Reed’s has tapped wine & spirits house Young’s Market to distribute its hard ginger brew in Southern Calif and diversified house Odom to service Pac NW, ceo Val Stalowir said. For its forthcoming hemp-based line, co is going with craft beer distributors among its DSD base. Tho CBD sector is highly unsettled, Val noted that co is being cautious in not using CBD isolate in recipe and not calling it CBD, rather calling it Wellness Ginger Beer with Hemp Extract (BBI, Feb 19). “We are jumping in with a fantastic product and brand and we will start swimming,” he said of strategy. Items will be available for sampling at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif, in early Mar.

Fernhill Beverage of Carlsbad, Calif, has signed deal with youth sports org Gamepoint Basketball to develop sports-related bev lines under Gamepoint brand and logo. Imminent product line will be electrolyte-infused sport water in proprietary 20-oz bottle whose bulbous top will be sheathed in shrink label with image of basketball. It will initially go out thru Gamepoint program as fundraising tool before being released to retail. Then by Jun the partners will release line of water-based, fruit-flavored bevs in spherical 12-oz package targeting large-format retailers. “This partnership fits perfectly within the goal of Fernhill Beverage to dominate the youth beverage market,” said Fernhill chmn Larry Twombly. “We want to be the first option for fun beverages for kids from 2 to 20 years old!” Twombly, recall, was creator of now-defunct Hat Trick Beverage who spent some time in penalty box of public opinion after his inspirational story of recovery from motorcycle accident that derailed his promising hockey career proved to be largely fabricated (BBI, Dec 17 2008). As was case with Hat Trick, Fernhill is public co whose shares are traded over the counter via symbol FHBC.

Over past 25 years, AriZona Iced Tea has trod a notably solitary path, staying resolutely independent, not bringing in any outside capital during its growth years, building its own distribution system in key markets and being unapologetic about according outside brands less focus if they opted to ride on AriZona trucks.  Now, in unusual move, Long Island-based co has set alliance with entrepreneur Josh Taekman to help formulate, package, produce and distribute his eBoost powdered energy supplement as a canned RTD item called EBoost Super Fuel Natural Energy + Recovery.  For Taekman, it provides resources, infrastructure and expertise to get into daunting RTD game, while for AriZona it offers chance to harness outsider’s creative vision at time it’s struggled to build superpremium adjunct to its core iced tea and juice biz, which have plateaued.  New line is breaking in NYC via AriZona distribution network and next month at retailers Sprout’s Farmers Market and HEB, Josh told us yesterday.

Positioned in large-font letters as “your kick in a can,” Super Fuel is packed in 12-oz slim cans and offers 110 mg of caffeine from green coffee seed and green tea, 10 vitamins & minerals, key electrolytes, the recovery ingredients Hovenia Dulcis and milk thistle as well as nootropics like Huperzine-A and resveratrol.  With sweetness derived from orange juice, honey and stevia, entries come in at modest 10-20 calories per can.  Initial range of flavors is Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade, Sparkling Ginger Lime and Sparkling Orange Mango, in color-coded cans.  The items, which carry nutritional supplement panel, go out at $2.99 per can.

Gestation of product line makes for interesting story, as recounted by Taekman yesterday afternoon, at very moment his team was selling brand into its first 20 retail accounts in trendy Williamsburg nabe in Brooklyn.  EBoost’s core “super powder” has done well, Taekman said, by providing natural energy, vitamins and minerals – “clean fuel for a better you,” per latest rebranding.  And a shot extension has done well enough to stay in the mix, but has suffered like other energy shot plays from “collateral damage” of segment leader 5-Hour Energy, whose artificial ingredients carry a stigma among consumers EBoost is trying to reach.  While EBoost shots managed to get good placements in stores’ checkout areas, their velocities have been modest.  So it was clear company needed to go all the way to offering a RTD.

But that’s daunting task, financially and logistically.  Enter AriZona.  Taekman said he was familiar with cofounder Don Vultaggio’s 2 sons, Wesley and Spencer, who’ve been increasingly involved in running biz, from their Soho nabe in Manhattan, encountering each other at the gym and social occasions.  A “meet-&-greet” to talk biz 4-5 years ago planted seed for future collaboration, when time and product were right, Josh recalled.  The biggest barrier, he said, was need to convince patriarch Don that he could deliver on flavor front.

The RTD project was set up as joint venture independent of EBoost’s core powder and shot biz.  Development work was done with AriZona’s longtime flavor house, Allen Flavors, and once liquid passed muster with AriZona team, it helped procure 12-oz slim cans during time that supplies are squeezed.  It also helped line up AriZona copacker for production.  (AriZona itself musters considerable production capacity, but not for 12-oz slim can format.)  Taekman’s allies helped him deal with inevitable setbacks: for instance, when supplier Ball was unable to deliver white cans for printed-on label, partners segued to shrink wrap.  It also helped outfit a van and driver for new brand.  First production run amounted to 500K cans.  Under agreement, it’s responsibility of EBoost’s dedicated sales force to place brand at retail “one zipcode at a time,” as Taekman put it, and AriZona fleet to deliver it.  If brand develops momentum, those duties ultimately will be taken over by AriZona, which will consider moving it into other distribution areas like Florida and Chicago. 

Austin-based kombucha brewer called KTonic is betting that consumers will opt for tea-forward, lower-sugar recipes with line that’s heralded as “all-tea kombucha.”  Early-stage brand, which first hit local shelves in mid-2015 but now goes out thru all Central Market stores in Tex and has gotten foothold in indie stores in San Antonio and Dallas, is partnership between Greg Goodman and Bryan Schmitz, brothers-in-law who’re self-financing effort so far. 

The subtly formulated entries, which BBI editor encountered on recent trip to Austin, eschews use of juice to offer delicately balanced recipes like The Original (ginger, lemongrass), Master K (which adds cayenne kick to Original as cleansing item), Cherry Blossom (sencha green tea with cherry essence, black pepper spice, cardamom, calendula) and Golden Flower (chrysanthemum flowers, orange peel, rose hips).  KTonic’s founding was outgrowth of Whole Foods’ category-wide recall of 2010 over alcohol issues, depriving Goodman of the GT’s Synergy line he’d taken a liking too.  Since he didn’t like the sparse alternatives available in Austin, he started homebrewing his own, using “any old stuff,” even old teabags, as base and adding fruit and juice.  But his view of what brews could be evolved during his travels as transportation consultant, when he began to encounter local kombuchas that were less sweet and more tea-forward.  That set him in new direction, prompting eventual decision to team up with Schmitz to go commercial (tho he’s hung onto day job).  As a musician and sound engineer with beer-brewing experience, Schmitz has shown a knack for figuring out operational challenges, while Goodman focuses on sales & marketing and new-flavor development.  So far they employ just a pair of full-time production workers as they plot expansion that will include broader geographic push and significant increment of production capacity.

As Greg recalled in interview yesterday, it was Bryan’s experience with forced carbonation on brewing side that enabled KTonic to devise ways to avoid secondary fermentation, enabling it to keep sugar content lower, generally in range of 3 g, or 32-33 calories per 8-oz serving.  (It’s packed in 16-oz glass bottles.)  That attribute is heralded prominently on labels that position KTonic as “single fermentation kombucha,” while also screaming “low sugar” and “no added juice” on side panel.  Among other flavors, Flor de Jamaica attempts to add Texas touch via use of regionally sourced hibiscus along with ginger, lemon thyme and tarragon.  Info at KTonicKombucha.com.

Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha passed its Series A funding milestone, and once again it was KarpReilly that wrote biggest check.  The Greenwich, Conn-based PE firm led $3.5 mil round that will fund expansion within western states, a packaging revamp and move to more environmentally friendly cans and multipacks, the Boulder, Colo, co announced.  Also due for intro is “nootropic, function-forward brew,” with details possible as soon as Expo West in early Mar, per Rowdy.  The investment puts Rowdy in company of such other KarpReilly-allied bevcos as Spindrift, LifeAid, Koia, Iconic and Zola, the latter wholly owned by Karp.  Rowdy IDed as other participants in round Justin’s founder Justin Gold and Bare Naked and EVOL Foods cofounder Brendan Synnott.  “A big initiative for 2019 will be a switch to clean supply chains and sustainable packaging to increase our presence and offerings while being mindful of environmental concerns: curbing production waste, extending shelf life and increasing the functionality of the product,” said founder/ceo Jamba Dunn. 

Reed’s Inc is planning pilot test in Q2 of Wellness Ginger Beer with Hemp Extract in Pacific Northwest, making it one of more established bev players to test waters of promising but highly uncertain segment.  New item, disclosed in 8-K financial statement filed Fri by publicly traded REED, will be packed in 10-oz sleek can that differentiates it from core non-CBD items, priced at $3.99 per can, in line with CBD entries already in market.  Co hopes to use its existing distribution partners as much as possible to get new line to retail.  As functional base, co is employing Las Vegas-based NanoBiologics Research Corp’s broad spectrum hemp extract, which filing describes as “water soluble nano emulsification technology that delivers superior bioavailability, faster absorption and higher potency than standard hemp extracts.”

Also heading toward a pilot is a RTD Moscow Mule.  That entry, using malt base and out in regular and zero-sugar versions, is anticipated to hit test in Southern Calif and Pac NW regions by end of 2d quarter, in similar 12-oz cans to base brand, priced at $9.99 per 4-pack, ceo Val Stalowir told us yesterday evening.  Reed’s hopes to tap beer and spirit distributors in its current mix of DSD partners for test.

Life on Earth, which acquired Just Chill focus and relaxation brand last year, said it’s moving line into CBD realm, via Organic CBD-Infused High Alkaline Waters and Organic Hemp-Infused Drinks due this summer. “We’ve been getting consumer feedback for quite some time that they’d like to see our Just Chill brand naturally evolve in this direction, and we’re excited to be able to deliver this to our dedicated and growing consumer base,” said ceo Fernando Oswaldo Leonzo. Core Just Chill line employs patented version of L-theanine called SunTheanine as core amino acid promoting focus and calmness.