum.

Reports of health dangers, questions about ingredients’ effects, even word-of-mouth that the drink’s recipe contained substances harvested from real bulls quickly made their way through school dorms and into news articles. But rather than try to stamp out the negative press and do damage control, Red Bull saw fit to let the rumors spread, although Trent said the brand never actively fueled them. Nicknames for the drink like “Liquid Cocaine” and story after story of college students blacking out on Red Bull cocktails were effectively free advertising, especially in cities where on-premise sales from college kids reigned. According to Trent, buyers would occasionally raise concerns over the rumors they had heard, but business was moving so quickly they were never deal breakers.

OPEN FIELD

In her book Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd, Harvard Business School professor Youngme Moon highlighted the Red Bull’s strategy as an example of a “hostile” brand that, much like its sales team exemplified, told wary consumers to take their money elsewhere. Like a cartoon PSA drug pusher might say, you were either cool or Red Bull was just too much for you to handle.

“To be this inflexible requires a commitment to being unresponsive to consumer concerns, to being intransigent to market feedback,” Moon wrote. “The payoff, in other words, is brand differentiation to the extreme.”

One advantage Red Bull had in its first few years in the U.S. was that it was the only energy drink on the market. Typically, more time would be spent explaining the energy concept to buyers than explaining Red Bull, Tenace said. It took today’s next largest energy drink brands, Rockstar and Monster, until

2001 and 2002, respectively, to hit the market, and at around the same time the major CSD brands tried to get in on the game. In 2000, Pepsi acquired SoBe and began pushing Adrenaline Rush, and The Coca-Cola Company had KMX in 2001.

Red Bull’s resistance to outside pressure fit nicely into its stampeding brand identity.

One of the few times the company made decisions based on competition was when it introduced a larger 12 oz. slim can size in response to the rise of other energy drinks that came in 16 oz. cans at the same price point, Ustick said. The new can, he said, looked like a 16 oz. can on the shelf, but still carried its premium image. Today, the 12 oz. is the top selling SKU in many markets.

TO THE EXTREME Publicity stunts and athletic competitions have been a part of the Red Bull brand since

1988 when the Austrian branch of the company began the Red Bull Dolomitenmann, an intense relay event including mountain running, biking, paragliding, and kayaking.

In the years since, the brand found new ways to get involved in sports, from owning football clubs in Europe to sponsoring kite sailing expeditions to Cuba. As a business technique, the events were and are prime brand exposure territory.

“We’d take the event and we’d make that a bonfire,” Trent said.

Whenever Red Bull hosted an event, such as their annual Flugtag, the company would reach out to every retailer and on premise account in area surrounding the event to participate in the publicity, Trent said. More remote events, such as those taking place in remote regions deserts, could also be a good means of getting Red Bull featured on TV in the days before going viral on so-

cial media was a prime means of building a brand.

TOMORROW AND TODAY

While Monster can sometimes outsell Red Bull in the U.S., the brand is still the number one energy drink worldwide, with few signs of that title slipping away. But according to analyst Howard Telford at Euromonitor, even as the energy category has been entrenched, that doesn’t mean there aren’t outside challenges that could chip into Red Bull’s bottom line.

The wellness wave of consumers looking for better-foryou beverages may prove to be a big challenge to the energy category. According to Telford, Red Bull’s main competition currently is more likely to be coming from products like functional waters and innovation in ready-to-drink coffee.

And even though Red Bull is now a household name, it

still struggles with some of the same consumer hesitations it had back in the ‘90s.

“Believe it or not I still hear the same things I heard 15 years ago,” Ustick said. “We have older buyers who still have a negative connotation toward energy drinks. There’s still people out there who thinks it kind of faddish or doesn’t fit into their business.”

But 20 years in, Red Bull still remains the face of premium energy drinks, from its physical image (with its slimline can becoming something of an icon) to its brand aesthetic. Much can be learned from the way this billion dollar company built itself from the ground up to create one of the largest beverage categories today, but it can never be done the same way again.

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57

BRAND NEWS ENERGY DRINKS

BAWLS Guarana launched a new Ginger flavor, the 6th in its lineup of highly caffeinated sodas. The company noted that its ginger brings uniqueness to the category as it’s one of the only caffeinated ginger ales on the market today.

Beaver Buzz Energy announced the launch of Beaver Buzz Root Beer Energy.

With this sixth flavor, Beaver Buzz is also expanding into the U.S. market.

Celsius launched Celsius Heat, a carbonated pre-workout beverage which combines the proprietary Celsius formula to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat with elevated caffeine (300mg) and the popular vasodilator citrulline (2,000mg). Heat comes in Inferno Punch, Cherry Lime, and Blueberry Pomegranate flavors. It is available nationally in Gold’s Gym and 24 Hour Fitness as well as in Vitamin Shoppe stores and online.

Cintron World will launch in the U.S. this spring with its line of sparkling energy beverages. The Cintron Cranberry is crafted with water from the Austrian Alps along with natural flavors and contains only 60 calories and 14 grams of simple sugars. Cintron sparkling energy beverages also come in Classic and Classic Sugar-Free flavors.

Diabolo Loco are now available in Safeway Divisions in Portland, Seattle and Northern California as well as Vons in Southern California, joining Albertsons in Southern California where they have been for over 4 years.

EliteOps Energy Strips has begun transitioning from online sales to retail placements and has picked up distribution with SUPERVALU, C&S Wholesale Grocery, and Farner-Bocken.

EnerBee, a USDA Organic energy drink made with Organic Tea and Honey, recently achieved distribution throughout more than 130 H-E-B stores in Texas. The brand is also in Central Market.

FEEL has introduced a new formulation that is Non-GMO Project Verified. In addition to new 12 oz. sleek cans, the brand added Dragonfruit Lime and Blackberry Pomegranate flavors to its portfolio.

58 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

Java Kick sales have grown 10-fold in the last quarter. The brand, the only coffee/cola/ energy beverage on the market, is targeting office break rooms and college campuses.

Liquid Ice announced a limited-edition, patriotic themed package for the summer season. The new Liquid Ice America will arrive on shelves just in time for the Memorial Day holiday. It will be available at participating retailers and local chain operations in over 40 states through selected Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Pepsico and Coca-Cola distributors.

Positive Energy has launched nationally with Sprouts. The launch includes an initial four SKU offering of its line of 12 oz. cans which include Strawberry Lemonade, Peach Mango Lemonade, and Pomegranate Blueberry flavors, in addition to a non-carbonated Coconut Water flavor.

Red Bull expanded its Red Bull Editions line with Red Bull Purple Edition Sugarfree and Red Bull Lime Edition Sugarfree, with Açaí Berry and Limeade flavors. respectively.

Also, the top selling new beverage item launched in 2016, the limited edition Red Bull Summer Edition Kiwi Twist returned this year as a permanent offering – the Red Bull Green Edition. Red Bull Summer Edition Grapefruit Twist launched as a national limited time offer on May 1.

Rockstar released Rockstar Blackout nationally in February, a new variety based on the European formula of Rockstar Original.

In March, the brand launched nationally Rockstar Revolt Killer Grape and Rockstar Revolt Killer Black Cherry, following the successful Revolt Killer Citrus line.

RUNA Clean Energy Drinks underwent a rebrand late last year and launched a simplified, flavor focused packaging design that emphasizes the product’s clean energy benefit and Amazonian origin. The brand is available in three flavors: Berry (lightly sweetened), Lime (unsweetened), and Blood Orange (unsweetened).

Scheckter’s Organic Energy announced a new digital ad campaign aimed at health conscious working professionals and parents of young children. The ads are a collection

ENERGY DRINK BRAND NEWS SPONSORED BY:

of bold verbs on vibrant backgrounds which tell consumers that work, focus, mornings and sport can be simple when you have a clean and great-tasting energy drink.

SPIKE Hardcore Energy has launched a new Blue Raz flavor and has rebranded its beverage and shot packaging. The new flavor has become the brand’s top selling SKU in 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores, Holiday Station, Albertsons, Safeway and other retail partner outlets.

Steaz’s rebranded energy drink line is now hitting shelves. The change helps align the company’s energy platform with the rest of its platforms under the Steaz umbrella, and better illustrates its clean energy formulation. Steaz Energy is available in superfruit, berry, orange and a zero-calorie, steviasweetened berry; it is sold nationwide.

Sunshine Beverages added two new flavors to its Sunshine Good Energy line, Blueberry Lemonade and Clementine Twist. Since the launch of the flavors last spring, Sunshine Beverages has increased sales by 55 percent year-over-year and earned partnerships with national and regional grocers including Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, and Food Lion.

Xing Energy. Following a successful launch with King Soopers, Xing Energy, an extension of New Age Beverage’s Xing Tea, is launching nationally in 2017 with placement in Sprouts, Town Pump, and Ahold.

XS has released its 19th flavor, Blood Orange Energy + Burn. Made with Welltrim and Essentra, it boosts energy and clarity.

Advanced Nutrient Science International has launched a new digital media campaign for Xtreme Shock. The campaign is targeting millennials on the benefits of health and fitness with a strategically composed title, “Be What Defines You”.

XYIENCE Energy Drink is partnering with The Lone Survivor Foundation to further their mission to restore, empower, and renew hope for our wounded service members and their families through health, wellness, and therapeutic support.

XYIENCE will make a donation to The Lone Survivor Foundation and promote the charity this summer on in-store POS.

Unique announced expansion throughout the West Coast including all of Califonia, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado, in addition to New York. The brand also introduced a 12 oz. can and has plans for a new package refresh.

UPTIME Energy Inc. has reported over 16,500 percent growth in under three years.

The demand for functional, non-extreme energy has landed UPTIME in over 25 DSDs, 3,200 GNCs, and 35 regional and national convenience store chains including 7-Eleven. UPTIME’s growth will continue through June as it adds another 30 Anheuser-Busch, Miller Coors and independent DSDs, according to the company.

Vuka Natural Energy drinks gained new distribution this year in Haggen, Ion markets, Whole Foods, Lucky’s and Harmons.

The brand also introduced a new flavor last year, Thrive Starfruit Pear, which has antioxidant properties.

59

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For over 42 years, we've traveled the world to connect people with the finest products. At A. Holliday & Company, we source, test, and ship every product we carry. We supply bulk tea variety’s (extracts & leaf), coffees (extracts), antioxidants, herbal & superfruit extracts, natural caffeine, polyphenols, EGCG, Rooibos, coconut water powder, and our newest product, oil soluble tea polyphenols.

Affinity Creative Group is a marketing agency that helps clients of all sizes create, design and implement packaging labels, websites, videos, retail displays, point of sale, promotions and other brand activation services. We are known for engaging, clever strategies and break-though creative solutions that connect our client's brands with their target customers.

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

Allen Flavors provides innovative product development services and exemplary customer services ensuring your ingredients arrive safely and on time, every time. Our R&D team never stops developing new functional concepts for sports, tea, dairy, meal replacements and health and wellness beverages. Ask about our custom flavor creation team and our organic, non-GMO flavors and extracts.

Flavor Manufacturer Abelei Flavors

Agropur–Contract Manufacturing Agropur Ingredients

Innovative Packaging Solutions Alimac Group

Contract Manufacturing AZPack

As a flavor manufacturer abelei creates delicious, application-specific flavors assisting our clients in getting to market faster with flavorings that fit their product requirements. abelei specializes in creating great-tasting sweet brown, citrus fruit, soft fruit and other top-note flavors perfect for beverages, dairy, confectionery, bakery, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceutical applications.

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

Discover the innovative adhesive carry handle by ALIMAC NORTH AMERICA INC., Tampa, FL

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

Innovative Beverage Solutions ADM

Organic Functional Ingredients Applied Food Sciences, Inc.

“Solutions for creating the healthiest organic beverages imaginable.”

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

As your trusted advisor, ADM helps you take your next great beverage idea from concept to commercialization supported by an unrivaled portfolio of on-trend ingredients, systems, technologies and technical know-how. Call to discuss how ADM can help you get to market faster with beverages consumers love while meeting your stringent taste, cost, nutrition, labeling and quality standards.

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Our Portfolio: – “Healthy energy” – Organic caffeine and other novel extracts standardized for caffeine + antioxidants.

– “Flavors without limitation” – Organic extracts that are highly water soluble and clear in solution.

– “Relaxation you can feel” – Extracts from only noble kava cultivars are used to support healthy sleep and stress relief.

– “Cellular Detoxification” – Help remove harmful toxins and other pollutants from the body. This complete liver health ingredient also enhances the functional benefits of other ingredients.

Private Lavel Beverages Arcadia Farms, Inc.

Plant protein manufacturing Axiom Foods

Arcadia Farms is a cold fill beverage production plant that specializes in production and packaging of non-carbonated beverages - juices, blended juice, lemonades, RTD teas, fruit flavored drinks and punches, hydration drinks, iced coffees, etc.... All items are packed in plastic bottles, PET and/or HDPE, in sizes from 6.75 oz. to 128 oz. We produce perishable and ambient beverages under private label brands, our trademarked brands, and are a licensed co-packer for national and regional brand companies. All items are packaged in corrugate cases or plastic shrink wrapped and shipped on CHEP pallets. Additionally we can produce print register film overwrapped multi-pack units for bottles 32oz and smaller.

Bottles are shrink or pressure sensitive labeled at the plant. Every bottle is sealed with a lift and peel foil seal under a tamper resistant cap. We supply the following channels - club, convenience, dollar, foodservice, grocery, mass, and wholesale. SQF Level 3 certified since 2010. Practice effective sustainability processes daily from recycling of excess raw materials, efficient energy utilization, to supply chain flow efficiencies. Collaborate with customers to create customized programs that meet specific account needs and consumer demands.

Valued Business Advisors Baker Tilly

The Ultimate Hang Tag Bedford - ElastiTag®

Baker Tilly's dedicated team of craft specialists offer a variety of consulting services specific to craft beverage companies. We leverage our knowledge, experience and deep industry involvement to help navigate regulation, value and negotiate distribution rights, develop sales channel management strategies, implement technology, assist with staffing and HR solutions, and handle compliance needs.

ElastiTag® engages shoppers with its distinctive personality on your product. The colorful elastomer loop grips bottles and cans.

Even in refrigeration, this durable tag keeps its cool and stays put. Add value and draw attention by using ElastiTag® to communicate health benefits, product launches, coupons, or recipes. This ultimate hang tag offers endless POS marketing possibilities!

Pure Maple Syrup & Maple Sugar Bascom Family Farms

BOTTLES, CAPS & PACKAGING Berlin Packaging

America's leading supplier of Organic & Natural Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar. Food Service and bulk sizes available. Bascom Family Farms, and our family of brands, has become the premier resource to a worldwide community that depends on the very best wholesale maple syrup and wholesale maple sugar products available… when, where, and how you need them.

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

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

Contract Mfg-Retort Beverages Berner Food & Beverage

Contract Manufacturing Partners – Berner is a leading contract manufacturer of shelfstable beverages (milk-based ready-to-drink coffee, protein, teas and other low acid beverages), dips, sauces and aerosol cheese. Berner’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities meet the demanding standards of virtually every major retailer and brand in North America. Our new plant expansions, which focus on and increase our capacity in retort can and glass beverage capabilities, ensure our customers that Berner Food & Beverage is positioned for the future.

Nothing is more important to us than the quality and consumer experience of your product.

That is why we use only fresh producer milk, straight from the farm, to create your products. We aren’t just committed to the highest quality standards, we do what we say we are going to do, just like we have every day for the past 70+ years. With SQF Level 3, Organic and Kosher Certifications, we combine operational excellence with flexible, tailored solutions to make your product the best that it can be.

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Do more than outsource.

BevSource

Beverage Packaging Equipment Bevcorp LLC

Since 1992, Bevcorp has been a full-service provider of packaging equipment and parts for the beverage industry. We provide rotary filling equipment, MicroBlend blending systems, closure equipment, rotary rinsers, container handling parts, pre-owned and remanufactured equipment. We service customers in the carbonated soft drink, beer, water, juice, energy drink and non-carbonated beverage industries. We maintain an extensive inventory of new and rebuilt filler replacement parts for Bevcorp and Crown fillers. A number of replacement and repair parts are available with design improvements and upgraded materials, such as stainless steel and hard chrome plate. We produce high quality new and remanufactured parts at competitive prices. Specialty items can be quickly produced with our extensive in-house machining capabilities. Avoid hours of lost production time during an unexpected crash, by tapping into Bevcorp’s store of quality, used structural components. Some parts seldom need to be replaced and could take weeks to manufacture, while a used, non-wearing equivalent part is often available immediately at a fraction of the cost of new. All Bevcorp equipment is made in the USA. Visit our newly re-designed website, www.bevcorp.com, or contact our sales team at 440.954.3505 today for more information!

Beverage Management Certificate Beverage Business Institute

Cane Invert Syrup & sweeteners Caribbean Specialty Ingredient

The Beverage Business Institute at Colorado State University offers a not-for-credit Certificate in Beverage Business Management for professionals in the beer business. There are four, three day “in-person” workshops offered quarterly. For more information, visit our website.

World class manufacturer of non-GMO Cane Sugar Invert syrups, non-GMO Glucose syrup, non-GMO Fructose syrup and non-GMO Cane/ Stevia blends (liquid and granulated) for the Food & Beverage industry, as well as Beer, Distillery and Pharmaceutical applications.

Organic certified available.

Plant-Based beverages Blue Pacific Flavors, Inc.

Vegetable Juice Carolina Innovative Food Ing.

Blue Pacific Flavors' line of plant-based whole food ingredients help simplify statements of clean label beverages that deliver nutritional benefits to natural products consumers. Our SimplyGrains™ include rice powders & whole grain oat pastes with nutritional fiber & beta glucan. Plant-based natural flavor modifiers improve perceived taste defects like acidity & bitterness in fortified beverages.

Carolina Innovative Food Ingredients, Inc. (CIFI) creates healthy sweet potato juice - concentrate or NFC / frozen or aseptically packaged - from sweet potatoes sourced from our grower partners in eastern North Carolina. CIFI sweet potato juices are non-GMO, naturally gluten free, and available in an organic formulation.

CIFI supports improved food safety and functional label claims.

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BevSource is an integrated provider of beverage development, production, sourcing, and logistics solutions to new and established beverage visionaries. Our goal is to make your beverage vision a reality more efficiently, effectively, and successfully than you ever dreamed possible.

Bringing your beverage idea to life requires hundreds of interconnected data points and decisions. The right formula with the right manufacturer in the right package with the right paperwork. BevSource helps you see the big picture – from your initial vision to the finished product, and every single operational step in between. Then while we manage the daily details of developing, producing, delivering, and managing your beverage operations, you’ll have more time to build your brand, business, & customer base.

We’re not just advisors that point you in the right direction and hope for the best. We are beverage industry navigators who collaborate with clients to build a custom operational strategy for your beverage, identify a unique mix of services and vendors to support it, then execute on the plan. We make it happen.

Visit www.bevsource.com today to find out more!

Healthier Ingredients Bioenergy Life Science, Inc.

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

We sell in bulk to businesses who manufacture or formulate functional foods and beverages, dietary supplements and sports nutrition products.

Brand | Packaging | Marketing BLINDTIGER Design

Control System Solutions ControlTec, Inc

Real. Smart. Logistics.

Coyote Logistics

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

We also supply Valves, Temperature Sensors, Flowmeters and more!

Headquartered in Chicago, Coyote Logistics LLC, a UPS company, is a leading third-party logistics service provider in North America.

Coyote provides truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal, air, and ocean brokerage services, and transportation management services to more than 14,000 shippers of various sizes and industries. We believe in a "No Excuses" commitment to shippers and carriers.

Generate Revenues with Coolio Coolio North American Inc.

INFLUENCE DECISIONS & DRIVE SALES. At the Point of Display!

BOOST YOUR CUSTOMER CONVERSION

by turning your refrigeration unit into a revenue generation unit › Small footprint with big impact › Superb launch vehicle for refrigerated products › Great consumer interaction device with bold graphics › Constant marketing revenue generator for retailers › Gets your brand in front of the consumer and out of the cooler › 3 square feet of prime space to outshine the competition › Generate 3-15 times typical revenues

Packaging/Cannning Cask Brewing Systems

Ideal Functional Ingredient Chemi Nutra

Cask Brewing Systems invented micro-canning.

We supply a range of affordable, compact, high-performance canning systems to small scale breweries and packagers worldwide. Have installed 750+ canning lines in 45 countries.

Official supplier of Ball Corp. for printed aluminum cans to our customers

Chemi Nutra makes the functional ingredient AlphaSize® Alpha-GPC. AlphaSize® A-GPC boosts both mental and physical energy while remaining tasteless and completely water soluble in any beverage. The FDA has acknowledged AlphaSize® A-GPC as GRAS.

Bottling Challenge Bottling

Closure Systems Solutions Closure Systems International

Testing and Design Solutions Covance Food Solutions

Specialty Hydrocolloids CP Kelco

Flexible bottling line; versatile enough to handle smaller production runs, challenging projects, and various packaging requirements. On-site beverage lab and distillery.

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

Covance offers integrated solutions that span the life cycle of your product. Our experts offer you insights and services in product and process development, nutritional and contaminant analysis and food safety consulting and training.

We provide custom, precision delivery at our locations across the globe. Together we’ll build the program you need. Please visit our website.

The CP Kelco portfolio of hydrocolloid stabilizers and texturizers is full of tools to develop tasty, indulgent, lower-, low- or no-sugar foods and beverages. Formulators around the globe look to CP Kelco to suspend botanicals in new-age energy drinks, stabilize protein in fruit smoothies, create creamy liqueurs and recover body in reduced calorie beverages, to name just a few examples.

Make the Coolio* Revenue Generator work for you.

Contact us today.

905-331-9497 | megan@coolionorthamerica.com coolionorthamerica.com

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Co-packing for RTD beverages CraftPack Beverage, LLC

Premix Solutions DSM

Beverage Software Solutions Encompass Technologies

Tea and Coffee Extracts Finlay Extracts & Ingredients

CraftPack Beverage is a co-packaging and co-manufacturing facility in Baltimore, MD for ready-to-drink, small batch, artisanal beverages.

Let us help you scale your production and/ or package for retail in our 47,000 sq. ft FDA regulation compliant facility. We can help you avoid large production minimums and package your beverage for retail. After all, great things come in small batches!

At DSM, we provide you with a broad portfolio of top quality, science-based Food & Beverage ingredients, addressing all of your nutritional and coloration needs. We offer Vitamins, Minerals, Carotenoids, Omega-3’s, Nutraceuticals, Nutritional Premixes as well as Application Development Support.

Encompass Technologies provides a cloud-based Software as a Subscription RAS and WMS used

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

Finlay Extracts & Ingredients USA offers customer focused market solutions using the highest quality tea and coffee ingredients to flavor products for the food, beverage, and dairy industries. Finlays is a leading supplier of coffee extracts, and also operates in all parts of the tea supply chain bringing ‘bush to cup’ tea knowledge, leaf tea procurement, product development and innovation.

Custom Bottled Water Co-Packer Creekside Springs, LLC

Custom Displays and Signs Dunning Displays

Unique Ingredient Solutions Ethical Naturals, Inc.

Full-line supplier of bottled water products for a variety of brands. Bottle purified, spring, flavored & enhanced products in 12 oz. to 1 Liter unit sizes in ribbed and cylinder bottles. PA & OH facilities certified SQF Level 3. Permitted in all states.

Primary focus is on product quality and packaging for established and emerging brands, serving as eastern and mid-western production source.

For more than 110 years we have been creating custom permanent retail store displays and promotional items such as A Frame Signs, Wall Signs, Back Bar, Caddies, Crates and Cases.

We can design to fit your needs or work with an existing design. Full rendering and prototyping capabilities, Made in the USA and quick turnaround. We ship to distribution or direct to store. We Make your Product POP!

Law Firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Label & Packaging Specialists DWS PRINTING

Davis Wright Tremaine has one of the nation’s most comprehensive and coordinated food and beverage legal teams. DWT lawyers support food and beverage industry clients daily with practical advice and strategic solutions, and facilitate game-changing transactions and litigate “betthe-farm” disputes.

Established in 1865, DWS is a 4th generation, family-owned & operated label printing and packaging design company. We are the last step in the visions of a lot of passionate people. We take an anonymous container and provide its story. Let us help tell your story through Cut & Stack, Pressure Sensitive, Shrink Sleeve, Roll Fed and Digital labels.

Flavors & Ingredients Doehler

Professional Retouching EDGE DIGITAL IMAGING, LLC

Clean-label Ingredients Farbest Brands

Flavor Development Flavor Producers

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

EDI is a full service digital imaging and creative studio. Professional Services: Retouching, Image Composition, Color Correction, Custom Effects and Photography for the Food and Beverage industries. Visually elevating brands to engage your consumer.

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

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

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Beverage Development Flavorman

Promotional Marketing Goods Foundry Brand Services Group

Branding and Package Design Frooishen LLC

Beverage Development Services Glasgow Consulting Group

Leading the industry in custom beverage development for every category, alcohol and non-alcohol. We have the expertise and technology to make superior drinks and the outstanding service to support you every step of the way including production support and shelf life testing. On-site beverage lab, blending operation, bottling line and distillery.

Founded by beverage marketing professionals for marketing professionals, The Foundry BSG is your one stop for all of your branded marketing needs.

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

We specialize in telling the stories of food and beverage brands through the art of package design. We offer creative solutions to multiple trade and consumer touchpoints including immersive category audits, logo design, package design, and production/project management.

We believe in building long-lasting relationships built on trust and respect, while bringing your brand’s vision to Frooishen.

Award-Winning Development Services -- Glasgow Consulting Group creates innovative beverages with superior taste and functionality. Multiple industry awards. Our accelerated development cycles are typically 2-3 months from product brief to plant trial. Dr. Jonathan Gordon and his team have over 75 years of experience across all beverage platforms, specializing in technically challenging products.

Driving Probiotic Innovation Ganeden, Inc.

Mergers & Acquisitions Glover Capital, Inc.

Ganeden® is at the forefront of probiotic research and product development with an extensive library of published studies and more than 130 patents for probiotic technologies in the supplement, food, beverage, animal health, sports nutrition and personal care ingredients markets. Probiotic beverages are possible. Want to learn how? Please visit our website for more information.

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.

Flavor Designers Foodarom

We personalize flavors to meet your needs and create flavor profiles that help your products to stand out above the rest.

Our experienced team knows the functional beverage market well and understands the impact your active ingredients have on taste. Our flavor development capabilities will help you stay ahead of the competition.

Global Essence Inc. Global Essence Inc.

We understand the complex issues manufacturers are facing and we offer support and coaching in formulation development.

In short, we put the wow in your product!

Ensure your products’ success with the innovative touch of Global Essence

Decorative Label Solutions Fort Dearborn Company

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

Coconut Products Franklin Baker, Inc.

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the premier supplier of coconut ingredients to the global food & beverage market for over 120 years. We offer an extensive coconut portfolio of products including Coconut Water Single Strenght/Concentrate, Coconut Milk/Cream, Creamed Coconut, & other products. We are USDA Organic, Fair Trade, RSB, Kosher, Non-GMO Project Verified. Bulk, Foodservice & Retail packaging.

70 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

A leading supplier of premium-quality ingredients to the flavor, fragrance, consumer products, food, beverage, nutraceutical, health & wellness, functional beverage and allied industries. Convenient staff and warehouse facilities located in the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Singapore. The Global Essence team represents over 150 years of solid experience in the global Flavor and Fragrance industry. We specialize in essential oils, aroma chemicals, citrus products, absolutes, natural custom blends, NOP Organics, and other flavor and fragrance compounds.

We, at Global Essence, are devoted to the cultivation and continuous care of a superior customer/supplier partnership. While forging a long-term partnership, we offer a trusted source of supply, integrity and ethical business practices, which gives you, the customer, a competitive advantage in the marketplace now and into the increasingly competitive future.

Global Essence is proud to be a Certified Woman Owned Business with a BRC AA food handler rating.

Natural Color Solutions GNT USA Inc.

Merchandising-Sales-Events GOTHAM BRAND MANAGERS

Decorative Label Solutions Hammer Packaging

Maqui and Bergamot Botanicals HP Ingredients, Supplier

The GNT Group is the leading global provider of natural color solutions made exclusively from fruits and vegetables. Sold under the EXBER- RY® name in more than 65 markets worldwide, they are the clean-label alternative to synthetic colors providing bright, vibrant, and stable colors to all beverages.

Offering independent Sales, Merchandising, Refrigerated DSD, Event and In-Store Sampling for food and beverage brands in and around NYC. The ability to build brands, especially in today’s competitive environment, takes experience, contacts and hard work. Gotham succeeds by offering affordable options for our customers, leveraging our dedicated people and working hard everyday for our brands.

Hammer Packaging, established in 1912, headquartered in Rochester, NY, is a privatelyheld multi-color packaging printer with expertise in sheet-fed offset, web offset and flexography.

Hammer uses leading-edge technology and ISO 9001:2008 practices to produce high-quality printed labels and package decoration for the global beverage, food, household, health & beauty, and horticulture markets.

HP Ingredients is the largest supplier of Maqui Berry, the highest antioxidant superfruit. We offer conventional and organic 65 brix liquid concentrates and freeze-dried powders. HP Ingredients is also the exclusive North American distributor for Bergamonte®, a clinically proven nutraceutical to lower cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar, available as a water soluble powder.

Flavors and Colors, Beverage Gold Coast Ingredients

Management Consultant Great Lakes Consulting Assoc.

Powering World Class Lines Hartness, An ITW Company

Gold Coast Ingredients is a privately held and operated, wholesale flavor and color manufacturer located in Commerce, California.

With us you will find Organic, Natural, Non-GMO, Allergen-Free and other flavors available as liquids, powders, powder encapsulations, emulsions and advanced extractions. Our flavors are compatible with any product requirements.

We provide beverage Industry expertise and general management support as needed for startup ventures or existing operations for beer, wine and NA beverage companies by linking what you want with how you will get there. No problem to small nor operation too big. Please visit our website.

Cold-Pressed Juice Equipment Goodnature Products, Inc.

Advanced Beverage Formulas Hidell International

Premium Beer Labels iGraphics Inc.

The company creates innovative nutritional formulations for the bottled water industry.

These formulations are water neutral in that they have no color, taste or odor. They are pleasing to the palette and yet offer highly efficacious micro-nutrients for human consumption. The effort is to provide healthy hydration to bottled water consumers.

iGraphics is a premier flexographic printer providing high quality pressure sensitive and cut and stack labels for the beer industry. We go above and beyond to help our customers succeed.

Our flexibility allows for quick turnaround to meet those last-minute challenges. Our valued customers, like Avery Brewing and Prost Brewery, value our services and our commitment to deliver, on time every time.

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Innovate with Beverage Ingredion

Powder Product Development Innovative Food Processors

Innovative Beverage Packaging Invento Americas Inc.

From Nature to Ingredients Jungbunzlauer

Consumers are thirsty for drinks with less sugar, more nutrients, improved functionality, and clean and simple ingredients. And, above all, consumers want great drinking experiences.

Satisfy these demands with Ingredion. Look to our broad ingredient portfolio of stevia sweeteners, polyols, emulsifiers, fibers and more to create delicious beverages that meet the trends—at the right cost for you.

Development & manufacturing of powder products that provide benefits beyond basic nutrition. Special emphasis on functional bevs, sports/ nutrition supplements & medical foods containing high value ingredients. Achieve functionality & powder uniformity, instantize, improve product dispersion or flow, arrive at precise dosing, or reduce product dusting through our agglomeration services.

Wisconsin based manufacturer of clear PET beverage cans. Standard sizes: 500ml, 16 oz, 12 oz. Sleek, 10.5 oz. Sleek, 8.4 oz Slim. Custom sizes and shapes available. Use for carbonated and non-carbonated cold fill beverages. Hot fill available in Q4. Clear Plastic Cans filled in standard aluminum can filling and seaming lines with very minor modifications. Made with 100% recyclable materials.

Jungbunzlauer has 150 of years of experience in fermentation and offers a variety of solutions for sugar replacement, sodium reduction, flavor enhancement, off-taste masking, pH balance and mouthfeel improvement. Jungbunzlauer provides high quality products that are suitable for food, beverage, supplement and pharmaceutical applications.

Innovative Merchandisers

Matcha – Culinary Matcha LOVE® ITO EN (North America) INC.

Iowa Rotocast Plastics

Iowa Rotocast Plastics is a manufacturer of premier merchandising products for the food & beverage industry. Their clientele includes Fortune 500 companies such as AnheuserBusch, MillerCoors, PepsiCo/Gatorade, Coca-Cola, Constellation Brands, Nestlé Waters, and many more. IRP has become synonymous with words such as Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Reliability, and Value. IRP products have unparalled craftsmanship because every product is manufactured and shipped from their plant in Decorah, IA. The IRP family of brands offers a wide range of products, including a line of outdoor coolers known as Grizzy Coolers, ice merchandising solutions, wire racks, and electronic refrigeration for convenience stores, grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and bars.

IRP also specializes in fabricated food & beverage equipment for venues, stadiums, and arenas. IRP equipment can be found in over 200 professional and collegiate sports venues, spanning 6 continents.

MATCHA, the finely milled green tea powder revered for its antioxidants & natural energy boost, is a trend forward ingredient for healthy beverages, baking and cooking products.

Native to Japan, matcha is created from whole leaf green tea “tencha”, a shade grown leaf that is coveted for its “umami” flavor-the fifth taste sensation. The high quality tea leaves are carefully picked then steamed and dried out to preserve their vibrant color and concentrated nutrients. The dried leaves are then finely ground, preserving the full health benefits and vitality of the entire green tea leaf. Matcha is high in the antioxidant, Catechins, L Theanine, an amino acid shown to provide a state of “calm alertness” and Vitamins C & A. Bulk Matcha is available for Food Service.

We Power Great Packaging Inland

Technical Beverage Development International Beverage Mgmt.

High Pressure Processing (HPP) JBT Avure HPP Technologies

KEG LEASING, PAY PER FILL KEG LOGISTICS LLC

Inland works collaboratively with brand owners and industry partners to advance innovative, best-in-class solutions for beverage packaging.

Products offerings include Cut & Stack, In-Mold, Pressure Sensitive, Shrink and Blow Mold Labels – along with Flexible Packaging options.

Our team supplies innovative technical beverage development and ingredients for exciting new products. We are experienced with energy drinks, teas, functional beverages, shots, flavored waters, cocktail mixers, powdered drinks - or pretty much anything you can dream up!

AVURE Technologies is the global leader in HPP with more than 60 years of experience and expertise in HPP science, packaging and manufacturing. AVURE specializes in HPP systems for beverage processing with the fastest and most reliable systems on the market.

AVURE helps producers implement HPP from recipe development and process validations to installation, regulatory affairs, and post-install.

Lease to Own & Pay Per Fill options. We provide our brewery partners with the highest quality kegs in the world. Each keg is silk-screened with the brewery’s logo or graphic design to identify the keg as your asset. The brewery builds equity ownership in the kegs with every rental payment. The Brewer has the flexibility to rent from 1 to 8 yrs and take ownership anytime after year 1, your call.

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Premium Label Solutions Labeltronix

Natural Sweetener Solutions Layn Corp

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

Layn Corp is a global leader in the vertically integrated production of premium quality natural sweeteners. Our portfolio of monk fruit and stevia extracts offers a superior taste profile and compelling value. Layn’s unique sweetener solutions are suited to a variety of F&B applications and come with full formulation support to ensure that our natural sweetener systems meet your specific needs.

All Your Container Labeling LANGGUTH

One-way keg / packaging Lightweight Containers

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

Lightweight Containers is the global leader in the manufacturing of high quality, sustainable one-way packaging. We provide the best options to protect and transport beverages all over the world. Tap into new global markets with KeyKeg and UniKeg. Our innovative PET kegs help you increase your sales and market share while keeping costs down.

Private Label Specialists Langlade Springs LLC

73

Sleeved Cans & Consumables Lucky Clover Packaging

MetaBrand Consulting Firm METABRAND

Never Flat. Always Refined.

Neenah Packaging

Nutraceutical Ingredients NP Nutra

Lucky Clover Packaging is your one-stop shop for quality shrink sleeved cans and other packaging materials. We offer sleeved cans in all sizes, brite cans, crowlers, Paktechs, and can lids all with no order minimums! With locations in Baltimore and Sacramento, we can ship anywhere in North America at an affordable rate.

MetaBrand is a world class team of experts to help you create, launch, or grow your food, beverage, or supplement. We do strategic planning, market analysis, branding and design, product formulation and development, outsourced operations, and sales and marketing execution.

For over 40 years, ESTATE LABEL® Papers have been trusted by printers and bottlers to deliver exceptional results in production, and on shelf.

Now, the number one uncoated label paper for the wine, spirits and premium craft beer markets just got better: NEENAH Packaging announces the addition of ESTATE LABEL No. 14 PC100 Bright White to the line, and all ESTATE LABEL papers are now FSC® certified.

Founded in 1998, NP Nutra® is committed to supplying the finest quality nutraceutical ingredients produced at its partner facilities at its partner facilities around the world. Our commitment to quality, competitive pricing, and excellent customer support have won the trust of the world's largest functional food, beverage and dietary supplement manufacturers who have become loyal customers.

Flavor Delivery Systems MANE, Inc.

Unique Labeling Options Monvera Glass Décor

Co-packing Norwich Beverage Company

Package/Bottling/ Canning Palmer Canning Systems

MANE is an international flavor and fragrance company with over 145 years of natural flavor expertise. MANE offers flavor solutions for the beverage market through our encapsulation and flavor delivery system platforms of N-Capture, Sense Capture and Pure Capture.

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

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

Palmer Canning provides 50-300 CPM rotary counter pressure filling systems that provide accurate fill volumes, low oxygen, greater operating latitude, and low spoilage. Our 12- to 36-head filling valve systems provide good fill accuracy volume with low spillage and controlled foaming.

Tea, Botanicals and Extracts Martin Bauer Inc.

Distillery & Spirits Education Moonshine University

LEADING WEST COAST CO-PACKER NOR-CAL BEVERAGE COMPANY, INC.

The Martin Bauer Group is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of tea & botanical extracts and raw materials for the food & beverage and nutritional supplements industries.

Supplying off-the-shelf ingredients and tailormade products for your requirements. Safe, high quality products you can trust.

Technical training and business management education for entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and those looking for careers in the distilling industry. A practical, hands-on learning experience. Fully-equipped distillery, classroom, beverage lab, and bottling line.

Moonshine University's Stave & Thief Society program also does spirits training and education.

Branding & Packaging Design McLean Design

Specialty African Teas Mulanje Tea Imports

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

Mulanje Tea Imports specializes in direct trade, wholesaling, and white labelling of teas and tisanes from Fair Trade Certified producers in Africa. With on-the-ground relationships, rigorous supplier oversight, and unparalleled product story and media, we provide a unique solution for innovative beverage brands. Our direct trade relationships in Malawi, South Africa, and Rwanda set us apart.

74 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

Nor-Cal Beverage Company, Inc. is a full-service Contract Manufacturer with two strategically located production facilities in the state of California. Both of our locations offer a variety of production capabilities as well as possess GFSI, GMP, Kosher, & Organic certifications. We also offer finished good warehouse and distribution service centers that are positioned to supply your West Coast fulfillment needs. Nor-Cal Beverage has been family owned and operated since 1937 and proud to be a Certified Women’s Owned Business.

Anaheim Facility Offers the Following: Krones 100 valve volumetric filler can line (12oz – 24oz) Tunnel Pasteurized Still and Carbonated • Cold Fill Carbonated Hot Fill Still (HTST) • 8.4oz Filling Capabilities TBA! Two Hot Fill Single Serve PET Bottle Lines (12oz – 32oz) Hot Fill Multi-Serve PET Bottle Line (64oz -128oz) • Chilled Gable Top Line (59oz-64oz) 2 ESL 59/64oz Fillers • Chilled HDPE & PET Bottle Line (59oz-128oz) Transportation/Shuttling Svcs w/ Drop-Trailer Capabilities Certified DOT Public Truck Scales • Warehouse Storage West Sacramento Facility Offers the Following: Cold Fill Carbonated Can Line (12oz – 16oz) • Hot Fill Can Line (12oz – 16oz) Hot Fill Can Line (24oz) Dedicated • Hot Fill Single Serve PET & Glass Bottle Line (12oz - 32oz) TetraPak Aseptic Lines • Warehouse Storage Offline Repack Services • Transportation/Shuttling Svcs

Custom & Private Label Energy Drinks & Shots NVE Pharmaceuticals

Transform Ideas Into Reality Phase 1 Prototypes

Creative Packaging Solutions ProAmpac

We’re a mock-up and prototype packaging company that merges innovative technology, propriety substrate development and printing solutions. With our expertise and commitment to exceptional customer service, we can help you get your product to market faster. Whether you need one mock-up for a presentation or a few hundred for sales samples, we help make your vision a reality.

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

Ideal Flax for Beverages Pizzey Ingredients

Beverage & Food Development PTM Food Consulting

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

PTM Food Consulting is your premier product development & manufacturing support firm.

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

NOT YOUR TYPICAL LABEL COMPANY Overnight Labels, Inc.

Since 1987, we’ve had to grow up – servicing more industries and markets than ever before! We are a full service flexible packaging printing company, not just a label printer.

We now provide a multi-tiered approach to your packaging needs – from prototypes and pre-production samples, to digital printing for smaller volumes, to full production runs. And not just labels! Shrink sleeves, flexible films for bags, pouches, stick packs and sample packets, IRC coupons, peel-back labels, and more. Our technologies have grown to include embossing, rotary silkscreen, seamless cylinders, tactile, and other specialty varnishes, cold foil application, and digital printing.

Servicing so many markets has taught us to be quick on our feet. We understand both the demands of your particular market along with the importance of time-sensitive opportunities. We are familiar with virtually all phases of production and product co-packing.

Overnight Labels is proud to be a BLUE LEVEL Graphic Measures International (GMI) / Walgreens certified printer, a Disney certified printer, as well as a certified Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) printer. We provide every customer with the highest quality standards in flexographic printing.

Looking to reduce sugar in your final application?

Meet Sweetech.™ Bell’s Sweetech™ technology can increase and maintain the sensation of sweetness in the same ways as a traditional sweetener. This system provides a sweetness profile similar to sucrose, yet doesn’t contribute any of the negative attributes that are associated with those high-intensity sweeteners.

Contact us today www.bellff.com/contact-us to request a sample.

Get in touch with taste.® Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. | www.bellff.com spark@bellff.com | 800-323-4387

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The Paper water Bottle Pulp Pak International

Concentrate, Colors, Extract San Joaquin Valley Concentrate

Award Winning Packaging Design Sasquatch Agency

Clean-label sweeteners Steviva Ingredients

Pulp Packaging International (PPI) has developed a patented bottle for holding liquids that is biodegradable and is made from environmentally sustainable materials. The bottle’s main component is molded pulp. PPI’s solution is the mass production of this patented sustainable pulp bottle to eliminate the excessive build-up of bottle plastic in landfills and the ocean.

San Joaquin Valley Concentrates (SJVC) manufactures colors from natural sources, grape juice concentrates, and grape seed extract for the food and beverage industry. Their crystal colors are dried without the use of carriers, are easily soluble with less dust than spray dried colors, and have a 5 year shelf life. SJVC is a division of E & J Gallo Winery and is a FSSC 22000 certified facility.

Sasquatch Agency specializes in developing unique and innovative brand & packaging design for the beverage industry. Years of experience working with diverse companies including: Widmer Brothers Brewing, Redhook Brewing, Wild Roots Spirits, Nectar Creek Mead, Colter's Creek Winery, Ecliptic Brewing, Omission Gluten Free Beer, Santa Fe Spirits and many more.

Steviva Ingredients, Inc. is a global ingredient supplier with a focus on all-natural, highintensity sweeteners and custom sweetening solutions for manufacturers. Erythritol, monk fruit, stevia and more, available in conventional and organic, in bulk or pre-blended for added cost savings. Steviva Ingredients sweeteners and bulk ingredients are all-natural, GMO-free, soy-free and allergen-free.

Organic Sugar Reduction Pyure Brands LLC

Natural Colors & Antioxidants San-Ei Gen F.F.I., (USA) Inc.

San-Ei Gen has been a leading pioneer and manufacturer of food ingredients in Japan since 1911. We specialize in a variety of natural ingredients for beverages, such as stable, vibrant natural colors and protective antioxidants.

San-Ei Gen manufactures EMIQ®, or enzymatically modified isoquercitrin, the plantderived antioxidant ingredient proven to prevent discoloration and flavor degradation in beverages, especially citrus-flavored beverages. Our antioxidants featuring EMIQ® are potent yet highly water-soluble, allowing for easy and effective application in beverages.

Premier Co-Packing Partner Refresco US Inc

From Soup to Nuts!

Sapphire Flavors and Fragrance

Co-Packer Southeast Bottling & Beverage

Fruit & Vegetable Ingredients Stiebs

Refresco is an independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and A-brands in Europe and the US. From idea through to planning and sourcing, product development, production, warehousing and transportation, our services are end to end and everything in between. Offering bottle, can and carton solutions across a wide range of geographies in both Europe and the United States.

We specialize in natural flavors, including natural aroma chemicals that are produced by a joint venture we are involved in. We also have no minimum order quantities and provide free development work. We really like to think of ourselves more as a partner, rather than just a supplier. We will be your resource for all things technical, even if we don't supply it; we'll direct you to who can.

Southeast Bottling and Beverage is a tolling/ turnkey manufacturer of ready to drink beverages and dietary supplements. Our 3 lines handle 2oz to 1 liter hot fill or flash pasteurization ambient fill process. Our 76,000sf facility is cGMP certified. Additional certifications include SQF level III, Kosher, Organic & Halal. Trial programs available. Call us for more information.

Stiebs, formed in 2005, is devoted to sourcing, processing & delivering the world's finest plantbased products. We offer a full line of fruit & vegetable based ingredients as single strength juice, juice concentrate, purees, extracts & powders. From the beginning stages of product development to delivering an on-going supply of premium natural products, our team is here to help you succeed.

76 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

Synergy - Inspiring Taste Synergy Flavors

Custom, Private Label Beverage The Drink Ink

No GMO Plant based Ingredients Top Health Ingredients Inc.

Quality Used Equipment United Food and Beverage, LLC

Synergy Flavors is a leading manufacturer and supplier of flavorings, extracts, and essences.

We have extensive experience across the food, beverage and nutrition industries, developing high quality taste solutions which inspire innovation and can help you stay one step ahead of the competition.

The Drink Ink is the premier supplier in beverage development and beverage manufacturing, and the best in the beverage industry at serving our customers unique needs. Whether you are looking to start a beverage company, formulate a first of its kind new beverage concept or add to your existing beverage line The Drink Ink is your source for turnkey beverage solutions to save you time and money.

Commercial supplier of non GMO, gluten free, plant based ingredients including 80% proteins from pea, rice, soy and fava bean, soluble corn and tapioca fibers, and natural low or no calorie sweeteners. All ingredients are GMO Free tested at source and meet the highest quality standards. Brands include AdvantaFiber 90 IMO, AdvantAmino, AdvantaDextrose and AdvantaDex Maltodextrin (tapioca).

United Food and Beverage specializes in buying and selling used processing, packaging and bottling for the Food and Beverage Industry.

Our 18+ 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, certified appraisals and top notch service.

Sucralose Manufacturer Techno Food Ingredients

Innovative Labeling Solutions The Kennedy Group

Organic Bulk Ingredients Tradin Organic USA

Your Partner in Fermentation White Labs Inc.

Techno Food Ingredients has been one of the leading sucralose manufacturers in the world for over ten years. Techno Sucralose™ is being utilized by many of the top beverage, pharmaceutical, nutritional and food companies.

Techno offers many types of sucralose products.

Techno’s sweetener solution service also carries Acesulfame K, Aspartame and stevia providing comprehensive solutions.

The Kennedy Group, a family owned and operated business since 1974, is a leader in providing innovative pressure-sensitive and roll-fed labeling solutions, including our PureVue sustainable label. We are a large enough to service complex organizations and multiple plant sites, but small enough to maintain the personal touch and service that companies need, want and appreciate.

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

White Labs Inc. provides pure liquid yeast, fermentation products, services, analysis and education to brewers, winemakers, distillers and other fermentation professionals. We are your partner throughout the fermentation process, not only offering yeast, but consulting, training, and testing as well. Visit our website for more information or order online.

Fruit Ingredients Tree Top, Inc.

Plant Based Solutions World Food Processing

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

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

Innovative Packaging Solutions TricorBraun

Beverage Transportation Zipline Logistics

TricorBraun, one of largest suppliers of glass and plastic containers, closures from over 40 locations in NA, Europe & Asia. With awardwinning packages in all areas of the beverage industry, TricorBraun can assist from the smallest micro-brewery to the largest distilleries.

The Design & Engineering center provides forward-thinking service based on consumer insight and creative solutions.

Zipline Logistics specializes in providing inbound and outbound transportation services for producers of food and beverage products. The logistics provider is known nationally to deliver the absolute best client experience in transportation through its retail-trained operations staff, data analytics software, and service-first culture.

TEA AND ONLY TEA SINCE 1971 Templar Food Products

ICEDTEA.COM Superior iced tea products make best selling brands. New liquid tea facility with SQF certification, steeping infusions and ice brews for private label.

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COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

A. Holliday & Company Inc.

Christine Renken

Toronto

ON

(416) 225-2217

teacoff.com

Abelei Flavors

Shelley Henderson

North Aurora

IL

(630) 859-1410

abelei.com

–

Chicago

IL

(844) 441-3663

ADM.com

Ed Rice

Mare Island

CA

(707) 558-0744

affinitycreative.com

Agropur Ingredients

Carla Fabian

La Crosse

WI

(800) 359-2345

agropuringredients.com

AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

John R Endres

Seattle

WA

(253) 286-2888

aibmr.com

Ornella Colombo

Tampa

FL

(813) 281-4870

alimacgroup.com

John Wilson

Edison

NJ

(908) 561-5995

allenflavors.com

Jackson Zapp

Austin

TX

(512) 732-8300

appliedfoods.com

Tom Stark

Arden

NC

(479) 464-0701

arcadiafarms.com

David Janow

Los Angeles

CA

(800) 711-3587

axiomfoods.com

–

Tempe

AZ

(480) 449-7770

azpack.com

Scott Ebert

Madison

WI

(608) 240-2537

bakertilly.com/craftbeverage

Bascom Family Farms

Arnold Coombs

Brattleboro

VT

(888) 266-6271

maplesource.com

Bedford - ElastiTag®

Deb Houseman

Worthington

MN

–

elastitag.com

Berlin Packaging

Monika Puzelyte

Chicago

IL

–

BerlinPackaging.com

Alan Davis

Dakota

IL

(800) 819-8199

Audrey Buskirk

Willoughby

OH

–

bevcorp.com

Jim Francis

Fort Collins

CO

–

old.biz.colostate.edu/bbi

Michael Opperman

St Paul

MN

(866) 956-4608

bevsource.com

Bioenergy Life Science, Inc.

Penny Portner

Ham Lake

MN

(763) 746-3926

bioenergylifescience.com

BLINDTIGER Design

Oceania Eagan

Seattle

WA

(206) 258-4431

blindtigerdesign.com

Blue Pacific Flavors, Inc.

Donald Wilkes

City of Industry

CA

(626) 934-0099

bluepacificflavors.com

Alicia

Miami

FL

(786) 536-4000

caribbeanspecialtyingredients.com

Paul Verderber

Nashville

NC

(252) 462-1551

CIFIngredients.com

Peter Love

Calgary

AB

(403) 640-4677

ww.cask.com

Sara Bowman

Louisville

KY

(502) 301-8142

challengebottling.com

Chase Hagerman

Austin

TX

(866) 907-0400

cheminutra.com

Clint Rush

Indianapolis

IN

(317) 390-5067

csiclosures.com

ControlTec, Inc

Dwight Kelly

Canonsburg

PA

–

Coolio North America Inc.

Megan Jones

Burlington

ON

(905) 331-9497

coolionorthamerica.com

Covance Food Solutions

–

US, Europe and Singapore

–

(608) 395-3777

covance.com/foodsolutions

Brooke Kotz

Chicago

IL

(847) 810-5562

coyote.com

Bobbie Kenney

Atlanta

GA

(678) 247-7300

cpkelco.com

Paul Manu

Baltimore

MD

(443) 854-3539

craftpackbev.com

Dave Carlson

Ambridge

PA

(724) 266-9000

creeksidesprings.com

ADM Affinity Creative Group

Alimac Group Allen Flavors, Inc. Applied Food Sciences, Inc. Arcadia Farms, Inc. Axiom Foods AZPack Baker Tilly

Berner Food & Beverage Bevcorp LLC Beverage Business Institute BevSource

Caribbean Specialty Ingredient Carolina Innovative Food Ing. Cask Brewing Systems Challenge Bottling Chemi Nutra Closure Systems International

Coyote Logistics CP Kelco CraftPack Beverage, LLC Creekside Springs, LLC

78 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

bernerfoodandbeverage.com

craftbrewcontrol.com

COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Jesse Lyon

Portland

OR

(503) 778-5268

foodbev.dwt.com

Maria Whitsett

Cartersville

GA

(770) 387-0451

doehler.com

Jonathan Fitzpatrick

Parsippany

NJ

(973) 257-1063

dsm.com

Dunning Displays

Steve Diorio

N Walpole

NH

(603) 445-5591

dunningdisplays.com

DWS PRINTING

Andy Staib

Deer Park

NY

(631) 667-6666

dwsprinting.com

Eric Dyer

Trumbull

CT

(203) 231-4984

edgedigitalimaging.com

Encompass Technologies

Darin Spence

Fort Collins

CO

(970) 449-8000

encompass8.com

Ethical Naturals, Inc.

Roy Fleischer

San Anselmo

CA

(866) 459-4454

ethicalnaturals.com

Farbest Brands

Lorna Samgour

Park Ridge

NJ

(201) 573-4900

farbest.com

Finlay Extracts & Ingredients

Jamie Bechard

Lincoln

RI

(401) 333-3300

finlays.net

Flavor Producers

Janet Guzman

Valencia

CA

(661) 257-3400

flavorproducers.com

Flavorman

Sara Bowman

Louisville

KY

(502) 301-8142

flavorman.com

Foodarom

Phillip Kraemer

San Diego

CA

(541) 213-7005

foodarom.com

Gwen Chapdelaine

Elk Grove

IL

(847) 357-9500

fortdearborn.com

Brandon Lutz

Culver City

CA

(310) 584-7168

foundrybsg.com

John Slade

Memphis

TN

(901) 881-6681

franklinbaker.com

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Doehler DSM

EDGE DIGITAL IMAGING, LLC

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

79

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Frooishen LLC

Casey Harshman

Sylvania

OH

(440) 241-4217

frooishen.com

Ganeden, Inc.

–

Cleveland

OH

(440) 229-5200

GanedenProbiotics.com

Bill Willis

Narragansett

RI

(401) 515-4850

glascg.com

Global Essence Inc.

–

Hamilton

NJ

(732) 677-1100

globalessence.com

Glover Capital, Inc.

Marion B. Glover

Atlanta

GA

(404) 523-2921

–

GNT USA Inc.

Jeanette O'Brien

Tarrytown

NY

(914) 524-0600

gnt-group.com

Michele Trent

Commerce

CA

(323) 724-8935

goldcoastinc.com

Goodnature Products, Inc.

–

Buffalo

NY

(800) 875-3381

goodnature.com

Gotham Brand Managers

Trent Moffat

New York City

NY

(877) 931-3030

gothambrands.com

Great Lakes Consulting Assoc.

Stephen Cook

Strongsville

OH

(440) 725-3157

beverageguru.com

Charlene McNeil

Rochester

NY

(585) 424-3880

hammerpackaging.com

Dan Vincent

Greenville

SC

(281) 202-8413

hartness.com

Hidell International

Henry "Bob" Hidell

Hingham

MA

(781) 749-8040

hidellinternational.com

HP Ingredients, Supplier

Hame K. Persaud

Bradenton

FL

(941) 749-7066

hpingredients.com

iGraphics Inc.

Dion Leman

Loveland

CO

–

iglabel.com

Ingredion

Afrouz Naeini

Westchester

IL

(708) 551-2600

ingredion.us

Inland

Kevan Kent

La Crosse

WI

(608) 788-5800

buyinland.inlandpackaging.com/ bevnetguide

Innovative Food Processors

Amanda Fox

Faribault

MN

–

Dianne Hustus

Monroe

CT

(203) 880-9370

internationalbeveragemanagement.com

Bill Brandell

Sheboygan, WI 53083

WI

(630) 800-9744

inventocan.com

Decorah

IA

(800) 553-0050

irpinc.com

NY

(718) 250-4000

itoen.com

Glasgow Consulting Group

Gold Coast Ingredients

Hammer Packaging Hartness, An ITW Company

International Beverage Mgmt.

Invento Americas Inc. Iowa Rotocast Plastics ITO EN (North America) INC. JBT Avure HPP Technologies

ifpinc.biz

LISA PITZER

ERLANGER

KY

(859) 534-1545

avure-hpp-foods.com/

Josh Wartenberg

Newton

MA

(617) 614-0218

jungbunzlauer.com

Chris Sapyta

Lone Tree

CO

(303) 720-7668

keglogistics.com

Labeltronix

Jill Sambol

Anaheim

CA

(800) 429-4321

labeltronix.com

LANGGUTH

David O'Keefe

Kohler

WI

(920) 889-8595

langguth-america.com

Brad Wendt

Polar

WI

(920) 915-4813

langladesprings.com

Shaun Richmond

Newport Beach

CA

(949) 577-2850

layncorp.com

Lightweight Containers

–

Chicago

IL

(312) 489-8425

lightweight-containers.com

Lucky Clover Packaging

Ashley Sebastionelli

Elkridge

MD

(443) 873-0103

luckycloverpackaging.com

Bridget McElfresh

Lebanon

OH

–

Martin Bauer Inc.

Sarah Hetrick

Secaucus

NJ

(201) 659-3100

martin-bauer-group.us

McLean Design

Rifle Hughes

Walnut Creek

CA

(925) 944-9500

mclean-design.com

Debbie Wildrick

Edison

NJ

(888) 611-5573

metabrandcorp.com

Caitriona Anderson

Richmond

CA

(510) 444-9463

monvera.com

Jungbunzlauer KEG LOGISTICS LLC

Langlade Springs LLC Layn Corp

MANE, Inc.

METABRAND Monvera Glass Décor

80 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

mane.com

COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Moonshine University

Christin Head

Louisville

KY

(502) 301-8139

moonshineuniversity.com

Mulanje Tea Imports

Finley Merrill

Boston

MA

(774) 283-0362

MulanjeTea.com

Neenah Packaging

Dean Marabeti

Alpharetta

GA

(678) 566-6500

neenahpackaging.com

NOR-CAL Beverage Company

Jeff Coulter

West Sacramento

CA

(916) 372-0600

ncbev.com

Norwich Beverage Company

Allyn Brown

Norwich

CT

(860) 886-8080

norwichbeverage.com

Samantha Portello

Gardena

CA

(310) 694-3031

npnutra.com

NVE Pharmaceuticals

Walter Orcutt

Andover

NJ

(973) 601-8484

nveusa.com

Overnight Labels, Inc.

–

Deer Park

NY

(800) 472-5753

overnightlabels.com

Palmer Canning Systems

Mike Palmer

Chicago

IL

(773) 394-4913

palmercanning.com

Phase 1 Prototypes

Amy Bessett

Dallas

TX

(214) 704-8988

p1proto.com

Pizzey Ingredients

Mary Ekman

Russell

MB

(204) 773-3532

pizzeyingredients.com

Pouchfill Packaging, LLC

Klaus Liedtke

Daytona Beach

FL

(386) 274-1600

pouchfill.com

–

Cincinnati

OH

(513) 671-1777

proampac.com

PTM Food Consulting

Ryan Dolan

Point Pleasant

NJ

(888) 736-6339

ptmfood.com

Pulp Pak International

Lee Green

Boca Raton

FL

–

Pyure Brands LLC

Philip Coggins

Naples

FL

(305) 505-5096

PyureSweet.com

Refresco US Inc

Michael Guidry

Wharton

NJ

(918) 478-7126

refresco.com

San Joaquin Valley Concentrate

Thomas Lampe

Fresno

CA

(800) 557-0220

sjvconc.com

Amy Darwick

New York

NY

(212) 315-7850

saneigen.com

Miss Amy Zimmerman

Fairfield

NJ

(973) 200-8849

sapphireflavors.com

Sasquatch Agency

Ken Chitwood

Portland

OR

(503) 222-2346

sasquatchagency.com

Southeast Bottling & Beverage

Alisa Cessna

Dade City

FL

(352) 567-2200

southeast-bottling.com

Steviva Ingredients

Thom King

Portland

OR

(310) 455-9876

stevivaingredients.com

Stiebs

Brian Nova

Madera

CA

(559) 661-0031

stiebs.com

Synergy Flavors

Joe Boehrer

Wauconda

IL

(847) 487-1011

synergytaste.com

Techno Food Ingredients

Echo Chen

San Gabriel

CA

(626) 288-8478

techno-fi.com

Templar Food Products

–

New Providence

NJ

(800) 883-6752

icedtea.com

Chris Stone

Las Vegas

NV

(888) 454-3466

thedrinkink.com

Chuck Helden

Willoughby

OH

–

kennedygrp.com

Debbra DeMarco

Edmonton

AB

(780) 439-1424

tophealthingredients.com

–

Scotts Valley

CA

(831) 685-6565

tradinorganic.com

Tree Top, Inc.

Jeannie Swedberg

Selah

WA

(509) 698-1435

treetopingredients.com

TricorBraun

Suzie Fenton

Saint Louis

MO

(314) 983-2000

tricorbraun.com

Jeremy J. Sanders

Hickory

NC

(843) 622-8434

unitedfoodandbeverage.com

–

–

–

(888) 593-2785

whitelabs.com

Sales

Minneapolis

MN

(612) 400-1418

worldfoodprocessing.com

Bethany Cramer

Columbus

OH

(888) 469-4754

ziplinelogistics.com

NP Nutra

ProAmpac

San-Ei Gen F.F.I., (USA) Inc. Sapphire Flavors and Fragrance

The Drink Ink The Kennedy Group Top Health Ingredients Inc. Tradin Organic USA

United Food and Beverage, LLC White Labs Inc. World Food Processing Zipline Logistics

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81

PROMO PARADE

INDUSTRY PROMOTIONS & EVENTS

Shotz Natural Energy Fuels “The Longest Swim”

Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Aly Raisman Partners With Cheribundi Two years ago Olympic gold medal Gymnast Aly Raisman was introduced to Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice as a natural, functional beverage that would support better sleep and faster muscle recovery. The six-time medalist and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model recently partnered with Cheribundi to educate people on the benefits of drinking tart cherry juice daily. As part of the partnership, Raisman spent a day with renowned, world-famous photographer Nigel Barker to capture her engagement with Cheribundi’s tart cherry juice beverages.

Ben Lecomte is swimming across the Pacific Ocean, and Shotz Natural Energy is helping to fuel his journey. Lecomte, who in 1998 became the first man to swim across the Atlantic Ocean without a kickboard, is now swimming eight hours a day for six months to cross the 5,500 miles from Tokyo to San Francisco.

Lecomte’s current voyage is being done in the name of science and protecting the oceans.

Dubbed “The Longest Swim,” his expedition will be the first citizen science expedition of its kind, as Lecomte and his crew will collect valuable data on

the ocean and human body for eight research projects directed by 13 scientific institutions, including NASA and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Shotz Natural Energy is an allnatural, vitamin- and antioxidant-packed energy shot designed for health conscious, active consumers. Shotz President Marie Quintana praised Lecomte as a trailblazer who has “always searched for alternative sources of energy to assist him in his rigorous training.”

“We are honored that Ben selected Shotz for the most physically demanding quest of his life,” Quintana said.

82 BEVNET MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017

Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum Announces Partnership With Harley-Davidson Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, created to honor the father of American old school tattooing, Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, has aligned with the iconic, American Harley-Davidson Motor Company for a multi-year partnership. To commemorate the kick-off of the partnership, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum unveiled a series of twenty-two customized Harley-Davidson motorcycles designed by high profile artists and visionaries from around the United States including Harley-Davidson’s own Styling Team, at a celebration this spring.

The motorcycles were unveiled in a celebration at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. The bikes will be available for viewing around the United States all summer 2017 at liquor retailers, Sailor Jerry’s Fleet Week New York celebrations, at the Harley-Davidson Museum and more.

GET CLOSER TO NATURE

When you prepare foods with Synergy Pure® Essences and Extracts, you pack in the taste of natural ingredients at their peak of freshness, and nothing more. Our proprietary processing technology protects the delicate components of our 100% naturally sourced ingredients to achieve true-to-nature taste and aroma. Clean up all of your beverage, dairy and food products with Synergy Pure®. Synergy Pure® - Nature Created It. We Captured It.™

Add true-to-nature taste and aroma to your products with Synergy Pure® | (847) 487-1011

synergytaste.com