BevNET Magazine September/October 2018

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2018

BIG GUYS PURSUE THE BUBBLES Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle Take Aim at La Croix

2018

NATURAL SNACK GUIDE

HOW PREMIUM JUICE CAN PUSH AHEAD

IMPORT BEER BATTLING TARIFFS AND TRADE WARS

HOW BRANDS BUILD WITH KIDS DRINKS

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Contents / September – October 2018 / Volume 16 / No. 5

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46

54

COLUMNS

FEATURES

6 First Drop Mother’s Milk

30 Import Beer Beer Battles Beyond Borders

8 Publisher’s Toast Barry’s Nostalgic Musings

34 Sparkling/Enhanced Water Big Guys Pursue the Bubbles

26 Gerry’s Insights Platform Shoes for the Big BevCos

46 Juices Hurdles for HPP

DEPARTMENTS

54 Kids’ Beverages How Brands Build with Kids Drinks

10 Bevscape/NOSHscape/Brewscape Coke and Big Geyser Split, New CEO at Hippeas, BA Predicts 5 Percent Growth 18 New Products New Kombuchas 22 Channel Check Product Change in Refrigerated Tea 82 Promo Parade Young Thug and Luc Belaire

SHOW COVERAGE 28 National Association of Convenience Stores Preview

SPECIAL SECTION 61 Natural Snack Food Guide with providers and suppliers

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COVER PHOTO BY BROOKE CAGLE ON UNSPLASH

5

THE FIRST DROP

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN

Mother’s Milk My mom has a problem. She doesn’t know what kind of milk to drink. This isn’t a nice thing for an 80-year-old lady to grapple with.

About a year ago, she switched to almond milk for her cereal, because she thought that regular milk was (sorry, mom) giving her gas.

Then, dairy struck back, with a commercial attacking almond milk by pointing out that the product isn’t just almonds and water, but also a few different gums, some added vitamins, lecithin, and salt and sugar. (For some reason, in this already unbalanced comparison of cows to nuts, the commercial further puts an indelicate hoof on the scale by making putting dairy milk up against flavored almond milk. Talk about hand-picking the competition.

The commercial sure did its job. My poor mother, spooked at the idea that her cereal might be floating in an almondbased soup of lecithin and gums, headed straight to Whole Foods, where she embarked on a guided tour of the dairy (and alt-dairy) departments with an unsuspecting liberal arts college graduate dairy manager. She emerged with an unnamed almond milk that likely is only water and almonds, which she hated, leaving someone who has more than enough problems (aching back, moron for a son) in the midst of a cereal crisis that threatens to derail her breakfast for good.

Why? She looked at the label of dairy milk, which revealed that it has 12 grams of sugar in a cup! Twelve grams! When I pointed out that it was from the lactose, she 6 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 2018

said she understood, but she told me that because she’d been eating so many sweets (curse you, country club buffet cookies!) that she needed to cut down on her sugar.

We aren’t even going to address the presence of materials like lecithin and gums in a pure dairy product like, say, ice cream, or the idea that so much of the dairy business includes PETA-alarming problems like involuntary bovine servitude (highfalutin language brought to you by my mom’s moron for a son, but you get the issue), but it’s enough to make you never want to look at an almond or a cow again, unless it’s been chopped up and burgered for you.

As for something like Ripple, or all of these other choices like oat, rice, pea or everything else plant milk, they’re all great substitutes, but I don’t think that I, or the team at Whole Foods, or even the entrepreneurs in every single one of those categories really want to spend their time hashing out the issue with poor Babs Klineman.

Fortunately, the dairy industry has yet another advocate out there who’s trying to make the choice clearer for both my mom and for everyone else: I’m referring, of course, to Scott Gottlieb, the FDA commissioner, who is down on almond milk and other types of alt-dairy that aren’t “lacteal secretions of a bovine mammal,” which is the standard to which dairy would like to see enforcement.

Gottlieb was, of course, right when he told the world that he was pretty sure that “an almond doesn’t lactate.” Considering the war on truth being conducted by his boss, that should probably be

grounds for firing, but since said president gets, by fiat, an extra scoop of ice cream with his pie, he probably doesn’t want to tick off the cow folks.

Still, it’s hard to imagine what kind of branding crisis we’d see if dairy was forced to hold itself to the statutory standard it’s pushing Gottlieb to enforce. They’d truly be throwing the baby out with the formula if milk producers had to call their own products “the lacteal secretions of a bovine mammal.” It might even make “almond beverage” or “cashew juice” a little more appealing.

There’s a larger point here, of course, which is that dairy is – justifiably – fighting to find a way to hang onto share in the midst of a plethora of emerging lifestyles and diets and health concerns, many of which have grown at the expense of milk sales, which are expected to be down another 11 percent by 2020. There are real human costs to that decline, and I hate to see farmers, or cows, concerned about making a living.

But I also feel like my mom should be able to have her cereal without worrying too much about whether or not she wants almond milk or dairy milk, and the way we get to that is through transparency, not infighting. Diary has health benefits, so does almond milk, and there’s a lot of other good alternatives out there and a lot of great people working to make them enjoyable and vital. Don’t tear up the dairy aisle in a turf war. All it’s doing, really, is yucking my mom’s yum. Which no one wants, because she’ll just eat more cookies, and not know what to chase them with, either.

Photo by Samara Doole on Unsplash

PUBLISHER’S TOAST

BY BARRY NATHANSON

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www.bevnet.com/magazine

Barry’s Nostalgic Musings As of presstime, our publisher's computer had eaten his column.While we're sorry we can't bring you fresh wisdom from Barry, we're really mostly sorry for that poor computer. Please enjoy this "greatest hit" column from October 2011.

Barry J. Nathanson PUBLISHER bnathanson@bevnet.com Jeffrey Klineman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF jklineman@bevnet.com Ray Latif MANAGING EDITOR rlatif@bevnet.com Martín Caballero ASSISTANT EDITOR mcaballero@bevnet.com

On a beautiful fall day last weekend, I ventured into Central Park, as is part of my daily routine. As I sat by Bethesda Fountain taking in the foliage and hearing dozens of languages that I couldn’t decipher, I watched a group of kids playing that time honored game, “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” It brought me back to my youth, as well as the early years of parenting my own children, now grown.

The joy and laughter kids take from the game has not changed in all these years.

The symmetry of the three aspects, the equal measures of power and vulnerability, is clear and succinct.

I write this now because I have some issues with the game, however. Like, why isn’t rock more powerful than the other pieces? It might seem ironic for someone in the magazine business, but I’ve always felt that the aspect of paper defeating the rock by covering it made no sense. But to avoid therapy, I probed deeper into the recesses of my mind to find logic in it – especially since I had to also conjure up a topic for my column.

So let’s compare it to the beverage world, and play by my rules.

I’ve always felt that the rock is the most powerful, and should control the game, with the scissor having its moments of impact, while the paper is always at the whim of the other two. Again, my contention is that covering a rock means nothing. So in my rules, I’ve assigned the three aspects of

our business; the retailer, distributor and marketer to each component. The proper breakout is that the retailers are the rock, distributors, the scissors, and marketers, the paper. I have watched beverage version of this game for 20 years now, and while there have been times that each side has had its moment in the sun, the logic is that this is the pecking order.

Retailers must have an understanding of their power and wield it wisely and fairly. They control the space, the pricing and the profitability. If they get too greedy or make the relationships too one-sided, everyone loses, especially the consumer.

It is incumbent upon them to negotiate in good faith, take on new and unproven brands, and give them time to grow. But sometimes the rock hits too hard, and the other players ultimately drop out of the game. No one wins.

Distributors too often want to be the rock. They are beaten down, so they take it out on the paper. But even if they’ve been burned by the marketers in the past, they must still give fair terms to the brands, not some of the cutting ones that have been bandied about in the marketplace over the last few years. It’s got to be win-win. There’s enough room for both of you to play the game.

Paper serves at the whim of the other players. That’s the nature of the beast. It is still important to be innovators, creators and savvy marketers. Taste and efficacy still are the roads to success. If you have a truly unique concept, though, you’ll have the rock and scissors knocking at your door.

So wait. Maybe paper does have power.

Maybe it does beat rock. Maybe there is balance. Maybe I DO need therapy.

The reason Rock, Paper and Scissors has been around so long, is that all three aspects work in harmony. To truly be successful, you must work and play together.

Why didn’t l learn this when my kids were little? Sheesh.

Brad Avery REPORTER bavery@bevnet.com Chris Furnari BREWBOUND EDITOR cfurnari@bevnet.com Justin Kendall BREWBOUND ASSISTANT EDITOR jkendall@bevnet.com Carol Ortenberg NOSH EDITOR cortenberg@bevnet.com Meagan McGinnes NOSH SENIOR REPORTER mmcginnes@bevnet.com

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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 Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi SALES & MARKETING ADMIN kadugyamfi@bevnet.com

ART & PRODUCTION

Matthew Kennedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Willette SENIOR DESIGNER Nathan Brescia PHOTOGRAPHER

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BEVSCAPE

THE LATEST BEVERAGE BRAND NEWS

Coke Splits From Big Geyser

The Coca-Cola Company’s fruitful partnership with one of New York’s powerhouse beverage distributors ended in late July when the soda giant confirmed the removal of Honest Tea, Zico coconut water and Hubert’s Lemonade products from Big Geyser’s DSD network.

Big Geyser will cease distribution of Hubert’s Lemonade at the end of October 2018, followed by Zico and Honest Tea at the end of November, when the brands’ respective contracts end. All three brands will transition to Liberty CocaCola Beverages, which signed

an agreement to acquire distribution rights for Coke beverages in the New York Tri-State Metro area last October.

The announcement effectively concluded the longrunning relationship between Coca-Cola and Big Geyser.

Over the years, Coke had recognized the distributor as an effective platform for introducing to the market disruptive early stage brands – like Honest Tea, Zico, Hubert’s and Italian premium coffee brand Illy – from Coke’s Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) division. Big Geyser was also the distributor for Coke-

owned brand Glaceau, which markets Vitaminwater and Smartwater, until it requested a buyout of its contract to carry those products in 2015.

Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda told BevNET at the time that he was informed by Coca-Cola in a call on July 30 that the company would not be renewing its contracts for Hubert’s, Zico and Honest Tea, a move he characterized as “100 percent [Coke’s] decision.”

“We knew that it could happen because the contract was coming to an end,” Reda said, adding that Big Geyser and Coke had had conversations

earlier this year about signing a contract extension but the soda company “did not seem to be interested in it.”

Besides the New York metro area, the areas of coverage for Liberty Coca-Cola Beverage also includes Philadelphia, Long Island, the state of New Jersey, and parts of Delaware.

Liberty, founded last year by ex-Coca-Cola Refreshments executives Paul Mulligan and Fran McGorry, operates four production facilities and 10 distribution centers in the region, and also serves parts of Hudson Valley, NY and Fairfield County, CT.

Bulletproof Raises $40M Bulletproof 360, makers of the butter-infused Bulletproof Coffee products, raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by CAVU Venture Partners.

The deal is the largest ever to date for the Seattle-based brand, which markets butter-infused ready-to-drink coffee and other nutritional products aimed at opti10 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

mizing mental and physical performance.

According to Bulletproof VP of finance and administration David Borges, the raise will fund Bulletproof’s continued growth as an omni-channel lifestyle brand. CAVU founding partner Rohan Oza said Bulletproof will seek to grow its media presence, including via podcasts, blogs, and books

written by founder and CEO Dave Asprey.

Also in August, Bulletproof 360 COO Anna Collins was promoted to President.

She will focus on leading growth strategy, operations, and continuing the company’s multi-channel expansion. Former Amazon Prime senior leader Jeff Hull also joined as VP of strategy and analytics.

BEVSCAPE

Kick

Caffeine To The Curb.

12 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Diplo, Von Miller Among Celebs Backing MatchaBar MatchaBar’s next meeting of investors may need a velvet rope at the entrance.

In July, the New York-based matcha brand announced the completion of an $8 million Series A funding round led by a slate of celebrity investors including DJ/producer Diplo (born Thomas Wesley Pentz), Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, actor Ansel Elgort and singer Billie Eilish.

The company, founded in 2014 by brothers Max and Graham Fortgang, split the Series A round into three “closings,” beginning with a previously reported $2.25 million investment in July 2016. A second $2.5 million round, which saw rap star Drake join as an investor, followed last August as the brand entered into a new distribution deal with Whole Foods.

Co-founder Graham Fortgang said that the company sought investors from entertainment and sports industries that could drive consumer engagement for Hustle in their respective fields.

“We want to align with people who aren’t just performing but are really doing something to create communities,” he said. “I think for them it’s logical; energy is the universal language, and so I think many of them are becoming very understanding that no one is really drinking Red Bull anymore.”

This latest round, a $3.5 million investment led by Diplo and Miller, arrives as MatchaBar has begun rolling out its new matcha-based energy drink, Hustle, to retailers nationwide.

Funds from the new investment will be directed towards expanding distribution and expanding the company’s sales and marketing team, as well as supporting the launch of Hustle.

Along with the debut of Hustle, in September MatchaBar will introduce a new flavor, Lemonade Matcha, to its 10 oz. bottled lineup.

Humm Develops Non-Alcoholic Kombucha Brewing Process

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Starting in April, Bend, Ore.-based kombucha maker Humm began shipping product made from a proprietary fermentation process that the company says prevents the liquid from reaching an alcohol by volume (ABV) of over 0.5 percent.

Humm CEO Jamie Danek said the company spent three years developing a fermentation process that ensures its kombucha will not increase in alcohol content when left unopened at room temperature.

Danek said Humm’s goal was to create a live and authentic kombucha without manipulating the product in any way.

She offered limited details on the process itself, though she noted that it includes the use of a proprietary technology.

“We’ve taken what people

use to brew kombucha in and we’ve enhanced it in a unique way,” she said. “It’s still a live, raw product, so it still doesn’t run on a clock and it’s not completely predictable every day, but everything is more streamlined, efficient, consistent and scalable.”

Several other kombucha makers have attempted to tackle the secondary fermentation issue in the past. KeVita co-founder Bill Moses discussed his plans to begin using a “Verified Non-Alcoholic” label on its packaging, while Suja also labels its kombucha line “verified non-alcoholic.” Brew Dr. Kombucha, also based on Oregon, uses a steam-based system called a spinning cone column to separate ethanol from kombucha without affecting its bacterial profile.

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NOSHSCAPE

For more stories, check out nosh.com

THE LATEST FOOD BRAND NEWS

Serventi Steps Up to Global CEO Role at Hippeas Snack brand Hippeas’ founder Livio Bisterzo will move to the role of chairman while Joe Serventi, current U.S. general manager, will assume the role of global CEO. Bisterzo is also the founder and CEO of Green Park Brands, which has a joint venture partnership with beverage brand Ugly Drinks.

Serventi met Bisterzo while he was at BarkTHINS – which had recently been acquired

by The Hershey’s Company – and came onboard with the puffed snack producer within its first year on the market.

Since that time, he’s focused on setting up the U.S. division for success, including tweaking packaging and flavors from the U.K offering for the American market.

Bisterzo told NOSH that the leadership change was the right

move operationally for Hippeas given Serventi’s background at Glacéau Vitaminwater, Pirate’s Booty and BarkTHINS. “This approach of divide and conquer is just best for the brand…. I wanted to make sure the company had Joe at the helm leading the day-today while I kept working closely with Joe, but also kept doing what I think the company needs me to do best – which is focusing on the strategy, the innovation, the brand marketing,” Bisterzo told NOSH. Both Bisterzo and Serventi told NOSH they want to grow Hippeas to a $100 million brand in the next three to five years. The brand is currently in over 50,000 doors including in natural, conventional, club, drug and mass retailers.

Growing a puff-based brand is something that Serventi

knows quite a bit about. He previously was the VP of corporate development for Pirate Brands, producers of Pirate’s Booty puffs. Although Hippeas marks a return to the salty snack set for Serventi, he told NOSH there are many differences between the two brands.

“It’s very similar but there’s a lot of difference. I think this is way more of a modern, lifestyle brand then Pirates’ was,” Serventi said. “I think Pirates’ was more kid focused – it still is even though it’s still relevant.

This can play to a much wider consumer demographic. I think [Hippeas] is today’s Pirate’s.”

Bisterzo said the company will be focused on its current offerings for at least the next 18 months, before eventually expanding into other use occasions and products. That innovation pipeline will include

launching two new flavors in the first half of 2019, as well as going deeper on pack sizes and retail distribution.

“We know Hippeas has the strength to be a snacking platform. There’s going to be a lot of fun brand innovation work that we’re going to do over the next 18 to 36 months,” Bisterzo said. “We built a legumebased snacking platform that, right now, sells puffed snacks and I have no doubt will sell other products, other snacks, other food products that will touch consumers through many different occasions.”

Tosi Closes Investment to Grow Retail Presence While the bar category may be a crowded set, Tosi Health thinks there’s room for one more leader at the top of the pack. Armed with new capital, the company has more gas in the tank to make this goal a reality.

The California-based company announced today the close of a round of funding led by Cambridge Special Projects Group (SPG). SBG Growth also took part in the round. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Cambridge SPG COO and partner Filipp Chebotarev told NOSH that his firm made a “significant multi-million dollar investment” that puts the group in control of 22 percent of the Tosi brand.

Tosi is most widely known for its line of Superbites bars, which are sold in over 5,000 doors, primarily on the West Coast, including Peet’s Coffee, Chevron Extra Mile, regional Whole Foods Markets, Bristol Farms and Jimbo’s. The Superbites – which contains two servings per package – retail for roughly $3 and comes in plain, 14 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

blueberry or cappuccino with a base of roasted almonds or cashews.

Tosi co-founder Stefanie Hults told NOSH that the company was previously funded through friends and family. Although Chebotarev and his partner Polina Chebotareva both personally invested in the company in early 2017 as well.

Hults added that that she originally thought her six year-old company was too small for a strategic investor, but after getting to know the Cambridge team she understood the benefits that partnering with a firm could bring. One example, she said, is that Cambridge has helped Tosi assemble a board of advisors that now includes Greg Fleishman, co-founder of baking brand Foodstirs and design firm Purely Righteous, and Gigi Lee Chang, founder of baby food brand Plum Organics.

Going forward, the Tosi team will invest much of its focus on the snack side of the business – although it will continue

to produce the assorted supplements and powders that it sells online. Hults told NOSH the brand plans to expand into single serve options and add more flavors, potentially including a nut-free children’s line. Tosi is already sold in the Middle East and plans to expand into the European market by early 2019.

Regardless of the direction the innovation takes, Hults told NOSH one thing she’s not interested in doing is pigeonholing the brand into use occasion or customer segment. Currently Tosi users – which range from children to seniors – consume the bar for everything from breakfast to a healthy dessert, she said.

“I think we are unique and I don’t think we’d partner ourself with one food tribe,” Hults told NOSH. “It is something that is really for everybody. People keep coming back because of the mouthfeel, the taste profile and the pure, simple ingredients.

We’re not stuck in one place.”

BREWSCAPE

For more stories, check out Brewbound.com

THE LATEST CRAFT BEER BRAND NEWS

Brewers Association Reports 5 Percent Growth Midway Through 2018 Growth for small and independent brewers in the U.S. is “stable” as production at craft beer companies grew 5 percent through the first six months of 2018, according to data from industry trade group the Brewers Association (BA).

The nonprofit group shared its annual mid-year growth figures in July, noting that there were 6,655 active breweries as of June 30, up from 5,562 a year ago.

According to BA chief economist Bart Watson, “the market continues to show demand for small and independent craft brewers.”

“There are certainly industry headwinds, but this stabilized growth rate is reflective of

the market realities that exist for brewers today,” Watson said, echoing statements made in 2017, when he commented that “the growth pace for small and independent brewers has stabilized at a rate that still reflects progress but in a more mature market.”

At this time last year, craft growth was also up 5 percent, according to the BA. But not all growth is created equal.

In fact, Watson parsed the data further in a blog post on the organization’s website, noting that only 60 percent of the “regional” craft breweries (those making more than 15,000 barrels annually) who responded to the organization’s

mid-year survey were growing.

Watson, who also looked at retail scan data from market research firm IRI Worldwide, wrote that companies that sold between 100,000 and 1 million cases were actually down about 1.5 percent midway through the year.

And it gets worse for those BA-defined craft beer companies selling more than 1 million cases at off-premise retail accounts. According to IRI, mid-year growth for those companies is down about 2.5 percent, collectively.

Conversely, those outfits selling 10,000 cases of beer or less at off-premise retail channels tracked by IRI – often referred to as “the long tail”

A-B Highlights Diversity in Beer Photos In an effort to showcase a more diverse array of drinkers featured in stock imagery, Anheuser-Busch recently released hundreds of royalty-free photos that depict women and minorities enjoying beer produced by four of the company’s U.S. craft breweries.

A-B, as part of an “Elevate” initiative aimed at “lifting up the beer category,” partnered with Pexels and Unsplash – websites that offer copyright-free photos – to “capture photos that truly reflect our beer drinking audience,” a spokesperson told Brewbound.

According to the company, which cited internal data, as well as statistics from market research firm Mintel, 39 percent of beer drinkers, identify as “female,” while 32 percent identify as African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or non-white.

But the majority of free stock photos available to journalists, marketers and other creators that seek out beerrelated imagery tend to feature a more

stereotypical craft beer drinker: a bearded white male in a flannel shirt.

“Diversity and inclusion is really important to us, so you’ll start to see more in that area soon as part of our Elevate program,” Megan Lagesse, the senior director of craft communications at A-B, told Fox News.

Diversity-related searches on the Pexels platform increased 180 percent between 2016 and 2017, the spokesperson added.

In addition to promoting greater diversity in its photo galleries – which prominently feature the company’s 10 Barrel, Four Peaks, Karbach and Veza Sur craft brands – A-B is also making an effort to highlight proper glassware as well as beer and food pairings.

The effort, a spokesperson explained to BevNET, shows a “realistic view” of craft culture.

“It’s women and people of color, clean surfaces, proper glassware, proper pours and much more,” they wrote.

16 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

– were up nearly 31 percent through July 1, 2018. And BA-defined companies selling between 10,000 and 100,000 cases were up about 5.5 percent during the period.

But even growth among those two groups has slowed, from 42.8 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively.

NEW PRODUCTS

THE NEWEST BEVERAGE OPTIONS

Energy Drinks XYIENCE has added Wild Grape and Fuji Apple flavors to its energy drink line. Both drinks contain zero sugar and zero calories and are made with all natural flavors and colors.

XYIENCE is available nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $1.99 - $2.29 per 16 oz. can. For more information, please contact XYIENCE at (512) 501-3890.

Welch’s launched Sparkling Plus Energy, which is available in Sparkling Grape and Sparkling Fruit Punch flavors and contains energy from organic coffee extract. The drinks are available in New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore/ Washington D.C. and have a suggested retail price of $2.19 for a 16 oz. can. For more information, please contact Welch’s at (800) 340-6870.

Nomad Trading Co. launched Nomad Energy, a natural energy drink. Nomad Energy is available in retailers around New York and has a suggested retail price of $2.99. For more information, please contact Nomad Energy at (347) 746-0240.

Coffee Cuvée Coffee released Nitro Horchata Cold Brew, which contains a blend of cinnamon, vanilla, almond and sugar. The coffee is available at Cuvée’s East 6th Café in Austin. Tex. along with select retailers and has a suggested retail price of $3.99. For more information, please contact Cuvée Coffee (512) 264-1479.

La Colombe released its Cold Brew Shandy Lemonade, made with Sicilian lemons. The coffee is available at select La Colombe cafes and online and has a suggested retail price of $2.99. For more information, please contact La Colombe at (800) 563-0860.

Sparkling Water Spindrift added Cranberry Raspberry to its line of naturally flavored sparkling waters. Cranberry Raspberry is available nationwide at Target as 18 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

well as on Amazon and has a suggested retail price of $36 for a 24-pack. For more information, please contact Spindrift at (617) 391-0356.

Functional Drinks Rebbl recently released three new SKUs: 3 Root Mango Spice, Schizandra Berry Crème, and Banana Nut Protein at retailers nationwide.

3 Roots Mango Spice and Schizandra Berry Crème have a suggested retail price of $3.99 and Banana Nut Protein has a suggested retail price of $4.99. For more information, please contact Rebbl at (855) 732-2500.

O2 Natural Recovery recently added Lemon Lime and Blackberry Currant to its Natural Recovery line. Both drinks are caffeine free and have a suggested retail price of $13.99 for a 4-pack. O2 can be found in select Whole Foods and Kroger stores along with speciality retailers and many CrossFit gyms and fitness studios nationwide. For more information, please contact O2 at (614) 321-9852.

The Ginger People released Ginger Soother Ginger Drink with Turmeric, which is made with wild Fiji Red ‘Aromatica’ turmeric, ginger juice, filtered water, pepper, honey and lemon juice. The drink is available on Amazon and at natural food retailers nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $2.19 for a 12 oz. bottle and $4.19 for a 32 oz. bottle. For more information, please contact The Ginger People at (800) 551-5284.

Forager Project released a new line of coconut cashew milk, which is available in Unsweetened Plain and Unsweetened Vanilla flavors. The milk is available at stores nationwide including Whole Foods, Safeway, Kroger and Albertsons and has a suggested retail price of $5.99 per 48 oz. bottle. For more information, please contact Forager Project at (855) 729-5253.

Kombucha Brew Dr. Kombucha released Harvest, its limited seasonal flavor which features apricot and tarragon flavors. Harvest is available in 14 oz. and 32 oz. glass bottles and are available

NEW PRODUCTS nationwide. The 14 oz. bottles have a suggested retail price of $3.49 and the 32 oz. bottles have a suggested retail price of $6.99. For more information, please contact Brew Dr. Kombucha at (503) 235-3656.

Health Ade Kombucha, in collaboration with Tone It Up, released Bubbly Rose. The drink features hawthorn berry, mangosteen and pink rose and has a suggested retail price of $3.99 per 16 oz. bottle. Bubbly Rose is available at Whole Foods in Southern California, Rocky Mountains, the Northeast along with select retailers and grocers nationwide. For more information, please contact Health-Ade Kombucha at (844) 337-6368.

Juices ALO released ALO Twist, which features a combination of ALO’s signature aloe vera juice and pulp, real strawberry and lime juice, and other natural ingredients. ALO Twist has a suggested retail price of $1.99 and can be found at retailers throughout Washington, DC. For more information, please email ALO at info@alodrink.com V8 launched V8+Hydrate, a plant-based hydration beverage that contains 45 calories per 8 oz. can. Available in Strawberry Cucumber, Coconut Watermelon and Orange Grapefruit flavors, V8+Hydrate has a suggested retail price of $4.99 for a 6-pack and can be found in retailers nationwide. For more information, please contact the Campbell Soup Company at (800) 871-0988.

Spirits Southern Tier Distilling launched a premium canned cocktail line: Bourbon Smash, Vodka Madras and Gin & Tonic. Bourbon Smash contains 10 percent ABV and Vodka Madras and Gin & Tonic have 8.0% ABV. The cocktails are available in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Ohio and have a suggested retail price of $14.99 for a 12 oz. can 4-pack. For more information, please contact Southern Tier Distilling at (716) 763-5479.

Steel Bending released Three Chord Blended Bourbon, which was created by musician and producer Neil Giraldo. The bourbon has a suggested retail price of $39.99 and is available at 20 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

select locations in Michigan, New Jersey, New York and California. For more information, please email Three Chord Bourbon at info@ ThreeChordBourbon.com.

Jack Daniels released 100-proof Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey, which has a suggested retail price of $37.99 for 1 liter and is available at select airports nationwide.

For more information, please contact Jack Daniel’s at (888) 551-5225.

Apologue launched a new line of liqueurs in three flavors: Aronia Berry, Persimmon and Celery Root. Aronia Berry is 48 Proof, Persimmon is 54 proof and Celery Root is 74 proof. All three liqueurs are currently available at Foxtrot and Binnys and have a suggested retail price of $35 per 750 ml bottle. For more information, please contact Slow Down Co. at jenna@slowdownco.com.

William Grant & Sons launched Fistful of Bourbon, which blends five straight American bourbons. Fistful of Bourbon contains 45 percent ABV and has a suggested retail price of $24.99 for 750 ml and $2.99 for 50 ml. The bourbon is available in Texas. For more information, please email William Grant & Sons at pressoffice@wgrant.com Conecuh Brands released Clyde May’s Straight Rye Whiskey, which is aged for at least three years and contains 47 percent ABV. Clyde May’s is distributed nationally and has a suggested retail price of $44.99. For more information, please email Conecuh Brands at Hello@ ClydeMays.com Root Out released its Root Beer Flavored Whisky, which is aged for four years and has a hint of vanilla. The whisky can be found at bars, restaurants and select stores and has a suggested retail price of $25.99. For more information, please contact Root Out at (908) 353-1234.

Wine Champagne Pommery launched their newest Blanc De Blancs champagne. The champagne has a suggested retail price of $67 and is available in major cities nationwide. For more information, please contact IT Public Relations at (212) 941-5595.

CHANNEL CHECK WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY Refrigerated Tea

Merchandising hasn’t necessarily caught up with the scan data for this category, but IRI’s classification of many kombucha brands as refrigerated tea gives a pretty good indication of the rankings and brand strength of this fast-growing category. GT’s, of course, is a brand that already transcends the category, and it’s the biggest, but a look at Kevita, Health Ade, Humm, and Brew Dr. shows the brands that are making the crossover from natural into conventional channels most effectively.

REFRIGERATED TEA BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$244,713,245

-2.8%

Gold Peak

$209,914,914

-6.5%

GTS Kombucha Synergy

$167,434,627

14.0% 19.5%

Milos

$140,823,142

Red Diamond

$134,439,416

-4.1%

Turkey Hill

$115,544,109

-0.7%

Kevita

$59,452,791

67.6%

Lipton Pure Leaf

$55,074,269

23.0%

Turkey Hill Natures Accents

$37,717,992

-3.8%

GTS Organic Raw Kombucha

$35,727,530

18.7%

Health Ade

$30,439,937

239.1%

Swiss Premium

$27,715,437

1.7%

Humm Kombucha

$19,093,454

58.8%

Readyleaf

$18,070,291

-5.4%

GTS Synergy

$17,336,222

747.5%

Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein

$15,083,752

14.8%

Brew Dr Kombucha

$14,155,935

70.8%

POM Super Tea

$13,585,775

2.8%

Bolthouse Farms Heart Healthy

$11,498,650

46.6%

Guers

$11,024,163

-2.8%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME Beer

Energy Drinks

$12,313,583,616

4.81%

-0.12%

Tea/Coffee

$6,251,292,229

5.1%

7.06%

Drink Mixes

$846,981,120

0.48

$34,985,153,970

2.0%

Bottled Juices

$7,131,797,504

Bottled Water

$16,440,510,464

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 8/12/18

22 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

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CHANNEL CHECK SPORTS DRINKS BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Gatorade Perform

$2,410,037,885

-20.8%

Gatorade Frost

$880,748,672

25.4%

Powerade ION4

$767,358,013

0.2%

Gatorade

$698,236,311

116.3%

Gatorade G2 Perform

$266,421,629

-4.6%

Gatorade Fierce

$244,689,193

-11.1%

Powerade Zero ION4

$242,282,642

13.0%

Powerade

$182,196,401

-4.2%

Gatorade Flow

$180,026,869

85.1%

Bodyarmor Superdrink

$142,023,991

243.7%

ICED COFFEE BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Starbucks Frappuccino

$1,082,065,896

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER -1.3%

Starbucks Doubleshot

$642,096,961

-0.8%

Java Monster

$431,003,053

18.7%

Coca Cola Dunkin Donuts

$151,413,234

61.0%

Starbucks

$76,413,756

45.1%

Private Label

$49,197,031

65.0%

Starbucks Cold Brew

$39,890,556

237.5%

Starbucks Doubleshot Light

$30,775,663

4.7%

Monster Caffe

$27,286,261

N/A

High Brew

$20,543,495

22.2%

ENERGY SHOTS DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

5 Hour Energy

BRAND

$964,281,280

-2.56%

Tweaker

$20,529,610

21.35%

Private Label

$17,124,940

13.61%

Stacker 2 Xtra

$15,593,412

7.98%

Rhino Rush

$8,839,594

7.68%

Stacker 2

$8,741,889

-27.09%

Stacker 2 Extreme

$8,422,949

-3.97%

EE

$5,577,165

23.16%

Vital 4U Screamin Energy

$3,085,158

7.02%

Rip It Energy Fuel

$2,516,632

-8.80%

ICED TEA BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Lipton Pure Leaf

$717,186,500

6.6%

AriZona

$566,939,683

-5.4%

Gold Peak

$399,069,167

7.4%

Lipton Brisk

$367,446,373

7.4%

Lipton

$287,678,814

-4.7%

Snapple

$243,160,501

10.0%

Lipton Diet

$175,795,306

-6.0%

Diet Snapple

$134,380,504

-17.9%

AriZona Arnold Palmer

$125,635,730

-3.9%

Peace Tea

$88,018,298

36.4%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 8/12/18

24 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

BOTTLED WATER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Private Label

$2,784,307,968

9.95%

Dasani

$1,088,195,200

0.58%

Aquafina

$1,068,049,408

-1.04%

$857,521,664

-5.62%

Glaceau Smart Water

$836,419,392

0.97%

Poland Spring

$702,144,448

1.72%

Glaceau Vitamin Water

$499,323,200

0.82%

Fiji

$471,342,176

11.07%

Deer Park

$418,546,528

1.12%

Ozarka

$393,180,512

7.53%

Nestle Pure Life

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

SPARKLING WATER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$529,047,296

9.54%

La Croix

$442,853,184

37.60%

Sparkling Ice

$401,106,560

5.45%

Perrier

$277,928,384

8.99%

Polar

$160,565,328

19.60%

San Pellegrino

$139,794,704

7.11%

Topo Chico

$98,771,640

32.93%

Schweppes

$63,259,424

-2.62%

Bubly

$61,732,104

N/A

La Croix Curate

$60,341,180

15.83%

ENERGY DRINKS BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Red Bull

$2,914,239,744

0.29%

Monster Energy

$1,685,128,704

8.73%

Red Bull Sugar Free

$758,901,248

4.74%

Monster Energy Zero Ultra

$654,829,056

13.14%

NOS

$448,105,888

4.49%

Monster Rehab

$303,481,248

-2.13%

Monster Energy Lo Carb

$291,884,640

-3.28%

Monster Mega Energy

$238,166,176

-2.85%

Rockstar

$217,894,256

-11.11%

Red Bull The Blue Edition

$214,379,152

5.08%

CRAFT BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Blue Moon

$339,724,230

-0.1%

Samuel Adams

$265,701,455

-8.9%

Sierra Nevada

$246,852,078

-0.3%

New Belgium

$200,917,492

-1.2%

Lagunitas

$183,262,892

3.3%

Leinenkugel Specialty

$161,875,722

-9.5%

Shiner

$134,252,166

-1.1%

Shock Top

$100,732,773

-15.1%

Founders

$99,640,368

45.0%

Stone

$77,619,235

8.8%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide) 52 Weeks through 8/12/18

The largest companies in the beverage industry already trust PurCaf. So, why wait to formulate with PurCaf?

appliedfoods.com 25

GERRY’S INSIGHTS

BY GERRY KHERMOUCH

New Platform Shoes for the Big BevCos For a newsletter editor like me, striving to put out three issues every week, you can’t hope for news cycles much better than this one. In barely a week, we saw a stunning sequence of developments. On Monday, Aug. 20, PepsiCo announced it was purchasing SodaStream for $3.2 billion.

Thursday brought Campbell Soup declaring that it would seek a buyer for the $2 billion Campbell Fresh division built around Bolthouse Farms. And just as everyone was finalizing their Labor Day weekend plans, Coca-Cola announced it would be buying the world’s second largest coffee chain after Starbucks, the UK-based Costa Coffee Ltd. Coke’s new CEO, James Quincey, was gracious enough to apologize for giving everybody one more chore before the weekend, but that’s a lot of news!

Conveniently for this column, those three stories all involved what folks these days like to call new “platforms.” In that way, they reflect the big CPG companies’ awareness that they need to move outside their comfort zones to follow consumers and to accommodate the disruptive technology waves that are tearing through the business.

The Coke and Pepsi announcements were affirmative moves to capture new platforms, while Campbell’s marked a humiliating retreat from what had once been touted as a growth engine. It might be illuminating to delve into the dynamics behind each.

For PepsiCo, the SodaStream deal will accelerate the moves it has already made to build a direct-to-consumer platform, one in which its contacts with consumers are not mediated – and potentially distorted – by intervening layers of distributors and retailers. Sure, SodaStream is a retail brand, but it has been building an increasingly compelling DTC arm, boosted by the ease with which its expendable items like flavor units can be ordered online. There’s no question that degree of direct interaction with its consumers gave Starbucks, for example, an advantage in its incredible global expansion.

Similarly, in this digital age, a direct-to-consumer platform allows companies to not just control the parameters of the interactions with users but to capture vast amounts of actionable data, rather than relying on vague syndicated research or data that’s controlled and filtered by a third party like Amazon.

With SodaStream, Pepsi gets a player that 26 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

lends itself to the DTC model. Augmenting efforts Pepsi has made on its own And if some sparkling beverage volume is moving to at-home-created items, PepsiCo gets a good piece of that, rather than seeing the proceeds flow to a rival. The execution risk includes integrating an appliance business with an RTD beverage business, but hey, that’s precisely what Keurig is managing through with its acquisition of Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Also, I haven’t heard anything said yet on what Pepsi will do to appease its bottlers, and that is certain to be on the agenda as PepsiCo apparently moves forward with plans to refranchise its U.S. territories. But that’s why they call it disruption. Pepsi’s base business is going to get disrupted no matter what; now, it will have another seat at the table.

With the Costa deal, Coca-Cola is making an even bigger bet, not just because of the hefty price tag but because operating a retail business is an even bigger stretch, as Starbucks’ Howard Schultz was quick to note to one media outlet. But it finally gives CocaCola a brand many consumers perceive as authentic, after an earlier venture with the elite Italian roaster Illy sputtered out, and as a complement to less coffee-forward entries put out under the Dunkin’ Donuts, McCafe and Monster brand names.

Under Quincey, the Coke team seems to be presuming that its coffee cred can only get a big lift from operating a business that does its own roasting, has an expanding network of stores to serve as new-product laboratories, and seems to have been embraced not just in Europe but in China. In making the announcement, Quincey indicated that, aside from a flagship store, he doesn’t envision expanding the Costa chain into the crowded North American market, but rather using it as a platform for bagged and readyto-drink entries in coffee and maybe tea and cocoa, too. True, there’s plenty of operational risk for a company that had long prided itself on a simplified model in which it just sells concentrate to bottlers who have to operate the production plants and delivery fleets, and that recently completed an arduous refranchising of company-owned bottling operations to outside owners. But, just as it’s keeping a hand in hot-fill manufacturing, Coca-Cola feels it has to learn how to play more adeptly in coffee and in hot beverages

generally. This gets it in the game.

So count SodaStream and Costa as risky but exhilarating ventures. That brings us to Campbell Soup. Its former CEO, Denise Morrison, was among the first Big Food leaders to speak to shareholders about the ways in which the growth and premium pricing and general excitement at grocery was heading to the perimeter aisles, and away from the shelf-stable center-store aisles that companies like hers have dominated.

She certainly deserves great credit for sounding that alarm.

That led to the 2012 acquisition of Bolthouse Farms, which was supposed to put Campbell Soup squarely in that game and serve as the base for further acquisitions on the food. At the time the deal closed, Morrison joked that executives from the company’s Camden, N.J., headquarters would be required to carry a passport to visit Bolthouse operations in Bakersfield, with the incumbent team left to operate the business unencumbered by corporate bureaucrats. Soon enough, though, the wheels fell off, with protein drinks recalled and the company suffering a backlash from carrot customers offended by a deterioration in quality. Before long, Morrison stamped a bunch of passports for Campbell Soup lifers to take over management of the faltering unit and she returned to the safe harbor of shelf-stable products with the acquisition of snack maker Snyder’s-Lance. The price tag on that was steep enough for the deal to signal a decisive end to the Campbell Fresh strategy. So it did not come as much of a surprise when Morrison soon departed and the company put Bolthouse on the block.

What’s the lesson from Campbell Soup’s move to kick off its platform shoes? Not necessarily that it should never have undertaken the effort in the first place. The execution challenges Campbell Soup brass encountered have done nothing to contradict Morrison’s initial assessment of where the food business is going. Nor has the company’s change in direction via the Snyder’s-Lance deal done anything to quiet shareholders.

So the lesson is self-evident. New platforms by definition are difficult. Progress marches forward. And at the Big Three soda players in particular – each with a new or soon-ascending CEO – I expect the gambles on new platforms to only accelerate from here.

SHOW PREVIEW

BY BEVNET STAFF

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

WHO

National Association of

Las Vegas Convention Center

October 8 – 10

Approximately

Convenience Stores (NACS)

Las Vegas, NV

Mon: 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

23,500 attendees

Annual Expo

Tues: 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Wed: 7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Monday, Oct. 8: 10:30 – 11:45:00 a.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 9: 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 10: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

Scott Stratten: President of Un-Marketing,

Henry Armour: NACS President & CEO,

Mike Rowe: Executie producer and show

who offers insight on better engag-

who will examine the impact of retail

host who hosts Returning the Favor and

ing consumers through social and viral

disruption on the industry.

his podcast The Way I Heard It.

marketing.

ALPHABETICAL EXHIBITOR LIST Exhibitor

Exhibitor

Booth

5-hour Energy

Booth 1663

Exhibitor FORTO Coffee

Booth 1173

Obrigado Coconut Beverages

3994

ALO Drinks By SPI West Port, Inc.

4286

FORTO Coffee

3651

Outlaw Beverage LLC

AquaHydrate, Inc. AQUAhydrate

3147

good2grow

1729

PepsiCo, Inc.

2029

Arizona Beverages USA

4591

GURU Organic Energy

1178

Pocas International Corp.

4584

Arizona Iced Tea Energy Shots

4391

Harmless Harvest

3596

Polar Beverages

1966

Avitae USA, LLC

1877

Hellowater - Fiber Infused

4096

Premier Protein

529

Bai Brands LLC

3954

High Brew Coffee

4282

Red Bull North America, Inc.

949

Bang / VPX / Redline

2009

Hint, Inc

122

Shamrock Farms

4171

BODYARMOR

4259

Hoist

1875

Simply Juice

1263

Boxed Water Is Better

4494

Icelandic Glacial

4090

Soylent

4086

Brands Within Reach

4479

Jones Soda Co.

3822

Sparkling Ice Talking Rain Beverage Co.

1155

Brew Dr. Kombucha

3597

JUST Goods Just Goods

3887

Sportwater Beverages

Bug Juice International

1263

Keurig Dr Pepper

4048

The Coca-Cola Co - Topo Chico

3835

Califia Farms

1078

Keurig Green Mountain

4171

THE WONDERFUL COMPANY

3129

CELSIUS

120

772

3840

La Colombe Coffee Roasters

3687

Tickle Water

3699

CELSIUS HEAT

127

LIFEAID Beverage Company

4099

Tiesta Tea Company Tiesta Tea

3567

Chobani, Inc.

4449

Liquid Death Spring Water

3696

Tweaker Energy Drink Company

163

Coca-Cola Company

4004

Monster Energy Company

2045

UPTIME Energy

1129

CORE Nutrition, LLC

3934

National Beverage Company

4395

VOSS Artesian Water from Norway

4396

CytoSport/Muscle Milk

1950

National Beverage Company

4295

Waiakea, Inc.

4171

Dunn's River Brands

4094

Nestle USA

4457

Water Joe

4280

Essentia Water LLC

1075

Nestle Waters North America

4241

Welch's

Eternal Water

4386

neuro

4048

FIJI Water

3129

New Age Beverages Corporation

438

28 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

573

BEER BATTLES BEYOND BORDERS

With all of the talk of tariffs and trade wars, could imported beers end up in the crosshairs?

By Jeff Cioletti Your bottle of Corona is probably pretty safe for the foreseeable future.

Earlier this year, there was much speculation in the media about how tariffs on imported aluminum would impact the U.S. beer business, especially considering the fact that most of the macro producers, as well as a sizable chunk of craft brewers, package their products in cans.

Predictably, talk of retaliatory tariffs from international trading partners followed, back-and-forth rhetoric escalated and lots of question marks remained over which types of products would and wouldn’t be vulnerable to tariffs.

While the aluminum issue primarily affects domestic brewers, it remains unclear whether any sort of potential trade war escalation extending to other consumer goods could affect imports. But most agree that the probability remains 30 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

low that there will be any negative effects on the imported segment.

“Typically with trade wars, it’s a matter of ‘how can you shake somebody’s boots, by threatening to put a tariff on x,” says William Earle, president of the National Association of Beverage Importers (NABI).

Spiros Malandrakis, industry manager for alcoholic drinks at market research firm Euromonitor International, echoed Earle’s sentiment.

“The trade seems to understand or at least hopes it’s just part of President Trump’s negotiating tactics and that any fears would be ameliorated if some kind of agreement were to come out of this, Malandrakis says. “This is more or less the hope at the moment.”

It’s a losing strategy, Earle suggests, for anyone in Washington to support a price increase on beer.

“There are enough people in the United States who drink imported beer and love it, that any politician who would seek to put a tariff on imported beer is going to alienate their base,” Earle says. “And why would you want to alienate your base?”

The trade conflict may not be visible to consumers at this point–in terms of price increases–but that doesn’t mean those in the trade across the three-tier system aren’t nervous about it.

“Retailers are having some conversations with us about whether it’s going to happen,” says Gary Thompson, executive vice president and general manager at Powers Distributing in Orion, Michigan. “The retailers are really paying attention to [the issue] and the suppliers are paying attention to it as well. Nobody’s in a big hurry to announce price increases, they’re waiting to find out what happens with tariffs.”

Thompson says that, depending on how the situation plays out, the market could experience some sort of deferred price increase–say, in the spring of 2019 versus any time before the end of 2018.

Import consumers cross many demographics and socioeconomic levels, so price hikes would not only affect more affluent consumers trading up from macro domestics.

There’s often a cultural connection with many imports, with ethnic communities gravitating to brands that connect them with their countries of origin. For example, market research company Mintel found that Hispanic consumers are more likely than non-Hispanics to drink imported beer. Mintel found that those who emigrated to the U.S. as adults were more likely to drink imports than those who belong to subsequent generations.

Within the Mexican-American community in particular, that cultural alignment

nificantly smaller base. Its off-premise volume stands at just shy of 1 million cases, according to IRI. “Constellation is really, really doing well– it doesn’t matter too much which brand you pick out of their portfolio, even with Corona Premier out there cannibalizing, to some degree, Corona and Corona Light,” Thompson observes. Corona Premier, rolled out earlier this year, boasts 90 calories (nine fewer than Corona Light) and 2.6 grams of carbohydrates (versus Corona Light’s 5 grams). It’s the first new launch to bear the Corona trademark in 29 years.

“I just don’t see any stopping those guys or anything that slows them down at this juncture,” Thompson says. “They’re the darling of the beer business right now.”

A number of the major brands that directly compete with Constellation’s Mexican import portfolio haven’t been sharing the good fortune of Corona and company.

Heineken International’s top Mexican

channels rose just above 500,000 cases.

Things are tough all over for Heineken.

The namesake brand’s performance in the U.S. has been mediocre at best, with a volume drop of about 2 percent to 24.9 million cases in those same channels. Meanwhile, Amstel volume dropped more than 10 percent.

“Heineken is laboring,” Thompson says.

“It’s acting more like one of the big [domestic] brands from the United States, honestly.

It’ll be interesting to see where that goes.”

Of course, if any of the will they/ won’t they trade war shenanigans start to directly apply to imports from across the pond or from the U.S.’s North American neighbors, all bets may be off.

“I think the mood among importers,” NABI’s Earle says, “is ‘just keep your head down, don’t be too visible in terms of what your volumes are or the general trajectory of these trade negotiations.’”

If any segments should be concerned,

is likely one–of many– factors that have made Mexican brands the strongest performers among all imports over the past several years.

Brands in Constellation’s import portfolio performed the strongest. Case volume for Corona, the No. 1 imported brand in the U.S., grew 9 percent to 70.1 million cases in most major off-premise retail outlets for the 52-week period that ended August 12, 2018, according to Chicago-based market research company IRI. Modelo trademark brands–Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, etc.–saw a volume increase of 17.7 percent to a combined 60.2 million cases. Pacifico, the No. 9 brand among all imports, climbed 11.5 percent to 3.9 million cases in those channels.

Victoria volume also grew significantly last year, up, 21.5 percent, but off a sig-

brands, Dos Equis and Tecate, both experienced single-digit declines in in the most recent 52-week period that IRI measured.

One brand that Heineken had not been putting much marketing support behind in the U.S. was Sol. But the brand’s profile north of the border has grown a bit in recent months, thanks to a 10-year marketing and licensing agreement that Heineken and MillerCoors signed last year, giving the latter company control over Sol’s U.S. market presence. It’ll take at least another year to assess Sol’s long-term prospects here, but preliminary numbers are encouraging. Off-premise volume, according to IRI, grew about 82 percent for the 52-week period that ended August 12–mainly because its new importer is making a much greater U.S. marketing investment in it than its parent company had. Sol’s volume in the major

Malandrakis notes, it should be U.S. craft and any other domestically produced products with significant export activity in their business plans. That scenario already playng out in the spirits industry. Bourbon whiskey, U.S. spirits producers’ greatest export, has been as much of a success story overseas as it has at home. Its growth could stop in its tracks, thanks to a 25 percent retaliatory tariff that the E.U. slapped on the spirit in late June. Many European importers have overstocked ahead of the tariff, hoping they have enough inventory to ride out the storm.

It’s not likely, at least in the near term, that U.S.-based importers will have to resort to such measures.

“I think imports will probably continue to do well,” Malandrakis says, “regardless of the political environment, and all of the toxicity in the atmosphere.”

32 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

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BIG GUYS PURSUE THE BUBBLES Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle Take Aim at La Croix

By Martín Caballero

34 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

It was only a matter of time.

After all, by the time bottled water replaced carbonated soft drinks as U.S. consumers’ favorite drink for the first time in 2016, major beverage corporations like The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Nestle and others had already prepared themselves for the change, building robust brands and operations that could compete in various ways with value-priced and private label offerings.

However, as flavored and unflavored sparkling water has become one of the fastest growing categories on the market, those same companies are in the unusual position of playing catch-up to less heralded rivals.

One of those rivals is, of course, National Beverage Company, makers of La Croix, the brand largely credited with sparking America’s obsession with fizzy flavored water. The Florida-based company has continued to go from strength to strength; according to a company earnings report, sales increased approximately 12.6 percent in the past quarter to $292.6 million, while sales over a 52-week period ending on August 12 stand at over $422 million, according to market research group IRI. (Due to a correction, this paragraph has been changed from an earlier version; see editor’s note, below) Based on Nielsen all-channel sales data through August 11, 2018, sales of the company’s flavored sparkling water products are up 37.3 percent from the same period last year, giving it a 22 percent stake in the $2.1 billion category. Other independents, such as Polar Corp. and Talking Rain Beverage Corp., makers of Sparkling Ice, have also seized share of the growing market that saw U.S. retail sales of sparkling water, seltzer and club soda reach $2.7 billion.

For now, the sparkling water market may be still be little more than the proverbial drop in the bucket compared to the $16 billion business of bottled water. But with U.S. consumers expected to purchase around 821 billion gallons of sparkling water just this year, the likes of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and other major beverage manufacturers have all taken significant steps to expand and strengthen their respective positions in this high growth category.

Coke: Premium Potential With Topo Chico

As the world’s biggest soda company, Coca-Cola stands among those with the most to lose from the recent downturn in carbonated soft drink sales. The company has been actively exploring opportunities outside of soda for over a decade as part of its stated goal of becoming a “total beverage company,” and recent moves have indicated that a diversified sparkling water portfolio – which grew over 20 percent in volume in 2017 – will be a key component of its growth strategy moving forward.

Prior to last October, Coke’s sparkling water portfolio was comprised of carbonated line extensions of its existing bottled water lines such as smartwater and Dasani. The addition of Topo Chico, the imported Mexican sparkling mineral water brand that has been a favorite in Texas for decades, altered that landscape.

Coke acquired the U.S. rights to the company last October through its Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) division for a reported fee of $220 million, and while its national presence remains limited, the brand is growing at a healthy rate under its new ownership.

Speaking during a presentation of the company’s Q1 2018 financial results, Coke CEO James Quincey said that Topo Chico’s U.S. retail value had grown by 30 percent during that time period, Coke’s first full quarter of ownership. The brand also expanded its convenience store distribution by 25 percent.

According to data from IRI, U.S. multioutlet plus C-store sales increased 32.9 percent over a 52-week period ending on August 12, 2018. Total sales during that time were approximately $98 million, around 3.58 percent of the dollar share of the category. Topo Chico significantly 36 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

outpaced Coke’s other sparkling water products over the past year: Dollar sales of Dasani sparkling were up around 20.5 percent to $59.2 million, while smartwater sparkling grew 15.7 percent, posting $19 million in sales. Though it is most commonly found in glass bottles, Topo Chico is also sold in a variety of formats, from 6.5 oz. glass bottles to 1L PET packages. Over the 52-week period, its average price ($2.26) fell between that of sparkling products from Dasani ($2.52) and smartwater ($2.09).

Further insights into Topo Chico’s broader strategy were difficult to come by. When asked about the recent growth in C-stores and the company’s channel strategy, marketing manager David De La Garza said convenience retailers will “play a role in our broader channel portfolio” moving forward. He alluded to the challenge of supply chain headwinds “specifically in logistics like transport and freight” that are facing the industry at large, as well as to opportunities in food service.

While Topo Chico is mainly showcased as unflavored sparkling mineral water, Coke has used Dasani to target the unsweetened flavored seltzer category. The brand added three new flavors to its sparkling line earlier this year, bringing the total number of SKUs to 14. That line, along with similar products from Hansen’s, helped grow Coke’s dollar sales for flavored sparkling waters over 32 percent over a 52-week period ending on August 11, according to Nielsen all channel sales data. Though Coke’s $2.4 billion share of the bottled water category dwarfs its presence in flavored sparkling, that segment has grown at a much slower pace of just 1.4 percent over the last year.

Underscoring the importance of sparkling to Coke’s product set, the company took the unusual step of turning to crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to gauge interest in Coke-owned premium Swiss mineral water brand Valser, which is currently sold only in Europe. The one-month campaign offered users early access to the brand’s Classic (sparkling) and Silence (still) water varieties, in exchange for feedback that will help Coke gauge positioning and level of demand for the product ahead of formal introduction at retail. The brand is currently being piloted in select restaurants in the Atlanta area, according to the company. Valser was introduced in China last year, where

it raised eyebrows with an approximately U.S. $9 price tag.

Nestle: From Spring to Sparkling

While Coke has been building its presence in sparkling water through acquisitions and line extensions, Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) has taken a different approach. In January, the company announced a comprehensive revamp of its sparkling water portfolio, with new flavors, packaging and design for carbonated products released under its six regional spring water brands, which include Poland Spring, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Ozarka, Ice Mountain and Arrowhead. The push is part of a stated goal by NWNA to double household penetration for sparkling water over 2016 levels by 2020.

In a call with BevNET, Andrius M. Dapkus, vice president and general manager for domestic brands at NWNA, said the company has been “extremely pleased” with the results thus far; total category buying households have increased from around 5 million prior to launch to over 9 million currently, he said. Meanwhile, the percentage of households that purchase regional spring and sparkling water has more than doubled, indicating a consistent shift in consumer behavior.

“When you talk about true organic growth, sparkling will be the single biggest contributor that we have to our business,” he said. “From a focus perspective, it’s a top priority for us.”

Dapkus credited NWNA’s ability, through in-store displays and advertising, to present its regional spring water brands as a cohesive family of products with distinct use occasions as a marketing asset for the brand. The company has also invested significantly in a TV and digital

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According to Nielsen all channel sales data, Nestlé Holdings has seen dollar sales for flavored sparkling water products rise by 19.4 percent over a 52-week period ending on August 11, 2018, giving it an 8.8 percent dollar share of the category.

Deer Park, Ice Mountain and Poland Spring have been particularly successful.

The latter, which has a 2.2 percent dollar share of the sparkling flavored water category, grew its dollar sales by 18.7 percent over the period. Meanwhile, Ice Mountain saw sparkling flavored water sales increase 63.2 percent, while Deer Park rose 22.4 percent. Total retail sales for flavored sparkling water products from Nestlé Holdings reached approximately $200 million in sales, compared to $3.7 billion for its total bottled water sales over the past year.

“It’s really a two-pronged attack that we are bringing – one is the broad-based media investment to drive overall brand awareness and consideration,” he said, noting that the vast majority of the company’s sparkling business is driven by base volume rather than promo volume. “We are then completing that process in-store with good execution at retail with the off-the-shelf display activity as well as the strong presence on-shelf.”

While expressing satisfaction with the regional sparkling rollout so far, Dapkus underscored the importance of continuing to innovate within the category, with a particular eye on easing soda consumers away from soda use occasions. He hinted that Nestle’s other sparkling brands, including Perrier and S. Pellegrino, would also have a role to play in growing within the premium import segment of sparkling.

“Sparkling [water] need occasions tend to be more based on emotion,” he said. “It plays more in the emotional spaces – like a pick-me-up, or someone looking for energy and enjoyment. While sparkling kind of represents a base entry point into those occasions, there’s a lot more opportunity to stay in the healthy space by adding either a little bit of sweetness through juice or tea.

We want to expand the portfolio to attack those need states more aggressively.”

PepsiCo: Building Around Bubbles

Up until mid-August, PepsiCo’s sparkling water trajectory seemed to be on a clear path. With the spring launch of Bubly, a zero-calorie flavored sparkling water line in 12 oz. cans created as a multi-channel offering, the company had a colorfully branded new seltzer product that would complement premium still water line LIFE WTR, launched in 2017, as a choice for younger consumers. Similar to LIFE WTR, Pepsi backed Bubly with a splashy TV debut in a commercial aired during the Academy Awards broadcast in February.

Standing on its own or judged by its ability to offset declines in other categories, such as CSDs and juice, Bubly has enjoyed a successful debut thus far.

According to Nielsen data, the brand has fueled PepsiCo’s share of the sparkling water category, which rose from just 0.6 percent in January to 4.2 percent in August. Having been on the market for less than a year, Bubly has posted over $61 million in sales, according to market research group IRI. During an earnings call in July, outgoing CEO Indra K. Nooyi noted that Bubly and LIFE WTR were products that could quickly achieve scale in Pepsi’s DSD system without necessarily

cannibalizing shelf space from core CSDs, an issue that the company has at times faced when building smaller brands.

On that same call, PepsiCo vice chairman and CFO Hugh F. Johnston noted that the company was looking to continue segmenting its its water business with new innovations while the case pack water business provides the base volume. However, the announcement in August that Pepsi had entered an agreement worth $3.2 billion to purchase Israeli company SodaStream, known for its line of table-top appliances for making sparkling water at home, has shifted the landscape for both the soda maker and the sparkling market as a whole.

In an indication of the ripple effects of the SodaStream deal, the most expensive brand acquisition in PepsiCo’s history, the company sent a letter to franchise bottlers last month affirming that the purchase will not affect current operations or relationships. In entering the at-home market for the first time, there has been speculation that Pepsi could integrate some of its signature soda brands into the appliance, an idea the company briefly experimented with in 2014.

While the impact of the SodaStream deal begins to be felt over the coming months, PepsiCo’s rivals Coke and Nestlé – not to mention the likes of LaCroix, Talking Rain and upstart private label manufacturers – are unlikely to wait to see the results. Now that even the likes of Anheuser-Busch is showing interest in sparkling water with last year’s purchase of HiBall/Alta Palla, the battle over bubbles is likely just beginning.

Editor’s Note: A prior version of this article, referred to lawsuits that had been filed against the Company’s CEO, Nick Caporella.We have since learned that the lawsuits referenced in the article were dismissed by the court after the plaintiffs retracted and recanted their allegations in writing as “factually unsupportable.”We apologize for the error and for not reaching out to National Beverage Corp. or Mr. Caporella for response prior to publication of this article.

38 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

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BRAND NEWS WATER

Pervida, a line of lightly carbonated waters formulated to support immune system function, recently expanded its distribution and is now available at over 279 Cost World Plus Markets across 37 states.

H2r0se will be launching its rose-infused water beverage in PET bottles this October.

The botanical water contains 40 calories per 16.9 oz PET bottle and will have a suggested retail price of $2.49.

Hoist. Rapid hydration drink Hoist recently appointed Hal Kravitz to lead its advisory board. Kravitz, who is also an equity partner in Hoist, has over 30 years experience as an executive at the Coca-Cola Company and most recently served as CEO of premium water brand AQUAhydrate.

Blossom Water introduced mango hibiscus to its flower-infused botanical water lineup.

All flavors contain 10 calories per serving.

Sway Water, which markets both still and sparkling waters, unveiled new packaging featuring photos of real fruit and organic certification. The brand has also expanded distribution into five states.

SANAVI, makers of a line of organic flavored sparkling spring waters, is now available at Costco stores in Los Angeles and Hawaii.

SANAVI also introduced its new 18 pack variety case which includes Coconut, Strawberry, and Lemon flavors.

HEMP2O recently launched Sunset Sherbert and Apricot Blueberry flavors. Hemp2o also received new authorizations in several Albertsons/Safeway divisions including Northern California, Oregon, Seattle, Arizona, the Rocky Mountains and Southern Divisions.

HyVIDA Brands launched a line of hydrogen sparkling waters available in Pure, Raspberry and Lemon-Lime varieties. The drinks contain no calories, sugar, sweeteners or caffeine.

Napa Hills, the functional flavored water infused with antioxidants from red wine, has announced a partnership with Chicago-based Norman Distribution.

Protein2o recently entered launched three of its SKUs – Peach-Mango, Dragon Fruit44 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Blackberry and Kawaiola Coconut – in 970 Publix locations.

Spindrift released Half & Half which is made with fresh, squeezed lemon juice and real brewed black tea from Argentina. The sparkling water brand also released its Cranberry Raspberry flavor.

Good Idea, a sparkling mineral water that contains amino acids designed to help manage blood sugar levels post-meal, recently launched a new dragon fruit flavor.

H2OPS, a non-alcoholic zero calorie sparkling water brewed with hops from the Northwest, is now available at four regions of Whole Foods Market stores.

Oxigen. Oxygen-infused water supplement Oxigen is closing in on 10,000 retail doors and has secured national distribution through approximately 20 distributors including UNFI, Kehe, Vistar, Lomar, and DPI. Detoxwater. Functional water brand Detoxwater launched Veralixir, a highly concentrated aloe vera shot. The company added retailers such as Kroger, H-E-B, Hy-Vee, Ralph’s, QFC, Wegmans and others.

Kalena. Organic sparkling coconut water line Kalena launched in four new flavors: Lime, Blood Orange, Watermelon and Açaí.

Kiki. Canadian brand Kiki released its Maple Sweet Water in 750 ml bottles that feature the company’s redesigned branding.

Ax-Water. Antioxidant-infused beverage maker Ax-water has expanded its distribution network, securing partnerships with UNFI, KeHE, Bill Distribution, Braun Distribution and Beverage Wholesalers.

Susosu Water, a hydrogen water brand, which is produced in South Korea, announced plans to release new packaging in English that will keep the same design and color scheme. wanu, a water infused with nutrients and fiber, launched two new flavors, Coconut Mango and Blueberry Lemonade, bringing its total number of SKUs to seven. The new flavors are currently available exclusively online, before an expected wide retail launch in 2019.

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By Brad Avery

When high-pressure processing (HPP) emerged as a force in CPG about a half decade ago, the non-thermal alternative to heat pasteurization was heralded as a powerful disruptor in the beverage industry.

Cold-pressed juice companies, promising better tasting and more nutritious products with longer shelf lives, stormed the cold boxes with ultra premium price points.

Brands like Blueprint, Evolution Fresh, and Suja became early leaders in HPP juices, and were soon followed by a myriad of startups launching in natural and specialty retailers, and the category that had been revolutionized by Odwalla and Naked 20 years prior was revolutionized once again.

Today, however, cold-pressed juice has plateaued. While consumers are seeking out healthier beverage choices, the HPP beverage space – which is majority juice – has seen only 5.4 percent year-over-year growth between August 2017 and 2018, compared to 31.5 percent growth the year before, according to SPINS data.

Speaking with industry leaders today, many in the HPP and juice spaces now recognize early mistakes. Brands failed to communicate efficacy to mainstream 46 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

consumers, high price points led to price wars, and the space quickly saturated. But there are also paths forward, including new packaging formats, consumer education efforts, and the embrace of new categories. While cold-pressed juice may be slowing down, it is by no means dead, and in many ways it’s experiencing the natural growing pains of any emerging category.

The Beginning: Stagnant Waters 2012 was a pivotal year for the HPP beverage industry: Starbucks purchased Evolution Fresh, BluePrint launched its single serve line, and Whole Foods Market was looking to reinvent a stagnant category.

Errol Schweizer, who was a VP of grocery at Whole Foods at the time, told BevNET that marching orders had come down from co-CEO Walter Robb to pick a category and refresh it. Kombucha had just been upended by what Schweizer calls the “Kombuchapocalypse” – a mass category-wide recall in 2011 stemming from an inability to control the sugar and alcohol levels of the drink, which resulted in roughly $30 million in lost sales. Whole Foods needed to fill a

gap in the beverage space, Schweizer said, and HPP presented an opportunity.

“Refrigerated fresh juice was dominated by Coke and Pepsi with Naked and Odwalla, and they were just yesterday’s news,” Schweizer said. “We weren’t growing sales because they customer just didn’t care anymore. It wasn’t the thing.”

Whole Foods has a long history of partnering with brands to build categories, and Schweizer and his team proved willing to clear shelf space for the new, premium priced offerings. Investors followed, dumping money into brands ranging from Suja to Temple Turmeric and beyond.

But around 2014 there was “a glut” of new brands in the space, he said, and by 2015 oversaturation had caused sales to dive. Today, Schweizer views a culling of the herd as a positive, and retailers decisions to pull underperforming brands is a benefit for the category as it rebounds and looks ahead.

Failure to Communicate Joyce Longfield, chairperson of the Cold Pressure Council, which advocates for HPP as a processing methodology, told

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BevNET that many of the cold-pressed juice category’s recent troubles trace back to the early decisions by some brands to rely heavily on diet trends to sell product.

Brands entering the market at ultra premium price points – selling for upwards of $10 per bottle – were able to bring in the wellness consumers who sought out juice cleanses and understood the value of alternative pasteurization methods. But too often, she said, brands failed to realize that they were preaching to the converted.

The efficacy of HPP, which preserves nutrients, enzymes, and flavor, was often lost on the average consumer, she said. Messaging was not utilized in a way that spoke to the wider audience. Brands took for granted that cold-pressed juice would become a natural part of the American daily diet.

“Right from the get-go, the people who live that lifestyle and drink coldpressed juices and do juice cleanses, they don’t need to be convinced. They get it,” Longfield said. “I think a lot of the people who ran these companies at the time just assumed everybody would catch on to it and be a part of it. But that’s not the case. Even to this day I still talk to conventional consumers who don’t have a clue what a cold-pressed juice is and wouldn’t think to ever buy a green juice.”

The Cold Pressure Council was founded in part to facilitate a shift in consumers’ mindset, and the introduction of the High Pressure Certified seal is a major step toward helping mainstream consumers understand the significance of HPP, Longfield said. Evolution Fresh became the first brand to achieve the certification and place the logo on its bottles.

Evolution Fresh president Ryan Ziegelmann wrote in an email to BevNET that the seal will boost education efforts with both consumers and retailers as more brands adopt it.

“As people seek to serve functional needs naturally with clean labels, we also see the category morphing and changing into what we now refer to as Premium Functional Beverages,” Ziegelmann said.

“It’s an acknowledgment that we are delivering towards a broader nutritional and functional benefit agenda.”

Price Point Hits Hard In Longfield’s view, price wars have contributed to the category’s stagnation and at times have compromised the integrity 48 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Lemon-Aid: The Giving Beverage From when she first began selling lemonade, Mikaila Ulmer wanted to give back. After being stung by a bee when she was four years old, the Austin, Texas native began learning about the important role honey bees play in supporting food production and agriculture. Determined to do her part to help, Ulmer found her great grandmotherʼs flaxseed lemonade recipe, stationed a lemonade stand outside of her house and began donating a portion of every cup sold to organizations around Texas working to protect the native bee population.

Today, Ulmer, now 13, is part of a growing generation of young beverage entrepreneurs building brands around a core social mission. Her company, Me & the Bees, donates a portion of its profits to organizations such as international anti-poverty group Heifer International, the Texas BeeKeepers Association and the Sustainable Food Center. Mikaila has also launched a nonprofit called The Healthy Hive Foundation, dedicated to increasing honey bee awareness and creating safe habitats for them to thrive.

“I never actually thought that my lemonade stand would be a company,” said Ulmer. “But people loved the mission, loved how I was really passionate about it, and they kind of supported me along the way to get to the point where Iʼm at right now.”

Me & the Bees isnʼt the only lemonade startup based on a cause: 4Pure, which sweetens its products with maple syrup, is on a mission to plant one million trees over the next decade through its “Plant A Million In 10” campaign to help preserve the woodlands.

“Itʼs an amazing movement thatʼs going on right now and I still think that weʼre in the very beginning portion of it,” said Will Boyle, founder of 4Pure. “In 10 years, you wonʼt be able to name a business that does not have a social mission attached to their business.”

Boyle added that 4Pure will prominently feature its social mission as the brand expands, including

by publishing profiles of its maple farmer partners on its website.

“Weʼll talk about how utilizing maple syrup in the 4Pure lemonades has helped the maple farm with cash flow, with expanding their maple syrup operation, with innovation in their process and with hiring more people,” he said.

The positive impact that these companies are making has not gone unnoticed by consumers, according to both both Boyle and Ulmer. They each said that feedback indicated that social impact was a significant factor in steering consumers towards purchasing their respective brands.

“What people like about my lemonade is how it tastes good and does good,” said Ulmer. “Not only am I creating a great tasting lemonade, but Iʼm also saving the bees which essentially means saving our food supply. Thatʼs why I keep on doing it.”

In addition to supporting a worthy cause, Ulmerʼs charity efforts have also elevated the brandʼs national profile. In her nine years of selling lemonade, Mikaila has received investment from Daymond John as a contestant on CNBCʼs “Shark Tank,” as well as another investment from a group of 12 NFL players. Her efforts gave her the opportunity to introduce President Obama in 2016 at the United State of Women White House Summit.

Granted, giving back is not unique to the lemonade category, let alone the food and beverage world. TOMs famously has their onefor-one shoe program as does eyeglass retailer Warby Parker with their “Buy A Pair, Give A Pair” program.

But there may be something about lemonade that puts people in a particularly happy and giving mood.

“To me, the unique thing about lemonade is that when I have it, I immediately think of home and family,” said Boyle. “And I think a lot of people do – that resonates with them.”

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of the product. When Suja dropped the price of its juices in Whole Foods to $7.99 per bottle, she said, it created an immediate need for other juice brands to bring down their SRPs. Those pricing pressures led some brands to reformulate with cheaper ingredients.

“It just kind of seems like from there all the focus was about the dollar,” she said. “And whoever can sell for a more affordable means on an everyday basis is who is going to win in the end. Unfortunately, I feel like everything kind of delineated from that point.”

novation outside of juice cleanses can spur growth in the space.

The cold-pressed juice pioneers are now building larger portfolios outside of the single category in order to stay on top of consumer trends. Blueprint has added drinking vinegars to its offerings, while Evolution Fresh has recently announced a line of kombuchas. San Francisco-based brand Forager Project has pivoted significantly, dropping most of its juice offerings

many brands now look at themselves as overall beverage companies, not just juice companies anymore.

According to Schwartz, juice shots have become a strong mover in the category, but that space has already become overcrowded. The space was initially built by brands dedicated to shots, such as JUS by Julie and KOR, but an increasing number of juice companies are adding shot lines, including Suja. Schwartz said that while it’s too soon to tell, it’s likely that consumers may be more interested in the brands only playing in the shot space.

According to Cyrus Schwartz, CEO of distributor and HPP toll processor Dora’s Naturals, dollar sales for cold-pressed juice are currently “flat at best.” Both unit sales and dollar value have fallen in the past two to three years, he told BevNET. “What was selling for $10 a bottle is now selling for $5 a bottle,” Schwartz said. “Our dollars in what I call the green juice/cleanse space is probably half of what it was a few years ago.”

Dora’s was an early believer in the HPP juice category, having picked up BluePrint for distribution when it was only carried in four New York stores. Examining the space today, Schwartz said that he sees green juice “holding its own” but that innovation has only minimally offset declines in sales. Rather, hydration-focused HPP juice brands, such as HoneyDrop and WTRMLN WTR, have performed better at lower price points and with a stronger functional positioning. Although the category has struggled, Schwartz remains bullish that different kinds of in-

to focus on plant-based milks and yogurts.

Suja has expanded as well, adding new lines for all three of those categories.

According to Ziegelmann, Evolution Fresh has sought to innovate in order to remain “fresh and authentic while offering more functional benefits.” In the last two years, he said, the brand has converted nearly all of its juices to organic, introduced plant-based protein and probiotic lines, and the addition of its organic kombucha line is the next step forward.

“At the end of the day you have to still make strategic business moves,” Longfield said. “As much as I might be an advocate of HPP through all my years of consulting, I say to everyone HPP has to make sense for your business. It needs to bring added value for your business.

When I look at a company like Evolution Fresh or Suja staying committed to the technology for their cold-pressed juice line, it makes perfect sense for them to go into kombucha.”

The result, Longfield added, is that

“I think consumers might want to have a shot that has a different identity, they want something they can look at differently,” he said. “They want a brand they feel is kind of focused on that concentrated nutrition. So, we’ll see.”

For Schweizer, although the category has taken hits in the past few years, the change to the beverage industry that HPP juice has brought in will not be undone.

“It’s a paradigm shift,” Schweizer said.

“Fresh juice has existed, it was called Tropicana and Minute Maid, then it was Odwalla and Naked. This is a paradigm shift in beverages that we’re still in the middle of. When I hear ‘evolution,’ or when people use those wonky terms, I think it’s more concrete. I think customers have shifted to these products and are going to continue to buy them. I don’t know that the growth rate will continue, the momentum will probably slow down, but you’re still talking about a huge volume of product that didn’t even exist a few years ago and is now becoming mainstream.”

50 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Stay The Course or Branch Out?

Copyright Š2018. SpindriftŽ is a registered trademark of Spindrift Beverage Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

BRAND NEWS JUICE/LEMONADE

Val de France recently released its Apple Elderflower Flavored Sparkling Juice Beverage, which contains no added sugar or preservatives.

Poppilu Antioxidant Lemonade has expanded its distribution throughout the Midwest at retailers including Jewel, Mariano’s, HyVee, and Fresh Thyme.

Martinelli’s is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year by releasing a limited edition label of its classic Sparkling Cider.

Made only with fresh-pressed U.S.-grown apples, Martinelli’s is still family owned and operated in the Monterey Bay of California since 1868.

The Ginger People recently released its organic ginger juice in 32 oz. bottles.

Big Island Organics has expanded its distribution to the Northeast, where Big Island Organics’ lemonades and “gingerades” are now available at Shaw’s locations now through the KeHE Lehigh Valley warehouse.

Repurposed Pod. Cacao juice brand Repurposed Pod transitioned from its heavy gram weight plastic bottle to a more sustainable, aseptically filled Tetra Pak carton. This change makes the product shelf stable, extends shelf life from 90 days to 9 months, and decreases the per unit cost to distributors and retailers.

Genius Juice is preparing to launch two new SKUs in January 2019: Coffee Coconut Smoothie and Turmeric Coconut Smoothie.

The new SKUs will initially roll out in Los Angeles, Northern California, and New York.

WTRMLN WTR launched WTRMLNSLCE, an enhanced watermelon water that contains electrolytes and 2 g of natural sugar from the fruit. WTRMLNSLCE is available in 16 oz. bottles in four flavors – Original, Blood Orange, Tart Cherry, and Ginger – and is available on Amazon and in retail stores across California.

Bolthouse Farms recently launched a line of lower sugar Bolthouse Farms B Balanced smoothies, which contain no artificial flavors or preservatives, have no added sugar and are available in four flavors: Strawberry Banana, Sweet Green, Berry and Tropical.

GLOW. Sparkling hydration and energy drink GLOW Beverages launched new packaging for four of its SKUs. The brand also recently expanded into Safeway and Raley’s and this September, they launched into Albertsons, ALDI SoCal and Fresh Thyme.

JUICERA recently launched perfectO, a 10 oz. organic cold pressed orange juice with 150 mg of organic caffeine and organic probiotics. JUICERA products are available nationwide online and in stores including Lucky Vitamin and select Whole Foods Markets.

Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company recently released Cucumber Jalapeno Juice, which is naturally low in sugar and contains only 60 calories per 8 oz. serving.

Columbia Gorge Organic launched Farm Blends, which feature fruit varietals picked and juiced at the season’s peak.

The company also launched its Real Raw line, available in 11 flavors including Berry Whey Protein, Green Apple Greens and Golden Milk.

Mansi released a 12 oz. PET Bottle to the market with revamped packaging and a new formulation. Mansi is distributed naturally through UNFI and KeHE and is sold at select retailers in the Northeast and throughout the country.

52 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Belvoir Fruit Farms released several new products, including Organic Lemon & Garden Mint and Organic Elderflower & Rose cordials along with Rhubarb & Apple Pressé and Pink Grapefruit Pressé.

ALO debuted a new, colorful package design for its ALO COCO line, which is being currently rolling out to store shelves.

Uncle Matt’s Organic put its organic Orange Mango juice in a new 12 oz. size, which is now available at Dollar General stores nationwide. The SKU is a blend of orange and mango juices and contains

120 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin C, plus B vitamins, folate, and potassium.

Cheribundi recently launched its 100% Tart Cherry Juice, which contains 60 tart cherries per serving.

Mott’s Juice recently launched Mott’s Sensibles, which is made with 100 percent juice, no added sugars and no artificial sweeteners. Mott’s Sensibles are available in three flavors: Apple Raspberry, Apple Pineapple and Apple Cranberry.

Liberty Imports USA, Inc launched Dafruta, a new line of ready-to-drink fruit nectars in six tropical flavors: Cashew fruit (Maranon), Passion Fruit, Guanabana (Sour Sop), Mango, Strawberry/ Banana and Orange/Carrot.

Shade Tree Beverage Co. recently made its Original, Strawberry, and Blueberry lemonade flavors available on Amazon.

Ralph & Charlie’s Juice partnered with Star Distributors to expand distribution of their juices in Connecticut.

Mamma Chia expanded distribution of its chia-based beverages, including its energy focused SKUs, to major retailers including Albertsons/Safeway, Whole Foods and Safeway.

CHERRiSH entered into a multi-year partnership with Life Time, being named the official sponsor and cherry juice beverage of their Life Time Triathlon series, as well as seeing expanded distribution into all 138 of Life Time’s LifeCafes, a fast-casual restaurant chain located within each athletic resort destination.

Biotta announced the addition of two new flavors to its line of functional juices: Golden Beet Juice Blend and Heirloom Purple Carrot Juice.

Put your mind in the Tropics!

Subscribe to the iTi Innovation blog for recipes, infographics, and more.

ititropicals.com/blog 53

TRAINING WHEELS Brand-Building With Kids Drinks

By Ray Latif When Wendy’s and Chick-Fil-A added Honest Kids juice drinks to their menus in 2015, it was a watershed moment; the organic beverages became the first of their kind to be distributed in a national fast food chain.

Honest Tea, which markets the lowsugar and low-calorie children’s drinks as part of a platform that includes its flagship teas, juices and sports drinks, followed up those deals with one at McDonald’s, which in 2017 replaced Minute Maid apple juice boxes with an Honest Kids’ variety in its Happy Meals. According to Clare Koller, the general manager of the Coca-Colaowned brand, the partnership turned Kids into a growth engine for Honest; Koller stated that 60 percent of brand revenue is now derived from the Kids line.

The impact of foodservice distribution goes beyond sales. For many consumers, seeing Honest Kids in fast-food restaurants is the entry point to the Honest portfolio 54 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

and a foundation for the beverage platform as children mature and families grow.

“One of the things that we see is a huge opportunity with Kids to recruit families into our trademark,” Koller said. “What we’ve found is that when consumers see our product in a foodservice location, like a McDonald’s or a Chick-Fil-A or a Wendy’s, and they try it there, 74 percent of them are more likely to then purchase it at retail,” Koller said. “So we see foodservice as a great way to drive trial.”

Honest is one of a handful of brands that are emphasizing kids beverages as a way to attract awareness and trial for the rest of their portfolios. It makes sense: as parents increasingly turn to healthier options for kids, some executives see children’s drinks as a critical part of their futures.

Rethink Brands, which markets water packaged in paper-based cartons, launched in 2016 with a mission to reduce plastic packaging in beverages. While en-

vironmental sustainability continues to be a core tenet of the company, it has since adopted a focus of “healthy hydration” centered around its kids line, which cofounder and CEO Matt Swanson views as a jumping off point to a broader portfolio of better-for-you beverage options.

“One of the ‘aha’ moments for me [early on] was when I was speaking with a retailer and I’d shown them a kids version of Rethink Water,” Swanson said. “And they had challenged me to go look at the aseptic juice category, because it was acting very similar to CSDs and no one was really doing anything about it. And the same juice box I was drinking 25 years ago when I was five years old was the same juice box that kids are drinking today. We had the opportunity to bring really meaningful innovation into a really large category.”

Launched in May 2017, Rethink Kids was positioned as a product line “focused on eliminating unnecessary waste both

inside and outside the box.” Packaged in 6.8 oz. cartons and sold in 8-packs, the drinks contain no sugar or calories and come in several organic flavor varieties including Fruit Punch, Strawberry Lemon Mango, Apple, and Berry, along with an unflavored option.

A few months after the launch of Rethink Kids, the company undertook a strategic pivot to de-emphasize its adult varieties, which come in unflavored oneliter and half-liter sizes, and instead focus its resources on the kids line. The strategy is paying dividends: the products are now carried in over 10,000 retail locations nationwide, including Walmart, Kroger, Target and CVS. The distribution gains are having “a halo effect” on the adult line, according to Swanson.

“We’ve made our bet on the kids side,

West 2017, Ripple Kids is formulated with the same ingredients as the brand’s flagship products and comes in three shelf-stable flavor varieties: original, chocolate and vanilla. Packaged in 8 oz. cartons with a resealable screw cap and sold in 4-packs, the drinks are nut-free, contain 8 g of plant-based protein and are promoted as having 50 percent more calcium than dairy milk. They are sold nationally at Target, Kroger and Publix, and will be distributed at natural channel retailers in the coming months.

Lowry views the products as delivering value on multiple fronts to a growing cohort of millennial parents, particularly those that embrace a dairy-free or vegan lifestyle for their families. These consumers are increasingly seeking a nut-free dairy alternative that their kids can bring

and that’s the biggest opportunity in our opinion,” Swanson said. “The lack of innovation in the category from the big players and the amount of distribution that we’ve been able to achieve because of it, we will build our brand through Rethink Kids.”

On the dairy alternative front, Ripple Foods, which has already achieved significant distribution with its primary line of pea-protein dairy alternative milks, is positioning its Ripple Kids line as a key piece of the company’s “capture the whole family across the whole kitchen” strategy, according to co-founder and CEO Adam Lowry.

Introduced at Natural Products Expo

into schools, a growing number of which are banning nuts due to allergen concerns.

“Parents are really responding to the taste of course; kids like it and that’s the most important thing,” Lowry said. “And that it has protein, because, essentially, up until now unless you give your kids soymilk, they’re not getting the protein from dairy that they’re getting out of dairy milk if you send them to school with a non-dairy [product]. Of course, if you have a kid with a nut allergy they’re really loving it, but there are relatively fewer numbers of those. For other parents… that want to send their kids to school with a non-dairy

56 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

option for a host of other reasons they can, because this is a non-allergen product.”

Both Swanson and Lowry said they’re currently looking for ways to innovate and grow with kids as they get older – and less inclined to drink from juice boxes and small milk cartons. Swanson believes that if brands can continue to meet evolving demands for kids beverages, they “can really build loyalty and ultimately grow with the consumer” through adulthood.

That mindset is shared at Honest Tea, which is preparing to launch a new product line for kids in their tweens and early teens. Honest Organic Juice Drinks will launch in early-2019 and come in 6-packs of 10 oz. resealable PET bottles. They’ll debut in two varieties – Fruit Punch and Tropical – and will be merchandised on shelves next to Honest Kids, according to Koller, who said the line was designed for 8-14 year-old kids who have outgrown a juice box or a pouch.

“That will be our biggest innovation for next year,” Koller said. “We just saw a white space opportunity from a package standpoint that’s resealable where the kids feel a little older holding this package and from a functional standpoint as well.”

It’s not the first time that Honest Tea created a drink line designed for older children. In February 2013, the brand launched Honest Splash, a three-SKU line of 12 oz. juice drinks that, like Kids, were sweetened only with fruit juice and contained 70 calories per bottle. Cofounder Seth Goldman described it as an “evolution of the Honest Kids brand,” which, at the time, accounted for onethird of total business. However, Splash was eventually discontinued, as it lacked a significant point of difference from Kids, according to Goldman.

Koller, a veteran Coca-Cola executive who joined the Honest Tea unit approximately a year ago, was unable to comment on the demise of Splash. However, she noted that amid the current momentum for Kids, the brand is attempting to shape and build upon an evolved palate for lower sugar products, from early-age to adulthood.

“In many ways it’s changing the palate of a generation so they’re used to these lower sugar options,’ she said. “And then when other products become available when they’re older, they know it’s a brand that they love and they trust and they’ll continue to drink throughout their lifespan.”

BRAND NEWS KIDS’ BEVERAGES

Honest Kids recently launched its Honest Kids Appley Ever After juice drinks, sold in 6 oz. Tetra Paks, at Boston Market locations nationwide. In addition, Dog Haus, a gourmet hot dog chain, will carry Honest Kids Appley Ever After and Super Fruit Punch in 6.75 oz. pouches in nearly 40 locations nationwide.

Hapi Water recently launched at Whole Foods locations in the Southwest and Shaw’s Markets in New England, as well as at all Harris Teeter stores. In August, Hapi Water launched it’s fourth flavor, Strawberry Kiwi, at H-E-B. In November, Hapi Water is launching at approximately 800 Walmart stores.

Tickle Water, a naturally flavored sparkling water created for kids, has expanded its distribution to Walmart in Florida, Meijer in the Midwest, and Duane Reade.

good2grow announced the relaunch of its Character 3-Pack and Collector 5-Pack along with their first official online Collectors Club, where families can grow and maintain a collection of their child’s favorite character tops.

Nestlé Nesquik introduced Nesquik Super Breakfast, a new flavored milk beverage that contains 12 grams of protein in each 8 oz. bottle. It is available in both chocolate and vanilla flavors and made with real milk and has no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. The product can be found at major retailers such as Publix, Walmart, Meijer and Hy Vee.

Tropicana Kids released its organic juice drink pouches, which are sweetened with 45 percent real fruit juice and mixed with filtered water. The juice is available nationwide in three flavors Fruit Punch, Mixed Berry and Watermelon.

Old Orchard Brands added three new kid friendly flavors to their Healthy Balance Line: White Grape Peach, White Grape Strawberry and Peach Passionfruit.

Sneakz. In addition to receiving organic certification in China, Sneakz Organic milkshakes also recently became available chain wide at Big Y, Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, and at most Publix stores. Sneakz is planning to release Sneakz Organic Meal2Go Vegan Nutrition Shake, Sneakz Organic Mini2Go Vegan Nutrition Shake, and Sneakz Senior Meal Replacement drinks all in the first quarter of 2019.

Bössi released its Rooibos tea in 8-packs and expanded distribution at KeHe and UNFI. Wonder+Well expanded its distribution through UNFI and KeHE and launched its fourth SKU this fall — Water with a dash of Organic Apple.

Langers will roll out refreshed properties for their 6 oz. juice pouches in the fourth quarter of 2018. The pouches feature an easy to use, straw-less design and are 100% juice. They will be available in Apple, Berry Blend, Fruit Punch and Apple Grape juices.

58 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Obrigado brings a fresh Brazilian twist to coconut milk.

Introducing Original and Fruit Blends.

At Obrigado, we always do things differently. So unlike ordinary coconut milks that just add plain water to coconut cream, we blend in a generous amount of our 100% pure coconut water for a fresh, smooth taste. Only Obrigado milks come in Original and two deliciously refreshing fruit blends: Mango & Passion Fruit and Strawberry & Banana.

• No added sugar or preservatives • Vegan, plant based • Soy free, dairy free, gluten free • 50% more calcium than dairy milk

contactusa@obrigado.com or 1-888-627-4423

Taste the Obrigado Difference

© Aurantiaca USA LLC 2018

2018

GUIDE

NATURAL SNACK FOOD + providers & suppliers

61

New Brand - ALO Snacks ALO Snacks by SPI West Port #1 RTD aloe vera beverage brand, ALO Drink, launches a new product line-ALO Snacks, world’s first to pair dried aloe vera with tropical fruits.

Available in 3 flavors (Mandarin, Ginger, & Mango), 2 sizes (28g & 60g bags). Try at upcoming trade shows.

Soft and Chewy Gluten Free/Paleo Snack BeeFree Warrior Mix Warrior Mix is a nut/ seed chewy snack that is paleo, gluten free, and honey sweetened. You can eat it by the handful, as a breakfast cereal, top it with fruit and yogurt, use as a base for a gluten free baked recipe. BeeFree of junk food!

Organic, Fair Trade and Sustainable Indulgences Alter Eco Foods

Alter Eco Foods is a chocolate-centric, sustainability-directed food company that takes healthy indulgence to a whole new level. Created for conscious foodies who seek out special food experiences, Alter Eco is pioneering a new category of enlightened indulgences with next-level ingredients through a portfolio of Swiss made chocolate products - Dark Chocolate Coconut Clusters, melty chocolate bars and blissfully delicious truffles.

Recognized as a top certified Benefit Corporation, Alter Eco is obsessed about spreading social justice and environmental regeneration while setting a high bar for delivering mindblowingly tasty foods. Full-circle sustainability is engrained throughout its operations and supply chain through four pillars: sourcing using Fair Trade principles, producing only organic and non-GMO foods, creating minimal waste by working towards 100 percent compostable packaging, and in-setting carbon emissions by means of large-scale reforestation programs in the cooperatives that produce its crops. Alter Eco’s mission is to pioneer a full circle approach to eating, farming, and doing business – and to inspire others to do the same.

USDA Certified Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Carbon Neutral Certified, Non-GMO Project Verified and Gluten-Free (excl. Salt & Malt).

Premium Protein Bars - with Grass Fed Collagen and Grass Fed Whey Bonk Breaker Nutrition Premium Protein Bars made with grass fed collagen and whey combine to provide all 9 amino acids for a vital source of complete protein.

Under 200 calories, made with allnatural, GF, non-GMO ingredients and free of artificial sugar and sugar alcohol.

The world's first Protein Bar Mixes!

Creation Nation Creation Nation is leading a DIY Protein Bar Revolution! We empower you to make fresh delicious bars & bites at home in minutes. No-bake, easy as a protein shake, and YOU control the sugars.

Gluten Free, Paleo, Keto-Friendly, Vegan, organic proteins.

BOU Soup Cups

Crickstart Organic Cricket Protein Bars

BOU Brands

Crickstart Food Co.

BOU has launched its brand new range of instant Soup Cups.

Made with their better for you bouillon cubes and Non GMO ingredients, BOU Soup Cups will give you a savory and comforting meal in just five minutes.

The most delicious, most nutritious, and only organic cricket bars ever made!

SIAL Innovation 2018 grand prize winning product, made with cricket powder, hemp, pumpkin seed butter and other whole food ingredients.

Dandies Marshmallows

CLEAN COOKIES

Chicago Vegan Foods Dandies Marshmallows are all natural, gelatin free, vegan marshmallows.

We believe sweet marshmallows should be cruelty-free and made with natural ingredients! Dandies are perfect for favorites like s’mores, crispy treats, hot cocoa, and snacks.

Emmy's Organics, Inc. Our Certified Organic, Gluten-Free and Vegan Coconut Cookies are so amazing, it is hard to have just one.

Made with simple, clean ingredients like organic coconut and almond flour, Emmy's is redefining what cookies really are.

Available nationwide.

BEAR Yoyos Real Fruit Rolls

Belgian Boys Choc 'O Chip Cookie Stash

Clearly Kombucha

Soft-Baked Breakfast Ovals

BEAR

Belgian Boys

Clearly Kombucha LLC

Enjoy Life Foods

BEAR Yoyos Real Fruit Rolls are a healthier alternative to other fruit snacks. With no added sugars, concentrates or preservatives, these Yoyos use only fruit & veg in their small ingredient list.

They're also Non-GMO, Gluten free & Vegan.

Introducing the newest Complimentary JetBlue snack. At 130 calories per serving, nut free, made with real Belgian chocolate and nothing artificial, it's a treat for your taste buds! Our mustache shaped cookies are big on selfies! #RockthatStash

We pride ourselves in creating real booch. We believe in crafting tastier products that make it easy for people to lead healthier lives. Our kombucha is handcrafted, raw, brewed from whole leaf tea and fermented with our own scoby in the Bay area.

All-new Breakfast Fruit & Oat Ovals from the leader in allergy-friendly nutrition. Baked with real fruit and purity protocol gluten free oats, they have 20+ grams of whole grains and 12% of your daily fiber. A well “rounded" breakfast in 4 flavors.

62 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Protein Bites Grab & Go Packs Enjoy Life Foods

ASCEND. All-Natural, Non GMO Beef & Turkey Jerky Golden Valley Natural

The Best Thing You'll Put in Your Mouth All Day Honey Mama's

Chocolatey, truffle-like Protein Bites are packed with 8 grams of allergy-friendly, plant-based vegan protein per pack for the perfect on-the-go snack. Each of the 4 decadent flavors are certified gluten-free, Non-GMO verified and palm oil free.

We make treats that put pleasure first and never skimp on nourishment! Our refrigerated honey cocoa bars are full of bold, deep flavors, decadent textures and easy to digest superfoods, allowing your body to thrive and your taste buds to celebrate.

Field Trip Meat Snacks

Hummus a Whole New Way!

Field Trip Snacks

Hummus PodsÂŽ

Field Trip supplies healthier protein-rich snacks that don't sacrifice quality and taste. Field Trip provides delicious and versatile snacks that complement a large variety of on-the-go consumers. Grass Fed Jerky & Sticks, All Natural Pork Rinds.

Hummus Pods are 100% plantbased, non-gmo, better-for-you snacketizers. Boldly flavored hummus is encapsulated in a multigrain, bitesize pita pocket. Frozen and ready-to-eat, Hummus Pods are easy to prepare and can be enjoyed in many ways, any time.

Fody Foods Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bars Fody Foods

MELIORA. Organic Beef Jerky Golden Valley Natural

KPOP Sea Snacks - A Premium, Organic Roasted Seaweed Snack KPOP Foods

Fody is creating a world of gut-friendly, low FODMAP foods for those suffering with IBS and other digestive discomforts, including its Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bars, which are Low FODMAP, glutenfree and non-GMO certified.

Our US-made KPOP Sea Snacks are gluten-free, vegan, and verified non-GMO. One of the unique characteristics of KPOP Sea Snacks is that it's 30 calories and 0 carbohydrates per pack. These healthy and tasty snacks are easy to enjoy anywhere.

NEW! ORGANIC FRUIT BLISS FRUIT & NUT BITES Fruit Bliss

Chocolate Covered Chickpeas Roasted Mediterranean Style!

Lebby Snacks

Our Fruit & Nut Bites combine a blend of fiber-rich fruit and crunchy nut pieces.

It's the perfect bite-sized solution for on-the-go, an afternoon pick-me-up, or a satisfying lunch box treat. A delicious snack option you won't feel guilty about!

Dark chocolate blends surprisingly well with savory chickpeas and leaves an endearing aftertaste. What if your (guilt-free) snack obsession was not only delicious but healthier? Lebby dryroasted chickpeas are packed with protein, fiber, and flavor!

64 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

NOT YOUR ORDINARY WATER

RESTORES & MAINTAINS MUSCLE • INCREASES ENERGY & ENDURANCE • CURBS APPETITE • HYDRATES

• 28 CALORIES • CAFFINE FREE • KOSHER & PBS FREE • GLUTEN & LACTOSE FREE

©Trimino Brands, LLC 2018

• 7 GRAMS WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE • 9 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS • 100% VITAMINS B3, B5, B6 & B12 • 0 SUGARS/CARBS

TALK TO US TODAY ABOUT OUR NEW NATURAL FLAVORS AT (203) 453-0090

drinktrimino.com

Mikey’s Paleo and Gluten Free Products Mikey’s

Mikey’s is a clean ingredient brand of frozen baked goods that are paleo-friendly and gluten-free certified. Mikey set out to create great tasting and convenient options for every meal, and in between. Paleo and gluten free lifestyles can be restricting, and Mikey wanted to provide healthy and delicious products that people can enjoy without compromising their diets. Mikey’s products include grain free, soy free, and gluten free sliced bread, English muffins, muffin tops, tortillas, pizza crusts, and, most recently, pockets. Mikey’s Pockets are quick, easy-to-make snacks, featured in five different flavors. They are the perfect combination of convenience, simple ingredients, and taste.

The Original Multi-Nut and Seed Butter Just Got Cooler NuttZo

Little Bird Kitchen…Where Everything is Hot & Sweet!

Little Bird Kitchen

Rich & Creamy plant-based cashew cheese Nuttin Ordinary

Little Bird Kitchen’s Fire Walker Trail Mix features our signature candied jalapeño dark chocolate Fire Bites along with dried fruit and almonds. Indulge in a protein, fiber and antioxidant-rich "treat" that satisfies all of your cravings!

Nuttin Ordinary is founded on the idea of creating clean, simple ingredient, based foods. Our rich & creamy cashew cheese has a base of 5 clean ingredients.

We take pride in creating foods that are both earth-friendly and sustainable!

Mozaics - Organic Popped Veggie & Potato Chips in 5 delicious flavors Mozaics, LLC

Pan's Mushroom Jerky

Our #1 ingredient is peas!. Savory, delicious, crunchy, and better-for-you, our popped Mozaics chips are USDA Organic, nonGMO project verified and Certified Gluten Free. Sea Salt, BBQ, Cheddar, Sour Cream & Onion and Salsa flavors in 3.5oz and 1.25oz

With a delicious umami taste and satisfying texture, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky originates from a decades-old family recipe that’s been updated with new flavors and is vegan, gluten-free, paleo, Kosher, a rich source of fiber and vitamin D, and delicious.

Panco Foods

Organic Valley Leads the Organic Snack Revolution with NEW Snack Kits!

Organic Valley

Snacking now accounts for half of all eating occasions, and meal/snack kits are a $397MM category with double-digit growth in both sales and units*. Consumers want high-protein, satisfying snacks available at home and on the go. Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic farmers’ cooperative, has added a grab ’n go snack line to satisfy that hunger.

Organic Valley Snack Kits —better-for-you snacks with organic cheese, meat, and crackers — are an option that provides the only organic trifecta on the market. “There was a need for delicious, convenient, high-protein snacking,” said Brand Manager Ellie France.

“Organic Valley’s cooperative of small family farms produces dairy and meat, so we were in a unique position to deliver real protein, real flavor, and a clean ingredient statement with ingredients you can actually pronounce.” Organic Valley Snack Kits feature organic cheese, crackers and meat in one pack. The line includes 3 varieties: sharp cheddar and summer sausage; pepper jack and summer sausage; and mozzarella and roasted garlic summer sausage. The packs retail for a suggested $4.99, have 230 or fewer calories, pack 13 or 14 grams of protein and nearly 40 percent less sodium than other, similar packs. * SPINS: Total US Food + Natural Channels, 52 weeks ending 1/28/2018.

66 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

A Healthier Fruit Snack for Kids! perfectlyfree®

Protes Protein Chips & Popcorn Protes

Introducing a whole new kind of fruit snack! perfectlyfree® Fruit Bites are real fruit puree wrapped in a grape-like skin. They’re made with the belief that snacking should be healthier, taste better and be more fun for everyone. Each bag of Fruit Bites features 5 lunch-box-ready snack pouches that offer a 1/2 serving of fruit and only 5 grams of sugar - much healthier than those gummy fruit snacks! Plus, perfectlyfree® Fruit Bites are 100% plant-based and are school-safe! Check out these new nutritious fruit snacks in the produce section next to the pre-cut fruit to discover your favorite flavor!

67

Primal Kitchen Protein Bars

Butcher's Bone Broth

Primal Kitchen

Rotisystems Inc

Searching for a satiating snack that’s low in sugar and packed with healthy fats, clean protein, and incredible flavor?

Look no further! The ultimate keto-friendly protein bars are here made with 100% real food ingredients and Paleo-Approved.

Butcher's Bone Broth is the leading fresh organic bone broth.

Made with only three ingredients: organic bones, organic carrots, and water. No salt, preservatives, or alliums added, making it specialtydiet compliant. Never frozen-just heat and serve.

Skin-on Dried Superfruit. Keep it Real.

Eat the Peel!

RIND Snacks

SmashPack- High Protein Pouch snacks

The Power is in the Peel! RIND makes tangy and addictive snacks that maximize nutrition & minimize waste. Preserving the peels on our USA-grown dried fruit results in a snack packed w/ fiber, vitamins & antioxidants. The result is fruitful snacking!

2 high protein lines: Protein Fruit Smoothies (new look, now with MCT oil) and Protein Pudding (low carb/ low sugar). Both lines appeal to consumer's increasing desire for better-for-you, ultraportable, convenient snacks. NON-GMO, Gluten-Free.

SmashPack

Journey To Better Saffron Road

Plant Powered Purees and Snacks for Babies & Toddlers Sprout Foods, Inc.

Sprout offers the largest assortment of organic, plant powered purees and snacks for babies and toddlers!

Sprout’s Stage 2 and Stage 3 plant-based protein purees are made with 100% vegetable based protein from organic chickpeas, lentils, and beans, offering a delicious protein alternative to meat and dairy-based products.

Power Pak™ toddler purees are made with a unique Superblend that provides essential nutrients to toddlers, including 3 grams of plant protein, 4 grams of fiber, omega 3 from chia, and a full serving of fruit per pouch. All of Sprout’s plant powered purees are dairyfree and vegan friendly!

Sprout Organic Curlz was the first plant powered snack for toddlers, made from organic chickpeas and lentils. Curlz was named the winner of Delicious Living’s 2017 “Best Bite Award” in the Best Baby/Toddler Food category! These tasty snacks are baked, never fried, and are available in Broccoli, White Cheddar and Sweet Potato & Cinnamon flavors.

Sprout Organic Crinklez are a new popped veggie snack, made with plant powered chickpeas and popped with colorful carrots, spinach, and beets that you can see in every bite!

Crinklez have a fun crinkle cut shape, crunchy texture, and tasty flavors that kids love!

Available in Cheesy Spinach and Pumpkin Carrot.

That's it. Whole Food Snacks

GFB Power Breakfast

That's it.

The GFB: Gluten Free Bar

That's it. fruit bars are only 2 ingredients, 1 apple + 1 other fruit. They are paleo certified, kosher, gluten free, vegan, nut free and simply delicious. With 2 ingredients, this is a 1 of a kind snack.

No purees or added sugar, just fruit.

68 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

High-protein oatmeal made with real, simple ingredients.

Just add hot water and the package doubles as its own recyclable serving bowl. Each variety is non-GMO Project® Certified, Certified Vegan, soy-free, dairyfree and Certified Gluten-Free.

Organic Veggie Straws

Tres Latin Foods Skillet Sauces

The Daily Crave

Tres Latin Foods

Our crave-able Organic Veggie Straws will become your family's favorite snack with their classic shape and delightful crunch.

Seasoned with Himalayan Pink Salt, discerning parents can enjoy these Straws with their families! Chase Your Cravings!

Our unique sauces are the perfect better-for-you addition to any meal! They are easy to prepare, made with simple ingredients, and are full of delicious Latin inspired flavors.

100% Plant based, Gluten free and Non-GMO.

Good Crisps!

The Good Crisp Company

Incredi-Puffs The Snack Brigade

The Snack Brigade is on a mission to make better-for-you better for all with honest, craveable micro-meals- wholesome satisfying snacks that are as delicious as they are nourishing.

Incredipuffs are made with wholesome ingredients you can actually pronounces. Better for you, better-tasting Incredipuffs by The Snack Brigade are always baked instead of fried, and have 30 percent less fat than traditional potato chips. Our commitment is to always ave zero artificial flavors and zero grams of trans fat. #UNITEDWESNACK

Finally a great tasting stacked chip with none of the nasties!

Good Crisp is an exciting better for you alternative to mainstream stacked chips.

Good Crisp chips are certified Gluten Free, made with natural flavors and are GMO free.

But really what this all means is - We are happy that we can provide a stacked chip that people can feel GOOD eating.

Crunch Your Numbers with Healthy Crunch Snacks!

The Healthy Crunch Company

Wedderspoon Manuka Honey Plus – Immunity, Clarity, Vitality Wedderspoon Manuka Honey

Our mission at The Healthy Crunch Company is to create the best tasting foods that make you feel good inside and out. We’ve re-invent snacks to make them healthier without comprising taste. Our product line includes coconut chips, trail mixes, and the best tasting kale chips on the planet!

Our products are BIG in flavour, BIG on crunch, and BIG on love. We use only the finest ingreidents to ensure our products are bursting with tastiness. We sepcialize in creating products that are convenient for on-the-go snacking while still ensuring maxaminum nutrition. All of our products are Non-GMO Project Verified, peanut-free, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, Kosher, and School Approved®.

Our Founder, Julie Bednarski, a Registered Dietitian and Professionally trained Chef, saw the need in the market for healthy snacks that taste amazing. Julie believes that “Eating whole, real food makes you fell good inside and out”, which is why all our products are made with whole, real ingredients from starch. No preservatives, no additives, just wholesome goodness. It’s everything you want to put into your body and nothing you don’t want.

For more information, please visit us at www.healthycrunch.com 69

Uniquely Flavored Dried Fruit Jerky Watermelon Road

Wilde Chicken Chips - thin & crispy chips made from chicken breast Wilde Brands

Watermelon Road, winner of the NOSH Pitch Slam Volume 4, creates uniquely flavored dried fruit jerky with no added sugar or preservatives.

Available in four 100% plant-based flavors that are naturally Paleo, Vegan and gluten-free.

Chips made from premium cuts of chicken, Wilde Chicken Chips are packed with 15g of protein per bag, Certi?ed Gluten-Free, Non-GMO Project Veri?ed, Paleo certified, and allergen free. Available in 4 flavors: Salt & Vinegar, BBQ, Buffalo & Jalapeno.

Biodynamic® Baby Food

Wildmade Fruit Rolls

White Leaf Provisions

Wildmade

Healthy soil = Healthy food. White Leaf Provisions is a family run business bringing the first 100% regeneratively farmed, biodynamic, organic & GMO-free baby food line to retail in the US. Helping to heal the Earth that our kids will inherit.

Go wild for something better! Each roll contains a half a serving of real, organic fruits, with no added sugar, all rolled into fun flavors for kids and adults. It’s time for what’s next in fruit snacks.

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Yasso Pistachio Brittle Bars Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Yasso products deliver the best of both worlds - indulgent taste with sensible nutrition. With a line full of delicious stick novelties and inclusion-packed pints, all items contain real Greek yogurt and no artificial or high intensity sweeteners.

Japanese food beyond sushi? Try yuso, the Japansese-inspired snack yuso onigiri "yusogood makes mesohappy" Lunch done right..."yum on the run" with no chopsticks required smoked salmon filling surrounded by sushi rice and wrapped to keep Nori crunchy, for refrigerated graband-go.

Broker exclusive to Kroger 360 Merchandising Solutions, LLC

Financial Advisors for M&A Arlington Capital Advisors

America's #1 independent maple supplier Bascom Maple Farms, Inc.

360 Merchandising Solutions Our focus is the strategic growth of our clients’ consumer products portfolio and we are exclusive to the nation’s largest grocery retailer. Working directly with Kroger Category Mgrs. & Procurement Mgrs. to bring the highest quality brands to the consumer.

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

A clean label, sustainably produced ingredient available in an assortment of package sizes to suit any production facility. SQF, K of-K, and QAI certified to ensure superior quality in all our maple syrup and maple sugar.

Highest Throughput HPP Machine Avure HPP Technologies - JBT

Plant-based Ingredients Bay State Milling

With more than 60 years of experience and expertise in HPP science and manufacturing, AVURE specializes in HPP systems for food and beverage processing with the fastest and most reliable systems in the industry.

AVURE helps producers implement HPP from recipe development and process validations to installation, regulatory affairs, and postinstallation support.

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

Our Knowledge 360 Merchandising Solutions provide a wealth of merchandising experience & vast brokerage capabilities in essentially every aspect of grocery retailing. We support our clients with data, pricing & space analysis, supply chain & procurement management, and in-store product merchandising & sales execution.

Our Focus 360 Merchandising Solutions focus is on providing expertise & resources to build share growth for our supplier partners grocery, perishable, health & beauty care, & general merchandise brands. Operating lean and accountable for results, our employees are maximizing results, providing merchandising expertise & retail support every day.

Our Growth From inception 360 has been focused on providing unmatched service & insight to our clients. Leveraging 3 decades of Kroger experience, our 360 team is building a noteworthy client portfolio with the opportunity to grow our brands through direct communication with Kroger Category teams. We have expertise in understanding promotional, shelf placement, and assortment goals of the nation’s largest grocery retailer. contact@360merch.com On-Trend Ingredients

Plant protein manufacturing

ADM

Axiom Foods

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.

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

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Analytical Lab Testing

Organic & Non-GMO Ingredients

AZ Laboratories

Ciranda, Inc.

Food · Beverage · Nutritional Supplement · Pharmaceutical Manufacturing · Marijuana Products AZ Laboratories operates top caliber equipment and employs knowledgeable quality and technical professionals to develop and validate the analytical methods you need to meet your requirements for quality and safety.

AZ Laboratories boasts technical capabilities to utilize USP, AOAC, and other industry standard methodologies.

AZ Laboratories services include: - Nutrient and composition services to verify your product meets your requirements - Chemical residue analyses on raw materials and finished products to ensure you are confident in the safety of your product.

- Cannabis potency and contaminant analyses enhance patient experience and increases your competitive advantage.-Shelf life analysis service can assure the stability of your products.

- Sensitive detection of food allergens and raw material characterization ensures your supply chain remains reliable - Microbiological detection service can enhance the safety of your products.

- Early phase pre-clinical pharmacokinetic support streamlines your development process to accelerate launches of new pharmaceuticals.

- Method development/validation/transfer services to support launches of unique and innovative products and formulations.

- Our analytical consultation service brings our experience to your organization.

Turnkey Beverage Services Big Brands, LLC

Natural and Organic Flavors Brookside Flavors & Ingredients

Ideal Functional Ingredient Chemi Nutra

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

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.

Equipment Leasing Bridge Leasing Group

Recruiting Reinvented Creative Aligments

Bridge Leasing Group is an equipment leasing company that focuses on the CPG category, specializing in early-stage, high growth, food and beverage businesses. We aim to be the most efficient, supportive and effective source of equipment lease capital for your company.

Looking forward to learning more about your business and how we can help!

Creative Alignments is disrupting recruiting services with our scalable Time-Based Recruiting® model. We partner with emerging brands to find the very best talent, while saving you money. As opposed to traditional percentageof-salary recruiting firms that may push candidates for commissions, Creative Alignments simply charges for the time it takes to find the best. We work as your internal team.

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Clean-label Ingredients Farbest Brands

Healthy Snacking Solutions Glanbia Nutritionals

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.

As your expert partner in healthy snack development, we provide extensive market understanding, a broad ingredient portfolio of dairy- and plant-based nutrition ingredients, formulation expertise and technical support. We help you succeed faster.

Coconut Ingredients Franklin Baker Inc.

Certified Organic Ingredients Global Organics, Ltd.

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the largest processor of coconut ingredients in the Philippines to the global food & beverage market. For 125 years , our products are produced from the freshest nuts available, at one of our 3 manufacturing facilities, where proprietary process is utilized to ensure freshness and long shelf stability. We control the process from tree through shipment.

Global Organics has been providing high quality organic ingredients to food manufacturers and wholesalers since our founding in 1992. We have expertise in many ingredients that are perfect for snack foods - granulated and liquid cane sugar; chocolate chips, chunks, cocoa powder; toasted/ desiccated coconut and flavor infused chips; caramel liquids and powder; dried tropical fruit and fruit purees.

The Probiotic That Delivers GanedenBC30

Mission-Driven Agency Haberman

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

Haberman is a full-service marketing agency with a clearly defined mission—to tell the stories of pioneers making a difference in the world.

Our work spans across all channels including branding, design, advertising, PR, digital, social media and beyond. We are passionate about the good food movement and have one of the largest client portfolios in the organic + natural food space.

Nature Supplies, We Deliver Global Essence Inc.

Icon Foods: Natural Sweeteners Icon Foods

Natural Color Solutions GNT USA Inc.

GNT is the creator of EXBERRY®, the leading brand of natural colors for the food and beverage industry. EXBERRY® colors are derived solely from fruits, vegetables, and edible plants through a process of chopping, pressing, filtering and blending. We reject the use of any organic solvents or additives, opting for an entirely mechanical manufacturing process that employs only water. EXBERRY® colors are organic compliant and may be listed on ingredient labels as “fruit and vegetable juice (for color).” With over 40 years of experience coloring food with food, GNT’s team of technical specialists can guide customers through each stage of the formulation process — from color matching and stability testing to concept innovation and regulatory and compliance support. EXBERRY® natural colors can be applied to all categories of food and beverage products. Contact us for additional information and sample requests.

Healthy Ingredients Healthy Food Ingredients

Healthy Food Ingredients is a growing family of global specialty ingredient brands, which includes SK Food International, Hesco/Dakota Organic Products, Suntava, and Heartland Flax.

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

Established in 1999, Icon Foods is one of the world’s leading suppliers of natural food ingredients. We are committed to helping manufacturers bring clean, healthy food and beverages to the global market. Based in Portland, Oregon, and Salinas, Spain, Icon Foods focuses on pure, all-natural, high-intensity sweetening solutions.

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Combined, we offer non-GMO, organic, certified transitional, gluten-free, and identity preserved pulses, soybeans, grains, seeds, flax, expeller oils, and signature product Suntava Purple Corn®.

Our latest innovation, IntegriPure®, is our microbial reduction solution that means industry-leading validation for a 5-log reduction providing food safety, naturally.

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

Sales and Marketing Solutions Impact Group

Teas, Botanicals and Extracts Martin Bauer Inc.

Turn-Key Product Development MetaBrand

The Martin Bauer Group is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of tea & botanical extracts, authentic brews and raw materials for the food & beverage and nutritional supplements industries. Supplying off-the-shelf ingredients and tailor-made products for your requirements.

Safe, high quality products you can trust.

MetaBrand is a world class team of experts which helps you create, launch, or grow your food, beverage, supplement, or personal care brand. We provide strategic planning, market analysis, branding/design, product formulation and development, internal and outsourced operations and manufacturing, and sales and marketing execution. In house MICRO-PACKING for short runs and vendor samples.

Branding & Packaging Design McLean Design

Trust the monk.

MONK FRUIT CORP.

McLean Design has been creating winning food and 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.

As the world's leading monk fruit company, we produce the majority of the global monk fruit extract supply, and have the best quality and widest range of monk fruit products on the market - juices, flavors & sweetening ingredients.

We'll help you innovate or re-create great-tasting products, with less sugar and fewer calories, all from the goodness of fruit. Looking for monk fruit? Trust the monk.

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Flavor Manufacturer Mother Murphy's Laboratories

Creative Packaging Solutions ProAmpac

Mother Murphy's is a full service manufacturer dedicated to supporting customer needs through quality and flavor innovation. At Mother Murphy's we specialize in flavor and prototype development for the snack and beverage industries. We make the world taste better!

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.

Innovative Packaging Solution NEO Plastics

Beverage & Food Development PTM Food Consulting

Packaging Supplier, Aripack, is excited to announce their partnership with NEO Plastics, an innovative company offering a new tool toward a zero-waste sustainability strategy. Plastics have accumulated in landfills for decades at alarming rates. NEO can offer a solution where the problem exists. NEO Plastics are designed to convert waste to useful biogas & ultimately sustainable clean energy.

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!

Digital Labels for Craft Food New England Label

Measuring ROI & Benchmarks for Experiential Marketing

Breakthrough in Taste

okapi

PLT Health Solutions

NOT YOUR TYPICAL LABEL COMPANY

Strategic Planning

Overnight Labels, Inc.

Premium Growth Solutions

PGS is a strategy consultancy for entrepreneurs and investment firms focused on the premium end of retail food, beverage and alcohol.

I help brands plan accelerated growth.

My expertise is drawn from years of behavioral research on why consumers trade up to premium food/beverage and extensive case study research into why specific early stage brands succeed while others fail.

Key Services: • Strategic Plans (all 4Ps, consumer-audience based) • Turn-around Strategy • Innovation Strategy • Marketing Strategy • Investment due diligence Schedule your free, 30-minute consulting session any of the following ways: https://www. calendly.com/pgs/30min, james@premiumgrowthsolutions.com or 425-949-8063.

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Agility for Packaging Printpack

Innovative Growth Capital Stonegate Capital Holdings

Non-GMO, Vegan Ingredients Top Health Ingredients, Inc.

Stonegate Capital Holdings, LLC, is a diversified private credit investment firm with a unique approach to providing financing solutions to emerging brands, their sponsors and supporters.

At a time when traditional sources of debt capital limit their exposure due to risks, increasing costs, and regulations, Stonegate Capital has emerged as a stable source of liquidity for high growth brands.

Top Health Ingredients has been your trusted provider of the highest quality Non-GMO, plant-based fibers, proteins, and sweeteners for the health and wellness industry since 2009.

The exclusive supplier of AdvantaFiber™ IMO and AdvantAmino™ organic brown rice protein, Top Health proudly offers many unique, sourcecertified ingredients for healthy solutions in both food & beverage applications!

Non-GMO Reb M and Reb D Sweegen

Fruit Ingredients Tree Top, Inc.

Sweegen brings you Non-GMO Project Verified stevia leaf sweeteners BESTEVIA® Reb M and Reb D for optimal sugar reduction in your food applications. Our products offer clean, sugarlike taste and can be used as flavors and as sweeteners. Our application experts support you to find the ideal use level for your products! Visit our website for more information.

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

Antioxidants Made Snackable Purely Pomegranate, Inc.

Chemical-Free FAST Desiccant Soggy Food Sucks LLC

Synergy - Inspiring Taste Synergy Flavors

Our organic and conventional dried pomegranate arils maintain the natural sweet and tart flavor of the fresh fruit without the hassle and mess.

They are shelf stable, gluten free, non-GMO and contain no sulfites, artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Appearing very similar to the fresh version, the dried arils have terrific piece identity.

Patented tech removes moisture fast, keeping your customers' foods crisp, reducing food waste. This peal and stick adhesive pad is a universal solution working with all of your existing packaging. Uses dew point temperature, NOT nasty chemicals, to force condensation, and wick it away from your customers' foods FAST. No affect on food temp. Let your customers enjoy your food the way you intended

Synergy Flavors is a global manufacturer and supplier of flavorings, extracts, and essences for the food, beverage and nutrition industries.

With more than 130 years of expertise, Synergy combines a heritage of flavor development with proprietary extraction technology to deliver high quality taste solutions that captivate the senses and inspire innovation.

Bold & Creative Package Design Sabik Design

Leap-inducing Brand Packaging Stebbings Partners

Branding and Packaging Design The GRO Agency

Sabik Design specializes in branding & packaging for the food and beverage space. We pride ourselves on design that is bold, fresh, and unique, using a lot of handwritten and hand-drawn elements and creative illustrations.

Our goal is to create packaging that demands to be grabbed off the shelf through impactful and meaningful design. We are here to turn heads and steal hearts <3!

Stebbings Partners is a multi-disciplinary creative studio that balances strategy and design to craft unique and thoughtful food & beverage brands. Our team of designers, strategists and writers work with courageous clients to shape, launch and grow brands that stand apart, start conversations, and build trust with consumers.

Let’s talk. We’d love to hear your story.

GRO is a branding and packaging design agency specializing in food and beverage. We’ve been creating brand stories that resonate, brand communication that engages and packaging that motivates for over 30 years! We live innovation, brand strategy and packaging design. Our team of creative strategists, designers, and digital gurus in NYC and LA are true CPG brand development experts.

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COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

360 Merchandising Solutions, LLC

Dave Gossman

Newport

KY

(859) 392-5200

360merch.com

—

—

—

(844) 441-3663

adm.com/food

ALO Snacks by SPI West Port

Drew Pawlan

South San Francisco

CA

(650) 616-7777

alosnacks.com

Alter Eco Foods

Amber Isaacs

San Francisco

CA

(415) 701-1212

alterecofoods.com

ADM

Arlington Capital Advisors Avure HPP Technologies - JBT Axiom Foods AZ Laboratories Bascom Maple Farms, Inc.

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

John Goldasich

Birmingham

AL

(205) 488-4384

arlingtoncapitaladvisors.com

Lisa Wessels (Pitzer)

Erlanger

KY

(859) 534-1545

avure-hpp-foods.com

David Janow

Los Angeles

CA

(800) 711-3587

axiomfoods.com

Dr. Zhaoxing Shi

Tempe

AZ

(480) 717-7813

azlaboratories.com

Cindy Finck

Brattleboro

VT

(802) 257-8100

maplesource.com

Bay State Milling

Colleen Zammer

Quincy

MA

(617) 328-4400

baystatemilling.com

BEAR

Lindsay Bennett

Charlotte

NC

(415) 539-8358

bearnibbles.com

BeeFree Warrior Mix

Jennifer Wiese

Noblesville

IN

(800) 677-4840

beefreegf.com

Belgian Boys

Anouck Gotlib

Brooklyn

NY

(212) 634-4769

belgianboys.com

Big Brands, LLC

Zach Mosesian

Las Vegas

NV

(702) 476-1021

usbeveragemanufacturing.com

—

Los Angeles

CA

(310) 315-4129

bonkbreaker.com

Cassie Wolff

New York

NY

(845) 558-9122

bouforyou.com

Grant Christopher

Austin

TX

(214) 577-9332

Jeff Rakity

Branchburg

NJ

—

Chase Hagerman

Austin

TX

(866) 907-0400

cheminutra.com

Dan Reed

Addison

IL

(630) 629-9667

dandiesmarshmallows.com

Ciranda, Inc.

Tonya Lofgren

Hudson

WI

—

Clearly Kombucha LLC

Alison Zarrow

Fairfield

CA

—

Creation Nation

Karen Nation

Malibu

CA

(424) 234-5800

Bonk Breaker Nutrition BOU Brands Bridge Leasing Group Brookside Flavors & Ingr.

Chemi Nutra Chicago Vegan Foods

bridgeleasinggroup.com/ brooksideflavors.com

ciranda.com clearlykombucha.com ProteinBarMix.com

Creative Aligments

Peggy Shell

Boulder

CO

(303) 835-9066

creativealignments.com

Crickstart Food Co.

Gabby Faraggi

Montreal

QC

(888) 997-3629

crickstart.com

Emmy's Organics, Inc.

Gian Khalsa

Ithaca

NY

—

Enjoy Life Foods

—

Chicago

IL

(888) 503-6569

enjoylifefoods.com

Farbest Brands

Lorna Samgour

Park Ridge

NJ

(201) 573-4900

farbest.com

Field Trip Snacks

emmysorganics.com

Tom Donigan

Brooklyn

NY

(646) 681-8601

fieldtripsnacks.com

Delaney Brown

Montreal

QC

(844) 363-6277

fodyfoods.com

Franklin Baker Inc.

Peter Kamen

Memphis

TN

(901) 881-6681

franklinbaker.com

Fruit Bliss

Susan Leone

Brooklyn

NY

(646) 225-6565

fruitbliss.com

GanedenBC30

—

Cleveland

OH

(440) 229-5200

GanedenBC30.com

Glanbia Nutritionals

—

Chicago

IL

(844) 303-7304

glanbianutritionals.com

Fody Foods

Global Essence Inc.

—

Hamilton

NJ

(732) 677-1100

globalessence.com

Global Organics, Ltd.

—

Cambridge

MA

(781) 648-8844

global-organics.com

Jeannette O'Brien

Tarrytown

NY

(914) 524-0600

gnt-group.com

GNT USA Inc. Golden Valley Natural

Nate Klingler

Shelley

ID

(208) 227-9000

GoldenValleyNatural.com

Haberman

Sunny Fenton

Minneapolis

MN

(612) 338-3900

modernstorytellers.com

Healthy Food Ingredients Honey Mama's Hummus Pods® Icon Foods Impact Group KPOP Foods

Joni Huffman

Fargo

ND

(844) 275-3443

HFIfamily.com

Allie Cunningham

Portland

OR

(503) 799-1780

honeymamas.com

Levon Kurkjian

Providence

RI

(401) 270-4728

modpodco.com

Thom King

Portland

OR

(310) 455-9876

iconfoods.com

—

—

—

—

impactgrp.com

Theo Lee

Los Angeles

CA

(833) 573-4357

kpopfoods.com

Lebby Snacks

Kayla Mason

Brooklyn

NY

(917) 238-0848

lebbysnacks.com

Little Bird Kitchen

Corey Meyer

Plainview

NY

(646) 620-6395

LittleBirdKitchen.com

Martin Bauer Inc.

—

Secaucus

NJ

(201) 659-3100

martin-bauer-group.us

Rifle Hughes

Walnut Creek

CA

(925) 944-9500

mclean-design.com

Nick Andlinger

Edison

NJ

(732) 983-5915

metabrandcorp.com

McLean Design MetaBrand

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COMPANY Mikey's MONK FRUIT CORP. Mother Murphy's Laboratories

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

—

Bethlehem

PA

—

mikeysmuffins.com

Jack Heffern

Libertyville

IL

(847) 367-6665

monkfruitcorp.com

Morgan Murphy

Greensboro

NC

(800) 849-1277

mothermurphys.com

Mozaics, LLC

James Curley

Chicago

IL

(773) 459-1450

mozaicschips.com

NEO Plastics

Isak Bengiyat

Brooklyn

NY

(646) 542-1499

neoplastics.com

New England Label

Ryan Dunlevy

Andover

MA

(617) 990-7372

newenglandlabel.com

Peter Morgante

Peterborough

NH

(603) 831-2800

NuttinOrdinary.com

NuttZo

Shel Dougherty

San Diego

CA

(484) 201-4962

NuttZo.com

okapi

Shane Freeman

St. Louis

MO

(308) 440-5011

okapihq.com

Nuttin Ordinary

Organic Valley Overnight Labels, Inc. Panco Foods

Sales Administration

La Farge

WI

(888) 444-6455

organicvalley.coop

Don Earl

Deer Park

NY

(800) 472-5753

overnightlabels.com

Michael Pan

Vancouver

WA

(224) 627-3355

mushroomjerky.com

perfectlyfree(R)

Patrick Maguire

Boston

MA

(617) 491-6600

perfectlyfree.com/fruit-bites

PLT Health Solutions

Mark Stephens

Morristown

NJ

(973) 984-0900

plthealth.com

Premium Growth Solutions

James Richardson

Seattle

WA

(425) 949-8063

Primal Kitchen

Annie Martin

Oxnard

CA

—

premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Printpack

Karen English

Atlanta

GA

(404) 460-7403

printpack.com/digital-press

ProAmpac

—

Cincinnati

OH

(513) 671-1777

proampac.com

primalkitchen.com

Protes

Ryan Wiltse

Brooklyn

NY

(703) 869-3413

eatprotes.com

PTM Food Consulting

Ryan Dolan

Point Pleasant

NJ

(888) 736-6339

ptmfood.com

Purely Pomegranate, Inc.

Brian Klein

Newport Beach

CA

(949) 489-3800

purelypomegranate.com

Matt Weiss

New York

NY

(802) 828-7463

rindsnacks.com

Patrick Wong

Oakland

CA

(510) 780-0300

butchersbonebroth.com

RIND Snacks Rotisystems Inc Sabik Design

Hannah Hart

Denver

CO

(513) 582-9625

sabikdesign.com

Saffron Road

Shawnna Hall-Enoch

Stamford

CT

(203) 961-1954

saffronroad.com

SmashPack

Kari Simpson

Irvine

CA

(949) 333-4675

smashpack.com

Bill Birgen

Tempe

AZ

(480) 242-7600

SoggyFoodSucks.com

Soggy Food Sucks LLC Sprout Foods, Inc.

Meghan Earnest

Montvale

NJ

(201) 746-9245

sproutorganicfoods.com

Stebbings Partners

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Attleboro Falls

MA

(508) 699-7899

stebbings.com

Heather La Freniere

Chicago

IL

(312) 288-3099

sghcap.com

Katharina Pueller

Foothill Ranch

CA

(949) 709-0583

sweegen.com

Joe Boehrer

Wauconda

IL

(847) 487-1011

synergytaste.com

That's it.

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Los Angeles

CA

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thatsitfruit.com

The Daily Crave

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Folsom

CA

—

thedailycrave.com

Stonegate Capital Holdings Sweegen Synergy Flavors

The GFB: Gluten Free Bar

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Grand Rapids

MI

(616) 755-8432

The Good Crisp Company

Steve Wangler

Boulder

CO

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The GRO Agency

Kelly Criswell

New York / Los Angeles

CA

(212) 725-6710

thegroagency.com

The Healthy Crunch Company

thegfb.com thegoodcrispcompany.com

Julie Bednarski

Toronto

ON

(416) 575-9531

healthycrunch.com

Andrew Ford

Columbus

MD

(443) 980-9409

thesnackbrigade.com

Top Health Ingredients, Inc.

Brittany DeMarco

Edmonton

ON

(780) 439-1425

tophealthingredients.com

Tree Top, Inc.

Jeannie Swedberg

Selah

WA

(509) 698-1435

treetopingredients.com

The Snack Brigade

Tres Latin Foods

Bridget Skoog

Denver

CO

—

treslatinfoods.com

Watermelon Road

Jamie Melzer

New York

NY

—

watermelonroad.com

Wedderspoon Manuka Honey

Briana Belden

Malvern

PA

—

wedderspoon.com

White Leaf Provisions

MEGHAN ROWE

Mount Pleasant

SC

(843) 352-7615

whiteleafprovisions.com

Bill Moran

Boulder

CO

(720) 328-0843

wildechips.com

John McHugh

Boulder

CO

(303) 875-5196

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Quincy

MA

—

Sarah Sturtevant

Amesbury

MA

(978) 834-6494

Wilde Brands Wildmade Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt yuso onigiri

wildmadesnacks.com yasso.com yusogood.com 81

PROMO PARADE

INDUSTRY PROMOTIONS & EVENTS

Luc Belaire Partners with Young Thug In August, Luc Belaire launched BELAIRE LUXE ROSÉ, the fourth cuvée in its smash-hit portfolio, and named rap artist Young Thug as the official brand ambassador. This captivating new creation joins the brand’s signature Belaire Rosé, exquisite Belaire Gold, and wildly popular Belaire Luxe, and reinforces Belaire’s meteoric rise in the wine world.

Belaire’s trajectory has been galvanized by its affinity with globally recognized music stars like Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Steve Aoki, Post Malone, Dave East, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and G Herbo, among others. They are part of an ambassador network of more than 200 influential personalities that support Belaire around the world. Each ambassador - whether a top recording artist, DJ, producer or social media influencer - works with Belaire as a collaborator, with the iconic bubbly brand supporting the ambassador.

Today, Belaire is excited to welcome trend-setting rapper Young Thug to its family as the official brand ambassador for BELAIRE LUXE ROSÉ.

To celebrate the partnership, Young Thug stars in a com-

mercial for LUXE ROSÉ with guest appearances from Rick Ross and DJ Khaled.

BELAIRE LUXE ROSÉ perfectly complements the existing Belaire range, combining the fresh fruit aromas of the best-selling Belaire Rosé with the richness of Belaire Luxe and the crystal-clear bottle and embossed foil labels of Belaire Gold. Made at the brand’s award-winning winery in Provence, Belaire Luxe Rosé is crafted from a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault grapes with a dosage of oak-aged Syrah for an exquisite deep pink color. Fresh strawberry and raspberry aromas, berry flavors and a slight touch of wood on the palate give this delectable wine the perfect finish.

Of his new role, Young Thug stated, "I’m a trendsetter, I redefine the rules and I challenge the status quo. That’s what matters to me. Belaire is a brand which speaks to that outlook and that aesthetic. I tasted the Luxe Rosé and I was blown away - it really has it all, the taste and the style.

The opportunity to be part of the Belaire family came up and I jumped at it! I’m looking forward to redefining the landscape together."

Chivas Partners with Manchester United The original luxury blended Scotch whisky, Chivas, has teamed up with the world’s biggest football club, Manchester United, in a three-year global partnership.

The collaboration will see Chivas and Manchester United join forces to celebrate their collective belief that blended is better – in life, football and Scotch.

Just as Chivas brings together Scotland’s best malt and grain whiskies to create something extraordinary in the bottle,

82 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Manchester United brings together the world’s best footballers, a dedicated club team and a legion of fans all around the world to create extraordinary results on the pitch.

The partnership was revealed to fans in advance of the Club’s first Premier League home game of the 2018/19 season, through a film that explores the unique blend of characteristics that make up the Manchester United team. Shot in Los Angeles

during the Club’s pre-season tour, the film stars an array of Manchester United first team players revealing an often unseen side to them, showing what defines who they are, both on and off the pitch.

The partnership will be brought to life through a 360 campaign activated across all touchpoints globally. Chivas branding will also be displayed on digital perimeter boards at Old Trafford as well as throughout the stadium