In LA Times profile this week, serial entrepreneur Greg Steltenpohl, who founded Odwalla, Adina and Califia Farms, says he's beyond dream of flipping companies to strategic buyers, only to see them dumb products down. "At this point in my life, having a legacy of just flipping it over to a bigger company just because we can doesn't really give much satisfaction. After the Coca-Cola acquiring Odwalla thing, most of the glamor is pretty much gone out of that idea — for me, anyway," Steltenpohl told paper. "If you're competitive with the bigger guys, you're going to force them to do more of the right thing just by market-share dynamics." Story can be read in full here.

With new natural extensions signaling eventual pivot of entire product line to higher ground, Trimino Protein Infused Water has embarked on capital raise via CircleUp and has begun to make move from East Coast focus to first West Coast retail partners.

With cannabis environment in US in flux, Tex-based Rocky Mountain High Brands is looking beyond US borders for growth opportunities, signing 3-year master mfg agreement with CBD Alimentos of Mexico to distribute RMHB's hemp-infused energy and soft drinks in Mexico. CBD's initial purchase order will be 8 mil cans worth up to $3.6 mil in revenue, with 2018 projected to raise total to 16 mil cans worth up to $7.2 mil . . . Reed's successfully navigated latest capital-raising initiative, saying right offering was oversubscribed, forcing participants to be reduced by pro rata amount.

Taking full control of low-alc kombucha entry Kombrewcha, Anheuser-Busch has made sharp pivot into explicitly hard-kombucha space, raising alc level from 1-2% ABV to 3.2% and shifting from refrigerated to shelf-stable recipe that's better suited to Bud wholesaler network. That accomplished, it's now signed its first Bud house, Eagle Brands in Miami, as it looks to explore potential of brand there and in core NY market (where it's remained in indie house SKI, partner since before A-B's involvement with brand). Tho as alc bev Kombrewcha is nominally outside coverage area of BBI, the undertaking sheds some light on directions of fermented tea segment that to date has primarily been NA item as Kombrewcha aims to win increasing role on restaurant and bar menus, often blended with spirits in cocktails, as at party last night at trendy Roberta's Pizza operation in Brooklyn's booming Bushwick nabe, where BBI huddled with Kombrewcha team. It also sheds light on light-handed touch A-B is seeking to bring in cultivating innovators involved both in alc bevs and NAs, including Owl's Brew tea-based mixers, GoLive probiotics, Up Mountain Switchel and Canvas protein line. Kombrewcha, recall, was launched in NY in 2013 by youthful entrepreneur named Ariel Glazer with investment and mentoring from Honest Tea cofounder and Yale prof Barry Nalebuff (BBI, Jul 2 2013). At launch, plan was to avoid grappling with compliance challenge of keeping NA kombucha under 0.5% ABV by going with mild alcohol content, with pitch that Kombrewcha will get you "tickled, not pickled." Along way, A-B quietly came in as minority investor, putting brand in hands of former McKinsey consultant Garrett Bredenkamp but keeping it in non-Bud house SKI, signed back in 2014, in its core market. There were rumbles last summer that A-B might have taken full ownership and was planning move to shelf-stable status (BBI, Jul 7), but nothing official.

We admit we don't know where to begin with this one: with financing round behind its RTD bevs having fizzled, publicly traded Long Island Iced Tea has changed its name to Long Blockchain Corp and said its primary focus will shift towards controversial decentralized-ledger technology - move that sent its shares soaring in trading so far today. Farmingdale, NY-based LTEA said it intends to request change in trading symbol from Nasdaq to reflect new orientation, tho it "will continue to leverage its ownership of the iconic Long Island Iced Tea brand name and its existing beverage portfolio, and remains committed to improving the cash flow profile and efficiency of the beverage business through recently adopted operating initiatives," in words of ceo Philip Thomas. Besides hanging out shingle, tho, it doesn't seem co has taken any actual steps yet toward establishing position in technology, saying only it's in "preliminary stages of evaluating specific opportunities involving blockchain technology," with no affiliations to give it leg up. That didn't stop small-cap stock from exploding in trading today, tripling for most of day. Meanwhile, LTEA has submitted request to SEC to withdraw S-1 registration for public offering filed Nov 11 that was intended to raise capital for bev biz. Yowza.

A slip of the finger resulted in our describing highest-performing Avure HPP machines these days as chugging out 700 mil bottles per year (BBI, Dec 12). The number is actually 70 mil.

With bev biz enfant terrible John Bello ensconced lately as chmn of Reed's Inc, it can be jarring to see the words sometimes put into mouth of freewheeling entrepreneur by investor relations crew at publicly traded co. Sample, in release today flagging SoBe creator's plans to participate for up to $400K in rights offering via dealer-manager Maxim Group LLC that expires tomorrow: "Reed's is ready to re-establish its rightful place as a prominent and dominant force in the craft beverage marketplace. We are well positioned with on-trend superior products, a committed and experienced team, and with sufficient resources we believe that we will make Reed's a powerhouse sales and marketing company. Reed's is primed for accelerated growth and I am excited to be a part of it." OK, at BBI we like "prominent and dominant," in a Clyde Frazier sort of way, but otherwise statement is dry as dust. (For non-New Yorkers, Clyde's the rhyming former franchise star who calls Knicks games.) But overall, it doesn't sound anything like the pungent, expressive Bello known for his calls to action at SoBe like "Drain the lizard!" So how would he put it to friends? Perhaps hoping to coax some fence-sitters on offering, Bello got right to the point in email circulated this weekend: "My real quote was 'Clear the tracks, fill the racks, top off the stacks, Reed's is back.' Eloquent I must say." Clyde no doubt would agree.

For several years, Campbell Soup ceo Denise Morrison has been inveighing against hopeless situation in center store, where non-perishable packaged foods like Campbell's Soup, V8 Juice and Prego spaghetti sauce face prospect of extended, painful decline as consumers' focus shifts to fresher, healthier offerings in perimeter aisles. That's what drove acquisition 5 years ago of Bolthouse Farms refrigerated juice co, placed at center of Campbell Fresh division that's since added Plum and Garden Fresh Gourmet brands in bid to make Camden, NJ-based co more relevant player in grocery and foodservice. So CPB bundled all its mature, shelf-stable non-snack food/bev brands into one segment seeking price realization over growth and told investors to keep their eye on C-Fresh, which got all the refrigerated brands, even refrigerated soups under Campbell's Soup brand. Still, C-Fresh has had more than its share of upheaval, dealing with protein bev recall, carrot quality issues and clearing out of exec team as hoped-for growth engine has sputtered. (A separate investment in Juicero fresh-juice appliance maker also had to be written off.) So today's announcement that CPB is spending $6 bil to acquire snack player Snyder's-Lance Inc - and similar move by Hershey today to spend $1.6 bil to acquire Skinny Pop marketer Amplify Snack Brands - count as "desperate food mergers, here in time for the holidays," as Bloomberg columnist Tara Lachapelle headlined "Merger Monday" development. S&P Bloomberg quickly downgraded CPB's credit rating to BBB, 2 notches above junk status, with negative rating serving as warning that further downgrade may ensue. Campbell will suspend stock buybacks but maintain its dividend as it pays down debt incurred in deal.