How much will Odwalla be missed, now that Coca-Cola has decided to shut down 40-year-old juice marketer? Perusal of consumers' comments on social media show sharp divergence between those who embrace its entries (while occasionally complaining that they have trouble finding them) and set of label-readers those who scathingly decry dropoff in product quality since brand's heyday self-producing at Half Moon Bay, Calif. Curiously, too, in possible harbinger of what was to come, a couple of recent postings from Odwalla itself posit offers like, "I'm selling my handle for $150,000 non negotiable." So the handle-writing was on the wall.

Pandemic-related shuttering of on-premise venues will pull down $$ sales of liquid refreshment bevs even as volume holds up well, Beverage Marketing Corp is projecting. Analysis of latest data in its DrinkTell Database suggested to NY-based researcher and consultant that LRB volume will come in at pre-pandemic levels (strictly, it will beat projection by minuscule 0.2%), with the beneficiaries including long-slumping juice segment in which consumers seem to be putting aside their sugar concerns in favor of health halo associated with fruit. (So fruit bevs' volume will be stable at +0.1% tho $$ sales will still decline.)

Maybe it really is just about your latest flavors. La Croix marketer National Beverage, whose biz had seemed to severely stall over past year and a half or so, attributed its strong fiscal Q4 to "unprecedented sales records" set by latest 3 flavor additions to its La Croix sparkling water line, LimonCello, Pastèque (watermelon) and Hi-Biscus. Results were robust enough to bring co's full-year tally up to an even $1 bil, 2d year in a row it's cracked milestone #, down just 1.4% because of 1.4% decrease in avg selling price. For fiscal year's final qtr ended May 2, net sales rose 9.4% to $262.4 mil, per co's 10-K filing. Net income soared 38.6% to $36.2 mil. (Co didn't offer operating income # on quarterly basis.)

Condiment maker Mizkan America said it's expanded its distribution agreement on Angostura Bitters with Southern Glazer's to add 19 more markets, extending alliance to 32-state footprint plus DC. Five-year deal effective Aug 1 will put cocktail mainstay represented by Mizkan in most of Southern Glazer's 44-state territory. "We jumped at the chance to expand our relationship because it will give the Angostura bitters brand access to Southern Glazer's unmatched national accounts' reach and coverage, simplifying the supply chain in order to offer more consistent pricing, bring innovations to market faster, enhance localized marketing and implement systems that more accurately manage inventory and forecasting," said Bob Cole, Mizkan's customer vp sales. Among new markets cutting over to Southern Glazer's are Texas, Wash State, Oregon, Virginia and Louisiana. Chicago-based Mizkan, which owns brands like Ragu and Bertolli, is US agent for House of Angostura, which dates back to 1824 and has ri

Peet's Coffee has showed its hand in the in-store summer refresher game playing out among major coffee chains, launching sextet of iced Fruit Tea Shakers incorporating Peet's-owned Mighty Leaf Tea and fruit pieces and puree. Also in mix for this summer are pair of out-there cold-brewed coffee extensions, one using Japanese yuzu fruit, the other with strawberry puree. Indulgence is watchword for all of them, with dozens of grams of sugar.

For emerging brands lamenting difficulties coronavirus has erected to broadening their reach, words from Ocean Spray exec earlier this week might have offered consolation of sorts: even major player like cranberry growers' co-op is struggling thru some of same pandemic dynamics. Along the way the exec, strategy chief Kelvin Vuong, offered glimpse of co-op's strategy as it looks beyond its cranberry base to broader health & wellness innovation role. Speaking as strategic player who's in the M&A game, Vuong made it clear he's among brand-shoppers who want to see at least a "pathway to profitability" among early-stage targets.

Brew Dr Kombucha has thrown its hat into CBD ring with extension called Tranquil containing hefty 25 mg dosage of Oregon-grown full-spectrum CDB derived from hemp. New entry is currently hitting shelves in Tranquil Herbs, Tranquil Berries and Tranquil Ginger flavors in canna-friendly Pac NW with move to other western states anticipated in coming months and national expansion in 2021, per Portland, Ore-based co. It's priced at $4.99, a bit above core line. Tho 14-oz glass-bottle entry initially is going out via BDK Direct, pair of regional beer houses - Columbia Distributing in Wash/Ore and Summit Beverage in Montana - soon will pick it up too, noteworthy move given many beer houses' continued skittishness over regulatory uncertainties surrounding CBD. But then, Columbia surfaced last week as distributor of CBD entry from Oregon craft brewer Rogue, a longtime supplier (BBI, Jun 26).

Venture arm of Corona marketer Constellation Brands has committed $100 mil over next decade to investing in minority-owned businesses "in the beverage alcohol space and adjacent categories." New program, dubbed Focus on Minority Founders, is part of Constellation Brands Ventures, which already plays in NA brands via stake in Karma cap-dispensed probiotic line . . . If you bought your Align nutritional supplements from 3d-party vendor, throw them out. That's word from online retailing giant Amazon, which has concluded that most of them are likely to be fake, Business Insider reported. It's offering full refunds, while only selling Align items that it procures directly from P&G warehouses. Issue reflects growing issue online retailers are facing in attempting to police 3d-party vendors, much as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are under mounting pressure to police statements posted on their platforms. As Business Insider points out, Amazon earlier this year launched invigorated effort to root out counterfeits . . . Broadline distributing giant UNFI said it's reached long-term extension of its supply agreement with National Co+op Grocers that will allow UNFI to continue to serve as primary wholesaler of over 250K sku's to NCG's 147 member co-ops. The partners have worked together since NCG's inception in 1999.