Beer Marketer's Insights
Report detailing 2019's "New Product Pacesetters" paints a promising picture for PepsiCo and "the return of blockbusters," according to syndicated research house IRI. Analysis is based off 2019 performance before onset of Covid-19 and "New Normal," and sales are broken out separately for multi-outlet (MULO) channels and c-stores. Within MULO food & bev category, Pepsi-owned G Zero was #3 pacesetter, netting sales of $154.4 mil. Just behind at #4 was another PEP brand, Bubly sparkling water, at $116.3 mil. And #1 pacesetter in all of food & bev: Bang Energy, with $299.4 mil in MULO sales. So, while no formal affiliation existed between Bang and PepsiCo in 2019, recent distribution deal gives PEP ties to 3 out of 4 top food & bev innovations. What's more, #2 was Reckitt Benckiser's Enfamil NeuroPro (baby formula powder supplement), meaning PepsiCo can lay claim to 2019's top 3 RTD pacesetters within MULO, per IRI's report.
Ready Nutrition made waves last week with recruitment of NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo as investor and endorser, but Pittsburgh-based co has been building out extensive portfolio of all-natural nutritional brands for 8 years now. Addition of Milwaukee Bucks star should ignite marketing activation as well as overseas expansion for marketer of whey-based protein waters and protein energy drinks and other lines. Among key product initiatives that are under way are development of first plant-based rather than whey-based bevs, founder Pat Cavanaugh told us yesterday. And co is building cadre of bev specialists as it prepares to resume discussions with potential DSD distribution partners.
Having largely abandoned DSD distribution, Fiji Water has been particularly exposed in chaotic retail environment during pandemic lockdown. After 2 months of having its POM Wonderful and Fiji Water sales team members out of field on paid leave, co has begun to deploy them again, per social media post from Scott Parido, svp sales for Fiji Water, Justin Wines & Landmark Wines in N Amer. "With help from our Global Sourcing team, we were able to equip our employees with over 400 PPE kits containing masks, gloves, protective coats, and our own manufactured hand sanitizer," he said . . . CBD player Infuzed Brands, launched by entrepreneur named Jigme Love, is claiming to have pulled in $8.6 mil from unidentified "private family office with international real estate holdings and experience with packaged goods," per MarketCurrents WealthNet. In newsletter, she described launching Reg D financing round prior to pandemic before switching to Reg A+ this month, aiming for $28 mil. Both Reg D and Re
Olipop canned prebiotic soda brand is rolling out at Sprouts Farmers Market this week, even as Bay Area co also has launched dedicated portal to win accts in parts of US where brand still lacks distribution, reeling in drive-in movie theater in upstate NY, coffee shop in Tuscaloosa, Ala, and rustic resort in Russian River, Calif, per growth mktg mgr Steve Vigilante post on social media. Meanwhile, Wonder Drink said its canned Prebiotic Plus line also has been accepted into Sprouts. That line, packed in 12-oz cans is out in Focus (Prickly Pear Cascara), Radiance (Turmeric Ginger) and Hydration (Salted Watermelon) flavors. Wonder Drink has been owned by Harris Tea in recent years . . . St Louis-based Karuna has entered HEB's 150+ stores in Texas with its superfood drinks employing ingredients like mung bean sprouts and arioniaberries. Founder Angela Zeng said HEB has picked up for its refrigerated juice section Karuna's Detox and Rejuvenate Whole Plant Juices, its Empower and Avo-Keto Whole Plant Smoothies and its Karviva ACE recovery drinks in Bold Berry Lemonade and Watermelon Rush flavors . . . Alkaline Water continues to make headway building out its CBD-infused topical items, setting stage for what it hopes will be push behind CBD bevs soon. Items are entering Vitamin Plus locations in Texas and Pure CBD locations in LA.
Seeing opportunity to recruit new users, Hint Water has augmented its aggressive price push of recent months with a TV component, airing ads that invite newcomers to buy 36 bottles for $36 with free shipping. That's 40% off the regular $59.97 price for the three 12-unit cases, with new Clementine flavor one of options. And wait, that's not all: the SF-based co is throwing in free add-ons like a backpack or Hint's own sunscreen, a high-end offering that eschews ingredients like parabens or oxybenzone. The offer seems to build on "starter pack" offer of late last year that sold mixed cases of Watermelon, Blackberry, Pineapple and Cherry at same price. Extent of buy isn't clear beyond MSNBC, where we spotted ad, and we haven't gotten response from query to co. Hint, of course, was launched by wife-&-husband team of ex-AOLers and has been one of pioneers in ecomm for bevs, with estimated 35-40% of sales deriving from online.
A group of Coca-Cola bottlers who operates a PET preform and bottle-making co-op called Southeastern Container have thrown their hat in ring of cos meeting shortage of Covid-19 testing kits, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Charlotte-based member of group, said. Group was answering call of Health & Human Service Dept and Oak Ridge Natl Lab to meet shortage of test collection tubes. "Through a personal connection and discussions with Coca-Cola Consolidated, we determined the preform that goes into a blow molding machine to make Coca-Cola bottles looked exactly like the test tube needed for the Covid-19 testing kits," said Lonnie Love, lead scientist for Oak Ridge's Covid-19 advanced mfg initiatives. Added Dr Luke Daum, chief scientific officer at Longhorn Vaccines, San Antonio co that vetted tubes, "Coke bottlers have done what no other vialing company could do: in a few short days, they have fabricated a small, ruggedized vial from a plastic preform that does not leak, is large enough to hold any swab type, and importantly, they can make millions of tubes per week." Co-op has already made 7 mil tubes. Southeastern Container, based near Asheville, NC, is cooperatively operated by group of bottlers in both Southeast and Midwest regions.
Consumer Edge Research analyst Brett Cooper has placed himself firmly in camp of those who see no long-term diminution in appeal of premium bevs, despite shorter-term impact of coronavirus and related economic slowdown. Nor does he see major bevcos as losing interest in promising players that could boost their currently underrepresented participation.
Offering further evidence that retail banners are by no means closed to innovative brands even during chaotic pandemic period, fiber-rich Hellowater brand has cracked Giant Eagle chain on East Coast with 4 sku's, heading toward new shelf sets this month, per cofounder Rusty Jones, who launched Chicago-based brand with Tom Bushkie. Separately, stampeded by pandemic, Hellowater finally is launching its own ecomm platform at Hellowater.com as alternative to Amazon that should bring richer margin while serving as launching pad for innovation that's had to take a pause in bricks & mortar.
While foot traffic is still down considerably during Covid-19 closings, energy drinks and hard seltzers gave c-store retailers a needed lift over Memorial Day holiday weekend. Energy drinks rebounded in key c-store channel with "solid" gain of approx. 2.3%, "ahead of our expectations," wrote Goldman Sachs' Bonnie Herzog, based on banker's "Beverage Bytes" survey of about 22K stores representing ~14% of the c-store channel. Energy drink segment was well ahead of total bev sales, which were down 3% in c-stores over holiday weekend, per survey. "This is encouraging given impulse beverage sales have been under pressure in recent weeks" during Covid-19 crisis, noted Bonnie. Energy gains impressive considering c-store foot traffic was "broadly pressured," down 11% over Memorial Day, steeper than 10% decline in Apr. Retailers think foot traffic will improve to -5% over summer months while inside bev sales at stores are expected to be down ~1%.
Canopy Growth shares skidded 21% in trading today, overlooking 76% jump in sales in Q4 as Canadian cannabiz reported another C$1 bil loss and pulled guidance for coming quarters. Tho most of loss was attributed to writedowns of shuttered greenhouses and other actions disclosed in Mar, CGR brass owned up to range of other miscues, from supply issues to being blindsided by surge in value-priced flower offerings, which it has scrambled to incorporate into portfolio.