Beer Marketer's Insights
Capping what it says has been 8-year development effort, Mamma Chia will formally enter the plantmilk segment at Expo West with launch of Mamma Chia Organic Chiamilk that melds organic chia oil and protein with coconut milk in recipe that contains no sugar, compared with rival almondmilk or oatmilk entries that may contain 7 g or more of sugar in their unsweetened entries. It's got hefty dose of omega-3 acids and MCT oil. The altmilk, which builds on ingredient first intro'd last fall in single-serve protein line, is premium-priced entry launching in 28-oz plastic bottles that will go out at $4.99-5.79. Inaugural flavors are Unsweetened Original and Unsweetened Vanilla. Sprouts Farmers Market chain is inaugural customer, tho brand is immediately available to any other retailers who take deliveries from KeHe broadline distributor.
National Beverage said it handily beat class action suit challenging natural cred of its La Croix sparkling water brand, which was dismissed with prejudice. FIZZ posted letter from plaintiff's attorney saying that client Lenora Rice and law firm Beaumont Costales "affirmatively withdraw and unequivocally retract" the claims at heart of suit filed in US District Court for Northern Illinois district. They acknowledged that they'd caused harm to the brand and vouched that they hadn't received any payment (meaning a settlement) to go away. Positive outcome comes at time that La Croix brand continues to be soft, with Consumer Edge Research's Brett Cooper citing share slippage to 13% from 13.7% a month ago and 14.9% in year-earlier period, despite "significant ramp" up in merchandising activity. Of course, numerous reasons have been cited for the softness beyond adverse publicity stemmi
On recent earnings call, PepsiCo ceo Ramon Laguarta readily allowed that, aside from strong coffee portfolio, co isn't really holding its own in energy drink biz. Might be good time for PEP and its brand partner Rockstar Energy to step things up, he suggested. Over past week, tho, we've been hearing from several sources - all relying to varying extents on circumstantial evidence - that PepsiCo may be cooking up deal to acquire Rockstar in part as a means of easing contractual barriers to partnering with other energy brands, with view to landing deal, perhaps distribution-only, with Bang Energy brand. Marketed by VPX Sports, Bang pioneered fitness-energy segment and created new wave of growth for category, providing opening for those on sidelines to try again, as KDP is doing with Adrenaline Shoc. Bang currently seems to move mainly thru Anheuser-Busch houses tho it does have some indie Pepsi partners, particularly in Pac NW where Rockstar hasn't cut over to blue system. Recall that contract designating Rockstar as Pepsi's exclusive energy play has created friction between partners over internal Pepsi innovations like the energy-oriented Kickstart and Game Fuel brands, and has precluded partnerships with outside brands, considering that comprehensive Rockstar portfolio doesn't leave white space in emerging sub-segments like organic or plant-based energy. Tho on extended decline, Rockstar still is significant brand in consolidated category and likely would command over $2 bil for acquisition from founder Russ Weiner and his family. Again, we can't describe this as more than a persistent rumor currently, but thought we'd pass it on since it's making rounds among folks whose jobs impinge on all those entities. No immediate response from VPX; PepsiCo has policy of not commenting on M&A rumors, while Rockstar doesn't seem to comment on any subject to trade publications lately.
Though it's kept low profile since pulling in Series A raise of $7 mil in mid-2018, Vive Organic refrigerated shot brand has quietly become a key contributor to retailers' growth in functional bevs as it offsets ongoing decline in refrigerated juices by meeting affluent consumers' desire for bevs that are fresh, low in sugar and in handy grab & go formats. So far the HPPed line has relied on 2-oz shots priced at $3.99 with names like Immunity Boost, Antioxidant Detox and Wellness Rescue but it's about to head in more aggressively functional direction with pair of sku's due to debut at imminent Natural Products Expo West early next month. The new shots, with same size and price as core entries, include an Energy & Focus entry that harnesses adaptogenics, nootropics and green tea, including ingredients like ashwaganda and lion's mane mushrooms. The other is Electro Restore, concentrated blend of 6 electrolytes including heavy dose of magnesium, using ingredients like spirulina and Himalayan sea salt. "Much more potent than entries in the competitive space," promised cmo Meghann Seidner, who's reserving the details for week of the show.
PepsiCo has upped its commitment to Major League Soccer by signing on as non-alc pouring partner of new entry Orlando City and its sibling women's team Orlando Pride at soccer-specific Exploria Stadium. In Pepsi style, PEP will herald the new alliance via post-game concert featuring Ally Brooke at season opener on Feb 29 . . . It only took 334 days, not that anyone's counting. But incubator and copacker MetaBrand, in Edison, NJ, now has a permit in hand from state to commence distilled spirits blending as it expands its purview beyond non-alcoholic entries. It is anticipating that its brewery and wine permits will be in hand by Mar 31, said principal Craig Fortin.
Sue Bachorski, longtime ops/finance vet at Constellation Brands, is ready to segue to her Napa dream - with a twist. She just signed on in combined coo/cfo at House of Saka, which is carving out luxury niche in cannabis via cannabis-infused bevs called Saka Vinfusions that are packaged like wine, drink like wine and are claimed to be the first cannabevs with Napa Valley appellation. She'll report to Tracey Mason, cofounder/ceo at female-owned co that's targeting women with Vinfusions and forthcoming beauty & wellness suite called House of Saka Beauty. Mason, who spent much of career in wine biz after innovation run at Diageo, teamed with cannabis specialist Cynthia Salarizadeh, whose cannabis pr firm was acquired by KCSA. They're supported by advisory board consisting of 10 women with specialties in wine, law and Calif politics. Given Constellation's investment in the rollercoaster ride called Canopy, there's no question that Bachorski doesn't know what she's getting into . . . Cannabis player Vybes has recruited LA mixologist Nick Meyer to help with co's flavor innovation as beverage director, starting with new Blackberry Hibiscus entry that we'd flagged a few weeks ago (BBI, Jan 27). Nick's also crafted line of 4 mocktails that can be made at home using Vybes' water-soluble Hemp CBD Powder as base. Announcement of his appointment lists affiliations at some of hottest eateries in recent years: Bestia, Sotto, Ronan, Tartine, Petty Cash, Barrel & Ashes and Redbird.
So far, plan set by Dean Foods and Dairy Farmers of America is unfolding according to plan, tho more obstacles lie ahead. The 2 cos said they're moving forward with DFA's "stalking horse" bid to buy DF, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection, and are aiming to win approval from bankruptcy court at Mar 12 hearing. That will open up deal to higher offers from other entities in court-supervised auction on Mar 31. The deal, which calls for DFA to pick up 44 Dean operations on fluid and frozen side, could also be scuttled or cut back by antitrust concerns being investigated by FTC. Meanwhile, Dean continues to seek buyers for the assets not included in proposed DFA transaction . . . The long-running saga of what the former Long Island Iced Tea will ultimately become continues to unspool. Now operating as Long Blockchain Corp, the Farmingdale, NY-based co said its planned merger with a promo co called Stran & Co had been dropped after Stran concluded closing conditions wouldn't be met in a reasonable amount of time. The 2 cos will continue with a jointly operated loyalty program called Stran Loyalty Group. Meanwhile, the iced tea biz that originally was the focus of the co, now called Long Island Brand Beverages, plans to proceed with divestment plan, tho co didn't offer a timetable for deal that was announced nearly a year ago (BBI, Mar 8).
The avg IQ of energy drink brands continues to rise. Even as Adrenaline Shoc Smart Energy has recently gone national via Keurig Dr Pepper network (BBI, Feb 10), Austin-based Nutrabolt has kicked off a Smart Energy extension of its C4 brand, claiming to offer cognitive boost to help users unleash their "inner Einstein," per the company rap. The zero-sugar entry is formulated with 250 mg of Kirin's Cognizin form of citicoline to support mental acuity, along with 200 mg of naturally derived caffeine called InnovaTea that's made from fermented green tea leaves and 50 mg of N-acetyl L-tyrosine, another ingredient familiar to core Nutrabolt/C4 users from fitness realm. Packed in 16-oz cans and line-priced with core C4 line, C4 Smart Energy is breaking in 3,500 GNC stores and heading to Walmart. It's also been picked up by NY DSD partner Big Geyser, which has helped vault C4 brand into 5th place in unusual market where Red Bull still holds 59 share, per most recent data, about double the 30 share held by Monster's and its Reign fitness extension, and where fitness energy pioneer Bang still has grabbed only 6 share. The launch in Cotton Candy, Peach Mango Nectar, Electric Sour and Freedom Ice flavors had been teased to BBI recently by Nutrabolt founder/ceo Doss Cunningham during visit to headquarters outside Austin (BBI, Dec 23). They're in array of colors flagged to flavor, in contrast to yellow hue of core C4 and white cans of natural extension. In contrast to cognitive benefits flogged by C4's "Smart Energy" moniker, Adrenaline Shoc's smartness is reference more to the natural derivation of key energizing ingredients in contrast to brands like Bang.
Since series of stiff regulations were enacted by gov't in Chile in 2016 to reduce consumption of sugared bevs and salty snacks, a new study in journal PLOS Medicine found those efforts are paying off. Consumption of sugar-sweetened bevs was down "nearly 25% in the 18 months" after regs were put in place, wrote NY Times. At same time, purchases of bottled water, diet sodas and fruit juice with no sugar increased by 5%. "An effect this big at the national level in the first year is unheard of," said lead author Lindsey Smith Taillie, a nutrition epidemiologist at Univ of North Carolina. "It is a very promising sign for a set of policies that mutually enforce one another. This is the way we need the world to go to begin to really combat preventable diseases like obesity, hypertension and diabetes," she added. This study followed purchases of 2,000 households in Chile from 2015-17, and found the decline in sugared bev consumption "occurred both among the highly educated and those without a high school degree."
With market braced for continuing bad news, Canopy Growth shares enjoyed a relief rally in trading today, with shares up 25% after cannabiz reported better-than-anticipated Q3, with sales of C$123.8 mil topping consensus estimate of C$105.1 mil. Loss of $124.2 mil also was smaller than expected.