September 2012

Sierra Nevada Crafts a C-Store Strategy FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS IN VIEW

CLEANSING THE JUICE CATEGORY

THE FDA, ROCKSTAR, AND WHAT IT MEANS

DRIVE SALES. AND RACE CARS.

Create and race your own custom track using a Red Bull can.

Limited Edition 4- and 12-Packs coming this Fall.

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Contents • Volume

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Columns 4 FIRST DROP The Incredible Legend of the Coke Bag 6 PUBLISHERS TOAST Life is a Card Game 28 GERRY’S INSIGHTS Branding as Wardrobe

Departments 8 BEVSCAPE BUSINESS Investigations Chase Energy 4

12 BEVSCAPE INNOVATION Palo Hawken is a REBBL 14 BREWSCAPE NY Loosens Craft Restrictions 16 NEW PRODUCTS Inko’s Goes Green. And Red. And Black.

24 CHANNEL CHECK Inside Juices 30 THE EXPERTS The FDA, Rockstar, and What it Means

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50 KEY CRAFT OFFERINGS Duvel Rustica: The Iconic Belgian Brewed in Upstate NY 72 NACS PREVIEW Sales are at Stake 74 PROMO PARADE Cheerwine Gets Musical

Features 34 FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS Fighting Functional Myopia with Brand News 44

44 COVER STORY BEYOND BIKINIS Sierra Nevada Crafts a Convenience Store Strategy 52 SQUEEZING INTO THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT How the fresh juice launching pad is changing 54 CLEANSING THE JUICE CATEGORY BluePrint hits Whole Foods with Brand News

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64 SHOTS: SMALL PACKAGE, BIG UNIVERSE with Brand News

BevNET Magazine (ISSN 2165-6061, USPS 24-552) is published bi-monthly except monthly in March, June, September, and October by BevNET.com, Inc. 44 Pleasant Street, Suite 110, Watertown, MA 02472. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices.

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Beverage Development Ingredient Supply Shots Energy Drinks Enhanced Waters and More Proprietary Flavors Premixes and Bases U.S. Distributor

By Jeffrey Klineman

TRUE LIES It ultimately had the lasting

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s supersize agenda. Refills will be unlimited, however.

impact of a two-day summer crush, but for a little while, it seemed, everyone was going bonkers for Coke in a Bag. Every country in the world, it seemed, would soon be following the lead of Salvadoran street vendors – who save deposits by pouring out their sodas into a common plastic bag – once Coca-Cola rolled out a branded “Coca-Cola Bag” of its own.

We knew it was true because a viral video told us so, until we knew that it wasn’t true, because Coke’s communications team in Atlanta told everyone that it wasn’t.

This came as a great surprise to gadget and trend-spotting blogs out there, who seem to subscribe to the notion that if it exists on the internet, it also exists in meatspace. By the time the hoax was revealed, they had already applauded the envirotechnohipsteralness of the Coke Bag; for the rest of us, it was just a fun little distraction to an otherwise average summer.

But we like fun little distractions, particularly when the office kegerator is on the blink, so as one that could keep us occupied, we decided to come up with a few other beverage oriented-hoaxes we’d like to see.

3. Monster Energy has launched its newest variety, Monster Island Iced Tea. Purportedly holding every Monster product known to man, this product really is coming out, although it is actually a mix of all the remaining “Hit Man” shots dumped into the BFC’s 32 oz. can, and carbonated with surviving cans of Nitrous Monster. Intended use occasions? Final Exams. Ragnarök. Skrillex Concerts.

4. With both coconut water and craft beer trending skyward, the time has finally come: craft beer coconut water. Hey, it’s endorsed by Justin Timberlake. It’s got 19 percent ABV and rehydrates you after a night of drinking at the same time. Invest fast – word is that Diddy was spotted drinking coconut water recently.

5. Because you knew the corporations had to come, sooner or later, to what is purportedly the world’s most anti-corporate event: Ocean Spray has become the official “below the waist health” sponsor of Burning Man. (tagline: “Cranberry Juice: It’s “Burning Man,” not “It’s Burning, Man.”)

1. A big merger was recently announced of several niche-oriented “miracle caffeine source” brands. The new rollup, called Chocolerba Guayusamate, will be so Fair Trade friendly that its owners – a collective of former Cadbury brand managers who are now the backing band (i.e. the Magnetic Zeroes) for communal musicians Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, will actually pay consumers to drink it, and then offer wardrobe consulting services.

2. In an effort to counter the interest in Coke’s Freestyle vending machine while boosting the profile of its fading cola line, Pepsi has announced a new variation on its “Power of One” initiative: “There’s

4 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

6. TaB is back. ‘nuff said.

Only One.” From now on, all Pepsi accounts will only be serving Pepsi Cola, all the time, in one size: the thimble, thereby effectively dovetailing CEO Indra Nooyi’s much-debated health push with New York

7. That guy from Entourage who played the movie star? He’s now an investor in a craft beer company that is trying to bring back the “church key” beer cans last seen being drunk by Kevin Dillon in Platoon.(Wait a minute, that really happened. And Kevin Dillon was on Entourage as well. It would take Oliver Stone to get to the bottom of this conspiracy.

Either that, or Adrian Grenier is going to be in a remake of Platoon.)

So there you go. Six hoaxes. One bit of truth.

Not a bad ratio for election season, right?

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MAGAZINE

By Barry J. Nathanson

www.bevnet.com/magazine

Barry J. Nathanson PUBLISHER

IT’S IN THE CARDS

bnathanson@bevnet.com

Jeffrey Klineman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF jklineman@bevnet.com

Ray Latif ASSISTANT EDITOR rlatif@bevnet.com

SALES John McKenna DIRECTOR OF SALES jmckenna@bevnet.com

Adam Stern SENIOR ACCOUNT SPECIALIST astern@bevnet.com

Jeff Hyde ACCOUNT SPECIALIST jhyde@bevnet.com

ART & PRODUCTION Matthew Kennedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Willette GRAPHIC DESIGNER BEVNET.COM, INC. John F. (Jack) Craven CHAIRMAN jfcraven@bevnet.com

John Craven CEO & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR jcraven@bevnet.com

I’m from the old school. I’ve written, many a time, my aversion for much of modern technology, although often it’s not in longhand anymore.

Friends, both personal and professional, are aghast that I still haven’t embraced a smart phone and the world that it opens up. My colleagues kid me about it, although they seem to accept that they’ll never see me log into our Sales Force system anytime soon. I just turned 64, and, somehow, I’ve been able to get by and stay connected to the industry just fine.

The key to my connection is a five inch by eight inch index card system shown to me when I first started in publishing 30-plus years ago. When visitors see my famous “desk stacks,” they are provided a fascinating look into my system for having a strong understanding of every beverage company I’ve ever dealt with. Sometimes they like to go through the cards like a stack of old 45 RPM singles for a trip down the Memory Lane of beverages, past and present.

So, one late Friday afternoon, I decided to shuffle my cards and visit 20 years of the industry. Similar to rings on a tree, you can tell the age of brands by the yellowing of the cards and their poor condition. I saw West End Soda Brew, probably my favorite brand, long dead, but never forgotten. Clearly Canadian jumped out at me, as did another favorite, RC Premium Draft Cola. I also found an original

6 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Mistic card, with Joe Umbach as my main contact. While not on the scale of a Honus Wagner card, my Don Vultaggio, from AriZona, is still special to me. My Snapple card also conjured up memories, as did the cards from Clearly Canadian and Seagram’s. These are all from my early, pre-information society days. There are literally thousands of beverages I have seen and tasted, most now relegated to the graveyard of good intentions, but still conjuring up great memories.

I could go on and on, but that’s not my message for today. It’s how hard it is to emerge form that pile, tattered, perhaps, but still in business. So, I’d like to give a shout out to some of the companies I’ve worked with for most of my twenty years that are still vibrant and thriving.

The aforementioned AriZona card is in that group of companies, as is Snapple.

National Beverages, Talking Rain, Sam Adams, Jones Soda, Hansen’s (now Monster), Perrier Group (Now Nestle Waters), Apple & Eve. I could go on and on. These are all examples of excellent companies, with vision, staying power, and a determination to continue to survive and thrive. They stayed within their means, and are still relevant today.

If you ever want to trip the light fantastic and talk about some of your favorite brands, give me a call. I can tell you the history and the people that made it happen. There’s nothing I’d rather talk about.

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BEVSCAPE BUSINESS

The latest news on the brands you sell

Investigations I New York AG Digs Into Energy Drinks The New York State Attorney General is probing the ingredient and advertising claims made by energy drink companies.

News of the investigation first broke when energy drink titans Monster and 5-Hour Energy revealed the existence of informational subpoenas by the AG of an unknown state. According to Monster, the disclosure came in a quarterly report that said it was being investigated “concerning the Company’s advertising, marketing, promotion, ingredients, usage and sale of its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks.”

A few days later the office of Erik Schneiderman, from New York, leaked the information to major media sources in New York City, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

The probe is looking into the mysterious ways some of the brands seem to package and

disclose their caffeine content, which can come from the addition of caffeine, tea, guarana, yerba mate and other stimulants.

It also involves larger drink companies like PepsiCo. The caffeine content in most energy drinks is typically dismissed as being equivalent to that present in a cup of coffee — an amount that can vary with the strength of the brew. Most of the mainstream brands — including those being probed by the AG’s office — have been able to avoid negative controversy except in extreme cases or when the products have been mixed with alcohol.

The filing came on the heels of a disappointing earnings call earlier that afternoon, when investors who have showed strong faith in the company’s growing earnings were shaken by news that Monster was having difficulties building the brand overseas, particularly in Korea, where the company delayed its launch. Monster shares plunged more than 9 percent over the course of the trading day after a run-up of nearly 50 percent over the previous six months.

Meanwhile, another claim against the company has surfaced in an entirely different, although no less high-profile venue. Rap group the Beastie Boys filed suit against the company, claiming that Monster had infringed on their copyrights by posting a 23-minute video synchronized to many of the group’s wellknown songs to promote its Ruckus in the Rockies 2012 event.

Investigations II FDA Sends Durbin to Starbucks The U.S. Food and Drug Agency (FDA) has responded to requests for an inquiry into the caffeine content of energy drinks by telling U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill) to take a look at places like Starbucks.

In those stores, the agency told Sen. Durbin, he would be able to find brewed coffee with 330 milligrams of caffeine in a 16 oz. serving – comparable to the range of caffeine contents found in many energy drinks.

The letter indicated that most studies have not indicated any particularly harmful effects for caffeine consumption of up to 400 mg per day. While the agency said it was in the midst of conducting a review of recent safety studies on caffeine, “the available studies do not indicate any new, previously unknown risks associated with caffeine consumption.”

FDA said it had taken an “updated assessment of the amount of caffeine that people in the United States ingest from all sources,” with the results showing that “even when the consumption of energy drinks is considered, most of the caffeine consumed comes from what is naturally present in coffee and tea.”

Durbin had requested that the agency consider whether it could – or should – regulate what he termed “high levels of caffeine and additives that raise safety concerns” in energy drinks.

8 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

The letter came in April, following Durbin’s stated concerns about a study that indicated an increased number of emergency room visits due to caffeine toxicity, and, in one case, the death of a 14 year-old girl from Maryland.

The letter to Durbin seemed to indicate that there was not a high level of concern about caffeine in energy drinks even as it continues to analyze and prepare guidance for companies on the distinction between beverages and dietary supplements, noted lawyer Justin Prochnow, who has worked on many cases concerning product claims with the FDA. “This letter seems to only confirm our discussions that until the FDA is made aware of some evidence that caffeine is unsafe at the common levels found in energy drinks (80 mg for 8 oz.), there is unlikely to be a specific attack on caffeine-containing products,” Prochnow wrote in a note to BevNET. “It is more likely that other ingredients will be the focus of any attack on larger, beverage-looking supplements.”

TM

Changing Jobs Coca-Cola Co., Inc. promoted three seasoned executives to head up a new, tripartite organizational structure that will be effective on Jan. 1, 2013. The company announced that it will streamline its operations around three major businesses in an effort “to better address the changing demands of the global marketplace.”

Beginning next year, Coke’s operations will be comprised of CocaCola International, which covers Europe, Pacific and Eurasia & Africa; Coca-Cola Americas, which covers North America and Latin America, and; Bottling Investments Group (BIG), which oversees Coke-owned bottling operations outside of North America.

“This is the right structure for the next phase of our journey toward achieving our 2020 Vision,” said Muhtar Kent, the chairman and chief executive of Coke, referring to the company’s goal of doubling revenues by the end of the decade.

The new business divisions will be headed up by the following: Ahmet Bozer, currently the president of Coke’s Eurasia & Africa Group, will be appointed president of Coca-Cola International. Steve Cahillane, who is the president and CEO of Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR), will become the president of CocaCola Americas. Irial Finan will remain as president of BIG. All three executives will report to Kent.

“By consolidating leadership of our global operations under two large, but similar sized geographic regions and BIG, we will streamline reporting lines, intensify our focus on key markets and

10 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

create a structure that leverages synergies and gives us flexibility to strategically adjust our business within those geographies in the future,” said Kent.

Meanwhile, at PepsiCo, Debra Crew was named o a new role as president of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, as the company continues to shuffle leadership roles in its beverage business.

Crew, who previously held the same title in PepsiCo’s Western Europe business, will oversee PepsiCo’s Gatorade and Tropicana business in North America, its Latin America Beverages business, and the Beverage Growth Ventures Group, PepsiCo’s new beverage innovation and incubation unit. Crew will report to PepsiCo Americas Beverages CEO Al Carey.

“Debra is a highly respected executive within PepsiCo and I’m delighted to have her move into this critically important role,” said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. “She brings strong leadership and diverse experience across multiple food and beverage categories to her new position and will be a driver of continued growth across the businesses she’ll be overseeing.”

The move comes as Sarah Robb

O’Hagan, the head of PepsiCo’s Gatorade business, departed the company and has taken a position as president at Equinox Holdings Inc., a chain of fitness clubs. O’Hagan had been the president of Gatorade and PepsiCo’s Global Sports Nutrition Group since 2011 and was the brand’s head of marketing in the two previous years. O’Hagan was largely credited with improving lagging sales of Gatorade by refocusing its marketing toward teen athletes and introducing new products including Gatorade’s G-Series line.

Meanwhile, at Vita Coco, Jeff Popkin, a former Red Bull executive, has gone from VP of Sales to President. He joined the company 11 months ago.

It’s not surprising that Vita Coco would go to a veteran to keep the trains running on time as the company’s distribution network becomes both larger and more centralized via its ongoing relationship with DPSG. Popkin certainly has experience in keeping an independent company humming through a large web, having held senior positions at both Red Bull North American and at Coors and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

The move to put Popkin in a more executive position should let CEO and Co-Founder Michael Kirban step back from an increasingly frustrating role in dealing with day-to-day headaches — as recently as last year he complained that he was spending much of his time signing checks instead of thinking strategically.

“He has demonstrated success in leading our business in both emerging and developed markets, and he has played a critical role in making Vita Coco the first coconut water brand with a national distribution footprint,” said co-founder and CEO Michael Kirban.

Investment: TSG Backs Neuro It happened quietly and without much detail, but TSG Consumer Partners – the same private equity company that backed Vitaminwater and that currently owns a chunk of Cytosport (as well as snack brand Pop Chips, which has many extended relations to the beverage world) – took a minority position in Neuro earlier this year.

The deal was shepherded by Silverwood Partners and is termed a “partnership” on their web site. TSG also quietly acknowledged the news online putting up a mention on its web site on June 29.

Brian Krumrei, a Managing Director at TSG, confirmed that he is now a member of Neuro’s board of directors; he’s no stranger to the beverage business, as he’s also a director at Cytosport, which makes Muscle Milk.

TSG’s stated investment criteria indicate the company makes equity investments of $20 million at minimum, and that companies are expected to have sales of at least $20 million.

Neuro’s president, Paul Nadel, told BevNET that the investment wasn’t about the money, however.

“They are the preeminent firm in consumer packaged goods,” Nadel said. “It was not done out of financial need, but out of strategic purposes. These guys made Vitaminwater, they made Muscle Milk, so we feel like we’re in very good company.

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SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 11

BEVSCAPE INNOVATION

Product development & marketing news

Back on the Scene: REBBL CEO Palo Hawken He’s kept a low profile since helping sell early acai competitor Bossa Nova to Sunny Delight Beverage Co., but REBBL CEO Palo Hawken hasn’t been completely out of the beverage business, he’s happy to say.

In fact, on a chance visit with ZICO CEO Mark Rampolla, Hawken suggested that the company consider using earthier flavors for the emerging coconut water brand. The result, confirmed Rampolla, was ZICO Chocolate, currently the brand’s standard bearer.

Hawken contacted BevNET recently for a conversation about the brand, which was conceived of as a for-profit beverage company that could manufacture a set of naturally functional beverages from natural herbs and botanicals.

Those herbs and botanicals will come from supply lines set up by the nonprofit organization Not For Sale to provide opportunities for indigenous populations who might otherwise be economically vulnerable to a growing international slave trade.

“It’s sort of the brand concept I’ve been working on for a lifetime,” Hawken told BevNET. He added that being affiliated with a nonprofit supply line doesn’t mean that REBBL itself isn’t intended to be a profitable, conventional beverage brand, albeit one that has a real sense of place and functional power. To that end, it seems to follow in the initial work he did with Bossa Nova.

That company was one of the first companies to harness the Brazilian acai berry – and eventually other rainforest “superfruits” – for use in functional beverages. But REBBL, which will be cold brewed for more than 24 hours with all kinds of ingredients, including guayusa, cats claw, hibiscus, and many other plant-based components, is expected to have what Hawken called a “much higher level of botanical functionality.”

“In essence, this will be the first product to take botanical intelligence and really do it justice,” Hawken said. “Everything you taste in the bottle is the whole plant extract. There aren’t flavorings tricking your taste buds.”

While the initial launch of REBBL was a one-flavor preview for donors who helped support Not For Sale’s efforts to shore up its Peruvian supply line, Hawken plans a four-flavor launch featuring a series of “tonics” from all the geographic locations targeted

by Not For Sale, including parts of India, Siberia, and Thailand.

From an ingredient standpoint, the lines will all have a regional connection; they are currently branded with an animal representing each region: Along with the Peruvian Hummingbird (a kind of Hibiscus Mint Tea), India will have an elephant, Siberia a bear and Thailand a tiger. Initial distribution will be through UNFI and Nature’s Best, with retail launches largely in California.

Hawken said that for the brand to succeed, the product must be a good one, not just one that represents a good cause.

“What will make me feel like we’re doing justice for everything is to put product first,” he said. “The secondary message is who we work with, what our values are.”

12 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Expo East: Trends to Watch For Expo East kicks off on Sept. 20 in Baltimore, and when it does it will be accompanied by the debut of a yearlong research initiative, New Hope 360’s Next Report.

BevNET had a chance to speak with New Hope editor Carlotta Mast about some of the trends that are particularly applicable to the beverage category.

“We’re really seeing a shift toward naturally functional beverages,” Mast said. “Rather than ones that have an added nutritional ingredient, like, say, Cognizin, we’re seeing beverages that seem to have a natural functionality.”

According to Mast, products like Chia Vie (emphasis: “natural energy”) have “a clear positioning for people who want clean, naturally functional beverages, and I’m expecting we’ll see more of those at Expo East.

Mast said aloe is growing in terms of its stature as an ingredient, largely around digestive health but also around skin benefits, but beyond chia and aloe, new ingredients haven’t begun to come into focus yet.

“I’m excited to see what emerges at Expo East,” she said.

One area that is screaming for new ingredient functionality is sports and nutrition, Mast added, saying that while interest in that area among natural product consumers remains high, they are still looking for products to fulfill that demand.

“Sports is still a conundrum,” Mast said. You’ve got this demographic that wants natural, but a huge number that also gravitate to Monster Energy. But the emergence of sports like crossfit, yoga, pilates, along with women gravitating to endurance events means that sports nutrition is moving across toward a consumer group that’s interested in the profile of natural products rather than the traditional bodybuilding crowd.”

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BREWSCAPE

News from the brewing industry

Brewbound Craft Beer Session November 29 – San Diego, CA

Building on the success of its sold out June event in New York City – which was attended by over 100 brewing industry professionals – Brewbound.com plans to host its third gathering in its rapidly growing conference series on the business of craft beer.

The Brewbound Session, happening November 29th in San Diego, Calif., focuses on offering an unmatched strategic learning and networking opportunity for craft brewers. With an emphasis on the business of beer, it provides an excellent forum for learning marketing, investment and distribution strategies, as well as to hear and discuss case studies of successful brands in a highly collaborative atmosphere.

During the June 2012 Brewbound Session, attendees heard from industry experts such as Greg Koch, Alan Newman, and Steve Hindy, who, in concert with Brewbound’s own staff, helped lead a day full of spirited discussion and entrepreneurial storytelling.

In November, attendees can again expect to benefit from hearing the stories of highly-regarded craft brewers, as well as specialty distributors and marketing experts. Panelists and presenters will weigh in on the business decisions craft brewers are faced with on a daily basis. Topics will range from selling strategies, branding choices, distribution decisions, financing growth, and more.

“The Brewbound Session is an excellent opportunity for both startup and experienced craft brewers to network and learn strategies that will help them grow their business,” said Chris Furnari, editor of Brewbound.com.

Brewbound Session attendees will also have multiple opportunities to engage speakers, both during the moderated portions of the program and also during structured networking breaks.

The official speaker lineup and agenda will be made available over the next two months.

The Brewbound Session will be held November 29th at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa, San Diego, Calif. An early registration discount is available from now through October 15th. In addition, a limited number of discounted hotel rooms are available to attendees.

See http://brewbound.com/conference for more information and to register.

14 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

BevMo! Chief: We Love Local Beer He’s a former executive at Hoyt Cinemas and Disney, among other places, but if you ask BevMo! CEO Alan Johnson where the big show is these days he’s happy to tell you that it’s in the beer aisles of his stores.

The company recently announced it was opening its 119thoutlet in City of Industry, California on Aug. 31. Along with a Goleta, Calif., store, it will be the first since a change in liquor wholesaling laws to the north, in Washington, allowed BevMo!— also called Beverages & More — to push into that state.

Brewbound.com recently spoke with Johnson after the opening of its stores in Tacoma and Silverdale, Wash. about the way that the company – a massive warehouse-style store stocked to the gills with booze, wine, and beer – sees its role in the craft beer universe.

According to Johnson, the West Coast’s leadership in craft brewing combines with the chain’s footprint — mostly California, also Washington and Arizona – to make an emphasis on having local craft beer a necessity – and that in the stores “all the excitement is around craft beer,” where “you can never have enough local.”

“The innovation is kind of through the roof,” he said, in describing the reason he’s enthusiastic about craft beer. The native of Australia added that the company has been known to stock as many as 1,000 different beer types at its stores, but that it strives to balance that breadth via a hard push to make sure that local beer is featured.

Johnson, who joined BevMo! in 2009, said that despite the astronomical number of wine, beer, liquor, and mixer SKUs in each store – around 8,000, give or take, depending on store size — there’s a push on to try to turn every store into “your neighborhood specialty beverage retailer.”

That means that local buyers try to determine the key local craft companies to stock, just as they do wines that are popular in a given area. He cited the buyer at his new Tacoma store as an example: “Our market merchandise manager lives in Walla Walla, works in Seattle, he has lived all of his life in the Pacific Northwest,” Johnson said. “Nobody will care more about what’s happening in a local neighborhood than local buyers. Look, Washington is the second-biggest state in the wine business in the U.S. Being closer to that ‘mother ship,’ the local wines, beers, will be specifically called out in the store, with specific signage.”

All BevMo! stores use the DSD system to get beer, but have beer specialists who run their departments and try to stock according to local needs. Those specialists are able to arrange tastings and approve new products, Johnson added, and put a priority on being as current with their lineups as possible. He encourages beverage entrepreneurs – both beer and non-alcohol makers – to pitch to their local BevMo buyer.

“There’s no such thing at BevMo! as one size fits all,” Johnson said. “We think local, we buy local, we live local and we hire local.

Tampa Bay CoPack Goose Island Goes National Goose Island is officially migrating all over the country. The AnheuserBusch InBev-owned craft brewery will be available, on draught, in all 50 states by the end of November. It will be begin national sales of 6-packs and 12-packs at the start of 2013.

After news of the expansion broke, the company posted a note confirming the story to its Twitter account, along with a password-protected video.

The nationwide rollout will initially include just four brands – 312 Urban Wheat, Honker’s Ale, India Pale Ale and Mild Winter.

A significant amount of the production of these brands already takes place at the Anheuser-Busch facility in Baldwinsville, New York; reportedly Goose Island will also begin contracting additional production to the AB facility in Fort Collins, Colo.

The company plans to produce 230,000 barrels in 2012.

New York Loosens Restrictions on Craft July was a month of big changes for New York’s small brewers; first, Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to the Matt Brewery in Utica to sign a law that created a special tax designation for farmer/brewers in the state.

But the bigger news took place at the end of the legislative session, when Cuomo signed a law that allows the state’s smaller brewers to more easily terminate their distribution contracts.

Under the terms of the Small Brewers Bill, New York State brewers who produce fewer than 300,000 barrels annually – or a total of less than three percent of the distributor’s total annual brand sales – may terminate their contract without penalty provided they pay the distributor fair market value for terminating the contract.

“Gone are the days when a distributor can basically promise you the moon and deliver next to nothing,” said Scott Vaccaro, founder of Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, New York.

The bill designated an arbitration process for the settlement of disputed value amounts.

The NYBA released a statement applauding the bill, saying the “combination of laws give us the help we need to continue growing our business.”

The new law is in line with other provisions proposed by brewing associations across the country that would allow craft brewers to more easily move between wholesalers. It has been the fear of those manufacturers that they could suffer from a lack of service, particularly if their wholesalers face pressure from larger suppliers.

Wholesalers, for their part, remain concerned that they will build brands only to see them leave without receiving fair market value.

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NEW PRODUCTS

The newest options for cooler and shelf

FUNCTIONAL BEVERAGES FitAID Beverages LLC, in conjunction with LifeAID Beverage Company, has announced the launch of FitAID, a “paleo friendly” sports and recovery drink that benefits athletes during their workouts. The beverage is 100 percent natural, low calorie, and contains 2355 mg of active ingredients in the form of vitamins and supplements targeted at enhancing 10 physical attributes of fitness: Cardiovascular endurance, Strength, Power, Stamina, Speed, Balance, Accuracy, Coordination, Flexibility and Agility. These ten health and fitness attributes are the foundation of CrossFit, a functional fitness movement, and served as the inspiration for the drink. FitAID is available at gyms around the U.S. can also be purchased in 24-packs for $59.75 at drinkfitaid.com. For more information, please call (916) 802-5308.

Chia Star, a new chia seed-based beverage, has launched in 24 Whole Foods Markets in NJ, NY, and CT. Chia Star is made with whole chia seeds and fruit juice and comes in two flavors – Blackberry Lime Refresh and Peach Green Tea Fusion. The beverage contains 5 grams of sugar per bottle and is vegan, gluten free, and certified organic. For more information, please call (973) 632-2025.

TEA Infuse Your Mood Tea is a natural, caffeinefree tea made entirely from eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus), an adaptogenic herb.

As a non-toxic substance, eleuthero reinforces the body’s ability to react to stress by adapting to current stress levels and countering the damaging effects of stress on your body, according to the company. Infuse Your Mood Tea is available for purchase at www.sunchlorellausa.com and has a suggested retail price of $8.95 for a package of 20 teabags. For more information, please call (800) 829-2828.

Tea of a Kind has introduced a new cap.

The “Gizmo Closure and Delivery System” is an innovative, pressurized bottle cap design that infuses a drink with fresh, preservativefree ingredients upon opening. Available in Peach Ginger Black Tea, Citrus Mint Green Tea, and Pomegranate Acai White Tea, Tea of a Kind is 100 percent natural, contains only 20 calories per 16 oz. bottle, and has a host of antioxidant ingredients. The all-natural flavors, real brewed tea, and antioxidants are 16 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

tucked safely away in the pressurized nitrogen chamber cap, keeping them fresh without the use of chemical preservatives. The chamber defends the liquid against UV light, oxidation and other damaging conditions that degrade nutrients in pre-mixed beverages.

Once the cap is twisted, the ingredients burst into the bottle and self-mix, creating a color change and a visual confirmation that the drink is fresh and ready to consume. Tea of a Kind has a suggested retail price of $2.99 per bottle and $29.95 for a case. The product is currently distributed at select California retailers, and will be available at Whole Foods nationally later this year For more information, please call (646) 435-9810.

Inko’s has launched its first foray into nonwhite tea varietals with three new flavors: Mango Passion Fruit Rooibos Tea, Half and Half Green Tea with Lemonade and Citrus Black Currant Oolong tea. Packaged in 15.5-oz recyclable aluminum cans, the new flavors contain 50 calories per serving and keep with the company’s mission to bring all-natural, unique-tasting teas to healthconscious consumers. The suggested retail price of the new teas is $1.59. Inko’s teas are distributed in the natural foods aisle of leading supermarkets across the United States. For more information, please call (866) 747-4656.

Steaz has launched Steaz Super Fruit, the newest flavor to its line of ready-to-drink iced teas. Certified organic by Quality Assurance International and Fair Trade Certified

by Fair Trade USA, Steaz Super Fruit’s green tea-based formula is the first of its kind. Lightly sweetened with cane sugar and made with a unique blend of “super fruits” including mangosteen, blueberry, acai, goji, and pomegranate, this new flavor is rich in both antioxidants and flavor. Steaz Super Fruit is currently distributed at participating Whole Foods Markets nationwide and will be available to retailers nationwide beginning in October. The beverage has a suggested retail price of $1 for a 16 oz. can. For more information, please call (203) 226-3900.

The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. has introduced a new line of tea and juice drinks for its FUZE brand of drinks. The new FUZE offerings include Lemon Iced Tea, Honey and Ginseng Green Tea, Half Iced Tea & Half Lemonade, Berry Punch Juice Drink, and Strawberry Lemonade Juice Drink. The drinks are

All Flavors Zero Calorie

priced at $ .99 for a 1 L bottle. The launch kicked off this summer, with a full offering of fountain, bottle, and can package options available by the end of the year. The 1 L package is available now at convenience stores across the country. For more information, please call (404) 870-6826.

COCONUT WATER ZICO has launched a new 1 L Tetra Pak for its chocolate coconut water. ZICO Chocolate is made with a blend of coconut water, coconut cream, cocoa, and vanilla. The beverage contains 20 percent less sugar than leading flavored coconut waters and 50 percent less sugar and calories than leading chocolate milks, according to ZICO. The ZICO Chocolate 1 L Tetra Pak has a suggested retail price $4.99 and is available now at key national retailers and rolling out to additional outlets and Amazon.com soon. For more information please call (866) SAY-ZICO. Taste Nirvana has launched Coco Motion, an all-natural drink made with coconut water, coconut nectar, lime and sea salt.

The drink is currently sold exclusively at approximately 150 Ralph’s stores throughout southern California. Coco Motion is packaged in aluminum 16.2 oz. cans and has a suggested retail price of $2.49. For more information, please call (909) 598-4300.

Grace Foods International has launched Grace Coconut Water in the U.S and Mexico. The new product is currently distributed in Southern California and will roll out to additional markets in the coming months. The expansion to the rest of North America marks the first step in Grace Foods International’s broader U.S. beverage distribution strategy and overall strategy of becoming a global consumer group by 2020.

The coconut water is available with or without pulp and comes in a range of packages including 500 mL cans and 1 L Tetra Paks, which have a suggested retail price of $1.50 and $3.49, respectively. For more information, please call (954) 874 1731.

WATER Essentia Water has introduced new packaging to its line of high-alkaline waters.

Essentia’s new modern, streamlined look features a new logo and bottle label to more prominently feature the added benefits of its 18 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

proprietary process. The labels are affixed to smooth bottles in place of the company’s original rippled product packaging. Essentia is available at select retailers nationwide as well as Amazon.com. For more information, please call (425) 402-9555.

Skinny Nutritional Corp. has introduced Skinny Water pH+, a high-alkaline and electrolyte-enhanced water. Skinny Water pH+ is formulated with select minerals and pure hydration. As a complement to the brand’s flavored waters, Skinny Water pH+ is crystal clear, with a pure and crisp taste that features a boost of electrolytes for replenishment and added energy. At a suggested retail price of $1.99 per liter, Skinny Water pH+ features educational materials at point of sale, along with the tagline “Body in Balance.” The product is distributed nationally. For more information, please call (610) 784-2000.

LaCroix Sparkling Water, the number-one domestic sparkling water brand in a can, has launched its 9th flavor: Peach Pear. The naturally-flavored beverage is calorie-free and contains no caffeine, sweeteners, sodium or artificial ingredients. The water is packaged in 12 oz. cans and has a suggested retail price of $4.99 for a 12-pack. LaCroix Sparkling Waters are distributed nationally. For more information, please call (800) 834-9980.

CARBONATED SOFT DRINKS PepsiCo has launched a new malt-flavored version of Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold – named after the Tennessee birthplace of Mountain Dew – has a malt flavor and a “kick of lemon-lime,” according to PepsiCo. The new beverage is distributed in select cities in the U.S. and is available in three pack types: 16 oz. cans, 24 oz. cans and 1 L PET bottles, although availability will vary by market. The drink has a suggested retail price of $1.49-$3.99 depending on package size. For more information, please call (914) 253-2308.

AriZona has launched a new Cherry Lime Rickey flavor. The new AriZona flavor was chosen by the company’s Facebook fans as part of its 20th Anniversary celebration and features a label design also chosen by fans of AriZona. Cherry Lime Rickey is packaged in a 23.5 oz. can that features a QR code enabling consumers to win prizes when

p l ea s e

hydrate naturally

scanned. The beverage launched exclusively in 7-Eleven stores across the U.S. For more information, please call (516) 812-0346.

Boundary Waters Brands, the makers of Joia All Natural Soda, has introduced two new flavors: Joia Ginger, Apricot & Allspice, and Joia Orange, Jasmine & Nutmeg. The new flavors are all-natural and contain pure cane sugar, stevia, and monk fruit as sweeteners.

Joia is available at premium grocery stores, natural food stores and co-ops, as well as restaurants, coffee shops and delis in Minnesota, Washington, Oregon and Southern California. Joia is packaged in 12 oz. bottles and has a suggested retail price of $1.49-1.99 and $5.99-6.99 for 4-packs. For more information, please call (612) 308-2056.

COFFEE Gorilla Cold Brew is new cold brew coffee.

The beverage has only two ingredients - coffee and water - and contains no preservatives.

Gorilla Cold Brew is shelf stable and packaged in an 11 oz. resealable Tetra Pak containers. Each package of Gorilla Cold Brew contains 30 calories. The product is sold at Whole Foods, Union Market, and other select retailers, as well as online at www.gorillacoffee.com. The product has a suggested retail price of $4.00-4.25. For more information please call (914) 391-7700.

WINE OFFbeat Brands has launched Slices Sangria, a new line of authentic, premium Sangrias from Spain. The sangrias are made with a proprietary recipe that combines traditional Spanish varietal wines with all-natural fruit juices. With colorful, contemporary packaging typical of the modern graphic arts movement in Spain, Slices Sangria wines include a Red Wine Sangria, White Wine Sangria, Rosé Wine Sangria, Sparkling White Sangria and Sparkling Rosé Sangria. Slices are distributed nationwide and have a suggested retail price of $10.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (707) 200-2213.

ENERGY DRINKS Rockstar has introduced a new Guava flavor to its PUNCHED line of drinks.

Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, lightly carbonated PUNCHED is scientifically formulated to provide an 20 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

energy boost for consumers who lead active and exhausting lifestyles, according to Rockstar. The PUNCHED line is distributed nationally and has a suggested retail price of $1.99 for a 16 oz. can. For more information, please call (415) 339-9540.

Red Bull has introduced new packaging options for its line of energy drinks. Red Bull Augmented Racing Reload 4-packs and 12-packs feature an on-pack QR code that enables consumers to play a mobile video racing game that brings the Formula 1 experience to life. The new packs have a suggested retail price of $7.79 and $20.99 respectively. Red Bull has also debuted a Red Bull Limited Edition Rajon Rondo Hero Can. Rondo, an NBA All-Star Guard, is featured on the front of Red Bull 12 oz. cans distributed throughout Boston and the Northeast.

The new can retails for $2.99. For more information, please call (310) 460-5344.

WHISKEY Spicebox Spiced Rye is a new spiced blend of Canadian whiskies aged in bourbon barrels for three to six years. Developed by Master Blender Michel Marcil, Spicebox is a 100 percent rye whisky with all-natural flavors of pepper, fruit, nutmeg, cinnamon and three types of vanilla beans. The essence of the aroma and flavor of the vanilla and spices is captured through a cold extraction process and then infused into the distilled rye whisky. Spicebox is 80 proof and packaged in a 750 mL bottle. The whisky is distributed nationally and has a suggested retail price of $19.99. For more information, please call (925) 583-1549 Early Times has announced the launch of Early Times Fire Eater – a hot cinnamonflavored spirit. The beverage combines the heat and spice of cinnamon liqueur with aged Early Times whisky and can be consumed as a shot, on the rocks or in a variety of cocktails. Early Times Fire Eater will initially be sold in select cities in Kentucky, Indiana, Washington, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wisconsin and California with more to follow in 2012. Each bottle is 66 proof with a suggested retail price of $14.99-$15.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (502) 774-6949.

Luxco has extended its Rebel Yell Reserve line with Rebel Reserve Honey and Rebel

T:3.54”

Reserve Cherry. The two new flavor extensions feature the same superior smoothness as Rebel Reserve, but add a hint of extra sweetness, according to the company.

Rebel Reserve is hand-crafted in select small batches from the original secret Weller family recipe originating over 150 years ago. Rebel Reserve Honey and Cherry are bottled at 70 proof and have a suggested retail price of $12.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (314) 398-1391.

VODKA

Blue Ice Vodka announced its newest installment, Blue Ice G Vodka, the third addition to the Blue Ice Vodka family of premium homegrown American vodkas. The vodka, made from a high quality blend of American grain, joins the brand’s flagship Blue Ice Vodka made from American potatoes and three-year old Blue Ice Organic Wheat Vodka, a USDA Certified Organic spirit made from domestically harvested, organic winter wheat.

Packaged in the signature Blue Ice bottle with smooth icicles forming down the center of the back panel, is distinguished by a bold, red signature “G” emphasizing its grain origin.

Blue Ice G Vodka retails for $15 for a 750 mL bottle and is nationally distributed. For more information, please call (323) 832-4488.

Dè La Ron has launched a new ultra-premium vodka. Dè La Ron Vodka is made with water is purified with ultraviolet light and filtered through virgin coconut husk carbon.

The result is a flawlessly refined character that’s exceptionally smooth and clean, according to the company. Dè La Ron Vodka is available in renowned bars, restaurants and clubs around the country and has a suggested retail price of $34.99 for a 750 mL

HOURS AGO

T:10.125”

Stolichnaya has introduced Stoli Salted Karamel, the world’s first salted caramel flavored vodka. Following the launch of Stoli Chocolat Razberi, Stoli Salted Karamel is the second flavor in the brand’s line of flavored offerings. Stoli Salted Karamel is packaged in a frosted bottle featuring a spoon of warm caramel sprinkled with sea salt cascading down the side of the bottle. The reverse side of the bottle features an embossed Stoli logo and cocktail recipes that showcase the versatility of the flavor. Stoli Salted Karamel is available nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $23.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (212) 957-3005.

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bottle. For more information, please call (866) 749-9667.

COGNAC D’USSÉ Cognac has launched in the United States. D’USSÉ, pronounced “dew-say,” is crafted in the cellars of the Chateau de Cognac - a home with a 200-year legacy of creating some of the world’s finest Cognacs.

D’USSÉ is available in select cities and has a suggested retail price of $44.99 for a 750 mL bottle. The brand will be supported by a fully integrated launch plan inclusive of advertising/media, public relations, celebrity and local influencer seeding, experiential and trade activations, and brand education. For more information, please call (305) 573-8511.

Camus has announced the launch of Ile de Re Cognac in the U.S. Camus (pronounced “kah-moo”) is the last independent, familyowned Cognac house and fifth-largest worldwide. Ile de Re is an island off the west coast of France that carries the designation of the mainland. The cognac will be released in three unique expressions: Camus Cognac Ile de Ré Fine Island, Camus Cognac Ile de Ré Double Mature, Camus Cognac Ile de Ré Cliffside Cellar. Each highlights the unexpected aromas, flavors and personalities distinctive to the island of Ile de Re along with salty, maritime notes that generally appeal to Scotch drinkers, according to Camus. The cognacs are available in select markets nationwide and have suggested retail prices of $49-$99 per 700 mL, depending on the expression. For more information, please call (212) 682-2293.

GIN Plymouth has launched Plymouth Navy Strength gin in the U.S. The gin offers an amplified aroma and fragrance of botanicals while retaining the brand’s signature smoothness and balanced character, according to the company. To support the launch, Plymouth has created point-of-sale materials to alert consumers to the product’s arrival and availability. The materials will provide cocktail recommendations to encourage trial including the Plymouth Navy Strength Gimlet and Pink Gin Plymouth Navy Strength Gin. The product is 114 proof and is available in a 750 mL bottle for a suggested retail price of $34.99. For more information, please call (914) 848-4782.

22 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Seagram’s has launched a new peach flavor to its line of Twisted Gins. Seagram’s Peach Twisted Gin combines traditional Seagram’s Gin with the sweet, juicy flavor of fresh peach.

The product is 70 proof and is distributed nationally in 50 mL, 200 mL, 375 mL, 750 mL and 1.75 mL bottles. The 750 mL size has a suggested price of $11.99. For more information, please call (914) 848-4787.

Greenhook Ginsmiths Distiller, a microdistillery based in Brooklyn, N.Y. has introduced Beach Plum Gin Liqueur.

Greenhook Ginsmiths partnered with two local New York farms to grow beach plums to produce the liqueur and steeps the fruit into its Flagship American Dry Gin. While this process takes much longer to accomplish than the standard pressing method, the outcome is a gin liqueur with a much more complex flavor profile. A very small amount of all-natural cane sugar is added to the liqueur to slightly sweeten and enhance the notes of the fruit. The final result gives off tart and sour cherry notes on the nose, along with aromas of juniper, citrus and cinnamon and a soft, silky mouthfeel with bittersweet fruit and a long, dry finish of beach plum notes subsiding to spicy coriander, chamomile, and bitter almonds, according to the distillery.

The 60 proof liqueur is sold in select stores in metro New York and has a suggested retail price of $57.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information please call (646) 3393719. Can hold if out of space

OTHER SPIRITS Piedmont Distillers has launched a new blackberry flavor as part of its line of moonshine liquors. Junior Johnson Midnight Moon Blackberry is made with whole blackberries and is handcrafted in single batches. The moonshine is inspired by the family recipes of legendary moonshiner and NASCAR hall of famer, Junior Johnson. Packaged in a traditional moonshine jar, the liquor is 100 proof and infused with whole pieces of gourmetquality fruit. The moonshine contains no extracts, color additives, or artificial flavors.

Junior Johnson Midnight Moon Blackberry is available nationwide and has a retail price of $19.99 for a 750 mL jar. For more information, please call (336) 769-6365.

OM Cocktails were created by entrepreneur Jason Monkarsh, who was in search of an organic and healthy cocktail. OM

cocktails are crafted with organic grain vodka and blended with organic agave nectar and natural fruit & vegetable colorings. OM Cocktails are packaged in specially designed light-weight bottles and recycled shipping cases. OM flavors including Coconut Water & Lychee, Meyer Lemon & Spicy Ginger, Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt, Wild Cranberry & Blood Orange, and Mango & Kaffir Lime.

OM has a suggested retail price of $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle and is currently distributed at fine retailers in California including Gil Turners, John & Pete’s, and Wally’s and Vendome in Beverly Hills. For more information, please call (323) 448-0466.

Adult Beverage Company, the nostalgiainspired spirits company behind Adult Chocolate Milk and Adult Limeade flavors, announced the launch of Adult Strawberry Milk. Reminiscent of the classic and beloved strawberry-flavored milk, Adult Strawberry Milk combines the taste of ripe strawberries, sweet cream and premium vodka. Rosy pink in appearance with the aroma of strawberry ice cream, Adult Strawberry Milk can be enjoyed simply over ice or added to cocktails.

Adult Strawberry Milk does not require refrigeration and is packaged in Adult Beverage Company’s signature, retro-chic glass bottle with a swing-top closure. The product is distributed nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $17.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (212) 593-6493.

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Marnier-Lapostolle North America has introduced Grand Marnier Cherry. The new liquor is a limited-edition expression which blends Grand Marnier’s signature premium cognacs with essence of natural European Griottes cherries. The resulting spirit is lush and complex and delivers a perfect marriage of Grand Marnier’s signature fine cognacs laced with orange essence and the natural sweet cherry flavors, according to the company. Grand Marnier Cherry is distributed nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $41.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (917) 496-0360.

Black Rock Spirits has launched Sparkle Donkey tequilas. The new line comes in two varieties: Sparkle Donkey Silver and Sparkle Donkey Reposado. The tequilas are produced in small batches and distributed in select states. The products retail for $20-25. For more information, please call (206) 227-4774.

SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 23

CHANNEL CHECK

What’s hot – and what’s not – in stores now

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY

SINGLE SERVE FRUIT DRINKS 52 Weeks through 7/8/2012 SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

It’s amazing what distribution can do – look at FUZE, which is coming on strong in single-serve, and at Lipton, which is also showing major growth in what is a very minor part of its line (Brisk). Meanwhile, wouldn’t you love to get a peek at Tum E Yummies’ Wal-Mart numbers, since they just passed Bug Juice in the big four-channel listing? That’s strong growth for a company that continues to move up in the pack. Hawaiian Punch is steady. Honest Ade isn’t showing us much here, but there’s another $3 million hidden in Sports Drinks for some reason. Strange grouping.

Brand

Dollar Sales

$185,160,300

0.24%

V8 Splash

$126,829,000

9.48%

Lipton Brisk

$104,064,900

50.60%

Tampica

$90,885,220

1.29%

Snapple

$78,895,340

22.00%

Tum E Yummies

$69,838,500

33.93%

Bug Juice

$67,568,870

-10.07%

Private Label

$63,558,820

-0.27%

FUZE

$58,230,520

168.85%

Kool Aid

$52,382,040

-4.46%

FUZE Slenderize

$50,832,980

-18.23%

V8 V Fusion Light

$37,423,430

-5.01%

Minute Maid

$29,940,470

-11.94%

Motts For Tots

$29,859,440

5.71%

Ocean Spray

$24,849,010

-8.78%

SoBe Smooth

$23,583,330

-17.20%

SoBe Energize

$22,610,110

-6.76%

Tropicana Twister

$22,029,400

-16.98%

Tropicana

$21,610,940

-28.95%

Mistic

$21,557,020

54.95%

SunnyD

$20,756,230

-3.57%

Welchs Essentials

$19,710,020

89.70%

Dailys Little hug

$17,643,450

1.61%

Diet V8 Splash

$16,010,660

-5.02%

SoBe Lizard Fuel

$14,262,270

-13.36%

Langers

$13,945,010

-5.96%

V8 V Fusion

$12,654,770

-10.04%

Nantucket Nectars

$11,577,900

3.47%

AriZona

$11,282,140

57.95%

Ocean Spray Diet

$11,015,330

-20.95%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME 52 WEEKS THROUGH 7/8/2012

24 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Change vs. year earlier

Hawaiian Punch

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

BEER

$24,991,778,000

6.76%

BOTTLED JUICES

$5,097,238,000

-1.57%

BOTTLED WATER

$8,252,481,000

6.27%

ENERGY DRINKS

$8,394,080,000

17.92%

SPORTS DRINKS

$4,313,486,000

7.02%

TEA/COFFEE

$3,449,123,000

7.61%

ENERGY DRINKS Brand

HOT! Monster Rehab Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

TEA Brand

HOT! Diet Lipton Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Red Bull

$2,845,509,000

18.25%

AriZona

$619,933,900

0.34%

Monster

$1,510,346,000

19.67%

Lipton Brisk

$289,252,700

1.73%

Rockstar

$505,957,400

12.68%

Lipton

$249,927,200

-7.41%

Monster Rehab

$261,790,700

628.93%

Snapple

$186,218,400

0.08%

NOS

$250,814,200

11.53%

AriZona Arnold Palmer

$168,631,300

37.84%

Java Monster

$221,989,300

23.95%

Diet Snapple

$152,941,000

11.24%

Monster Mega

$221,405,900

19.43%

Lipton Pureleaf

$146,521,800

-5.61%

AMP

$149,111,700

6.60%

Gold Peak

$97,801,460

18.44%

Rockstar Recovery

$143,334,800

36.64%

Nestea

$97,036,990

-6.12%

Full Throttle

$99,133,900

-2.85%

Diet Lipton

$87,676,780

40.14%

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

52 Weeks through 7/8/12

SPORTS DRINKS Brand

NOT! Full Throttle

HOT! Powerade Zero ION4 Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

52 Weeks through 7/8/12

BOTTLED WATER Brand

$2,073,267,000

5.46%

Private Label

Powerade ION4

$683,028,200

3.20%

Gatorade

$484,160,300

19.13%

Gatorade G2 Perform

$418,033,200

3.92%

Powerade Zero

$198,169,800

5.42%

Gatorade Perform

NOT! Lipton

HOT! Glaceau Smart Water Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

$1,035,219,000

2.54%

Aquafina

$697,843,100

-0.24%

Dasani

$681,931,200

8.68%

Glaceau Vitamin Water

$641,240,600

-4.56%

Poland Spring

$411,528,700

8.23%

Nestle Pure Life

$406,569,900

17.31%

Gatorade Cool Blue

$62,156,520

28.52%

Gatorade Frost

$59,299,440

8.85%

Glaceau Smart Water

$404,443,400

26.88%

G2

$54,474,390

7.94%

Deer Park

$269,801,600

15.84%

Powerade

$44,227,860

15.17%

Glaceau Vitamin Water Zero

$215,618,500

11.57%

Fiji

$207,811,200

17.81%

Powerade Zero ION4

$34,246,750

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

52 Weeks through 7/8/12

DOMESTIC BEER Brand

290.66% NOT! Powerade ION4

HOT! Coors Light Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

52 Weeks through 7/8/12

NOT! Glaceau Vitamin Water

COFFEE Brand

HOT! Illy Issimo Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Bud Light

$5,462,672,000

3.16%

Frappuccino

$604,296,600

10.46%

Budweiser

$2,046,513,000

-1.82%

Doubleshot

$287,395,700

15.98%

Coors Light

$2,023,424,000

5.26%

Seattles Best

$16,506,640

50.06%

Miller Lite

$1,722,062,000

3.18%

Starbucks Doubleshot

$10,200,340

N/A

Natural Light

$1,111,934,000

1.20%

Private Label

$9,076,016

11.59%

Busch Light

$736,820,000

0.28%

Doubleshot Light

$8,604,944

-8.30%

Busch

$669,409,800

-2.04%

Illy Issimo

$5,478,383

109.35%

Miller High Life

$496,764,400

-0.12%

Marleys One Drop

$860,289

N/A

Keystone Light

$477,272,800

-2.09%

Emmi

$730,443

-34.33%

Natural Ice

$358,061,200

0.00%

Community

$418,965

4.51%

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

52 Weeks through 7/8/12

26 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

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SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass excluding Wal-Mart.

52 Weeks through 7/8/12

NOT! Emmi

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1love.org Youth. Planet. Peace.

By Gerry Khermouch

CAN THE CLOTHES MAKE THE BRAND? As I write this column, summer is easing off and soon it will be time to stow the t-shirts away. (At least it will be for those of you for whom t-shirts don’t qualify yet as year-round “business casual” attire.) So I thought it might be fun to riff on t-shirts, given their inextricable role in the beverage business. After all, folks’ reception to t-shirts can be a great gauge of brand health, particularly in image-driven categories like beer and energy drinks. As mini-billboards, they also seem to be a handy double-check on how well thought out the branding of new entries has been from a graphics standpoint, and how intriguing the messaging is to consumers. (As a corollary to that thought, one might guess that someone coming out of the t-shirt business would have a leg up in crafting arresting imagery for a new beverage brand, and that does seem to be true for the cool pickup truck emblem that t-shirt veteran Steve Prato crafted for his Joe Tea line.)

Here in New York, I always keep an eye on where a given brand’s t-shirts end up within the hierarchy at informally run stores like delis and bodegas. A few years back, for instance, I knew Guinness was lost in the woods when I’d see its shirts sported by the poor grunts schlepping cases up the stairs from the basement.

You knew that the shirt had been given to the store owner or manager, who must have turned their noses up at it until it descended down the hierarchy to the guy in the cellar. Not a good sign! (Happily, I don’t see Guinness shirts landing there any more.) I’ve tracked the same progression with once-relevant brands like Rolling Rock and Mistic, and it troubles me that I saw a basement grunt wearing a Sam Adams shirt the other day. Say it ain’t so!

I like to think that the reactions I get to a t-shirt I’m wearing can reveal how evolved a city’s beer culture has become.

Take my shirt for New Belgium’s 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, a favorite obscurity of mine. I’m not surprised that it garners no recognition during my per-

28 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

ambulations around New York – after all, New Belgium isn’t available here. But it’s drawn occasional comments in places like Chicago and Washington, DC. And wearing it recently in Austin, I was shocked to hear not one, not two, but three strangers in one day tell me it’s their favorite beer.

OK, one was a beer geek at a craft bar.

But the others were a youthful greeter at the University of Texas co-op store and a checkout clerk at Whole Foods. That struck me as impressive, both for Austin and for New Belgium.

Anticipating the shirt preferences of my teenage kids has always been more mysterious to me. Neither my daughter (now 22) nor son (17) ever displayed the slightest hint of interest in trendy apparel brands like Hollister or Abercrombie & Fitch, yet that doesn’t mean they didn’t have emphatic opinions on beverage shirts I might try to foist on them. Both were happy to wear Sweet Leaf Tea-shirts that came my way in that brand’s earlier days, but wouldn’t be caught dead wearing an Honest Tea-shirt – even though both kids purchased considerably more Honest Tea than Sweet Leaf. Could Honest Tea’s self-proclaimed “we’re honest” pose have been the turnoff? I never could get an explanation. Nor for their aversion to Vitaminwater t-shirts. I’m guessing that brand, in its Coke era, may have become just too ubiquitous, both in people’s hands and on the airwaves.

Then there’s Monster Beverage. The masters of branding there obviously have struck gold with Monster Energy’s inyour-face claw emblem, which consumers not only sport on t-shirts but often tattoo on their bodies.

But in launching their canned Peace Tea line, they were savvy enough to switch gears, devising artsy graphic motifs in keeping with the peace-andlove ethos they’d cooked up for the brand, but at the same time keeping the brand name itself quite subtle. Both my kids immediately

gravitated to the Peace Tea-shirts, and there may be a lesson there for marketers.

Sometimes less is more, branding-wise.

One of my favorite beers is the tasty and unique Texas Pecan Porter from Austin’s (512) Brewing, and I often wear the burnt-orange t-shirt I bought at the brewery a year and a half ago. Of course, that shade is as identified with the University of Texas as the school’s Longhorns symbol. (Interestingly, the brewery’s founder, Kevin Brand, told me he initially resisted using such a predictable hue, until others convinced him that as a self-respecting Austin brewer he couldn’t not use it.)

I’ve found it’s impossible to go out in that shirt in New York without somebody accosting me on the street to tell me they’ve had a (512) beer or that they’re a UT grad or they’re a past or present Austin resident. Boy, there seem to be a lot of those people colonizing the city these days. It’s enough to make me wonder whether that brand, still available only in Texas, might travel well to New York. True, I realize that reactions to a t-shirt are not the same as a research-backed launch plan. Then again, I’ve seen distributors go on a lot less in deciding to pick up a brand!

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

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BEVERAGE VS

SUPPLEMENT

By Justin J. Prochnow

The distinction between beverages and dietary supplements has become harder more difficult to discern. Walking down the “beverage� aisle of any grocery store or supermarket, one may see similar-looking products sitting side-by-side; yet, a closer look reveals that some of the products are labeled and sold as dietary supplements, while others are labeled and sold as beverages. How can this be? Since there is no pre-approval required by the FDA to market a beverage or supplement product, the characterization of the product as a beverage or supplement is ultimately the decision of the marketer or the product. Or is it? The recent warning letter to Rockstar Inc. follows a similar letter posted by the FDA earlier in 2012 and may signify that the FDA is really ready to enforce the labeling regulations in accordance with its 2009 guidance document on supplements and beverages. In short, these warning letters could signify that the FDA is taking action to make the distinction between supplements and beverages clearer.

30 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

PA I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Recent FDA Warning Letters The warning letter from the FDA to Rockstar, Inc., dated May 23, 2012, should cause companies in the beverage and supplement industries to sit up and take notice. In the letter, the FDA asserts that the company’s “Rockstar Roasted Coffee & Energy” products, while labeled as dietary supplements, are really beverages, due to various factors like the name of the products, the packaging and appearance, and statements made by the company about the products using the word “beverage.” Why is the characterization of the products as beverages or supplements important? Because if a product is really a beverage instead of a supplement, its ingredients must comply with the requirements for food ingredients instead of the requirements for dietary ingredients; each beverage ingredient must be an approved food additive or GRAS (“Generally Recognized as Safe”). The FDA asserts, in the warning letter, that ginkgo, an ingredient in the Rockstar products, is neither the subject of a food additive regulation nor GRAS, and therefore, according to the FDA, the products are adulterated food products.

The warning letter to Rockstar is of particular interest as many have been waiting to see if the FDA was going to follow up the warning letter to Revolt Distribution posted earlier this year.

The warning letter to Revolt Distribution, which was posted on the FDA’s website in March of 2012 (even though it was sent to Revolt back on December 8, 2011), was the first letter to really implement the provision of a 2009 draft guidance document that the FDA released regarding liquid supplements and beverages. In the letter, the FDA took issue with Revolt’s Slowtivate “relaxation” product. The FDA asserted that the product, labeled as a dietary supplement, did not meet the definition of a dietary supplement because the company, despite the labeling, represented the product as a beverage. As grounds for its assertions, the FDA referenced aspects such as the label and marketing of the product as the “Slowtivate Relaxation Drink,” as well as the serving size and packaging that resembled a traditional beverage. Similar to the analysis in the Rockstar letter, the FDA determined that melatonin did not meet the requirements for an ingredient in a beverage product and, therefore, the products were adulterated.

While the letter certainly caught the attention of companies in the beverage and supplement industries, it was unclear whether the letter was a sign of more to come, or an isolated incident. As the FDA had sent a similar letter to a food company in 2011 over the use of melatonin in a brownie product that was labeled as a supplement, it was unclear whether the crux of the letter was the use of melatonin or the characterization of the product (or both).

With this second letter now emanating from the FDA in the first half of 2012, a closer look at the 2009 draft guidance document is warranted.

Liquid Supplements v. Beverages Draft Guidance In December 2009, the FDA released its draft of the new “Guidance for Industry: Factors that Distinguish Liquid Dietary Supplements from Beverages, Considerations Regarding Novel Ingredients, and Labeling for Beverages and Other Conventional

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SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 31

Foods” (“Draft Guidance”). The purpose of the document, according to the FDA, is to provide assistance to dietary supplement and beverage manufacturers and distributors in determining whether a liquid product should be labeled as a supplement or as a beverage. The Draft Guidance was issued as a result of the FDA’s observation and concern over what it perceived were two emerging trends in the marketing of beverages. First, the FDA believed there was an increase in the marketing of products as dietary supplements, even when the packaging and labeling of the products actually represented the products as conventional beverages. Second, the FDA perceived a growth in the marketplace of beverages and other foods that contained novel ingredients, such as added botanical ingredients or extracts. It was concerned that these novel ingredients or other ingredients used in amounts in excess of their traditional use levels were unapproved food additives or ingredients for which there was inadequate evidence of safety.

In the Draft Guidance, the FDA identifies a number of factors that may cause a product to be deemed a beverage, despite being labeled and characterized as a dietary supplement. One factor is the packaging. The packaging of liquid products in bottles or cans similar to those in which single servings of beverages like soda, bottled water, juices and iced tea are sold may suggest

that the products are intended for use as a beverage. Recommendations about serving sizes and daily intake, combined with such packaging, that suggest amounts associated with beverages may also suggest that such products are really beverages.

The use of product or brand names that use conventional food terms such as “beverage,” “drink,” “water,” “juice,” or similar terms is also cited by the FDA as potentially indicative of a beverage product.

The improper labeling of products also affects the second concern identified by the FDA in the Draft Guidance. The FDA asserts that companies are increasingly adding novel ingredients to liquid products that have not traditionally been used in foods before in, as well as using common ingredients in greater and greater amounts. While the laws allows for ingredients to be used in beverage products only if they are approved food additives or GRAS, ingredients in dietary supplements need only fall under one of the defined categories of dietary ingredients, an often less stringent standard to meet. Thus, the FDA perceives that some companies have been trying to get around the stricter requirements for food ingredients by selling liquid products as supplements, when, in the view of the FDA, those products are really more properly characterized as beverages.

Despite stirring up some initial discussion and debate among companies in the beverage and supplement industries, the Draft

Warning Letter to Shannon Minerals Ltd. Upper Clare (Coolwater Trim), November 30, 2009; Warning Letter to Skinny Nutritional Corp. (Skinny Water), November 30, 2009; Warning Letter to HBB, LLC dba Baked World (Lazy Larry fka Lazy Cakes), July 28, 2011

32 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

PA I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Guidance has been largely ignored by many companies in the beverage and supplement industries. This is likely due, in no small part, to the fact that the FDA has taken very little action against companies in line with the Draft Guidance. While the FDA did issue warning letters to two companies on November 30, 2009, just prior to the release of the Draft Guidance, for selling products as dietary supplements, when, the FDA asserted, the products more properly resembled conventional beverages, the FDA did not follow up with any warning letters in the two years subsequent to the release of the Draft Guidance.

Even with the record numbers of warning letters issued by the FDA in 2010 and 2011, there were no letters that reflected the FDA’s concerns about beverages labeled as supplements. In fact, prior to the warning letter to Revolt Distribution in December of 2011, the closest thing to a warning letter that applied the analysis in the Draft Guidance was a warning letter to a company marketing a melatonin-containing brownie as a supplement, which the FDA determined was really a food product. The letters to Rockstar and Revolt now bring the Draft Guidance back as a topic for discussion and something that must be considered when marketing and selling liquid products.

Future Action What messages do these letters provide to the beverage and supplement companies? The letters to Rockstar and Revolt provide a clear “roadmap” of the available process that the FDA can implement if it desires to take action against a company for using an ingredient that the FDA perceives to be dangerous. Such actions may extend to more common ingredients for which the FDA believes there is inadequate evidence of safety. Is this the avenue that the FDA will use to regulate caffeine in energy drinks sold as supplements? If a company leaves the door open for the FDA by mixing the representations of its products as supplements and beverages, that company risks the FDA finding the product to be a mislabeled and adulterated beverage product.

The importance of consistency cannot be understated. If a product is intended to be sold as a supplement, the labeling, marketing and advertising of the product should be consistent with supplement products. While no one factor is likely to convert a product from a supplement to a beverage, factors like the name of the product, the serving size, the recommended use, the packaging, and the use of terms associated with beverages, may be used by the FDA to make determinations about the proper characterization of a product. Those companies that don’t review the labeling, marketing and advertising of products now to ensure that their messages are accurate and consistent run a big risk of potential action from the FDA. Justin J. Prochnow is an attorney and Shareholder in the Denver office of the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP. His practice concentrates on legal issues affecting the food & beverage, dietary supplement and cosmetic industries. He can be reached at (303) 572-6562 or prochnowjj@gtlaw.com.

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SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 33

You’d think Carl Sweat, the hard-charging CEO of FRS, would have it easy by now. Strong investors, a dynamite functional additive, popular endorsers and clever marketing have been wrapped together into a very cold-box-friendly package.

But the company is still fighting it out every day, trying to convince consumers that the quercetin compound that powers the product is worth its sometimes challenging taste and its hard-to-define health benefit.

Recently, the company broadened the brand to include a pair of new lines, one geared toward weight management and another toward immunity. The brand’s “Healthy Slim” and “Healthy Defense” products joined the company’s first line extension, Protein, this spring. By bringing in two new functional additives,

34 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Slendesta and EpiCor, FRS has been able to broaden and bolster the line beyond the “Healthy Performance” that quercetin, with its potent antioxidant properties, is supposed to provide.

That’s good, because so far, growth for FRS has been slower than Sweat expected – partially because it’s so function dependent, and partially because of a distribution deal with PepsiCo that left the company behind Gatorade in the pecking order when it came time to sell into grocery accounts. Sweat recently

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addressed the latter problem by terminating the Pepsi contract as of the end of the year; the company is cutting itself loose to work with specialty distribution advisor L.A. Libations, which has a strong record of putting products with unrealized potential on the right track.

As for the former, the issue remains: when dealing with a functional ingredient, it’s important to explain why consumers need to give up that “share of stomach.”

“It’s not a fizzy, carbonated energy drink or a ‘take a swig’ kind of a thing,” Sweat said recently. Indeed, FRS itself isn’t just trying to make it as a beverage – there are chews and powder formats of the product, and it’s sold in several parts of the store that do not include the cold box.

Here are some functional ingredients whose beverage futures are currently attached to a few select brands, and how they are doing:

2.

1. QUERCETIN – While other companies using this compound have come and gone, FRS recently engaged PCG Advisors, an investment banker, to entertain potential partnerships, but is doing so with the intent of seeing which companies would bring more than just money to the table.

The company reports strong growth, particularly in DSD channels outside its fading Pepsi partnership.

“We’re identifying who might be complementary to our strategy in one or two areas of our business,” Sweat said of the PCGA engagement. “Two of the potential avenues we see are a strategic that is heavily invested in the R&D space, or has a complementary global distribution footprint. It isn’t primarily on an investment basis… but for future build out.”

Quercetin is also being used by Monster Energy in its Rehab brand.

3.

2. CITICOLINE – Nawgan, a brain health beverage that has taken a slow-and-steady route to growth, recently took in investment from Japanese company Kirin, which owns Kyowa Hakko, the maker of Cognizin – the key compound in Nawgan. Nawgan has begun to try to move from its first distribution radius in St. Louis into a national brand, hiring several key sales and marketing executives.

1.

4.

3. GLUCOSAMINE & CHONDROITIN – After a strong push into the sports drink and enhanced water audiences a few years ago, Joint Juice, which uses glucosamine and chondroitin as a way of fighting arthritis and muscle soreness, has faded back into more of its original focus, on older Americans who may have arthritis.

4. RESVERATROL – Several beverages have tried to capitalize on the popularity of this antioxidant, found in red wine grapes, that may help enhance and support heart health, including EVR and Dox Cardiowater; there has not yet been a breakout.

5.

6.

36 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

5. MELATONIN – The key ingredient in many relaxation brands, the use of this amino acid is beginning to draw scrutiny from the FDA.

6. EPIGALLOCATECHIN GALLATE (EGCG) – This tea-derived polyphenol has been trumpeted as a potential source of weight loss in non-tea products like Celsius or the Coke/Nestea product Enviga; a few tea companies, like Snapple, have also called out its potential benefit on their products.

Sales are up now – 71 percent over the past two years in core channels, according to Sweat – but it’s been a long struggle to establish FRS as a go-to branded product, and that illustrates the problem that many function-first products can face, even if the function is highly desirable.

Other single-function products like Joint Juice, Ojo, Nawgan, even those that offer that most desirable effect, hangover relief, have faced obstacles when it comes to gaining mass acceptance. And while the common idea is to go an inch deep and a mile wide, sometimes investors and retailers just don’t want to wait.

After all, if there’s a suite of functions, just one introduction – like Vitaminwater’s antioxidant-rich XXX variety – can ignite the entire line.

So by broadening the portfolio a bit, FRS isn’t just getting a few more chances at takeoff, it’s also creating a hedge against betting the farm on a single ingredient.

That’s not a bad idea because singleingredient launches can be a problem area for marketers, no matter how potent the special ingredient, particularly when that ingredient isn’t also an integral part of the

product’s flavor or composition.

As a drink, tea – or yerba mate – is tea; milk is milk, juice is juice (sometimes it’s even the real stuff and not white grape juice, for that matter).But when it comes to products that are being sold

on the merits of a functional ingredient, things get tricky. In other words, when a product is based around an ingredient and the flavor is simply there to “help the medicine go down,” marketers can have their work cut out for them.

As a vehicle for ingredients that offer functional benefits that aren’t necessarily specific to the flavor or style of beverage itself, beverages have a mixed record.

Protein, for example, is an ingredient that has begun to show some success as a primary component of a beverage – but it took a long time for consumers to be willing to stomach it as part of their daily liquid diet. Contrast that with hydrationbased products containing electrolytes, which are highly available in many kinds of products and caught on much more quickly due to their taste and texture compatibility with beverages.

Products offering energy or high levels of antioxidants also tend to mix fairly easily as beverages – especially those that are derived from natural ingredients. But there have been some products for which flavor took a back seat to functionality – and they have had a tougher row to hoe.

SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 37

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BRAND NEWS

Ingredients

BENEO Inc. BENEO’s Palatinose (isomaltulose) is a functional

WILD Flavors. WILD’s Immunel is a milk peptide that is a

carbohydrate derived from sugar beet Palatinose is digested and absorbed slowly and over a period of time, without causing great fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. The ingredient is non-cariogenic and, under physical activity, it promotes fat oxidation. It can be used for a wide variety of beverage applications including energy drinks, sports drinks, waters , and more. Palatinose is used in Nth Degree Low GI Performance Drink, a low glycemic index beverage created for endurance, performance and energy.

clinically tested, cost-competitive GRAS ingredient that supports immune health and is easily incorporated into various food & beverage products.

The ingredient has no impact on taste, color and texture. Studies have shown Immunel provides a quick and more targeted immune response and increases the number and vigor of immune cells in the body.

WILD’s Tegricel is a product made from premium milk peptides and bioactives. Tegricel has been shown to repair damaged intestinal tissue from the use of NSAID’s. Studies have also shown it has the ability to reduce inflammation and promote healing in the digestive tract. WILD has partnered with Sterling Technology to be the exclusive provider of these functional ingredients in beverage applications.

Gelita Peptiplus is a natural protein source with neutral odor

and taste. Even when mixed with other ingredients (and other proteins), Peptiplus delivers clear, easily soluble, and highly bio-available solutions. Peptiplus can be used in beverages for healthy aging and health and wellness nutrition. It provides protein stability in liquids with a smooth mouthfeel and readily dissolves in cold water.

Gelita’s Verisol (Bioactive Collagen Peptides) is designed to increase skin moisture and prevent the formation of wrinkles by stimulating skin metabolism and the formation of new collagen.

Administered orally, Verisol influences the skin’s matrix from the inside. Produced from native collagen, Verisol is highly bioavailable and can be incorporated into a diverse range of products, including functional foods and beverages.

Biothera. Wellmune WGP, an ingredient from Biothera, is clini-

cally proven to strengthen the immune system particularly during periods of high physical or lifestyle stress. Numerous peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that Wellmune WGP mobilizes billions of innate immune cells that are part of the body’s natural defenses without overstimulating the immune system. Wellmune is a key component in Take5ive Energy + Immunity Shot. The shot is an energy drink formulated to help manage stress.

Kyowa Hakko USA. Cognizin is a branded form of Citicoline, a

natural substance found in every cell of the body and vital to brain health. Citicoline is broken down during intestinal absorption and, after passing through the blood/brain barrier, is reconstituted in the brain as citicoline. Citicoline is a water-soluble compound that supplies precursors for the synthesis of phospholipids, including phosphatidyl-choline, a major constituent of brain tissue. The ingredient also helps maintain normal levels of acetylcholine, a chemical that regulates memory and cognitive function, enhances communication between neurons, supports visual function, protects neural structures from free radical damage, enhances metabolism and healthy brain activity, and helps sustain healthy cellular mitochondria for sustained energy. Cognizin is highly stable, GRAS, ultra-pure, and allergen-free.

40 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Kefiplant uses a rediscovered ancient kefir grain and a patented

bioprocess of fermentation that produces fermented plant extract formulas more powerful than traditional botanical extracts. The kefir grain used

by Kefiplant is a complex symbiosis of yeast and bacteria used over 2000 years ago and rediscovered by Sergi Rollan, Pharm.D., M.D. Through the fermentation process, the natural occurring actives in the botanical are liberated and the activity of these phytocompounds is increase. Additionally, bioavailable micronutrients and nanonutrients will be naturally created by the fermentation. Each fermented botanical will then have its own unique profile. Kefitech organic botanical formulas offer new innovative commercial product applications, including functional foods & beverages AIDP. Magtein is a breakthrough compound for cognitive health

and memory. Published research has shown positive results with the use of Magtein for short and long term memory in animals. Magtein has the potential to assist anyone who is experiencing forgetfulness, difficulty in focusing, or needs assistance in decision making and spatial or visual recognition. Magtein is selfaffirmed GRAS. Quantitative and qualitative human research on Magtein is in process.

CPKelco. Kelcogel Gellan Gum is a polysaccharide produced by

fermentation of Sphingomonas elodea culture. The composition and structure of native gellan gum produced by commercial fermentation is identical to the naturally occurring polysaccharide formed by Sphingomonas elodea on plants of lily-pad varieties. This multi-functional hydrocolloid can be used at extremely low use levels in a wide range of beverage products that require suspension. The uniqueness of Kelcogel is its ability to provide suspension independent of protein, through its unique pseudoplastic fluid gel network. At rest, the fluid gel has a very high apparent viscosity resulting in excellent suspension of insoluble ingredients. Because of the weak molecular associations,

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BRAND NEWS

Ingredients

the fluid gel network is easily disrupted upon drinking, agitation, or pouring, resulting in a low viscosity, uniform pour, and a light and refreshing mouthfeel. Thus, gellan gum is a solution for longterm suspension of protein, cocoa, and insoluble minerals in lowprotein applications such as coffee beverages, diluted milk drinks, soy, almond or coconut drinks, and other beverages low in casein.

Prinova USA now carries an innovative, vegetarian protein source.

Roquette’s Nutralys Pea Protein. Nutralys is recognized for its premium color, mouth feel and taste. With continued product research, Nutralys delivers a significantly more neutral flavor, opening doors for more highly concentrated use of pea protein and new product applications, and a boost in consumer perception towards the strengths and benefits of pea protein.

Prinova’s OvaSweet 120 uses breakthrough natural sweet flavor modification technology, in partnership with PureCircle.

OvaSweet 120 is designed specifically to work in combination with high purity stevia sweeteners, Reb A 97% and SG95, as well as sugar and high fructose corn syrup. OvaSweet 120 enhances flavor, sweetness and the taste of food and beverages, all while reducing sugar and calories. This patented natural sweet flavor modifier is FEMA approved and considered a natural flavor for ingredient labeling.

Prinova’s AlphaSize Alpha-Glyceryl Phosphoryl Choline (AGPC) is an all-natural, water-soluble, tasteless, stable, and GRASapproved ingredient for improving both body and mind function.

AlphaSize has seen tremendous growth in the beverage market, particularly in the areas of mental focus and sports performance.

Bio Energy Life Science Inc. Bioenergy’s Ribose is a natural,

functional beverage ingredient that helps accelerate energy recovery, reduce muscle stiffness, and provide greater endurance. Ribose is used in hundreds of products and can be added to almost any beverage. It is currently in waters, energy drinks, sports drinks, soda, and more. Ribose is FDA GRAS-affirmed, Kosher, Halal, non-GMO, soluble, and stable, and contains one calorie per gram. Bioenergy has four world champion and/or Olympic athletes that are Bioenergy Ribose Brand Ambassadors: Bryan Clay (decathlete), Susan Francia (rower), Laura Bennett (triathlete), and Greg Bennett (triathlete).

Blue Marble Biomaterials has a unique partnership with

Anheuser-Busch. The beer producer sends spent brewer grain to the Blue Marble, which then turns it into flavor and fragrance compounds. Using polyculture fermentation technology, Blue Marble Biomaterials processes the grains into natural chemical materials that are drop-in replacements for synthetic versions produced using petroleum. Not only is Anheuser-Busch able to improve on their own sustainability measures, the flavor materials Blue Marble produces will likely find their way into another beverage product down the line.

In addition to making new flavoring chemicals from spent brewer grains, Blue Marble also creates novel extracts from materials including hops (both dried and used), spices, and forestry byproducts.

While hop extract can be used in brewing beer, it’s also useful in a variety of nonalcoholic beverages, such as flavored nonWe travel to the ends of the earth in search of the ingredients that alcoholic malt drinks, teas, and sodas. will make your new product stand out. With more than 37 years experience in tea, coffee, and functional ingredients, A. Holliday can DSM. Fruitflow is the first natural, scienhelp you succeed. tifically-substanTo learn more call (416) 225-2217 or visit us online at teacoff.com. tiated nutritional ingredient to help maintain healthy blood circulation.

Derived from tomatoes, Fruitflow establishes a major new product category in heart health and serves as a vital new profit opportunity for manufacturers of beverages and dietary supplements. Multiple human studies indicate no side effects from Fruitflow supplementation. There have been no adverse effects from prolonged Leaf & instant teas EGCG, SRO\SKHQROV Áavonoids intake of Fruitflow, no allergic reactions CerWLÀHG 2Uganic ingredients Herbal & superfruit extracts and no increased bleeding risk for people Instant coffee & extracts Natural tea caffeine extract who take blood-thinning agents. Fruitflow has been certified GRAS for use in yogurt drinks, fruit juices and fruit-flavored drinks. Fruitflow is approved for use under Innovative Ideas & Ingredients.

DSHEA, making it ideal for use in beverServing Beverage, Nutraceutical, and Skincare industries. ages and dietary supplements in the U.S.

leading edge innovation,

steeped in tradition.

42 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

NO BIKINIS NEEDED Sierra Nevada Crafts a C-Store Strategy By: Ray Latif With coveted floor space owned by multi-packs of light beer stacked high and wide, coolers jam-packed with ice-cold premium cans and bottles, and pointof-sale marketing offering up life-size cut-outs of bikini-clad women and professional athletes, convenience stores are the biggest off-premise retail channel for beer.

But until recently, craft, the hottest segment in beer, has barely registered a blip on the radar for c-stores. That’s changing: while the numbers are still miniscule in comparison to the $16.7 billion in overall c-store beer sales in 2011, it’s clear that craft beer is on an upward trajectory and moving fast.

44 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

According to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), sales of craft beer rose by 13.9 percent in c-stores last year, and the segment has nearly doubled its dollar share in convenience over the past five years. The variety of craft beer in c-stores has grown dramatically as well: since 2008, craft SKUs soared from 994 to over 1400 today. Today, the segment holds a 2 percent dollar share within the c-store channel, on sales of $176 million for the 52-week period ending on July 8, according to Symphony IRI.

suppliers – and C-Stores work with the smallest retail footprint of them all.

“It’s been a lot easier the last three or four years than it ever was before that, mainly because retailers have been opening up shelf space,” Whitney said. “We were the benefactor of that, and it’s been easy. But it’s crowded as heck right now, and I don’t expect that to continue. That was kind of the honeymoon period.”

Honeymoon over, the country’s top selling craft brands are now jockeying for position in the lucrative channel. Although

Although Sierra Nevada Pale is the number one selling craft beer brand in c-stores, Boston Beer Company owns the largest share of craft in convenience.

While for years craft beer has steadily evolved in other retail channels, Joe Whitney, the director of sales and marketing at Sierra Nevada, noted that the tipping point for c-stores came in 2010, when it was revealed that craft was the only segment of the beer business that grew in sales. It was then that c-store operators took greater notice of the segment and sought to develop new sales strategies for craft beer, much of which focused on consumer demand for variety.

“Craft is really driven by innovation and new flavors,” said Whitney. “People are going out every week in stores and looking for adventure or a treasure hunt.

That’s kind of the mentality of the craft drinker, or these days even a Corona or a Bud drinker… they want to experiment. And the c-stores have not had experimentation happening as a growth platform, so they’ve missed a lot of that.

But they’re starting to catch up.”

However, one common roadblock for craft beer persists: as quickly as new shelf space opens up, it is just as quickly filled. And while craft beer has lived on the adage “a rising tide floats all boats” in recent years, the ever-expanding number of craft beer brands has presented an emerging and long-term concern for

46 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Sierra Nevada Pale is the number one selling craft beer brand in c-stores, Boston Beer Company (BBC) owns the largest share of craft in convenience. Propelled by torrid growth of Samuel Adams seasonal beers, BBC had nearly $50 million in c-store sales in 2011, followed by Sierra Nevada ($38.3 million), Gambrinus –owned Shriner ($28.9 million), New Belgium ($26.3 million), and Long Trail ($15.8 million). Here’s one reason that sales haven’t ramped up faster, however: few craft brands have the resources to actively seek out the channel. This year, for example, only two craft beer companies, BBC and Sierra, have booths at NACS. While c-store sales represent only 5 percent of Sierra’s overall revenue, Whitney said that the company is looking to triple that number within 5 to 7 years.

The company faces the same problem as many others in its category: it can’t make enough beer to satisfy demand.

Sierra is building a new, second brewery in North Carolina, but it is at least a year from being operational. So while working within its capacity constraints, Sierra is also working on deepening its footprint in c-stores through the development of innovative, high margin sales and marketing programs. The company, which has distri-

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bution in 7-Eleven, Circle K, Race Trac, and Quik Trip, among others, recently created a high-end seasonal program for c-stores (“It’s been really spectacular for us,” Whitney said) and introduced new package options, including 4-packs of its double IPA Torpedo line and 12-packs of its flagship Pale Ale in cans.

“C-stores can be a growth engine for us,” said Steve Jannuzzo, the national account manager for convenience stores for Sierra Nevada. “We have very limited distribution, and although the rate of sale is low in a c-store for craft… we continue to reap the benefits of that distribution.

It’s just a huge upside. There’s just a lot of opportunity out there.”

Opportunity, yes, but Jannuzzo stated that there are plenty of challenges associated with selling to c-stores. The biggest, he said, comes from large brewers who are putting intense pressure on c-store operators to limit the amount of craft on shelves.

Countering the overtures of big beer is not easy, Jannuzzo said, but Sierra Nevada

hopes that with Brand steady growth in Samuel Adams consumer demand Sierra Nevada and a retailer netNew Belgium work that becomes more educated Shiner about craft, and, Deschutes more importantly, Widmer the best ways to Redhook market it, the comMagic Hat mitments will come.

“It’s a commitLagunitas ment by the retailer Pyramid to go after the craft Kona business, and that’s Long Trail something that we’re Stone learning,” Jannuzzo said. “It’s not easy.

Bells There’s a lot of Great Lakes forces trying to get Goose Island [retailers] not to do New Glarus it – that would be the Sweetwater big brewers that have all the space. So, Harpoon they’re fighting that Ninkasi battle. They’re fighting the rate of sale and which stores to put it in. Our job is to basically point them in the right direction: which brands to carry, which styles, and where the stores should be [carrying craft]; you can’t put it everywhere.”

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

$239,755,900

4.52%

$154,558,500

16.89%

$113,593,200

19.70%

$84,237,820

20.67%

$44,451,700

14.70%

$40,766,590

0.45%

$34,789,000

6.10%

$30,821,180

15.14%

$25,104,720

56.44%

$24,833,340

0.51%

$24,508,970

32.44%

$22,243,770

5.80%

$20,897,890

27.52%

$19,316,430

25.35%

$17,894,250

20.16%

$17,626,010

13.88%

$17,227,520

43.93%

$15,818,360

18.94%

$14,779,800

19.53%

$14,126,160

50.37%

in which he suggested placing craft in franchise locations with a slightly more affluent population.

By the same token, Jannuzzo made it clear that, at this point, the majority of

“Our job is to basically point [retailers] in the right direction: which brands to carry, which styles, and where the stores should be [carrying craft]; you can’t put it everywhere.”

Jannuzzo cautioned that c-store operators should be thoughtful and selective in choosing accounts for craft beer, particularly as it relates to the average craft consumer. Because the typical craft beer drinker is male, white, college-educated, and earns an above average income, he noted, the areas where craft is sold should reflect that demographic. Jannuzzo conveyed the sales strategy in a recent presentation to 7-Eleven operators in Virginia

48 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

convenience store consumers are still looking for “quick, cold, and convenient.”

And for Sierra Nevada, the importance of a well-known flagship brand is a critical advantage to getting on the shelf and allowing consumers to choose a familiar brand quickly and easily.

“It’s a huge advantage for us,” Jannuzzo said. “Having the top brand is going to help us get on the shelf and increase that distribution. That’s how we’re going to grow.”

Brewbound

A better way to experience beer

By Christopher Furnari

Key Craft Offerings: It’s the time of year where consumers’ palates change just as quickly as the fall foliage. Craft brewers definitely take a cue from autumn’s color pattern and move from the more bright-colored and sessionable offerings to darker, higher-ABV choices that warm the insides. This issue, we feature some high-octane sippers – like the 27 percent ABV Samuel Adams Utopias - that are best enjoyed with company.

Boston Beer Co. literally blurs the lines of beer and booze with the release of its 27-percent ABV Utopias Tenth Anniversary, a beverage that drink more like cognac than anything else. This high alcohol “ale” is brewed with maple syrup and aged in bourbon, rum, vintage port and ruby port barrels.

At a suggested retail price of $160.00, Utopias is packaged in a handcrafted, brew-kettle shaped ceramic decanter from Brazil. Limited distribution will take place in 35 states.

Shmaltz Brewing Company pushes ABV boundaries with the October release of Jewbelation Sweet 16. This complex brown ale checks in at 16 percent ABV, features 16 different hops and 16 different malts. Only 5,000 cases of this limited-edition brew will be made available across the 31 states Shmaltz beers are currently sold. Suggested retail price for a 22 oz. ‘bomber’ is $9.99.

Deschutes Brewery has launched Black Butte XXIV, a beer created in celebration of Deschutes’ 24th anniversary. The brew is an imperial porter made with dates and figs and doubles the brewery’s signature Black Butte Porter recipe. Black Butte XXIV is bourbon barrel aged and contains 11 percent ABV. The limited edition beer is packaged in 22 oz. wax-dipped bottles and distributed in 19 states where Deschutes’ beer is sold. For more information, please call (541) 385-8606.

Victory Brewing Company boasts two fall seasonals, one of which is Moonglow Weizenbock, a dark amber wheat beer with fruity and spicy aromas. A bock beer, Moonglow checks in at 8.7 percent ABV and is definitely designed for a chilly fall night. It is available in six-packs and on draught throughout Victory’s 29 state distribution footprint. The suggested retail price is $10.99 per 6-pack.

50 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Brewery Ommegang and parent company Duvel Moortgat have finally collaborated to created Duvel Rustica, an 8.5 percent ABV golden ale. Duvel USA President Simon Thorpe describes the beer as the result of brewing the iconic Duvel brand at a rustic farmhouse in upstate New York. The classic Belgian golden ale features Ommegang’s proprietary yeast, imparting fruity esters and the rustic notes the beer is named for. 750 mL bottles and 1/6 barrels of Rustica will be available in all 43 states Ommegang beers are currently sold. Suggested retail price is $13.99 for the 750 mL bottle.

Ninkasi Brewing Company releases one of its wintertime seasonals with cooler weather in mind. Sleigh’r Dark Double Alt Ale arrives in October but the label imagery might have you wondering if Santa Claus himself will hand deliver this delicious brew.

The 7.2 percent ABV alt-style beer is available in 6-packs, 22 oz. bottles and on draught in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Northern California until Dec. Suggested retail price is $3.99 per 22 oz. bottle and $8.99 per 6-pack.

Narragansett Beer will re-release its American-style porter in October; the beer survived Prohibition after the brewing company received one of just six patents given by the U.S. government to continue brewing beer for medicinal purposes. Narragansett Porter has a mild chocolate flavor with a hint of smokiness and hops to balance out the finish. It checks in at 7 percent ABV, has a suggested retail price of $8.99 per 6-pack and will find its way into all 12 states Narragansett beer is currently sold.

Dogfish Head’s winter seasonal, Chicory Stout, features a creative concoction of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John’s Wort and licorice root. Released annually in November, this robust offering checks in at only 5.2 percent ABV but warming notes of pepper, roast and chocolate make Chicory Stout an excellent go-to choice during the colder winter months. Chicory Stout has a suggested retail price of $8.50 per 4-pack and is available in all states Dogfish beers are currently sold except Texas.

Too Productive?

Products Beyond Fresh Juices Are

into the Produce Section

By Jeffrey Klineman

Beverage marketers discovered the produce section more than a decade ago, and produce buyers went along with them, knowing that the margins those products offered made the space investment worthwhile.

The prices it could command, the prominent positioning, the lack of slotting and the familiarity with fast-expiring products made the section a natural for the fresh squeezed, lightly processed, high-turnover juices that emerged in the late 1990s.

The growth of fresh juices in the produce department coincided with increased consumer emphasis on produce overall, a trend influenced by larger moves toward healthier eating and organic and natural production. In other words, produce was fertile ground for juice, and the brands that grew there thrived to the point where they were sold (to Coke, Pepsi, or, in the latest move, Bolthouse Farms, to Campbell’s) or highly valued for their investment potential.

But that same conditions that put juices into the produce section and helped grow brands like Naked, Odwalla, Sambazon, Pom and Bolthouse has helped give rise to a new generation of competitors from both ends of the spectrum. Fresher products are on the market, and so are 52 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

shelf-stable products that nevertheless are merchandised in produce because of what that section has come to represent.

“It used to be that you had to be juice, and you had to be fresh,” said Greg Fleishman, the chief marketing officer at ‘Amazon Superfoods’ company Sambazon, which is best known for introducing many Americans to the acai berry. “But right now, everybody is using produce as an opportunity to launch innovation.”

That’s not to say that freshness isn’t a key to success in the produce area: in fact, it remains the core attribute, according to Mathis Martines, the grocery marketing coordinator for The Fresh Market.

“Fresh is still king,” Martines said. “But you’re starting to see other players get in there and things get adulterated. It isn’t the same as it was five years ago.”

For one, the brands known for freshness are being out-freshed, in some cases, with High Pressure Pasteurization brands like Evolution Fresh and Blueprint making

their way into the same space where Naked and Odwalla once set the standard.

Those brands, while still high-end, have lost some of their entrepreneurial luster, Martines said. Their reputation for freshness has in some ways been compromised by increased shelf lives that are the result of heat pasteurization; while that pasteurization creates more affordable products for consumers, it also costs the brands their edge, an edge that has been filled by nimbler entrepreneurial companies who are quicker to market with a hot ingredient.

“At Odwalla,” Martines said, “They used to always seem to be coming out with something new – but that’s slacked off.”

Meanwhile, the secret is out about the advantages of produce, and innovators of all stripes are eager to take advantage. The set has become the new launch point for brands with increasingly popular ingredients like chia seed, kombucha, tart cherry, and coconut water, among others. That innovation is often juice-related, certainly,

but not necessarily in keeping with what launched the category. Many can survive on-shelf or in the cold box.

And for some of those products, launching in produce might even be short-sighted.

Cascadia Managing Brands consultant Bill Sipper has extensive juice category experience, says that companies should be careful about the produce section: while it offers advantages like a lack of slotting fees and an abundance of customers who “shop the perimeters” of stores for perishable items like dairy, produce, and meats, they also can set a pricing precedent that a brand doesn’t necessarily want to hold to.

“By putting it in produce, you’re alluding to the idea that you’re less shelf-stable, more pure, tastier,” he said. “But then you see it stacked warm, it undermines it – it eats up the premium status – it’s kind of like false advertising in a way.”

At times, brands will try to combat this idea by providing two merchandising locations simultaneously, making the argument that consumers are looking for high

quality in all parts of the store.

Martines says he understands the reasoning behind having shelf-stable products in the produce section, particularly with the perimeter of the store being so highly trafficked.

“It depends on what is being crossmerchandised,” he said. “If it’s a brand that has a reputation for benefit or quality,

then both places benefit. You’re still putting quality there for the customer even if they’re the ones who aren’t shopping shelf stable.”

Fleishman says he understands why something like a tart cherry juice or a chia drink might end up on crushed ice next to the spinach – or the “Green Machine” in produce – but, he adds, there need to be guidelines.

“We believe that the category should have a guard rail,” he said. “The stuff that’s in there should be the healthiest liquid in the category, the most efficacious, the freshest and most innovative.”

As for whether he’s concerned about a product like Sambazon getting squeezed out, he replied that the entire category could fall apart if it forgets the way it grew.

“It hasn’t necessarily gotten more heated for us – for most of the channels we work in, they see us as a partner on delivering super-healthy, sustainable products,” he said. “I think they probably think of us as a credibility edge for the category.”

SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 53

CLEANSING THE JUICE CATEGORY: BLUEPRINT JUICE 245

BY RAY LATIF Overindulgence.

It’s an issue that has plagued man since the beginning of time; after all, what urbanite doesn’t enjoy heathen-like amounts of food and booze on occasion?

It’s for those sybarites that a burgeoning beverage category of juice cleanses sprang up, designed to allow the body an opportunity to detoxify itself and create control over its Dionysian urges.

One of the most popular of those cleanses is BluePrint, a New York-based direct-to-consumer company that, since 2007, has produced a $65-or-so daily regimen of blended organic juices designed to counteract the effects of such binges.

Packaged and labeled with a minimalist approach, with unpasteurized, freshsqueezed juices crammed attractively into clearly numbered plastic bottles, a list of ingredients neatly printed on the front of each one, BluePrint Cleanse has become the leader of a growing movement to supply the cleanse-oriented with their juices at specified pickup points or deliveries, even via Federal Express.

Now, that model has changed. Earlier this year, BluePrint launched BluePrint Juices, a five-SKU line of individual bottles modeled on the cleanse line that are distributed and sold a range of natural

54 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

and upscale retail outlets. There’s a big difference, however, in that the juices have received High-Pressure Pasteurization (HPP) – allowing them to survive on the shelf for several weeks; the Cleanse line has also moved to the HPP model as well.

While the Cleanse line remains the bulk (if such a term can be applied to an alljuice diet) of the business, investors and retailers are all trying to figure out how to get a piece of the business as it expands into a broader retail footprint.

While BluePrint has partnered with a number of small chains and boutique grocers including Fresh Direct and Dean & Deluca, the majority of retailers carrying BluePrint Juices are Whole Foods stores.

According to one source, BluePrint’s businesses have a combined $20-25 million run rate, but the majority of its sales are still coming from its direct-to-con-

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sumer cleanse program. And while BluePrint ’s retail business may have a far greater upside, it’s still a babe in the woods, with limited distribution in 210 stores along the East Coast, California, and parts of the Southwest.

As it adapts to the high costs of distribution and processing of its juices BluePrint has become a brand to watch, one of a new wave of bottled super-premium juice products that, because of their use of HPP and Direct-to-Consumer methods, comprise a “bleeding edge” of consumer trade- up to better-for-you products and ingredients, along with other HPP brands Evolution Fresh and Harmless Harvest.

Yet while HPP may be a highly effective way to maintain a very high level of quality, it certainly comes at a steep cost for BluePrint. Because of the high level of technical expertise and equipment needed for HPP, BluePrint outsources the processing, partnering with HPP companies on both coasts. And the relatively new technology means that there are very few facilities available to fuel expansion.

“It’s expensive, but it’s worth every cent,” said Erica Huss, one of BluePrint’s co-founders. “It’s something that’s just a given now. Once we started using HPP, we didn’t adjust or increase our [prices]; we just absorbed the cost. It’s something we’re going to continue to do. We’ve done our research, and if something else suddenly pops up, we’ll definitely explore other options, but I think that HPP is by far the best option out there.”

Beyond the high cost of HPP is the high cost associated with educating consumers about the brand. Huss said that a significant number of BluePrint employees are part of its brand education team, which organizes approximately 220 sampling events every month. Huss said that it is a “painstaking process” to train employees on how to effectively manage consumer presentations, but she stressed that the company is focused on supporting current BluePrint retailers with consistent demos and quality education as opposed to rapidfire growth.

“Our biggest challenge so far is pacing ourselves,” Huss said. “We have retailers banging down our door and trying to get us in their region yesterday, and our biggest challenge is communicating to them that… we need to manage this growth and make sure that we’re fully supporting each region as we roll out with demo and education.”

The company has begun to receive offers from potential investors who are offering to help finance its growth, and it has retained the investment bank Partnership Capital Growth (PCG) to assist in the process of vetting those investments. Huss notes that the company is seeking a value-added investment partner that would be able to support the brand’s complex manufacturing model and its costly consumer education platform.

But it’s that consumer education element that is attached to the main potential stumbling block for BluePrint, which is the question of what it ultimately should be: a cleanse brand or a juice.

Some industry experts don’t believe BluePrint’s current cleansefocused business model will find mainstream acceptance; meanwhile, in the mainstream, the most obstinate concern is Blueprint’s high price point and how it may impede the company’s ability to find shelf space in grocery and hybrid retail channels.

It’s an interesting conundrum because, although BluePrint considers itself to be a vastly different product than most superpremium juices, in Whole Foods, the company finds itself posi56 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Brand

Dollar Sales

Naked Superfood

$141,653,200

Change vs. year earlier

28.86%

Naked

$119,725,000

11.73%

Bolthouse Farms

$84,264,940

30.65%

Odwalla Superfood

$27,406,260

192.37%

Odwalla

$24,946,450

1.56%

Naked Protein Zone

$16,042,570

20.74%

Odwalla C Monster

$12,545,900

52.07%

Naked Well Being

$10,427,720

66.55%

Bolthouse Farms C Boost

$9,465,957

4.10%

Naked Energy

$7,933,914

-6.67%

Silk Fruit and Protein

$6,346,717

N/A

Naked Antioxidant

$5,375,321

86.88%

Odwalla Super Protein

$3,138,540

241.91%

Private Label

$2,530,257

-22.86%

Cuties

$1,582,889

57,274.37%

Sambazon Protein

$1,550,223

1,198.90%

Sunkist Naturals

$1,537,346

-38.77%

Fruit 2 Day

$703,350

91.92%

Sambazon

$636,154

-30.22%

Naked Probiotic Machine

$334,527

N/A

Odawalla B Monster

$251,953

-94.73%

Columbia Gorge

$242,025

45.66%

Litehouse

$173,091

-61.21%

Sunkist

$100,245

-39.45%

Cuties Juice

$87,534

N/A

Ardens Garden

$68,695

14.78%

Stonyfield Farm

$27,308

N/A

Naked Probiotic

$22,117

-85.69%

Chiquita Smashers

$18,428

N/A

Country Fresh

$397

-85.25%

tioned alongside brands like Odwalla and Naked – which easily come in cheaper than its $6 to $11 per bottle pricing – as well as fellow HPP-brand Evolution, which has more of a pure juice orientation and a powerful new owner in Starbucks.

Huss brushed off concerns about competition, noting that “we consider ourselves to be a completely different product” than larger super-premium juice brands, and instead referred to other juice cleanse brands like Organic Avenue and Cooler Cleanse as being a bigger threat to BluePrint ’s business.

“Evolution is not a direct ‘apples to apples’ [comparison],” Huss said. “There is some crossover there, and I guess you would consider them the competition at the moment. However, very soon, I think that competing cleanse companies will make their way to wholesale channels.”

What’s driving that confidence? According to Huss, it’s the retailers themselves who are asking for cleanse products, and not juices.

“We started this because Whole Foods approached us and said, ‘Please, can we get the juice in our stores?’ Huss said. “And we’ve maintained that relationship so far.”

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BRAND NEWS

Juice

LGJ, LLC. Ultra Lo-Gly Fruit Juice is the world’s first tested and approved lowglycemic natural fruit juice. The beverage contains no artificial ingredients, is low in calories and sugars and comes in four flavors.

Ultra Lo-Gly is distributed by UNFI, Coremark, Alber & Leff, and Midland Foods.

ChakWave. Chakra Tonics are now avail-

able in Southern California and distributed

by Haralambos Beverage Company. Chakra Tonics are handmade juices made with a blend of organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and teas that correlate with the energetic chakra system.

Organic Juice USA Inc. has introduced two

new flavors to its line of Elite Naturel juices: Natural Tart Cherry and Natural Watermelon. Both flavors are packaged in 1 L glass bottles, packed six to a case. The shelf stable juices are not from concentrate and contain no added sugar.

The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. has introduced Odwalla Smoothies for Kids, a new line of lunchbox-suitable, not-from-concentrate smoothies. The products are 100 percent juice with other ingredients and contain one whole serving of fruit. The smoothies are gluten-free and come in three flavors: Strawberry Banana Jungle, Mango Pineapple Island and Grape Berry Prairie.

Coca-Cola has also expanded on its popular Odwalla Organic Carrot Juice flavor with a new line of USDA organic vegetable and fruit juice blends. Odwalla Garden Organics are not from concentrate, gluten-free, vegan, and contain an excellent source of antioxidant Vitamin A. The line comes in three flavors: Carrot Beet Ginger, Carrot Apple Berry and Carrot Apple Mango.

Coca-Cola has launched two new flavors to its Cranberry Cocktail to its Simply line of juices.

Simply Cranberry Cocktail is made with 27 percent not-from-concentrate cranberry juice.

Simply Lemonade with Mango combines the taste of Simply Lemonade with sweet mango.

Coca-Cola has also introduced two new

flavors to its Minute Maid line. Minute Maid Fruit Punch and Minute Maid Strawberry Passion are made with real fruit juice and packaged in 15.2 fl. oz. PET bottles.

58 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Pitaya Plus has gained new distribution in over 100 Ralph’s stores in Southern California. Ralph’s is the first mainstream grocer to carry the all-natural pitaya (more commonly known as dragonfruit) drink, which is also distributed in hundreds of natural foods stores along the East and West coasts, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, and New Leaf.

Pitaya Plus also signed a new distribution agreement with DPI Specialty Foods, which is handling the roll-out in Ralph’s.

ALO Drink is promoting its products with a “Free Music in Every Bottle” campaign.

Each bottle of ALO features a QR code allowing consumers to download a free “ALOtones” song that is specific to each flavor.

Elion Foods. ProJuice is an all-natural pro-

tein drink made with 100 percent fruit juice.

Each 16 oz. bottle is made with 22 grams of whey protein isolate, and contains no artificial ingredients, fat, cholesterol, or added sugar. ProJuice is sold at natural foods stores and other retail outlets across the country.

Apple & Eve has introduced Sesame Street Fruit Smarts, a new line of naturally fruit sweetened juice drinks. Fruit Smarts has onethird less sugar than leading regular juices, contains no artificial colors, flavor or preservatives and has 100 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Each juice drink contains 35 calories per 4.23 oz. juice box. Fruit Smarts is available in Apple, Fruit Punch and Berry and features popular Sesame Street characters. It is sold at select mass merchandise retailers and club stores nationwide.

American Beverage Corporation. Little

Hug Fruit Barrels has rolled out its Tropical Variety Pack across the country this year, generating significant incremental sales volume. The Tropical Variety Pack features bilingual packaging and four Tropical flavors: Tropical Punch, Orange, Lemonade & Fruit Punch. Little Hug Fruit Barrels contain 75 percent less sugar than leading fruit drinks.

Frubob contains 100 percent real pieces of

fruit bobbing in real fruit juice, is shelf-stable and contains no added sugar or sweeteners.

The line comes in Peach, Pineapple, Mango, Strawberry-Banana and Strawberry flavors.

Each 8 oz. bottle is made with no added sugars or artificial ingredients and contains two

BRAND NEWS

Juice

servings of fruit. Frubob is Kosher and available in 8 oz., 16 oz., and 12 oz. plastic bottles.

POM Wonderful is expanding distribution of

its new 8 oz. bottle of 100 percent pomegranate juice and introducing a $.99 price point to encourage trial. Additionally, POM will launch a national FSI campaign reaching 74 million consumers and offering $.50 off each bottle. Each 8 oz. bottle contains all-natural juice from two California-grown POM Wonderful pomegranates.

Tomatina has announced the completion

of its commercial recipe process. The drink is an all-natural blend of fresh vegetable juices and ripe, red, juicy tomatoes. Tomatina has also launched a new website: www.tomatinajuice.com.

FaVe recently celebrated its first commercial

bottling in California. Much of this product is headed to stores of The Fresh Market (www.thefreshmarket.com), FaVe’s first national retail customer. All-natural FaVe juice is a blend of 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices. Each 8 oz. glass of FaVe contains three full servings of vegetables and 60 calories.

The product contains no artificial ingredients and no added sweeteners. FaVe comes in three lightly sweet and delicious flavors: Strawberry-Banana-Kiwi, Blueberry-Pomegranate-Goji, Orange-Tangerine-Pineapple.

FaVe is shelf-stable and bottled in 46 oz. recyclable PET bottles.

Dream Foods International has launched

Italian Volcano Lime Juice. The product is made with 100 percent USDA organic lime juice and is not from concentrate. It is packaged in a 16.9oz (500 mL) glass bottle and is kosher certified by the Orthodox Union.

Royal Pacific - The Ginger People. The

Ginger People recently added Peruvian ginger juice to its Ginger Soother and Ginger enerGizer tonics. The result is a crisper, brighter, and more gingery elixir.

Spacho. SPACHO All-Natural, Gazpacho-

Inspired Vegetable Juice readies itself for launch. This delicious new player in the veggie juice category rolled off the production line this summer and will debut at Expo East in Baltimore. For distribution inquiries, please contact Cascadia Managing Brands. www.spacho.com.

60 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Bare Nutrition. Chia\Vie by Bare Nutrition is a line of all natural, delicious, low calorie, ground chia and fruit blend smoothie. Chia\ Vie is the only beverage on the market which uses ground chia seeds, which provide for a smoother texture, in addition to increased nutrient absorption when compared to whole chia seeds. The beverage contains 75-83 percent fruit juice, 2,500 mg of Omega-3, and 4 grams of protein, and is an excellent source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Chia\Vie contains no added sugars or sweeteners and is shelf stable, vegan, and glutenfree. The product is available in three flavors: Acerola-Pina, Mango-J, and Banapple- Berry.

AriZona has launched Jack Nicklaus Gold-

en Bear Lemonades. The new line comes in five flavors: Honey, Strawberry, Mango, Mint Lemonade, and Golden Bear Original 10, which contains ten calories. AriZona has also extended its AriZona Arnold Palmer Half & Half line with a new Strawberry Lemonade flavor.

Honest Tea is reformulating its Honest Kids

line of beverages by removing the organic cane sugar and increasing the juice content. Honest Kids beverages now contain between 3042 percent juice, an increase of between 12-26 percent, depending on variety. The drinks still have 40 calories per 6.75 oz. pouch. The reformulated drinks are packages in 8-pouch cartons and will debut in natural food stores in October and grocery stores nationwide starting January 2013. Three varieties - Berry Berry Good Lemonade, Super Fruit Punch and Goodness Grapeness - will be available in new, redesigned 59 oz. multi-serve bottles launching during the same time period.

Acai Roots has relaunched its two juice fla-

vors with a brand new package design to give the products a fresh and contemporary new look. Acai Roots’ Premium Acai Juice and Acai Juice + Coconut Water Blend have also recently been certified organic.

Crystal Geyser Water Company. Juice Squeeze has introduced a new design for its club-cases. The design highlights Juice Squeeze’s California origin and healthy, active lifestyles. Each bottle of Juice Squeeze is made with 70 percent real fruit juice and no added sugars or preservatives. The 28-count, 12 oz. bottle club case includes

BRAND NEWS

Juice

five flavors: Mt. Raspberry, Wild Berry, Ruby Grapefruit, Passion Fruit and Mango and Blackberry Pomegranate.

BluePrint is the first juice cleanse line to

be 100 percent USDA certified organic.

BluePrintJuice, BluePrint’s line of individual juices, is now sold in 210 stores and cafes nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, FreshDirect, Dean & DeLuca, Gourmet Garage, Union Market and more. BluePrint uses High Pressure Pascalization (HPP) technology to extend the freshness and lifespan of the juices without sacrificing raw nutritional integrity and flavor.

Sambazon. Sambazon’s Energy Acai +

Yerba Mate + Guarana Superfood Smoothie is now available in a 32 oz. multi-serve size.

The beverage is a blend of açaí berries, yerba mate and guarana, and contains 40 mg of organic caffeine per serving.

Samabazon has also introduced two new products to its line of acai drinks. Energy Mocha Java Superfood Smoothie is a blend of chocolate soymilk, organic fair trade coffee, and acai. The product contains 80 mg of organic caffeine per 10.5 oz. bottle. Sambazon Protein Chocolate Almond Coconut Milk is a blend of acai, chocolate, coconut milk, and a hint of almond. The drink also contains organic vegan whole food protein.

In Zone Brands, a pioneer in children’s beverages, introduced new designs of its Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Clifford, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Cinderellabranded juices. The product labels have also been redesigned to emphasize the healthy benefits of the products. The fruit highlighted on the label has been replaced with real apple imagery, and the Tots line has been adorned with a more child-like cartoon apple.

Mamma Chia, maker of the first organic

chia-based beverage, has introduced three new flavors to its line of drinks: Grapefruit Ginger, Guava Mamma and Kiwi Lime.

Lightly sweetened with less than one tablespoon of organic agave nectar, each bottle of Mamma Chia contains 2500 mg of omega-3, 25 percent of the recommended daily amount of fiber, 4 grams of protein, and 95 mg of calcium, plus powerful antioxidants and valuable minerals. The three new varieties join six existing Mamma Chia 62 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

flavors, all of which are gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and certified organic by the USDA. Nestle USA has introduced Juicy Juice Fruitifuls, an all-natural juice beverage that has 35 percent less sugar than regular juice, and a full serving of fruit, according to Nestle. The product comes in four flavors: Apple Quench, Punch Splash, Berry Cherry Burst and Orange Strawbana Blast. Juicy Juice Fruitifuls is sold in 8-packs of 6.75 oz. juice boxes.

Bai Brands now aseptically fills its bai5 line

to better protect the antioxidant potency of the coffeefruit extract in each bottle, according to the company. Bai recently introduced a bai5 variety 12-pack and will launch a new Limu Lemonade flavor this month. bai5 has gained new distribution on the West Coast in premier retailer Ralph’s and East Coast with Stew Leonard’s.

PepsiCo has extended its Trop50 line with

new juice and tea blends and a new red orange flavor. Trop50 Juice with Tea is made with fruit juices and white and green teas and comes in three flavors: Trop50 Peach with White Tea, Trop50 Raspberry with Green Tea, and Trop50 Pear Lychee with White Tea. The drinks contain 35-45 calories per 8 oz. serving, and are a good source of vitamin C and vitamin E. Trop50 Red Orange blends orange juice with red oranges and contains 50 percent less sugar and calories that regular orange juice and has no artificial sweeteners.

With 50 calories per 8 oz. serving, the juice provides a full day’s supply of vitamin C and is good source of potassium.

PepsiCo’s Naked Juice line is promoting its Berry Veggie Machine juice. The beverage contains a blend of fruits and vegetables, including cherries, strawberries, plums, purple carrots, sweet potatoes, red beets, and sweet corn. The juice provides an excellent source of Vitamins A, C, E, B3, B5, B6, B12, potassium, fiber, iron and calcium.

Purity Organic’s relaunch of its juice line in

16.9 oz. PET bottles continues to receive a strong reception from both distributors and retailers. Purity’s recently launched coconut water, which is packaged in a 500 mL Tetra Pak, is also off to a strong start in Safeway stores nationwide. Purity will introduce a new juice flavor – Peach Paradise – later this year.

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN

S

What’s the reason behind the interest in ingesting these ure, 5-Hour Energy gets all the attention. products as shots rather than other food and drink formats?

It should: the company is one of the new millenThat’s the wrong question, actually. Consumers are looking to nium’s most impressive meatspace success stories, ingest these kinds of products any way they can – it’s just that the taking the rising tide of energy drinks and rethinking format itself is slightly more mature than some, and slightly less them into a smaller package. If energy drinks are the mature than others, according to a recent report by the food and mega-version of the soda, then 5-Hour Energy is beverage consulting firm Sloane Trends, which compared shots almost a reimagining of the very same morning espresso that has to formats like pills, gummy bear-like “jelpowered Europe for centuries – a tiny shot lies” and other delivery methods. that, rather than coming hot and bitter, is in The company is one of Then the question becomes, which a sweet, portable, oh-so-American package. consumers are going for the shots, and There’s no arguing with energy as the key the new millenium’s most that’s an easy one to answer: according to to the success of the shot format – just as impressive meatspace the Sloane Trends report, shots are gaining most of the functional beverage category has success stories, taking the plenty of traction as a delivery device; they been driven by interest in energy, as well. rising tide of energy drinks hold certain advantages (easy to swallow, The simple need-and-efficient-fulfillment easy to carry) but haven’t fully filtered of that need exchange that takes place from and rethinking them into their way all the way up. For instance, caffeine ingestion has proven to be, in some a smaller package. while 1/3 of consumers 18-24 said they ways, format agnostic, just so long as the had consumed an energy shot in the past key ingredient is present. month, according to another report, by But the shot format is also lending itself retail information firm Symphony/IRI, that number dropped to the array of other functionalities and need states, and they are way down when the average age was 55 or older. matching the same universe of functional beverages, only it’s a…

But that’s bound to change, as well – for one thing, consmaller universe. So you see bite-sized versions of many wellness sumer trends often start young and grow into older demoproducts: high-antioxidant juices; protein supplements; probiotgraphics organically. For another, 5-Hour is reaching out to ics and kombuchas; sleep aids; and, of course, hangover fighters.

64 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

New Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY ®

coming in October

In 2012, 5-hour ENERGY is donating at least $75,000 to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade in connection with this product. ®

Introducing new Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY. Starting in October 2012 and running through December 2012, a portion of each sale of Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY will be donated to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade. The more you sell, the more we will give.

Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY will be available in a 2-tier counter display and a 120-bottle floor display.

Plenty of media and marketing support will generate consumer demand, so make plans now to have plenty of new Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY on hand for the big October launch. ®

®

®

®

NACS 2012

BOOTH 4484 † These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. † Individual results may vary. “No crash” means no sugar crash.

5-hour ENERGY contains no sugar. See www.5hourenergy.com for more details. ©2012 Innovation Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved. ®

Call 866-960-1700

w w w. 5 h o u re n e rg y. c o m / t r a d e

that older demographic deliberately, as well, targeting golf shops and NPR with merchandising and sponsorship. No heavy metal concerts here, but as the format becomes more familiar, it extends to other types of products.

So if the delivery device is moving to provide functions, where are those particular deliverables in terms of their development?

Here’s a summary to think about as you assemble your shelf set: Rising Tide: Probiotics and Kombuchas Products like Goodbelly and Hain Celestial Kombucha Energy Shots are aimed at the rising tide of probiotic interest in the U.S. Both take the “live” probiotic qualities of their larger bottles and cartons and reduce them down to the quick-consumption model of the shot format. It’s interesting that more kombucha makers haven’t tried this to date, although given the difficulties of processing kombucha into a RTD format, maybe that isn’t too surprising. Still, a move into shots by a major marketer like GT’s could be a slam-dunk in the natural channel, which has proven to be surprisingly supportive of shots like Guayaki (see below) and I AM. That would certainly seem to be the thought behind the Hain release, as well as others like Karvana.

Muscling In: Protein Manufacturers started employing shots as a protein delivery system fairly soon after they broke out in energy, but they didn’t become much more than an occasional oddity until recently, when technology began improving the taste and concentration of large amounts of protein in a small package. Protein’s profile as a functional ingredient – for satiety and fitness uses – has become part of mainstream RTD and mixes, and now many athletes and bodybuilders are looking to protein shots as convenient ways to fulfill their ever-expanding protein requirements (after all, lugging a jug of powder mix around all day isn’t practical). There have been endorsements in this space – both NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger and eternal pro wrestling champ Ric Flair have affiliations with BYB Brands’ Fuel in a Bottle, for example – and even mainstream involvement, with the Sunkist growers’ collective backing an innovative multi-shot bag format of daily protein shots. Still, there are issues: a recent recall of protein shots by supplement company Protica indicates that, like all functional products that can trace a direct line to the supplement world, sourcing is key.

66 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

40 Winks: Relaxation and Sleep Aids The relaxation shot market is fairly mature at this point, having basically co-evolved with the relaxation drink market, but achieving a certain amount of legitimacy early on behind the success of products like Dream Water. That brand, and a few others like it, have taken a fairly straightforward approach to the category, mostly skirting around the “party time” aura that early category entrants adopted while also finding a way to avoid FDA concerns over misrepresenting themselves as beverages. Instead, consumers who pick them up are nonplussed by the use of melatonin – the products seem to be sleep aids through and through.

For Before the Party: Antioxidants Sure, it was a rough ride for Bazi, a highly concentrated “wellness” shot that combined some of the highest ORAC-value fruits and vegetables around into a package that ultimately didn’t click with consumers on a retail basis. But there have been positive signs for antioxidant shots as well: while Guayaki shots are marketed primarily behind their energy benefits, they are well known for the high-antioxidant value of their key ingredient, Yerba Mate. FRS has Brand

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

5 Hour Energy

$870,821,600

-4.79%

5 Hour Energy Extra Strength

$131,409,600

917.73%

Stacker 2 6 Hour Power

$25,317,570

-14.02%

Worx Energy

$15,329,520

172.42%

Private Label

$11,723,020

4.76%

E6

$4,889,017

47.33%

Stacker 2

$4,230,465

1.48%

VPX Redline Power Rush

$3,672,941

15.47%

Spike Double Shot

$3,294,057

6.48%

Vital 4U Screamin

$3,135,686

3.04%

Red Bull

$3,062,264

-86.23%

Nitro 2 Go

$2,708,977

-18.92%

Tweaker

$2,302,098

143.40%

Energy 2000

$1,906,911

53.72%

Vital 4U Liquid Energy

$1,414,595

1.50%

V 8 Energy

$1,270,588

5,021.70%

Six Star Pro Nutrition

$1,017,737

475.58%

Shield

$915,456

672.88%

Street King

$809,084

N/A

Fuel In a Bottle

$647,882

N/A

innovated with shot versions of its quercetin-laden products, even suggesting that the shots can be diluted in water to make – yep – an actual beverage. Other high-ORAC score products, like coffee fruit extract brand Kona Red are also offering their antioxidant-rich drinks in a shot format, as well.

For the Afterparty: Sex and Hangovers Again, this is a functionality where products are in early stages of category development across the board: just as there has only been a true runaway in the recovery drink arena via products that are hitched to energy drinks like Rockstar or Monster, so too have hangover remedy shots faltered when it comes to the manufacture of a category leader. That’s not to say there aren’t interesting plays: Rebootizer, for example, takes the shot format and combines it with a mix-to-drink package, selling two-stage pouches that consumers can mix themselves. Meanwhile, fading media titans Playboy and Penthouse have both offered libido enhancement shots – products that are likely trumped by the existence of actual prescription libido enhancement.

Meanwhile, as more and more companies have tried to take on the energy shot business, the company that started it all is starting to move into a different set of products: it just committed more than $100 million to the development and marketing of an appetite suppression “nutrition bar.” Once again proving that there’s more than one way to deliver functionality – and, possibly, profits, as well.

SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 67

BRAND NEWS

Agro Labs Wheatgrass Boost is a gluten-free

superfood energy shot that blends nutrientrich fresh-pressed organic wheatgrass with B vitamins and trace minerals. For more information, visit http://www.AgroLabs.com NVE Pharmaceuticals has launched three new products in its line of Stacker2 shots.

Stacker2 B12 Energy Shot offers an energy boost from a large dose of vitamin B12.

Stacker2 D3 Vitamin Shot offers consumers the ability to get their daily recommended amount of vitamin D3. Stacker2 Sleep Ease contains a combination of ingredients that are designed to helping people fall asleep and stay asleep longer.

Shots Brand News Sponsored by:

acids and natural sugars to counteract the side effects normally associated with large doses of caffeine. The shot is non-carbonated and contains zero calories, and comes pre-packaged in 6-pack boxes suitable for retail point of purchase display.

Limitless Smart Shot delivers a unique 2-in-1 “Energy plus Smarts” blend to provide fuel for the body and focus for the mind. The 2 oz. shot contains no sugar, no artificial flavors and less than 10 calories. The product’s blend of 28 vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants and other dietary ingredients is designed to increase mental focus, performance, memory and concentration.

Swedish Diet Energy BOOST. The new product promotes both weight loss and energy gain. The shot contains Rhodiola Rosea, an Arctic root used to increase mental focus and physical performance. BOOST also contains Super CitriMax, a plant extract clinically proven to curb appetite, burn fat and help reduce body weight.

Minx Liquid Dietary Supplements are allnatural sexual enhancement products. The shots are distributed throughout the U.S. at hotels, bars, nightclubs, casinos, as well as, other premium lifestyle venues and retailers.

Minx is expanding distribution internationally to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong, and introducing a new direct response retail website, www.minxitup.com.

DMD Pharmaceuticals. DMD’s Ephrine

NOHO has most recently expanded dis-

Plus High Energy Berry has recently been reformulated for an improved flavor. The energy shot offers the same pharmaceutical grade caffeine as the brand’s tablet line.

tribution into Mexico and Austria. On the domestic front, NOHO has recently launched in 7-Eleven and Total Wine stores nationally, as well as most of Circle K’s regions. The brand is also now available in Walgreen’s throughout Las Vegas.

Health to Happiness Inc. has introduced

I AM has launched I AM FOCUSED. The shot is designed to enhance focus and mental stamina and promote mental clarity and concentration. The naturally sweetened and caffeinated product contains five calorie and is sugar-free and gluten-free.

Guayaki has launched a Chocolate Raspberry flavor to its line of Organic Energy Shots. Guayakí Organic Energy Shots are fueled by natural caffeine from yerba mate and contain 35 calories per 2 oz. bottle. The product is all-natural, organic, sustainable, vegetarian, Kosher and contains no GMOs, high fructose corn sweeteners, preservatives, artificial flavors or colors. The shots are packaged in amber glass bottles which protects the product from light and oxygen.

Hangover Joe’s, maker of The Hangover Recovery Shot, the official licensed product of “The Hangover” Movies, announced new distribution in Canada through a strategic distribution partnership with RAGE Beverages Inc. BeeAlive. ENERGY SERJ is an exclusive all-natural BeeAlive formula. The product contains 500 mg of BeeAlive Royal Jelly and two herbs, Eleuthro and Schisandra, both used for invigoration, stamina and adaptogenic benefits. The shots contain no caffeine and can be consumed directly, or mixed with water other beverage.

Living Essentials. 5-hour ENERGY is

Redux Beverages, LLC. Redux Bever-

ages’ Cocaine Energy Shot contains 280 milligrams of caffeine per serving and a scientifically engineered formula of amino 68 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

joining the battle against breast cancer with the introduction of a Pink Lemonade flavor. Beginning on October 1, 2012 and running through December 31, 2012, a

Shots Brand News Sponsored by:

portion of each sale of new Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY will be donated to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade. Living Essentials, LLC, the distributor of 5-hour ENERGY, has committed a donation of five cents per bottle of Pink Lemonade 5-hour ENERGY sold, with a minimum donation of $75,000.

GoodBelly StraightShot offers 20 billion

live and active probiotic cultures, has no added sugar and only 30 calories per serving. GoodBelly BigShot has a super serving of 50 billion live and active probiotic cultures, with no sugar added. All GoodBelly drinks are non-dairy, vegan, soy-free, and infused with the company’s patented probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum299v (Lp299v), which replenishes the digestive system with good bacteria.

Verve. Over the past year, Verve Energy

Shot has undergone a reformulation and packaging redesign. In addition to a new look, enhancements to the product include:

a single low-carb formula to replace regular and sugar-free varieties, a smaller 2 oz. serving size, a new flavor, and 160 mg of natural caffeine. With the new formulation and packaging, sales of Verve Shot sales are up almost 50 percent.

Zombie Blast was a featured energy drink

on Thinkgeek.com, a popular online retailer. Zombie Blast is packaged in a 2 oz. shotgun-shaped shell.

Pyure Brands will be debuting Organic Energy Optimization – or O.E.O. at the 2012 Natural Products Expo East show.

O.E.O. is the first certified organic, sugarfree, calorie-free energy shot on the market.

The shots contain Organic Green Tea, Yerba Mate, and Guarana.

GTOX the Hangover Blocker is a 4 oz. detox shot that uses a patented formula to help rid the body of toxins, including alcohol. GTOX contains glucarate which helps turn alcohol toxins into water soluble compounds so they

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BRAND NEWS

can be more rapidly excreted from the body.

GTOX is available in liquor stores in select regions or online at www.gtoxnow.com.

Cellutions, LLC. Modjo Life shots are craft-

ed with vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants, as well as L-Carnitine and American Ginseng, which have been clinically reported to have energy enhancing properties. The products are available at fitness and specialty health retailers throughout the U.S. and thousands of conveniences stores including Circle K and 7-Eleven.

Omega Fields Inc./E4 Beverages LLC.

November 29, 2012

Paradise Resort & Spa San Diego, CA Combining the best in business information and networking, the Brewbound Craft Beer Session offers an unmatched strategic learning opportunity for craft brewers.

For More Information and Early Registration Pricing Visit: www.brewbound.com/conference

70 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

Omega Fields and E4 Beverages are pleased to announce an endorsement agreement with X-A-M Sports and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce for 6 Shooter “All Kick – No Bull” Energy Shot. 6 Shooter is produced with no artificial colors or flavors, and contains no sugar, carbohydrates, and calories. Along with 150 mg of caffeine, each 2 oz. serving of 6 Shooter also contains significant amounts of Vitamins D3, B6, and B12, along with extracts of maca root, panax ginseng and goji berry.

Afterglow Beverage Company, Inc.

Hangover Gone is now available in several locations on the Baja peninsula. The sour cherry-flavored product is designed to prevent or minimize the effects of a hangover and is packaged in a 2 oz. shot.

Steaz has launched a new look for its energy

shot. The product is made with organic yerba mate and guarana and contains a range of antioxidants and 150 mg of plant based caffeine. Steaz Energy Shot is Fair Trade Certified, USDA Organic, and vegan.

Pure Growth Partners. SK Energy, the energy shot founded by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and innovative entrepreneur Chris Clarke, announced that MTV “Jersey Shore” reality star, DJ Pauly D has joined forces with the brand to promote the SK Energy mission. The announcement marks the first in an overall campaign which will include musicians, athletes, film and television stars as part of the roll out this year.

SK Energy is currently available in over

Shots

Shots Brand News Sponsored by:

SANTA MONICA

W I N T E R 2012

40,000 locations nationwide, including Rite Aid, GNC, and CVS. SK Energy is a Pure Growth Partners portfolio company.

Security Beverages Company, Inc. Security Feel Better is now available in over 500 stores.

The company has partnered with Walgreen’s, the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts for a new promotional campaign set to launch later this year.

VPX Sports. VPX’s Redline shot recently launched in Walgreen’s stores and is currently ranked ninth in the chain’s health and beauty category.

Revival Labs, LLC recently launched youthH2O, an “age defying energy shot” comprised of 100 percent natural ingredients, vitamins and minerals. Consumers of youthH2O cite increased energy, enhanced mood and libido, improved metabolism, restful sleep, and on-going feelings of health and well-being, according to the company. The shot contains 19 calories per 2 oz. shot and has no caffeine and no fat.

DragoNoni Inc. has launched Hawaiian Ola, a new organic, Fair Trade, vegan, gluten-free, GMO-free, energy shot made from over 75 percent real juice. The shot is caffeinated with organic mate and green tea and is the first energy shot to use organic Hawaiian Noni, as its primary ingredient. Ola is currently distributed in Hawaii and northern California.

Pregame Beverages has launched PRE|GAME: The Anti-Hangover Energy Shot. The product is a concentrated blend of anti-oxidants, electrolytes, and B vitamins designed alleviate the effects of a hangover.

PRE|GAME can be purchased in a 12-pack of 2 oz. shots for $34.99 at drinkPREGAME.com and Amazon.com.

BEVERAGE ENTREPRENEUR & INNOVATION CONFERENCE

December 3 & 4, 2012 Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel Santa Monica, CA

Featuring the BevNET EXPO on December 3 for more information visit www.bevnet.com/live

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

veb

ON GO Energy. Designed with more than

endurance in mind, ON GO Energy enables consumers to lead an active lifestyle by providing a healthy boost of stamina, according to the company. ON GO can be consumed on its own or used as a mixer.

venturing & emerging brands

™

SEPTEMBER 2012 BEVNET MAGAZINE 71

TRADESHOW PREVIEW

NACS TRADE SHOW · LAS VEGAS, NV

Las Vegas Convention Center: October 7 – 10, 2012 SHOW FLOOR HOURS: Monday & Tuesday: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

$43 Billion. That’s the beverage industry’s approximate share of the total transactions taking place in convenience stores in 2011, and that comprises the 42 billion reasons that most of the beverage world will have booths set up when the NACS show and its 24,000 attendees descend on Las Vegas in October.

Of that $42 billion, approximately $14 million came from beer, while $28 billion came from RTD beverages, according to a study presented at the NACS “State of the Industry” conference in April. Together, soft drinks and beer trail only tobacco as the

main source of in-store revenue for the industry, and they have been the fastest-growing product categories. Fastest growing out of beverage? No surprise: energy drinks and craft beer.

Energy drinks, as you can see from the attendee list, will be wellrepresented. Craft beer? Not really yet beyond Boston Beer and Sierra Nevada. But there’s always next year.

For the latest details on schedule changes and attendees, please go to www.NACSonline.com/NACSShow.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Sunday October 7 7:30 am - 5:30 pm Registration 7:30 am - 6:00 pm Cool New Products Preview Room (Retailers Only) 8:00 am - 5:30 pm NACSPAC Lounge 8:30 am - 9:30 am Supplier Board Executive Session 9:30 am - 11:00 am Supplier Board/Supplier Member Meeting 9:30 am - 12:00 pm International Committee Meeting

7:30 pm - 10:00 pm NACS Board of Directors and Past President’s Dinner

8:00 am - 5:30 pm NACS Booth

Monday October 8 7:30 am - 11:30 am Cool New Products Preview Room (Retailers Only)

8:30 am - 10:30 am Exhibitor Advisory Committee Meeting

7:30 am - 5:30 pm Registration

10:00 am - 11:15 am General Session: Ideas 2 Go

8:00 am - 5:30 pm NACS Booth 8:00 am - 6:00 pm NACSPAC Lounge

8:00 am - 6:00 pm NACSPAC Lounge

8:45 am - 9:45 am Educational Sessions

11:30 am - 5:30 pm Expo

8:45 am - 9:45 am Educational Sessions

Wednesday October 10 7:30 am - 1:30 pm Registration

12:30 pm - 4:15 pm NACS Board of Directors/ Retail Member Meeting

10:00 am - 11:15 am General Session featuring Peter Sheahan

7:30 am - 1:30 pm Cool New Products Preview Room

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Educational Sessions

11:30 am - 5:30 pm Expo

2:45 pm - 3:45 pm Educational Sessions

11:30 am - 6:00 pm Cool New Products Preview Room

8:00 am - 9:00 am General Session featuring Rick Santorum & Howard Dean

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Educational Sessions 5:15 pm - 6:00 pm New Supplier Member Reception 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Welcome Reception – The Las Vegas Hotel

Tuesday October 9 7:30 am - 5:30 pm Registration 7:30 am - 6:00 pm Cool New Products Preview Room

72 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

8:00 am - 1:30 pm NACS Booth 8:00 am - 1:30 pm NACSPAC Lounge 9:00 am - 1:30 pm Expo

Key Education Sessions of Interest to Beverage Companies: Most beverage company attendees will be interested in sessions from the “Category Management Track” – a chance to meet retailers who are interested in marketing solutions for retail products. Also included is a social marketing session from the event’s “Supplier Track.”

Full descriptions are available at the NACS Show web site.

Sunday October 7 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Profitable Planograms 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm Mind Your Own BI 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Private Label Profit Puzzle Monday October 8 8:45 am - 9:45 am Hot Sales in Cold Spaces 8:45 am - 9:45 am Social Marketing With Retailers Tuesday October 9 8:45 am - 9:45 am Leveraging Supplier Relationships 8:45 am - 9:45 am Think Like Your Customers

BEVNET SHOW COVERAGE SPONSORED BY:

PROMO PARADE

Promotions, events and specials for the industry

Duboeuf & Deutsch Celebrate Thirty Years of Wine 2012 marked the thirty-year anniversary of a successful partnership between Les Vins Georges Duboeuf and Deutsch Family Wines and Spirits. To celebrate the occasion, Georges Duboeuf and Bill Deutsch hosted an exquisite dinner at Boston’s L’Espalier restaurant and tasted through the 2011 vintage of the Duboeuf Beaujolais Crus.

The 2011 vintage represents another standout year for the region – the Duboeuf vineyards experienced near perfect weather for developing ideal grapes – complete ripeness and balance.

The 2011 Crus, in particular, are showing signs of complexity and body that make the wines of this vintage particularly amenable to aging.

Clase Azul Tequilas Continue to Take on the United States Mexico’s finest hand-crafted tequilas are making their way across the United States. Casa Tradición, along with its exclusive United States importer, Tequilas Premium, are pleased to bring the exquisite line of Clase Azul Tequilas to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Hawaii, Washington, and South Carolina.

Each gorgeous, shapely-silhouetted bottle of Clase Azul is a stunning work of art.

Made with organic agave in Jalisco, Mexico, Clase Azul Tequila is crafted with time and care. Master distiller, Arturo Lomeli, blends time-honored tradition with innovation to produce a truly superior tequila. He waits more than nine years to harvest his agave at its peak of maturation when the heart of the plant is rich with flavor. Cooked with steam in traditional brick ovens, the agave achieves a deep, rich flavor, bringing out its juices. Next, Lomeli uses his proprietary yeast strain for fermentation, adding a rich complexity to the tequila. Clase Azul Tequila is distilled in copper pot stills and filtered three times for smoothness.

The line includes three extraordinary tequilas, Clase Azul Plata, Clase Azul Reposado, and the Limited-Production Clase Azul Ultra, as well as the uniquely delicious La Pinta Pomegranate Tequila Liqueur, Clase Azul Tequilas are now available in 22 states throughout the USA and are the second best-selling tequilas in duty-free Mexico.

“It has been a joy to see Clase Azul Tequilas reaching new heights in distribution,” adds Lomeli, master distiller and owner of Casa Tradición. “My company and I have worked for years to perfect our tequila and to make it a true work of art.

It gives me such pleasure to be able to introduce Clase Azul Tequila to the United States. Salúd!”

74 BEVNET MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012

The PGA of America and PepsiCo Extend Multi-Year Beverage Partnership The PGA of America and PepsiCo, Inc.have renewed their longstanding partnership with a new multi-year contract. PepsiCo, maker of iconic beverage brands such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lipton iced teas and Aquafina, has served as the official non-alcoholic beverage provider of PGA Professionals since 1993.

Nearly two decades ago, PepsiCo first made a commitment to The PGA of America and its thousands of Professionals nationwide. Today, PepsiCo beverages will continue to be exclusively served in hospitality and concession areas at each PGA Championship, U.S.-based Ryder Cup, Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid and PGA Grand Slam of Golf. PepsiCo beverages will also be poured at PGA of America-owned and operated facilities, including Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which encompasses PGA Golf Club, PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance and PGA Country Club.

Cheerwine and The Avett Brothers Reveal Legendary Giveback

Two North Carolina legends are teaming up on October 19 in Charlottesville, Virginia to present a groundbreaking concert that will raise funds for family-aid organizations across the country. The legendary soft drink of the South, Cheerwine, and best-selling indie-rockers The Avett Brothers, will demonstrate what music can do to bring people together with a Legendary Giveback concert. Held at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion, the show will be live streamed nationally to anyone that makes a commitment to volunteer in their community.

The live stream will allow fans that are unable to attend the concert an opportunity to see the show. By pledging to volunteer their time to any charity or community organization through Cheerwine.com/giveback or Facebook they will earn a code that will provide them with online access to the concert through Livestream.

One town that pledges the most hours will be given the opportunity to host a Cheerwine-sponsored Legendary Giveback concert viewing party in their hometown on the night of the big event.

Proceeds from the concert’s ticket sales will benefit several organizations that specifically address the needs of families: Operation Homefront, devoted to helping military service members and their families; Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network; and University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, which offers breakthrough research and total healthcare for childhood diseases.