NovDec 2013

November 19, 2013

Probiotics Are On Their Way

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Columns 4 First Drop Gauging the Stage 6P ublishers Toast Changing Seasons, Changing Packages

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Contents • Volume

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Special Section

38 New World on the Horizon 2 The Rise of Alternative Beverages

67 BevNET’s New Beverage Guide The Year in New Products

42 Gourmet Sodas’ Second Wave With Gourmet CSD Brand News

Departments

56 From Zima to Rita With Malternatives Brand News

18 N ew Products Raw Teas and Green Mustaches 30 C hannel Check PET Still 34 Brewbound Welcome to Spokane, Now Drink Up

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Features

32 G erry’s Insights Welcome to the Konvention

12 Bevscape Kombucha Headlines and Breweries on the Move

11 • No. 8

On the Cover 40 Gut Feeling Probiotics are on their way

Conference Coverage 60 NACS Review Fewer Small Players, Innovation From the Big Guys, and Faith in Channel Evolution 64 Expo East Review New Trends Seek the Next Level

90 P romo Parade #Nevertamed 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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By Jeffrey Klineman

Gauging the Stage for Innovation Acceptance Innovation energized Expo East in a way that surprised even us, and we’ve been tracking the burgeoning growth of a new set of innovation categories. But juices, probiotics, smoothies and kombuchas were at full froth, and so were a new generation of traditional products like CSDs and teas.

Even relatively mature coconut waters demonstrated running room – there’s a pricing structure evolving from products that are using value-added packaging and processing, as well as commodity-pricing focused canned and concentrate brands.

The lack of appearances by Zico, Vita Coco, O.N.E. or Naked showed those brands have turned their attention toward more mainstream channels.

Meanwhile, less than a month later, an enervated NACS Show audience crossed miles of show floor in the bowels of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, as many of the entrepreneurs who had once looked to the show as a way to get traction now went deep into cost/ benefit analysis and found the opportunity wanting. A telling detail: there were few brands there that saw value in coming to walk the floor, even if they weren’t renting a booth. Those from the entrepreneurial side that did shell out were either at an inflection point where a push to convenience made sense, or they were taking advantage of bargain basement booth prices on remaindered space.

So what does it say about the beverage business that the small companies on display at the little sibling of a West Coast show could generate more energy than those who were attending the annual showpiece fiesta of a giant organization?

It depends on your perspective. Both shows are big-dollar, big-preparation events that are needed as much to give brands visibility as they are to close deals; for smaller brands, yes, there’s always the chance that you’ll land your first big

account, but everyone else on the block is there to do the same thing – you’re anteing up a lot of dough for a crapshoot.

But there were a lot more companies trying to do that in the natural channel; while that may say more about the overall consumer trends, it also indicates they know where the money is going to be

made in the future. The brands that can migrate are the ones that will eventually win.

But to get to the edge, those new brands are taking risks.

Case in point, a few days after Expo East, Blueprint Juice, one of the brands at the vanguard of the growing HPP (high pressure processing) movement, was sued by consumers who complain that the product is neither

4 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

“raw” nor “unpasteurized.” For a company whose whole business model relies on it being perceived as a product that is in as pristine a state as possible, that’s a stumbling block that could derail the brand before it really takes off.

From another viewpoint, however, brands are sheltered and safe in the natural and specialty channels, where the required turns are lower and the brand message can be honed in relative obscurity. The big risk, one could argue, is to prove your worth on a bigger stage.

Innovation changes when you’re a bigger company: implementing supply chain efficiencies, decreasing the weight of the package, finding a cheaper set of ingredients, these can all increase profitability and help pay a lot more salaries. But the attempt to find those internal innovations can run counter to the greater good; the sweeter the drink, the easier it is to sell it, but the bigger the problem for the consumer over the long term.

The tradeoffs on innovation get bigger in the convenience channel as well: even with all the litigation protection and force of route to market that the larger channel offers, there’s less space to go around. Risk has to be mitigated because that space is that much more valuable, so big changes are made behind the scenes instead of in the cooler case.

For entrepreneurs, there’s a chance to innovate from both sides of the aisle – but you have to decide where you want to be. As one year fades into the next, from our own BevNET Live events to our online offerings to the printed page, we’re going to do our best to read those trends and help you make your choice.

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MAGAZINE

By Barry J. Nathanson

www.bevnet.com/magazine

A Colorful Array

Barry J. Nathanson PUBLISHER bnathanson@bevnet.com

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

Fall is my favorite time of year.

I love to walk out my door and see the spectacular foliage of Central Park. On my trip to the office today, I saw dozens of brightly adorned costumed commuters starting tonight’s Halloween festivities early. The Annual West Village Parade is a sight to see. I already got my trick and fright as the dreaded Boston Red Sox won the World Series.

and dozens of other companies their signature. They were all fun, and added to the drinking experience. That holds true today.

Whenever possible, let the sun shine in on what you’re offering.

There are also so many brands that are impractical to have fully displayed. The reality is that products settle, separate and congeal which distracts from a visual display. That is why the shrink wrap

Ray Latif MANAGING EDITOR rlatif@bevnet.com

Chris Furnari BREWBOUND EDITOR cfurnari@bevnet.com

Max Rothman REPORTER mrothman@bevnet.com

SALES John McKenna DIRECTOR OF SALES jmckenna@bevnet.com

Adam Stern SENIOR ACCOUNT SPECIALIST astern@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

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The season was also a busy time for the many trade shows that our BevNET team travels near and far to attend. I went to both Expo East and NACS and saw a panorama of brands, and, both new and old, they were all spruced up. There was a proliferation of new entries, colorful ones at that. At this time of the year, I’m always cognizant of the presentation and look of beverages. To me, the more colorful, the better. I like to see what I am drinking.

Going through the shelves at retail is a joy to behold. There is no better way to present brands than to have them boldly displayed. They entice and draw the consumer into their web and elicit trial.

Transparency, literal and figurative, is always good for a product. A pink lemonade should dress the part. As such, whenever possible, you should banner the brand to help the consumer make the connection.

The reds, blues, greens and other colors of the spectrum helped to give Jones Soda

came into existence. It is imperative to utilize the wraps and labels to capture what is in the bottle. Again, the more colorful, the better it is. This genre, initiated and led by AriZona, has given beverages their excitement and cache. They are your window to what’s inside. Help the buyer to imagine and understand your brand and be lured into its purchase.

I love what has been accomplished in packaging over the years. The graphic treatments, and real life depiction of the ingredients inside, are incredible. If you can’t show the color itself, give them the flavor and feel of what it should be.

There is a giant caveat to my desire for color. The product must taste good. This has been a recurring theme of my columns over the 21 years. It’s all about the product.

Too often, the execution and presentation is great but the brand disappoints. Don’t let that happen to you. You must present the entire package to be successful.

6 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

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BEVSCAPE

The latest news on the brands you sell

HPP GROWS Evolution Fresh Opens New $70 Million Facility Starbucks announced last month that it will dramatically ramp up production of Evolution Fresh juices with the launch of a new $70 million juicery and manufacturing facility. The new plant, which is located in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., will enable Starbucks to quadruple production of the cold-pressed, high-pressure processed (HPP) juice products, according to the company. The launch represents a critical step in reaching the company’s goal to distribute Evolution Fresh juices in more than 8,000 Starbucks and grocery retailers throughout the U.S. by the end of 2013.

The launch of the facility comes amid growing awareness and demand for cold-pressed juices, and significant expansion in the distribution of Evolution Fresh juice products. Starbucks recently announced a national distribution deal with Whole Foodsand has over the past year replaced Naked brand juices with Evolution Fresh products in thousands of its company-owned cafes.

“The opening of this juicery marks a significant milestone in Evolution Fresh’s history and commitment to making high-quality, never-heated, nutritious juice available to consumers across the country,” Chris Bruzzo, general manager, Evolution Fresh said in a statement. “We believe cold-pressed is the future of juice and we are leading the charge in changing the way people think about juice.”

The growth of the Evolution Fresh brand meant replacing its original manufacturing plant with the new 264,000 sq. ft. facility, which is “one of the largest (in dollar sales) HPP juiceries in the U.S. capable of sourcing, peeling, squeezing and pressing raw

fruits and vegetables,” and will employ 190 people, according to Starbucks. The new plant is equipped with four HPP units each designed and built by Hiperbaric, a major manufacturer of HPP equipment in the U.S., and currently able to produce 140,000 gallons of juice per week, four times as much as the old facility.

“Everything is streamlined to do cold-pressed juice in the best possible way,” Bruzzo told BevNET. “From our perspective, this is an inflection point.

To open a 264,000 sq. ft. facility that is designed to do one thing really well, that means that our expectations — and the indications of what’s happening in the marketplace — is that there will be a major consumer shift.”

The belief the there will be a dynamic shift in how Americans consume juice was the reason that Starbucks built the new juicery with a significant amount of room for growth. Bruzzo said that said that the company has the space to add four more HPP machines, which, if added, could double its current output.

Bruzzo also stated that the new facility will enable to Starbucks to bring its 32 and 64 oz. multi-serve options, which are primarily sold in Southern California, to other U.S. regions.

“It’s great to stand in front of this very physical manifestation of ‘what is it going to take?’ to supply the whole country with the juice that it needs, if juice is going to become, in fact, a daily ritual and build up on this trend of functional beverages that deliver nutrition,” Bruzzo said.

DEALTIME Gerry Martin Leaves Polar Beverage After 17 years, Gerry Martin has left Orson behind.

Long an industry heavyweight through his position as V.P. of marketing and immediate consumption sales for the giant independent bottler and distributor, Polar beverages — symbolized by its Polar Bear mascot, Orson — Martin told BevNET he is leaving Polar to help lead Al’s Beverage Co., Inc., one of the country’s largest manufacturers and distributors of fountain soft drink concentrates.

Martin will be president and CEO of the company, which is based in East Windsor, Conn. Al’s, which supplies its own fountain CSDs and slushies to many independent accounts, also distributes concentrates for Canada Dry and 7-Up, among others.

He said that Al’s, which has been in growth mode recently, will likely soon be in expansion mode again. It currently employs 50 people.

“That side of the industry is ripe for consolidation,” Martin said.

Martin added that it was hard to be leaving Polar, a place where he’s been deeply involved in the distribution of the company’s own 12 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

brands as well as the entrepreneurial beverage companies that have become national players over the years. He also spent 15 years working for Pepsi in the Northeast before joining Polar in 1996.

He said he felt his biggest accomplishments were growing the companies branded products from a grocery-only line to a recognized brand sold in drug, liquor, on-premise and convenience accounts, as well as a division with seven employees who help market its core and seasonal products. Martin also added that he was proud of nurturing the growth of brands like Vitmainwater, Rockstar, Izze, Zico and others.

“It’s been great building relationships and being part of the Polar family for so long,” Martin said. He will be transitioning to the new position over the course of the next few weeks, but said he hopes to be able to continue working with entrepreneurial brands through organizations like BevNET and also through DPSG, where he is on the cold drink steering committee.

GROWING CONCERNS Kombucha Entrepreneurs Form Trade Group The Kombucha category continues to be one of swiftest risers in the beverage industry, so Kombucha entrepreneurs are ready for validation.

Kombucha Brewers International, a Kombucha trade group, announced its launch on Tuesday afternoon. According to a press release, the group will set industry-wide standards, create marketing campaigns, educate consumers, retailers and restaurants, conduct research and serve as a point of communication regarding the Kombucha industry.

The group was founded by Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory of KombuchaKamp.com, a website that explains Kombucha’s properties and benefits and provides recipes (note: Crum and LaGory have previously written for BevNET).

“Kombucha Kamp’s mission, to heal the world one gut at a time, cannot and should not be accomplished alone,” Crum said in the release. “We have partnered with our friends in the com-

mercial industry on numerous occasions regarding education and regulatory issues, and founding a trade group is the logical next step to furthering that mission.”

The release notes that according to data from SPINS, a leading market research provider on natural and specialty products, Kombucha sales increased 37 percent from 2012 to 2013.

Current members of the group include Anne’s Kombucha, Better Booch, Búcha, Buchi, Buddha’s Brew, Communitea, Conscious, Grateful Harvest, Health-Ade, High Country, Holy, House, Karma, KBBK/Kombucha Brooklyn, Kickin, Kombucha Mama, Kombucha Max, Nessalla, Nugget’s Raw, Red Star, Remedy, Tonica, Unity Vibration Living Kombucha Tea, Urban Farm Fermentory and YogiBeer.

Missing from that roster are two of the largest Kombucha producers — GTs and Reed’s.

RETAILING Taste of Tomorrow Begins in Kroger Affiliate Kroger’s highly anticipated entrepreneurial beverage set, Taste of Tomorrow, has become a program of the present.

In October, the supermarket giant’s natural foods team activated the promotional and merchandising strategy, designed to help incubate innovative beverage brands in the supermarket giant’s retail system, in King Soopers in Colorado.

While the Kroger team, working closely with sales and marketing advisory group L.A. Libations, had run tests of the business in its California-based Ralph’s stores, the full program launched under the company’s King Soopers banner with eight different brands: JIN+JA, Minta, Chia\Vie, Aloe Gloe, Kona Red, Just Chill, Chameleon Coffee and Motto, the most recent winner of the New Beverage Showdown at BevNET Live.

“We’re trying to build something on a small scale within a very large universe,” of Kroger stores, said Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger’s vice president of natural foods, which is shepherding the program. “But it’s not something that we’re just trying out [in Colorado], it’s something that we’re going to grow over time.”

The reasoning behind the program is that it gives Kroger the opportunity to get insights into the new and innovative brands that can appeal to consumers, while also making it clear that it’s a retailer that is interested in helping to develop those kinds of beverage companies.

“Our customers are telling us that they want this type of products and they want to enjoy these unique brands,” Adcock said.

“We want to learn about these categories that could be emerging and how we can play on a smaller scale.”

The program is designed to offer the entrepreneurial companies a platform to launch their brands, but with an eye toward

their expanding in the area as they normally would.

“We want to have a connection to them, we’re going to be open and honest and have the best advice, and build you in our stores, but we also want to expand that connection to the actual heartbeat of the industry,” said Mathis Martines, the senior category manager of innovation and natural snacks at Kroger.

A recent 10,000-consumer health and wellness fair sponsored

by King Soopers served as the unofficial curtain-raiser for the program. There, the drinks were clustered near each other in booths with multiple sampling opportunities. Since then the brands have been sampling extensively in King Soopers throughout Colorado, both individually and in shared sampling and merchandising situations that Martines executives likened to a cooperative. “Taste of Tomorrow” shelf-talkers are also helping point consumers to the brands, and coordinated promotions have been ongoing. Additionally, the entrepreneurs behind the brands have been asked to be in the market with some level of regularity to keep communicating the story to consumers.

Meanwhile, shopper insights are being funneled back to the brands so that they can hone their message, creating a much deeper level of information for the brands than would normally be available.

“Usually when a retailer gives an entrepreneur this opportunity, it’s pretty much sending them the paperwork and them getting into the store and hoping for the best,” said L.A. Libations’ Danny Stepper, whose Aloe Gloe is part of the program, and who works with three of the other brands. “I view this as more of a coaching presence in the store, with a lot of two-way communication going on about demographics. They’re doing everything.”

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 13

DEALTIME First Beverage Ventures Invests in Kombucha Brand Six months after launching a new fund aimed at investment in emerging non-alcoholic beverage brands, the private equity arm of First Beverage Group has taken a stake in Health-Ade, which markets a line of premium, small-batch kombucha products. The deal is the first transaction made by First Beverage Ventures’ new fund, whose limited partners include the Coca-Cola Co.’s Venturing and Emerging Brands group as well as several high-networth individuals and family offices.

Though terms were not disclosed, Bill Anderson, Chairman and CEO, First Beverage Group, in a statement called Health-Ade “the perfect brand for our inaugural investment, and hailed kombucha, a fermented tea touted for its probiotic health benefits, as “a dynamic and growing category.”

“Health-Ade embodies the type of company that our new fund seeks to partner with,” Anderson said.

Based in Los Angeles, Health-Ade was founded in 2012 by a trio of entrepreneurs: husband and wife team Justin and Daina Trout, and Vanessa Dew, a close

friend of both. Marketed as “a bubby probiotic tea,” the line of kombucha drinks is made using cold-pressed fruit from local farmers’ markets and is naturally fermented. Packaged in amber-colored 16 oz. glass bottles, Health-Ade comes in an original flavor and four seasonal varieties.

The products are currently sold in nearly 150 independent specialty grocers and fitness studios in the Los Angeles area as well as direct-to-consumer via the company’s website.

Noting the popularity of carbonated beverages and the general tilt toward better-for-you products, and, in particular, mid-calorie drinks that are low in sugar and other sweeteners, Tom First, Managing Partner, First Beverage Ventures, said that the firm had been seeking to make an investment in the probiotic space and looked closely at a number of kombucha brands.

“I think kombucha is an extremely important category for the industry and showing a lot of growth right now,” First said. “It’s a magical drink and a diverse beverage. You can do a lot with kombucha,

and you’re seeing a lot of different offerings from [manufacturers].”

First said that while the flavor profile of kombucha has long been an acquired taste, the category has seen significant strides in flavor development, and praised Health-Ade as an “incredibly delicious kombucha” and having “the best liquid we could find on the market.”

Along with Jason Camillos, a managing director of First Beverage Ventures, First will work closely with Health-Ade, which recently signed on with few local distributors, he said. The company is also in the midst of building a new production facility that will enable the company to increase capacity and expand distribution to larger retail chains that are interested in carrying the brand. The launch of the new plant is about one to two months away, First said. As for additionally expansion, First said that HealthAde is aiming to bring its products to the East Coast and is in the planning stages of creating a new manufacturing plant on the East Coast, one geared toward supplying New York and New England.

ENERGY SHOTS Novartis Puts NoDoz Into Energy Shot Game Long before Red Bull, Monster and 5-Hour Energy, there was NoDoz, one of the first and best known over-the-counter caffeine supplements sold in the U.S. The small, white tablets have long been a favorite of bleary-eyed college students and midnight-shift factory workers, many of whom preferred NoDoz over other caffeine sources like coffee and soda.

In recent years, however, energy drinks and shots have become a booming, multi-billion dollar category, and, in the process, made NoDoz seem like a relic of previous generations. That may change. After years of sitting on the sidelines, NoDoz has finally gotten into the game with the recent launch of NoDoz Energy Shots. Brought to market by pharmaceutical conglomerate Novartis, which owns the NoDoz brand, the products are currently sold exclusively at Walmart.

In an e-mail to BevNET, Novartis said that it “made the strategic decision to launch NoDoz Energy Shots to provide consumers with an alternative when it comes to a caffeine source” and described the product as a “fast-acting, liquid caffeine supplement that is intended for adults.” Citing “competitive reasons,” Novartis declined to share information about how long 14 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

the product had been in development before its launch, which appears to have been sometime in early September.

Formulated with 115 mg of caffeine, Novartis makes the claim that one serving of the product “contains about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.” The energy shots are artificially flavored, sweetened with sucralose and come in two flavors — Berry and Orange — each packaged in 1.89 oz. bottles.

Novartis stated that “Walmart is the exclusive retail partner of NoDoz Energy Shots in 2013,” but did not specify the length of its arrangement with the mass retailer, only noting that consumers can check the brand’s website “for updated retailer availability.” Walmart sells a 2-pack of the shots for $4.68 and $11.88 for a 6-pack.

In marketing the line as one that comes “from a safe & trusted brand for 50 years,” it’s clear that Novartis is banking on the name recognition of NoDoz as a significant point of differentiation between its product and those of competing companies.

Nevertheless, it will likely be an uphill battle for Novartis within a category dominated by 5-Hour Energy. 5-Hour owns more than 90 percent of the $1.25 billion category, dwarfing its competitors, none of which has more than 1.4 percent of the market.

DEAL TIME Boulevard Sold to Duvel Last fall, Boulevard Brewing founder John McDonald told Brewbound that that he wasn’t interested in selling the country’s 19th largest brewery.

What a difference a year can make.

In October, the owner of the Kansas City Mo.-based craft brewery announced that Belgium-based Duvel Moortgat will purchase the company as part of a deal that will combine Boulevard with the domestic and import branches of Duvel and Brewery Ommegang. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, industry sources have estimated its value as at least $100 million.

While public reaction was mixed — both online and off — McDonald attempted to reach out to the brewery’s customers through an online letter explaining his rationale behind the sale.

“I’m not getting any younger, and the long-term future of the brewery has weighed on my mind for the past several years,” he wrote. “After long discussions with my family, we determined that we wanted to find a way to take Boulevard to the next level while retaining its essence, its people, its personality – all the characteristics that make our beer and our brewery so important to Kansas City and the Midwest.”

Reaction on the social networking site Twitter, where many brewers air their thoughts, was swift.

The merger was met with mixed emotions by many craft beer industry members active in the twittersphere. After the news broke, a fellow Missouri craft brew house, Schlafly, sent congratulations via the social networking site. That company recently went through a sale of its own: last January, Schlafly cofounders Dan Kopman Tom Schlafly agreed to sell 60 percent of his company to a St. Louis, Mo. investment group, Sage Capital.

But the Boulevard buyout seemed to have drawn the ire of Stone Brewing Co., which took the opportunity today to remind its own set of twitter followers that it will never “sell out.”

Stone’s founder, Greg Koch, similarly mentioned that he’d never sell out — but the simple fact that Koch was airing his thoughts on the issue of continuity, is indicative of a market in which onceuncertain ventures dealing in oddball brews have become longterm businesses requiring succession planning. At this point, many brewery startups are looking at it as part of their business plans.

It should be top of mind for brewery owners who, like McDonald, thrived following the first craft boom and bust cycle, said Craig Farlie, the managing director of investment banking firm Farlie Turner & Company.

“I would say people who were in the ‘Class of ‘88 or ‘89’ should be thinking through issues like this,” he said. “They have gotten to the point where they have spent 25 years building a business and if they don’t have a coherent plan for succession, they are ignoring one of their primary responsibilities as the architect of the business.”

16 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

That responsibility was something McDonald began placing greater emphasis on in the last year.

“Finding the right partner was hugely important to me,” McDonald said. “At my age, I really wanted to find a partner that could take us in the right direction going forward.”

When word spread that McDonald was shopping Boulevard, the offers poured in. McDonald rejected bids from private equity firms and strategic buyers alike, and when MillerCoors came knocking, he took the call but eventually passed.

So what’s the reaction from other industry members?

Townsend Ziebold, a managing partner at First Beverage Group, which acted as Boulevard’s investment banker, believes it could serve as somewhat of a wakeup call for brewery owners.

“I think it will create a more robust dialogue amongst craft beer owners who are starting to think about their own [merger and acquisition] decisions,” he said. “It will cause some craft owners to think about when the time is right.”

Farlie agreed.

“I think anyone in the business has to look at this deal and think ‘what does it mean for me?’” he said. “This is where the industry is headed. People can be upset about it and beat their fists and decry the fact that it is taking the soul out of craft beer, but this is where it is headed. There is too much money in the industry right now and people have started paying attention to it.”

More deals are coming, he added.

“Right now the industry is hot,” said Farlie. “There is money looking to come into the industry and it is growing upwards of 20 percent per year. We are in a window for craft beer where people are willing to pay much higher multiples for a craft beer business.”

Ziebold and Farlie agreed, however, that the sales window won’t stay open forever.

“The window is not closing but I think it is closing on finding the ideal buyer,” said Ziebold. “At some point, multiples will start to trend down, and if you care about getting a really great multiple, now is the right time.”

As for any potential fear that distribution of the Boulevard brand could change in some markets, at least one wholesaler Brewbound spoke with to isn’t too concerned.

Brian Murphy, the director of sales and marketing for Massachusetts Beverage Alliance (MBA) said he isn’t worried about losing the brand to L. Knife & Son, a competitor that sells the Duvel USA and Brewery Ommegang portfolio.

“We are the third largest Boulevard Smokestack Series market in the country,” he said. “We outperform all other markets and Boulevard is one of our top priorities. I actually look at this as an opportunity to grow our portfolio with the Duvel and Ommegang brands and we would definitely be open to doing that.”

Boulevard comprises about 28 percent of MBA’s gross revenue, Murphy said.

DISTRIBUTION Yuengling Considering Return to Massachusetts D.G. Yuengling Brewery is considering new distribution in Massachusetts, according to company officials.

It would mark just the 16th state for Yuengling, which is nevertheless the country’s oldest brewery and one that sells nearly 3 million barrels annually.

Although Yuengling executives did not provide a specific timetable for the brands potential return to the Bay State, multiple wholesaler sources believe it could come as early as the first quarter of 2014.

Yuengling beer had previously been distributed in Massachusetts until about 1992 or 1993 when the company decided to exit the state, said Yuengling chief operating officer Dave Casinelli.

Lou Romano, director of marketing and wholesaler development for Pennsylvania-based Yuengling, told Brewbound that the company had begun initial market research in Massachusetts.

“At this time, we are in the very preliminary stages of getting to understand the state of Massachusetts,” he said. “Our due diligence needs to be completed before we make any decisions on entering the state and developing a timeline for potential expansion.”

Romano confirmed rumors that company representatives had recently met with several potential distributor partners, includ-

ing Atlas Distributing, which is based in Auburn, Mass. and had flown a “Welcome Yuengling” sign for the visit.

“All conversations have been informal,” he said. “We need to understand the state to develop an approach, so we have spoken to several wholesalers about their perspective. Everyone who is interested in our brands will be given the same courtesy in due time.”

Romano also confirmed that Massachusetts is, for the immediate future, the only New England state that Yuengling is prospecting at this time.

Since taking the helm of the company in 1985, Dick Yuengling, the fifth-generation owner of the brewery, has grown production from approximately 130,000 barrels to nearly 3 million.

Its products are currently distributed in just 14 states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama as well as Washington DC. Massachusetts would be the first new market the company has entered since it launched in Ohio in 2011. Yuengling, which produces its beer in two cities, recently made improvements to its Tampa, Fla. brewing facility, installing a larger brewhouse and more efficient packaging lines.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 17

NEW PRODUCTS

The newest options for cooler and shelf

CSDs Block Island Beverages has reformulated and infused its entire line of Bibbs sparkling blackberry and cherry juice beverages with Kedem Concord Grape Juice. Bibbs’ sparkling juice beverages are all-natural, kosher, gluten-free, GMO-free, and contain no caffeine and very low sodium. Each has 20 grams of unrefined sugar and 90-105 calories per 12 oz. bottle, depending on variety. The products are distributed in the Northeastern U.S. For more information, please call Block Island Beverages at (617) 266-3333.

The Coca-Cola Co. has launched Sprite Cranberry and Sprite Zero Cranberry, each of which will be available for a limited time through the holidays, according to the company. The beverages will be packaged in 2 L bottles, fridge packs of 12 oz. cans, and 20 oz. bottles (Sprite Cranberry only). The drinks will be available in mass market, convenience and drug stores nationwide. Prices vary depending on market, channel and package size. For more information, please call The Coca-Cola Co. at (404) 676-3676.

Enhanced Waters LaCroix Beverages has launched Spree, a new line of flavored, carbonated beverages.

The drinks are fortified with vitamins and antioxidants and sweetened with a proprietary blend of Stevia Leaf extract and juice for zero-calorie formulation. The brand comes in four flavors -- Kiwi Kumquat, Lemon Strawberry, Ruby Red Grapefruit and Pina Pina Colada -- and is available at Target stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $1.59-1.79. For more information, please call LaCroix at (954) 581-0922.

PepsiCo has reintroduced Aquafina FlavorSplash to the market. The brand comes in a line of flavored carbonated water products and liquid water enhancers. The water products are artificially sweetened and contain natural flavors and added B-vitamins.

Packaged in slim 16.9 oz. plastic bottles, the brand comes in three playfully-named flavors: Color Me Kiwi, Peelin’ Good and Berry Loco. The waters are distributed nationally and prices vary depending on market and channel. For more information, please call PepsiCo at (914) 253-2408.

Ayala’s Herbal Water has added a Sparkling Cloves Cardamom Cinnamon variety to 18 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

its line of herbal water products. The new flavor infuses exotic organic culinary herbs into pure lightly carbonated water, and contains zero calories, zero additives and no preservatives. The new variety joins four other Ayala’s sparkling flavors: Lemongrass Mint Vanilla, Cinnamon Orange-Peel, Ginger LemonPeel and Lavender Mint. Bottled in 25.4 oz. frosted glass bottles, the products are available at Wegman’s and have a suggested retail price of $4.99. For more information, please call Ayala’s at (610) 668-4000.

The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. has introduced Dasani Sparkling, a five-SKU line of naturally flavored, unsweetened and lightly carbonated waters. The products will begin appearing in retail outlets in December 2013, with a national launch scheduled for February 2014. The line will be available in a 12-pack of 12 oz. cans, a 24-variety pack of 12 oz. cans for the club channel, and in PET PlantBottles (which are made with up to 30 percent plant-based materials) in 20 oz. and 1 L sizes. Prices will vary depending on package size and market. For more information, please call Coca-Cola at (404) 676-1533.

Juice Mulberry Love is a new line of mulberry juice beverages. Made with mulberries from organic trees in Izmir, Turkey, the drinks draw on the memory boosting, vision enhancing, heart healthy and inflammationreducing properties of the mulberry, according to the company. The line comes in two naturally-sweetened varieties: a premium organic mulberry juice which contains coconut water from the Philippines, and an all-natural mulberry superfruit blend. Packaged in a distinctive 8.4 oz. bottle, the drinks have a suggested retail price of $3.99-$4.39, depending on the variety. The products are distributed at retailers in Southern California including Gelson’s, Whole Foods, Ralph’s and select Von’s and Safeway locations. For more information, please contact Mulberry Love at (310) 633-1910.

Blue Monkey Coconut Collection is introducing a new mango juice to its lineup of beverages. The product is not from concentrate, certified kosher, all-natural, and contains no added sulfites, preservatives or sugar. The juice is packaged in 12 oz. BPAfree cans and has a suggested retail price of $1.99-2.19. Blue Monkey Mango Juice will

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be distributed at natural and mainstream retailers nationwide throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, please call Blue Monkey at (310) 374-9181.

Campbell Soup Co. has launched V8 VFusion Refreshers, a new juice drink made with a 20-25 percent blend of fruit and vegetable juices. The line comes in four flavors: Peach Strawberry, Black Cherry Berry, Cranberry Grape and Tangerine Passionfruit. The products are naturally sweetened and contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

At 100 calories per serving, each serving provides 100 percent of the USDA’s recommended daily value for vitamin C. The beverages have a suggested retail price of $3.49 for a 46 oz. bottle. For more information, please call Campbell Soup at (856) 342-4978.

Raw Foods International has launched a Mango Guarana variety to its RAAW Juice line. According to RAAW, the Guarana used in the beverage has about twice the concentration of caffeine found in coffee beans, and is known to increase endurance and reduce fatigue. The suggested retail price of the products is $2.99 for a 12 oz. bottle. The juice is distributed at grocery stores across the country, including Jewel, Treasure Island, Walgreens and health food stores. For more information, please call Raw Foods at (305) 856-1991.

Liquid Water Enhancers AriZona Beverages has launched a new line of liquid water enhancers. AriZona Water Enhancers are made with real juice and contain no artificial flavors or colors. The products come in seven of AriZona’s most popular flavors: Lemon Tea, Mucho Mango, Fruit Punch, Peach Green Tea, Arnold Palmer Half & Half, Arnold Palmer Strawberry and Golden Bear Strawberry Lemonade. Packaged in a squeezable 1.9 oz. bottle, the products contain 32 servings and have a suggested retail price of $2.99- 3.99. AriZona Water Enhancers are currently sold in Walmart and Safeway stores. For more information, please call AriZona at (516) 812-0346.

PepsiCo has launched Aquafina FlavorSplash liquid water enhancers. The products are artificially sweetened and contain zerocalories. Packaged in 1.62 oz. squeezable containers, each containing 24 servings, the 20 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

line comes in three varieties: So Strawberry, a wild strawberry flavor, World Peach, a peach mango flavor, and Berry On, a mixed berry flavor. The products are distributed nationally and retail for $3.29. For more information, please call PepsiCo at (914) 253-2408.

Functional Drinks Shamrock Farms has expanded its Rockin’ Refuel line with Rockin’ Refuel Lean Builder, a 150 calorie protein milk beverage.

The drink is made with real milk for an excellent source of natural protein and provides 20 grams of high quality protein with eight grams of carbs and six grams of sugar. The product is lactose-free and contains essential nutrients naturally found in milk, including calcium, vitamin D and potassium. Available in chocolate and vanilla varieties, the new product is packaged in 12 oz. bottles and sold in the dairy section at select Walmart stores and other retailers nationwide. The beverage has a suggested retail price of $1.99. For more information, please call Shamrock Farms at (602) 477-2334.

Liquid nutritional supplement company I AM ENLIGHTENED CREATIONS (formerly known as I AM Enlightened Nutrition) has launched its newest line extension: I AM Skinny. Packaged in a 2.5 oz. shot, I AM Skinny is a synergistic formula that contains clinically-proven, natural ingredients including WellTrim IG (African Mango Seed Extract), Kokum Fruit, a noted fat metabolizer, and ChromeMate, highly absorbable chromium -- all of which are intended decrease appetite and enhance metabolism, according to the company. Sweetened with Pyure Brands organic stevia and flavored with organic raspberry, I AM Skinny contains no artificial flavors or colors, is sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan. Each serving contains 5 calories. I AM Skinny and other I AM ENLIGHTENED CREATIONS products will be available for purchase in select markets Whole Foods Markets and Sprouts Farmers Markets and also on the brand’s website. A 12-pack of the shots retails for $44.00. For more information, please contact I AM at (888) 206-1455.

Mercy Nutraceuticals, Inc. has launched a new orange flavor for its brand of hangover recovery drinks. Mercy Blood Orange is made with certified organic Sicilian blood oranges and formulated with the same vitamins and amino acids as the company’s original

citrus-flavored beverage. The products are sold at groceries, restaurants, hotels and bars in New York City, New Jersey, Florida and in other select cities, including San Francisco, San Jose, Napa, Phoenix and Scottsdale.

Mercy is sold in 4-packs of 8.4 oz. cans for a suggested retail price of $14. For more information, please call Mercy at (718) 302-4400.

Big Cat Enhancement Drink is a new line of functional shots designed for healthy men and women 30-70 years old who want to lose weight and enhance their performance, stamina and power, according to the company. The shots contain zero calories, carbohydrates, fat or sugar and are available in two flavors: Jungle Citrus-lime and Jungle Wild Berry. The products have a suggested retail price of $4.99 for an 8 oz. re-sealable plastic bottle. For more information, please call Big Cat at (269) 779-3527.

Almond Milk Califia Farms has launched a limited edition vegan Holiday Nog. The seasonal Holiday Nog is made with Califia’s award-winning Almondmilk, which is made from whole

blanched California almonds. At 50 calories per serving, the nog contains no saturated fat, and is an excellent source of calcium that is also rich in Vitamins B2, B12, D and E. The product is packaged in Califia Farms’ signature BPA-free 48 oz. carafe and specially designed with a holiday label.

The beverage has a suggested retail price of $3.99 and is sold exclusively at Whole Foods Markets in the natural channel and other select retailers. For more information, please call Califia Farms at (626) 204-0830.

Tea Harmless Harvest 100% Raw Tea is a new line of caffeine-free bottled teas that are made using raw, organic tea leaves from Japan. The leaves are quickly flash frozen upon harvesting and then pulverized and cold-brewed.

The liquid is then bottled and high pressure processed. The tea comes in three varieties: Unsweetened, Peppermint, and Honey and Lemon. Distributed exclusively at Whole Foods Markets, the products are sold nationally and have a suggested retail price of $2.49 per 10 oz. bottle. For more information, please call Harmless Harvest at (347) 467-0733.

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ITO EN has launched a new Chai Tea Latte variety to its TEAS’ TEA Latte line.

Offering a new kick of spice with an exotic mixture of cardamom, ginger root, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon, the Chai Tea Latte will join the current flavors of Black Tea Latte and Matcha Green Tea Latte.

Made with premium tea leaves and non-fat milk, the lattes contain zero grams of fat and 80 calories per serving. ITO EN has also launched two new sweetened varieties of its authentically brewed TEAS’ TEA line. Available in two new flavors – Green Tea and Jasmine Green – the drinks are sweetened with 15 grams of natural cane sugar per serving and contain 120 calories per 16.9 oz. bottle.

ITO EN has also introduced two decaffeinated varieties of its unsweetened TEAS’ TEA. Authentically brewed from premium loose tea leaves and carefully decaffeinated to preserve the tea’s flavor, TEAS’ TEA Unsweetened DECAF is offered in two new zero-calorie varieties: Green Tea and Black Tea. All of the new products are available in 16.9 oz. bottle and have a suggested retail price of $1.99. For more information, please call ITO EN at (707) 327-6413.

Powders Amazing Grass, a brand of certified organic, plant-based superfoods, has launched two new seasonal flavors to its Green SuperFood and Amazing Meal lines: Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Peppermint. Pumpkin Spice combines the spicy and warm flavors of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon reminiscent of the classic taste of pumpkin pie, while Chocolate Peppermint features a cool and refreshing blast of mint partnered with rich, indulgent dark chocolate. The new varieties are certified organic, vegan and gluten-free, and are available in 15 serving canisters for $39.99.

The products are now available nationwide at major natural food retailers including Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Mothers and Sprouts. For more information, please contact Amazing Grass at (866) 472-7711.

Kids’ Drinks Green Mustache is a new line of organic fruit and green veggie juice smoothies for children. Made with real fruits and vegetables, as well as chia and coconut water, each 10 oz. bottle provides one serving of fruits and one serving of vegetables from spinach and kale. The beverages USDA-certified 24 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan and gluten-free and contain no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. The line comes in four flavors: Strawberry Banana, Orange Mango, Tropical Twist and Mixed Berry.

Green Mustache has a suggested retail price of $4.99 for a 10 oz. bottle and is currently sold at select retailers in New York City. For more information, please call Green Mustache at (888) 230-5545.

Energy Drinks XYIENCE Xenergy, the official energy drink of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has launched a limited-edition collectible can featuring Ronda Rousey, UFC women’s bantamweight champion and a XYIENCE team athlete. Her image appears on the packaging of Xenergy Cherry Lime, one of the brand’s best-selling flavors.

The cans will be available at XYIENCE retailers nationwide through the end of 2013. For more information, please call XYIENCE at (702) 430-5400.

Red Bull has launched a collaboration between street artist and Brooklyn resident Tristan Eaton and All-Star basketball player and Red Bull athlete Deron Williams for a new limited edition can. Through a partnership spanning more than six months, the artist and athlete spent time together observing each other’s crafts to create the can. The 12 oz. can has a suggested retail price of $2.99 and is sold in convenience, grocery, mass, drug, and dollar stores through December 2013 in New York and New Jersey. For more information, please call Red Bull at (310) 713.9184.

EBOOST has introduced a new variety to its line of natural energy shots. EBOOST Natural Berry-Melon Energy Shot is the first of its kind to be infused with coconut water, according to the company. The new flavor also contains green tea, coconut water, green coffee bean, antioxidants, and the electrolytes calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. It also features Aquamin, an all-natural seaweed-derived mineral blend of 74 traces of minerals and is infused with vitamins B6, B12, and D. The shot is glutenfree, soy-free and non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms). The product is sold at Whole Foods, Duane Reade, Life Time Fitness, Ricky’s NYC and Vitamin Shoppe. The suggested retail price is $39 for a box of 12 2

oz. shots. For more information, please call Vitalize Labs at (877) 432-6678.

Beer Crabbie’s has launched the orange variety of its alcoholic ginger beer to the U.S. market. Both the original and orange varieties are fermented with premium imported ginger and steeped for up to eight weeks to allow complex natural flavors to fully develop. The ginger beer contains 4.8 percent ABV and recommended to be served over ice with a slice of citrus. Currently distributed in 31 states, Crabbie’s is available for purchase in two formats: a 4-pack of 11 oz. bottles which retails for $9.99 and a 16.9 oz. bottle which retails for $3.99. For more information, please call Halewood International Ltd. at (781) 585-5165.

Cider Boston Beer Company has released two new varieties of its Angry Orchard line of hard ciders, each the result of the cider makers’ first experiments with juice from American-grown apples. Angry Orchard Green Apple is a hard cider with a tart and bright character.

Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple is a sweet and slightly tart hard cider made with cinnamon. Both ciders are naturally gluten-free.

Green Apple is a year-round style currently in limited release with the national launch planned for early 2014. The cider is available in 6-packs for a suggested retail price of $7.99 - $9.99. Cinnful Apple is a national seasonal release and available through February 2014. The product is sold in 6-packs for a suggested retail price of $7.99 - $9.99 and in variety 12-packs with three other Angry Orchard styles for a suggested retail price of $14.99 - $17.99. For more information, please call Boston Beer at (617) 368-5084.

Wine Previously known as Domaine Ste. Michelle, Michelle Sparkling Wines is a fresh take on the winery’s offerings, which now feature refined cuvees and new packaging. Crafted in the traditional methode champenoise, the wines are predominantly a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and include Brut, Brut Rose and Extra Dry varieties. Michelle Sparkling Wines are available nationwide for a suggested retail

Saxco International is the largest glass container distributor in North America serving premium brands in the Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Food, Craft Beer, Wine and Spirits categories. We are also a leading supplier of PET and HDPE, so we can deliver the right solutions to meet your rigid packaging needs. Our design team works closely with our global manufacturing partners to bring Saxco customers the latest innovations in quality beverage packaging.

Saxco has the relationships and product knowledge that only come through decades of experience in the industry. Let us show you how to turn your packaging and supply chain program into a competitive advantage for your brand.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 25

price of $14. For more information, please call Michelle at (425) 488-1133.

Yao Family Wines, the Napa Valley winery founded by former NBA star Yao Ming, has released its inaugural vintage of Napa Crest 2010 Napa Valley Red Wine. Sourced from a selection of premium vineyards throughout Napa Valley, Napa Crest is a red wine blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, each aged exclusively in 100 percent French Oak barrels for at least 16 months and individual barrels from each lot are hand selected by taste for the final blend. Napa Crest is available on the Yao Family Wines website and retails for $48 for a 750 mL bottle. The wine will be distributed in select wine shops and restaurants across the U.S. early next year. For more information, please contact Yao Family at (707) 968-7470.

Whiskey Woodford Reserve has released of its limited-edition Master’s Collection. The Double Malt Selections – Straight Malt Whiskey and Classic Malt – are the first fully-matured whiskies crafted from malt in Kentucky since Prohibition. Triple distilled in Woodford Reserve’s copper pot stills, the Straight Malt Whiskey and Classic Malt are two separate 750 mL bottles which are individually numbered and presented at 90.4 proof.

Available in major metro markets throughout the United States and select international locations, limited quantities are available for a suggested retail price of $99.99 per bottle.

For more information, please call Woodford Reserve at (502) 774-6044.

The Jack Daniel Distillery has introduced Jack Daniel’s Winter Jack Tennessee, a new cider flavor that is available in limited markets throughout the U.S. until February 2014. The 30 proof spirit is crafted with Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey and blended with apple cider liqueur and holiday spices. Packaged in a 750 mL bottle, the spirit has a suggested retail price of $18.00.

For more information, please call Jack Daniel’s at (502) 774-7164.

Diageo has introduced Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve to the U.S. Previously only available in select global markets, the limited offering is a multi-layered whisky with a smooth balance of sweet 26 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

fruits and creaminess with a light smoke.

Packaged in a reflective gold bottle, the whisky is distributed nationally and has a suggested retail price of $87 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Diageo at (646) 223-2305.

Beam Inc. has launched its first ever flavorinnovation, for its Knob Creek Bourbon brand. Created in honor of Knob Creek Bourbon founder Booker Noe, Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon is made using the company’s flagship bourbon along with hints of maple and a touch of smoke. The 90 proof whiskey is available nationally and has a suggested retail price of $30.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Beam at (847) 444-7657.

Defiant Whisky is a single malt whisky distilled by Blue Ridge Distilling Co. The 82 proof spirit is made with pure water from the aquifer under the distillery, two-row, premium brewer’s barley, a specially cultured yeast and added American white oak spirals made from premium cuts of wood. The oak spirals are more efficient than barrels, and create a much smoother finish, according to the distillery. The whisky comes in a 750 mL bottle and has a suggested retail price of $48.95.

Defiant is currently distributed in North Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey. For more information, please call Blue Ridge at (828) 245-2041.

The Balvenie has introduced its latest expression: Tun 1401, Batch 9. The release was created exclusively for the U.S. market, and follows the successful ‘Batch 3’ and ‘Batch 6’, which were the only other Tun 1401 expressions released in the United States in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Available in limited supply, the rare batch includes liquid from a number of specially selected casks. Inspired by and produced in one of the oldest warehouses at the distillery, the exppression represents a selection of spirits sourced from 11 traditional whisky casks and three sherry butts, whose ages span a number of decades.

The whisky rested for several months in Tun 1401 – one of the distillery’s unique marrying vessels and was hand-bottled. The whisky has an ABV of 49.3 percent and a suggested retail price of $250 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call William Grant & Sons at (212) 299-9440.

International Beverage Holdings has introduced The Navigator, the newest addition to its Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky portfolio. Dedicated to the sailing community, the whisky is honeycomb in appearance and full-bodied with bursts of honey, cocoa and oranges, according to the company. Navigator features special packaging including an illustration of a compass, an essential tool in the art of navigation, and Old Pulteney’s traditional herring drifter. The bottle is a reflection of the stills’ pot belly shape. The spirit is available in select markets across the U.S. at a suggested retail price of $49.99. For more information, please call International Beverage at (646) 896-3800.

Laphroaig has introduced its latest seasonal expression, Laphroaig Triple Wood.

The limited edition whisky goes through a distinct triple maturation process that includes ex-bourbon barrels, 19th Centurystyle quarter casks and specially selected European Oak oloroso sherry casks. This process creates a complex 96 proof whisky that boasts a blend of creamy vanilla and

hints of sweet fruit, while retaining the distinctive smoky peat flavor of Laphroaig.

The spirit is available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $59.99 per 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Beam Inc. at (847) 444-7657.

Tullamore D.E.W., has introduced a new variant, Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix. The new limited edition spirit celebrates the courage and optimism of the Tullamore people, according to the company. The packaging features the symbol of the Phoenix from Tullamore’s town crest and adorns streetlights throughout its main streets. The whiskey is a blend of all three types of Irish whiskey -- pure pot-still, malt and grain whiskey -triple-distilled and finished in Old Oloroso Sherry casks. It is non-chill filtered, and crafted in small exclusive batches. The spirit has a mellow complexity, deep leafy, malty notes and smooth vanilla oakiness and contains 55 percent ABV. Each bottle is uniquely numbered. Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix is an annual limited-edition release with 2,500 9-liter cases now available in the U.S. for a

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 27

suggested retail price of $54.99 per 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call William Grant & Sons at (212) 299-9440.

tion). The products are currently distributed in California. For more information, please call Libation Nation at (805) 931-6853.

Rum

Tequila Herradura announces the release of its second in a series of small-batch tequilas, Coleccion de la Casa, Reserva 2013 – Cognac Cask Finish Reposado. The tequila is made using traditional production methods and a proprietary fermentation from naturally-occurring wild yeast. The tequila is then aged in American oak barrels for 11 months and transferred to French oak casks sourced from the Cognac region for an additional three months. The double-barrel maturation process accentuates the aromas of cooked agave and dried fruit, which is balanced on the palate by earthy and spicy notes. The finish is smooth and warm with caramel and vanilla undertones. The spirit is available throughout the U.S. at fine wine and spirits stores and has a suggested retail price of $89.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Brown-Forman at (502) 774-6981.

International Beverage USA announced the launch of BlackMask Spiced Pacific Rum to the U.S. market. BlackMask is crafted with oak-aged premium rums that are blended with mellow Pacific Island spices and natural flavors. The rum is golden amber in color with intense vanilla top notes, rich tones of cinnamon and nutmeg on the tongue and a smooth smoky toffee finish.

The original spiced rum will be joined by three flavor extensions: Island Coconut, Tropical Chai and Black Premo. Black Mask will be available at specialty retailers in Southern California such as Hi-Time Wine Cellars, Emilio’s Beverage Warehouse and Total Wine & More for a suggested retail price of $13.99 per 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call (770) 390-9714.

Tequila A. Hardy USA, Ltd. has brought Tequila 1519 to the U.S. market. Manufactured in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Tequila 1519 is made from 100 percent Agave Tequila plants.

The spirit is certified organic and certified kosher and comes in three expressions: Blanco, Reposado and Anejo. Tequila 1519 is 40 percent alcohol by volume and packaged in 750 mL bottles. For more information, please call A. Hardy at (847) 298-2358.

Campari America has launched Cabo Diablo, a new coffee-infused line extension of its Cabo Wabo Tequila brand. A blend of premium coffee liqueur and 100 percent blue weber agave Cabo Wabo Blanco Tequila, the spirit contains 35 percent ABV. It is currently available in limited release in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Wisconsin and has a suggested retail price of $22.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Campari at (415) 315-8000.

Libation Nation has launched Donkey Piss Tequila. The 80 proof spirit is made with 100 percent premium blue Agave and triplefiltered. The tequila is packaged in a 750 mL bottle and has a suggested retail price of $49.99 ($69.99 for the Founders Reserve Edi-

28 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Olmeca Altos has launched its 100% Agave Tequila. The agave in the tequila is handpicked at peak ripeness, and then slow cooked at low-temperatures to seal in the plant’s sweet, honey-like flavors. The cooked agave “juice” is then extracted from the plant by the 500-year-old Tahona production process in which a giant volcanic millstone is used to crush the cooked Agave pinas and expose the juice and fibre from the plant, which is then added to Olmeca Altos’ fermentation and distillation process to deliver the rich, sweet, citric taste and aroma. The spirit is available nationwide in Plata or Reposado varieties. Olmeca Altos is 80 proof and has a suggested retail price of $24.99 for 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Pernod Ricard at (212) 372-5345.

Other Spirits Barenjager, the original honey liqueur, has introduced two new flavor extensions.

Barenjager Honey & Tea is a combination of premium honey and tea liqueur made from all-natural ingredients and contains no artificial flavors. The new spirit offers an herbaceous nose, a sweet black tea and honey taste and a long finish of lingering black tea notes. Barenjager Honey & Pear is made

with generous amounts of pure, real honey and high quality pear brandy sourced from Germany. The brandy is distilled exclusively from Williams pears. This unique blend results in a balanced and lightly sweet taste with an alternating pear and honey finish. The base brand, Barenjager Honey Liqueur, is a 70 proof honey liqueur made from neutral grain alcohol and contains 300 grams of pure honey in each liter bottle. The new products are available nationwide in 1 L, 750 mL, 375 mL and 50 mL sizes and have a suggested retail price of $28.99 for a 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Sidney Frank Importing Company at (914) 637-5752.

Jagermeister has launched Jagermeister Spice, the brand’s first-ever product extension in the United States. The new product combines vanilla and cinnamon spices with the ingredients found in the original Jagermeister recipe. The 50 proof spirit will be available in limited quantities for a suggested retail price of $22.99 per 750 mL bottle. For more information, please call Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc. at (914) 637-5752.

Martell, the prestigious House of Cognac founded in 1715, has launched of a new cognac, Martell Caractere. The new blend, available exclusively in California, pays tribute to Martell founder Jean Martell.

The creation of the cognac is rooted in the Martell Method, a unique distillation process. Using grapes sourced from Martell’s vineyards in the Domaine Jean Martell, the cognac is distilled twice without lees and aged in fine grain French oak barrels. The spirit features notes of citrus, tangerine peel, cinnamon and clove. The cognac is 80 proof and has a suggested retail price of $34.99.

For more information, please call Pernod Ricard at (212) 372-5345.

COLD FILL ENERGY SHOTS FROM 1.5 OZ TO 10 OZ CARBONATED ENERGY DRINKS IN 8.4 OZ CANS FLAVORED/FORTIFIED WATER ENHANCERS CAPSULES TABLETS AND POWDERS ENERGY MINTS

NOW MANUFACTURING & CO-PACKING WATER ENHANCERS AND ENERGY MINTS

SMOKE Liqueur is a new spirit made with a blend of top-shelf vodka, pineapple, coconut and Moscato wine. The spirit contains 26 percent ABV and is packaged in a white, frosted Champagne bottle. The product has a suggested retail price of $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle and also comes in a 50 mL size.

SMOKE is distributed at bars, restaurants and liquor retail in the Tri-State area. For more information, please call Smoke Ventures at (203) 539-1440.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 29

CHANNEL CHECK

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

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY

PET STILL WATER 52 Weeks through 10/6/2013 SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass.

It’s easy to disrespect the Coke purchase of Glaceau, but taken together, the company brands have sold $1.3 billion in IRI-tracked channels in the past year; that puts the whole Coke water system at $2.2 billion, well ahead of PepsiCo. Smartwater has nearly eclipsed Vitaminwater, it’s true – but that gives the red system a premium-priced alternative to Dasani and a brand architecture that many brands would only dream of (NWNA was certainly dreaming of it when it launched Resource Water last year, for example.) Still, next year’s Vitaminwater relaunch will be a big moment for Coke, as the tailspin for that brand has continued throughout the fall.

With Sparkling Ice moving more strongly into convenience, the Glaceau unit had better be ready for a fight in 2014.

Brand Family

Dollar Sales

$2,964,514,000

0.23%

Private Label

$1,818,537,000

11.92%

Glaceau Water

$1,337,670,000

-5.94%

Coca Cola Co.

$916,797,200

2.93%

Pepsico Inc.

$887,206,000

4.45%

Brand

Dollar Sales

Private Label

Change vs. year earlier

$1,818,537,000

11.92%

Nestle Pure Life

$920,217,500

-1.19%

Dasani

$914,109,000

3.18%

Aquafina

$851,105,000

-3.55%

Glaceau Vitamin Water

$577,106,200

-17.22%

Poland Spring

$566,467,300

1.99%

Glaceau Smart Water

$536,262,500

14.41%

Deer Park

$402,850,100

0.63%

Ozarka

$317,925,400

0.71%

Fiji

$241,911,100

5.33%

Ice Mountain

$234,645,900

-5.15%

Arrowhead

$226,374,800

-3.18%

Glaceau Vitamin Water Zero

$224,272,000

-12.46%

Zephyrhills

$210,716,700

0.27%

SoBe Life Water

$206,490,700

-23.49%

Propel Zero

$181,398,100

-13.07%

Crystal Geyser

$114,520,000

-6.38%

Capri Sun Roarin Waters

$96,808,310

-21.10%

Evian

$95,246,920

-0.29%

Niagra

$94,865,130

13.58%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME 52 WEEKS THROUGH 10/6/2013

30 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Change vs. year earlier

Nestle Waters North America

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

BEER

$29,742,722,000

7.92%

BOTTLED JUICES

$6,874,253,000

-3.26%

BOTTLED WATER

$11,592,420,000

2.49%

ENERGY DRINKS

$9,890,163,000

3.04%

DRINK MIXES

$1,193,153,000

0.08%

TEA/COFFEE

$4,181,935,000

2.58%

TEA Brand

HOT! Lipton Pureleaf Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

ENERGY DRINKS Brand

HOT! Monster Zero Ultra Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

AriZona

$661,502,800

-5.44%

Red Bull

$3,357,009,000

6.06%

Lipton

$342,834,200

-9.11%

Monster Energy

$1,199,801,000

0.75%

Lipton Brisk

$261,343,700

3.60%

Monster Rehab

$368,430,500

-0.77%

$321,846,000

-14.00% -3.76%

Snapple

$206,517,300

-2.03%

Monster Energy Lo Carb

Lipton Pureleaf

$199,950,600

35.02%

Rockstar

$288,098,500

Diet Snapple

$192,338,700

0.09%

NOS

$281,765,200

7.19%

AriZona Arnold Palmer

$176,527,600

-1.68%

Java Monster

$276,061,600

13.56%

Lipton Diet

$138,561,400

-3.03%

Monster Zero Ultra

$247,121,200

22,441.66%

Gold Peak

$132,749,000

17.63%

Monster Mega

$229,689,900

0.02%

Monster Absolute Zero

$209,776,300

-12.21%

Peace Tea

$77,772,140

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

52 Weeks through 10/6/13

NOT! Lipton

COFFEE Brand

6.13%

HOT! Starbucks Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

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

52 Weeks through 10/6/13

NOT! Monster Energy Lo Carb

SPARKLING WATER Brand

HOT! Sparkling Ice Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Starbucks Frappuccino

$734,151,700

3.83%

Sparkling Ice

$274,507,500

Starbucks Doubleshot

$343,939,900

3.06%

Private Label

$263,063,300

9.18%

Perrier

$154,194,800

18.58%

San Pellegrino

$128,794,300

17.07%

La Croix

$69,425,340

25.01%

Glaceau Fruit Water

$34,262,880

N/A

Starbucks

$56,223,860

13,749,620.28%

Starbucks Frappuccino Light

$26,552,510

-4.42%

Starbucks Doubleshot Light

$9,577,910

6.60%

118.54%

Private label

$7,379,420

21.17%

Illy Issimo

$4,156,835

-25.50%

Topo Chico

$31,754,880

10.89%

Coco Cafe

$4,108,458

866.35%

Cascade Ice

$24,118,330

23.15%

Marley’s One Drop

$1,280,797

26.47%

Poland Spring

$23,984,810

-1.46%

Arrowhead

$21,697,520

7.15%

Genesis Today

$1,237,855

5,140.68%

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

52 Weeks through 10/6/13

NOT! Illy Issimo

DOMESTIC BEER

HOT! Michelob Ultra Light

Brand

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

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

52 Weeks through 10/6/13

NOT! Poland Spring

IMPORT BEER Brand

HOT! Modelo Especial Dollar Sales

Corona Extra

Change vs. year earlier

$1,197,413,000

4.73%

Heineken

$668,186,200

-0.94%

Bud Light

$5,933,411,000

-0.80%

Coors Light

$2,345,098,000

3.32%

Budweiser

$2,109,134,000

-3.73%

Modelo Especial

$545,022,300

23.40%

$224,385,700

22.06%

Miller Lite

$1,875,803,000

-2.95%

Dos Equis XX Lager Especial

Natural Light

$1,131,041,000

-6.30%

Corona Light

$213,743,600

4.19%

Busch Light

$839,194,300

1.74%

Stella Artois Lager

$186,899,200

17.95%

Michelob Ultra Light

$758,299,500

10.41%

Tecate

$156,304,500

-4.45%

Busch

$676,839,400

-5.07%

Labatt Blue

$99,733,970

-4.54%

Keystone Light

$493,410,000

-6.18%

Labatt Blue Light

$98,169,820

-5.40%

-8.54%

Newcastle Brown Ale

$78,267,760

-7.81%

Miller High Life SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass.

52 Weeks through 10/6/13

$483,677,900

NOT! Miller High Life

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

52 Weeks through 10/6/13

NOT! Newcastle Brown Ale

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 31

By Gerry Khermouch

Kombucha Bubbles Toward the Mainstream For a small deal, it certainly aroused a fair amount of attention, at least in my world. Just a few weeks ago, Los Angeles-based First Beverage Group wrote a check of undisclosed magnitude for what it described as a significant minority position in a small, local kombucha producer with the avowedly retro name Health-Ade. But the Health-Ade deal was the first public acknowledgement that I’ve noticed that serious institutional money is starting to chase this rarefied sector.

Coincidentally, the same week, HealthAde and several of its peers in this rapidly burgeoning field joined up with kombucha proselytizers Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory to launch the industry’s first trade group, Kombucha Brewers International, with plans for a Kombucha Konvention in Santa Monica, Calif., in January. So first, a private equity move, then a convention.

Does this herald that kombucha, all of a sudden, has come of age?

That may be a stretch at this point, but the segment certainly is becoming tantalizingly visible even to the beverage conglomerates. Some of that HealthAde investment, after all, came from the Coca-Cola Co. via its stake in the First Beverage fund; also, there have long been rumblings that kombucha-like probiotic brand KeVita has dallied with PepsiCo’s incubation arm in Southern California.

If you put aside all the distracting talk of “scoby” and “mushrooms,” kombucha has a lot going for it: health benefits via the high probiotic content, a broad palette of techniques that allow individual marketers to differentiate their liquids much the way craft brewers can (and craft soda purveyors can’t), a growing on-premise component, and a burgeoning sense of grass-roots authenticity that comes of having an active network of home brewers who swap their scobies.

(OK, hard to avoid that word.)

Of course, the segment has produced one mega-brand already, GT’s, which so far dominates with its core GT’s and juice-inflected GT’s Synergy, and has showed agility by early clambering aboard the chia bandwagon with a well-received subline. It’s defined the segment so far, and attained the sorts of velocities we’re

not supposed to expect in the natural food channel. In fact, I believe GT’s and the kombucha segment deserves credit for helping to elevate the overall beverage segment, much in the way Starbucks once elevated a dreary coffee sector. It’s offered a refreshing burst of premium positioning at a time that even the Whole Foods grab-and-go cooler seems to have become a price promotion battlefield. Arguably, kombucha’s premium but not scarypremium price softened up consumers for the really premium prices charged by the new breed of high-pressure-processed (HPP) juice and cleanse purveyors like BluePrint, Evolution Fresh and Suja.

But kombucha also comes with massive challenges to widespread adoption.

Many items still carry a vinegary taste that may be a badge of authenticity to core users but is a turn-off to mainstream consumers. The artisanal nature of production, and the difficult-to-control risk that continued in-bottle fermentation will take the product above acceptable alcohol content levels, is another disincentive for the majors to play. (I’m sure you all remember the massive recall of the category undertaken by Whole Foods in 2010 after several brands, including GT’s Synergy, were found to have consistently excessive levels of alcohol. And I do worry that GT’s continues to be a bit too cavalier about this issue, which I don’t believed it’s fully resolved.) Another challenge, and a sizable one: the need for the products to be kept refrigerated from plant all the way to retail.

Are these insuperable obstacles? I suspect not, in part because so many of the most intriguing beverage sectors today – from cold-brewed coffee to HPP juices – share them that it’s in the industry’s interest to find ways to resolve them.

On the distribution front, for instance, it occurs to me that beer wholesalers could prove a workable route to market. After all, they understand fermented products (quite a few beer wholesalers were among those eager to take a flier on the German fermented soda Bionade, though that company’s U.S. push disintegrated before it really got started) and many have been putting in cold capacity to accommodate

32 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

their craft beer kegs. With kombucha also proving an ancillary sell to their more cutting-edge on-premise accounts, it may make sense. (My local multitap house in Manhattan, Dive Bar, has kept KBBK Kombucha Brooklyn consistently on tap for two years now.) And of course, these days, beer wholesalers have both nonalcoholic and alcoholic varieties of the product to choose from.

And there’s no question that, in the hands of countless celebrities, kombucha’s profile in pop culture is rising. Ironically, there’s a good chance the massive Whole Foods recall may have given the category an awareness jolt. Hey, that hilarious “It’s Gettin’ Real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot” video has been viewed 5 million times on Youtube by now, and the rapper’s complaint that “I’ve been on edge ever since they took kombucha off the shelves” no doubt gets a lot of knowing smiles from viewers. Maybe it even gives the product an air of danger!

So who are the next winners likely to be, after GT’s? That’s a tough call.

Among those looking to go broad, I can understand First Beverage’s enthusiasm for Health-Ade, with its approachable recipes, unmistakable apothecary look and links to local farms. Reed’s Inc. has made an aggressive push behind its highly drinkable Culture Club Kombucha, which is finally cracking major retailers.

High Country has weathered its share of storms that rivals like Honest Tea and Vibranz didn’t. A group in Austin is intriguingly, if controversially, executing their Live Kombucha as a soft drink. But much as with craft beer, I think many winners will bubble up from the local level, as with a tiny outfit called Beyond Kombucha Artisan Fermented Tea in my burg. After all, who could resist a chance to try a Mava Roka Maple Vanilla Rooibos Kombucha Ale (with a 6.5% alcohol kick)? If things like that interest you, maybe it’s time to book a flight to Santa Monica in January for the konvention.

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

By Chris Furnari Let’s face it – Spokane probably isn’t on your bucket list.

Tucked away in Eastern Washington, the city of a little more than 200,000 sits on the Idaho border, about an hour away from popular resort destinations to the East. Nationally, Spokane’s best known institution is likely the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball program; every March, expert analysts pick the Jesuit University to make a run in the NCAA tournament.

But beyond March Madness, Spokane is rarely in the national spotlight; it isn’t home to any professional sports teams or Fortune 500 companies. In some circles, it’s jokingly referred to as “Spokanistan.”

But beyond March Madness, Spokane is rarely in the national spotlight; it isn’t home to any professional sports teams or Fortune 500 companies. In some circles, it’s jokingly referred to as “Spokanistan.”

For years, Spokane’s had a craft beer scene that’s been in line with the nickname. Despite the presence of mature beer towns like Seattle or Portland a few hours away, and despite the fact that it’s located within 100 miles of the freshest hops and malts in the entire country, Spokane isn’t home to any large regional craft brewers. In fact, the small craft companies that did operate in or near Spokane, until recently hadn’t even bottled a single beer.

But economic development takes many forms, and right now the eagerness of the city government to put Spokane on the map has combined with the arrival of a stronglycredentialed craft beer veteran to create a strategy: make Spokane a beer hub.

“We have a passionate group of relatively young entrepreneurs in this city now that want to create a vibe in a place like Spokane that hasn’t really had a craft beer scene,” said John Bryant, the co-owner and president of No-Li Brewhouse, who

is the credentialed veteran in question. “I think Spokane is searching for an identity and I think craft beer can be a part of it.”

Spokane wouldn’t be the first town to try to remake itself as a brewers’ paradise. Smaller towns than Spokane, like Asheville, N.C., now home of secondary breweries for big craft companies Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and Oskar Blues, and Bend, Ore., which has Deschutes Brewery to act as a mother ship for newer brands – have built themselves into legitimate craft beer hubs through cooperation with expanding or existing breweries and local promotion.

Whether Spokane is able to do so will depend on many factors, but the plans are in place.

“I think Spokane is representative of a lot of small communities that are discovering craft beer from small and independent breweries,” said Charlie Papazian, the president of the Brewers Association.

“I think there are some very enthusiastic

34 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

entrepreneurs in Spokane and I’d say that consistently, everyone that has jumped into the scene is passion. Some have more experience than others and they will all be challenged with growing their businesses in a different economic environment.”

The New Kid in Town John Bryant has a resume that reeks of craft: he had previously worked at relatively big operations as the president of Oskar Blues, as well as the COO of Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colo. and VP sales and marketing at Deschutes Brewery.

Early last year, however, Bryant moved his family to Spokane in an attempt to rebrand the tiny Northern Lights Brewing Company, a business founded in 1993 by his current partner, Mark Irvin. In the last 18 months, he’s rebranded the company to No-Li Brewhouse, received federal approval to label beers made with local ingredients with the phrase “Spokane-Style” and helped No-Li become the first Spokane beer company selling beer in something other than a keg.

“Until we introduced bottles, 100 percent of the beer sold in Spokane, that was packaged, was brought in from another city,” Bryant said. “We have great craft beer brands here like New Belgium or Sierra Nevada. So craft beer is being sold, it’s just not local.”

So to create a beer scene, there has to be local beer – and that’s something that Bryant has tried to change. Indeed, since he has moved to Spokane, 15 new breweries have sprouted up within a 40-mile radius of the city.

“Spokane has wanted this to happen,” said Greg Brandt, the co-founder of Iron Goat Brewing, which opened in 2012.

“When John Bryant came to town, it got people excited and it opened the door for a lot of us to step in and start brewing professionally,” he said. “Now, I think people are finally starting to take pride in local craft beer.”

Around town, there are signs that both on and off-premise retailers are investing behind the continued growth of the craft segment. Gary Gill, the owner of JB’s Bottleworks, recently added 30 feet of cooler space and a growler filling station with 20 draft lines.

“There is a high demand for craft beer,” he said. “I carry about 3,000 different beers now, and it’s almost 45 percent of my total sales.”

In the downtown area, the Post Street Ale House has changed its menu to accommodate more local products.

“Four years ago, there were a lot of domestic brands on tap,” said Lloyd Keehner, the restaurant’s general manager “Since then, we have changed what we carry. Our vision was always to be an ale house with local craft beers. Now we can focus on having those types of beers on draft.”

Keehner said that overall beer sales represent about 38 percent of the restaurant’s business, of which about 75 percent comes from craft.

A Civic Effort To help galvanize the group of new brewers, Bryant and the other local owners have recently created the Inland Northwest Ale Trail – an informational guide and map featuring 16 craft breweries in Spokane and Western Idaho.

That guide and map also features another important part of growing the association between the area and its brewers: Visit Spokane, the city’s primary programmatic arm for tourism promotion, contributed $13,000 of grant funding for the development of the Ale Trail.

“The craft breweries are something of an asset that we feel is promotable,” said Tim Robinson, the director of communication for Visit Spokane. “The scene has matured and there is something going on here that we want to share.”

Craft’s growth hasn’t gone unnoticed

by Spokane’s mayor, David Condon.

“We are having this resurgence in our neighborhood business districts,” he said of the influx of new breweries.

“As a mayor, you want to create identity in your neighborhoods. I think it [craft] is a great opportunity for us.

Typically, craft brewers are very involved in the community and it can bring back that excitement.”

But to bring the excitement, you’ve got to spread the word, which is where another joint effort between Bryant and Visit Spokane has come into play: they teamed up in late summer to invite beer journalists – like us at Brewbound, as well as freelancers like Kendall Jones, who covers the growing Washington beer industry – to visit Spokane and look at the developing beer culture.

While there is plenty of evidence to suggest that that culture is brewing in Spokane, Greg Brandt, Co-Founder of Iron Goat Brewing Jones said it still lags behind Papazian, who visits many communities some of the country’s more developed across the country and samples beer from beer metropolises. small brewers said he was impressed with “I’d say it is catching up,” Jones said. the quality of beer coming from the Spo“Right now, Spokane might be a little kane area during his own recent visit. bit behind the curve and I think that “When I visit breweries, I am tasting some have some work to do. Ultimately, I think craft beer needs to be established beer as fresh as it could possibly be,” he said. “Everything I tried was pretty good, as part of the reason why people come but making good beer and serving it at to Spokane. There are reasons why peothe brewery is one thing. Making sure it ple visit Bend or Hood River and craft can survive all of the conditions between beer is a part of that. Spokane needs to you and the customer will be the chalembrace the brewery business and have lenge of technology.” it become part of its identity.”

Still, he said, there’s precedent – and But it’s going to take more money, more inspiration – that can be drawn from the knowledge, and even more effort. towns that have pulled it off.

“I notice it a lot in the brewing “I would say that towns like Grand Rapindustry and everywhere I go,” Jones ids or Asheville or Portland, Maine, in last said. “Some of the brewers in Seattle 5-to-7 years have all come from nowhere to have done a fantastic job of getting the being some place,” in the beer world, said funding they need to grow, but in other Papazian. “Spokane can do it as well.” places it’s been problematic.”

“I would guess that Spokane isn’t roarIn Spokane, Jones added, “Some of the ing back from the economic depression businesses were underfunded. But there but it is coming back slowly,” he added. “If are people in Spokane, like John Bryant, there was a thriving beer scene, it wouldn’t who know what it takes to grow a busisurprise me to see it become a beer destiness. Hopefully he passes on some of his knowledge to other breweries in the area.” nation. It is a beautiful place to hang out.”

36 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

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BACK IN THE 1990s, I DID A LOT OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, from hours sitting behind a one-way window studying focus groups, visiting countless consumers in their homes (yes, at any point, you could hear a knock on your door and it would be me, asking to look in your refrigerator) to large quantitative Attitude and Usage studies delivering hundreds of pages of data tables.

Looking back on that experience (and with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight), two general observations can be made: *First, people in general were genuinely excited by the idea that they could get more from their beverages. They were eager and ready to embrace beverages that were primarily useful products , and “brands.” *Second, Carbonated Soft Drinks, while comfortable and convenient, were becoming irrelevant.

And that was back in the age of Snapple. Now, the twentyfirst century drinker is looking for even more. That is, a more engaging drinking experience; exotic tastes, natural ingredients, healthier attributes, and more functional potential.

Now it seems all very simple: That research experience presaged all of the biggest successes, from functional fortification in a less sweet beverage leading to Vitaminwater to more energy for modern life equalling Red Bull.

38 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

At the time, though it was a challenge to dimensionalize what “more healthy” or “more energy” would mean. In 2013 these changes have gelled into specific categories, segments and brands – and the industry continues to push the boundaries of beverage innovation further.

In the October edition of Bevnet Magazine, we discussed the issues and challenges that CSDs face. Now, lets examine the opportunities that will be presented in the New World.

A note on the following needs and segments: If you work inside the beverage industry, it is very easy to think of the beverage business in high-walled, monolithic categories. We keep scorecard terms of Tea vs. Tea, Water vs. Water, etc. In reality the consumer interactions between categories have become more fluid (pun not intended). Even in the most sophisticated organizations, it is a challenge to stay consumer-centric. So while we’re looking at how opportunity might appear, consider a broader competitive set based on how consumers behave rather than just the close-in competition as you build your brand. Especially as categories bleed attributes functionally across lines, selling attributes may be drawn from a variety of categories as well.

BOTTLED WATER

2012 Size $14B 2018 Projection $19B Projected Growth Rate 6%

JUICES/JUICE-BASED DRINKS

2012 Size $10B 2018 Projection $11B Projected Growth Rate 2%

SEGMENT DYNAMICS:

SEGMENT DYNAMICS:

The consumer perception that “water is water” is fading as new hydration innovations appear. For the past 20 years, most consumers and the mainstream media have taken the approach that there would be no difference between municipal water from a home faucet, or an expensive source water.

Within the category, low-priced commodity water dominates with 90% of the revenue. But there are interesting opportunities at the premium end of the market. Today, consumers can increasingly taste the difference, and are willing to pay for better, more convenient water, as well as water that fulfills a functional expectation.

Juices and Juice Drinks were the creative vanguard of the New Age Beverage movement twenty years ago. Consumer interest in better-tasting juice consumed away from breakfast drove considerable growth.

The big companies identified this opportunity early, leveraging traditional juice-oriented brands and adding some of the more exciting juice brands to their portfolios. Over the past decade/ dozen years, Naked Juice was acquired by Pepsi to join Tropicana, and Coca-Cola acquired Odwalla, and created Simply Orange to accompany Minute Maid.

Today, it is amazing how Eliot’s Amazing Apple Juice, Snapple Mango Madness and the promise of Fruitopia seem dated today.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Beyond exotic source waters in glamorous packages (Fiji, Voss, Evian) multiple brands are building the functional water space: The current dominant brands – Vitaminwater and Smartwater have created the profitable and growing “Premium Hydration” sub-category, an opportunity for more innovation and creativity.

Largely unflavored, all unsweetened, sometimes more functional but all with a high-quality appearance, some examples would be: Balance Water, which adds interesting flower essences for functionality; Hint, which is focused on fruit-flavored, unsweetened water; Wat-ahh, which is bringing additional functionality to kid-focused waters and Essentia Alkaline Water, now the leading brand in the natural channel.

ENERGY DRINKS

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Mainstream juice product declines are being offset by the growth of a “New Wave” of premium juice offerings. These segments are fighting to convince retailers of their right to retail presence and to establish their offerings with consumers.

Juices are a segment full of activity. Formerly sleepy segments like lemonades are being re-imagined by upstart brands, and new opportunities like coconut water are blurring juice together with hydration & sports drinks, while aloe drinks, turmeric beverages and cherry juice are positioning against inflammation.

Those naturally functional products are joining a new set of even higher-priced premium products like cleanses and smoothies made with HPP technology.

2012 Size $10.0B 2018 Projection $13B Projected Growth Rate 6% SEGMENT DYNAMICS: 32% Annual Growth rate for the past decade has taken Energy Drinks from rounding error to $10 billion in revenue. While the current rate of growth will slow, Energy Drinks will be a significant driver in the New World, despite food politics and premium pricing.

The U.S. category is dominated by four brands (Red Bull, Monster, 5 Hour Energy and Rockstar) who have withstood competitive entries from all the big beverage companies, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs. Most of these entries lacked any differentiation, and then discovered that the high gross margins of the segment created a set of aggressive competitors who battle for every facing in every account.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Interestingly, the energy need is broadening from blue collar males to mainstream consumers, from soccer moms to stay at home dads and baby boomers. These new energy drinkers are asking for “more natural” and “less scary” energy. A challenging place for the big four brands to play.

“Non-stimulant” forms of energy may also be an opportunity. However, getting consumers to believe that they have greater endurance as a result of such a drink has traditionally proved to be a challenge.

So, now the battle is on to find a way meet the demands of these late comers to the energy party.

SPORTS DRINKS

2012 Size $7B 2018 Projection $9B Projected Growth Rate 3% SEGMENT DYNAMICS: There is no doubt that consumers seek a beverage that can help them perform better at sports. And for thirty years Gatorade delivered that advantage. Today, if you are serious about sports, you are serious about sports nutrition, and about understanding your optimal balance of hydration, nutrition and fuel.

Gatorade responded to this by developing the Prime, Perform and Recover three-stage system in 2011, but that strategy has proven difficult to execute and has gradually been dropped, returning to advertising-driven imagery of success to sustain the brand. It’s been an interesting test case for consumers’ supposed interest in true functionality and the limits of an established brand.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Similar to the rapidity of progress made in technology, scientific knowledge of Sports Nutrition is moving forward quickly. Take a walk to your local Vitamin Shoppes or GNC and you will see new products being commercialized against this new knowledge.

Are these all game-changing ideas? Well, no. But there may be the next great idea already sitting on these shelves.

In the past year, Beetroot Juice has received a lot of press due to its ability to improve endurance. Caffeine, once the nemesis of performance due to its diuretic impact on the body, now has NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 39

received interesting scholarship related to its ability to impact muscle recovery. Protein is still predominantly used in powder form, but Muscle Milk has led the way into RTD products. It will continue to be a referendum on how consumers view liquid protein: of the $3 billion or so spent on all protein supplement products estimated (powders, bars and beverages) only about $500 million comes in an RTD beverage form.

RTD TEA & RTD COFFEE

2012 Size $6B 2018 Projection $8.1B Projected Growth Rate 4%

At Cadbury, one of my roles included reviewing brands seeking distribution through our Route To Market. I will always remember reviewing Kombucha the first time: So different from what was on the shelf, but so alien to the mainstream taste profile.

It is from this space the next big opportunity could emerge.

There are a host of physical needs that may be targeted: Brain health, bone health, anti-anxiety, appetite suppression, sexual health, etc. Certainly, there has been a focus on beverages that could be snacks, as consumers eat fewer sit-down meals and get nutrition on the go.

WHERE WILL WE BE IN 2018?

SEGMENT DYNAMICS: It might be surprising, but alongside energy drinks, the other big success of the 00’s was the growth of RTD Tea, which more than doubled in size as a segment. The perfect combination of positive media coverage on the health benefits of tea, the development of value alternatives and super-premium propositions stretched the consumer perception of what tea could be.

While Snapple was the originator of better-tasting, fruitflavored hot-filled tea, it has been AriZona that has broadened demand and become the powerhouse brand in the category driven by its great packaging, mainstream innovation (largely flavor-based, like the Half and Half phenomenon) and highvelocity everyday pricing.

At the same time Honest Tea has been the first example of a tea brand with its roots in the natural retail channel that has jumped into mainstream acceptance… weathering even the brand’s sale to Coca Cola.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? RTD Tea is simple, healthy refreshment with enviable consumer acceptance. AriZona has found a way to build a massive tea brand in a way similar to how Coke and Pepsi established themselves: Great value and retail presence. That path will continue to present an opportunity for the company.

In the past few months there has been increasing amount of research identifying the interest of the millennial generation in teas. The combination of low-calorie allied with great taste allied with tea’s healthy halo is attractive to this generation.

As a result, the market for high-priced, on-premise tea is expanding: Argo Tea is growing, Starbuck’s bought Tevana, and David’s Tea in Canada is growing too. An RTD brand that can capture this momentum would have a big opportunity.

DAIRY AND OTHER BEVERAGES

2012 Size $2.5B 2018 Projection $3.3B Projected Growth Rate 5% SEGMENT DYNAMICS: From Muscle Milk to Nestle Quik to Kombucha, the “all other” space is the diverse frontier of new beverage ideas. When truly original and different beverages are created, they often come from this space.

Starting a new category is both a blessing and a curse. While retailers appreciate the differentiation, there is a challenge to figure out where to merchandise the new brand, how the new brand grows the marketplace, and the right pricing.

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In answering this question, take a step back five years to 2008: No coconut water to speak of, no HPP juice, and protein beverages were just becoming mainstream. Those are three big opportunities that became multi-million dollar categories. Now, the leap forward of the next five years promises to be even more significant, because the decline of CSDs that these columns center around will create even more opportunities for “white space” beverage innovations.

Consumers are more open to different beverages concepts then ever before. They expect new ideas and are willing to give them a chance -- if the proposition is relevant to them, and has an acceptable taste. That’s great news for the beverage developer – but be warned, consumers are also quick to identify anything inauthentic or copy-cat.

The other big challenges will be born of the proliferation of new product categories, brands, flavors and packages.

It will be tougher to cut through the clutter. Having a great product and great brand will not be enough. New brands will be even more innovative at generating trial, building awareness and maintaining loyalty with their consumers.

The current set of tactics that an emerging brand can employ is pretty standard: The first wave is social media allied with instore sampling, event sampling, and guerilla sampling. As brands become bigger, event sponsorships and celebrity endorsements come into play along with building PR capability. These are the hard yards that every brand since Snapple has employed to get to scale. It will be interesting to see if someone creative can break this paradigm and build a whole new approach.

The greater proliferation will also likely have an impact on the time horizon that brands will need to build success. More obstacles, and more pressure from competitors will push out the length of time needed -- and the more time needed for success, the greater the levels of investment and resources that will be needed to support a new venture.

So, this is the New World: Fewer CSD’s, more alternative beverages, and an accelerated rate of innovation. But to quote Gen Norman Schwartkopf, “Strategy is for amateurs, logistics are for professionals.” Building a beverage brand requires thousands of tiny wins, every day, from the distributor’s warehouse to the retail shelf to the consumer’s lips. That’s what we’ll look at in our next analysis of this New World: its impact on the industry that surrounds beverages: The impact on beverage businesses, distributors and retailers.

With Growth, Gourmet Soda Brings a Second Wave

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN The stigma is receding. The notion of bubbles isn’t so bad. From the gourmet to the Stevia generation, fewer products are afraid to fizz.

Even as sprawling soda giants like Coke and Pepsi have seen overall volume declines, existing gourmet products like Fentiman’s, Reed’s, GuS, Fever Tree, Maine Root and Q Tonic have all ridden the expansion of the natural and specialty channel to increasing sales, while the first Stevia-sweetened CSD brand, Zevia, has vaulted into a top-20 spot in some supermarkets recently.

Even Honest Tea jumped into the fray last year with Honest Fizz.

“I think it’s growing in sort of the same way that craft beer is growing,” said Tom First, who is a board member of Bruce Cost Ginger Ale. “It’s about quality drinks. And if you’re the quality player in a category where things are big, you can really make a dent.”

Just as a few survivors of the early craft beer boom – the Stones, the Sierras, the Sams – were able to clear the field for a new generation of brewers, so too is a new group of soda makers popping back up into view, either incorporating the natural sweetener Stevia or else recombining other product types like tea or lemonade into their branding. Like that new crop of craft brewers following

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Lagunitas or New Belgium into the breach, the new soda makers can learn the lessons of the ones who came before.

“I think it’s been sticking with it,” that has led to his company’s growth, said Craig James, the CEO of Fentiman’s North America. “We’ve had to accept there will be some parts of the market where the product doesn’t sell, while focusing on the parts of the market where it does.”

There are parallel trends that may be driving the flight to quality: on the one hand, there are restaurants making their own sodas, consumers enjoying the option to make their own fizzy drinks at home via contraptions like the SodaStream, and boutiques like the Fizzary opening in San Francisco; on the other, there’s Sparkling Ice and its knockoffs, which have reinforced an industry’s belief that bubbles, in one form or another, still sway shoppers.

But mostly, according to James, it’s that tastes have matured for shoppers in two key channels: on-premise accounts like restaurants and bars (the same places where craft beer and cocktails have thrived) and in natural and specialty stores.

“There’s an interesting dichotomy out there with consumers,” James said. “The kids what technology, what the modern world can offer them, but they’re sitting in the cool cafes sipping on funky sodas or gourmet teas,” that have a throwback feel.

At Veri, which relies on a stevia/cane sugar blend for a fourflavor lineup, a former commodities trader who specialized in the cocoa bean named Zeger van Hovell is trying to win organic consumers. He recently launched nationally through UNFI. While it might seem counterintuitive to use a CSD as a vehicle to create a broader understanding of how organic products can improve the environment, that’s just what van Hovell is doing.

“We wanted to be in the most mainstream product as possible while creating a product I could let my kids drink without any guilt,” he said.

While losing guilt is one motivation, losing weight is another – and it’s the reason that flavor chemist Bill Sabo and actor/environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. teamed up to create Begley’s and Bill’s, a craft soda that uses erythritol and a rare form of Stevia known as Reb-D. Sabo had a heart attack a few years back and was forced to cut sugar out of his diet – but he’s also a master flavorist, owner of Nature’s Flavors, the largest online seller of organic flavors in the country. So over a two-year period, he came up with a broad assortment of old-time soda flavors running from cherry cola and strawberry to Bananas Foster and root beer.

“What caused my heart attack was eating and drinking too much sugar,” Sabo said. “I needed to change things.”

Other companies try to bridge the gap.

“When you look at carbonated, you can go for flavor or for healthy,” said Wonny Kim, the founder of Chai Elixir, who recently launched a line of carbonated chai sodas in Oklahoma City. “I wanted to create a viable soda alternative and revitalize the space.”

One other company trying to change things is Motto, a sparkling matcha tea-based drink that uses honey and agave to keep its calorie count low while incorporating carbonation.

“We’re more of a functional health drink,” said co-founder Tom Olcott. “The fact that we’re sparkling just lightens up the flavor a bit.”

But, added his partner, Henry Crosby, “We think the category itself is evolving.”

BRAND NEWS

Gourmet CSDs

Green Bee Soda continues to hand craft its

artisanal sodas in Maine and sweeten them exclusively with local honey. This year, Green Bee released its Blueberry Dream flavor, which is made with fresh-pressed wild Maine blueberries. The company also recently expanded its distribution reach to include New York City. Green Bee products are also available at Whole Foods and retailers throughout New England.

Q Drinks released a line of sparkling citrus sodas, featuring Q Lemon, Q Orange and Q Grapefruit, this summer at Whole Foods stores across the country and at select restaurants such as Untitled at the Whitney Museum and the Surrey Hotel. The beverages are made with real lemons, oranges and grapefruits and are lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar. The ingredients provide Q Drinks with twice the citrus flavor and half the sugar and calories compared to San Pellegrino’s Limonata line, according to the company.

Oogavé recently launched a new line of allnatural diet soda called LoCa. The company markets LoCa as a solution to what it deems as the “foul tasting” stevia sodas in the marketplace. LoCa has 10 calories and contains organic agave nectar and stevia that doesn’t have an overly strong aftertaste, according to the company. LoCa comes in three flavors: LoCa Cola, Root Beer and Ginger. Oogavé has secured placements for the beverage in Whole Foods in Northern California and The Fresh Market.

OPA! Originals, Inc., will supply its allnatural, anise-flavored soda, Ouzon, to select Wegmans stores in the fourth quarter of 2013. Ouzon was a featured gourmet beverage in the seasonal Mediterranean Market at Cost Plus World Market this past summer.

The beverage is inspired by Ouzo, an aniseflavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece. Ouzon is handcrafted with pure cane sugar, USDA-certified organic star anise and triple-filtered sparkling water.

such as Whole Foods and Nugget, healthfood stores and yoga studios, Silk Road Soda has expanded its footprint into upperechelon restaurants and bars, according to the company, where it is used as a mixer or a non-alcoholic alternative for clientele.

Bruce Cost Ginger Ale’s 66 has just started to hit retail shelves. As indicated by its name, the beverage has 66 calories, about 100 fewer calories than Bruce Cost Original. Bruce Cost, who creates all of the company’s flavors, uses monk fruit in place of most of the sugar. This version is drier with a bit more tang than the original soda and little aftertaste, according to the company.

HOTLIPS Soda introduces Ginger Ale made

from organic Hawaiian ginger and also containing pure cane sugar and filtered sparkling water. Like all HOTLIPS Soda, the Ginger Ale is made in Portland, Ore., using traditional artisanal methods to produce an allnatural, small-batch product that warms the mouth with a lingering spice and no cloying sugary sweetness, according to the company.

The root in the Ginger Ale is grown at Kauai Organic Farms in Kauai, Hawaii.

Boylan Bottling has decided to bring back its Shirley Temple flavor, the company’s second-ever release, as a spring seasonal offering in 2014. All Boylan sodas are sweetened with pure cane sugar, never high fructose corn syrup. According to the company, its products are distributed in premium beverage sections of prominent supermarkets and thrive in fast-casual and high-end food service locations throughout the U.S. DRY Soda recently announced its largest

Silk Road Soda is a certified-organic

distribution agreement with The Kroger Company to launch its new line of cans in 1,350 stores across the U.S. As part of the agreement, DRY launched two Krogerexclusive flavors: Cherry and Pear. This news comes on the heels of the launch of DRY’s new packaging in cans, which occurred in July when the company also launched Ginger DRY and Apple DRY.

Mediterranean-style beverage that comes in three flavors: Pomegranate-Mint, Pear-Mint and top-seller Cucumber-Mint. All three flavors are pasteurized, have a light apple cider and white vinegar base and contain light carbonation and no caffeine or preservatives.

Initially sold to higher-end grocery stores

VIGNETTE Wine Country Soda is shipping into all Cost Plus World Market stores and into approximately 100 H-E-B stores just in time for the holiday season, according to the company. The company also launched its 750 mL varieties in Wegmans stores earlier this year.

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Brooklyn Soda Works makes its sparkling

The Ginger People, which sources Peru-

Apple & Ginger flavor with fresh-pressed apple juice from the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York, fresh ginger juice, a touch of lemon juice and no added sugar. The company works with local farmers whenever possible and makes its sparkling juices and small-batch sodas fresh weekly, using highquality fruit, herbs and spices, never syrups or artificial flavors. The company recommends its beverages, which are available only in New York City, as a healthy alternative to commercially-made sodas and as a cocktail mixer.

vian ginger from the Amazon rainforest for its Lemon Ginger Beer, recently changed to a 12 oz. glass bottle so consumers could see its new recipe. Unfiltered to capture all of the flavor and aroma, the ginger beer, which comes in 4-packs, has a cloudy, moreartisanal appearance. The flavor combines the spicy zing of ginger with the fresh tang of lemon to produce a refreshing and light fruit finish, according to the company. The Ginger People also suggest mixing the Lemon Ginger Beer in cocktails.

Hockey Soda Beverage Co. will launch its flagship soda-infused energy drink, Hockey Soda Energy, in Canada in late December.

Also, the company is in talks with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox to sponsor their Frozen Fenway event that includes professional, college and minor league hockey events played outdoors at Fenway Park in Boston during a two-week span in January.

Hockey Soda’s cola-citrus blend is combined with other functional ingredients such as LGlutamine for muscle recovery. According to the company, the beverage can be used before workouts and games for energy and stamina or after workouts and games for recovery.

Blumers Sodas, which are made at the 167-year-old Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wis., now uses cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup in its five flavors: Root Beer, Orange Cream, Black Cherry, Blueberry Cream and Cream Soda. The company’s kegs of root beer are also now made with cane sugar.

GuS Soda, which stands for Grown-up Soda, has expanded its distribution network in the Pacific Northwest by adding Unified Grocers, UNFI and DSD house Van Go Distributors in Seattle. GuS, which makes less sweet, natural sodas, has added more ginger and spice to its best-selling Ginger Ale.

Faygo’s 12 oz., old-fashioned glass bottles comes in six flavors: Root Beer, Rock & Rye, Creme Soda, Redpop, Orange and Grape. All six flavors are made with cane sugar.

Fentimans Botanically Brewed Beverages, which were recently granted a “Hall of Fame” review from The San Francisco Chronicle, are not just soft drinks. The line of all-natural, craft brewed and fermented sodas are also mixers for spirits. Fentimans Tonic Water is infused with lemongrass, cane sugar and the sharp, woodsy aroma of quinine.

Cool Mountain Beverages has released

The PoP Shoppe, which was founded in

1969, has reformulated its line of sodas by using pure cane sugar. The PoP Shoppe’s product line, which is available at premium retailers across the U.S. and Canada, includes Lime Ricky, Cream Soda, Orange, Black Cherry, Grape, Pineapple, Cola and Root Beer.

Joia All Natural Soda, which contains fruit, herb and spice combinations that aren’t overly sweet, has recently expanded to the West Coast with distribution in Whole Foods Markets in Southern and Northern California, Sprouts, Raley’s, Bristol Farms and other independent natural and up-and-down-thestreet accounts via natural and DSD distributors. The company has also increased its national footprint via Cost Plus World Markets.

a new mix-and-match 4-pack that comes in a package with a swirl of colors. The swirl reinforces the sweet, bold and beautiful tastes of the gourmet sodas, according to the company. The sodas are also available in Kegerators for caterers and can be purchased on the company’s website and in stores in the U.S. and Malaysia.

Jones Soda Co. has introduced a new name

for its natural products line: Jones Stripped.

The line, which has 30 calories per bottle, is sweetened with a blend of pure cane sugar, organic agave syrup and stevia. After succeeding in select California markets in 2013, Jones Stripped will roll out with an expanded flavor lineup in Canada and other western markets, including the Pacific Northwest, in 2014.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 45

Probiotics Are On Their Way

By Max Rothman

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We’re near the end of the fuzzy era.

Near the end of questionable claims shrouded in colorful flavors, turning quickly into millions of dollars, sometimes hundreds of millions. Near the end of the days when Vitaminwater and Sobe sprinkle mystery vitamins and herbs and consumers drink them, satisfied, complacent, knowing that somehow they’re improving their well being.

According to Debbie Wildrick, beverage industry veteran and consultant, more and more often, consumers are starting to ask questions. Whether it’s for their swelling waistline, their actual health or their Instagram account, that’s not for us to say. But they’re probing the labels and not settling for hollow promises. They want results backed by science. They want noticeable change from their own research.

Wildrick and others in the beverage industry believe that these consumer actions, increasing by the day, could bring a category such as probiotics, with its growing number of products and its still questionable but increasingly credible benefits, from the shadows of the natural channel to the radiance and potential of the other aisles. As it so often goes with developing categories, a lack of widespread awareness could be the only aspect hindering the spread of probiotic beverages.

“I would certainly say that it’s a trend that is on its way up, which will move it more into mainstream,” Wildrick said.

THE FOUNDATION While the category hasn’t yet broken out, a substantial, diverse list of established brands touting probiotics as their primary feature have already hit the shelves.

Lifeway Kefir, a yogurt-like smoothie, has been in business since 1986 and displays the word “probiotic” on the front of its flagship offering, Original Kefir.

Because of its firm footing in the industry, Lifeway has expanded its Kefir products into a wide array of probiotic lines, including Organic Kefir, Organic Whole Milk, Helios Kefir and Organic Green Kefir, to name a few.

Another well-regarded beverage in the category is KeVita, a sparkling probiotic drink. Similar to a natural-channel version of industry darling Sparkling ICE, KeVita combines a sparkling beverage with, in many of its SKUs, fruit flavors commonly found in teas and lemonades. KeVita is also certified organic, non-dairy, nonGMO, gluten free and vegan.

In 2008, Naked Juice released a pair of probiotic smoothies: Very Berry and Tropical. These exact SKUs, which served as perhaps the first mainstream attempt for probiotic beverages, have since been discontinued. However, among its multicategorical line, Naked does currently sell Probiotic Machine Tropical Mango, another juice smoothie, but it’s far from a primary focus for the company.

GoodBelly, a probiotic fruit drink, is another dairy-free option that features several flavors one might find with teas and lemonades, such as mango, lemon ginger and pomegranate blackberry. Unlike other probiotic beverages, such as

KeVita, GoodBelly uses just one strain of probiotics: lactobacillus plantarum. GoodBelly CEO Alan Murray said that after a long line of testimonials and clinical studies, he believes in this probiotic. He also said that it does just fine by itself, without the help of other strains. As he comically explained, more isn’t always better.

“If you put all nice people in a room together, they might not all get on,” Murray said.

Also chipping into the probiotics category is kombucha, a developing category in its own right. GT’s Kombucha has long been the dominant leader in the space, however other brands have begun seizing market share, such as Reed’s Culture Club Kombucha, Kombucha Wonder Drink and Búcha Live.

Ron Lloyd, the CEO of Búcha Live, said that antioxidants from the tea serve their own purpose, however the active ingredients in kombucha are the probiotics — the real workhorse in the beverage that fights what he dubs “sour stomach.” He also called kombucha the original probiotic.

“That’s one of the reasons why this category still has staying power after all these years and gaining momentum,” Lloyd said.

A DEBATABLE SCIENCE Despite augmenting progress in the market for probiotic beverages, Jason Mitchell, the director of science for MetaBrand, holds a rather significant qualm.

The probiotic bacteria in these beverages, he said, probably doesn’t survive long enough to deliver on all the promises of a label. While the beverage could still help the immune system, he said that it’s not going to do much for digestive health.

CONSUMERS ARE STARTING TO ASK QUESTIONS. THEY’RE PROBING THE LABELS AND NOT SETTLING FOR HOLLOW PROMISES. – Debbie Wildrick, Consultant –

“Delivering a probiotic in a beverage, in a traditional beverage format, is right now not very possible,” Mitchell said.

That’s because the nature of making a beverage is antibacterial and, thus, the idea of a probiotic beverage is almost counter-intuitive at this time, he said.

Cold-pressed juices have become one of the fastest-growing beverage categories in the industry. However, Mitchell said that the cold-press process, for juice or any other beverage type, requires preservatives that quickly kill the bacteria. A heating process creates the same result.

Mitchell argues that the idea of a probiotic beverage, in its most effective format — altering pH and defeating other bacteria and pathogens — remains nearly a paradox.

“All the ways they do beverages either add something that kills it or the process itself kills bacteria,” he said.

Many people will tell you that probiotics are delicate, Mitchell said, but perhaps not as delicate as they may suggest. Most

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THE PROBIOTIC BACTERIA IN THESE BEVERAGES PROBABLY DOESN’T SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO DELIVER ON ALL THE PROMISES OF A LABEL. WHILE THE BEVERAGE COULD STILL HELP THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, IT’S NOT GOING TO DO MUCH FOR DIGESTIVE HEALTH. DELIVERING A PROBIOTIC IN A BEVERAGE, IN A TRADITIONAL BEVERAGE FORMAT, IS RIGHT NOW NOT VERY POSSIBLE. – Jason Mitchell, Director of Science for MetaBrand –

probiotic beverages use bacillus coagulans (BC), a durable type of bacteria that is still understudied but could have the ability to boost the immune system and mitigate harmful bacteria. BC has a heavy coat that protects it against the effects of heat and moisture, which, as stated before, can instantly kill other bacteria.

“Short of lighting it on fire, you can keep it pretty much alive,” Mitchell said.

KeVita, for example, names four bacteria on its label: lactobacillus paracasei, lactobacillus plantarum, lactobacillus rhamnosus and a form of BC. Mitchell said that he hasn’t tested the product because it would likely be a waste of time and money. However, if he did, he said that of those four bacteria, only BC would be alive.

“The lactobacillus rhamnosus has been dead for a while,” Mitchell said. “As soon as they bottled it, it’s dead.”

Even with BC’s stability, he’s not entirely sure how much it helps the functions of the digestive system. With such an impenetrable coat, Mitchell said that BC could be crowding out parts of the immune system and negating its original purpose.

Finding a greater balance, a bacteria with greater efficacy in tablets, and, after some research and development, maybe even in beverages, has become Mitchell’s greatest task. He likened it to tracking down the holy grail.

“To isolate something that’s microscopic,” he said, “how do you do it?”

Murray, however, thinks that the search has at least temporarily ended. He said that, on the contrary, probiotic beverage companies have already done enough on the developmental side. He doesn’t believe that the beverages need to be more effective.

“I don’t buy into that,” he said.

Instead, Murray has his sights on that typical mountain that sits before emerging categories — the educational process.

MAINSTREAM PLANS Far removed from her sultry role in Trading Places, Jamie Lee Curtis has spent the past few years hawking Activia, a probiotic yogurt.

This, Wildrick said, has helped consumers who don’t already suffer from digestive issues to at least hear the word “probiotics,” but that doesn’t mean they understand it yet.

She said that consumers are so accustomed to taking antibiotics that they don’t know much about probiotics. The same could once be said for antioxidants.

“You need to turn probiotics into a buzzword, very similar to the way that POM Wonderful did [for] antioxidants,” Wildrick said.

POM took a feature, antioxidants, combined it with a benefit, heart health, and created a widespread understanding.

She said that this understanding could be replicated with probiotics, the feature, and digestive health, the benefit. She also said that she’d like to see more research on the effect of probiotics on the immune system

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as a whole. However, as seen by recent lawsuits filed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against Yoplait and Dannon, you’ve got to walk a fine line.

This explains why GoodBelly markets digestive health instead of talking about the immune system.

Even with the tight labeling language, Murray said that he’s pleased with his company’s growth. GoodBelly can be found nationwide in Kroger, King Soopers, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Safeway, Raley’s, Harris Teeter and, in the natural channel, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Fresh Market and Vitamin Cottage. He said that according to data from SPINS, a market research provider on natural and specialty products, GoodBelly has increased sales volume in the refrigerated juices and functional beverages category by 22 percent, year-to-date ending on Sept. 28.

Yet despite the national footprint and the encouraging growth figures, Murray also doesn’t think that mainstream consumers have reached a high level understanding probiotics, even if this country may need the benefits of probiotics more than any other.

“I don’t think Americans enjoy talking about digestive issues too much,” he said.

Similar to Wildrick, he also said that probiotics haven’t fully matured an identity on the shelf. In some stores, GoodBelly sits next to juices. In others, especially those in the natural channel, it sits next to yogurts and yogurt drinks. However, he thinks that experimentation by retailers and consumers could mold the identity into a more mature state.

He also believes that, alongside the credible word of medical practitioners, gastroenterology doctors and nursing assistants, marketing efforts, such as GoodBelly’s 12-day challenge, which has surveyed thousands of consumers and tallied an approximately 83 percent success rate, could go a long way in helping the mainstream to not just understand probiotics, but also to trust the benefits.

GoodBelly doesn’t want consumers to change their habits. Rather, Murray wants consumers to upgrade their juice in the morning. He believes it’s a minor change with worthy benefits, and, if amplified to a national scale, across the entire category, it could yield massive results for probiotics.

“This,” Murray said, “is at the birth of an explosive growth.”

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BRAND NEWS

Probiotic Beverages

Revive drinks has released two new flavors, revive RED and revive GOLD, that follow “the OG,” an original black tea. revive RED, the company’s first herbal and caffeine-free offering, is a whole-flower hibiscus brew that is packed with antioxidants. revive GOLD is a 100 percent coffee kombucha with beans sourced from Blue Bottle Coffee. It has a robust yet delicate flavor profile and a low caffeine content, according to the company.

Both RED and GOLD are 100 percent raw, unpasteurized, vegan and rich with the same powerful probiotics, enzymes and organic acids as the OG. All flavors of revive kombucha are Fair Trade certified by Fair Trade USA, certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers and and Non-GMO verified by the Non-GMO Project. RED and GOLD are available in a 16 oz. swing-top bottle and a 64 oz. growler. Both sizes are part of revive drinks’ bottle exchanging program. A deposit is collected on every bottle to ensure that they are returned for reuse versus recycled or thrown away. RED and GOLD can be purchased at Whole Food Market locations and select natural and organic retailers throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Colorado.

KeVita, named one of the 25 most innovative consumer and retail brands in a Forbes column, has introduced two new flavors, Daily Cleanse Lemon Cayenne and Mojita, to its nine-flavor lineup of certified organic sparkling probiotic drinks. In the first eight months of distribution, the new SKUs have achieved the top two rankings in the KeVita portfolio.

KeVita continues to expand aggressively in key channels, including the recent launch in approximately 1,000 Kroger stores. With distribution in more than 5,000 doors nationwide, KeVita continues to post solid growth (up 100 percent year-over-year in all channels combined) in the functional beverage category.

High Country Kombucha is a probiotic fer-

mented tea with billions of probiotic flora that enhance the digestive process, according to the company. The beverage is cultured and bottled in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and packaged in amber glass, which protects the probiotics from harmful UV or fluorescent light found in most retail and grocery coolers. The kombucha, is produced with organic roots, herbs and juices, comes in 10 flavors: Original, Aloe, Ginger, Wild Root, Goji Berry, Elderberry Hibiscus, Rainforest Nectar, Groovy Grape, Tangerine Dream and Tropical Mist.

52 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Kombucha Brooklyn has launched its top

five kombucha flavors in new, rebranded 12 oz. bottles. The product, which is raw, unpasteurized and Orthodox Union and Organic certified, has been reformulated for better stability in refrigeration and a balanced flavor. Owners Jessica and Erica Childs have also released a book about kombucha, published by the Penguin Group.

TheBU Kombucha has unveiled a modern new look for its five organic, low-calorie flavors: Tropical, Melon, Lavender, Tangerine and Chai. TheBU is available at Sprouts, select Whole Foods stores and natural retailers across the country.

Tula’s CocoKefir recently co-branded a new

coconut kefir product in partnership with Body Ecology, Inc. of Playa Vista, Calif. The new product will be marketed as Body Ecology Coconut Kefir. Tula’s CocoKefir Young Coconut Kefir restores your body with the healthful benefits of live probiotics and raw nutrients, according to the company. The product is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, naturally low in sugar, fat free and low calorie.

Kickin’ Kombucha is a probiotic beverage with an emphasis on high quality teas and tisanes. Each bottle contains a blend of organically grown white, green, oolong, pu-erh and black teas in addition to yerba mate and green and red rooibos. Eight flavors are available year-round along with several seasonal offerings. Kickin’ Kombucha recently partnered with Green Shoots Distribution and is now available at participating Whole Foods Markets in the Southwest region.

Shaktea Kombucha, a family-run kombu-

cha and soda microbrewery, is committed to crafting fresh, living products that support, nourish, energize and taste delicious, according to the company. This November, Shaktea Kombucha will partner with 1% for the Planet and will donate 1 percent of revenue to projects that give children access to fresh whole foods in schools. The company’s six bottled flavors come in 12 oz. bottles, are certified USDA organic and available at more than 30 locations in Iowa.

GoodBelly StraightShot is the fastestgrowing non-dairy probiotic shot in the U.S. and the fastest growing GoodBelly 4-pack item in the natural channel, according to the

company. Created in response to consumer demand for a low-calorie, no-sugar-added GoodBelly probiotic beverage, StraightShot offers 20 billion live and active probiotic cultures per serving in a non-dairy oatmilk base.

The product, which comes in a 2.7 oz. bottle, has 30 calories and 3 grams of sugar per serving, and is certified organic, non-GMO, dairy-free, soy-free and vegan. GoodBelly products are available nationwide in Whole Foods, Safeway, Kroger, Sprouts, King Soopers, Ralph’s, The Fresh Market, Hannaford, Vitamin Cottage, Wegmans and more.

ALIV probiotic shots, recently launched, comes in a 3.92 oz. bottle and contains more than 50 billion live and active probiotic cultures. ALIV comes in three varieties: Digestive Health, Immune Health and Women’s Health. Each variety is made with specific probiotic strains that are clinically studied and FDA approved for their health benefits, according to the company. The products are currently available in Whole Foods in the Northeast, the Rocky Mountain region and Northern California.

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Zukay Live Foods, the makers of Beet Kvass and other vegetable-based, raw, fermented kvass beverages, has launched their Fruit Kvass line. These lightly sweet and nutrient-dense drinks come in four flavors: Melon Loves Mint, Berry Blend, Tropical Veggie Twist and Green Ginger Brew. All four flavors blend popular fruit flavors with vegetables to give the benefits of raw, fermented vegetables more mass appeal. The products are certified organic, naturally probiotic and low in sugar. These products, along with Zukay’s flagship Vegetable Kvasses, can be found in Whole Foods Mid-Atlantic, Earth Fare and natural food independent stores.

IBEX Drinkable Yogurt was launched by Skyland Foods this fall with a push into natural, specialty and gourmet stores in the MidAtlantic region, especially in its hometown of Washington D.C. IBEX is all-natural yogurt that delivers great taste, less sugar, functional health benefits and portable nutrition, according to the company. IBEX has also recently secured distribution with Green Shoots.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 53

Health-Ade Kombucha, a Los Angeles-

based brand, recently joined forces with First Beverage Group to boost its production capacity in the next three to five years.

Health-Ade prides itself on making an authentic kombucha that is still approachable to the new kombucha consumer, according to the company. Health-Ade supports cancer research by donating 10 percent of its Pomegranate sales to City of Hope, a non-profit research center.

Lifeway has released ProBugs Blast, an

organic, lowfat kefir smoothie for kids that comes in a 4-pack of 3.5 oz. bottles. The product aims to fill the void between the existing lines of ProBugs and kefir for adults.

The four SKUs, Peach Mango Moon, Strawberry Kiwi Comet, Grape Galaxy and Cherry Lime Supernova, follow a space and science theme for young, curious minds. The products are gluten free, 99 percent lactose free, GMO-free, and organic. They can be found at select Whole Foods, Target, H-E-B and other retailers. Lifeway has also gone Greek

with the release of Helios Greek Kefir, a new formulation with honey extra protein powder. The new line has a new flavor, Pear & Honey, which has the same probiotic, nonfat and organic features as the first generation of Helios kefir beverages. With the new line, the protein content has jumped from 12 grams to 16 grams per one cup serving. Aside from Original and Vanilla, all other flavors have also been infused with honey. This includes Coconut & Honey, Raspberry & Honey, Strawberry & Honey, Pomegranate-Blueberry & Honey and Honey varieties.

Reed’s, Inc. now brews eight flavors of its

Culture Club Kombucha. These long-aged products use organic ingredients, spring water and single-strength juices. They start by brewing oolong and yerba mate tea in spring water and are then sweetened with raw cane juice and combined with the kombucha culture. When the culture is done, the company blends in super fruits and herbs to create flavors such as Hibiscus Grapefruit Ginger, Goji Ginger and Coconut Water Lime Kombucha. The products are available nationwide and have become one of the topselling kombuchas in the country.

LIVE Kombucha Soda has revealed its new logo, label, crown and 8-pack box to establish its presence in the kombucha world by optimizing its brand. The rebranding was completed by PTARMAK, an Austin, Texas-based designer. The company features four flavors: Pure Doctor, which has notes of cherry, clove, caramel and molasses, Culture Cola, which borrows from the classic cola flavor, Revive Rootbeer, which is creamy and smooth and has notes of vanilla and sassafras, and Living Lemon, which is bright, fruity and zesty, according to the company. The product is also Non-GMO verified, USDA certified organic and Fair Trade certified.

Anne Payne’s Caveman Foods has repack-

aged their line of organic water kefirs, which are now sold under the brand name “Raw Tibicos.” Tibicos is the name of the culture used to brew their fermented beverage. The new packaging recently launched in Canada, where the drink is produced, and the company recently gained distribution through UNFI, Whole Foods and Costco in Canada. The company plans to launch in the U.S. in early 2014 with distribution through Albert’s Organics.

54 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

BY RAY LATIF

Zima was mocked, it’s true. Talk show

host David Letterman, for one, relentlessly lampooned the clear, lemon-lime flavored, lightly carbonated Coors product, often asking his audience, “What is this crap?”

Despite the vitriol, however, Zima’s national launch in 1994 was a spectacular – if short lived – coup.

Coors spent $38 million in advertising for the rollout of Zima, which it marketed as a refreshing alternative to beer, and by some estimates enticed 70 percent of regular drinkers to try the product. By the end of the year, Coors had sold 1.3 million barrels of Zima, and the brand

quickly seized an improbable 1.2 percent share of the beer market.

Zima, however, was never able to duplicate the magic of its first year. While Coors attracted a huge number of first time consumers of Zima, many of them never took another sip. Within a year of its launch, sales of the brand fell by half and plummeted another 38 percent by 1996. And although the brand had found a sustained following among young female drinkers, Zima – after a couple unsuccessful rebrands – was eventually discontinued in 2008.

Perhaps owing more to its remarkable rise than its ignominious fall, Zima has,

56 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

over the past 20 years, spawned dozens of similarly positioned products. The brand had a dramatic effect on the growth of flavored malt beverages and pointed to a weakening climate for domestic beer, a category that has endured alarming sales declines in recent years. With its sweeter taste, Zima paved the way (and offered critical insights on what worked and what didn’t) for successors including Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Twisted Tea and Smirnoff Ice, each of which feature an array of sweet, highly flavored and higher-alcohol beverages.

The products have resonated with a new generation of younger consumers, many of

whom say they don’t like the bitterness of beer, and – along with the booming craft beer and cider categories – are collectively capturing market share from massive domestic beer brands.

Reduced demand for domestic beer has caused a major shift in the overall alcoholic beverage market in both sales and innovation. A recent Nielsen report found that (outside of the booming craft beer segment) in 13 of the last 14 years, beer has lost U.S. alcohol market share to hard liquor and wine, and now comprises less than a 50 percent share. Spirits now encompass a 34.3 percent share of the overall market, driven by a wave of innovation via the introduction of new flavors and sweeter blends. Vodka, which has seen the addition of endless flavor infusions (from cucumber and jalapeno to whipped cream and even “birthday cake”) and, more recently, whiskey, where honey, maple and cinnamon flavors have flourished, are perhaps the clearest examples in which producers have been able to attract new consumers through sweeter and more intense offerings.

Faced with year-over-year volume declines of 1 percent from 2008 and 2012, and forecasts that the U.S. beer market could tumble another 3 percent in volume from 2013 and 2017, AnheuserBusch InBev (AB) and MillerCoors have gone back to the Zima playbook, investing heavily in new flavored malt beverages that mask the flavor of beer or, in recent years, make beer a proportionately equal or secondary ingredient. And while fusions like lemonade and beer (often referred to as a “shandy”) may be relatively new to the U.S., similar blends have long been consumed in global markets.

Recently, the category has seen surge in the number of cocktail blended drinks, including AB’s Bud Light Lime-a-Rita and Phusion Projects’ Loko Rita, in which beer is blended for the purposes of carbonation.

In each case, the companies position the drinks as malt-based alcoholic beverages with flavors, as opposed to beer, much in way that Zima was originally positioned.

Yes, they’re still mocked: In the 18 months since its debut, Bud Light LimeA-Rita has endured a steady stream of ridicule, disgust and, in some cases, flat-out rage by Internet scribes horrified by the blend of light beer, lime and margarita flavoring. One often-shared blog post about

the brand is titled “Why Your Bud Light Lime-A-Rita Is Goddamn Terrible.”

But just as the Justin Biebers of the world draw mockery while selling millions, so too have the Lime-a-Ritas. Web hate notwithstanding, the product has become one of the most successful beverage launches in recent memory, and, along with the recently launched Bud Light Brand

for consumers over multi-spirit iced teas and martinis.”

Moreover, the accessibility of Bud Light Lime-A-Rita as a ready to drink product addresses occasion-based demand for margaritas and offers convenience at places like beaches, where the transport of ingredients and blending equipment can be a considerably clunky endeavor.

Dollar Sales

PROGRESSIVE ADULT BEVERAGES

Change vs. year earlier

$1,551,637,000

30.13%

Bud Light Lime Brand Family

$424,308,300

314.02%

Mikes Hard Brand Family

$389,229,900

-0.98%

Smirnoff Ice Brand Family

$206,964,200

-7.70%

Four Loko Brand Family

$139,944,700

-4.79%

Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea Brand Family

$119,859,000

12.51%

Redds Brand Family

$94,607,160

348,122.66%

Smirnoff Premium Mixed Drinks Brand Family

$44,490,370

-2.74%

Sparks Brand Family

$25,318,900

-19.39%

Bacardi Silver

$18,684,300

-36.02%

Margaritaville Brand Family

$16,234,610

24.07%

SOURCE: Symphony/IRI Total food/drug/c-store/mass. 52 Weeks through 10/6/13

Lime Straw-Ber-Rita, recently approached $500 million in sales over a 52 week period ending on October 6, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Bud Light Lime ‘Rita beverages are now the top-selling products among all “progressive adult beverages,” a catchall name that IRI has given to the category, which also includes wine-based drinks and ready-to-drink frozen cocktails. Given the short time frame, it’s an incredible achievement, especially considering that the space has for years been dominated by the aforementioned Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice. Certainly, the prodigious marketing and distribution clout of AB was critical to the rapid growth of Bud Light Lime-A-Rita, yet, it appears that the timing of its launch was just as important. Consumers, particularly millennials, have increasingly sought out innovative and eclectic flavors in all aspects of their diets, a notion evidenced by a surge in demand for the tangy, savory taste offered by margarita cocktails.

“Margaritas were the clear cut adult beverage concoction winner throughout the 2013 summer season,” said Chuck Ellis, CEO and president of Restaurant Sciences LLC. “Margaritas’ versatility and extensive flavor variety held more appeal

Considering the barrels of cash that its Rita brand has produced for the company, it’s no surprise that AB is planning to roll out other flavors to the line – nor that rival producers are jumping into the fray.

AB recently introduced a new seasonal cranberry-flavored line extension called Bud Light Lime Cran-Berr-Rita and plans to bring a mango-flavored variety to the market next year. Meanwhile, Heineken is set to launch Dos Equis XX Dos-a-Rita, a product described as a “lager margarita,” in the coming weeks.

“Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita and Straw-Ber-Rita have been immensely popular among adult consumers, and we see a huge opportunity to experiment with the Ritas,” Pat McGauley, AB’s vice president of innovation, said in a statement.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 57

BRAND NEWS

Malternatives

Boston Beer Co. will launch its first Twisted Tea brand extension, Twisted Lemonade, in February 2014 across the U.S. According to the company, just as Twisted Tea tastes like real iced tea, Twisted Lemonade tastes like homemade lemonade. The product will be available in three flavors, Original, Strawberry and Pink, and in two forms, 6-packs and 16 oz. cans. Distribution will focus on grocery stores, liquor stores and convenience stores.

ting shelves this month, Cran-Brrr-Rita is a limited-edition winter offering that has 8 percent alcohol by volume and is available in 12-packs of 8 oz. cans and 25 oz. cans.

Straw-Ber-Rita blends the tastes of Bud Light Lime and a strawberry margarita. Best enjoyed over ice, the product is available in 12-packs of 8 oz. cans, 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and 24 oz. cans.

Bon Affair is a new premium wine spritzer

Wicked Hard is a new line of pre-mixed

cocktails made from distilled grain spirits.

The products, which are 9 percent alcohol by volume, are also made with natural flavors and sugar and have no high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients, colors or sweeteners. Packaged in 12 oz. cans, Wicked Hard is distributed in Colorado.

made with California wine, purified sparkling water and electrolytes. The product has no added sugar and 6.5 percent alcohol by volume. Bon Affair launched in Whole Foods in Southern California this summer and has recently expanded into Albertsons throughout San Diego.

Stout 21 comes in a 3 oz. tube in four

Phusion Projects, LLC recently launched

its latest Four Loko flavor, Pineapple, which has a vibrant, tropical taste that balances the flavors of sweet and tart, according to the company. Four Loko Pineapple is a flavored malt beverage with 12 percent alcohol by volume, available in 23.5 oz. cans. The company also recently introduced Loko Rita, which comes in sensory optimized cans.

Available in Margarita and Peach Margarita flavors, the product has 8 percent alcohol by volume and comes in single 16 oz. cans.

The product, which was tested in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla., Raleigh and Durham, N.C., Richmond, Va., and Las Vegas, is made with natural flavors and real fruit juice. The can itself is designed with raised, textured artwork, allowing consumers to both taste and feel the new product.

Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co. has released Mike’s Hard Lemonade FROZEN, which has four flavors: Mike’s Hard Lemonade FROZEN, Mike’s Hard Black Cherry Lemonade FROZEN, Mike’s Hard Classic Margarita FROZEN and Mike’s Hard Strawberry Lemonade FROZEN. The products are available in single 10 oz. pouches. According to the company, unlike other pouch products, Mike’s FROZEN pouches aren’t sticky because of special production technology and have the smoothest ice crystals for an almost sorbet-like experience.

Anheuser-Busch has released two new line extensions of Bud Light Lime-Rita: Cran-Brrr-Rita and Straw-Ber-Rita. Hit58 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

flavors: Royal Flush, Margarita, Screwdriver and Apple Pie. The product is made with a beer base and has 15 percent alcohol by volume (14 percent in certain states.)

JOOSE Margarita is now available in

12-packs of 12 oz. cans (8 percent alcohol by volume) at Walmart stores nationwide. The product comes in Peach and Strawberry flavors and is also available in 23.5 oz. cans (12 percent alcohol by volume). The new product size is a response to consumer demands for smaller, more portable packaging, according to United Brands Company, which markets the JOOSE brand.

Cordina New Orleans Cocktails has added Hurricane, a new flavor, to its line of pre-mixed cocktails. The new flavors join the company’s seven other flavors: Classic Lime, Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada, Watermelon Margarita, Light Margarita, Light Strawberry Daiquiri and Light Mango Daiquiri. Because of the company’s decision to rebrand its products around its hometown, Hurricane was a natural choice as its next flavor, the company said.

Slim Lizzy’s Cocktails is the first strategi-

cally positioned brand from Social Blends.

The product, which has 45 calories per 4.5 oz. serving, was created to serve female consumers. The cocktails are available in three flavors: Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri and Cosmopolitan. Retail packaging options include a resealable and freezable single-serve pouch and also a 750 mL glass bottle.

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NACS: Fewer Small Players, Innovation From the Big Guys, and Faith in Channel Evolution

By Ray Latif, Max Rothman, and Jeffrey Klineman What a difference a year makes.

Yes, most of the big beverage players were present at the 2013 NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) Show; the Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple, Red Bull and Monster Energy all featured the usual mega booths that attendees are used to seeing at the event.

But unlike years past, the NACS show in Atlanta was notable for what it was missing: many of the natural and functional brands that we saw in 2012.

Instead, there were line extensions, packaging updates and reworked brand approaches in stalwart convenience categories like energy and CSDs, all of which were quite easy to find at the show. And in place of groundbreaking innovation, it was clear that the astounding growth of Sparkling ICE had the biggest impact on new product introductions and launches at the event.

NACS attendees saw a veritable deluge of new similarly-positioned zero-calorie carbonated drinks, including several packaged in the same 17 oz. bottle as the Talking Rain-owned brand. With names like “Sparkling Fruit2O,” and “Sparkling Frost,” it’s clear that many of these beverage companies are attempting to pull from the same consumer base that Sparkling ICE has rapidly cultivated.

At the Talking Rain booth, CEO Kevin Klock indicated that the company, which has recently passed benchmark Vitaminwater in sales in non-convenience store channels, was going to be focusing more heavily on convenience retailers in the year to come.

But grocery is still important, he said.

“We don’t want to just run across the other channels of trade and then leave them,” Klock said.

Klock addressed multiple issues related to growth and execution for the brand, including the new shadow of competition from all levels of the industry – from

copycat products from smaller companies to “Big Cola” reviving the sparkling versions of established water brands that had once been scuttled.

“The fact that there’s other brands coming in,” Klock said, “the question is do they offer anything different from a brand proposition…. We don’t see this as a bad thing.”

Speaking of ‘bad things,’ one that hovered around the booths of many companies was ongoing government scrutiny of energy drink marketing.

Companies were carefully treading around the issue, which had resulted in a letter being sent to 17 of them from the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on their marketing practices, including a 17-point list of voluntary steps that could be taken to turn down the boil.

The head of Coke’s Vitaminwater unit – which also oversees the company’s energy drinks, like Full Throttle and NOS, expressed a more guarded willingness to work with the Senate.

“The senators have asked a whole bunch of questions,” Ilan Sobel said. “We’ll be responding over the next few days.”

“We’ll continue to partner with the ABA (American Beverage Association), with government, to do what’s responsible for the industry,” he added.

THE BIG GUYS Speaking of Coke, the hometown hero of this year’s NACS edition joined up with archrival PepsiCo to throw down some interesting bits of innovation.

Staffed by a small army of sales and marketing executives, Coke’s sprawling booth was packed with a broad array of line extensions and packaging updates, each highlighted by a new Digital Cold Vault platform, a technology that uses demographic data and market insights

60 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

that give C-store operators the ability to customized beverage sets each designed to increase sales and shopper satisfaction on a store-to-store basis.

Embedded within the Digital Cold Vault presentation were several of Coke’s new product introductions, from Sprite Cranberry, to an upcoming revamp for Vitaminwater’s 20 oz. bottles, to a new cold-activated 16 oz. can.

etable blends that will initially come in two varieties; and a February launch for an extension of its NOS energy drink line called NOS Charged Citrus, which will come out in regular and zero-calorie varieties.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo’s Naked Emerging Brands Group quietly surfaced with some innovation aimed at convenience -- not part of its regular channel mix, but hey, it was the NACS Show.

didn’t show any “all natural” labels.

Also coming from Naked will be a pair of chia smoothies, Chia Sweet Peach and Chia Cherry Lime. Both pay homage to the chia seed, which the team termed the “hottest new health and wellness ingredient” with 10 percent of the premium beverage volume in the natural channel.

While the company showed a willingness to hop into the chia pool and swim along-

In addition to a packaging revamp, Vitaminwater has launched a line of liquid water enhancers and has also reprised the short-lived Vitaminenergy with a new line called Vitaminwater Energy. Similar to Starbucks’ Refreshers brand, the products are naturally sweetened and formulated with an energy blend that includes green bean coffee extract and B-vitamins. Unlike the previous incarnation of the line, the non-carbonated beverages are packaged in slim 12 oz. cans (as opposed to a 16 oz. package) and contain 50 calories per can.

Fruitwater, the Vitaminwater brand extension which Coke revived earlier this year, will have two new flavors — Fizzy Lemonade and Tropical Pineapple — coming in 2014. Coke is also planning a few other brand line extensions for next year, including a limited-edition Tropical Mango flavor for its Powerade brand; Minute Maid Juice To Go, a line of fruit and veg-

A cooler showing Naked’s products geared for convenience could be spotted on the show’s opening day, demonstrating a pair of new products from the group, which currently manages Naked juices and smoothies, Izze sparkling juices and O.N.E. Coconut Water in its cold-channel portfolio.

O.N.E. showed a flavor innovation for the first time in quite a while — it’s been since at least 2012 and likely before that — teasing a Vanilla Chai flavor in a 16.9 oz. Tetra Pak. It’s due out in late December, according to Pepsi team representatives at NACS. The not-from-concentrate product is nonGMO, and has 50 calories per serving.

On the Naked side, the group nodded to the ongoing consumer obsession with protein by indicating the January launch of a Protein & Greens smoothie, with 30 grams of whey and soy protein and kale, wheatgrass, spinach and parsley in the 400 calorie bottle. The 15.2 oz. bottle

side companies like GT and Mamma Chia, PepsiCo also showed it’s not above putting a motorboat in the water to try to fastfollow other, larger trends. For example, the Lipton Brisk line featured a trio of halfand-half products in big can formats: Lemonade, Tropical Lemonade, and Cherry Limeade, all apparently aimed at pulling a pound of flesh from AriZona’s Arnold Palmer hit. Meanwhile, Aquafina Flavorsplash showed that the company isn’t above chasing down the share that Sparkling Ice has gained in the past three to four years, with a trio called “Peelin’ Good,” “Berry Loco,” and “Color Me Kiwi.”

Suggested pricing? You guessed it: $1.49 — or two-for-$2.

ENTREPRENEURS ON THE FLOOR Meanwhile, Naked wasn’t the only traditionally natural and producefocused brand trying to establish

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 61

a foothold in convenience.

ITO EN, a Japanese company which has its U.S. base in Brooklyn, N.Y., currently has very limited distribution in C-stores, with some placement in the Northeast and parts of California.

However, ITO EN sales executive Adam Hertel said that this could change with the launch of Jay Street Coffee, a new line of ready-to-drink coffee, and a more concerted effort to spread its existing lines of teas products.

for more premium products. He said that in the U.S., VOSS has been in Sheetz stores for about five to six years and Sunoco, Circle K, Xtra Mart and Cumberland Farms for about four to five years.

In Norway, where the water is sourced, VOSS has placements in 7-Eleven and Deli de Luca, a Norwegian c-store chain.

Consumers may have to cough up an extra quarter or two to buy VOSS instead of other luxury waters, but they don’t seem to mind when looking for a treat, Belsito said.

rently eyeing c-store chains and projects initial placements in the second quarter of 2014. David Tavitian, Ayala’s director of sales, said that he believes in the brand’s future in C-stores because consumers will be interested in the brand’s unique flavor profiles. “The teas, they add diversity to the coolers, the cases,” Tavitian said. “All of our flavors are really unique. We’re not a me-too beverage company.”

One more company considering a strong push into convenience was Bai5,

Since opening in Brooklyn in 2001, ITO EN has worked toward becoming more than just a tea company, Hertel said.

The line of coffees, which comes in a 16.9 oz. PET bottle in flavors of Latte, Vanilla and Mocha, contains 500 mL per serving and has a mass suggested retail price (MSRP) in C-stores of $1.99 to $2.49.

While the changing face of convenience stores may not happen in Arkansas or Texas this year, Hertel said, he has already seen the Whole Foods influence in C-stores of Southern California and New York. He said that consumers are beginning to show a willingness to pay a premium for something other than CSDs or energy drinks.

“Eventually there’s going to be a convergence, I think, where the convenience channel can’t keep ignoring or pushing away brands like us,” he said.

Jack Belsito, the CEO of VOSS, an upscale water company, also believes that C-store consumers are beginning to look

Meanwhile, another water company hopped onto the NACS train at the last minute. Balance Water CEO Martin Chalk said the company had taken advantage of an opening on the show floor and had accepted an offer from the NACS organization to buy the space because his products had begun to pick up steam in some convenience stores and he wanted to increase the brand’s presence in the channel.

The water brand uses flavorless flower essences to promote various functional effects — an idea that Chalk said was in keeping with the desire of convenience stores to present the brand as a 24-hour beverage solution.

“Work, rest, play,” he said. “We’ve been banging on functional and non-flavored for a long time and convenience wants to attract more female customers.”

Ayala’s Herbal Water, which launched its eccentric line of cold teas at this summer’s Fancy Foods Show in New York, is cur-

the coffeefruit-based, antioxidant-heavy product founded by Ben Weiss.

Kat Haddon, Bai’s business development manager, said that finding an appropriate shelf presence was the hardest part about that push, but that the company was thinking about it hard, investing in real estate and an eye-catching booth.

So the company was searching for Cstore owners who are willing to feature all nine Bai SKUs per store. Three to four SKUs are nice, but six or more, ideally nine, allows consumers to fully comprehend the brand and its variety, Weiss said.

“It’s about finding that convenience retailer that’s willing to partner with us to let their consumers experience the breadth of the portfolio,” Weiss said.

Perhaps the willingness of some innovative brands to hit the floor, like Bai, indicates a belief that the retailers are starting to budge. If not, it was clear that Coke and Pepsi still had plenty to offer.

62 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

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New Trends Seek the Next Level at Expo East

By Jeffrey Klineman Natural Products Expo East presented a highly entrepreneurial tableau, confirming that high pressure processing (HPP) is indeed the hottest trend in the beverage business on the natural side but leaving the next proof point in the hands of consumers.

Juices and coconut waters made using HPP are capable of retaining freshness and fresh flavors due to their focus on pressure instead of heat as a bacterial inhibitor. That promise of quality has combined with a declining profile in the natural and specialty foods channel for previous top-end juices like Naked and Odwalla to help launch numerous brands.

Indeed, at Expo East, new brands like Drink Me, Tumeric Alive and Love, Sam joined fast-growing Suja – at little more than a year in RTD, it qualified as a mature brand already – as brands that were planning to storm the cold box at Whole Foods and other smaller cutting-edge chains.

Those four companies fit with a broader set of West Coast-based products, including Evolution Fresh and the smaller Forager Project, as well as Hain-owned BluePrint – as brands that are setting up a new tier in the super-premium juice category, and knocking Naked (owned

by PepsiCo) and Odwalla (owned by the Coca-Cola Co.) down a peg.

Meanwhile, another hot trend, chia drinks, also appeared to have moved to the second level. Drink Chia and Chia Star indicated they, too, are emerging and increasing distribution. Whether or not they sustain momentum could depend on the mainstream viability of chia beverage products.

As of now, it seems to be a waiting game.

But when it comes to new initiatives – particularly HPP – it looks like the industry is ready. Indeed, a highly-placed Whole Foods source confirmed for BevNET shortly before Expo East that Naked, Odwalla, and other brands are seeing their footprints reduced through SKU rationalization in some regions to make way for both HPP juices and for those made with non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) ingredients.

For some juice companies, it has ap-

peared that Naked has even been discontinued in West Coast accounts, although that may be a result of product waning on Whole Foods shelves as Naked seeks nonGMO verification for some of its products.

Meanwhile, the HPP brands are emerging from their lower-temperature pressure baths with a yen for space. Suja, which ran a brisk sampling business at the event, is coming off a second investment round with a valuation close to $100 million – and has plowed some of that cash into developing a line hand-inhand with Whole Foods to help offer a mid-priced 12 oz. line of more price-accessible smoothies and juices that aren’t as expensive as its core 16 oz. products.

The Suja Elements line is “designed to be a Naked killer,” according to a highly placed executive at the brand, who confirmed that it is expected to be in all Whole Foods regions in the U.S. as a featured part of the grab-and-go cooler that has helped Naked and Odwalla thrive.

From a merchandising perspective, the sub-line is not supposed to go near the Suja core SKUs – “it’s not a Suja killer,” the executive added, “they want us to go as deep with them and as far as we can.”

But while Suja – as well as BluePrint and Evolution Fresh, which also recently added new Whole Foods-focused SKUs at more wallet-accessible prices – is trying to build a national presence in the chain, it’s

64 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

apparent that those companies will also be squeezed by HPP brands trying to grow locally or regionally.

At Expo East, Love, Sam appeared to be heading that way. While its booth was thrown together at the last second, the brand was one that had the trade buzzing because of the story behind it: Sam is Samantha Levin, the girl from Fresh Samantha, one of the first “fresh juice” brands in the Northeast, which, despite being quickly absorbed by competitor Odwalla and eventually dropping from sight, left a legacy of sales and marketing talent and at least a strong twinge of recognition among Whole Foods consumers in the Northeast.

Clad in a hippie-chic peasant dress, the now early-20s Levin is fresh out of Bowdoin and has a six-SKU line of HPP juices that’s intended to follow the Boston/New York/D.C. axis of the original Fresh Samantha distribution pattern.

Adding to the intrigue behind the story is that Love, Sam’s distributor will be highprofile Whole Foods-focused DSD operation Green Shoots, started by Nat Noone, a former Fresh Samantha salesman.

As Levin doled out samples of her products (Betty Beet, Sweet Mr. Green, Senor Mango, Swinging Stawberry, and Carrot Ginger Carlotta were on display at Expo East), she said that, while they carry the same on-trend imprimatur as her cold-pressed, organically-focused profile as its competitors, at between $4 and $5 per bottle it was intended to “cleanse your body, not your wallet.”

Part of the way the company plans to keep costs low, according to Noone, is to keep the products available only on the East Coast, near places where its core ingredients are readily

available. He said he’s working a similar strategy on the West Coast, where Green Shoots is working with the more veggiefocused Forager Project, run by former First Beverage analyst J.C. Hanley.

Family connections run deep with that product line, as well: Hanley’s stepfather, Stephen Williamson, is a former CEO of Odwalla (including helming the company at the time it acquired Fresh Samantha).

Hanley, Forager’s 26-year-old CEO, told BevNET recently that he is working closely with Williamson on all aspects of the company, which is now in the Whole Foods Northern California, the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountain regions.

“I’ve been around juice forever,” Hanley said. “Our family was kind of the test kitchen for Odwalla back in the old days.”

Experience aside, the presence of the regional brands – as well as the out-ofchannel competition from places like small chains of fresh-pressed juice bars that are fast appearing in most cities – were clearly more on the mind of Suja brass than their predecessors in the cold box.

“We’re trying to prepare ourselves,” said CEO Jeff Church, who noted that one key mark for all of the HPP brands will be when they migrate not just nationally through Whole Foods, but into mainstream channels as well, where margins – and retail prices – can be tougher to maintain. “We can either try to enjoy the margin umbrella for a nice period of time, or take pricing down if we need to.”

Meahwhile, the chia category has passed a few natural-channel introductory stages: the Dr. Oz approval, the first-to-market brands (Mamma Chia and Chia\Vie), the blog rounds. However, a second layer

of chia beverage companies, notably Drink Chia and Chia Star, which recently displayed their beverages, stories and plans at the Natural Products Expo East show in Baltimore, are emerging and increasing distribution. Whether or not they sustain momentum could depend on the mainstream viability of chia beverage products. As of now, it seems to be a waiting game.

“I don’t think it’s such a stretch for people to think about drinking it,” said Chandra Davis, the co-founder of Drink Chia. “I think from a mass standpoint, people either like texture in a drink or they don’t. So whether it hits a coconut water growth, yet to be seen.”

Mamma Chia has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, reached nationwide availability one year after its launch and continues to grow.

Chia\Vie, which uses ground chia seeds instead of the more common whole seeds, has established itself as the second brand to test the category. L.A. Libations, a beverage incubation firm, announced an investment in Chia\Vie at Natural Products Expo West in March. The beverage has already landed distribution in Costco, Target, Kroger and HEB stores.

So with the head start that those products have, are new category entrants even relevant?

Vitamin Shoppe seems to think so. At the beginning of September, Drink Chia announced that it has entered all 622 Vitamin Shoppe stores locations across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Ontario. The increased distribution will give Davis and the rest of the beverage industry a way to get a better read on the category’s potential.

“There’s a lot of acceptance toward anything with chia in it,” Davis said.

“We’re trying to get a pulse.”

Davis said that while Mamma Chia has done a nice job in the category, she believes that Drink Chia works best for consumers with a busy, active lifestyle.

While Mamma Chia comes in 10 oz. glass

bottles and 3.5 oz. squeezable pouches, Drink Chia comes in 10 oz., BPA-free plastic bottles. Davis said that this packaging form makes it more portable and shelf-stable. She also mentioned that it’s a lighter beverage with a more chuggable consistency, which could be made even lighter for more mainstream consumers.

“We just felt it was maybe a little bit more of an approachable chia drink product on the market,” she said.

Also seeking approachability in the chia beverage category is Sara Erb, the founder of Chia Star, who had a confession to share at Expo East.

“I did not know what I was getting into in the beverage world,” she said. “I didn’t.

This is super-competitive.”

Erb worked as a holistic nutritionist for 25 years, operating one of the first fullservice natural food stores in New Jersey: Mrs. Erb’s Good Food. She sold the store 10 years ago and it’s still running today, but under the name “Grassroots.”

She originally just wanted to share the dense, omega-rich qualities of chia at soup kitchens until she discovered chia beverages.

Now, she wants to sell her drink, Chia Star, to raise money for FoodCorps, an organization that helps build school gardens and educate kids about nutrition, and to eventually bring chia and other food innovations back to soup kitchens and schools.

Chia Star has been on the market for about one year and three months, and Erb said that she hasn’t yet reached profitability. She once thought that getting into Whole Foods was one of the greatest challenges. She then quickly learned about her continuing role in the development of Chia Star’s presence, such as samplings and demonstrations.

“If you aren’t there, working every one of the stores in whatever region you’re in, boy, you could get dropped off that shelf in a heartbeat,” she said.

Erb said that she has no idea when her product will be profitable, however she does feel assured to work in a category that has fellow brands she views more as support than competition. She said because the category is so new, the other brands simply increase awareness, curiosity and credibility.

“If we can’t make a sector, people will walk right by you,” she said.

That category’s future – as well as HPPs – now hinges on what people do once they stop.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 65

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 67

ACTIVATE Drinks

The Rising Beverage Co. PRODUCTS: BALANCE, CHARGED, REBOUND, DEFEND, BEAUTY, DEFY

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Danone Waters of America, Inc. Badoit rises naturally sparkling from its source in St. Galmier, France after a long underground journey that results in its unique mineral composition and signature sparkle. An ideal dining accompaniment, its fine and delicate bubbles deliver a clean and crisp taste that enhances, but does not overtake other flavors. While this neutral taste will complement any meal, Badoit’s sparkle adds a touch of refinement and excitement to your fine dining experience.

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True Drinks, Inc.

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68 BEVNET MAGAZIN MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Bai 5 Molokai Coconut

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Bai Brands LLC

Beverly Hills Drink Company

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Bolthouse Farms Multi-V Goodness Smoothie

Bolthouse Farms A blend of cherries, strawberries, raspberries and pomegranates make up our Multi-V Goodness. It has 100% Daily Value of 12 essential vitamins plus 8 grams of fiber. We’re going out on a limb here, but we think you might want something delicious that’s chock-full of vitamins Multi-V Goodness doesn’t just pack vitamins; it packs a punch as well.

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Beat Juice

Body Works Functional Shots

Beat Juice Beverage Company

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Belgian Dark Chocolate Milk

Bolthouse Farms Daily Greens Juice

Cocoa Metro

Bolthouse Farms

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We juiced kale, spinach, cucumbers and romaine lettuce and put them all into our Daily Greens. It has tons of Vitamins A, C, B6 and B12, plus a touch of lemon to brighten things up. Maybe you don’t have time to sit down for a salad. Maybe you like using straws whenever possible.

Daily Greens performed so well since its launch in March 2013 that we decided to roll it out in the Quart this past September.

Belvoir Elderflower Fruit Farms

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Brands Within Reach, LLC

Bruce Cost Ginger Ale

BCGA Concept Corp PRODUCTS: Original, Pomegranate w/ Hibiscus, Jasmine Tea, Passion Fruit w/ Turmeric, Bruce Cost 66 w/ Monk Fruit PACKAGING: 12 oz.

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Califia Farms CA Citrus Juice

Califia Farms

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70 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Califia Farms Iced Coffee

clearly ZERO flavored water

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Clearly Zero

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Califia Farms Pure Almondmilk

CrampX

Q2o LLC

COCOZIA

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Epicurex LLC

PRODUCTS: Creamy Original, Unsweetened, Vanilla, Toasted Coconut

PRODUCTS: 100% Organic Coconut Water COCOZIA PACKAGING: 330 mL Tetra Pak

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The state of the beverage industry has evolved greatly. Consumers look to truly functional brands. We lead an active, athletic lifestyle, and it must be supported to enable the marketplace. Dr. Dempsey has taken this proposition seriously.

CrampX water relieves and prevents muscle cramps in seconds. Nat/GF. CrampX targets this consumer with a uniquely position product. Retailers and distributors, this is an opportunity to partner with a brand that reflects where our society is going.

PRODUCTS: Berry, Lemon Lime, Orange PACKAGING: 8 oz. PET

Celsius Functional Beverage

Celsius PRODUCTS: Sparkling Orange, Sparkling Wild Berry, Sparkling Cola, Raspberry Acai Green Tea, Peach Mango Green Tea PACKAGING: 12 oz. Can

Chimp Food Beverages

Chimp Food

Cool Mountain Pack

Crushed Premium Fruit Drink

Dr. Antonio Martins Coco Juice

Cool Mountain Beverages, Inc

Dr. Smoothie Brands

Green Coco Europe GmbH

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Cow Wow Cereal Milk

Cuba Herbal Energy Juice

Cow Wow Cereal Milk

Cuba Beverage Company

PRODUCTS: Orange, Pear, Grape, Pineapple

PRODUCTS: Fruity Trudy

PACKAGING: 12 oz. 24 pack

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DRY Soda

DRY Soda Co. PRODUCTS: Pear, Cherry, Apple, Ginger PACKAGING: 12 oz.

Can, 12 oz. Glass

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 71

Dust Cutter Lemonade

Dust Cutter Beverage Company PRODUCTS: Huckleberry Lemonade, Iced Tea Lemonade, Original Lemonade PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

evian Natural Spring Water

Danone Waters of America, Inc. evian water starts as snow and rain on the peaks of the pristine French Alps. Protected deep in the heart of the mountains, each drop filters through layers of mineral-rich glacial sands for over 15 years. Pure as nature intended, the water springs from the source in Evian-Les-Bains where it’s been bottled since 1826.

Everfresh Premier Varietals

National Beverage Corp.

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Emerald Sparkling Beverage

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First Aid Shot Therapy

Smeraldina Corporation

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Fruit Shoot Kids Drink

SMS ( Soldier Marine SEAL) Beverages LLC

Golazo PRODUCTS: All natural sports energy – Mandarina

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Essentia Super Hydrating Water

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Golazo Sports Energy

Britvic North America A tasty and hydrating drink for kids, made with 10% fruit juice and no high fructose corn syrup. Fruit Shoot is the biggest kids brand in the UK, and is now extensively distributed across the US through PepsiCo. Kids love it’s bright bottle and no spill cap for on-the-go hydration, and moms approve because it contains real fruit juice and no high fructose corn syrup. Available in Regular and No added sugar, grab one today!

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72 BEVNET MAGAZINE MAGAZIN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Golazo Sugar Free Sports Energy

Golazo PRODUCTS: All natural sugar free sports energy – Jamaica (Hibiscus) Punch PACKAGING: 12 oz. Can

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Goodness in a Bottle

Green Mustache

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Goodness In A Bottle LLC

Athena Brands, Inc.

Guayaki Yerba Mate

Harmless Harvest

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74 BEVNET MAGAZINE MAGAZIN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Happy Water

HONEST Tea

HOTLIPS Real Fruit Soda

Neurogenesis Inc.

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HAVOC ENERGY DRINK

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Jay Street Coffee

ITO EN(North America) INC. Inspired by Jay Street in Brooklyn, Jay Street Coffee is fresh brewed with 100% Arabica beans that are medium roasted to enhance a mildly sweet taste and bottled with just the right heat to maintain freshness and flavor. Not overly sweet with balance and character, Jay Street Coffee only uses milk that comes from dairy herds not treated with rBST. Conveniently packaged in eco friendly recyclable BPA Free bottles, the coffees come in three(3) flavors-Mocha, Latte and Vanilla.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 75

Icelandic Glacial Spring Water

KeVita Sparkling Probiotic

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Canada Enterprises LLC PRODUCTS: Original PACKAGING: 187 mL Glass

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Limonitz Sparkling Lemonades

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Oogavé, Inc.

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The Chill Group, Inc.

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76 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Big Time Tea Little Me Tea, the only organic tea beverage for kids, is a blend of caffeine-free white, rooibos, chamomile and hibiscus teas sweetened with organic fruit and vegetable juices. A natural source of antioxidants and electrolytes, Little Me Tea’s juice boxes have just 25 calories and 6 grams of sugar, lower than any other juice boxes. No added sugar. Two delicious flavors Tropical and Grape - and a 3rd flavor launching in Spring, 2014. Little Me Tea is the Healthy Alternative to Juice.

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New Dutch Water Corp.

PRODUCTS: Organic Ginger Lemonade, Organic Lavender Lemonade

PRODUCTS: America's Premium Water PACKAGING: 330 mL PET, 500 mL PET

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Glass

Maple water

ok.- Energy drinks

Purely Maple PACKAGING: 9.5 oz. Glass

Sadaf Distribution, Inc.

The Double Cola Company Minoku Coconut Water is 100% natural with no added sugars or preservatives.

Made from fresh young coconuts in Thailand, Minoku yields a sweeter, non-salty taste. Minoku is not from concentrate and is packed with 5 essential electrolytes that work together to support the body’s hydration. It is low calorie and has 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, and 0 calories from fat. Minoku is ethically sourced pure coconut water--GMO-free and gluten-free.

PRODUCTS: Classic, Mango, Green-Apple, Blueberry, Sugar-Free PACKAGING: 8.4 oz.

Can, 16.9 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 350 mL Can

Marley's One Drop

Marley Beverage Company PRODUCTS: Coffee, Mocha, Vanilla Light PACKAGING: 11 oz. Can

Motto : Sparkling Matcha Tea

The Verto Company PRODUCTS: Sparkling Matcha Tea PACKAGING: 12 oz. Glass

NEO ORGANIC ENERGY

NEO PRODUCTS: NEO Organic Energy + Electrolytes PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. Can

Omega Infusion Supplements

Omega Infusion Brands LLC PRODUCTS: Omega Infusion Liquid Dietary Supplements – Peach Mango, Pink Grapefruit, Raspberry Lemon PACKAGING: 2 oz. PET

Matcha Green Tea Energy

Jade Monk, LLC. PRODUCTS: Chai Spice, Cranberry Blood Orange, Lime Blossom, Palau Peach

Muscle Milk Pro Series 40

CytoSport PRODUCTS: Knockout Chocolate, Intense Vanilla, Mint Chocolate Overload

PACKAGING: .34 oz. Pouch, .33 oz. Pouch

78 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Nestea Liquid Water Enhancers

Nestle Waters North America PRODUCTS: Iced Tea w/ Lemon, Iced Tea w/ Peach, Half & Half Iced Tea Lemonade, Green Tea w/ Citrus PACKAGING: 1.76 oz. Drops

OnJuice Juices and Cleanses

OnJuice PRODUCTS: Sublime, Unbeetable, Deep Greens, Pink, Mint Condition PACKAGING: 16 oz. 100% Plant Based Bottle

Omega Infusion Enhanced Water

Powercoco Natural Sports Drink

Omega Infusion Brands LLC

Powercoco

Omega Infusion is a clear beverage incorporating omega-3s in a delicious and nutritious form. One bottle of Omega Infusion water delivers 80mg of essential omega-3s (EPA/ DHA), 200% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C and 80% of four B vitamins. Omega Infusion’s healthy hydration is available in four deliciously refreshing flavors – Berry, Citrus, Fruit Punch and Orange. Omega Infusion is currently available in HEB Healthy Living Stores, Stop & Shop, Giant, Heinen’s, Hannaford & Sweet Bay locations.

PRODUCTS: Fruit Punch, Lemon Lime, Orange, Blue Raspberry, Grape PACKAGING: 16 oz. PET

PowerIce Frozen Hydration

PowerICE

PRODUCTS: Berry, Fruit Punch, Orange, Citrus

PRODUCTS: PowerIce Frozen Electrolyte Hydration – Orange Blast, Lime Kicker

PACKAGING: 17 oz. PET

DECEMBER 9 & 10 LOEWS SANTA MONICA BEACH HOTEL FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.bevnet.com/events

PACKAGING: 1.7 oz. 6 pack

POPwater fruit flavored sparkling beverage

OPREME Energy

Opreme Beverage Corp.

POPwater Inc.

PACKAGING: 12 oz. Can, 12 oz.

4-pack carton, 12 oz. 24 pack

POPwater is a healthier alternative to soda and other artificially flavored drinks. An all natural sparkling beverage with only 30 calories, 7 grams of sugar, and just the right amount of POP. Available in four fruit flavors: Orange, Pineapple, Apple, and Grape. With a youthful flavor and music in it’s DNA, POPwater is the taste of the future.

POM Wonderful Juice Blends

PRODUCTS: POPwater Orange, POPwater Pineapple, POPwater Apple, POPwater Grape

PRODUCTS: OPREME Genuine, OPREME Sugar Free

POM Wonderful

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

PACKAGING: 11.2 oz. Can

PRODUCTS: POM Mango, POM Hula, POM Coconut PACKAGING: 12 oz. PET

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 79

Premier Protein

Real Water Pink Bottles

Pyure O.E.O.

Premier Nutrition Corp.

Pyure Brands, LLC

PRODUCTS: Chocolate, Vanilla

PRODUCTS: Citrus, Mixed Berry

PACKAGING: 14 oz.

Biodegradable PET Bottle

PACKAGING: 2 oz. 24 pack

Protein Tea

RealBeanz Iced Coffee

Blu-Dot Beverage Company PRODUCTS: Honey Lemon, Cranberry Pomegranate, Blueberry Acai, Apple Pear, Orange Pineapple

RealBeanz LLC PRODUCTS: Dark Roast with Coconut Water ("Refresh"), Cappuccino with Coconut Water ("Refresh")

Real Water Real Water goes PINK… Get Real …

Get Pink!

Real Water’s blue bottle will “Go Pink” with the limited edition pink bottle and cap featuring Mel B on the front label and personal message to consumers explaining her passion for Real Water and desire to support Komen’s mission.

“I am so excited to be working with Real Water – a brand I adore – to support the work of Susan G. Komen – a cause I am truly passionate about. The limited edition pink bottle is eye-catching and its tie to this important work PACKAGING: 1 L PET

PACKAGING: 9.5 oz. Glass

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Glass

QUAD Energy

Reel Adrenaline Energy Drinks

The Double Cola Company

Reel Adrenaline

QUAD Energy was developed over the course of the last year to fill a consumer need for a high-quality, low-cost alternative in the growing energy category. With a suggested retail of $0.99 for a 16 oz. can, QUAD Energy offers consumers an attractive alternative to high-priced energy drinks, while providing the superior quality consumers have come to expect from Double Cola. QUAD Energy boasts unique flavors and is often hailed for its non-energy drink taste. QUAD Energy is made in the U.S.A.

Reel Adrenaline Energy Drinks provides differentiated market appeal to consumers in resort, coastal and inland areas where fishing and boating are preferred pastimes. Both Saltwater and Freshwater Series labels include Big Game (regular) and Light Tackle (sugar free), has a citrus flavor and are packaged in 8.4 oz cans. Reel Adrenaline self distributes nationally through a drop ship program and is seeking beverage distributors to expand the brand in local and regional markets.

PRODUCTS: RE-Charge, Low Carb Kick, Lime Craze, Berry Fusion, Orange Twist

PRODUCTS: Saltwater Series Big Game (citrus flavored regular), Saltwater Series Light Tackle (citrus flavored sugar Free), Freshwater Series Big Game (citrus flavored regular), Freshwater Series Light Tackle (citrus flavored sugar Free)

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. 24 pack 80 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Red Bull Total Zero

Rockstar Roasted

Rockstar Super Sours

Red Bull North America

Rockstar Energy

Rockstar Energy

PRODUCTS: Red Bull Total Zero

PRODUCTS: Caramel

PRODUCTS: Green Apple, BubbleBerry

PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. Can, 12 oz. Can, 8.4 oz.

4-pack carton

PACKAGING: 15 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

Revive Drinks Kombucha

Rockstar Sparkling Energy

Revive Drinks

Rockstar, Inc.

PRODUCTS: "the OG" (Original Black Tea Ferment), RED (Hibiscus Ferment), GOLD (Coffee Ferment)

PRODUCTS: Cherry Citrus, Peach

Samaria Natural Spring Water

Scheckter's OrganicEnergy

Scheckter's Organic Beverages PRODUCTS: Original, Lite PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. Can

Sierra Kombucha

Symi International PRODUCTS: Natural Spring Water from Greece

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 500 mL PET, 750 mL PET, 1.0 L Glass

PACKAGING: 16oz oz. Glass

The Sierra Kombucha Company, LLC PRODUCTS: High Desert Prickly Pear PACKAGING: 16 oz. Glass

Rockstar Pure Zero

Sambazon Organic Superfood Beverages

Rockstar Energy

Sambazon

Zero Sugar... Zero Calories... Zero Carbs... All Energy!! Meet the newest line extension from Rockstar Energy... PURE ZERO!!! Pure Zero Silver Ice with its crisp refreshing citrus flavor and Pure Zero Punched with the full flavor of Tropical Punch are aimed at providing you with all the benefits of Rockstar Energy with none of the guilt. ROCKSTAR PURE ZERO is designed to provide an incredible energy boost for those that lead active and exhausting lifestyles from athletes to rock stars.

Sambazon is introducing three new organic superfood beverages, available in January 2014. Protein Recharge is a blend of wild harvested Brazil nuts, cashews and cocoa that delivers 8 grams of whole-food, plant-based protein.

Purifying Greens combines kale, cucumber and parsley with a hint of yacon, and offers more than one full serving of vegetables. Daily Cleanse is a blend of acerola cherry, lemon and cayenne that provides 210 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin C.

PRODUCTS: Pure Zero Silver Ice, Pure Zero Punched

PRODUCTS: Protein Recharge, Purifying Greens, Daily Cleanse

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 1 L Tetra Pak NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 81

SIPP Sparkling Organics

SIPP eco beverage co., Inc. PRODUCTS: Summer Pear, Mojo Berry, Ginger Blossom PACKAGING: 12 oz. Glass

Soda Shaq

Sparkling ICE Lemonade

AriZona Beverages PRODUCTS: Original Cream Soda, Orange Cream Soda, Blueberry Cream Soda, Strawberry Cream Soda PACKAGING: 23.5 oz. Can

SK Energy Shots

Something Natural Water

SK Energy Shots

Something Natural LLC.

PRODUCTS: XS Berry, XS Grape, XS Strawberry Lemonade, XS Pomegranate

PRODUCTS: Something Natural Sparkling Water – Blueberry Lemon, Black Cherry, Strawberry Peach, Pink Grapefruit, Raspberry Keylime

PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. PET

Spree

TalkingRain Beverage Company

National Beverage Corp.

PRODUCTS: Classic Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade, Lemonade with Tea

PRODUCTS: Lemon Strawberry, Piña Piña Colada, Kiwi Kumquat, Ruby Red Grapefruit PACKAGING: 17 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 17 oz. PET

Sparkling ICE®

Suja 12 Essentials

TalkingRain Beverage Company PRODUCTS: Peach Nectarine

Suja Juice PRODUCTS: 12 Essentials PACKAGING: 16 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 17 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 11 oz. Glass

Stacker2 Vitamin B12

Suja Elements

NVE Pharmaceuticals Stacker2 B12 Maintaining good health is essential these days; it requires a life style of exercise, rest and healthy eating. Healthy eating helps you acquire the vitamins and minerals you need to develop a strong immune system. However eating healthy is not always easy. That’s why Stacker 2 has developed a new shot to help supplement what you may be missing in your daily diet. Stacker 2 Energy Shot B12 provides 10,000% of the recommended daily value of vitamin B12.

Suja Juice Suja Elements is high-quality, purposeful refreshment that can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. Using cold-pressed organic juice as a base, Suja Elements blends in fresh fruits and some of the world’s best superfoods such as camu camu and baobab. Each fresh smoothie offers vital nutrients and refreshing taste with no added flavors or preservatives. And for every bottle sold, $0.20 is donated to a select social or environmental cause in the Elements Cause Collective.

PRODUCTS: Green Charge, Mango Fuego, Blutrients, Tropicaloe, Berryoxidant, 24 Karat PACKAGING: 12 oz. PET

82 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

TEAS’ TEA LATTES

Suja Variety Refresher 6-Pack

ITO EN(North America) INC. Authentically brewed Tea Lattes made with premium whole loose tea leaves and nonfat milk is guilt free with only 0 grams of fat. Light and refreshing, the slightly sweetened TEAS’ TEA Lattes are available in three(3) flavors-Black Tea, Matcha Green Tea and Chai. From a full bodied Sri Lankan Black Tea, a ceremonial Japanese green tea-Matcha, to a spicy Chai Latte, each bottle is only 160 calories, packaged in eco friendly recyclable BPA free/ PET 1 bottles. A real Latte with a pure tea taste.

Suja Juice The Suja Variety Refresher includes six 16oz juices conveniently packaged in an easy-to-carry case with a $49.99 SRP. This healthy mix includes one bottle of each of the following flavors: Glow, Fuel, Purify, Fiji, Green Supreme and Vanilla Cloud. It provides the perfect assortment to reset, repair and rejuvenate. Suja cold pressed pure vegetable & fruit juices are designed as the convenient option for routine cleansing, as well as drinking daily nutrients and maintaining overall health.

PRODUCTS: TEAS’ TEA Black Tea Latte, TEAS’ TEA Matcha Green Tea Latte, TEAS’ TEA Chai Latte PACKAGING: 16.9 fl oz. PET

PRODUCTS: Variety Refersher PACKAGING: 16 oz. 6 pack TEAloe

TEAS' TEA Sweetened

TEAloe LLC PRODUCTS: TEAloe Brewed Green Tea and Juicy Aloe Bits – TEAloe Mint, Peach, Passion Fruit, Original

Third Street Unsweetened Tea

ITO EN(North America) INC. PRODUCTS: TEAS' TEA Sweetened Pure Green Tea PACKAGING: 16.9 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 16 oz. PET

TEAS' TEA Decaf

The Original Protein Shot

ITO EN(North America) INC.

Pro Balance, Inc.

PRODUCTS: TEAS' TEA Black Tea Decaf

PRODUCTS: Tropical Mango

PACKAGING: 16.9 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 3 oz. PET

Third Street Inc. Third Street’s premium new line of fresh-brewed, ready-to-drink iced teas launched exclusively with Whole Foods Market. Micro-brewed from real tea leaves hand-picked from the region of Nilgiri, India; no sweeteners are added to the zero-calorie blends. Packaged in 1 liter glass bottles, it is the only line of its kind that is Organic, Fair Trade and Gluten-Free certified, as well as Non-GMO Verified. Retailing for $2.49, two flavors are available: Unsweetened Black Tea and Unsweetened Green Tea. PRODUCTS: Unsweetened Green Tea, Unsweetened Black Tea PACKAGING: 1 L Glass NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 83

Top Roast – Liquid Concentrate

Tumeric - The Elixir of Life

DreamPak

TumericALIVE

PRODUCTS: Top Roast - Premium Arabica Coffee Liquid Concentrate – Colombian Coffee- 25 Servings, Iced Coffee- Sweetened25 Servings

PRODUCTS: Japanese Matcha Elixir

Verve ParTea

Vital Juice

Vemma Nutrition Company

Vital Juice Co. PRODUCTS: Vital Greens, Vital Carrot, Vital Beet, Vital Almond

PACKAGING: 8.3 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 12 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 16 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 1.6 oz. Drops

TRUCOCO 100% Pure Coconut Water

Vital Juice

VPX BANG

Vital Juice Co.

VPX/Redline

PRODUCTS: Vital Pineapple, Vital Citrus, Vital Grapefruit, Vital Coconut, Vital Melon

PRODUCTS: Lemon Drop, Champagne, Power Punch, Blue Razz

PACKAGING: 16 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

VPowershot for Weight Loss Liquid Dietary Supplement

Cocolife, LLC TRUCOCO 100% Pure Coconut Water is produced from the finest, young green coconuts in the world, packed at source in Thailand. TRUCOCO is cholesterol free, fat free, gluten free, and has no added sugar or preservatives. The premium glass bottle retains the pure coconut water flavor for a crisp, clean taste. The glass is unmistakably the most environmentally friendly coconut water container, along with no BPA leaching. TRUCOCO is Kosher and Halaal certified. Look after your life with TRUCOCO! PRODUCTS: TRUCOCO 100% Pure Coconut Water, TRUCOCO Coconut Water with a dash of Mango, TRUCOCO Coconut Water with a dash of Pineapple PACKAGING: 10 oz. Glass, 16.4 oz. Glass Tude

Verve Bold

Fresh Matters LLC PRODUCTS: granny'tude, fuji'tude, honey'tude, pinky'tude, gala'tude, apple'tude

Vemma Nutrition Company PACKAGING: 8.3 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 16 oz. PET 84 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

VPowershot by FVCHS Enterprises his advanced, stimulant free, liquid, synergistic fat-weight loss formula is specially formulated to help you lose weight. The VPOWERSHOT is comprised of diverse sources of concentrated, all-natural plant nutrients (phytochemicals), vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The shot is created and manufactured in GMP, FDA registered and NSF certified facilities in the U.S.A. Each and every natural ingredient is disclosed, and no fillers or additives have been added.

PRODUCTS: Triberry PACKAGING: 1 oz. Pouch

VPX Protein Rush

VPX Redline Xtreme Shot

Watt-Ahh

Xenergy + Lemonade

VPX/Redline

VPX/Redline

AquaNew, LLC

XYIENCE

PRODUCTS: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry

PRODUCTS: Watermelon, Triple Berry, Grape

PRODUCTS: AquaNew Watt-Ahh

PRODUCTS: Raspberry, Pineapple

PACKAGING: 12 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 3 oz. PET

VPX REDLINE

Vuka Natural Energy Drinks

PACKAGING: 12 L PET, 6 L PET

Xenergy + Hydration

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

Xenergy + Tea

VPX/Redline

Vuka, LLC

XYIENCE

XYIENCE

PRODUCTS: Triple Berry, Grape, Watermelon, Blue Razz

PRODUCTS: Workout (Berry Lemonade), Think (Pomegranate Lychee), Renew (Mango Peach)

PRODUCTS: Tropical Punch, Grape

PRODUCTS: Honey Ginseng green tea, Raspberry Acai black tea

PACKAGING: 8 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

COOLERS

for the Food & Beverage Industry IN - H HOUSE CUSTOM GRAPHICS CAPABILITIES GRAPH

1.888.662.3941

| SGBeverageSolutions.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 85

Xenergy

SAN DIEGO DECEMBER 5 For More Information and Registration Visit:

Zenify, Natural Stress Relief

XYIENCE

Zenify

Xenergy: pronounced zen-er-gy. New packaging just hitting shelves, reduced caffeine levels. The first energy drink created by a nutrition company, Xenergy is great tasting, uses 100% natural colors and flavors, is vitamin enhanced, sugar free and zero calories. Xenergy is the official energy drink of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is one of the fastest growing brands in its category.

PRODUCTS: Zenify PACKAGING: 12 oz. Can

PRODUCTS: Cherry Lime, Mango Guava, Cran Razz, Blu Pomegranate, Tangerine, Fruit Punch, Frostberry Blast, Melon Mayhem

ZICO Latte

ZICO

PACKAGING: 16 oz. Can

PRODUCTS: ZICO Latte PACKAGING: 14 oz. PET

www.brewbound.com/events

The Brewbound Craft Beer Session is a business conference addressing the topics that most directly impact the decisions craft brewers are faced with as they look to grow their brands.

The event focuses on the business side of craft, offering brewers a unique opportunity to learn from and network with industry experts.

Xingtea Mango Fridge pack

XL Energy Drink

Zola Coconut Water w/ Espresso

Xing Beverage LLC

XL Energy Drink Corp.

PRODUCTS: Green Tea, Mango Green Tea, Half & Half

PRODUCTS: XL Energy Drink, XL Sugarfree, XL Cranberry Energy, XL Lime & Lemon Energy

PACKAGING: 11.5 oz. Can

Zola PACKAGING: 17.5 oz. Can

PACKAGING: 8.4 oz.

Can, 16.9 oz. Can

Sponsored By:

Xingtea Mango 16oz Pet

Youthy Forever

Zzizx Energy Shot

Xing Beverage LLC

Brands Within Reach, LLC

Nitro Distributing

PRODUCTS: Green Tea, Mango Green Tea, Pomegranate Green Tea, Half & Half, Blueberry Green Tea

PRODUCTS: Passion for Cactus with grape seed extract and resveratrol

PRODUCTS: Grape, Pomegranate, Wild Berry

PACKAGING: 16oz oz. PET

86 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

PACKAGING: 10 oz. PET

PACKAGING: 2 oz. PET

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE

ZIP CODE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Aloecorp

Jeff Barrie

3005 1st Ave.

Seattle

WA

98121

603-352-0650

aloecorp.com

Amara Beverage Co.

Greg Connolly

2625 Alcatraz Ave. Ste #135

Berkeley

CA

94705

530-570-2646

drinkamara.com

AquaNew, LLC

Dana Gourley

6233 Old Ranch Road

Sarasota

FL

34241

941-923-8972

aquanew.com

AriZona Beverages

Jennifer Smith

60 Crossways Park Drive West

Woodbury

NY

11797

516-812-0208

Drinkarizona.com

Athena Brands, Inc.

VanTrang Manges

Church Street Station

New York

NY

10008

888-230-5545

getgreenmustache.com

Bai Brands LLC

Ben Weiss

1800 East State Street

Hamilton

NJ

08609

609-586-0500

drinkbai.com

Balance Water Company

Martin Chalk

39 West 32nd St

New York

NY

10001

212-564-0878

drinkbalance.com

BCGA Concept Corp

Kevin Li

7 Bushwick Pl

Brooklyn

NY

11206

718-744-6805

BruceCostGingerAle.com

Beat Juice Beverage Company

Jay Mecray

6045 W. Chandler Blvd Suite #13-115

Chandler

AZ

85226

310-801-8334

drinkBEATjuice.com

Beverly Hills Drink Company

Jon Gluck

Beverly Drive

Beverly Hills

CA

90212

310-788-9021

beverlywater.com

Big Time Tea

Howard Kamienski

930 New Hope Road, Suite 11-189

Lawrenceville

GA

30045

561-573-9379

littlemetea.com

Blu-Dot Beverage Company

Steven Holt

1155 North Service Rd West, Unit 11

Oakville

ON

L6M 3E3

289-291-3964

bludotbeverages.com

Body Works

Fred Rudy

1998 Coney Island Avenue

Brooklyn

NY

11223

718-907-9800

bodyworks.com

Bolthouse Farms

Maureen Christiansen

7200 E Brundage Ln

Bakersfield

CA

93307

310-857-3400

bolthouse.com

689 Mamaroneck Avenue

Mamaroneck

NY

10543

847-720-9090

belvoirfruitfarms.com

Brands Within Reach, LLC Britvic North America

Kisha Quinn

2202 N. WestShore Blvd

Tampa

FL

33607

734-834-9978

Califia Farms

Kaitlin Walter

1095 E. Green St

Pasadena

CA

91106

626-204-0830

califiafarms.com

Canada Enterprises LLC

Reuben Canada

411 Plush Mill Rd

Wallingford

PA

19086

215-690-1470

drinkjinja.com

Celsius

George Kaftan

2424 N. Federal Highway, Suite 208

Boca Raton

FL

33431

561-276-2355

celsius.com

Chimp Food

Scott Joseph

7777B Davie Road Ext

Hollywood

FL

33024

754-263-2550

ChimpFood.com

Clearly Zero

Mariah Fineman

6283 South Valley View Blvd.

Las Vegas

NV

89118

702-501-2252

clearlyzero.com

Cocoa Metro

Mike Dunford

3231 Bear Creek Dr.

Newbury Park

CA

91320

617-610-0186

cocoametro.com

Cocolife, LLC

Mark McDermott

P.O. Box 2667

Cornelius

NC

28031

866-288-5211

mycocolife.com

Cool Mountain Beverages, Inc

Bill Daker

1065 E Prairie ave

Des Plaines

IL

60016

847-344-2369

coolmountain.com

Cow Wow Cereal Milk

Christopher Pouy

1855 Industrial Street, Suite 615

Los Angeles

CA

90021

310-795-0708

cowwownow.com

Cuba Beverage Company

Sales

4901 Morena Boulevard, #906

San Diego

CA

92101

866-431-2822

cubabev.com

CytoSport

Brittany Cranston

4795 Industrial Way

Benicia

CA

94510

707-751-3942

100 Hillside Avenue

White Plains

NY

10603

Danone Waters of America, Inc.

evian.com

Dr. Smoothie Brands

Matt Brandenburger

1730 Raymer Rd

Fullerton

CA

92833

888-466-9941

drsmoothiebrands.com

DreamPak

Tarick Gamay

4717 Eisenhower Ave.

Alexandria

VA

22304

703-751-3511

dreampak.com

DRY Soda Co.

Sharelle Klaus

410 First Ave S

Seattle

WA

98104

206-652-2345

DRYSoda.com

Dust Cutter Beverage Company

Eric Green

PO Box 4008

Jackson

WY

83001

800-296-1942

dustcutter.com

Epicurex LLC

Diana

2055 NE 151st St

North Miami Beach

FL

33162

786-522-1424

cocozia.com

Essentia Water Inc.

Ken Uptain

22833 Bothell Everett Hwy Suite 220

Bothell

WA

98021

877-293-2239

essentiawater.com

FarmRoof

Alan Joaquin

P.O. Box 25731

Honolulu

HI

96825

808-221-4687

gr3enenergy.com

First Aid Shot Therapy

Andy Steele

330 Primrose Road

Burlingame

CA

94010

936-522-6645

firstaidshottherapy.com

Fresh Matters LLC

Andy

PO Box 26432

Federal Way

WA

98093

Golazo

Mike Brown

714 E. Pike Street

Seattle

WA

98122

206-682-4625

vivagolazo.com

GoodBelly

Todd Beckman

5480 Valmont Rd.

Boulder

CA

80301

303-443-3631

goodbelly.com

Goodness In A Bottle LLC

Val Jerdes

PO Box 141

Cupertino

CA

95015

888-995-0317

Grace Foods

Desiree Sorensen

2417 Mathews Ave.

Redondo Beach

CA

90278

310-804-2855

facebook.com/GraceCocoWater

Green Coco Europe GmbH

Isabel Nusko

Prinzregentenufer 9

N端rnberg

Bayern

90489

+49 911 5805889-0

dr-martins.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 87

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE

ZIP CODE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Green2O LLC

Frank Ditucci

144 North Beverwyck Road

Guayaki Yerba Mate

David Karr

6782 Sebastopol Avenue

Lake Hiawatha, NJ

NJ

07034

888-296-1687

green2Owater.com

Sebastopol

CA

95472

707-824-6600

guayaki.com

H2Om Intl, Inc.

Lex Lang

Harmless Harvest

Justin Guilbert

4225 Alcove Ave.

Studio City

CA

91604

818-761-5288

h2omwater.com

200 Green St.

San Francisco

CA

94111

347-688-6286

harmlessharvest.com

Havoc Energy Drink, Inc.

Gary Friedman

376 East Warm Springs Rd.

Las Vegas

NV

89119

702-675-6200

havocenergy.com

Hiball Inc.

Todd Berardi

1862 Union St.

San Francisco

CA

94123

415-420-4801

hiballer.com

HONEST Tea

Heather Blauvelt

4827 Bethesda Ave.

Bethesda

MD

20814

301-652-3556

HONESTTea.com

HOTLIPS Soda

Lou Hijar

1432 SE 22nd Avenue

Portland

OR

97214

503-224-2069

hotlipssoda.com

I AM Enlightened Creations

Eric Schnell

3775 Park Ave.

Edison

NJ

08820

888-206-1455

thinkiam.com

Icelandic Glacial

David Casey

202 West 1ST St., Suite 160

Los Angeles

CA

90012

310-994-2611

icelandicglacial.com

In Zone Brands

Katie Bennett

2859 Paces Ferry Road

Atlanta

GA

30339

678-564-3213

ITO EN (North America) Inc.

Rona Tison

20 Jay Street, Suite 530

Brooklyn

NY

11201

707-327-6413

teastea.com or itoen.com

Jade Monk, LLC.

Derek Pippin

PO Box 301838

Austin

TX

78703

512-992-5378

jademonk.com

KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Drink

Bill Moses

2220 Celsius Avenue

Oxnard

CA

93030

888-310-6106

KeVita.com

Knockout Energy

Glen Martinka

14131 N Rio Vista Blvd.

Peoria

CA

85381

602-773- 5656

knockoutenergy.com

Kombucha Brooklyn

East Coast Cultures, LLC

630 Flushing Avenue

Brooklyn

NY

11206

917-261-3011

kombuchabrooklyn.com

Life Foods, LLC

Power Brands

16501 Sherman Way

Van Nuys

CA

91406

800-211-1402

Limonitz, Inc.

Conrad Saks

1122 Cardiff Ave

Los Angeles

CA

90035

310-402-7429

limonitz.com

Litl’ Squirts, LLC

William Boyle

PO Box 235

Cumberland

ME

04021

207-831-1030

litlsquirts.com

Lori’s Original Lemonade, LLC

Lori Volk

PO Box 1829

Ojai

CA

93024

805-640-6565

lorisoriginallemonade.com

Marley Beverage Company

Matt Shiffman

27777 Franklin Road

Southfield

MI

48034

248-746-7044

drinkmarley.com

National Beverage Corp.

Nicole Cheifetz

8100 SW Tenth Street

Fort Lauderdale

FL

33324

954-581-0922

spreesparklingwater.com

NEO

Mike Riono

920 Colorado Avenue

Santa Monica

CA

90401

800-604-7051

PoweredByNEO.com

Nestle Waters North America

John Cavallero

900 Long Ridge Rd

Stamford

CT

06902

203-629-7844

Nestea-USA.com

Neurogenesis Inc.

Jill McRae

33 West 8th Avenue

Vancouver

BC

V5Y 1M8

604-685-5200

livehappywater.com

New Dutch Water Corp.

Jonathan Palermo

6 Westchester Plaza

Greenburgh

NY

10523

917-697-5626

ny2o.com

Nitro Distributing

Michael Massion

2474 Clubside Ct.

PALM HARBOR

FL

34683

727-366-8537

zzizx.com

NVE Pharmaceuticals

Walter Orcutt

15 Whitehall Road

Andover

NJ

07821

973-786-7868

stacker2.com

o2living

Rosemary Devlin

792 Route 35

Cross River

NY

10518

914-763-6320

o2living.com

Omega Infusion Brands LLC

Stephanie Perine

140 E. Ridgewood Ave.

Paramus

NJ

07652

201-483-9102

omegainfusion.com

OnJuice

Candy Tree

129 NW 13TH St.

Boca Raton

FL

33432

561-807-6080

onjuice.com

Oogavé, Inc.

Gannon Merrell

4420 Glencoe St

Denver

CO

80216

877-664-2833

oogave.com

Opreme Beverage Corp.

Adam El-Hosseiny

5151 Corporate Way

Jupiter

FL

33458

954-699-0669

opreme.com

POM Wonderful

Molly

11444 W Olympic Blvd

Los Angeles

CA

90064

310-966-5886

pomwonderful.com

POPwater Inc.

Banch Abegaze

10351 Washington Blvd

Culver City

CA

90032

310-828-7200

popwater.com

Powercoco

Ken Tenace

1658 N. Milwaukee Ave. #546

Chicago

IL

60647

909-486-0459

powercoco.com

PowerICE

Blair McNamara

PO Box 774527

Steamboat Springs

CO

80477

888-456-7373

powerice.com

Premier Nutrition Corp.

Lee Partin

5905 Christie Avenue

Emeryville

CA

94608

804-640-3210

premierprotein.com

Pro Balance, Inc.

Doug Stuart

14450 46th St. N., Suite 110

Clearwater

FL

33762

727-531-8506

theproteinshot.com

Proper Soda

Stephen Curtis

755 Logan St. SE

Grand Rapids

MI

49503

616-889-8266

propersoda.com

Purely Maple

Ari Tolwin

P.O. Box 1

Grahamsville

NY

12740

800-968-9507

drinkpurelymaple.com

Pyure Brands, LLC

Justin Mears

2277 Trade Center Way Suite 101

Naples

FL

34109

305-509-5096

Q2o LLC

Maria Dempsey

1112 NE Moss Point Rd

Lees Summit

MO

64064

816-985-2285

Monster Beverage Company

88 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

q2ocrampx.com

COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE

ZIP CODE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Real Water

Anthony Randolph

3208 W. Desert Inn Road

RealBeanz LLC

Jenna Burke

75 Huntington St.

Las Vegas

NV

89102

702-310-5437

DrinkRealWater.com

Brooklyn

NY

11231

718-514-6699

realbeanz.com

Red Bull North America

Red Bull North America

Reel Adrenaline

Steve Fill

1740 Stewart St

Santa Monica

CA

90404

310-393-4647

1740 SW 2nd St.

Fort Lauderdale

FL

33312

954-900-5743

ReelAdrenaline.com

Revive Drinks

Sean Lovett

Sonoma County

Windsor

CA

95492

707-536-1193

revivedrinks.com

Rockstar, Inc. Sadaf Distribution, Inc.

General Information

PO Box 27740

Las Vegas

NV

89126

702-939-5535

rockstarenergy.com

Ali Dadwani

9227 Alberene Dr.

Houston

TX

77074

832-875-0257

ok-energydrink.com

Scheckter’s Organic Beverages

Mark Cook

4460 Crescent Street

Stroudsburg

PA

18360

570-234-0044

SIPP eco beverage co., Inc.

Beth Parentice

1725 Conestoga Rd.

Chester Springs

PA

19425

484-467-7108

haveasipp.com

SK Energy Shots

Far Ahmed

575 Madison Ave.

New York

NY

10022

646-808-2414

skenergyshots.com

Smeraldina Corporation

Giuseppe Pinna

350 Fifth Avenue - 59th Floor

New York

NY

10118

414-732-6501

smeraldina.us

SMS (Soldier Marine SEAL) Beverages LLC

Sean Dillon

232 West 48th Street

New York

NY

10036

908-930-2375

drink-eon.com

Something Natural LLC

Randy

321 west 2nd street

South Boston

MA

02127

202-421-3785

drinksomethingnatural.com

SPI Westport Inc.

Jack Barque

377 Swift Avenue

South San Francisco

CA

94080

800-223-4438

alodrink.com

Steaz - The Healthy Beverage Company

Steven Kessler

200 S. Clinton Street, Suite 202

Doylestown

PA

18901

203-226-3900

steaz.com

Suja Juice

Jeff Church

8380 Camino Santa Fe

San Diego

CA

92121

858-381-4320

sujajuice.com

Symi International

Debbie Custer

PO Box 647

Blue Ridge

VA

24064

866-783-8149

symi-us.com

TalkingRain Beverage Company

Nina Morrison

30520 SE 84th Street

Preston

WA

98050

425-222-2800

sparklingice.com

TEAloe LLC

Gofredy Salazar

18851 NE 29th Ave, Ste 700

Aventura

FL

33180

305-3283899

tealoe.com

The Chill Group, Inc.

Russell Fager

PO Box 780

Venice

CA

90294

855-552-4455

DrinkJustChill.com

The Double Cola Company

Mitch Reed

537 Market Street

Chattanooga

TN

37402

423-503-3316

EnjoyMINOKU.com

The Rising Beverage Co.

Dan Ashby

10351 Santa Monica Blvd. Ste 210

Los Angeles

CA

90025

310-556-4500

activatedrinks.com

The Shirley Temple Soda Pop Company LLC

Kenneth W. Prater

One World Trade Center

Portland

OR

97204

503-970-8462

shirleytemplesodapop.com

The Sierra Kombucha Company, LLC

Margaret Jackson

PO Box 2738

Minden

NV

89423

760-937-2874

sierrakombucha.com

The Verto Company

Tom Olcott

329 Central Avenue

Milton

MA

02186

617-848-9248

drinkmotto.com

Third Street Inc.

Karen Harbour

408 South Pierce Ave

Louisville

CO

80027

303-527-1700

thirdstreetchai.com

True Drinks, Inc.

Jason Dorfman

18552 MacArthur Blvd., 325

Irvine

CA

92612

949-203-3500

theAquaBall.com

TumericALIVE

Olivia Palma

23-23 Borden Ave

Long Island City

NY

11101

646-841-3162

tumericalive.com

Vemma Nutrition Company

Lynn McGovern

8322 East Hartford Drive

Scottsdale

AZ

85255

480-927-8673

vemma.com

Vital Juice Co.

Michelle Schmidt

516 Yale Ave. N., Suite 400

Seattle

WA

98109

425-361-6068

vitaljuice.com

VPowershot by FVCHS Enterprises

Jana Johnson

2330 Paseo Del Prado

Las Vegas

NV

89102

702-367-4747

powershot.com

Vuka, LLC

Alexia Bregman

990 Highland Drive

Solana Beach

CA

92075

858-369-5801

vuka.com

Wis-Pak, Inc.

Gary Wypiszynski

6176 Pepsi Way

Windsor

WI

53598

608-846-1250

klarbrunn.com

Xing Beverage LLC

Tom LeBon

1700 E 68th ave

Denver

CO

80229

303-994-2152

drinkxingtea.com

XL Energy Drink Corp.

Maja Sponring

521 5th Avenue

New York

NY

10175

212-594-3080

xl-energy.com or xl4you.us

XYIENCE

Reuben Rios

1335 E. Sunset Rd. Suite J

Las Vegas

NV

89119

702-343-7311

xyience.com

Youthtopia, LLC

Ron Fuqua

PO Box 603034

Cleveland

OH

44103

216-200-8307

youthtopiabevs.com

Zenify

Adam Rosenfeld

1855 Industrial St, Suite 110

Los Angeles

CA

90021

310-228-7754

zenifydrinks.com

ZICO

ZICO

2221 Park Pl

El Segundo

State:

90245

310-379-9505

zico.com

Zola

Ali Roberts

1501A Vermont Street

San Francisco

CA

94107

415-775-6355

zolaacai.com

Sambazon

VPX/Redline

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 BEVNET MAGAZINE 89

PROMO PARADE

Promotions, events and specials for the industry

Coca-Cola and (RED) Join Forces to Inspire People to Move for the Movement to Help Deliver an AIDS-Free Generation Coca-Cola and (RED) have enlisted the help of Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang, “Glee”) and the world-famous dance crew Jabbawockeez, as well as other notable dancers to harness the power of dance and inspire people to participate in a global dance movement with the goal of helping end mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. Every day, 700 babies are born with HIV. By supporting programs that offer prevention, treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services for pregnant women, that number can be near zero.

Consumers can upload a video of themselves dancing to YouTube or Instagram, using #CokeREDMoves in the title or as the hashtag, and for the first 1,000 videos submitted, Coca-Cola will make a donation to buy life-saving medicine for someone living with HIV. This is in addition to the $1 million donation Coca-Cola made earlier this year to the Global Fund to help finance HIV/AIDS programs in Africa.

To help inspire people to show their moves, Shum and the Jabawockeez developed an easy-to-follow dance that anyone can learn that is featured in the music video. Consumers can visit www.CokeREDMoves.com to download a free clip of the Celebrate remix, view a tutorial for the dance move and find instructions on how to upload a dance video and to learn more about how their moves could help support this important cause.

Coca-Cola has made a commitment of more than $5 million from 2011 to 2015, and over the next two years the partnership with (RED) will raise awareness and money to help eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This money will help fund up to 7.5 million doses of antiretroviral treatment for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

90 BEVNET MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Wild Turkey Bourbon Unleashes its #Nevertamed Spirit With New Advertising Campaign

After nearly 100 hundred years, one of America’s most storied brands is ready to tell a new story. In a move designed to bring the brand squarely into the hearts and minds of the Millennial consumer, Wild Turkey Bourbon – reputedly a brand of choice for notable American icons, such as Hunter S. Thompson and John Wayne – kicked off its largest marketing program in the brand’s history – #Nevertamed. In this wide-reaching campaign, Wild Turkey is turning its attention to the unsurpassed quality in the bottle, a quality that has never wavered since the brand’s inception in the heart of Bourbon country – Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. #Nevertamed refers to the fact that while the spirit that’s at the heart of Wild Turkey Bourbon can be bottled, it has never been tamed. Wild Turkey refuses to change the production process of its award-winning Bourbon, even when it might be cheaper or easier to do so. When others in the industry turned to using genetically modified grains (GMO), Wild Turkey refused.

Though it could legally age its Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey just four years, it ages it five years or more. And instead of using a less expensive char on its barrels, Wild Turkey uses a Number 4 Alligator Char to get the deepest, richest flavor.

“The American Whiskey category is experiencing a profound resurgence in popularity as Millennial consumers start searching for spirits with more flavor and character,” said Andrew Floor, Group Marketing Director, Campari America. “There is a genuine interest in well-crafted American spirits that are steeped in history and have legacies all their own – our response to this movement is something only Wild Turkey can own, and that’s the #Nevertamed spirit.”

The #Nevertamed campaign will include visually-stunning and emotionally-moving 15, 30 and 60 second commercials; robust social media activations around the #Nevertamed hashtag; and a standalone website Nevertamed.com housing the 60 second commercial and long-form video profiles of the #Nevertamed icons.

Proven Products to Grow your Protein Category

Packed with protein, not sugar or calories PREMIER PROTEIN is a registered trademark of Premier Protein, Inc. Copyright 2013 Premier Protein, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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