Fast-growing Health-Ade Kombucha has dropped its SRP from $4.99 to $3.99 per 16-oz glass bottle across US, seeking further lift as fermented tea style shows increasing signs of going mainstream. Staffer at Health-Ade booth at summer edition of Fancy Food Show said move was inaugurated a month ago, tho it's taking a while for lower price to emerge at store level. Sales force is being vigilant in exhorting retailers to drop price rather than pocketing extra margin, with NY retailers like Whole Foods, Fairway and Food Emporium among those that are cutting over, she said, adding that Health-Ade was careful to structure adjustment so maintain trade partners' profitability. Its 64-oz growler bottle now goes out at SRP of $13.99. Meanwhile, LA-based co intro'd Blood Orange Carrot Ginger into its regular range and Reishi-Chocolate into its Super-Tea range, the latter already out as Whole Foods exclusive thru Jul.

Pair of ex-lawyers operating as Kelvin Slush Co have taken the slushies they loved as kids up several notches with certified organic cocktail base that's found its way into trade accounts ranging from Eataly and Standard Hotel to Radio City Music Hall. As they work to fill geographic voids like Tex they're finding that their latest entry, Frosé, a frozen take on rosé wine, has vaulted to #1 spot and set co on new growth leg that could see sales nearly double this year and prompted search for growth capital. It's heady ride for pair of entrepreneurs who abandoned legal careers 7 years ago to operate single non-alc slushy-dispensing truck in NY, only to find many of their regular customers were showing up packing a flask. Kelvin brand is named for absolute temperature scale devised by Lord Kelvin.

Boxed Water has named Sunny D vet Joe Jankowski as natl acct mgr for grocery and mass channels, as Grand Rapids, Mich, brand led by ceo Daryn Kuipers expands from base in c-stores and indy stores to larger formats. At Sunny Delight Beverages Co, Jankowski managed channel strategy and worked directly with retailers like Kroger, Safeway/Albertsons and Walmart. Earlier in career, Joe worked at PepsiCo . . . General Mills has brought on Coca-Cola's former vp of strategic marketing, Ivan Pollard, for newly created position of global cmo, effective Jul 10. Ivan is charged with devising global marketing and media-planning operation.

It's been pendulum swinging this way and that in pharma: as returns on expensive drug research get slimmer, drug cos often are tempted to launch forays into consumer sector, only to find that that's tough gig too and retreat back to drugs, often when new top mgr comes in. That seems to be playing out now at GlaxoSmithKline under its new ceo Emma Walmsley, reported by Sky News and Reuters to be planning divestment of GSK's MaxiNutrition sports nutrition brand acquired in 2010 under prior ceo Andrew Witty. Unit sells its powders and bars under MaxiMuscle brand.

Lately, Anheuser-Busch has been talking up NAs as significant part of its future, from non-alc beers that have been popular in Europe to bottled waters and iced teas, saying in a few years low-alc and non-alc bevs could comprise 20% or more of its biz (BBI, Nov 15). Recently launched Teavana iced tea brand is regarded as key test, both of A-B's ability to play in NA sector and as forerunner of other potential collaborations with its partner on brand, Teavana owner Starbucks. Allies have drawn broad praise for their work on upscale glass bottle and subtle flavors of 4-sku line, out in Passion Tango Herbal Tea, Peach Green Tea, Mango Black Tea and Pineapple Berry Blue Herbal Tea. So far, it's just in NY metro and 3 small markets. Still, NAs are tough sell with some Bud houses, given bad taste left in their mouths by departure of fast-growing Monster Energy brand to Coke system a few years ago. Bud wholesalers say they've been told co is in hunt for energy drinks and bottled waters to boost low-alc/non-alc portfolio in US that, so far, includes pretty much just Icelandic Glacial water, Teavana tea, Owl's Brew mixers and Kombrewcha low-alc kombucha, along with non-alc beers.

Active innovation pipeline at Bulletproof Coffee will include at least 3 new FatWater flavors due this summer and, BBI, hears, RTD formulation of coffee recipe this fall. In Food Business News profile of Kimberly Schaub, Bulletproof's sr food product development scientist at its Bellevue, Wash, offices, she described her current projects as including Blueberry, Dragon Fruit and Mango flavor extensions for current FatWater bottled line, which is sugar-free line formulated from co's Brain Octane medium-chain tryglycerides (MCT) oil and B vitamins. It's currently available in Lemon, Grapefruit and Pineapple flavors. And at time that other players have been rushing to market with bottled takes on Bulletproof Coffee recipe of coffee, grass-fed milk and MCT oil, word is Bulletproof itself finally will be ready to offer an entry, sometime this fall. No response yet to BBI request for info on launch.

From her years in functional water space via "structured water" play Penta, Rita Konrad will readily acknowledge that oxygenated water has drawn more than its share of snake oil salesmen and pseudo-scientists, with products that contained minimal oxygen fortification to begin with, and often lost even that the moment the bottle is opened. OxiGen, where she's running sales these days, is different, she promises: shelf-stable brand contains a massive payload of 1,000 parts per million, in a format that employs more stable O4 form of oxygen. Now, with former model and healthy-living guru Kathy Ireland having come aboard as partner, OxiGen is aiming to make splash at upcoming Fancy Food Show opening in NY on Sun, as it moves from West Coast base toward availability across US.

The 1,200+ layoffs anticipated as new ceo James Quincey works to flatten Coca-Cola org have commenced, with soda giant notifying Ga Dept of Economic Development that it will drop 425 employees at 3 sites in Atlanta, effective Jul 15. Disclosure on Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification (WARN) website was spotted by Atlanta Biz Chronicle.