New Belgium is taking a step further into beyond beer land with new Wild Nectar Hard Juice, a "slightly sweet and lightly carbonated" hard bev line "made with real fruit juice." Wild Nectar hard juice is intended to be "reminiscent of a fresh squeezed juice," available in passionfruit orange mango, strawberry guava and passionfruit lime flavors that clock in at 5% ABV, 120-130 calories, gluten free, and 5-7g sugar per 12oz slim can, according to samples shared with INSIGHTS. Co advises consumers to "flip this can" to "evenly distribute pulp" for "optimal pour" and "best taste." Packages are brightly colored, available in 2-flavor 8pks of strawberry guava and passionfruit lime, and single-flavor 4pks of passionfruit orange mango; 8pks listed at $17 per 8pk at some local stores online, tho brand does not seem to be widely available at this point.

Tho gov't announced it'd fully protect all depositors, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) still has wide-ranging implications, including for the wine industry. Loans to vineyards and winemakers "are believed to have made up less than 2% of SVB's assets," but the bank made over $4 bil in loans to the wine industry since 1994 and is thought to have "about $1.2B in outstanding loans to the wine industry," wrote Winebusiness.com.

Pacifico and Victoria were "two of the hottest brands in all of beer" in 2022, senior director of brand mktg Ryan Anderson exclaimed from the stage. Pacifico's over 4-mil-case depletions gain put it at 18 mil cases total, INSIGHTS estimates. Its $12 mil increase in marketing this yr marks largest increase yet while "deploying…the same targeted and unique approach" to reach younger multi-cultural consumers thru digital and on-premise. Co will engage with digital channels for 40 hrs a week via 40% increase in digital spend (up 160% vs 2 yrs ago). Now 85% of Pacifico's overall media spend is in digital.

As Corona family surges to new record highs, Corona Extra will lead the way in media efforts again in 2023 with 48 weeks of TV, giving brand #2 share of voice behind only Modelo, brand marketing veep Alex Schultz shared during Gold Network Summit. Over half of TV spend is on live sports, including "high impact placements" across NBA, NCAA tourney, NFL, Gold Cup golf tourney, Liga MX, and MLB. Newest Corona Extra "La Vida Mas Fina" spot dubbed "Band" with Snoop Dogg, Andy Samberg and Karol G debuted, and multiple other new spots will air thruout rest of the year. Additions of Celtics star Jayson Tatum (w/ former WNBA star Sue Bird returning) for NCAA tourney, Mets' star Francisco Lindor for MLB and former Giants QB Eli Manning for NFL spots add to the star power.

Quite a few folks we know drew a blank when longtime Coke system exec Hal Kravitz, recently off 3 years running Aquahydrate, last spring headed over to co called Certified Management Group to take prexy & chmn roles (BBI, May 7).  Tho co’s name has got all the romance of an accounting firm, it actually plays in one of the most stimulating parts of the food biz, brokering food/bev brands to away-from-home consumption channels like food trucks and corporate microkitchens.  At Beverage Digest’s recent Future Smarts conference in NY, Hal and CMG coo Peter Slauer offered sketch of 15-year-old co based in Glendale, Calif, whose stock in trade is getting food/bev brands into burgeoning but highly fragmented channel.  CMG owner is Nick Karapetian, who got start manufacturing modernized food trucks with his father Vahe and found himself amazed at absence of national brands from scene.  CMG was his response to market void.

Kravitz, of course, is longtime red system exec who drew notice outside of Coke for his light-handed touch running KO’s acquired Vitaminwater brands a decade ago.  More recently, he steadied ship at Aquahydrate brand that was in disarray and tripled sales, before departing for reasons neither side has detailed.  His current involvements include board seat at Celsius Holdings, at cannabis player Rocky Mountain High Brands and Hoist Rapid Hydration.  Slauer earlier worked at DS Waters, CCE and Frito-Lay.  So they’re both well-traveled in bev and snack realms. 

What’s size of opportunity?  Food consumed away from home was $300 bil biz in 2018, scoring 6% compounded annual growth rate from 2012-16 vs conventional retail that grew at just 1%.  Channel accounts for 80M+ daily purchase occasions at hundreds of thousands of outlets.  As for food trucks, that biz grew at compound annual rate of 7.3% over 5 years ended in 2017, offering expanded array of premium meals well beyond burgers and tacos, sometimes served with glass of chardonnay.  Segment has evolved to point where, at event like art fest, visitors come as much for the announced food trucks as for the art, Slauer noted.  For all the commentary on burgeoning niches like food trucks and corporate microkitchens, “I’m not so sure we’re paying adequate attention to this side of the business,” Hal believes.  It’s highly fragmented biz, not chain-dominated, “not like calling on a Kroger,” reached via commissaries, wholesalers, redistributors, DSD.  Incidentally, tho Amazon has infiltrated every channel of trade, it still has difficult time with immediate consumption, so this is somewhat insulated channel so far.  Yet it represents lower-cost way to build brand and highlight innovation.

That’s where CMG comes in.  It works on national basis with about 300 redistributors, 800 large wholesalers across US, expanding portfolios, building programs and even undertaking sampling initiatives.  Among its key accounts, Jetro Restaurant Depots are closest to a chain, but you have to call on all 150-160 warehouses to make any headway, Hal noted.  Indie restaurants, bodegas, food trucks, cafeterias all are in customer base, as are indie c-store operators (100K out of nation’s 150K c-stores) who do much of their shopping via white van, because they can’t get what need from large brand cos due to minimum order sizes and insufficient stop frequency.  Among brand CMG represents are Coke entries like Diet Coke, Dasani, Honest Tea, Zico, Monster Energy and Powerade, along with likes of Perrier, Koe Kombucha, Forto Coffee Shots and Nestle Waters regional brands. Smaller brands in mix include likes of Hoist hydration bevs, in which Hal is involved.

During q&a, Kravitz was direct in describing nether world outside purview of execs at big cpg’s like him and Pete, describing visit to downtown central LA location where food trucks pull up to get supplies, “parked as far as you can see,” next to commissary stacked to ceiling with merchandise ranging from napkins to meat to bevs, from premium brands down to private-label and Faygo.  “In 30 years in the Coke business, I’d never been to one of those,” Hal confessed.  “It opened my eyes, I saw how much business was being done here.”  Why, he wondered, “did we not pay closer attention to this over all these years?”  He likened setup to “Costco on steroids,” with 40-50 sku’s in given category, not 4-5 sku’s.  Brands are leaving money on table not pursuing channel, he now recognizes.

After nearly 4 years operating at small scale, tea-forward kombucha producer in San Antonio called Element is in talks about bringing in first outside money and preparing move later this year to dedicated facility that will allow it to scale up to serve growing base within Texas and beyond.  So far, state’s HEB chain is its biggest customer, carrying brand in 130 stores including in newer markets like Houston, but co has eye on going statewide, then moving into underserved markets in heartland or perhaps cracking West Coast markets. 

Brand was created by artist and former videographer Kevin Rayhons, as reaction vs juice-dominated kombuchas he encountered at stores.  He started by homebrewing from years-old teabags that he found lurking in pantry, from Lipton teabags to those scavenged from Chinese restaurants, gradually refining approach.  Needing partner with more biz experience, Rayhons recruited as cofounder a friend named Tim Trofimenkov, who’d grown up drinking kombucha in Ukraine.  The pair opened a restaurant and cocktail bar called Alchemy Kombucha & Culture at 3K-sq-ft site that included small production space for the kombucha; a year and a half ago they closed the restaurant in order to focus on the kombucha, which expanded into former dining room space (they also recruited a local salsa co to share the space to defray the cost).  They got some help financially via grants from local orgs like Westside Development Corp.  Along the way they scaled up from doing 5- and 10-gal batches to current 40-gals, which Rayhons views as good size going forward. 

Partners’ vision is to put single-estate teas and herbs at forefront, via recipes like green tea entry dubbed Earth: The Earthly Flavor that employs wok-roasted leaves or mountain oolong entry dubbed Air: The Cold Freezing Winds, using special frost-bitten variety of Jin Xuan oolong.  (During recent visit to Austin we encountered Black Dragon tea entry dubbed Fire that includes black cardamom, thyme and chili pequin.  Rayons said that’s proved polarizing flavor, but he wanted to include more savory-skewing item as rebuke to sweet, fruit-dominated entries many consumers have come to expect from kombucha category.)  Variant of Earth entry adds jasmine flowers and hibiscus petals, under name Water: The Life Giving Properties of Flowers.  Each is branded with relevant alchemical symbol, duly explained in label copy.  Among other kombucha brands pursuing very tea-forward approach, last year we profiled Long Beach, Calif, co called Fine Feathers (BBI, Mar 8).

Lately, tho, as they ride pickup by HEB grocery chain into broader reach across Lone Star State, partners have been working with Westside Development Corp on larger 4K-sq-ft space a coupla miles away that org will build out for them, with occupancy anticipated sometime after mid-year.  They’re also in talks with unidentified prospective investor who would represent first outside money bought in, Kevin told us in conversation yesterday.  Element currently employs just 7.  Info at ElementKombucha.com.

Alkaline Water Co said Publix chain in Fla has begun selling single-serve 1-liter bottles of its Alkaline88 brand in 1,100+ stores, joining 1-gal multiserve jugs already in place in those stores . . . Celsius Holdings, which has avidly plied fitness channel with its calorie-burning Celsius energy line, has now entered sporting goods channel with placement of 4 flavors of its Original line at 250+ Dick’s Sporting Goods stores across US. They’ll go on front-of-store endcaps . . . Aloe-infused Detoxwater brand has entered over 4K CVS stores as part of Better Inside & Out new-year’s shelf sets. The seasonal set running for 6 weeks includes Original and Peachberry flavors. Retail win comes not long after Detoxwater added its first aloe vera shot, dubbed Veralixir, in 1.7-oz bottles . . . CBD player American Premium Water, a Playa Vista, Calif, co that markets brands like Lalpina CBD bevs, said it’s reached deal with Cutting Edge Beverages to distribute brands along East Coast. Among new retail accounts is Sobe Finest, upscale car wash in Miami Beach. Online retailer MojoVape will carry Lalpina as its first non-vape item.

Ardagh Group North America said it’s upping capacity of can ends and tabs by 10% at its 135K-sq-ft plant in Valparaiso, Ind, with view of supporting surging demand for eye-catching designs. The new capacity should be online by Q3. We’d recently reported how can ends/tabs was segment that’s been particularly squeezed lately as canned entries burgeon on both alc and on-alc sides (BBI, Dec 11).

FIFCO USA launches its Pura Still water with 4.5% ABV nationally this week, having already shipped 300K cases in Dec, chief sales officer Josh Halpern noted in video chat with female soccer star and brand ambassador Carli Lloyd. FIFCO is using Jan to “drive distribution” and trial. Pura Still is latest in growing cluster of alc bev brands being pushed almost as hydration bevs, with co newsletter reminding distribs that Pura Still “is perfect for shoppers seeking health and wellness.” While its “January Ask” is to drive trial and distribution, its year 1 goal is to “achieve distribution consistent with White Claw and Truly,” the surging spiked seltzer brands.