In "transformative" 2d qtr, Long Island Iced Tea said it notched 23% gain in branded biz to $1.44 mil as it segued to more upscale package for its RTD tea line, added Lemonade extension and signed on major indie house Big Geyser as distribution partner in core NY market. Deal with Big Geyser included non-cash sign-on incentive of $257K in connection with warrants issued to distributor, co disclosed. Sales for recently acquired Alo Juice line declined, but co said that's temporary situation that should be reversed in current qtr. Separately, co said it launched test at 97 Dollar General stores in mid-Jun.

It took a year of tinkering, but Colo entrepreneur and avid climber has come up with a way to offer a powdered instant tea that delivers rich taste much as Starbucks has accomplished on coffee side with its Via sticks. The entrepreneur, Jim Lamancusa, came to problem with background both in natural products and outdoor industry, where on climbing ventures his physical aversion to coffee left him steeping bags of tea (and packing the used bags back out) while his companions enjoyed the convenience of their Via coffee sticks. Commercially available tea sticks from Coke and Pepsi under their Nestea and Lipton brands contained mainly artificial sweeteners and other ingredients, with tea well down on list of ingredients, so Lamancusa was convinced he could do better, using organic tea as base. Among experience he brought to task were stints at Eco-Products composatable cups and plates, Goodbelly probiotic bevs, Dynafit ski gear and EvoVessel stainless steel water bottles.

Target Corp may be known for its cheap chic touch in design, but that mojo has never extended to its food offerings. As part of ongoing reorg, mass merchandiser has brought aboard General Mills vet Liz Nordlie to help up game of its struggling food/bev biz. Nordlie, former prexy of Genl Mills' baking div, comes in as vp of product design & development for food/bev, with mandate to upgrade its "owned" (private-label) brands. In 20 years at Genl Mills, Nordlie was involved in cereal, snacks, meals, yogurt and baking segments. She reports to Julie Guggemos, svp product design & development. Target has been seeking to overhaul its food/bev biz for 2 years now even as it engages in price war with Walmart and Kroger. As Reuters noted, Target's prior grocery chief, Anne Dament, stepped down in Nov, less than 18 months after she was tasked with turning around grocery biz, which accounts for one-fifth of Target's total sales.

Early-stage glass bottle tea line Seven Teas, which has been testing in 40 Whole Foods store near its LA base, has displayed encouraging enough velocity to be accepted by natural chain's Rocky Mountain region despite being priced by retailer well above brand's $2.99 SRP at $3.49. But in intensive in-store sampling efforts conducted by cofounders Josh and Jeremy Issakharian, who operate as Tea Horse Road LLC, it's become clear that many consumers want unsweetened alternatives, prompting plan to cut over 2 of brand's 7 current sku's to unsweetened status, Josh Issakharian (who also goes by Issak) told BBI yesterday. As reported, Seven Teas offers wide range of bases, including guayusa, yerba mate, tulsi and matcha (BBI, Apr 7). Tho brothers believe hint of sugar serves to bring out flavor of richly brewed teas, some consumers have been adamant about wanting no-sugar options. Conveniently, the 2 sku's that Whole Foods hasn't picked up so far are best suited to going sugar-free, so those will be converted in next production run: Himalayan Rose Tulsi and Marrakech Mint Gunpowder, the latter being given hit of orange peel, orange blossom and rosehips to ease transition. The other 5 sku's are White Peach Oolong, Wildflower Honey Matcha, Guava Mango Guayusa, Spot O' Honey Earl Grey and Goji Hibiscus Rooibos. Whole Foods' Rocky Mountain region will be immediately accepting all 7 sku's, Josh said. Brand's incubation phase had been assisted by consultants BeyondBrands, tho brothers are flying solo now.

Jolted by UK's aggressive soda tax - which levies graduated tax based on bevs' sugar content but exempts 100%-juice entries - Cawston Press is revamping its recipes to eliminate all added sugars from its fruit-based sparkling bevs, including those offered in US. Randy Shefshick, heading US push, confirmed change effective in Jan, saying 12-oz canned line will derive its sweetness entirely from the pressed juice content, and go down modestly in overall calories so that line that currently tops out at 125 calories per can will be offered in 80-100 calorie range. Swapping sugar for juice will exact cost on co, particularly since it doesn't procure juice concentrate, but it will eat the cost, Randy said. He added that move should improve appeal to US consumers as they move away from sugar, putting it in very narrow range of sodas that can claim not to have any added sugar. Move comes as brand continues to pick up momentum, strengthening its NY team as retailers like Citarella and Dig Inn come aboard and DSD partner Dora's Naturals get brand out more broadly. Key hire is Becca Bernard, who made name for herself during early days of Harmless Harvest before seguing to Bruce Cost Ginger Ale and then Juicero.

Call it a rollup or not, but New Age Beverages has been showing it can add foundering brands to portfolio and quickly restore them to profitability, scoring $15.1 mil in Q2 revenues vs $687K a year ago, even before latest brands have been fully integrated into revenue base. Co was cash-flow-positive to tune of $2.15 mil, and its net income of $2.5 mil reversed a loss of $2 mil a year ago. "We are making money," declared ceo Brent Willis, architect of transformation in just a year from marginal kombucha play generating $2.3 mil in annual sales. "As far as we can tell, among all small caps, we're the only ones with positive ebidta."

By now the genre of business memoirs is a highly developed one, with most constituting a sort of victory lap by a successful entrepreneur, offering testimony to his or her own genius, leavened by a few humbling anecdotes to show they're not 100% perfect (just 98%) and a sprinkling of lessons that might get the book picked up for biz-school courses.

Ripple, the marketer of pea-based protein bevs that come as close as possible to dairy milk in flavor and look, has added pair of new sku's. Emeryville, Calif-based co has launched Unsweetened Vanilla, which is packed in 48-oz bottles and contains 8 g of protein and 80 calories per 8-oz serving. Like rest of line, it's made from co's proprietary Ripptein ultraclean pea protein, and also includes sunflower and algal oils, for Omega-3 fatty acids. Brand has also entered half-and-half fray, offering 16-oz bottles of non-dairy creamer option in Original (with 0 g of sugar) and Vanilla (1 g). "Dairy free. As it should be," is mantra of co, which aims to curtail use of animal-based nutrition on environmental sustainability grounds . . . Jin-Ja, which markets well regarded ginger infusions in RTD and concentrate form, has branched out into powdered greens with Jin-Ja Super Greens, vegan, non-GMO powder in berry flavor that's packed in 30-serving canisters.

Coca-Cola European Partners wowed investors with Q2 earnings report that handily beat volume expectations (+4.5%) and delivered strong price/mix gain, too (+3%). Wall Streeters had been anticipating gains more in 1% range on both measures. Among other categories, flavored CSDs/energy grew 7% as Fanta and energy entries did well. Noncarbs grew 6.5, with bottled waters up 5% led by Aquabona and Chaudfontaine, while juices/isotonics rose 7.5% thanks to brisk growth from Capri Sun, Aquarius and iced teas. "Overall, a very impressive quarter with strong execution aided by some external tailwinds," assessed Wells Fargo's Bonnie Herzog. "We believe CCE continues to demonstrate the merit of its CCEP transaction, and have confidence in management's ability to hit its targets," she wrote, referring to transaction that created giant European bottler. Coke Zero Sugar scored double-digit gain, helping lift core trademark by 3.5% overall . . . Castle Brands, mainly a spirits marketer, reported strong growth from its Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer, +51.8% to 457K cases, thanks in part to pickup of brand by 4,500 Walmart stores in Mar. Since acquiring additional 20.1% stake in Gosling-Castle Partners jv to 80.1% stake in late Mar, Castle has been able to consolidate brand with its financial results. Riding Dark & Stormy and Moscow Mule cocktail crazes, Goslings has proved good fit within spirits house.