BevNET Magazine September/October 2020

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020

SQUEEZE PLAY Juice Grows During Covid-19

2020

NATURAL SNACK GUIDE KIDS BEVERAGES ADAPT TO COVID-19

HOW IMPORT BEER IS DRIVING DOLLAR GROWTH

BRAND NEWS: PLANT-BASED WATER, LEMONADE

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Contents / September – October 2020 / Volume 18 / No. 5

NATURAL SNACK GUIDE • 2020

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48

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62

COLUMNS

FEATURES

6 First Drop Taking Action

36 Juice Temporary Refreshment -- Juice Sales Are Up During COVID-19 -- But Will That Last? With Juice Brand News

8 Publisher’s Toast Thoughts From Walks 32 Gerry’s Insights COVID Cash

48 Kid’s Beverages Class Acts - Kids Beverages in the Age of COVID-19

DEPARTMENTS

56 Imported Beer The Importance of Imports: A Look at The Import Beer Category in 2020

10 Bevscape/NOSHscape/Brewscape Polar Agrees KDP Distribution Deal; Sovos Brands Acquires Birch Benders; Craft Brewers Face CO2 Squeeze 24 New Products Functional, CBD and Spirits

SPECIAL SECTION 62 Natural Snack Guide with services and suppliers

28 Channel Check Spotlight on Milk Substitutes 88 Promo Parade Jones Soda Reunites With Tony Hawk, Body Armor Is Official U.S. Open Sponsor

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5

THE FIRST DROP

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN

A Time to Act There’s so much trouble in the world.

You don’t need Bob Marley to tell you that. And you don’t even have Toots Hibbert to tell you that anymore, in fact.

I’m writing this a couple of days after Marley’s great contemporary passed away from complications related to COVID-19. I’m hoping that he and John Prine are working on songs somewhere, maybe with a couple of vodka gingers and the world’s longest funny cigarette.

We can hope, of course, but again, so much trouble in the world. As of today, as I write this, we’re 50 days until the election, the West Coast is on fire, COVID-19 isn’t going away but hunger is increasingly becoming an issue due to economic collapse, people are battling over the effects of systemic racism in wealth creation and entrepreneurship, and warnings abound that a majority of restaurants may close as winter approaches.

Additionally, more than 70 percent of students are now in full or partial remote learning situations -- exacerbating inequality for the neediest groups. Halloween is likely next on the list of national cancellations, with the odd combination of the Hershey Co. and public health officials currently teaming up to try to save the one holiday that makes the return to school worthwhile.

Even worse, your friendly neighborhood beverage trade magazine editor hasn’t even touched on the subject of the beverage trades. Even here, you can’t look away from the careening car crash that is our present reality.

Now, I’m not going to get political beyond what loyal readers already know about me, which is that I’m an I-told-youso knee jerk liberal who will almost always vote for any tax increase. But that’s me; that’s what I say, that’s what I do.

The question is, what do you say?

What do you do? Actions do speak louder than words, and if you’re interested in actions, what is available?

As this is my column, I’ve got a few suggestions: First of all, that election is soon. So no matter which side you’re on, it’s important to uphold democracy. Give your em6 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 2020

ployees time off to vote. Give them the chance to work the polls, if they’re young enough and low-risk enough. Whoever is president next year is going to have to deal with the fallout of everything discussed above.

Some industry friends recently came up with at least a few suggestions under a movement we’re collectively calling Grow the Vote: • Engage in discussion with your peers on what they are doing to support voting.

• Provide paid time off for voting or working the polls.

• Post your state guidelines for all to see on how to vote early or by absentee ballot.

• Encourage voting through sharing links in your social media that help people fi nd the answers they need, including action items they can take to engage.

• Be inspired and inspire others to be part of the solution.

Second, let’s get involved.

Fires: It’s easy to be paralyzed by the pain and destruction around us, but action helps us get better. LifeAid co-founder Aaron Hinde lost his home in one of the fi res raging around Santa Cruz this August, but he hasn’t lost hope. He marshalled his team and the Santa Cruz community to start a GoFundMe campaign for survivors and the displaced in the area. To help, donate to Santa Cruz Fire Aid on GoFundMe or in other regions to the American Red Cross, or just plain give blood -- that’s another resource that’s starting to be stressed during the pandemic.

Hunger: Brands are so good about donating products to areas and groups that need help. But it’s hard to truck brands to international locations -- donations to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) can help fight hunger worldwide. As beverage makers, you’re all masters of distribution, but when it comes to distribution of hunger aid, in the U.S. no one does it better than Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, which

helps to get food to more than 200 food banks, 60,000 food pantries, and millions of Americans who are now fighting hunger amidst the pandemic.

Systemic Racism: Whether or not you’re interested in protests, here’s the issue -minorities are vastly underrepresented as founders, board members, executives, and investors in the food and beverage business. They receive less media attention, have less access to capital, and are also fighting their way uphill in an economy and a democracy that is designed to work better for white people. Whether or not you agree with the structural notion engendered within the concept of systemic racism, there are still organizations you can support that are designed to create better opportunities for success for minorities and for women alike. Check out new networking/mentoring/social event organization Project Potluck, which is building a deeper bench of minority entrepreneurs and employees.

Restaurant Workers: if Guy Fieri could help, so can you. Fieri -- owner of one of the worst-reviewed restaurants of all time -- used his bully pulpit this summer to raise more than $21 million for restaurant workers. There are a number of national resources based around funneling more money to restaurants and their employees, including the Southern Smoke Foundation and the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation. Your money can help -- and rebuilding food service is a way to help rebuild a key channel for you, as well.

We know you can’t do anything to send kids back to school. Helping hunger organizations remains a big way to assist with education, however, as school lunches have fast become support organizations fighting hunger through backpack programs and other aid disbursements. Again, local food pantries are the key here. But beyond that, for students, there’s one other thing we can do, and it ties in with Halloween. Let’s donate to UNICEF collectively, just like we used to carry those little boxes around. Sometimes giving aid is the best trick -- and treat -- there is.

Photo by Samara Doole on Unsplash

PUBLISHER’S TOAST

BY BARRY NATHANSON

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www.bevnet.com/magazine

Barry J. Nathanson PUBLISHER bnathanson@bevnet.com Jeffrey Klineman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF jklineman@bevnet.com Martín Caballero MANAGING EDITOR mcaballero@bevnet.com Ray Latif CONTRIBUTING EDITOR rlatif@bevnet.com Brad Avery REPORTER bavery@bevnet.com Justin Kendall NEWS EDITOR, BREWBOUND jkendall@bevnet.com Carol Ortenberg EDITOR, NOSH cortenberg@bevnet.com Erin Cabrey EDITORIAL ASSISTANT ecabrey@bevnet.com

SALES

John McKenna DIRECTOR OF SALES jmckenna@bevnet.com

Thoughts From Walks As we have passed the threshold of Labor Day, I thought it would be a good time to look back over the last six months, a time unlike anything we have lived through before. About a month ago, encouraged by the fact that pretty much no one else was heading back in, I felt comfortable enough to start walking back downtown to my office.

The four-mile walk, through Central Park, then down Fifth or Sixth Avenues, has given me plenty of time to look back over the state of our world, personally and professionally. The round trip has also resulted in keeping me fit and losing weight, not bad outcomes. Here are some observations.

It’s very bizarre to see these usually packed avenues of Manhattan, the epicenter of commerce, so empty. I heard on the news this morning that only about one in ten office workers has returned. If this is a reflection of business today, it’s not surprising that so many companies, beverages among them, are struggling to keep themselves afloat. If the money people aren’t confident, or even present, then it doesn’t bode well.

Yet, there are positive financial signs.

I’ve seen many brands raising money and garnering celebrity investors during the pandemic. It seems very arbitrary at times: So many brands are very good, have terrific packaging and strong marketing initiatives but can’t see the light of day.

8 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Adam Stern SENIOR ACCOUNT SPECIALIST astern@bevnet.com

I truly feel for them. It bothers me that I can’t give them a reasonable answer as to why they cannot get the investment when they pour out their heart. Kudos to the ones forging ahead.

Most brands are over the shock of the shutdown and are finally restarting their marketing programs, new SKUs, and pushes toward expansion. The end of fall is the height of the sell-in season, and they realize that they must go forward. That’s the best sign of all.

You can do just so much ecommerce to bring in enough revenue to keep going; I think it’s been a great Band-Aid, but it is not a sustainable business model.

It’s nice to be able to see beverage friends again. I’ve been meeting people in the city parks and for outdoor meals.

It actually feels normal. They are able to conduct business with their present and potential clients again. Travel seems to be picking up; a good thing, since I still think that face to face meetings are key to success.

I’m impressed that most businesses are doing the right things for their employees, enabling them to make life decisions as to what works best for them. Working at home isn’t the greatest, but it sure is the safest. We’ll all look back at the time spent with one’s children as a blessing in disguise.

Let’s all head into the new business year with renewed excitement and energy.

John Fischer ACCOUNT SPECIALIST jfischer@bevnet.com Jon Landis SENIOR BRAND SPECIALIST jlandis@bevnet.com

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BEVSCAPE

THE LATEST BEVERAGE BRAND NEWS

Califia Farms Names Dave Ritterbush CEO; Steltenpohl Stays as Board Member Plant-based food and beverage maker Califia Farms announced in August the appointment of CPG industry veteran Dave Ritterbush as CEO. The company’s founder and longtime chief executive Greg Steltenpohl remains on the board as an Executive Director.

Speaking with BevNET, Steltenpohl said he had planned for “several years” to retire from the role when he turned 65 years old. Now going on 66, Steltenpohl said he believes that freeing himself from the day-to-day operations of running Califia will allow him to become a better advocate for the plant-based food industry.

Ritterbush comes to Califia from Quest Nutrition, where he served as president and CEO and led the company to a $1

billion acquisition by The Simply Good Foods Co. last year. Prior to Quest, he held CEO positions at Popchips and Premier Nutrition Corp. and also served as VP and general manager of Red Bull North America from 2007 to 2009.

Ritterbush said his goal for Califia is to continue growing the core business — which includes both plant-based milks and coffee products — while also continuing to introduce “thoughtful innovation.”

Earlier this year the brand introduced a line of plant butters, and Ritterbush said it will continue to look beyond beverage as the platform expands.

Greg Steltenpohl served as CEO of Califia since its founding in 2010. Though he plans to have a hands on role with the

brand and with Ritterbush (his successors’ track record of working closely with founders played a significant role in the hiring decision), he believes leaving the company in new, younger hands will help Califia to continue scaling as a national and international brand.

Moving into the Executive Director role, Steltenpohl said he will continue to develop product ideas and strategies for Califia, but his first goal is to better get to know Ritterbush and help bring him up to speed on the company’s operations.

Hint Closes $25M Round Flavored water maker Hint, Inc. announced in August that it raised $25 million in a series D funding round that will help support the company’s continued growth over the next several years.

The round was led by prior investor Springboard Growth Capital (SGC), a firm focused on funding mid-stage CPG companies founded by women, and also includes investments from Philippe Laffont, Gingerbread Capital and Medina Heights Capital Partners. The round brings the company’s total financing to over $50 million and follows a $17.5 million raise last year.

“With Hint, we’ve found a brand that has successfully challenged the status quo to create a dynamic beverage category for the increasingly health conscious consumer,” said Amy Wildstein, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Springboard Growth Capital, in a press release. “Hint’s strong platform of both online and retail distribution has proven to be a tremendous asset – especially in the current environment – and my partners and I are pleased to continue to support the brand, [CEO Kara Goldin], and her team through Hint’s next phase of growth.”

The financing also comes as Hint experiences high double digit sales growth, with the brand up 80% for the 52-week period ending July 12, according to market research firm SPINS. In a call, Hint CEO Kara Goldin noted that the company is

10 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

profitable and that the round was not directly intended for any specific initiatives but will rather support the brand’s long term growth strategy.

The raise comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which required Hint to refocus growth efforts into the online channel.

According to Goldin, roughly 15% of the brand’s business had been food service and office sales — channels that largely shut down in March. That month, she said Hint worked quickly to redirect its budget towards expanding its direct-to-consumer business, which now accounts for roughly 60% of sales.

In addition to DTC, Hint also worked directly with retail partners at the height of consumer panic buying to streamline merchandising and stocking on shelf. Goldin also wrote a personalized public letter sent to consumers via the brand’s mailing list, which she credited as securing a bond between the brand and its customers in the midst of a crisis.

BEVSCAPE

THE LATEST BEVERAGE BRAND NEWS

Lemon Perfect Closes Convertible Note, Capping $11.6M Seed Round Fast-growing beverage maker Lemon Perfect announced the closing of a $6.6 million funding round that brings its total seed financing from pre-revenue stage to $11.6 million.

The round was led by CPG-focused private equity firms Skyview Capital, Beechwood Capital and The Big Squeeze. They were joined by Goat Rodeo Capital, LivWell Ventures, Melitas Ventures, R3 Venture Products, the RCV Frontline Fund and the Stage 1 fund.

The $6.6 million in funding, closed in June, is the brand’s third convertible note round; the first closed in Q2 2018, followed by a second one year later. All three rounds are being considered as a “stack” valued at $11.6 million, representing the brand’s total seed round financing from pre-revenue to present day. The company’s valuation has accelerated over the past two years, said Yanni Hufnagel, a former men’s college basketball coach who launched the brand in 2018.

The California-based company has quickly found an audience at retail, as its line of organic, cold-pressed lemon-infused waters have gained placement in 3,000 stores primarily in the Northeast, Southeast and Southern California. Lemon Perfect’s diverse roster of investors now spans to over 100 shareholders, with checks ranging from $500,000 to over $1 million, according to Hufnagel. Those include former Bai COO Barak

Bar-Cohen and Prakash Janakiraman and co-founder of the app Nextdoor.

Yet the brand has also connected with celebrities and athletes in particular. Nine current or former NBA players — Blake Griffin, Channing Frye and Josh Hart among them — are investors, as are ESPN basketball analyst Jordan Schultz, Missouri Tigers men’s basketball head coach Cuonzo Martin and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Lindsay Gottlieb, and Mike Levine, co-head of sports agency CAA Sports.

With a foundation in place upon which to build, Hufnagel said the brand is ready to “flip the switch” on driving awareness through its high-profile partners.

The new funding will go towards further supporting Lemon Perfect’s ultimate goal of establishing a nationwide DSD network, a process that has accelerated since the brand switched from refrigerated to shelf-stable products in January. The company has established a foothold in New York through Big Geyser, and in July added both Classic Beverage and John Lenore & Co. to service accounts in Southern California. Looking ahead to 2021, Hufnagel said Lemon Perfect is prioritizing securing DSD distribution “from Maine to Virginia” and on the West Coast, as well as partnering with strategic national retailers in other regions.

Health-Ade’s New FunctionForward ‘Plus’ Line Launching at Whole Foods

In discussions with Whole Foods, as well as from interacting with customers and friends, Trout said the company found that regular kombucha consumers and health-minded shoppers were seeking more functionality and daily benefits in their kombucha. From there, the brand honed in on seven flavors each tied to different benefits and ingredients, but also to specific daily use occasions. Though Health-Ade Plus had been in development since before the U.S. outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trout said that consumer interest in immunity and gut health products helped spur the company to move up the schedule.

The launch of Health-Ade Plus marks another expansion for the brand’s product family, which now includes 14 flavors in its core line (in multiple package sizes) and three varieties of Health-Ade Booch Pop. Trout reiterated the company will continue to support its flagship kombuchas, while communicating the uniqueness of Health-Ade Plus through messaging and package labeling in order to prevent cannibalization. For Booch Pop, designed as a better-for-you soda alternative, reaching the right consumer is more important, at least initially, than delivering high revenue, she noted.

Health-Ade Kombucha debuted its second new product line this year with the August launch of Health-Ade Plus, a seven-SKU line featuring functional ingredients aimed at specific needs and use occasions.

Health-Ade Plus is rolling out in 16 oz. glass bottles in seven flavors: Hydrate (Mint, Cucumber, Lemon, Potassium); Beauty (Strawberry, Rose, Biotin, Silica); Energy (Lemon, Basil, Gurana); Chill (Lavender, Vanilla, Passion Flower); Happy (Orange, Vanilla, L-Theanine); Belly Reset (Ginger, Pineapple, Extra Probiotics); and Immunity (Ginger, Turmeric, Black Pepper).

The suggested retail price for each is $4.29, and the line will be offered exclusively at Whole Foods Market through the end of this year before expanding nationally in 2021.

With Health-Ade Plus, the Los Angeles-based company is taking another step in its evolution from premium kombucha maker to a broader better-for-you beverage platform that encompasses a range of bubbly drinks, explained CEO and co-founder Daina Trout. But unlike the company’s most recent innovation Health-Ade Booch Pop — a three-SKU line of prebiotic sodas released in June, which is targeting new consumers — Health-Ade Plus has been crafted to give dedicated kombucha drinkers more options on the shelf.

12 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

For more stories, check out Bevnet.com

Polar Seals Nationwide Seltzer Distribution Pact With KDP

While KDP has been actively reshaping its bottled water portfolio over recent years, the company’s presence in the booming sparkling water category remains limited to products under the Canada Dry and Schweppes banners. Earlier this year, it acquired Chicago-based Limitless, maker of a caffeinated sparkling water line, for an undisclosed fee.

The Polar deal puts KDP in position to compete more aggressively with Coca-Cola (AHA) and PepsiCo (Bubly) for space in a thriving beverage segment.

“Polar Seltzer is an iconic and leading brand in the Northeast, and we are eager to expand that growth across the country,” said Derek Hopkins, KDP Chief Commercial Officer.

“The sparkling water category shows no sign of slowing down and our already strong partnership with Polar Beverages will accelerate our ability to ensure that Polar Seltzer is available wherever consumers shop.”

“You’re seeing explosive growth [from Polar] and we, as I said before, could have come at this just by an acquisition, we could have come at it by trying to develop our own brand and we thought this was the best way to go,” said KDP CEO Bob Gamgort during the Q&A portion of the company’s Q2 earnings call. “This is the highest velocity brand in the category.

They have one challenge, and that is they’re only in about a third of the country.”

Massachusetts-based Polar Beverages has secured a longterm manufacturing and distribution agreement with Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) for its 35-SKU line of seltzer products, the companies announced in July. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Polar’s Seltzers, as well as its Seltzer’ade and Seltzer Jr. products, will be integrated into the majority of KDP’s directstore-delivery (DSD) distribution network, according to a release. Polar, which has manufactured and distributed KDP beverages for decades in the Northeast, will continue to manufacture and sell its seltzer products in existing territories, as will some select distribution partners. The company will “continue to drive marketing, brand and innovation leadership.”

“We are very proud of Polar Seltzer’s 138-year heritage and independent spirit,” said Polar president and CEO Ralph D. Crowley Jr. “Our expanded partnership with KDP opens a dynamic new chapter, and we look forward to sharing our family of seltzers with their unrivaled sales and distribution network.”

The partnership is set to widely expand availability for Polar’s seltzer products, which currently has a nationwide presence under 35%. The brand, a family owned and operated company based in Worcester, Mass. since 1882, markets both flavored and unflavored seltzer varieties in a variety of formats, as well as other soft drinks and refreshment beverages.

Through June 30, the company has seen seltzer MULO sales (including c-stores) increase 14.8% year-over-year, according to data from IRI. 13

The Ally You Need, Today And Always Whether in boom times or those of uncertainty, trusted and reliable partners will always be your most valuable assets. It’s why Zuckerman Honickman, which has supported beverage brands with consistent service and innovative packaging solutions for over a century, is the preeminent resource for our industry.

A name synonymous with beverage packaging, Zuckerman Honickman has operated without interruption during the most chal-

lenging moments in our country’s history and always delivered the highest value to its clients, which have ranged from entrepreneurial companies to those marketing iconic brands including Pepsi, Vitaminwater, Honest Tea and Bai. “When you’ve been around for 100 years you have to have insight all along the way to stay successful,” said Ken Sadowsky, the senior food and beverage advisor for global investment firm Verlinvest and known as ‘The Beverage

Whisperer.’ “That comes with the right people, at the right time and the integrity and that are cornerstones of generational success in business. That is harder these days given the rapid rate of change that is happening today in the world.”

THE EARLY-STAGE ADVANTAGE A hallmark of the company’s business model is its commitment to working with early-stage entrepreneurs. Years before Keurig Dr Pepper acquired Bai for $1.7 billion

dollars, the brand was, like many in its cohort, small and relatively unproven. Nevertheless, Zuckerman Honickman was ready and willing to work with the founding team on a packaging strategy that would support the brand’s unique positioning and its ability to scale.

“From our days at Bai and now with Crook & Marker, we’ve enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Zuckerman Honickman,” said Ken Kurtz, former president of Bai and current CEO of spiked beverage brand Crook & Marker.

“When you are a young, entrepreneurial company looking to expand quickly, having a packaging partner that understands your needs and vision is critical.

The team at Zuckerman Honickman has a unique ability to help companies like ours solve for early stages of growth through the highest-quality packaging, which has supported the strength of the industry overall.”

Praise for Zuckerman Honickman’s dedication to trust and open lines of communication is common among highly successful brands aligned with the company, especially those that have disrupted traditional beverage categories and paved a path for others to follow.

“Building successful beverage brands requires reliable supplier relationships and Zuckerman Honickman has been more than a supplier to us; they are true partners and have come through for us at every stage of the BODYARMOR business,” said John Camus, VP Operations, BODYARMOR. “I have personally worked with Michael

Zuckerman and his team for more than 20 years, and they have never let us down.”

LEADING THE WAY IN DISRUPTIVE AND INNOVATIVE PACKAGING And while Zuckerman Honickman’s expertise in traditional package types is unsurpassed, the company has maintained a focus on cutting edge technology to support new product launches that will resonate with modern consumers.

“When it’s time to think outside the bottle, I reach out to Zuckerman Honickman,” said Todd Carmichael, Co-Founder/CEO, La Colombe Coffee Roasters. “Their ability to immediately understand our vision is remarkable, making any project that much more enjoyable and ultimately more successful.”

The company has long been on the front lines of sustainable packaging solutions, including the introduction of the first 100 percent recyclable PET bottle, a package that has since been embraced as a standard for plastic containers.

And amid surging consumer demand for biodegradable bottles, Zuckerman Honickman partnered with Pulp Packaging International (PPI), a manufacturer of environmentally sustainable bottles made from molded pulp. The two companies are united in their efforts to bring PPI’s patented, disruptive technology to beverage suppliers across the world -- and at an affordable cost.

“When Pulp Pak was looking for a distribution partner in the early stages of our business, we were

referred to Zuckerman Honickman,” Lee Green, CEO, Pulp Pak International. “After a short time we knew they were the right partner for us because of their knowledge of the industry, experience and forward-looking vision. Now we have expanded into other industries with Zuckerman Honickman by our side. I couldn’t be happier about our decision to work together.”

Zuckerman Honickman President

Michael Zuckerman has spearheaded the company’s innovation strategy, which has produced an evolving portfolio of packaging options that can meet the needs of companies at any stage of development.

“Innovation is, always has been and always will be a focus of ours,” Zuckerman said. “Over the last several decades we have participated in major pivots within the beverage packaging space. Our

focus now is decidedly on sustainability and expanding our renewable offerings. We have a dedicated sustainability department with the sole focus of sourcing and implementing our program.”

In addition to its relationship with Pulp Pak, Zuckerman Honickman has also signed an exclusive supply agreement with ecofriendly plastic company Timeplast. Timeplast specializes in the molecular disintegration of plastic at the point of manufacturing by pre-upcycling plastic and making it more recyclable than its virgin counterpart.

Meanwhile, Zuckerman Honickman is also heavily focused on aluminum beverage cans, which are increasingly utilized among beverage companies because of their recyclability and favorable economics.

The Zuckerman Honickman name is synonymous with packaging.

For over a century, they’ve been a leader in the beverage industry.

Look around and you will find Zuckerman Honickman bottles everywhere.

“Cans send a very positive green message,” Zuckerman said. “The economics are hard to deny as well, and this has resulted in cans being the fastest growing package segment in our company.

Our supplier partnerships have enabled us to grow this segment throughout the years, almost exponentially. We continue to focus heavily on cans and firmly believe that the aluminum beverage can segment will continue to thrive in the U.S. beverage industry.”

RELATIONSHIPS, FIRST AND FOREMOST With each new partnership comes a willingness by Zuckerman Honickman to support clients in every aspect of the beverage industry.

The company’s network of suppliers, distributors and investors,

curtated to meet the needs of contemporary brands, provides a massive advantage for newcomers to beverage.

“I came into beverage from the snacks industry, and I needed someone who could help me build the roadmap of relationships in the business,” said Jason Cohen, CEO, Halen Brands, which markets OWYN plant-based protein drinks.

“Zuckerman Honickman should not be looked at as a bottle supplier, but as a friend and advocate who can help you with every aspect of the business. Michael Zuckerman hangs his hat on helping customers with proper introductions to distributors and other entrepreneurs to help you gain confidence and velocities in those relationships. My whole career is looking for people who can make one plus one equal three, and Michael is one of those people.”

A commitment to success is the foundation of every relationship between Zuckerman Honickman and its clients. That dedication is grounded in the integrity, expertise, values and trust that the company has cultivated since its inception and is the reason that fast-growing brands turn to their team for winning solutions in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

“Zuckerman Honickman has been a trusted partner of ours since our very first can, which was a decision we made in January 2015 and wanted to launch at Expo West two months later,” said David Kimmell, SVP Operations, Spindrift. “From that start they have proven to be nimble, tenacious and strategic. I am an operator that very much believes in doing everything in-house to

maintain ultimate control, except in rare instances where an outside resource can provide me true value, and Zuckerman Honickman provides me that. Spindrift would not be where it is today without Zuckerman Honickman and there is no higher praise I can bestow on them than that.”

The true value of a relationship is often measured in the length that it exists, and industry veterans who know and have worked the Zuckerman Honickman team attest to their willingness to move mountains for their clients. It’s a fact that has existed for decades and will continue to be true in the years to come.

“I have been involved with beverages for 29 years now,” said Barry Nathanson, Publisher, BevNET Magazine. “In that time I’ve been witness to great success and epic failures. That’s the nature of business. Yet, more important to me is the integrity, honesty and accountability of companies that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and observing. Zuckerman Honickman is at the top of my list of companies I admire. They epitomize all that is good in humanity and civility. The relationships they forge and the sincerity of purpose in their business and personal relationships has been a joy to watch for all these years. They really get it. The industry is in a better place because of this storied company.”

191 S. Gulph Road King of Prussia Pennsylvania 19406 P: 610-962-0100 F: 610-962-1080 www.zh-inc.com

“Zuckerman Honickman has been more than a supplier to us; they are true partners and have come through for us at every stage of the BODYARMOR business…”

JOHN CAMUS VP Operations • BODYARMOR

NOSHSCAPE

For more stories, check out nosh.com

THE LATEST FOOD BRAND NEWS

Sovos Brands Acquires Birch Benders Food company Sovos Brands announced in August that it has signed an agreement to acquire pancake and waffle mix brand Birch Benders, deepening Sovos’ presence in the breakfast and snacking categories as it seeks to expand the brand’s distribution, marketing efforts and product offerings.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of October.

Sovos president and CEO Todd Lachman said Sovos has reached a five-year consulting agreement with Birch Benders’ co-founders, CMO Lizzi Ackerman and CEO Matt LaCasse. The pair will still be “associated with the business, but not in the same leadership positions” they currently hold, according to Lachman.

Birch Benders is the fourth addition to Sovos’ portfolio, joining frozen meal brand

Michael Angelo’s; sauce, soup and dried pasta brand Rao’s Homemade; and yogurt brand Noosa, its most recent acquisition in 2018.

Founded in 2011, Birch Benders markets keto and paleo-friendly pancake and waffle mixes along with frozen toaster waffles. Birch Benders, which previously took investment from Boulder Food Group, is available in over 15,000 retailers nationwide including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods and Safeway.

The company was attracted to the brand’s nutrient-dense, clean label ingredients, Lachman said, with SKUs that are “on trend,” catering to consumers’ “diverse dietary needs” such as paleo and keto.

Moving forward, Sovos will seek to expand Birch Benders’ distribution and household

penetration, which Lachman said is currently 3%, as well as extend the brand into new categories.

LaCasse said the sale will give Birch Benders the “opportunity to grow to its full potential” beyond its roots in pancakes.

“We’ve always seen ourselves as a brand that can really go in pretty much any aisle of the grocery store from the beginning,” Ackerman said. “What we had dreamt up for Birch Benders is becoming a platform brand and we’re excited to be joining the Sovos family so we can accomplish that.”

Good Karma Announces Buyout of Majority Ownership from Dean Foods As the assets of dairy conglomerate Dean Foods continued to be divided up following the company’s bankruptcy filing, plant-based dairy brand Good Karma announced that it has repurchased the majority of the company once owned by Dean and also closed a “significant” amount of capital through new strategic partners.

The round included both a new investor, Valor Siren Ventures, as well as existing backers 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners and a variety of other individual, current, shareholders. The purchase price along with the size of the investment round were not disclosed.

Following its November 2019 bankruptcy, Dean received approval in April to sell the bulk of its assets to national cooperative Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) for $433 million -- of which Good Karma was not included.

Soon after Dean-owned brand Uncle Matt’s Organics announced that its founders, along with a consortium of new investors, had repurchased the brand for $7.25 million under newly formed company Harmoni.

18 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Good Karma followed a similar path: The shares were repurchased from Dean and then subsequently retired as the new investors came into the business. Despite being majority owned by Dean for over two years, Good Karma was run as an independent business out of Boulder, with a separate leadership team and board of directors. The company also did not use Dean’s DSD network, a spokesperson said. As a result, the ownership changes will not materially impact Good Karma’s distribution or operations, CEO Doug Radi said However, the portfolio has been trimmed with Good Karma discontinuing its Dairy-Free Yogurts, Drinkable Yogurts and 10 oz. Flax Milk + Protein Grab-AndGo bottles. The company plans to launch new items in 2021, Radi said. The company’s current roster of flax-based dips and beverages are sold in over 10,000 stores.

Dean acknowledged changing consumer preferences as one reason for its financial struggles, citing “continuing declines in consumer milk consumption.” The opportunity to diversify into plant-based dairy was part of the reason the company first made a minority investment in Good Karma.

NOSHSCAPE

For more stories, check out nosh.com

THE LATEST FOOD BRAND NEWS

Smart Cookie: Levain Bakery Moves into CPG Beloved New York City chain Levain Bakery wants to bring a little glitz to the frozen dessert category, announcing the launch of a line of its lauded cookies into grocery stores, the company’s first move into CPG. Opened 25 years ago by Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes, in 2018 The Stripes Group acquired the majority of Levain -- which has been singled out for having chocolate chip cookies that are among the best in New York. Soon after, Andy Taylor was brought on as CEO, and CPG vets, including CMO Rachel Porges and CFO Jennifer Dong, were also hired. The company has seven bakeries, along with a robust ecommerce business. Although the bakeries each stock roughly 30 to 40 SKUs, the bulk of their business remains in cookies, Taylor said.

In CPG, the Levain team decided to stick with what was working, launching 8-packs of frozen, precooked cookies which will retail for $7.99 to $9.99. Available in Chocolate Chip Walnut, Oatmeal Raisin, Two Chip Chocolate Chip and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, the cookies can either be defrosted and eaten or, as Levain suggests, heated for a few minutes.

Texas retailer Central Market was the first to pick up the new line, which will soon also be sold in the Whole Foods Northeast region.

It’s a project that has been in development for 18 months, Taylor said, and was a core element of the Stripes investment.

The plan is to roll out in stores “semi-regionally,” she said, moving from the East coast slowly across the country. Regions where the company already has brand awareness will be the first to see the new line as it’s “just more efficient” in terms of marketing spend, Taylor said. While the line commands a more premium price point then your average cookie, Porges said, the plan is not to focus solely on specialty retailers, with conventional, mass and natural stores all playing a role.

Along with CPG, the company also will focus on its ecommerce business, which is typically used by consumers for gifting occasions, Taylor said. Over the next three years, he added, the hope is to grow the CPG line to 18-20% of the business and maintain ecommerce as roughly 10-15% of sales.

Misfits Market Closes Round, Will Scale Marketplace Offering

Grocery delivery service Misfits Market announced earlier this summer the close of an $85 million round of capital led by Valor Equity Partners. Additional investors included Greenoaks Capital, Third Kind Venture Capital, and Sound Ventures. The funding will go, in part, towards helping the brand expand further into center store offerings.

The raise brings Misfits’ total funding to $101.5 million. As part of the funding announcement, the company also disclosed it will be opening a new warehouse in Delanco, New Jersey, a move that will allow it to more than double its order capacity along the East Coast and South and into the Midwest. The company currently delivers to customers in 26 states (and Washington, D.C.) with four more states expected to come online in the coming months.

20 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

The funding will, in part, go towards helping the marketplace become an even larger part of the company’s offering to shoppers.

Originally launched in November 2019, Misfit marketplace brand partners have included Minor Figures, Wild Planet, Bob’s Red Mill, Illy Coffee, Peeled Snacks and Deep River. Of the current selections, roughly 125 are packaged food and beverage products. Though the company does sell some bulk items in “minimal” packaging with just product type, nutrition information and ingredients, the vast majority of the items have branding from the original producer, said Daniel Litwin, Misfits Market’s VP of procurement.

CPG items do not have to be organic, but they are generally “natural” offerings with their “misfit” nature ranging from having old branding, to being excess products to having a misprinted label.

Though there’s no minimum, producers have to provide enough volume that it won’t immediately sell out, Litwin said. He added though Misfits can serve as a product discovery platform for customers, his team of six works with brands both small and large, with PepsiCo snack brand Bare Snacks a frequent partner, for example.

“We have a dual mission,” Litwin said, “which is to fight food waste and being an outlet for the growers and producers that need a place for this stuff to go. And then increasing affordable access to natural, organic foods.”

Litwin added that by partnering with Misfits, producers can show their commitment to sustainability and reducing food waste, thus actually “increasing their brand equity.”

BREWSCAPE

THE LATEST CRAFT BEER BRAND NEWS

Brewers Association Approves Code of Conduct for Members The board of directors of national not-for-profit trade group the Brewers Association (BA) has approved its first ever code of conduct for member breweries after criticism from industry professionals and consumers that it was too often silent in the wake of racist incidents. “The Code of Conduct codifies our commitment and responsibility as an industry to comply with state and federal regulations and to eliminate discrimination, harassment, and bias of all types,” BA president and CEO Bob Pease wrote to members. “We take our leadership role seriously and recognize that we must be actively anti-racist.”

Criticism of the BA on social media has centered on the association’s “limited public response,” as Pease phrased it in an email to members last month announcing the beginning of the process it would take to create the code of conduct and a complaint process and update its bylaws.

The code of conduct details the BA’s expectations for member behavior in four areas: Compliance with law, respect for the individual and groups, responsible alcohol consumption and responsible alcohol marketing.

Under the code’s respect for individuals and groups section,

the BA specifies that members must “treat all individuals and groups respectfully, recognizing their human dignity, regardless of their diverse human characteristics: race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental disability, size or appearance, genetic pre-disposition, religion, ancestry, national origin, or veteran status.”

Members must also “contribute to a positive environment that is free of hostile and offensive behaviors; i.e. free from harassment.”

“Harassment means any unwelcome and inappropriate verbal or physical conduct, or coercive behavior, where the behavior is known or reasonably ought to be recognized as unwanted or unwelcome,” the code continued.

The BA did not have a procedure in its bylaws to revoke membership. The code of conduct also calls for members to “speak out without fear of retaliation when the actions of others violate the rights of any individuals or groups,” “respect the opinions of others and address conflicts in a positive and constructive manner,” “respect others’ privacy in their personal lives,” and “treat all individuals and groups professionally and respect their personal property.”

Carbon Dioxide Shortage Squeezes Craft Brewers Carbon dioxide (CO2) is in short supply, both gas suppliers and brewers have confirmed.

Most commercially used CO2 is a byproduct of ethanol production, which is used for gasoline. If ethanol is not produced, neither is CO2. “When COVID hit back in the spring, driving suddenly was really reduced, which means there wasn’t demand for gasoline,” Compressed Gas Association (CGA) president and CEO Rich Gottwald told Brewbound.

Brewers have many uses for CO2, including purging tanks, packaging beer in bottles and cans and pushing kegged beer through draft lines in taprooms. But they face a lot of competition in procuring CO2 from the country’s depleted inventory. The beverage industry — alcoholic and

non-alcoholic — ranks third in commercial use of CO2, behind the food industry and dry ice, which is used in pharmaceuticals, water treatment, metal welding and more. Food producers use CO2 at nearly four times the rate of beverage makers.

Due to the shortage, CO2 distributors are allocating their supply to customers.

“There’s only so much CO2 availability right now, and I know that my network is doing the best they can to make sure that everyone gets some of it so that no one has to shut down,” Gottwald said.

He added that shortages have improved since the spring when the pandemic first upended American life.

However, breweries are beginning to feel the pinch. One northeast regional

brewery had to order CO2 from Canada when inventory on this side of the border ran out, which led to packaging delays.

In California, Russian River Brewing Company is facing similar issues, co-owner Natalie Cilurzo said.

“We have refineries here in California, but because nobody’s driving to work anymore, gas sales are way down and so the refineries aren’t running,” she said. “We’ve been buying CO2 from the Midwest.”

Russian River’s cost for CO2 has doubled and the quantity of their next order was slashed by 75%, Cilurzo said.

“Not only has the price doubled, but supply is going down,” she said. “And now it’s definitely starting to affect the production side.”

A-B Adds Second Bud Light Seltzer Variety Pack Anheuser-Busch InBev is “remixing” its Bud Light Seltzer variety pack, adding three new flavors — Cranberry, Grapefruit and Pineapple — that will be featured in a second variety 12-pack with its Strawberry flavor. The new mixed packs hit store shelves nationwide on August 31.

The existing Bud Light Seltzer variety pack — featuring Black Cherry, Lemon Lime, Mango and Strawberry — is already A-B’s 10th best-selling product in off-premise retailers tracked by IRI 22 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

and the 28th best selling product year-to-date.

The original variety pack’s sales have surpassed each individual Truly Hard Seltzer pack. (Still, Boston Beer Company’s Truly brand family is much larger than Bud Light Seltzer as a whole, increasing sales 180.7%, to $543 million through early August.).

The variety pack has already racked up more than $155.5 million in dollar sales year-to-date through August 9, and 0.59 dollar share of the beer category.

For more stories, check out Brewbound.com

Reyes to Fold Windy City into Chicago Beverage Systems

The Reyes Beverage Group plans to merge operations of its Chicagoland wholesalers — Windy City Distributing and Chicago Beverage Systems — into one company by mid-October.

“For the past eight years, CBS and Windy City have operated independent businesses servicing an overlapping territory with common customer accounts,” Stephen Reyes, president of Reyes Beer Division East, said in a release. “In order to realize the full operational efficiencies and

overall business benefits for our RBD team, as well as our suppliers and customers, we are pleased to share that Windy City will formally become a part of CBS and we will operate as a single company in the Chicagoland area. This will provide more career opportunities for our employees and increased efficiencies for our supplier and retail partners.”

Chicago Beverage Systems has been in the Reyes Beer Division since 1979.

The branch operates a 292,000 sq. ft.

warehouse on Chicago’s West Side. The wholesaler’s website touts that it sells and distributes “the largest portfolio of import, craft and domestic brands in Chicago, delivering 8 million cases of beer each year to more than 4,000 retailers across the Chicago metro area.”

Chicago Beverage Systems’ portfolio of brands includes Molson Coors, Constellation Brands, Heineken and Guinness, as well as craft brands from Revolution Brewing, Half Acre, Boston Beer Company, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada, among others.

The Reyes Beer Division acquired Windy City Distributing in 2012. Windy City operates a 175,000 sq. ft. facility in Aurora. According to the Windy City website, the wholesaler delivered 2.6 million cases of beer annually to 6,400 retailers.

Windy City is a craft house, with a portfolio that includes Lagunitas, Three Floyds, Half Acre, Allagash, and Stone Brewing.

23

NEW PRODUCTS

THE NEWEST BEVERAGE OPTIONS

Kombucha Kombucha maker Health-Ade rolled out a second new product line, Health-Ade Plus, after launching its prebiotic soda line Booch Pop earlier this summer. The functional line comes in seven varieties: Hydrate, Beauty, Energy, Chill, Happy, Belly Reset and Immunity, sold exclusively at Whole Foods through this year for $4.29 per 16 oz. glass bottle. For more information, please contact Health-Ade at (844) 337-6368.

Functional Wellness brand Dose launched a line of 2 oz. functional shots in four varieties: Dose for Your Liver, Dose for Soreness, Dose for Immunity and Dose for Your Skin. Each shot contains no caffeine and zero sugar and calories, packaged in glass bottles. Dose shots are now available at retailers such as Erewhon and Jensen’s as well as online in 4-packs ($25), 8-packs ($40) and 24-packs ($90). For more information, please contact Dose at dose@powerdigital.com.

Weller released its first non-CBD product line, Sparkling Immunity, offering vitamin C, vitamin D3, zinc and magnesium. The new line will be available in stores across 25 states and on the brand’s website at the end of September. Sparkling Immunity will be available for $2.99 per 12 oz. can and comes in three varieties: Elderberry + Peach, Elderberry + Lemon-Lime and Elderberry + Strawberry. For more information, please contact Weller at (303) 495-6989.

The latest launch from prebiotic sparkling tonic brand Olipop is Orange Squeeze, combining clementine and mandarine juices with a hint of lemon. Orange Squeeze contains 45 calories, five grams of sugar and nine grams of fiber per 12 oz. can, available now on the brand’s website for $35.99 per 12-pack. For more information, please contact Olipop at hello@drinkolipop.com.

Shots New Orleans-based kombucha brand Big Easy Bucha launched Big Easy Shots, a line of premium, organic juice shots available in three varieties. Immunity is a blend of sea buckthorn berry, ginger, echinacea and lemon.

24 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Detox balances sweet carrot juice with spicy ginger, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Beauty contains pomegranate juice plus vegan collagen builder and skin-soothing aloe vera. The shots are now available in 2 oz. glass bottles at Publix and other retailers. For more information, please contact Big Easy Bucha at hello@ bigeasybucha.com.

Rooibos iced tea brand BOS Brands expanded its offerings with a new line of functional rooibos-based wellness shots. Each 1.7 oz. shot contains organic rooibos, natural fruit juice and functional ingredients. The shots are available in four varieties -- Chill Out (CBD), Let it Glow (collagen), Bounce Back (immunity) and Gut A Problem? (probiotics) -- and are sold online on Amazon and the brand’s website for $34.99 per 10-pack. For more information, please contact BOS at 1-844-4BOS-ICED-TEA.

Sparkling Water Free Rain is a new functional sparkling water brand featuring adaptogens and no added sugar or caffeine. Free Rain is available in three varieties -- Tart Cherry & Siberian Ginseng (Energy), Blood Orange Ginger & Ashwagandha (Focus) and Blackberry & Passionfruit (Calm). Coming in at 25 calories per 12 oz. can, 6-packs of Free Rain are available for $17.99 on the brand’s website. For more information, please contact Free Rain at info@drinkfreerain.com.

Kombucha Town combined kombucha and seltzer for its latest launch, Live Seltzer, formulated with the brand’s organic and nonGMO raw kombucha cultures, fresh-pressed ingredients and water from the North Cascade Mountains. The seltzer contains zero sugar and one to two calories per serving, and is available in Ginger, Grapefruit and Cucumber flavors for $1.29 to $1.79 per 12 oz. can. For more information, please contact Kombucha Town at info@kombuchatown.com.

Sports Drinks Functional hydration brand Nuun launched Nuun Instant, a new powder formula aimed to relieve dehydration before its symptoms become evident. The formula is based on the World Health Organization’s Oral Rehydration Solution, and also contains Vitamin C and Vitamin B12. Nuun

NEW PRODUCTS Instant is available in Lemon Lime and Watermelon flavors online and in stores for $2.49 per single serving packet. For more information, please contact Nuun at (855) H2O-NUUN.

Protein The latest release from plant-based protein drink maker Koia is Thrive, a three-SKU line of oat-milk based functional refrigerated smoothies. The line’s three varieties -- Miracle Matcha, Chill Chocolate and Golden Turmeric -- contain 150 to 190 calories and three to five grams of sugar per bottle, depending on the SKU. Created specifically for the natural channel consumer, Koia Thrive is sold for $3.99 per 10 oz. bottle at natural retailers including Whole Foods and Sprouts. For more information, please contact Koia at info@drinkkoia.com.

Adding a plant-based alternative to its dairybased Protein Keto beverage line line, Bolthouse Farms launched a new Protein Keto line made with coconut milk and pea protein. Available in three flavors – Mocha Truffle Latte, Cinnamon Horchata and Hazelnut Fudge – the beverages contain 12 grams of vegan protein and 1 gram of sugar and two to three net carbs net 15.2 oz. bottle. For more information, please contact Bolthouse Farms at (800) 467-4683.

Juice Zero sugar mixer brand Swoon launched Swoon Lemonade, the brand’s first ready-to-drink product.

Available in three flavors -- Classic Lemonade, Pink Lemonade and Half & Half -- the zero sugar lemonade line is sweetened with monk fruit with each flavor containing 10 calories per can. The new line is available for $1.99 to $2.49 per 12 oz. can and online in 12-packs for $34.99. For more information, please contact Swoon at (646) 760-8382.

CBD Hemp and cannabis supplier Hillview debuted new hemp-infused seltzer brand Kaló. Available in Strawberry Watermelon, Lemon Lavender, Pomegranate Peach and Raspberry Lime flavors, Kalo contains 15 calories and two grams of sugar per 12 oz. can. The brand has partnered with Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of New York for distribution in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. For more information, please contact Kaló at hello@drinkkalo.com.

26 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

CBD beverage brand Mello Drop launched Actify, a new line of CBD-infused energy drinks aimed to boost muscle performance and aid in post-workout recovery. The zero calorie energy drinks contain BCAA, taurine, creatine and riboflavin with 35 mg of CBD per 12 oz. can.

Actify is sold online for $84 per 12-pack in six flavors: Berry Blast, Black Cherry, Razzle Berry, Sour Apple, Tropical Breeze and Watermelon Lime. For more information, please contact Mello Drop at info@drinkmellodrop.com.

Spirits Olympia Beer launched its first spirit, Olympia Artesian Vodka, produced and bottled locally using the artesian water aquifer located beneath the town of Olympia, Washington. Olympia Artesian Vodka is 80 proof (40% ABV) and available in 750 ml bottles. The vodka is currently available directly to consumers via Drizly and in stores throughout Washington and Oregon. For more information, please contact Olympia Distilling Company at info@olympia-beer.com.

San Diego distillery Cutwater Spirits introduced its latest canned cocktail innovation with the national release of a 13.2% ABV Long Island Iced Tea. The new canned cocktail contains four of Cutwater’s spirits: Vodka, Rum, Gin and Tequila, along with citrus notes and a splash of cola. Cutwater Spirits’ Long Island Iced Tea is now available at retailers nationwide with a suggested retail price of $12.99 per 4-pack of 12 oz. cans. For more information, please contact Cutwater Spirits at (858) 672-3848.

Utah-based Ogden’s Own Distillery released Porter’s Peanut Butter Whiskey. Combining Canadian whiskey and peanut butter flavor, the 66.6 proof whiskey is first available at the distillery’s store for $19.99 per 750 ml bottle before launching nationwide via the brand’s retail and online partners. For more information, please contact Ogden’s Own Distillery at (801) 458-1995.

Wheyward Spirit is a new sustainably sourced premium liquor brand using excess whey from the dairy industry. Wheyward Spirit is a clear, distilled 80 proof spirit developed to be sipped straight or used in place of a standard base spirit in drinks and is now available for delivery to 31 states through the brand’s website and regional liquor retailers for $54.99 per 750 ml bottle. For more information, please contact Whey Spirits at info@ wheywardspirit.com.

CHANNEL CHECK WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY MILK SUBSTITUTES Almond milk might be up 10% this year, but that’s not where the heart of the category is going right now: with Oatly and dairy giant Hood leading the way, this category, largely an amalgamation of Oat Milk and a few other dairy substitutes (we see you, Ripple and Good Karma!) is up nearly 85% and there’s been a seemingly insatiable thirst for the stuff, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Chobani as another big brand in support of Oat Milk and Califia gaining momentum, changes in the space in the dairy cooler may not be all nuts, after all.

RFG MILK SUBSTITUTES BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Other H P Hood Inc

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

$51,271,112

541.1%

$32,942,271

329.6%

All Danone Us LLC

$31,164,033

-10.2%

Ripple

$27,874,495

32.6%

Silk Oat Yeah

$27,340,157

392.3%

Meyenberg

$24,357,959

9.4%

Chobani

$14,510,469

-

Good Karma

$8,288,984

-9.3%

Califia Farms

$7,973,310

3469.5%

Private Label

$4,287,199

191.4%

All WM Bolthouse Farms Inc

$3,073,475

-62.1%

All Oatly Inc

Hood

$1,748,988

-42.4%

All Mooala Brands LLC

$1,578,473

89.5%

All Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery Inc

$1,477,983

-4.4%

All Happy Planet Foods Inc

$1,328,426

127.8%

Mariani

$833,421

-22.1%

All Jindilli Bvrg LLC

$829,837

-21.4%

Other C F Burger Creamery Co

$539,206

-12.3%

Lifeway

$407,264

6946.3%

All Forager Project LLC

$353,935

-21.6%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME Sports Drinks

$7,460,337,571

11.4%

Energy Drinks

$13,835,284,133

6.6%

Bottled Juices

$7,244,824,658

3.8%

Tea/Coffee

$6,956,448,908

2.3%

Bottled Water

$18,428,852,227

5.9%

Liquid Drink Enhancers

$391,639,750

14.8%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm-@iriworldwide% 52 Weeks through 7/12/20

28 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

CHANNEL CHECK WATER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$3,311,438,586

9.9%

Aquafina

$1,093,019,448

3.3%

Dasani

$1,046,697,532

-1.1%

Glaceau Smart Water

$865,419,593

3.0%

Nestle Pure Life

$728,524,979

-5.4%

Poland Spring

$688,206,061

-3.6%

Glaceau Vitamin Water

$486,203,969

-0.4% -2.8%

Deer Park

$414,411,310

Fiji

$412,966,677

0.1%

Ozarka

$382,793,722

-2.8%

CANNED/BOTTLED TEA DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Lipton Pure Leaf

BRAND

$803,476,715

7.8%

Arizona

$583,259,510

2.1%

Gold Peak

$437,295,522

7.8%

Lipton Brisk

$364,751,193

1.1%

Lipton

$332,083,586

1.3%

Monster Rehab

$223,475,375

-19.9%

Snapple

$204,250,574

-3.0%

Diet Snapple

$157,824,164

2.9%

Arizona Arnold Palmer

$136,242,265

3.8%

Lipton Diet

$136,176,324

6.7%

SPARKLING WATER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Private Label

$633,844,154

11.2%

Sparkling Ice

$583,236,928

23.3%

La Croix

$461,703,497

5.0%

Bubly

$314,305,976

70.0%

Perrier

$286,806,579

-1.6%

Polar

$214,496,413

15.7%

Topo Chico

$198,312,573

42.8%

San Pellegrino

$168,341,886

8.7%

Canada Dry

$54,197,322

8.4%

Spindrift

$53,036,441

95.7%

RTD COFFEE BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Starbucks

$127,738,159

41.4%

Stok

$94,863,812

42.0%

International Delight

$93,581,603

21.8%

Starbucks Iced Espresso Classics

$73,452,677

21.1%

Califia Farms

$38,292,161

10.8%

Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein

$14,980,545

-5.5%

Coca Cola Dunkin Donuts

$9,997,868

1055.9%

Private Label

$6,521,944

5.7%

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

$5,803,756

-29.1%

Chameleon Cold Brew

$5,674,067

-5.5%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm-@iriworldwide% 52 Weeks through 7/12/20

30 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

ENERGY DRINKS BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Red Bull

$2,890,736,497

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER 0.0%

Monster Energy

$1,816,371,749

-2.1%

VPX Bang

$1,143,666,543

43.8%

Red Bull Sugar Free

$790,693,184

1.2%

Monster Energy Zero Ultra

$672,576,795

-2.6%

NOS

$446,285,281

-2.7%

Red Bull The Summer Edition

$326,742,341

60.2%

Monster Energy Lo Carb

$250,235,947

-8.8%

Red Bull The Blue Edition

$238,965,540

4.3%

Red Bull The Yellow Edition

$238,693,740

11.1%

SPORTS DRINKS BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Gatorade Perform

$1,704,385,050

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER -5.2%

Gatorade

$1,151,894,492

23.7%

G Zero

$752,721,067

116.5%

Gatorade Frost

$748,062,649

-9.7%

Bodyarmor Superdrink

$614,407,795

67.4%

Powerade Ion4

$521,030,170

-28.9%

Powerade Zero Ion4

$285,658,655

3.3%

Gatorade Fierce

$269,582,045

15.0%

Powerade X Ion4

$208,031,325

379.9%

Bodyarmor

$162,403,164

37.4%

DOMESTIC BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Bud

$7,066,522,641

-0.0%

Michelob

$2,842,445,997

21.7%

Coors

$2,591,343,905

4.3%

Miller Lite

$2,150,299,969

6.3%

Busch

$1,572,247,125

7.9%

Natural

$1,443,676,530

5.8%

Bud Specialty

$707,420,447

5.1%

Keystone

$507,925,031

2.0%

Miller High Life

$450,602,456

0.4%

Yuengling

$376,188,702

-1.7%

CRAFT BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Blue Moon

$357,639,303

9.0%

Sierra Nevada

$294,094,209

15.1%

New Belgium

$256,372,815

22.4%

Samuel Adams

$231,643,034

-4.4%

Lagunitas

$193,369,328

5.2%

Shiner

$137,751,677

6.5%

Leinenkugel Specialty

$125,773,356

-6.5%

Founders

$117,645,164

8.1%

Elysian

$101,907,504

23.6%

Firestone

$99,673,252

28.4%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm-@iriworldwide% 52 Weeks through 7/12/20

31

GERRY’S INSIGHTS

BY GERRY KHERMOUCH

Covid Cash There’s an old journalists’ joke that the definition of “trend” is “two facts and a deadline.” In other words, we inkstained wretches don’t always demonstrate great rigor when the presses are about to roll and an anxious editor is leaning over our desk demanding “Whatchagot?” Worker got his thumb sliced off at a slaughterhouse in Waterloo and a bartender got stabbed in a bar brawl in Dubuque? “Wave of violence hits Iowa food industry!” Of course we feel a jolt of relief when the trend we just predicted – however threadbare – gets borne out by subsequent events. Waiter got poked in the eye a day later at a Davenport diner? Excellent!

That was the fortuitous outcome a few weeks ago when I put together a story for my newsletter, Beverage Business Insights, declaring that, contrary to some early predictions, investment capital during the Covid-19 pandemic remains abundant and aggressively deployed.

In fairness to myself, the thesis wasn’t so threadbare – such eminences as the banking team at Whipstitch Capital and researchers at Zenith Global were right on board with it. Still, no sooner was the (virtual) ink dry on the story than we saw LemonPerfect pull in $6.6 million, Waterloo was acquired by Eurazeo, Hint pulled in $25 million, Celsius pulled in

$22 million, Kos pulled in $2.1 million, Guru said it’s pursuing an IPO and Unilever moved to acquire Liquid IV for an amount likely in the hundreds of millions. “Wave of financings hits bev biz!”

Hey, that’s way more than 2 facts. So did I call it, or what?

Still, this outcome was by no means a foregone conclusion. Some thought consumers’ early retreat to staples spelled doom for early-stage beverage brands seeking shelf space for more premium, health-and-wellness-oriented entries. There was a school of thought that many institutional investors would be funneling funds to prop up existing portfolio companies rather than seeking out new ones. With the economic outlook having suddenly swung from buoyant to potentially apocalyptic, settling on fair enterprise valuations would be a challenge. Even the basic step of getting into a boardroom or restaurant with the management team suddenly was fraught. There were plenty of other convincing rationales for why the capital flow would dry up and deals would stop getting done.

That clearly hasn’t been the case, not in the U.S. nor globally. An analysis of July deals by Zenith detected “no apparent slowdown” in food and beverage deals. Credit some of that to the simple

32 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

drive and resilience of folks in this space.

Whether driven by greed, desperation or idealism, I’m actually a bit in awe of the dynamism they’ve showed. But for many in the money mix, the trends impelling consumers toward health and wellness – and impelling the CPG giants eventually to acquire these companies – are accelerating, not retreating. So PowerPlant Ventures was able to assure its investors, “We are encouraged by the recent deals in our industry as we continue to see acceleration of our thesis around investing in a more sustainable food system. We are excited to see food unicorns continue to grow,” citing a $200 million raise at Oatly and a $250 million round at Apeel Sciences. “We are in it for the long haul and we see a big, impactful, positive shift happening.” Nothing epitomized this more than the recent $200 million funding round for plant-based meat player Impossible Foods at what had become a $4 billion enterprise value. Stock valuations don’t always make sense: I could never understand why Shake Shack at one point was seen as on track to overtake McDonald’s in valuation. But this seems more of a Tesla-is-bigger-than-GM bet on fundamental disruption. Indeed, among those July deals tracked by Zenith, plant-based entries had become the leading category, accounting for 14 out of 64 deals.

As I write this just ahead of Labor Day, it’s too soon to take a victory lap.

Trends are encouraging, but we’re in highly uncertain times. If we get mired in a long-running recession and everyone is broke, then all bets are off on good-foryou, sustainable, and the rest of it. There are enough feckless policymakers in office both here and overseas that can’t be ruled out. But the response so far has been at least minimally adequate - a vaccine may be around the corner and investors continue to lay the foundation for what could be an epochal change in the food and beverages we consume.

And if it isn’t, we’ll have a much bigger deadline to consider.

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

Temporary Refreshment

Juice Sales Are Up During COVID-19 -- But Will That Last?

By Brad Avery The fact that the juice category has struggled in recent years is hardly news. Despite a mid-decade peak in the cold-pressed trend, sales have since slumped as consumers have turned against sugary drinks and turned to other beverage categories for their functional and wellness needs.

But with the COVID-19 pandemic, the category has seen a renewed relevance as consumers forgo their sugar concerns, demanding Vitamin C and other immunity charging ingredients.

Despite the challenges facing the economy, for some companies, the pandemic has been the booster shot the juice category has long needed. But is this sudden interest a sign of renewed growth, or a passing fad?

Immunity Meets the Moment This spring, in the wake of Dean Foods’ bankruptcy, Uncle Matt’s Organic founder and CEO Matt McLean paid $7.25 million to buy back the juice brand he founded in 1999 with the intent of once again running the business as an entrepreneurial venture. McLean had sold the company to Dean in 2017, and 36 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

now (after months of paperwork and realignment) the brand is heading out into a radically changed marketplace.

According to market research firm IRI, Uncle Matt’s orange juice has reported double digit sales growth, up 15.1% to $12.9 million in the 52-week period ending July 12. The sales spike comes as the orange juice subcategory has seen a resurgence amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as older consumers seek food and beverage products traditionally associated with immunity.

Orange juice as a whole is up 7.7% to $6.8 billion for the year, though McLean said his company’s internal data shows orange juice sales up roughly 20% in the shorter term.

Per IRI, other mid-size brands have reported similarly significant increases for the year, including Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company (up 27.6% to $26 million) and Tree Ripe (up 39% to $11.2 million). Even category leaders are seeing double digit increases amid the pandemic -- Tropicana (10.7% to $996.7 million) and Florida’s Natural (17.3% to $302.7 million) have both benefitted.

“Orange juice is back on the breakfast table and in the refrigerator for a lot of consumers that may have left it over the last, say,

five years,” McLean said. “Orange juice had been flat and declining for the last decade. But it’s nice now that retailers and consumers have remembered that this should be an essential item and it should be an essential part of your diet.”

McLean said the company has maintained its business during the transition out of Dean, but has had to restructure some of its distribution without access to the former dairy conglomerate’s DSD network. However, as Uncle Matt’s heads into the fourth quarter, the brand has a stable of immunity-focused functional SKUs to drive buyer and consumer interest -- including Orange Defense, fortified with turmeric and probiotics, and Orange Energy, made with coffeeberry.

But even as demand for immunity provides a short term burst in sales, the challenge facing Uncle Matt’s and other juice makers is how to ensure it isn’t just a fad that dissipates once the pandemic comes to an end.

“I think the entire industry is focused on that right now,” McLean said. “Trade groups are spending most of their marketing dollars on the health pitch and are focused around educating consumers on what is in orange juice -- and any citrus juice for that matter. I think we need to continue to put that front and center, but it was the message from the beginning.”

Cassandra Troy Walker, co-founder of California-based cold-pressed juice brand Little West, said she’s “never used the term ‘immune boosting’ so much in my life since the pandemic.” The pandemic has had a direct impact on the brand’s on-premise focused business model, with the company needing to furlough some employees as sales dropped 70% with the shuttering of hotel, corporate campus and restaurant accounts shuttered.

However, the company has now embraced a direct-toconsumer model using immunity as its leading draw. Walker said Little West had to swiftly build an ecommerce platform and brought in new outside marketers to help build the brand’s online presence.

“We realized we don’t want to just showcase pretty bottles,” Walker said. “Instead, we’re using our social media platform to inform customers of health and wellness and have become a source of information to our consumer and to our customers.”

As well, Little West has now placed an increased focus on grocery accounts, including expansions into the Arizona and Nevada markets. Walker said the brand is currently in discussions with several distributors to break into new territories, using immunity as its foot in the door with new accounts.

38 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

“Although a lot of our day to day isn’t what it used to be, we’ve been able to reach out to dream distribution companies and have started to create a strategy with them on how we can launch into their marketplace,” she said. “Because the reality is the juice is immune boosting and we can only do so much with our ecomm.”

Juice Sells, But Who’s Buying?

While sales may be on the upswing for some parts of the category, not all sectors are rising and former juice entrepreneur and CPG industry veteran Brad Barnhorn said he sees little in the way of M&A and investment opportunity.

Pointing to recent decisions by strategics such as Coke and Campbell’s to discontinue or divest their leading juice brands (Odwalla and Bolthouse Farms respectively), Barnhorn noted that the lack of interest by potential buyers is also leading to limited investor interest in the space. While there may always be angels willing to back a small startup, he said most institutional VCs are looking to other categories to check off their stake in the immunity and functional beverage arena.

“The trend for immunity and functionality is incrementally positive for the juice category, but there are a lot of other well developed product formats existing today versus five or 10 years ago to address that need state,” Barnhorn said. “Whether that is in powder form, in tablet form, in shot form or in other RTD beverage formats -- there’s a number of competitive options delivering immunity or other functionalities without the issue of sugar and calories that will continue to serve as a challenging headwind to existing consumers staying in the category or new consumers entering the category.”

Recent M&A activity has indeed shown interest in these alternative formats: this summer, wellness shots maker Vive Organic raised $13 million in a Series B round led by Monogram Capital (a chaser to a round led by PowerPlant Ventures a year earlier) while in September Unilever acquired functional powder brand Liquid I.V. Inversely, single serve HPP juice brand Suja -- which received a $90 million investment from The Coca-Cola Company in 2015 -- has seen its momentum slow precipitously in the years that followed. Other previous acquisitions of HPP brands are being liquidated -- in August, Hain Celestial announced it would seek to sell or discontinue BluePrint, the HPP juice brand it acquired in 2012 amid the height of the cleanse trend.

In addition to these signals from strategics that juice isn’t the future, Barnhorn said he also doesn’t foresee retailers increasing the sizes of their juice sets, particularly as growing

categories such as kombucha, cold brew coffee and shots take up more cooler space. This, in turn, creates a more competitive environment for brands that will fight to steal shelf space from one another.

“I think juice benefits short term from the pandemic, but not in a way to me that changes the game for the category in terms of its relative growth to other emerging and higher growth segments in the beverage space,” he said.

Meanwhile PepsiCo, which owns Naked, has kept its juice business in-house and turned to innovation to continue driving growth for the brand, seeing the fastest growth in its Half Naked reduced sugar line (up 132.7% to $6.4 million per IRI) and its protein shakes (up 63.8% to $11.2 million). However, those lines may only be drops in the bucket compared to its core smoothie line, down 4.2% in the 52-weeks ending July 12 to $499 million.

In an email interview, Naked marketing senior director Jim Spalding said the brand is continuing to explore new product launches as a means of driving sales and that immunity “has been at the top of the list in recent months.” With key competitor Odwalla now leaving the market, Spalding said the company is optimistic about the white space in the category.

“Now more than ever there is certainly even more opportunity for growth in the category,” Spalding said. “We know there will be even more consumers looking for choice in their beverages, especially when it comes to a variety of delicious flavors and tastes. Given that, we’re exploring a variety of offerings - including indulgent - that meet the needs of that consumer, perhaps

deliver the plant protein they’re looking for and taste delicious.”

As a general trend for the past several years, HPP juice startups have continuously pivoted to minimize their flagship lines and embrace growing categories. Companies such as Forager Project and Sol-ti have turned to trends like plant-based dairy alternatives and CBD to fuel growth.

Rita Katona, co-founder and CEO of Minneapolis-based So Good So You, said her brand’s sales have taken off since introducing functional juice-based shots three years ago and, with a 4,400 store nationwide footprint, the pandemic has likewise led to an uptick across the brand’s product portfolio. She noted that SPINS data reports 335% year-over-year growth for the shot category and the company itself ranked in the top 20% of the 2020 edition of the Inc. 5000 list, with 516% growth over the past three years.

While the company still produces its HPP juice products for select customers, the former core line now only constitutes a fraction of the six-year-old brand’s sales and, though listed online, is not currently sold to retailers.

“Our focus [during COVID] has been on the operational side and figuring out how we better support our wholesale partners that have been put through the wringer as a result of the pandemic,” Katona said. “With this particular category shooting through the roof as a result of this heightened awareness of proactive health and immunity from consumers, our orders have been significantly increased and so our focus has been to make sure that we are impeccable with execution -- shipping orders full and on time.”

39

BRAND NEWS JUICE & LEMONADE

Suja introduced new Sparkling Cold-Pressed Juices made with organic fruit, root and herbs and no added flavors, preservatives or sweeteners. It is available in four flavors -Strawberry Passionfruit, Grapefruit Citrus, Blueberry Ginger and Pineapple Orange -nationwide at Target and rolling out to other major retailers such as Kroger and HEB beginning in October.

Natalie’s added two new juices to its coldpressed Holistic Line: Immunity and Nourish. Immunity contains oranges and tangerines along with pineapple, aloe vera and sweet basil, while Nourish contains green superfood ingredients such as cucumbers, kale, spinach, celery, lime, cilantro and jalapeno. Both flavors are available for purchase on the brand’s website.

Tropicana launched two new flavors in its Premium Drinks line: Raspberry Limeade and Island Punch. The flavors are available at Target, Albertsons/Safeway, ShopRite, HEB and Stater Bros for $1.79 per 12 oz. single serve bottle and $2.79 per 52 oz. multiserve bottle.

Juicera released a new 2 oz. Organic Smooth Energy + Focus juice shot, containing clean caffeine, ashwagandha, lion’s mane, bacopa, ginseng, açaí, lemon and pineapple. The new shot is available at all Florida and South region Whole Foods stores as well as online and foodservice.

Coral Reef Juice Co. announced its small batch 100% orange juice and lemonade products are now available in select retailers on the East Coast. Coral Reef Orange Juice retails for $4.99 per 52 oz. bottle and can be found at Harris Teeter, Publix and Market Basket. The Lemonade flavor is available at Harris Teeter and Market Basket for $3.49 per bottle.

Bolthouse added a new juice to its lineup, Carrot Ginger Turmeric, putting a twist on its traditional carrot juice by adding organic ginger and turmeric. Each bottle contains 3 ¾ servings of daily recommended fruit and vegetables and is vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free, containing no artificial preservatives, artificial flavors or added sugars. Carrot Ginger Turmeric is currently available in 15.2 oz. bottles and will launch in a 52 oz. multiserve size this fall.

40 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Pressed Juicery introduced two new seasonal lemonade flavors, Mango Turmeric Lemonade and Blackberry Lemonade, both sweetened with monk fruit.

Hubble partnered with Hi Touch Distribution to launch with Whole Foods Market in select locations across Los Angeles. In conjunction with the Whole Foods launch, the brand reduced its sugars and calories and refreshed its packaging design.

KOR Shots launched two new SKUs: IMMUNE+ and RESTORE. IMMUNE+ contains cordyceps and acerola for immunity support, while RESTORE features pink dragonfruit and trans-resveratrol for an antioxidant boost.

Old Orchard launched a new line of Immune Health 100% Juice Blends available in Citrus, Superfruit and Tropical Fruit flavors.

Each 8 oz. serving contains 200% DV Vitamin C along with Vitamins A & E, Vitamin B6 and Zinc.

AriZona Beverages introduced the latest addition to its fruit cocktail lineup, Pineapple, offered in 20 oz. bottles for $1.00 to $1.49, as well as in 24-packs and available at select bodegas, delis and grocery stores nationwide.

Naked launched new Plant Protein drinks, fruit juice blends made with 18 grams of plant protein per 15.2 oz. bottle. Available in two flavors – Peach Mango and Blueberry Banana – these products are Non-GMO Project Verified and have no added sugar, with a suggested retail price of $3.79 per 15.2 oz bottle at grocery stores nationwide, including Albertsons, ShopRite, HEB, Kroger and Meijer.

Mela is a new brand producing 100% natural watermelon water in a can. The brand launched its first SKU, Watermelon + Passionfruit, in September.

Sarah’s Homegrown introduced new flavors to its lineup of farm fresh beverages: Cherry Limeade, Classic Lemonade, Blackberry Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade along with Strawberry Hibiscus Black Tea with Elderberry and Mango Green Tea. All flavors are available through its Bubbler Beverage Program and in 12 oz. bottles.

BRAND NEWS Cheribundi will roll out fresh branding and a new marketing campaign in October.

R.W. Knudsen Family launched Organic Juice Beverage Shots in Pineapple Ginger, Apple Cider Vinegar, Beet Juice and Carrot Black Pepper Turmeric flavors. The shots are available in 6-packs and 12-packs of 2.5 oz. bottles with no refrigeration required, containing 25 calories and three to four grams of total sugars per serving.

Mamma Chia’s entire line of Organic Chia Beverages is now keto-friendly, as the brand reduced its total sugars to four grams per bottle.

Mongibello’s 100% fresh-squeezed Blood Orange and Mandarin Juice is now distributed through foodservice channels, Restaurant Depot, and in retail. The brand also partnered with Tattoo Tequila on a blood orange margarita.

CHERRiSH expanded distribution into the produce section of all Washington and Oregon QFC stores, now 61 doors in total. CHERRiSH will be releasing a new line extension, Cherry Chocolate, available through e-commerce and in retail stores in the last week of September.

Sofresco is now available at Lidl, Walmart, The Fresh Market and Publix across the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast and is distributed by Four Seasons, Albert’s Food Fresh, USArg and Harvest.

Juice Performer’s athlete focused line of performance-enhancing beet and tart cherry juices continues to grow, particularly among sports teams, with customers in all four major professional sports leagues, as well as major NCAA conferences.

Washington, D.C.’s Everybody’s Juice introduced Everybody’s Farmacy, a line of cold-pressed wellness shots.

42 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Teranga added non-baobab-based juices such as Hibiscus Cooler, Moringa Cooler, Ginger Cooler and Turmeric Cooler to its product offerings, and is now available on Good Eggs in San Francisco.

Tohi, the ready-to-drink wellness beverage made with Aronia Berries, announced professional basketball star Landry Shamet as a Tohi Athlete Ambassador.

Karviva launched new ACE Bold Berry Lemonade fl avor, providing antioxidants, collagen and electrolytes, available now on Amazon and in select Whole Foods locations.

Detroit-based lemonade brand Bea’s Squeeze has seen significant growth across the Midwest since its launch in 2019, and is now available at Hy-Vee grocery stores across all eight states.

Lori’s Original Lemonade updated the label for its Ginger Lemonade fl avor, which is made with organic ingredients including juice, cane sugar and ginger root.

Uncle Matt’s Organic introduced No Sugar Added Lemonades sweetened with organic stevia and made with organic lemons. With only one gram of fruit sugar and less than 15 calories per serving, the brand’s No Sugar Added Lemonades are available in Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade fl avors.

Calypso reported 40% growth during the fi rst half of 2020. It is now the second largest player in the shelfstable lemonade category, surpassing Lipton Brisk. This year it launched Calypso Light Lemonades, zero sugar, five-calorie lemonades made with real lemon fruit bits and natural fl avors, in Original, Ocean Blue, Southern Peach and Strawberry fl avors.

BRAND NEWS Plant-Based Water

Vita Coco added two new flavors, Coconut Mango and Coconut Strawberry Banana, to its Pressed line, available in select retail stores and on Amazon. The brand also announced the debut of Vita Coco Boosted, a new line of functional coconut water with MCT, which will be available next spring in select retail stores and on Amazon. Vita Coco brought on SomaliAmerican supermodel, activist and UNICEF Ambassador Halima Aden as its first-ever Chief Coconut Officer, serving as global spokesperson and advocate for the Vita Coco Project, the brand’s social impact initiative that supports coconut farming communities in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Harmless Harvest expanded its organic coconut water line to include three new flavored coconut waters, made with a hint of organic juices and herbal teas.

The three new flavors -- Watermelon, Cucumber Mint and Strawberry Rose -- are available in a 12 oz. size. Harmless Harvest also increased distribution of the new 4-pack of 12 oz. Original Coconut Waters to Whole Foods Market nationally, Target regionally, and chainwide at Giant Martin’s and other various regional chains across California.

The latest flavor from Kalena Sparkling Coconut Water is Lemon-Lime, available exclusively on Amazon for $27.99 per 12pack of 10.8 oz. cans.

Parrot Coconut Water has changed its glass bottle packaging from a 24-pack to a 12-pack to make it more retail-friendly for stocking purposes. Its canned offering is now packaged in a sleek can and available in 12-packs, while the brand’s new Coconut Milk Drink is available in 12-packs of 1 L Tetra Pak cartons.

Buddha Brands reformulated its Thirsty Buddha Coconut Water with Watermelon for a better, more watermelon-forward flavor. The product is also now organic and Fair Trade certified.

The latest launch from Califia Farms is Go Coconuts Coconutmilk, a blend of coconut milk and coconut water containing 46 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

zero added sugar. It is now available online and in-stores in 48 oz. multiserve bottles.

Functional brand Coco Luxe expanded distribution to 220 HEB stores and over 80 independent markets across Florida and New York, and is now listed with KeHE. 100 Coconuts has partnered with TikTok and Feeding America on an exclusive, limitededition can of 100 Coconuts water designed

by TikTok’s design team to give proceeds to food banks across America. Fifteen percent of product sales will be donated to Feeding America. 100 Coconuts has also created a #BLM black can design with proceeds for product sales going directly to African American charities and causes.

Eliya King Coconut Water has been selected as the only coconut water offered in the Players Lounge at the US Open for the third year in a row. Eliya has launched in 2,000 retail locations including the recent additions of H-E-B, Kings, Balducci’s, The Fresh Market, Albertsons (Southwest region), United and Market Fresh. Eliya is also launching four new king coconut water-based functional beverages in 200ml glass bottles in 2021 in four varieties: Love, Soothe, Cleanse and Refresh.

CocoTaps launched its latest packaging innovation, a patented ZeroWaste backyard compostable Cap and Tap system to entirely eliminate plastic packaging from its product offerings. Made from maize corn flour and other plant-based ingredients, the tapping system is ocean safe and backyard compostable.

Kokomio will be hitting the shelves of California retailers for the fi rst time this fall, and will also be launching all four of its flavors on Amazon.

Blue Monkey expanded its international distribution with accounts in South Korea, Kuwait and Australia, with plans to expand to China. In April, the brand introduced its shelf-stable organic Coconut Milk Beverage nationally in 33.8 fl. oz. Tetra Pak cartons.

This fall, the brand will launch single-serve canned nut milks in almond, cashew, macadamia, walnut and pistachio varieties.

S S A L C ACTS

By Martin Caballero

Over the past few months, no segment of the CPG food and beverage industry has been spared from the impact of the coronavirus. Companies large and small, from across all categories, have grappled with a raft of challenges unforeseeable at the dawn of 2020, from supply chain disruption to out-of-stocks at retail to delayed innovations. But for makers of kids beverages, those issues come on top of an entirely unique challenge: how to support parents and kids as the fall school semester — both in-class and remote — gets underway.

Without a playbook for taking on this unprecedented challenge, companies and entrepreneurs have been tasked with forging their own paths forward. Whether through direct in-classroom support of teachers and students or through packaging innovations and the opening of ecommerce channels, brands in the kids’ beverage category are taking the initiative to fi nd the right solutions for their specific issues.

With kids beverages spanning a range of categories, gauging current market conditions requires a closer look at the data. In terms of total U.S. multi-outlet (plus c-store) sales, aseptic juice drinks have fared well over the past 12 months: according to data from IRI, the category as a whole is up 3.4% year-over-year through August 18. The segment’s leading brands — Capri Sun, which has a 40% dollar share of the category, and Kool Aid, which has around 29% — each posted sales gains of 6.6% and 1.8%, respectively, during the period. Meanwhile, at approximately $87.4 million in sales year-over-year, Honest Kids now represents a far larger business than its parent company’s original fl agship product, Honest Tea. 48 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Yet aseptic juices are a different story: the category as a whole contracted 7.5% according to IRI, falling to around $427 million. Brands like Juicy Juice (down 4.6%) and Minute Maid (down 22.5%) faltered, as did Capri Sun’s entries in the segment.

Further afield, there are green shoots to be found.

Atlanta-based Good2Grow, launched in 2014, continued to expand across several formats: the brand has become the second largest in shelf stable bottled fruit juice blends, rising 5.3% to over $49 million in sales, while also increasing 3.2% to just over $37 million in sales in shelf stable bottled fruit drinks. Meanwhile, as reported in BevNET last year, the spate of new water-centric kids beverages in recent years from brands like Hint, Rethink and Hellowater have emerged in response to concerns over the use of added sugars and artificial ingredients. Though still a small piece within the larger category, there are signs of movement: while lagging far behind aseptic juices, Apple & Eve’s shelf stable bottled fruit juice blends had roughly the same yearover-year sales as its aseptic juice drinks.

Back to School At the time of writing, schools across the country are in the middle of what amounts to a mass experiment in education during a pandemic. But whether it takes the form of in-class or virtual instruction, kids’ beverage brands are actively exploring how they fit into schools in 2020.

50 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Capri Sun’s signature 6 oz. juice pouches have been a school cafeteria staple for decades, during which time the brand has updated its offerings to include organic products, sports drinks and other line extensions. Yet in a period of increased stress for parents, students and teachers, its role within the school ecosystem, at least temporarily, had little to do with juice itself. Instead, when officials announced that water fountains would remain closed even as schools began reopening this fall, the brand recognized an opportunity to provide meaningful support for families in a different way.

The company shifted production from juice to fi ltered water pouches (“We’re sorry it’s not juice,” the package label reads), 5 million of which were donated to schools in the Chicagoland area.

“We acted quickly on this approach and did not have any other campaigns planned for this year’s back-to-school season,” said Naor Danieli, associate director of kids hydration at Kraft Heinz, which manufactures Capri Sun. “We anticipated a lot of changes and when we heard water fountains were going to be off limits at schools, we saw a unique opportunity to help.”

The development underscores the need for CPG brands to be fast and flexible in the current environment: having never produced a fi ltered water pouch previously, the brand had to quickly research and execute the product across its R&D, manufacturing and marketing teams ahead of school reopening this fall. Though Danieli noted the product will not be a part of Capri Sun’s permanent lineup, she added that the initial run received an “overwhelming response” and that the company is running a giveaway offering five winners the chance to receive up to 1,000 water pouches for their communities.

Meanwhile, Juicy Juice has taken a different approach by focusing its fall marketing on teachers and educators. In August, the company launched the 100% Thankful Teacher Contest, in which parents were asked to nominate outstanding teachers. In September, the top 20 entries were shared on the brand’s website and guests were invited to vote for their favorite, with two grand prizes winners receiving $10,000 each. All fi nalists will receive a prize pack featuring Juicy Juice products and a gift card to art supply store Michaels.

Remote learning means parents not only have to keep their kids hydrated, they also have to keep them busy — represent-

ing another opportunity for brands to amplify their respective positions as a resource this school year. To that effect, Juicy Juice has partnered with Lanesha Tabb, a kindergarten teacher and the founder of parenting site Education With An Apron, to offer tips, guidance and an online library of educational crafts and kid-friendly recipes for parents via the brand’s website.

The pandemic also brings some practical concerns for a growing brand of any type: how to get more product to customers. Although pantry stocking habits have dissipated since the pandemic started this spring, multi-serve formats have begun to take a more prominent role.

“When stay-at-home orders were fi rst set in place, we noticed a significant boost in sales for our multi-serve bottles,” said Ilene Bergenfeld, Chief Marketing Officer at Harvest Hill Beverage Company, makers of Juicy Juice.

Learning Online In contrast to legacy brands like Capri Sun and Juicy Juice, category newcomer Silly Juice is taking a different approach to building value with consumers during the pandemic. Launched in August ahead of the fall school semester, the California-based company — in which David Langer, VP of Langer Juice, is a co-founder — is hoping its playful branding and colorful aesthetic, rather than any explicit overtures to challenges in schools, will create positive associations for kids at time of increased stress, isolation and anxiety.

“We just really wanted to put a smile on people’s faces,” explained co-founder Keith Davis.

Simple enough, yet the brand’s execution suggests possibilities for the kids beverage category, specifically online. Ahead of launching at retail this fall, Silly Juice has been available exclusively through e-commerce in 12-packs of 10 oz. PET bottles for $19.95. Available in six fruit fl avors, each fl avor contains 20% real fruit juice, no high fructose corn syrup, and no added colors, along with 150 calories and 37 grams of sugar.

The brand’s early success — it sold out almost 10,000 cases within four hours of launch, according to Davis — has inspired confidence that those results will translate over when the brand launches at retail, which could happen as early as October.

“We understand the significance of a consumer being willing to make a purchase online of a case of juice, which is relatively heavy, and to pay a little bit more to receive it,” he said. “We knew that if we could demonstrate a consumer response to buying just by the influence and the branding itself, we knew we would have a story to tell to retailers. It was a true test with true results.”

Along with its own social media presence, which includes over 249,000 Instagram followers, the brand’s online visibility is heightened thanks to Austin and Catherine McBroom, who serve as co-founders alongside David Langer of Langer Juice.

The husband and wife team have amassed over 19 million subscribers for their YouTube account The ACE Family, which chronicles their lives and experiences raising two daughters and a son.

“Since starting our social channel four years ago, my husband Austin and I have always dreamed of creating a feel-good product for our fans that is uniquely ACE,” said Catherine McBroom in a press release.

Though a return to pre-pandemic normalcy still feels far away, Davis believes that the elements in place with Silly Juice — particularly the months spent brainstorming ideas and gathering feedback on the product from kids — put the brand in a strong position to continue growing on the other side of COVID-19. Unlike brands in many other categories, the influence of health trends that have emerged in response to the pandemic, such as immunity ingredients, has been less pronounced here: none of the brands who spoke to BevNET reported adjusting product design due to the coronavirus. For Silly Juice, forthcoming releases like multi-serve bottles and naturally sweetened (no added sugar) versions instead echo trends seen across CPG. “We really stuck to what we felt the response that we were getting from kids that we have and kids that we know to really help us determine what the others would appreciate and want,” said Davis. “We know we have a sugar level that some people may be concerned about, but we see it as an opportunity for people to really expand their juice buying.”

52 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

53

BRAND NEWS KIDS’ BEVERAGES

To ensure students have a safe and fun way to get water, Capri Sun swapped out the juice in its straw pouches for filtered water and donated 5 million filtered water pouches to school districts in the Chicagoland area. This was the first time the brand filled its signature pouch with something other than juice, while poking fun at the product with a “We’re Sorry It’s Not Juice” message on the label.

Premium lemonade brand Poppilu has expanded into the kids juice aisle with new Bold & Tangy Lemonade pouches. The juice is organic and contains no refi ned sugar, with 100% daily value of Vitamin C and pink color from aronia berries. Poppilu is available at 1,300 Walmart locations with plans for expansion to other retailers this fall.

Hapi Water secured national distribution with Wal-Mart and has also added Southeastern Grocers as a key regional account, bringing its door count to 2,350 stores nationwide with plans to add other key accounts in 2021.

Zero sugar kids beverage KidsLuv introduced its newest flavor, Peach Me, I’m Orange, now available on Amazon and the brand’s website. The new flavor will join the brand’s two existing SKUs, Flying Fla-Mango and Starstruck Coconut, with all three containing 10 calories and nine essential vegan vitamins and minerals per serving.

SUNNYD launched two limited edition flavors, Watermelon and Lemonade, for the second consecutive summer. Packaged in 6.75 oz., single-serve bottles and 64 oz. multi-serve carafes, both contain 60 calories per 8 oz. serving.

Juicy Juice launched the 100% Thankful Teacher Contest to celebrate teachers who continue to inspire kids through the new school year. Parents can spotlight teachers who have made a positive impact on their child’s education by giving away $30,000 in prizes.

Creative Roots is a new plant-powered beverage containing one gram of sugar and natural ingredients, available in four flavors: Watermelon Lemonade, Peach Mango, Orange Pineapple and Mixed Berry. It is available in 4-packs for a suggested retail price of $3.69 and in singles for $1.29 in grocery stores nationwide and online.

Silly Juice is a new kids drink featuring playful packaging and available in six flavor varieties: Cool Blue Freeze, Orange Cream, Pink Strawberry Swirl, Red Apple Cherry Blossom, Watermelon Fruit Punch and White Grape Burst. Each flavor is made with real juice and no high fructose corn syrup, and is non-GMO, gluten-free, low in sodium and contains no added colors. The product is available in 12-packs online for $15.95 at SillyJuice.com for a suggested retail price of $15.95.

54 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Rethink Brands added Strawberry Lemonade to its line of organic Juice Splash drinks for kids, containing one gram of sugar per serving. The new flavor is now available at Kroger and Kroger banners as well as on Amazon and the brand’s website.

Citrus World introduced new Disneylicensed drinks featuring Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Goofy. The new refrigerated 59 oz. drinks are Disney Check certified, with 20 calories per serving and 75% lower in sugar than regular fruit juice. The two new flavors, Disney Mickey Mouse Fantastical Fruit Punch and Goofy Paradise Tropical Punch, are available at retailers on the West Coast for $2.19 per carton.

Barfresh’s Twist & Go Smoothies, available in Strawberry and Peach flavors, are now distributed to 475 schools nationwide.

By Beth Demmon

A Look at the Import Beer Category in 2020

IMPORTANCE of IMPORTS: The

56 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

2020 has shown that people aren’t drinking less—they’re just drinking differently. Thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic, on-premise consumption tanked while off-premise sales skyrocketed, and while overall sales growth decelerated, import beer’s share of the alcohol beverage segment continued its years-long upwards ascent.

“Imports are the second highest driver of dollar growth behind Hard Seltzer,” says Todd Camassar, Director of Category Development for Heineken USA in an email to BevNET. “According to Nielsen FDCM+ YTD ending 8/15/20, Imports represented 20.4% of the total beer category, which is consistent with longer term trends. For the same period YTD, Total Beer is growing +15.6% and Imports are up +13.8%.”

All of the top eight beer brands by sales exceeded $1 billion in sales by Aug. 9 this year, according to IRI. These include import giants like Modelo and Corona (both owned

by Constellation Brands). Considering the corresponding demographic evolution of beer drinkers that now includes a rise in Latinx consumers, as well as people newly entering drinking age, and it’s not hard to see where this buying power comes from.

According to the latest year-over-year IRI data ending July 12, 2020, overall off-premise beer sales surpassed $40 billion, with imports capturing over $8 billion.

That’s nearly double the craft category, which accounted for 11.5% of U.S. beer sales in the same timeframe. This steady, long term growth has been happening for years; increases in the import beer category—especially from Mexican brands—have been recorded since the mid-1990s, fluctuating between double- and single-digits, but steadfastly climbing. IRI’s principal of client insights of beer, wine, and spirits, Patrick Livingston, revealed that Mexican imports make up 72.3% of all import sales, with Corona and Modelo making up the lion’s share of those sales.

THE PERCEPTIONS AND VALUE OF IMPORT BEERS Mexican imports have long resonated with American consumers. “When you look at Mexican imports, they defi nitely are the driver in the category,” explains Dave Deuser, CEO of sales & marketing for Radeberger Gruppe USA, an importer of brands of its German-based parent company Radeberger Gruppe. He credits successful advertising campaigns and easy-drinking options as drivers of popularity, but Camassar explains that brand loyalty and familiarity with flavors also play a large role in import beer’s success, especially during COVID-19.

“Shoppers are seeking comfort in tried and true, familiar, and trusted brands,” says Camassar. Along with Constellation Brands, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Molson Coors (formerly MillerCoors), Heineken is one of the top beer importers into the United States, with a portfolio that includes international beer brands like Tecate from Mexico, Tiger from Singapore, and Birra Moretti from Italy.

While consumers tend to relegate Mexican imports as an affordable and approachable everyday drinking option, imports as a whole are often equated with special occasions, according to Craig Hartinger, Marketing Director at Merchant du Vin, a specialty beer importer. “Imports play one important role in the category, and that is to be—or at least perceived to be—upscale beers,” Hartinger says. “When you have a Samuel Smith brown ale, or when you have another specialty import beer, you usually pay a little more for it, and my gosh, you get extra value for it. You get the culture of England that’s been making brown ales for hundreds of years... imports carry huge value, all through the chain to the consumers.”

Deuser agrees. “The American consumer does relate to import beers as a treat. You can see the import beers spike during the holidays, as something special, something different to enjoy, whether they’ve enjoyed it in the past via travel or some other manner.” His caveat: the current American consumer’s purchasing habits are starkly different than they have been in the past. “Unlike 30 years ago, the U.S. consumer isn’t that loyal to one brand as they were. [But] whatever the holiday may be, there will be an import to have during that time.”

Having that freedom of choice is key to import beer’s success in the United States. “Westmalle Tripel, they invented the style in the thirties, and while I’ve had great American tripels and will continue to seek them out, I want everyone to have the option to try the original purchased near their home,” says Hartinger. “Craft breweries are still inventing new styles every month… but what European breweries offer, I think, is decades or even centuries of consumer testing and proof. They’re already established, and there’s a reason why many of those styles are beloved after all these decades.”

HOW IMPORTS HAVE EVOLVED DURING COVID-19 Bad news for anyone making data-driven decisions in 2020: it’s too soon to accurately predict what COVID-19’s longterm influence on beer will be. Regardless, import experts like Hartinger have some theories.

“It looks like legacy import brands are gaining the advantage,” he explains, adding decades-old brand recognition as well as established, widespread points of distribution (POD) as additional boosts. “Any brand that’s been around for a while and has a large number of points of distribution will probably weather this better than the brewery that has fewer points of distribution.”

58 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

IMPORT BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Modelo

$2,648,123,687

22.7%

Corona

$2,611,579,083

8.4% 4.8%

Heineken

$831,666,867

Stella Artois

$401,753,172

7.5%

Dos Equis XX

$393,456,841

3.3%

Tecate

$172,635,683

-8.1%

Pacifico

$171,029,288

27.9%

Guinness

$159,539,894

8.7%

Labatt

$155,971,876

3.8%

Fosters

$76,691,865

0.5% -10.3%

Becks

$40,627,016

Sol

$40,247,605

31.4%

Peroni

$33,637,559

46.1%

Victoria

$33,521,395

1.8%

Molson

$32,832,758

-8.8%

Red Stripe

$23,129,735

8.3%

Sapporo

$16,851,967

17.9%

Estrella Jalisco

$16,682,388

-22.2%

Newcastle

$13,302,057

-37.5%

Amstel

$11,060,746

-11.6%

SOURCE: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm-@iriworldwide% 52 Weeks through 7/12/20

But even global brands with seemingly endless PODs like Budweiser and Coors have been hit hard by the pandemic, and it’s not always imports that are picking up the slack. “The big American light lagers were already in decline, and COVID probably hit them the hardest because of the draft business.

Think of sports stadiums and sports bars, those tend to be light American lager places… I think the draft losses in light American lager at sports arenas and sports bars alone is probably huge. It’ll remain to be seen,” says Hartinger.

“In the latest 13- week period ending [August 20] nearly all Top 10 [import] brands have accelerated substantially vs. their annual trends, including Heineken at +14.9%, which is the fastest acceleration vs. its 52-week trend among this set of brands,” says Camassar. “Category performance has changed, but not in the way one might expect due to COVID-19.”

To that point, he said, Total Beer sales grew at nearly four times the rate of growth before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency for a comparable 23-week period.

One potential future disaster accelerated by COVID-19 that Hartinger foresees is the issue of payment to distributors.

Approximately 70% of states allow distributors to deliver beer on credit, California included. When the nationwide shutdown went into effect, wholesalers and distributors were left holding the bill when their accounts became unable to pay.

“A distributor in California has hundreds, if not thousands, of those kinds of customers who all of a sudden had no way to pay their bills,” explains Hartinger. “I don’t know if too many people are talking about that, but the losses in California alone had to be huge.”

POLITICS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON IMPORT Between the looming credit catastrophe and the threat of tariffs on the alcohol industry, anyone who deals in imports

and exports should be paying close attention to how the next election cycle turns out.

“We were watching real carefully when it was July, when the Trade Representative said they were considering putting tariffs on imported beer,” says Hartinger. Ultimately, those new tariffs did not go into effect, but the current presidential administration has irrevocably changed the way the United States operates when it comes to importing goods.

“This current administration, we have seen a lot of international laws change on a rapid scale, where usually international laws don’t change that often,” says Brooke S. Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer of Velour Imports, a technology-based import/ export company focusing on the alcohol beverage industry. “The tariffs he [President Trump] imposed on steel and aluminum and things of that nature sent a lot of people into panic about their base cost of product.”

Tariffs don’t necessarily mean companies fi nd themselves absorbing an increase to the cost of operations. Hartinger calls proposed tariffs like the one threatened in July as “serious disruptions” to the supply chain. “We have the best beer choices in the world. Interference with that, tariffs, they reduce that, and nobody wins. Consumers lose.”

But Sinclair is optimistic about some recent developments, notably the way COVID-19 sparked some streamlined e-commerce measures favorable to companies dealing with international regulations. “There’s been a huge push, especially in the import/ export market, to where the digital transformation, logistics for customs paperwork—if it wasn’t on its way to being a digital, paperless transaction, it’s on its way now.” She outlines the struggles of navigating between a myriad of different county, state, and federal rules, many of which have been relaxed during the pandemic. “But now, it’s a question of: are they [the federal government] going to continue to have lax legislation?” The answer may depend largely on the election outcome this fall, for both legislation and international trade relationships with countries like Mexico. But either way, Pandora’s box has been opened and 60 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

it’s not likely we’ll make our way back to the way things were.

TECH IS THE FUTURE OF IMPORT BEER Demand for import beers in the United States is likely to continue growing. “We expect the trends established over the last couple of years to continue driving category growth… [and] as the multicultural population expands, high-end Imports will continue to drive incremental and profitable growth for retailers,” predicts Camassar.

As demand continues, access to imported brands is poised to become easier than ever, thanks to technology. “From an import perspective brands have always wanted to be inside of America,” says Sinclair. “What I think is going to start to happen now is that people are going to start to look around at other places besides America, because the flow of accessibility is gonna be greater, because they’ll be able to do a lot of the important things online.”

Online developments include digitizing customs paperwork and other forms that have, in the past, caused delays in the overseas shipping process. “The recent boom in the tech startup world has been to streamline that import/export process,” explains Sinclair. “You’re going to see a lot more in the next few years, because the Caribbean has a huge project, a $74 million project, where they’re doing a digital transformation of governmental checks and balances, governmental paper ports. Certificates are going to be able to be uploaded and received in necessary offices. Unfortunately, it is going to be an issue for those middlemen. But you’ll see a lot more sales from the manufacturers because people now realize, you cannot play with it. You need to be digitally prepared.”

In her mind, this streamlining of import and export procedure in the alcohol industry isn’t just long overdue, but critical to the industry’s ability to keep up with an increasingly global marketplace.

“We’re going to see a lot of huge, big changes coming in the next ten years,” Sinclair claims. Whatever changes are in store, import beers are positioned to be at the forefront.

NATURAL SNACK GUIDE • 2020

63

BRAND LISTINGS Different. Delicious. The original frozen dessert made with faba bean!

Plant Based Jerky

Naturally gluten-free, instantly loved. Freezer-to-oven snacks.

Brazi Bites

ARCTIC ZERO

Bella Sun Luci

ARCTIC ZERO is uniquely crafted with faba bean protein, Certified Plant Based, Non-GMO, free from sugar alcohols and anything artificial.

At only 160-180 calories per pint, it’s the perfect non-dairy frozen dessert when making better-for-you choices!

Big bold flavor with all the healthy goodness of a tomato in every bite! This handcrafted snack is non GMO, vegan and provides 6gs of protein and 6gs of fiber. Perfect for mindful snacking!

Shippers now available.

Premium Protein Bars With Unique Marshmallow Crisp made by Veterans Battle Bars

The Original CBD Water CBD Living

On A Mission to End Mindless Snacking: Protein Bars with a Purpose™

Big Spoon Roasters Small Batch Nut Butters & Bars

B.T.R. Bar

Big Spoon Roasters

You do it all. Isn't it time you had a snack that did it all too?

B.T.R. Bars are boosted w. 7+ purposedriven superfoods & adaptogens to satisfy your every snacking need from AM-PM. Vegan, Keto & Paleo, Gluten-Free, No Junk Ever, BTR in Every Bite!

No slogans, just the truth: Big Spoon Roasters makes tinybatch, handcrafted nut butters & snack bars from scratch, setting the highest standards for ingredient integrity, flavor, and freshness since 2011. Free of GMOs, dairy, gluten, palm, and soy.

64 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

BRAND LISTINGS BOU Soup’ed Up Chicken Noodle

Nature's Garden: Snack with Purpose

We want to infuse our passion for handcrafted loose leaf teas into you

Shroom Enhanced Superfood Granola

BOU Brands

Cibo Vita Inc.

Cultivate Taste Tea

Forij

Made with high quality pasta, carrots, corn & onions, it’s a unique twist on a classic staple. BOU is carefully crafted with better ingredients and no artificial flavors. Simply add water to the fill line, microwave, and enjoy by the sporkful!

Natural, functional, always delicious.

At Cultivate Taste we do not use flavorings, candy, or sugar in our teas. We source direct, blend, & sell loose leaf teas direct-to-consumer & wholesale. We strive to source organic & fair-trade teas & ingredients. We also use eco-friendly packaging.

Shrooms for breakfast?! Call us crazy, but our Superfood Granola might just change your mind... and the food industry.

This unique product combines functional mushroom extracts & simple ingredients into a mouthwatering, healthenhancing treat!

Poshi All Natural - Easy, Portable, Steamed great tasting grass fed / grass finished & Marinated Veggie Snacks! beef jerky

Vegan Marshmallows For Retail And Foodservice Dandies Marshmallows

Elma farms

Homegrown Meats

Chef-inspired, shelfstable, non-GMO, gluten, and additivefree veggie bites.

The Mediterranean herb blend and high-quality E.V. olive oil create a fun, versatile, and emotionally satisfying experience for light guilt-free snacking on the go.

we make great tasting grass fed / grass finished beef jerky with clean ingredients that make a high protein, low in sugar low in sodium healthy snack. Our pastured beef comes from family ranches that adhere to animal welfare standards that we support

Harmless Harvest - Organic Goodness from Coconuts Harmless Harvest

High-quality, protein packed snacks with zero added sugar.

Dreamily Delicious, Plant-based Yogurt in Plastic Neutral Packaging

Chomps

cocojune

Chomps are made from the highestquality, sustainably sourced proteins and contain no hidden ingredients. Chomps beef and venison are 100% grass-fed and finished, the turkey is free range, and all proteins are humanely raised.

A creamy probiotic plant-based yogurt made with certified organic ingredients in New York. Proudly the first U.S. yogurt to be certified plastic neutral and packaged in paper-based cups that use an average of 75% less plastic!

65

BRAND LISTINGS HUNCH launches a fresh take on an iconic treat Hunch Snacks

Authentic French Petite Cakes!

America's #1 selling no shell gourmet pumpkin seed snack brand

Jacquet

KATHIE'S KITCHEN/ SUPERSEEDZ

Made in France by Jacquet, France’s #1 Baker, these Petite Cakes are baked with the best ingredients: real chocolate, non-GMO, no artificial colors or preservatives. Two authentic recipes available: “Chocolate Filling” or “Dark & White Chocolate”.

Chef Meryl revives a childhood South African Toasted Pocket Sandwich.

TASTY. SIMPLE. NUTRITIOUS. Noshells, small batch crafted, dry roasted.

Gluten free, nut free, vegan, Keto friendly and Paleo.

7 - 9 grams plant based protein. 35 RDI magnesium, 15% RDI iron and zinc. only 150 calories. 0 trans fat. 0 cholesterol.

Small batch artisan popcorn celebrating our everyday heroes!

Jafflz Jafflz are stuffed with premium ingredients with NO preservatives. Using 100% Grass-fed beef in the Beef Sloppy Joe, other flavors include kid approved Mac & Cheese & Pizza. The Vegan Indian Curry increasing in popular + the 3 new breakfast flavors

French Leading Baker, since 1885 Jacquet North America Corp

In 1885, Philibert Jacquet opened his family-owned bakery at 92 Rue de Richelieu in Paris, France. To this day, Jacquet prides itself on authenticity and tradition, with their innovative, readyto-eat Belgian Waffles, French Crêpes, and Petite Cakes turning the company into an iconic global brand. Jacquet is committed to providing non-GMO products with zero preservatives — just real food made with a handful of wholesome ingredients and traditional baking processes, the way Philibert Jacquet would’ve wanted it.

Now, Jacquet is proud to bring their French expertise to the US, with the capability to deliver their frozen-to-thaw products to in-store bakeries and commercial bread aisles across the country.

Since Jacquet first entered the US market in 2015, shoppers have already fallen in love with the rich taste of their sweet Belgian Waffles, mouth-watering Crêpes, and delicious Petite Cakes.

Jacquet combines the know-how of a global brand with the dedication of a French family-owned bakery. This is best summed up in Jacquet’s motto — “Snack the French Way” — a reminder that the French love for great cuisine is present in every step of our bakery process.

More info at www.jacquetbakery.com or jim.shankin@jacquet.com

66 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

JOJO’s Chocolate, Your DAILY Guilt-Free Indulgence JOJO’s Chocolate

Kettle Heroes Artisan Popcorn We strive to make a small difference in the world through amazing popcorn.

Our delicious flavors are handcrafted in small batches using only Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten-Free, Nut-free, and Kosher ingredients. Snack well and be a hero!

BRAND LISTINGS Guaranteed to Lead to a Second Date!

Joolies

Organic Hemp CBD Indulgences with Certifications You Can Trust Kefla

Liquid Core Gum Company Liquid Core Gum Company

NEW Chewy Nutty Love Good Fats Bars Now Available!

Love Good Fats

Lupii

Love Good Fats Chewy Nutty bars pair delicious crunchy nuts with a bit of chewiness and have only 1g of sugar so they're not too sweet.

Perfect for snacking on the go! Available in three ridiculously delicious flavors.

Lupii Bites are the first whole-bean protein bars on the market. Hero-ing the Lupini Bean, these vegan bars contain 9-10g of plant-based protein, ? of your daily fiber, and are free of added oils, sugars, gluten, and soy.

New! Savory Korean Style Pancakes

68 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Whole Food, Lupini Bean-Powered Protein Bars

Gluten Free Redefined

Lucky Foods

Mikey's

Lucky Foods releases frozen Korean style pancakes. A staple in Korea, they’re a savory pancake filled with vegetables and can be enjoyed as an appetizer, a hearty snack, or a meal. Fully cooked, just heat and serve. Available in Veggie or Kimchi.

Our Pizza Pockets are everything you love about pizza made gluten, dairy, and grain free so those who follow allergen-free lifestyles have convenient and delicious options.

They come in seven savory varieties and are perfect for any time of day!

BRAND LISTINGS Ethically sourced Peruvian Cacao infused with Hemp derived CBD

You Gotta Try the #1 Lentil Chips in the US!

MOMO's CBD/Bean to BLISS bars

Natural Intentions, Inc. The D

Discover your BLISS with MOMO's Bean to BLISS Bars!

Ethically sourced/ Sustainably harvested Peruvian Cacao infused with vertically integrated US grown Hemp derived CBD. Handcrafted/Small Batch/ Lab tested for purity and potencyVegan/Non-GMO

Sprinkled with Himalayan Pink Salt – these lentil chips are made with more than 50% lentils and contain no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. They are non-GMO, kosher, vegan, gluten-free and are packed with 4g of protein per serving!

Mother Raw Vegan Queso

Nutty Gourmet - Seasoned Walnuts and Nut Butters!

Mother Raw

Nutty Gourmet

Mother Raw Vegan Queso is our craveable take on the classic dip - made without cashews, dairy or anything artificial! Non-GMO & Vegan, it's packed with the goodness of hemp seeds, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and nutritional yeast.

Nutty Gourmet is a vibrant, lively bunch of bold flavors that will satisfy your Omega-3 nut cravings. Seasoned Snack Walnuts: Sea Salt, Honey, Maple Cinnamon, Rosemary, Chipotle, Buffalo, & Habanero. Nut Butter: Walnut, Pistachio, & Pecan Praline.

Traditional Greek Yogurt - Handcrafted, Small Batch, Family Recipe Nounos Creamery

70 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

PigOut Pigless Pork Rinds: Your #1 Protein-Packed, Plant-Based Snack!

Outstanding Foods

“They’ve got the perfect crunch and an ample amount of nacho cheese dusting that is fingerlicking delicious. Good on you, PigOut, for living up to your name.”

- Chowhound “With PigOut’s Pigless Pork Rinds, you no longer have to choose between delicious and nutritious.

You can enjoy all of the flavor and none of the guilt, bag after bag.”

- Yahoo! Finance • 25g of Protein • Plant-Based • Tastes Better than Pork Rinds Texas BBQ, Nacho Cheese, Hella Hot, Salt & Vinegar and Original. Try all of them today!

Gluten Free, Non-GMO Snacks made from Heirloom Corn Pipcorn

BRAND LISTINGS OHi Refrigerated Superfood Snack Bar Fresh & Delicious!

Plant Based, Low Sugar, High Fiber, Artisanal Recipes, Truly Delicious

OHi Food Co.

R.E.D.D.

Fresh plantbased ingredients combining nuts, seeds & nourishing superfoods. Enjoy all the benefits from eating whole foods that are vegan, non-GMO & free from preservatives, refined sugar, gluten, grain & soy. Use NOSH20 for 20% OFF on OHi website.

We are R.E.D.D. = Radiant Energy Deliciously Delivered.

Better for the planet and our bodies, a new generation of plant based protein bars delivering a unique balance of low sugar, high fiber energy. Hand-crafted recipes that are truly delicious.

Grain Free Cassava Chips

The FIRST & ONLY collagen-infused lactose-free A2/A2 Dairy Ice Cream

Plant Snacks

Re:THINK Ice Cream

Plant Snacks are Vegan, Free of the Big 8 Allergens, GrainFree, Gluten-Free, and have no added sugar.

Available in a variety of 5oz offerings, as well as, our brand new Restaurant Style 8oz offerings. Plantbased snacking made easy and worry-free!

Tummy-friendly dairy ice cream (lactose & A1 protein-free) to avoid digestive dairy discomfort.

All-natural, diabetic & keto-friendly, gluten free, no sugar alcohol, infused with collagen & whey isolate protein. Decadent, creamy & delicious!

Righteous Gelato launches in the US!

Don't Fear the Treat Pure Batch

Righteous Gelato Ltd

Pure Batch services a modern wellness lifestyle where each batch is designed to give your body a healthy dose of protein, fiber, fat + low-glycemic sugar- anytime, anywhere. We are 100% women owned, WBENC Certified and registered dietitian approved.

Now available in the US! Righteous is a Certified B-Corporation that crafts premium plant based gelato & dairy free sorbetto with clean natural ingredients but no sacrifice on taste or texture.

Vegan crunchy goodness roasted with real ingredients

Rice. Packed with the power of veggies.

Q's Nuts,LLC

RightRice

We have more than 18 original recipes that are small batch roasted in sweet, savory and spicy flavors and everything we roast is vegan, gluten, soy free and absolutely delicious!

Taste the difference!

The search for the perfect veggie rice ends here. We found a way to pack rice with deliciously nutritious veggies & still found room for flavor! Easy to cook in about 10 minutes, RightRice has 2x the protein, 5x the fiber, & way less carbs than rice.

72 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

New From Sahale Snacks - Bean+Nut Snack Mixes Sahale Snacks

The BEAN+NUT SNACK MIXES combine the delicious flavors and benefits of plant protein into a savory snacking experience.

Each blend of crunchy, roasted beans and dry-roasted nuts is carefully balanced and seasoned with unique spices. The perfect on-the-go energy snack alternative when you need a satisfying pick me up.

With thoughtfully sourced ingredients, these new blends will turn your everyday snacking into a Beyond Ordinary® occasion.

The Bean+Nut Snack Mixes join Sahale Snacks® Glazed Mixes, Trail Mixes and Coconut Snack Mixes.

Snacks So Delicious, You Will Never Settle for Ordinary Again It started with a vision for better snacks, made from unique, high quality ingredients.

Sahale Snacks® blends are exceptional combinations of premium dry-roasted nuts, dried fruits and spices, each reflecting a beautiful location, culture or culinary tradition from around the world. They are carefully crafted and roasted in small batches, offering a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The grab & go snacks provide a healthier, great tasting option for all your snacking occasions.

All Sahale Snacks® blends are crafted using the Snack Better® Promise: Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher, No Artificial Flavors, Colors or Preservatives.

Discover all the ways to Snack Better® at sahalesnacks.com Mighty Lil’ Lentils, so many ways to enjoy! How do you Lentil?

Seapoint Farms

BRAND LISTINGS The snacks kids love. And parents do too.

KETO & LOW CARB Never Tasted This Good!

Riverside Natural Foods inc.

The Cookie Department

MadeGood checks all the boxes. Kids crave the granola bars and minis because they taste awesome.

Chocolate chip and strawberry are their favs. While Parents appreciate that each snack is made with a full serving of vegetables.

You can have your cake and eat it too!

It's your party, and you can eat cookies if you want too... because Cake Walk only has 1 gram of sugar and 3 NET CARBS. Cake Walk is keto, palm oil, corn, soy and GMO FREE. Kosher and gluten free certified.

Mozaics - Organic Popped Veggie Chips!

Real peas mean real nutrition.

Unlike Any Other Grain-free Puff!

The Daily Crave

The Fastest Growing Quinoa Chips Across the US

Spinning Wheel Brands

The Daily Crave

Crafted with simple ingredients you can easily see: organic green and yellow peas, organic potatoes, organic black beans Not fried or baked. 4 g protein, 4g fiber per serving.

Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly, NonGMO Verified, USDA Organic.

You can never go wrong with a barbeque flavor loved by all – our quinoa chips are packed with 4g of plant-based protein and made with quinoa flour and corn flour. These yummy chips are non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher and perfect for dipping!

Beyond Puffs offer a snacking experience that is Beyond Your Expectations! We believe our puffs are different from most snacks, not only because of the great taste and crunch, but because they are free from corn and grains. We choose sustainable, plant-based ingredients like red lentils, black beans and cassava to bring you 5g of plant-based protein and 3g of fiber in every delicious serving! We offer four mouth-watering flavors: Himalayan Pink Salt, Vegan Cheddar, Vegan White Cheddar and Vegan Sriracha. Like all of our snacks, they are non-GMO, gluten-free and contain no artificial flavors or colors. So come along and Chase Your Cravings!

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BRAND LISTINGS Cactus Tortilla Chips - Grain Free, Gluten Free, NON GMO Tia Lupita Foods

First-to-Market Beyond Churros!

The Daily Crave

Our inspiration is classic churros and chocolate, which is enjoyed in many countries. Traditional churros are made with wheat flour and eggs before they are fried and dusted in sugar and cinnamon. NOT THESE! Beyond Churros combines the amazing taste of this time-honored favorite with revolutionary ingredients that highlights the traditional aspects of a churro while fitting into many lifestyles whether it be vegan, gluten-free, high-protein or low-sugar diets. Using only the highest quality ingredients that are healthy and better-for-you, Beyond Churros are made with a grainfree, plant-based blend of black beans, red lentils and cassava root that provides 4g of protein per serving. They are low in sugar (sweetened with monk fruit extract), baked, dairy-free, soy-free, peanut-free and certified kosher, non-GMO and gluten-free. Its unique, nutritious attributes along with its bold, shiny packaging make this one of a kind sweet treat stand out amongst others becoming an obsession by many. Beyond Churros are offered in four flavors: Original Cinnamon, Salted Caramel, Coconut and Double Chocolate. Go Beyond Your Expectations! *NEW* The GFB Grain Free Bites - Grain Free & Paleo Friendly!

Ever wish you could put a salad in your pocket and go? So, did we.

The GFB

Undressed

Produced by a Certified B Corp in their zero-waste facility, The GFB Grain Free Bites have just hit the market!

Three ridiculously tasty flavors pack in plenty of plant-based protein while being 100% grain-free + paleo-friendly. Try them today!

With Undressed Salad Bars, now you can enjoy greens on the go! Refreshingly savory and not sweet.

Made with familiar ingredients that are non-GMO, and gluten, dairy, and soy free.

And, each bar is equivalent to more than a serving of vegetables.

Plant Powered Snacking goes ball-istic with Frooze Balls in 7 flavors

The next generation of plant-based frozen dessert!

Tino Kai LLC Incredi-ball Frooze Balls from NZ take natural, plant-based ingredients to create delicious healthy snacks. Perfect for grab & go, vending, cafes, catering, gyms.

Gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, kosher & with no added sugar make them a great choice.

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Wonderlab's Doozy Pots A unique, organic & regenerative blend of whole oats, hemp hearts, and other plant champions creates luscious, indulgent scoops of gelato without using heavy saturated fats or an overload of sugar. A Doozy of a dessert for people & planet.

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SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Organic Cassava Flour Ciranda, Inc.

Flavor Manufacturer Abelei Flavors

Water Soluble CBD Ingredients Caliper Foods

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

At Caliper Foods, we’ve spent the last six years developing standardized, water-soluble cannabinoid products and technologies that simplify the development process and provide consistent consumption experiences. Our team of food scientists, manufacturing specialists, and quality systems experts hail from some of the largest, most well-respected CPG companies on Earth.

Unique Plant Proteins & Dairy Axiom Foods

Real People. True Flavor.

Callisons

Innovating allergen-friendly, quality plant protein and whole grain dairy-alternative ingredients since 2005, Axiom's the world’s trusted organic manufacturer/distributor of FDA GRAS, EU-compliant, functional & neutral rice & pea proteins, including 1.0 PDCAAS, extruded, clinically tested, patented & U.S. options. From oats to sacha inchi, hemp, pumpkin & more, Axiom continues to meet R&D's needs.

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

Functional Branded Ingredients Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

BLS creates innovative, scientifically based, functional ingredients for healthier living. We sell in bulk to businesses who manufacture or formulate functional foods & beverages, supplements, sports nutrition products, cosmetics, and animal nutrition. We are best known for the only patented & FDA GRAS-certified D-Ribose: Bioenergy Ribose®. Bioenergy Ribose is the true source of sustainable, cellular energy and is crucial to the production of ATP. Bioenergy Ribose increases energy for Endurance, Performance & A Healthier You. Our newest ingredient, RiaGev™, is a proprietary ingredient formulation that uniquely combines Bioenergy Ribose and Nicotinamide. The pharmacodynamics of RiaGev demonstrate it to be more efficient than NR at increasing NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) throughout the body, including muscle and brain, because it enters the salvage pathway directly. RiaGev maintains & enhances mitochondrial health by boosting NAD levels and inducing the creation of new mitochondria, thus NAD is vital for mitochondrial health. And by increasing NAD, RiaGev helps slow the aging process, reduce age-related cognitive decline, and prevent cellular damage from free radicals. RiaGev helps Repair, Rejuvenate and Defy Aging.

Add these branded to your new or existing product innovations to help people feel, perform and look better.

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Clean Label Ingredients Farbest Brands

Organic Taste Solutions FONA International

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

Consumers today want it all. You’re balancing the demands of great taste, regulatory hurdles, and consumer acceptance. The experts at FONA can help. From ideation to launch, we can create a seamless, winning path for you. We are FONA. Let us bring the best clean label flavors and taste modification solutions to the table for you.

Beverage Development Services Flavorman

Coconut Ingredients Franklin Baker, Inc.

Creating beverages in every category is what we do – but it’s not all we do. Drawing on our almost 30 years of expertise, Flavorman offers a wide range of professional services: from R&D to shelf life testing, to pre-production planning, small-run bottling and production, value engineering, consulting, and much more. Partner with Flavorman and change what the world is drinking.

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the largest processor of coconut ingredients in the Philippines and the premier supplier to the global beverage & food market. Our extensive portfolio of coconut products including Coconut Water, Coconut Milk/ Cream, Coconut Concentrate, Creamed Coconut for your applications needs. Our extensive thirdparty certifications are unrivaled to the highest product standards.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Natural Color Solutions GNT USA Inc.

Contract Packaging Solutions GreenSeed Contract Packaging

Cold-Brew Master Extractors Javo Beverage Company

Branding & Packaging Design McLean Design

EXBERRY® by GNT is the leading brand of natural food coloring 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. EXBERRY® products can be applied to a range of beverage categories including enhanced waters, carbonated soft drinks, dairy, and plant-based milks.

GreenSeed is an external contract packaging/ manufacturing operation for brands and CPGs who specialize in natural foods. Their operations are leading-edge when it comes to agility, efficiency, & quality. GreenSeed manages the sourcing, packaging, & filling of organic, nonGMO, & gluten-free dry foods. Named one of the "Fastest Growing Packaging Companies in North America" by Packaging Strategies.

Founded in 2001, Javo is an extraction company that uses a proprietary cold-brew method to produce fresh, clean-labeled coffee, tea and botanical extracts for the food and beverage industry. Our cold-brew process delivers a clean non-acidic authentic concentrate for your targeted application, whether a cold brew, nitro coffee, dairy, sauce or bakery item.

We Build Powerful Brands — Brands are built on consumer engagement, meaning that a successful brand has captivated the consumer and enriched their life in some unexpected and enduring way. At McLean we use every tool at our disposal to reveal the core meaning of a brand and enhance the consumer's experience beyond the utility of a product or service. Realize the full value of your brand at McLean.

Connect with Nutrition Experts Gorham Consulting Group/LINK

Nuts-Roasted-Seasoned-Butter Grower Direct Nut Ingr. Supply

Shelf Stable Probiotic Strains Microbiome Labs

LINK is the only platform that gives health-driven food and beverage brands access to nutrition experts. Use LINK to gain control over your strategic outreach, access dietitians where and when you need them, and become a brand trusted by professionals. It's the only tool you need for effective dietitian outreach. Create a profile and begin connecting today!

Walnuts, almonds, macadamia, pecans, pistachios. Capabilities include: dry steam pasteurization, dry roasting, seasoning, bagging, nut butters (jars, drums, eco-friendly meta-pail).

Manufactured to industry specifications for ingredient applications or as private label retail finished goods. Highlights: all-natural, plantbased, gluten-free, non-GMO, Halal, Vegan, BRC Cert., OU Kosher, organic.

Sustainable Packaging Solutions Graham Packaging Company

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Non-detect THC - CBD Extracts Klersun Hemp Extracts

Fruit & Vegetable Solutions Milne

Klersun is a producer of high quality hemp extracts. We specialize in broad spectrum Non Detectable THC Extracts. Our NDT™ extracts are self affirmed GRAS. We sell our products by active ingredient and are capable of consistently providing large-scale quantities of extracts derived from industrial hemp that is grown and cultivated in accordance with the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018.

Since 1956, Milne has been producing industryleading fruit and vegetable juices, concentrates, purees, and custom solutions. With a team of dedicated product developers, Milne has the experience, expertise and creativity to craft new product ideas and solutions to help your business stand out in the fast-paced food and beverage market.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Vitamin K2 fortification Microbiome Labs

ON-DEMAND STEAM SOLUTIONS MIURA AMERICA CO., LTD.

Celebrating over 60 years in business, and 10+ years in their Made in the USA manufacturing facility in Rockmart, Georgia, Miura has become the world leader in steam boiler innovation and technology and a favorite of the Beverage and Food industry.

Miura’s once-through watertube boilers are exceptionally reliable, efficient, safe, and feature a range of impressive benefits including: Cold start to full steam in less than 5 minutes, which allows users to turn units on/off quickly depending on load requirements, while conserving resources and reducing energy costs; enhanced operational reliability; modular, space-saving design; advanced controls and remote monitoring; and a best-in-industry safety record with zero catastrophic vessel failures resulting in casualty.

In 2020, Miura, along with Hartford Steam Boiler and Armstrong Services introduced Steam as a Service (SaaS), a turnkey, fully-financed solution that meets the steam requirements of a range of users by designing, building, operating, maintaining, and continuously optimizing their steam generation onsite.

Miura boilers are available in two series:The LX Gas/Low NOx Series, Low and High Pressure Steam Boiler (from 50 -300HP) uses natural gas or propane and are compactly-designed.The EX Gas/Oil Series High Pressure Steam Boilers (from 100HP and 50HP increments up to 300HP) are the most versatile boilers in the world.

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Trust the monk.™ MONK FRUIT CORP.

Healthy Snacking with Flaxseed Pizzey Ingredients

Monk fruit allows you to create great tasting, innovative products with significantly less sugar and calories - all from the goodness of fruit! Monk Fruit Corp is the recognized industry leader, with the best quality and widest variety of monk fruit products and the majority share of the global monk fruit market (more than 3X our nearest competitor). Looking for monk fruit? Trust the monk.™

Pizzey Ingredients’ PurFlax™ adds plant-based nutrition (Omega 3, fiber, protein and lignans) and can be used as egg, oil, shortening or gum replacements in a variety of applications.

PurFlax™ has a guaranteed shelf life of two years and is available in organic and conventional varieties (both are non-GMO, pesticide-free and gluten-free).

Flavor Manufacturer Mother Murphy's Flavors

Beverage & Food Development PTM Food

Mother Murphy's is a full service flavor manufacturer dedicated to supporting customer needs through quality and flavor innovation.

At Mother Murphy's we specialize in flavor and prototype development for the beverage and snack industries and have over 60,000 flavors in our portfolio. We make the world taste better!

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

Sustainable Packaging Handles PakTech

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Get Your Packaging Picked Up Printpack

Complete Ingredient Solutions The Wright Group

As interest in health and wellness products continues to rise, fortified snack options are becoming increasingly more appealing to consumers. The Wright Group’s custom nutrient premixes provide you with not only the quality ingredients needed to meet consumer demand but also the technical expertise to assist you with incorporating them into your products. The Wright Group is a turnkey provider of customized vitamin and mineral premixes and nutritional ingredients to global leaders in the functional food and dietary supplement markets. Our 100+ years of innovative expertise, accomplished R&D team, and comprehensive production capabilities allow us to provide shorter lead times, enabling you to successfully bring your products to market.

Our SuperBlend® premixes incorporate microencapsulated nutrients to deliver performance and stability in high temperature and shear processes in a variety of food and beverage products.

SuperCoat® microencapsulated nutrients envelop particles in a protective shell at the microscopic level to increase vitamin potency retention, mask unwanted sensory characteristics, and reduce potential ingredient and nutrient interactions. Connect with the team of experts at The Wright Group to learn more about how our ingredient solutions can improve your product portfolio.

Pyure Trio Organic Stevia Pyure Brands LLC

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Plant-Based Solution Suppliers Top Health Ingredients, Inc.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Fruit & Vegetable Ingredients Stiebs

Exceptional Taste Profiles Synergy Flavors, Inc

Shrink Sleeve Labeling Tripack

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

Synergy Flavors is a supplier of sweet flavors, vanilla, coffee, tea and botanical essences and extracts for the global food, beverage and nutrition industries. With over 130 years of expertise and understanding of front-toend-product development, Synergy blends art, science, and market insights to create an array of exceptional taste profiles for the snack food industry.

Tripack offers a variety of shrink sleeve packaging solutions. As a leading manufacturer of sleeving systems for shrink labeling, multi packs, and tamper banding, our expertise makes us uniquely the best fit for your co-packing needs. Whether you want a system of your own, or need us to provide the packaging service for you, we have the total solution here. Pre or Post Fill. Bottle deco. Multi

Bestevia Taste Solutions SweeGen

Fruit Ingredients Tree Top, Inc.

SweeGen brings you Bestevia Taste Solutions, a full taste experience for sugar reduced foods and beverages delivering the sweetness profile and mouthfeel of full sugar. Our sugar-reduction portfolio combines next generation stevia sweeteners with modulation and mouthfeel building blocks. All components are non-GMO, label friendly and nature-based. Make your next Sweet innovation with Sweegen!

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

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COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Abelei Flavors

Shelley Henderson

-

-

(630) 859-1410

abelei.com

ARCTIC ZERO

Angelica Bodnarchuk

San Diego

CA

(760) 623-6897

arcticzero.com

Axiom Foods

Rick Ray

Los Angeles

CA

(800) 711-3587

axiomfoods.com

B.T.R. Bar

Ashley Marie

San Francisco

CA

(646) 331-7033

eatbtrbar.com

Battle Bars

Colin Sparks

West Palm Beach

FL

(321) 948-7190

battlebars.com

Bella Sun Luci

Kiana Franklin

Chico

CA

(530) 899-2661

bellasunluci.com

Big Spoon Roasters

Mark Overbay

Durham

NC

(919) 309-9100

bigspoonroasters.com

Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

Penny Portner

Ham Lake

MN

(763) 746-3926

bioenergylifescience.com

BOU Brands

Sammantha Teller

New York

NY

(914) 844-7958

bouforyou.com

Brazi Bites

Bridget Kavanaugh

Portland

OR

(415) 418-0655

brazibites.com

Jolene Jacobs

Commerce City

CO

(720) 273-3824

caliperingredients.life

Justin Biza

Lacey

WA

(360) 412-3340

callisons.com

Caliper Foods Callisons

Sean McDonald

Corona

CA

(800) 940-3660

cbdliving.com

Chomps

CBD Living

Karli Nutter

Chicago

IL

(847) 951-2681

chomps.com

Cibo Vita Inc.

Aiden Mould

Totowa

NJ

(205) 561-7088

naturesgarden.net

Ciranda, Inc.

Tonya Lofgren

Hudson

WI

(715) 386-1737

ciranda.com

cocojune

cocojune Team

New York

NY

(415) 481-5938

cocojune.co

Cultivate Taste Tea

Jennifer Nowicki

De Pere

WI

(608) 509-8583

cultivatetaste.com

Dan Reed

Addison

IL

(630) 629-9667

dandies.com

Dandies Marshmallows

Doruk Karakasoglu

Miami

FL

(305) 777-0948

poshi.com

Farbest Brands

Elma farms

Betty Maslin

Park Ridge

NJ

(201) 573-4900

farbest.com

Flavorman

Phil Icsman

Louisville

KY

(502) 301-8132

flavorman.com

FONA International

John Fishel

Geneva

IL

(630) 578-8638

fona.com

Forij

Parker Olson

Seattle

WA

(617) 939-7132

forij.co

Franklin Baker, Inc. GNT USA Inc.

John Slade

Memphis

TN

(901) 881-6681

franklinbaker.com

Stephanie Ferretti

Tarrytown

NY

(914) 524-0600

exberry.com

Gorham Consulting Group/LINK

Jenna Gorham

Bozeman

MT

(508) 904-3454

gorhamconsultinggroup.com

Graham Packaging Company

Angela Hunter

Lancaster

PA

(717) 849-8500

grahampackaging.com

Samantha Lamanna

Batavia

IL

(630) 761-8544

greenseedcp.com

GreenSeed Contract Packaging

Tony Varni

Hughson

CA

(209) 448-6105

growerdirectnut.com

Harmless Harvest

Grower Direct Nut Ingr. Supply

Sara-Scott Smith

-

-

-

harmlessharvest.com

Homegrown Meats

Thad Benshoof

Encinitas

CA

(949) 274-0127

-

New York

NY

-

hunchsnacks.com

Jacquet

Jim Shankin

New York

NY

(805) 450-2129

jacquetbakery.com

Jacquet North America Corp

Jim Shankin

New York

NY

(805) 450-2129

jacquetbakery.com

meryl van der merwe

Park City

UT

(435) 333-5233

jafflz.com

Candice Peck

Vista

CA

(760) 518-8374

javobeverage.com

Candice Shearman

Sandy

UT

(225) 892-1649

jojoschocolate.com

Hunch Snacks

Jafflz Javo Beverage Company JOJOs Chocolate Joolies KATHIE'S KITCHEN/SUPERSEEDZ Kefla

homegrownmeats.com

Amanda Sains

Los Angeles

CA

(703) 980-8441

joolies.com

Joseph L. Pelliccio

North Haven

CT

(203) 407-0546

superseedz.com

Brian Donovan

Superior

CO

(850) 384-2570

enjoykefla.com

Kettle Heroes Artisan Popcorn

Rudi Sinykin

Tempe

AZ

(480) 406-8935

KettleHeroes.com

Klersun Hemp Extracts

Carl Jonsson

Portland

OR

(877) 767-4367

klersun.com

-

Denver

CO

(855) 558-9407

liquidcoregumcompany.com

Bridget Gallivan

Austin

TX

(512) 674-5664

lovegoodfats.com

Liquid Core Gum Company Love Good Fats Lucky Foods Lupii McLean Design

Cindy Harling

Tualatin

OR

(503) 612-1300

luckyfood.com

Isabelle Steichen

New York

NY

(917) 328-0338

getlupii.com

Caryn Javinsky

Walnut Creek

CA

(925) 944-9500

McLean-Design.com

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COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY Microbiome Labs Mikey's Milne MIURA AMERICA CO., LTD. MOMO's CBD/Bean to BLISS bars

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Alisa Ries

St. Augustine

FL

(801) 201-8839

microbiomelabs.com

Kiera Kehoe

Bethlehem

PA

(631) 672-5210

eatmikeys.com

Clint Janson

Spokane

WA

(509) 710-4276

Mojo-Lab.com

Andrew Eklind

Rockmart

GA

(888) 309-5574

miuraboiler.com

Mo George-Payette

Huntington Beach

CA

(714) 401-7435

momoscbd.com

MONK FRUIT CORP.

Paul Paslaski

Libertyville

IL

(847) 367-6665

monkfruitcorp.com

Mother Murphy's Flavors

mothermurphys.com

Michael Oden

Greensboro

NC

(336) 273-1737

Mother Raw

Mother Raw

-

-

-

Natural Intentions, Inc. The D

Taylor Phang

Folsom

CA

(916) 358-9509

Nounos Creamery

Todd Engle

West Babylon

NY

(860) 428-7499

nounoscreamery.com

Nutty Gourmet

Tony Varni

Hughson

CA

(209) 448-6105

nuttygourmet.com

OHi Food Co. Outstanding Foods

motherraw.com thedailycrave.com

Christine Lawrence

Costa Mesa

CA

(714) 270-9202

ohifoodco.com

Bobbie Turco

Santa Monica

CA

(310) 735-0505

outstandingfoods.com

PakTech

-

-

-

(541) 461-5000

PakTech-opi.com

Pipcorn

Teresa Tsou

Bethlehem

PA

(937) 369-8782

pipsnacks.com

Pizzey Ingredients

Mary Ekman

Rockford

MN

(651) 797-3168

pizzeyingredients.com

Plant Snacks

Kevin Barry

Needham

MA

(617) 967-6239

plantsnacks.com

Karen English

Atlanta

GA

(404) 460-7000

printpack.com/digital-press

PTM Food

Don Rodgers

Wall Township

NJ

(888) 736-6339

ptmfood.com

Pure Batch

Angela Millin

Hillsborough

NJ

(609) 373-2015

purebatch.com

Printpack

Pyure Brands LLC Q's Nuts,LLC

Pat Fox

Naples

FL

(239) 384-5993

pyureingredients.com

Beth Quinn

Georgetown

MA

(617) 764-3741

qsnuts.com

R.E.D.D.

Team R.E.D.D.

Portland

ME

(207) 370-4433

reddbar.com

Re:THINK Ice Cream

Jordan Parker

Napa

CA

(707) 492-5760

rethinkicecream.us

Righteous Gelato Ltd

Mike McGregor

Calgary

-

(403) 891-6735

righteousgelato.com

Francey Grund

San Francisco

CA

(310) 498-5083

RightRice.com

Daniel Chanderpaul

Concord

-

(416) 360-8200

madegoodfoods.com

RightRice Riverside Natural Foods inc.

Sahale Snacks

-

Seattle

WA

(888) 259-4321

sahalesnacks.com

Seapoint Farms

-

Huntington Beach

CA

(714) 374-9831

seapointfarms.com

James Curley

Chicago

IL

(773) 459-1450

mozaicschips.com

Brian Nova

Madera

CA

(559) 455-8606

stiebs.com

Katharina Pueller

Rancho Santa Margarita

CA

(949) 709-0587

sweegen.com

Synergy Flavors, Inc

Patrick Lawson

Wauconda

IL

(847) 487-1011

synergytaste.com

The Cookie Department

Akiva Resnikoff

Portland

OR

(510) 978-7011

thecookiedepartment.com

Taylor Phang

Folsom

CA

(916) 358-9509

thedailycrave.com

Spinning Wheel Brands Stiebs SweeGen

The Daily Crave

-

Grand Rapids

MI

(616) 755-8432

thegfb.com

The Wright Group

The GFB

Chuck Walton

-

LA

(337) 783-3096

thewrightgroup.net

Tia Lupita Foods

Hector Saldivar

Tiburon

CA

(415) 420-2820

tialupitafoods.com

Tino Kai LLC

Cherie Jackson

Hinsdale

IL

(630) 344-3754

froozeballs.com

Top Health Ingredients, Inc.

Brittany DeMarco

Edmonton

-

(780) 439-1425

tophealthingredients.com

Tree Top, Inc.

Jeannie Swedberg

Selah

WA

(509) 698-1435

treetopingredients.com

Tripack Undressed Wonderlab's Doozy Pots

Nick Linz

Milford

OH

(513) 248-1255

tripack.net

Anne Klassman

Chicago

IL

(773) 294-4154

eatundressed.com

Karl Sutaria

Cleveland

OH

(802) 272-5026

wonderlabdoozy.com

86 BEVNET MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

PROMO PARADE

INDUSTRY PROMOTIONS & EVENTS

BODYARMOR Partners with US Open Tennis Championships

BODYARMOR Sports Drink and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced a new partnership that names BODYARMOR LYTE as the Official Sports Drink of the US Open Tennis Championships. The new multi-year agreement begins immediately.

As part of the partnership BODYARMOR products will be made available to hydrate players during US Open matches and practices, in locker rooms and in training facilities throughout the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In further support of the partnership this year, BODYARMOR will amplify via digital and social integrations, mass-awareness media and retail activity with Team BODYARMOR athletes and partners.

“BODYARMOR premium sports drinks are a natural fit for our event and we are proud to make BODYARMOR products

Espanita Artisanal Tequila Partners With Pitbull Espanita Tequila has announced a partnership with a legendary Music Icon Armando Christian Pérez, widely known by his stage name Pitbull. The Grammy-winning international superstar, education advocate and motivational speaker is assuming the role of a strategic advisor and a Global Brand Ambassador for Espanita tequila.

“Armando’s love for the spirit of Espanita and his enthusiasm for the brand is inspiring for everyone who works on the team,” said Marina Wilson, president and founder of Espanita Tequila Company, LLC. “Mr. Worldwide is a creative visionary and this collaboration will generate global opportunities for Espanita tequila.

Armando’s personal creed of tenacity and grit, and his determination to continually connect with his audience, encouraging people to reach their full potential, is as contagious as his music.”

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available to the US Open athletes to commence the partnership,” said Lew Sherr, Chief Revenue Officer, USTA. “BODYARMOR is rapidly escalating in popularity. We appreciate their commitment to giving back to the sport and we look forward to helping them accelerate their growth around the world.”

Naomi Osaka, the 2018 US Open champion, will join BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink in bringing the partnership to greater heights by committing to the refurbishment of the tennis court facilities in Jamaica, Queens where the two-time Grand Slam champion first started playing tennis at the age of three. The tennis court refurbishment will allow BODYARMOR LYTE to bring the US Open partnership to life beyond the tournament and join Naomi Osaka to inspire young athletes in the local Queens community to discover the game of tennis.

“BODYARMOR has called Queens home since the brand was founded and we’re thrilled to be part of the US Open, the most prestigious tennis event in the United States, taking place in our backyard,” said Michael Fedele, VP of marketing, BODYARMOR. “This milestone partnership creates a tremendous opportunity for BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink to share the court with some of the best athletes in the world – and we are excited to support our incredible partner Naomi, and create a great place for future US Open champions like her to get their start.”

“My experience at the US Open has played such a pivotal role in my career and the tennis courts I grew up playing on have helped shape who I am today,” said Naomi Osaka. “I’m excited to join BODYARMOR to give young athletes and aspiring tennis players the opportunity to experience tennis on the same courts that started it all off for me, and I couldn’t be happier that my go-to sports drink BODYARMOR LYTE is now available throughout the US Open.”

“It’s an honor to partner and collaborate with the Espanita tequila brand,” said Perez. “We’re proud to be part of a brand that has won so many awards and have been drinking and sending Espanita to family, friends and business partners around the world. We’re excited to join this brand on its exciting journey,” he added.

Terms of the deal are private, but the partnership includes equity in the brand and a long-term commitment to the continued growth of Espanita and its family of artisanal ultra-premium tequilas.

Vessl Enlists GRAMMY Award Winning Artist Miguel as Creative Advisor & Sustainability Ambassador Vessl, Inc., owners of the Vessl technology and the ready-to-drink tea brand Tea of a Kind, announced that GRAMMY Award winning singer, songwriter, producer and global artist Miguel is now a corporate ambassador and advisor for the company.

Miguel has established himself as one of the music industry’s most creative innovators and influencers, unafraid to follow his artistic instincts and impulses. Vessl will collaborate with Miguel across its entire product portfolio, global brand relationships and product development efforts.

Miguel will serve as an ambassador for Vessl’s reusable bottle campaign launching this fall, where Miguel’s company, Schedule 1 Concepts, will lead the design of limitededition reusable bottles that support all Vessl-powered beverages.

“Miguel’s insights and creativity will support us in ways we could not accomplish on our own,” Vessl CEO Walter Apodaca commented. “He has a deep passion for sustainability and will ignite awareness of the Vessl platform to

reduce carbon emissions and eliminate single use plastic bottle waste. Together we will drive positive change in a quantifi able way.”

“I’m honored and excited to join a company creating both innovative and practical solutions that will transform industry, drastically minimize waste, and benefit the planet,” Miguel added.

Jones Soda Reunites with Tony Hawk to Launch ‘It’s My Craft’ Campaign Craft soda brand Jones Soda Co. asked people to share the craft that inspires them every day for a chance to be featured on Jones Soda labels across North America. The company launched a campaign called “It’s My Craft” by reuniting with Tony Hawk, a legend known for his mastery of the skateboarding craft who was one of Jones’ first sponsored athletes.

The campaign reflects Jones Soda’s belief that everyone has a unique skill that energizes them and forms an integral part of their identity. Despite pandemic restricting activities, people are finding creative ways to continue pursuing their craft, and the #ItsMyCraft theme offered an opportunity to celebrate that enthusiasm for personal expression.

“It’s great to be reunited with Jones Soda because they share the same passion in pursuing excellence in one’s craft,” Hawk said. “I believe our respective fans appreciate craft just as much.”

The campaign hit the road in July in a fully wrapped Jones-branded RV carrying Hawk and his family on a 10-day tour with stops that included a bison ranch, various national parks, and multiple skateparks. Along the way, Hawk created photo and video content showcasing his

family’s adventures that featured on both Hawk’s and Jones’ social media channels.

The #ItsMyCraft RV continued to celebrate craft with stops throughout the summer in select markets highlighting local talent and offering samples of Jones’ own craft, including trademark quirky flavors such as Fufu Berry, Blue Bubblegum and the recently launched Watermelon.

The partnership between Hawk and Jones Soda also includes support for Hawk’s “The Skatepark Project” (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation), which helps finance public skateparks in low-income communities. As part of the agreement, Jones Soda has made a substantial donation to support Hawk’s philanthropic efforts.

“2021 will mark Jones’ 25th year as the original craft soda,” said Jamie Col-

bourne, Jones Soda’s newly appointed CEO. “We’re kicking off the celebration by applauding the many forms that craft can take starting with one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. With Tony in our camp, a graphically in-yourface RV serving as a moving billboard for the brand, and the #ItsMyCraft campaign creating major visibility, we’re staking our claim as a brand that has a lot of air in the best skateboarding sense of the term.”

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PROMO PARADE

INDUSTRY PROMOTIONS & EVENTS

PERRIER Announces Collaboration with Takashi Murakami PERRIER Carbonated Mineral Water, announced PERRIER x MURAKAMI, a new, vibrant collaboration with renowned artist Takashi Murakami, inspired by the pop and colorful universe of the artist and the creative and pioneering spirit of PERRIER. In October 2020, premium Limited Edition PERRIER screen-printed glass bottles featuring original artwork by Takashi Murakami will be launched around the world. In early 2021, the full PERRIER Original range will be released in the colors and motifs of Murakami, and sold at retailers nationwide Murakami is the latest artist to have fun restyling the iconic and vibrant PERRIER brand. The PERRIER x MURAKAMI collaboration continues the long-standing creative relationship between PERRIER and great artists. Over its 150-year history, the brand has collaborated with some of the world’s most influential artists, including Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Bernard Villemot, Raymond Savignac, Carlu and Jean-Gabriel Domergue, all of whom created trailblazing posters and artworks for the brand.

Murakami’s signature smiling flowers will bring an extra pop of color and joy to the iconic green PERRIER bottles, in screen-printed glass formats. Some bottles will also feature Murakami’s most beloved characters, Kaikai and Kiki, who will also appear alongside PERRIER in a 30-second

animated film, produced with Murakami. Additional product formats, including cans, will launch in early 2021.

Murakami is considered one of the most important Japanese artists of our generation, and even, Japan’s superstar artist. Drawing from traditional Japanese paintings, sci-fi, anime, and the global art market, Murakami creates paintings, sculptures and films populated by repeated motifs and mutating characters of his own creation. His wide-ranging work embodies an intersection of pop culture, history, and fine art, merging the commercial and fine art realms and flattening the distinction between high and low culture.

While he is most popularly associated with the smiling flower motif and bright, playful imagery, Murakami’s wider body of work often engages with challenging, serious themes, communicated through a highly intricate and multi-layered pictorial language.

“The vibrancy and delight of Murakami’s work is the perfect match for PERRIER, a brand that has invested for over a century in creativity to bring out a differentiating brand spirit, tinged with its unexpected, crazy and original personality,” said Paul Cordina, global communication manager, PERRIER. “We hope that this collaboration, inspired by the pop and colorful universe of Takashi Murakami and the creative spirit of PERRIER, will increase the accessibility of art for an even broader global audience.”

Belvedere Debuts New Global Platform ‘Made With Nature’ Belvedere, the world’s first super-premium vodka, revealed Made With Nature, a new platform that firmly anchors the brand in nature, reminding consumers that Belvedere is made with only Polska rye and purified water, and masterfully crafted in a distillation process by fire into an vodka of taste and character.

Made With Nature launched with film content, a pioneering new product introduction, Heritage 176 and a series of commanding CSR commitments. Made With Nature makes a clear statement about Belvedere’s natural philosophy and key points of difference – simple ingredients, zero additives, mastery in crafting rye to impart distinct taste and a dedication to nourishing the earth from which its precious Polska rye comes.

Belvedere is a story of Polska rye, water and fire. Polska rye is a superior grain with ancient roots, whose rich taste tells the story of Polish terroir. The water is purified to set a flawless stage. Fire serves as the force behind a unique distillation process, a mix of science and a fine skill to draw out rye’s exceptional taste and character.

Belvedere is telling this story via a series of visually emotive films. In each piece, sweeping images of Belvedere’s core ingredients – rye, water and fire – convey the idea that simplicity of nature in its elemental forms can result in a rich vodka that imparts an unsurpassed taste and character. The :30 hero video and three :15 second spots debuted globally on brand channels in September.

“Many people do not realize that what sets Belvedere apart from other super-premium vodka competitors is that we are regulated by a strict Polish appellation,” CEO Rodney Williams said. “In fact, Poland was the first country to appellate vodka that way France or Italy appellate wines. This dictates nothing can be added to our vodka. The second element is that Belvedere exclusively uses the ancient grain of rye, which imparts richer flavor naturally. This is key as more people are consciously considering how products are made, what they are putting in their bodies and what the brands are doing for the world. They are looking to discover new and different yet natural taste profiles. That’s what we are striving to deliver with ‘Made With Nature.”

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