In administration that includes several cabinet members with long history of criticizing fundamental roles of agencies they lead, Food & Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb was an anomaly even tho he at first seemed to be cut from same cloth:  he proved continually outspoken in putting consumer safety first in booming new sectors like vaping and CBD that have been receiving heavy investments from major corporate interests – taking the punch bowl away just as the party was getting good, to use phrase once used by Alan Greenspan to describe financial role of Federal Reserve.  That led quite a few of our contacts to wonder how long his run would last, and answer came yesterday: he’s departing agency in a month in order to spend more time with his family up in Conn.  As NY Times wrote, “his announcement caught many in Washington and the industries he regulates by surprise and raised questions about whether his push to reduce teenage vaping and lower nicotine levels and ban menthol in cigarettes will continue in an administration that generally has a hands-off approach to business.”  Or more pertinently to many in bev biz, his push to rein in explosion of CBD-based items on grounds that too little is known about how safe they are, a product in part of severe restrictions on research going back decades because of the plant’s recently repealed Schedule 1 status.  As cannabis letter Leafly put it, Gottlieb’s presence mattered because he has made CBD, along with nicotine vaping and opioid abuse, one of his high-priority issues.”  So at time industry was still celebrating passage of Farm Bill that seemed to remove key hurdle from CBD buildout, his agents were going around busting Dirty Lemon copackers and raiding smoke shops, as we’ve been reporting.  More recently, he assured congressional panel that he’s “deeply focused” on getting that segment figured out, perhaps thru a legislative fix rather than more protracted rulemaking, but now it will be someone else’s job to do so. 

Gottlieb’s activist stance – heralded in constant flow of blogs, emails and statements – was particularly surprising given his background as venture capitalist and anti-regulatory zealot.  As former FDA asst commissioner Joshua Sharfstein told Times, “He surprised a lot of people in his willingness to take some risks for public health.”   Cannabis newsletter Leafly cited range of public health experts and activists who “took the news of Gottlieb’s departure hard, in part because the former physician and venture capitalist has been considered one of the most competent Trump appointees.”  But he was also criticized for too tepid approach to opioid crisis.  Tho some libertarians and conservatives had been complaining that he was indulging in “regulatory panic,” Washington Post noted, sources insisted he wasn’t pushed out by Trump, who tweeted approval of his role and even hinted there might be another role in the offing for him.

 Blurring strategies of alc and non-alc giants has claimed a high-profile casualty: Olivier Goudet, who said he won’t stand for reelection to Anheuser-Busch InBev chmn next month because his role at controlling Keurig Dr Pepper investor JAB poses too great a conflict of interest these days.  That means he’ll exit a year before end of his 5-yr term, as Financial Times first reported, citing source who said, “last year’s JAB acquisition of Keurig Dr Pepper, the coffee and fizzy drinks maker, had raised concerns on the brewer’s board that its holdings had become too close to those of AB InBev,” which is now aggressively looking beyond beer to boost its portfolio including via diverse NA mix.  For its part, JAB has been on “$50 billion+ dealmaking spree” in recent yrs, including bevs, as FT reminded.  Olivier said only that he’ll spend more time running JAB, and ABI said “the board’s succession plan has been developed since last year and we have been working with Mr. Goudet on a smooth transition.”  His successor and new members come aboard next mo. Goudet has been chmn since 2015, preceded by another JAB mgg partner, Peter Harf.

To Brett Cooper at Consumer Edge Research, ABI’s presence at Pepsi bottler in Latin America was minor issue, but “the problem is evident in ABI’s appointment of a head of non-alcoholic beverages last year and their push in non-alcoholic beverages in North America.  We have thought and continue to believe that ABI will look to (1) build distribution relationships with smaller players – ultimately take those businesses in house akin to KDP’s Allied Brand business, (2) make acquisitions in non-alcoholic beverages and (3) innovate in non-alcoholic beverages.”  No surprise there.  Indeed, we've already seen all of them in play.  But Brett goes further on KDP side:  “We don’t think that KDP stops at non-alcoholic beverages.  One of the arguments that KDP made at the outset of the DPS acquisition was that coffee was a beverage.  We think that there is work to be done to better manage the DPS business.  We think that improving the operations of the former DPS business has years of upside in terms of performance.  However, we ultimately believe that the evolution of retail and the consumer will have KDP looking to go beyond non-alcoholic beverages into alcohol.  After all, if coffee is a beverage, then so are FMBs and canned cocktails (for a company that is already in the mixer business).  If this proves out to be true, it puts ABI and KDP (controlled by JAB) in competition even more than they are in non-alcoholic beverages.”  There could also be an issue as KDP team potentially rethinks co’s distribution strategy, he believes.

Tho coconut water as a category may be plateauing in recent years, it continues to draw high-end players, including pair we’re profiling here. New entry at high end called Taja Coconut is claiming to be first all-natural, cold-filtered brand, offering raw, clean and pure taste, in words of founder Nilang Patel. LA-based brand is going out initially into Midwest markets at $3.49-3.99 per 10-oz clear PET bottle, as well as online. Co claims to have patented a cold-filtered, 3-part process that extracts coconut water while keeping all nutrients intact without the intrusion of heat, air or additives, using coconuts that are processed within 48 hrs of being picked. The empty shells are ground into compost used to grow more trees. Info at TajaCoconut.com . . . Meanwhile, an organic brand called Eliya that’s attempting to play at luxury end using Sri Lanka’s King coconut variety packed in elegant 10-oz glass bottle (BBI, Jul 8) has embarked on $2 mil capital raise for use in building inventory, hiring seasoned sales chief and bringing aboard marketing team. NY-based co, founded by Wall Street vets Abhijit Kukreja and Fariq Merchant has been avidly plying corporate accounts like UBS, Citi Group, NY Times and Ford Foundation as well as hotels and resorts like Fairmont, Royalton, Jumeirah and Caesars Palace. Among its 500+ retailers in Northeast are NY-area chains like Foodtown, Shop Rite, Key Food and Westside Market, along with HEB in Texas. It just signed broadline distributors UNFI and KeHe and enlisted Cascadia Managing Brands of Ramsey, NJ, to plot buildout. Eliya will be exhibiting at upcoming Natural Products Expo West. Info at EliyaNYC.com.

  After earlier retreat, Roar Organic is building up impressive head of steam on recruitment front, most recently by bringing aboard Glaceau and Core Nutrition vet Eric Berniker as cmo (BBI, Feb 28).  After enjoying presumably exit from Core after KDP’s recent acquisition, Eric is joining revamped mgmt team capped by recently recruited prexy/coo Bart Silvestro, a vet of Chef’s Cut Real Jerky and Popcorn Indiana who’s serving as righthand man to founder/ceo Roly Nesi.  Discussing his move to Huntington, NY, co on Fri, Berniker indicated that twists and turns in its development since 2012 founding have left brand in good spot as something more than a narrowly focused sports drink but rather an electrolyte infusion suited to broad array of millennials’ usage occasions.  He noted that, within a week of his Core exit, Roar was suggested to him as logical next stop by broad array of retailers, Whole Foods types and “beverage nerds.”

As Berniker recounted it, Roar was created by Nesi as cleaner sports drink than Gatorade with in-your-face flavor names like Mayhem Punch and Cosmic Grape that each got different graphic treatment.  Along way, tho, pop culture aficionado Nesi saw emergence of athleisure trend, with brands like lululemon crossing over to broad appeal as empowerment icons.  That pointed to potentially underserved market in bevs and in 2017 he broadened brand to its current position as certified-organic “electrolyte infusion” that contains not just electrolytes but also antioxidants and vitamins, with only 2 g of sugar (10 calories) per serving.  Berniker sees it as geared toward what he likes to call the “multidimensional millennial,” filling role beyond workout occasion that’s also often served by juices and coconut waters.  The more sophisticated label graphics the brand currently displays are subtle patterns inspired by athleisurewear.  (Pivot away from narrow sports drink category also means Berniker won’t be competing directly vs his old boss at Glaceau, Mike Repole, who’s running Body Armor – a good thing, Eric laughed.)  As brand has found its way, the financial support has come, with AccelFood leading a $5.6 mil capital round that supported the hiring of Silvestro, Berniker and a new cfo. 

From Eric’s perspective, Roar brand name is still relevant, this time in empowerment sense of “make moves and be heard” that should strike chord with younger consumers looking to have an impact in their careers.  With that in mind, brand’s Expo West booth this week will be offering free professional portrait shots and giving away portable phone chargers. Berniker will be building out his marketing team in coming months.  Key focuses in near future will be such “culture markets” as NY, LA and SF.  

So far, brand footprint has been narrow, including some influential retailers like HEB, Mariano’s and Wegmans, where Roar quickly grabbed #3 spot in advanced hydration section.  Roar also is working corporate accounts like Facebook and LinkedIn, where brand can move 7-10K bottles per week.  It just landed Just Salad chain and immediately grabbed 10% of bev sales there, including fountain.  An Albertsons push is coming soon.  Brand’s DSD footprint likewise remains very tight, with Dora’s Naturals working brand in core NYC market but few others in mix.  All that will be patiently built out, Eric promised. 

Nutrabolt continues to make headway building out a DSD map for its C4 performance energy brand, recruiting Calif houses Coast (SoCal), DBI (NorCal) and Valleywide (Central Valley) to augment its presence in Haralambos Beverage around LA. The co also has begun to fill in some heartland territories, including enlisting Kimball in North Texas to work c-store operations there, and it hopes to be ready to announce its first DSD partners on East Coast in coming weeks, said evp/gm John Herman. C4, recall, offers an alternative to VPX’ explosively growing Bang Energy to indie DSD players who either haven’t been able to land Bang or might be spooked by its growing list of legal challenges, including a suit over intellectual property by Thermolife, whose patents are licensed by C4. The progress comes as Herman reports that C4’s best sku’s are proving to offer velocities matching those of Bang in some accounts and outpacing Rockstar, per Nielsen data he cited. Brand awareness has been building in Southern Calif, where brand has been deploying street teams since last summer, offering encouragement to expansion of effort in coming year (BBI, Oct 29). And chain authorizations are beginning to roll in, at least at regional level, including c-store outfits like 7-Eleven, Chevron, Quick Trip and Sheetz, and grocers like Bristol Farms and Gelson’s. C4 currently is being shipped chainwide to Sprout’s Farmers Market chain, John indicated . . . Right on Brands said its hemp-based Endo brand is being picked up for distribution by Bud house Double Eagle Distribution of Deerfield Beach, Fla, for that house’s Broward and Palm Beach Counties footprint. Endo-branded offerings include 9.5 pH, oxygenated Endo Water. Double Eagle joins distributor roster that includes Oklahoma unit of wine & spirits giant Republic National Distributing Co, along with Belle Pointe Distributors in Fort Smith, Ark, Bud house McBride Distribution in Fayetteville, Ark, Lipari Foods in Warren, Mich, SDK Distribution in Seattle and Texas Select Beverage as master distributor in that state.

 Bud and Miller may be feuding over corn in beer, but the non-alc realm now can boast its own grudge match, albeit at much lower media budget.  Reed’s Inc and Keurig Dr Pepper lawyers have exchanged letters over social media campaign that ginger brew maker Reed’s launched heralding class-action suit Canada Dry recently settled over what judge concluded were unfounded claims that ginger ale leader employs meaningful enough amount of ginger to support slogan that it’s “Made from Real Ginger.” 

As reported recently (BBI, Feb 27), Reed’s has concluded that legal setback suffered by Canada Dry offers opening to herald its own ginger-intense recipes via social media campaign that offers consumers exhortations such as “Up your game with Reed’s Ginger Beer,” “Time to get real and try Reed’s” and “Reed’s is made from real ginger.”  Turns out effort drew cease-&-desist letter dated Feb 22 from KDP vp/asst general counsel Amy Brosius, who takes issue with ads that “disparage our Canada Dry products, by portraying the products tipped over on their sides and/or crushed.  Reeds has also gone so far as to alter the genuine Canada Dry trade dress by changing the words on the front label of the Canada Dry containers portrayed in the ads from ‘Ginger Ale’ to ‘Ginger Fail.’”  In the letter the attorney demands that Reed’s drop the ads in 3 days and substantiate its statements that Reed’s has 1,000X more ginger than Canada Dry, among other demands.  Response 4 days later from Reed’s counsel at Libertas Law Group cites constitutional protections for comparative advertising, and notes that Reed’s least-strong ginger brew contains 6,000 ppm of real ginger compared to what experts in court case found to be 2 ppm in Canada Dry.  As for substantiating where Reed’s got notion that Canada Dry has dropped longstanding slogan, another demand contained in KDP letter, Reed’s attorney notes that that’s what Canada Dry marketer agreed to do in settling suit.  Game on!

PepsiCo’s new ceo, Ramon Laguarta, has reshuffled leadership team, creating new role of global chief commercial officer for Laxman Narasimhan, a McKinsey & Co vet who’s been running Latin America and Europe & Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) regional units. In new role, he’ll oversee PepsiCo's Global Category Groups, Insights, Commercialization, Design, Global R&D, E-Commerce and Strategy units. Silviu Popovici, point man on ESSA, now steps up to ceo role that Laxman is leaving. He continues to run LatAm until a successor is determined there. Key to appointment is move to “delayer” co, with all leaders of key biz units now reporting directly to Narasimhan. They include several execs with ceo titles: Kirk Tanner (PepsiCo Beverages North America), Vivek Sankaran (Frito Lay North America), Silviu Popovici (Europe Sub-Saharan Africa), Mike Spanos (Asia, Middle East, North Africa) and whoever will take over LatAm duties, as well as Jim Andrew, evp for Soda Stream and Beyond Bottle Ventures. As part of changes, Dr Mehmood Khan, vice chmn and chief scientific officer for global R&D, will retire from PepsiCo this month, succeeded by Rene Lammers, currently svp of category R&D, who also will report to Narasimhan . . . Nestle Waters North America has recruited General Motors vet David Tulauskas as vp and chief sustainability officer, succeeding Nelson Switzer, who left NWNA last year to join co’s corporate partner in plastic sustainability, Loop Industries.

Fiber-intensive Hellowater brand has landed some key retail partners as it heads into new year, starting with breakthru at Walmart. Founders Tom Bushkie and Rusty Jones said Fri that mass merch giant has agreed to take Smile (Mixed Berry) and Dance (Orange Mango) flavors of core 16-oz line into 2,100 stores this April, while picking up 8-oz multipack for 800 of the same and different stores. In doing so, Walmart is eschewing newly launched 8-oz kids line in favor of more neutrally branded version that doesn't trample kids’ aspirations to drink what the bigger kids drink or alienate moms who’d just prefer a smaller-size bottle.