Nestle's efforts to find a buyer for the sprawling home & office delivery (HOD) component of Nestle Waters North America is looking to be protracted process, after several potential financial buying groups that were early to engage seem to have taken a pass. From what we've heard from some sources close to process in recent weeks, global bev giant has shifted focus from selling so-called ReadyRefresh operation as integral unit to focusing on regional units, starting with pair of smaller, more digestible units in New Orleans and Indiana before moving on to 4 major zones in NY, LA, Chicago and Texas. "They're trying to sell the parts as bigger than the sum," as one contact put it. In some ways ReadyRefresh is highly appealing asset, given its position as "the original direct-to-consumer business," as one observer told us a few weeks ago, in era when having reach to customers' front doorsteps at home and work has become a priority. But by now there are numerous other routes from Amazon to Shopify, and we hear the HOD operation is dogged by high workmen's comp liability and difficulty keeping driver ranks staffed, even as service density levels have retreated somewhat in areas like NY and Chicago (tho not LA) as some consumers opt for endless promo prices on casepacks at retail or bundle orders with Amazon purchases. It can also be struggle getting those drivers to upsell the broader array of items now on their trucks. Another contact said ReadyRefresh's claims to service 80% of US are somewhat overstated, that it offers narrower coverage than that but at fair amount of depth, in contrast to rival like Primo (formerly Cott) that's wide but not as deep.

Ex-AOLer and Hint Water founder Kara Goldin is now an author, too. Due this Oct is Harper Collins book titled Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters that is "part autobiography, part business memoir," in which she "shares real stories about her own fears and doubts, the challenges she encountered and what she did to overcome them to eventually build a great business and a life she loves," per teaser on Amazon. We're guessing that one lesson contained in 240-page book is likely to be "always be selling": for limited time, she's offering free case of Hint Water to those who pre-order volume. Hint, of course, was launched by Kara and her husband Theo, both former AOLers, when they couldn't find bevs they felt OK giving their 3 young kids (soon to be 4). After long incubation period the brand, an ecomm pioneer in bevs, has been breaking out the past coupla years.

Nesquik is finally growing up. Seeking to move beyond being mainly a kids or nostalgia play and vie more convincingly vs range of coffees, energy drinks and other RTD options in c-store coolers, Nestle-owned brand moving its iconic bunny into silhouette while dialing up the bright yellow shade associated with packaging. Effort undertaken by Chase Design Group aims to support brand's "core values of positivity and optimism while also creating greater segmentation among its offerings," per associate creative dir Nick Leebert. The bunny, known as Quiky, retains some of prior whimsy but is depicted only in silhouette, in limited range of poses to enforce greater consistency across brand assets. And the new look works harder to differentiate the 5 flavored-milk items that define core brand (flagged prominently on shoulder as containing 14 g of protein) from the trio of Protein Power offerings, which now get mid-bottle banner and different communication hierarchy, per agency. Those emphasize their 23 g of protein. Announcement quotes Nestle's head of design for US, Neil Sadler, saying co's intent is to position Nesquik as "bold, brave and modern challenger brand that will increase its appeal to consumers of all ages." Recall that brand launched as chocolate powder in 1948 and took 35 years before making move into RTD format.

Tim Bradley, coo of Denver-based Teatulia Organic Teas for past 3 years, has stepped into ceo role as founder Linda Appel Lipsius moves away from day-to-day role. Before coming to Teatulia, Bradley had spent decade rolling acquisitions like Rocky Mountain Popcorn and Diego's Chips into his Open Road Snacks holding co. Linda, a vet of Orange Glo and Y&R agency, founded Teatulia in 2007 and has expanded it to include loose teas and canned cold-brewed teas and "tea sodas" that emerged as popular items in Denver Tea Bar operated by co and were picked up last year by Whole Foods' Rocky Mtn div. She retains board seat and takes advisory role. Brand is named for Bangladesh region where it operates 3,000-acre regenerative tea garden, in departure from Assam and Darjeeling regions where most tea is grown. It just expanded East Coast last fall via move into grocers like Wegmans, Fresh Market and Earth Fare . . . BevCanna Enterprises has turned to some local talent in Vancouver, BC, to plot its buildout of cannabev portfolio: Doug Mason, who ran Clearly Canadian for nearly 2 decades. Doug has joined advisory board of BevCanna Enterprises, where he will also help scout promising M&A opportunities. He also brings experience in cannabiz thanks to 4 years on board of hemp processor Naturally Splendid Enterprises until last year and current chmn role at Calif-based TransCanna Holdings.

Over the years, Tractor Beverages has built out fountain biz of certified-organic sodas, even as big bevcos and some of their gourmet-sodas challengers have struggled to find way to move beyond need for artificial preservatives. In recent years, as backlash toward single-use plastics and other wasteful packaging has grown among some consumers, Idaho-based co has made itself standard bearer for fountain-only bevs, with its homepage declaring, "Tractor beverages are available exclusively at our restaurant partners, rather than grocery or convenience stores. This helps cut down on our carbon footprint by distributing through food service locations."

Riding brisk growth of wellness shots category, Vive Organic has concluded $13 mil Series B capital round, led by Monogram Capital with participation by Cambridge SPG (special projects group), which earlier invested in 2018, and Powerplant Ventures. Monogram, with consumer products focus for the $300 mil it deploys, counts among current investments the natural functional bevs Koia and Olipop. New round followed $7 mil Series A in Nov 2018 in which Cambridge had participated (BBI, Nov 2 2018). After starting in natural channel, Vive now claims 8K retail doors all told for its 2-oz refrigerated shots, including mainstream banners like Safeway, Target, Wegmans and CVS. In account of raise, Forbes cited SPINS data indicating that wellness shot segment grew by 39.6% to $365.6 mil in sales over 52 wks ended Jul 14 and quoted cofounder/ceo Wyatt Taubman as saying co has momentum to reach "near-term net sales target of $40 million," at which point it can support growth mainly internally with limited need for outside capital. Earlier this year, Wyatt outlined for BBI how brand has been reinvigorating retailers' stagnant refrigerated juice sets (BBI, Feb 19 20).

Alkaline Water Co scored $41.1 mil in sales for 2020 fiscal year ended Mar 31 and started new fiscal year off on a hot streak, with Apr sales soaring 171% to $7.1 mil, the Scottsdale, Ariz-based co reported. Those were among preliminary results that saw Q4 score 51% gain to $12.1 mil, with more detailed info to be offered via 10-K filing by Aug 14. Gross profit for final period surged 59% to $4.8 mil, meaning gross margin added 2 pts to 40%. But full-year loss widened to $14.8 mil from $8.6 mil on account of noncash charges of $1.6 mil and non-recurring expenses of $4.5 mil that were not detailed in earnings release or on investor call yesterday afternoon.