At time canned-water pioneer Liquid Death has been advancing up the value chain to add sparkling and flavored extensions, Essentia Water founder Ken Uptain and his former ceo Scott Miller are going a step further with canned enhanced-water entry dubbed Yesly. New 16-oz entry offers still water "with a touch of flavor," along with nutritional payload of vitamins and electrolytes, with stevia helping with sweetening load. NY DSD house Big Geyser, a key partner of Essentia on its way to Nestle exit and beyond, has agreed to pick up brand, latest entry to try to make a mark in enhanced water after outsize success years ago of Vitaminwater, which Geyser also incubated. NY house was launch partner for My Muse enhanced water line created by Lance Collins but that struggled and was withdrawn from NY. Yesly's initial flavor lineup is Pomegranate Acai Blueberry, Lemon, Black Cherry and Kiwi Strawberry. Silver cans, somewhat reminiscent Xyience Energy look, offers brilliant paint-splash of color at top keyed to flavor.

After multiple speakers sounded off on Pepsi's Blue Cloud Distribution arm (BCD) at Natl Beer Wholesalers' Assn and Beer Institute meetings, Blue Cloud reached out to Insights Express/BBI with comments that it hopes will clear the air on "misrepresented key facts" and "false assertions." (We reviewed some of the criticism voiced at NBWA last week - BBI, Oct 13).

Keurig Dr Pepper may not be playing in alc segment yet in US, but it's at least pretending to with latest Dr Pepper limited offering. Dr Pepper Bourbon Flavored Fansville Reserve, with a nod at its college football activation, was "inspired by the tailgate" and meant to evoke "sweet, savory and woody notes with subtle hints of cherry, vanilla, chocolate and caramel depending on the sipper that are sure to delight the palate," per announcement. It's non-alc, natch. The catch is that it can only be obtained by those who opt into the Pepper Perks continuity program and play scratch-to-win game that might net a can. Can graphics and outer carrier pick up graphic cues from fine-spirits segment. Entry likely riffs off other bourbon-like NA entries that have been popular lately, including coffee beans aged in bourbon barrels . . . Chamberlain Coffee, which has augmented core bagged coffees and cold-brew bags with powdered matcha green tea entry that's proved a hit among its Gen Z consumer base, now is venturing into chai segment. Saying it's most-requested item in co's (short) history, LA-based co is offering up a vegan powdered Gentle Hummingbird Chai that blends oatmilk, natural vanilla and cinnamon. It debuts just in time for cooler fall weather, as its influencer/founder Emma Chamberlain, still just 20 three years into the co's history, described. "I've been obsessed with it as the weather is starting to cool down a bit," she said. "It's perfect on its own, but I love to add some to a latte for the most incredible dirty chai." It goes for $15 per 10-oz bag good for 10 servings (actually $13.50 when we doublechecked today). By now the matcha entry has extended into Mango and Vanilla flavor extensions, not to mention RTD collab with Swoon via canned Matcha Lemonade . . . Jones Soda is expanding its Mary Jones line of THC-infused sodas with 16-oz canned entry containing whopping 100 mg of active ingredient. But the new "tallboy" format is resealable, so it's being positioned as multiserve offering in Calif dispensaries. Like the core 10 mg THC line, it offers quartet of popular flavors from core non-infused soda line: Root Beer, Berry Lemonade, Green Apple and Orange & Cream . . . Anheuser-Busch's Busch brand is tapping a new demo with a purported foray into non-alc beer: canines. It's announced non-alc bev for dogs called Dog Brew by Busch (not to be confused with Brew Dog brewery) that melds pork bone broth, water, whole corn and other vegetables, turmeric and other herbs and spices, targeting dogs that struggle to eat solid food. DTC-only brand is packed in 4-pks of 12-oz cans priced at $15 on website.

Waiakea Water has been rolling into 14,000 7-Eleven stores in recent weeks, boosting its total retail door count by 35% in a single stroke, as co noted . . . Koia plant protein shakes have rolled out thru 2,200+ Kroger stores nationally, including banners like Dillon's, King Sooper's and Fred Meyer, after successful performance at Ralphs banner in Southern Calif. There's a lesson there, chief commercial officer Chris Pruneda recently posted: "prove your brand with retail partners you can fully support, and build performance case studies that demonstrate your brand's potential. Grow smart, not fast!" . . . Athletic Brewing this week stepped up its retail presence in UK market via launch in 300 Tesco grocers, augmenting footprint built last year with entry into Whole Foods locations. Tesco has taken on brewer's non-alc Run Wild IPA and Upside Dawn Golden Ale entries, priced at £6 per 4-pk of 355-ml cans. The key win was accomplished in partnership with local marketing and distribution partner Bright Drinks, which helped gin up awareness-builders like a Fit for Autumn challenge and trail map, with endurance athlete Sean Conway as front man . . . Florida-based CBD player Kona Gold Beverage continues to build out its presence in western US, now enlisting Hayden Beverage to work Idaho and Montana. Idaho-based house will be picking up Kona Gold's sparkling and non-sparkling lemonades . . . Sparkling Ruby Hibiscus, NY-based brand that counted local Whole Foods stores as early retail partner, is rolling out the canned line thru natural grocer's Northeast division.

Cann-Ade, the CBD brand launched out of Florida by former Webber International Univ linebacker who found ingredient offered succor after severe post-concussion issue, is motoring toward organic certification by early Dec as it patiently builds out its footprint along the East Coast. In meeting while he was in NY/NJ working trade, founder Ben Mogul said he'd nearly completed navigating arduous process of winning USDA organic certification for his brand. Given unsettled regulatory status of CBD, that was no easy feat, Ben confided, but he's hopeful move will further eliminate doubts some consumers may harbor about CBD. Mogul, as we profiled early this year (BBI, Jan 24), is taking uncommonly rigorous approach to buildout, employing double-shrink-wrapped glass bottles to protect 20 mg liquid and not outkicking his coverage. So he's still self-distributing in his S Fla base, working with Gold Coast in NY and V&S in NJ. (V&S is logistics co that bought out S&S a coupla years back as entr&eac

Opening up of CBD bev market may be proceeding at sluggish pace but this past summer it quietly received a vote of confidence in form of "multimillion-dollar" check written to Day One Beverages, the LA player whose canned line has gone out at uncommonly aggressive price of $2.99 in some channels. Lead investor Vincere Capital this morning disclosed investment, which closed Jun 22, tho it didn't specify magnitude of round. Crunchbase lists co as having raised nearly $2 mil in Jul so it's possible the "multi" means as little as 2. Aspire Financial LLC and The J Square Investments participated in round, per announcement. No response to our query as to whether this represents new money or that same round.

Nestle, which has been enjoying fruitful CPG partnership with Starbucks, has agreed to acquire the gigaroaster's Seattle's Best Coffee trademark, a fighter brand nestled under its eponymous brand's premium umbrella whose strategic role had long been unclear. Terms weren't disclosed. Partners acknowledged as much in announcement today, saying deal "strengthens the Global Coffee Alliance by allowing both companies to focus on their core strengths," referring to name of 4-year-old partnership that sells bagged coffee, refrigerated creamers, coffee pods and other formats across 80 countries. For Nestle, which has been rethinking its coffee portfolio in North America, Seattle's Best joins Nescafé, Nespresso and Blue Bottle, with acquired Chameleon Cold-Brew having been sold off this past spring after clear case of buyer's remorse (BBI, Jun 10). Referring to SBUX's preference to home in on its premium offerings, channel development chief Michael Conway said, "We're confident that Nestlé will continue to grow the Seattle's Best Coffee brand as we focus on our strategy to elevate the premium coffee experience for consumers through the Starbucks brand." The 2 cos anticipate deal will close by year-end once regulatory approvals are received.

Your Super, the organic powdered wellness brand, has exited to The Healing Company, setting rollup play on its way in plan to accumulate 15+ supplement and nutraceutical brands in coming years. Terms of cash-&-stock deal weren't disclosed but founding couple of Kristel de Groot and Michael Kuech will continue to operate LA-based Your Super. A DTC-only co until past coupla years, Your Super claims to have sold over 5 mil products in US and Europe to tune of cumulative revenue of $180 mil since founding 8 years ago. That push into retail entailed livening up rudimentary "good face for radio" canister graphics that were fine for DTC-only biz and entering Target, CVS, Sprouts and Vitamin Shoppe chains, over 2,000 doors all told. "This is just the beginning and I could not be more excited to continue building the company further together," posted Kuech, who met de Groot when both were playing college tennis in Georgia and went on to found Your Super after de Groot and her mom devised nutritional solutions to help him thru bout with cancer. Among earlier investors, presumably exited now, were PepsiCo and PowerPlant Partners. It enters Brooklyn-based co founded by supplements entrepreneur Anabel Oelmann and former Jet.com and Equinox Media exec Simon Belsham, per announcement. By now Healing Co has onboarded such investors and advisors as wellness guru Deepak Chopra and pulled in $10 mil of capital from psychedelics entrepreneur Christian Angermayer. Joining mix in Feb, per Pitchbook, was Social Chain founder Steven Bartlett, a prominent figure on Dragon's Den, UK equivalent of Shark Tank. Co's market capitalization under trading symbol HLCO is close to $180 mil.