High coffee outlays got you down? Panera chain is aiming to ease the bite - and dramatically drive up your visit frequency - with subscription plan that offers unlimited access to its hot drip and iced coffee (and its hot teas) for $8.99 per month. "Your cup is always full," as slogan puts it behind program that goes live Mar 2 for loyalty program members at chain, which is owned by global coffee giant JAB. Panera will employ media from digital to out-of-home to get word out. Program gives members access to Light Roast and Dark Roast hot drips that were upgraded last year, as well as Decaf and Hazelnut entries. Deal brings users 1 cup, including free refills, every 2 hours during regular opening hours of cafes. Tech consultant Shelly Palmer, noting plan, cited Panera ceo Niren Chaudhary as saying test of concept more than doubled monthly visits and drove food sales up 70%. Full Cup program joins other moves such as dropping of upcharge for almondmilks. Panera said it's "actively explori

Poppilu, bottled aronia berry line created by former Fairlife exec Melanie Kahn, has added Bold & Tangy pouched lemonade line for kids that will ship into nearly 1,300 Walmart stores in Apr. Entry contains only 7 g of sugar (30 calories) per 6-oz pouch, and serves as an alternative to handful of powder-based lemonades and highly sugared juice entries in segment. It's offered in 8-pouch multipacks priced at $3.48 in Walmart and $4.59 at other grocers who pick it up. Flavor range is Original Lemon, Blueberry and Peach. Poppilu's core bottled Antioxidant Lemonade already has been available in Walmart's Southeast region. It boasts Kraft Heinz as investor and strategic ally via co's Springboard incubation unit. Aronia berries offer Midwest-grown alternative to plants like acai as rich source of antioxidants, with pink-hued liquid that make them natural ingredient in lemonade.

Private-label player TreeHouse Foods has recruited Smucker vet Kevin Jackson to run Snacking & Beverages div established in reorg announced today, picking up key bevs role from Moe Alkemade, who's departing in search of proverbial new opportunities. Jackson, who ran retail and foodservice sales at Smucker, will report to prexy/ceo Steve Oakland at Oak Brook, Ill-based co. He joins co as it moves from structure of 3 operating divs - Baked Goods, Beverages and Meal Solutions - to two, the faster-growth Snacking & Beverages, where innovation will be stepped up, and the more mature Meal Preparation that will focus more on generating cash flow. Because Jackson is governed by non-compete on coffee, where Smucker is major presence, TreeHouse's single-serve coffee biz will be managed within Meal Prep div "at least through the end of 2020," presumably when the non-compete expires. With $1.7 bil in annual revenues, Snacking & Bevs will take on key growth role at co that missed revenue target in most recent period.

Is this NA beer thing for real? Until a coupla years ago Ted Kenny didn't think so. Now he does, very much so, after depleting a surprising amount at his beer bottle shop. Since the store, Top Hops Beer Shop, is one of NY's leading craft and import destinations on NY's Lower East Side has become, it seemed worth exploring the issue. So BBI did that a few weeks ago on a quiet afternoon, getting a buzz on - metaphorically speaking - drinking Athletic Beer's Coffee Stout with the owner by the store's 20-tap bar. The store, which just celebrated its 8th anniversary, is located on Orchard Street, across the street from the NY Tenement Museum honoring the immigrant masses that passed thru the neighborhood for a century before being repurposed as a gastronomical playground for foodies and hipsters. It has satellite locations within food halls near Grand Central Station and at the nearby Essex Market.

With a name like Gruvi (with an umlaut over the U, no less), it could be mistaken for latest THC bev to hit the market. While the canna-connection isn't accidental, Gruvi actually is a non-alcoholic beer (and prosecco) brand, launched by youthful software refugee from Toronto who's lately set up shop in Denver. Now finding he's got diverse clientele well beyond folks looking for a non-alcoholic swig alongside the joint they're smoking, co is eyeing expansion beyond its current base in Denver and Toronto.

Pepsi/Starbucks alliance dubbed the North American Coffee Partnership finally is ready to bring nitro cold-brew to the masses, doubtless adding burst of awareness to category populated mainly by unaligned independent producers. The new brand is launching in black-colored 9.6-oz cans in 3 flavors, 2 of them inspired by recipes that have proved popular at Starbucks stores, where nitro rolled out last Aug: unsweetened Black, and sweetened Vanilla Sweet Cream and Dark Caramel. SRP is $3.99 in convenience and $3.49 at grocery. In uncharacteristic gesture, Starbucks - which often is quick to claim pioneering role even in categories it's come late to - acknowledges that that its entry "isn't new to the marketplace," but contends that "Starbucks is one of the only coffee companies to bring it to scale, and the brand sees a great opportunity to further expand the RTD nitro cold brew market that is growing at a rate of almost 40% per year." To herald launch, SBUX is giving away 500 velour track jackets emblazoned with "Smooth."

Saying it's making good on its mission-driven principles, Rebbl is switching all its 12-oz bottles to 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. Move addresses issue that seems to be of growing concern to affluent demo targeted by brands like Rebbl, the Emeryville, Calif-based maker of plant-based bevs. The co said that will take 20 mil bottles per year out of mix and cut carbon dioxide by 922 tons . . . Peet's Coffee is going Hollywood this winter via tie to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that will see roaster supply coffee-making gear and Big Bang medium-roast beans for several households enjoying a home upgrade while also energizing the hundreds of volunteers performing the work via bottled Blended Coffee and fresh-brewed Big Bang dispensed from Peet's-branded truck. Bay Area brand will be featured on 3 episodes of rebooted series in Mar and Apr . . . Coca-Cola said coronavirus outbreak in China could hinder its ability to procure non-nutritive sweeteners - read that as stevia - from that country, per 10-K reported on by MarketWatch. KO said it's implemented contingency plans and doesn't expect short-term impact.