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It's a topic that seems to fill some grocery buyers with angst these days: their inability to devise strategies to reinvigorate shelf-stable juice sections that have been stagnant for years. In creating Loom "juice from the future" brand 4 yrs ago, NJ bev distributor Bill Butrymowicz had an inkling this might yield a better opportunity than foray into more contested parts of store like enhanced water. But even he says he's been surprised at the open arms with which retailers are greeting his brand, particularly as he shows a growing knack for enlisting marketing partners that create an aura of excitement around what's essentially a slightly less sugary and cleanly formulated juice offered in brightly hued plastic bottles in flavors like Moon Punch and Midnight Mango with graphics a bit reminiscent of Coca-Cola's Starlight effort. With all signs pointing to thousands of new doors in 2026, he's been rapidly building out a DSD network from Atlantic coast west to heartland, including Texas, as Stop & Shop chain greenlights brand in his regional backyard, Circle K tests it in coupla regions and, if pending Brands with Heart pitch is successful, 7-Eleven picks it up too. Meanwhile, Butrymowicz, 43, who's worked since his teens at modest NA house on Jersey Shore called Seaview, has been embracing his new role, contributing to Rolling Stone as a member of its Culture Council and energetically trolling for new members of his expanding Loomiverse. His latest "loominary": Alyssa Carson, a buzz-generating aspiring astronaut who's dreamed her whole life of becoming one of first humans to set foot on Mars. Now 24, "she became the first person to visit all 14 NASA Visitor Centers, earned her applied Astronautics certification at 17, and completed space training across the United States, Canada and Turkey," per announcement. "A licensed pilot, advanced scuba diver, certified Aquanaut and Class A skydiver, Carson holds a degree in Astrobiology and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Arkansas, researching what forms of life could grow on Mars." There's more, but we'll stop here. She's had moniker Blueberry dating back to her childhood when only material available to make space suit small enough to fit her was deep shade of blue. That name happily opens up oppty for proprietary juice flavor, Bill happily allowed while updating us yesterday.Carson joins crew that spans range of cultural figures like Chaz Marcus and athletes like Justice Haynes, Juice Wells and Univ of SC wide receiver Nyck Harbor, a star both athletically and academically whose bumping in tunnel by cop at Texas A&M game last month drew enraged responses from likes of LeBron James that went viral. Dumb luck, or does he really know how to call 'em? Butrymowicz seems happy with either interpretation, as long as brand awareness keeps building.By now he's enlisted as DSD partners many within informal circle of Northeast Independent Distributors Assn (NIDA): B&E Juice, Northeast, Dana, Fisher-Thompson, High-Grade and Metro, with Atlas and Atlantic likely to come aboard soon further into New England. Elsewhere in Mid-Atlantic he's enlisted likes of Verrastro in Penn and Eagle in upstate NY. In Midwest, partners include Hedinger, Pure, Heidelberg, Shanker and Bill's, while SE region boasts Alabama Bev, AB in Georgia and Bud of Spartanburg (SC). Silver Eagle is aboard in Texas. Among key voids is NY, where Butrymowicz is working to build velocity enough to entice major house.Back to retail environment. "Buyers don't know what to do with the juice aisle," he reported. "They're begging for innovation. But nobody's paying any attention to juice" on innovation side. As clean item that brings some fun but remains affordable, Loom seems deserving of a chance to reinvigorate aisle, he said.

STRATEGY: Loom Finds Retail Doors Opening as Reward for Efforts to Liven Up Stagnant Juice Aisle; Latest 'Loominary' Is Buzz-Generating Would-Be Mars Pioneer, Carson

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