Proposed penny-per-oz tax bills in Illinois appear to be stalling, according to AP. Local reports indicate that while bills are still before state lawmakers in committee, but they're "effectively dead," per Timothy Bramlet, exec dir of Ill Bev Assn.  

It's been position of unaccustomed criticism for Sage of Omaha: since he abstained from voting on controversial exec comp package at Coca-Cola, Warren Buffett has found himself object of wonderment, given his well-known stances on execs who reward themselves too lavishly at expense of shareholders and workers. As reported, pay package passed with 83% approval rate, tho subtracting abstentions like Buffett's and those who didn't vote at all, favorable vote came in a tad under 50%. Now, Wall St Jnl is reporting that Buffett actually has been operating behind scenes, having "aired his reservations about the plan privately in recent weeks to Coke Chief Executive Muhtar Kent in 3 conversations, including at a dinner in Mr Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Neb," and that KO "likely will revise plan" before it takes effect next year. Asked why he didn't join with activist shareholder David Winters in opposing plan, Buffett said he disagreed with Winters' math, even tho he felt Winters was right in claiming plan to be excessive. Still, for exec who's often said key shareholders need to challenge mgmt more often, quiet stance has surprised some shareholders in Buffett vehicle Berkshire Hathaway, which gathers for annual meeting this weekend. Buffett owns roughly 9% of KO shares . . . Just as Dr Pepper Snapple Group shares were hitting 52-week high on Tues, co chmn Wayne Sanders unloaded his entire stake, some 30K shares that he sold for $55.01. Move comes as some investors have been questioning future of co that's still heavily reliant on CSDs, tho deft cost-cutting and other moves have kept its financials sharp so far.  

Energy drinks volume rose 9.1% in convenience stores for last 4 wks thru Apr 12, per Nielsen figures reported by Goldman Sachs' Judy Hong. That's slower than 10.7% gain a yr ago, tho Easter shift to later date this year likely caused some of dropoff. Latest trend is also slower than 11.5% gain pace over last 12 wks in c-stores. Also note that pricing trends improved to -0.6% avg last 4 wks vs 1.9% decline last 12 wks. Monster Energy volume surged 14.7% despite avg 0.7% price increase for 4 wks. That's in line in MNST trends in c-stores over last 12 wks. Red Bull volume rose 3% on 0.5% price increase last 4 wks, also generally in line with its 12-wk trends. Rockstar slowed to 6% gain last 4 wks vs 10% gain pace last 12 wks. Pricing on Rockstar improved to -2.2% last 4 wks vs 3% decline for 12 wks. Coca-Cola's energy brands (mainly NOS) still performing well in c-stores, up 24% on flat pricing last 4 wks. Up 20% last 12 wks. Volume gains for PepsiCo energy brands (mainly Amp) dropped from 40% gain over last 12 wks to 4% decline last 4 wks as pricing became much more rational at -2.1% last 4 wks vs -8.4% last 12 wks. Recall too that PEP is pushing its fast-growing Mt Dew Kickstart as energy play too.

Pricing Still Solid for CSDs Rational pricing environment touted by Big 3 soda cos continues, with CSD prices up an avg of 2.9% in c-stores last 4 wks thru Apr 12, per Nielsen data reported by Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo Securities. That's in-line with segment's pricing over last 12 wks (tho note that some analysts question how accurately syndicated data reflects what they're seeing in the streets). CSD volume declined 2.3% last 4 wks vs -2.7% last 12 wks. KO CSD volume down 1.9% on solid 4.7% price increase while PEP brands off 3.2% on avg 2% price gain for those 4 wks. Dr Pepper Snapple was off 1.5% on avg price increase of 2.3% for 4 wks.  

Coca-Cola Consolidated's BYB Brands incubation unit this summer is riding the one clear winner it's produced to date, the kid-oriented Tum-E Yummies fruit-flavored line, with extensive tie-in to arresting event called Color Vibe. In addition, brand is extending range of flavors with first seasonal entry, entering drops arena and adding 6-pack option to packaging mix. Recall that 50-calorie, vitamin-fortified brand moves thru KO-operated and indie Coke bottlers in 99% of country (only 3 small Coke bottlers declined brand). It entered its 50th state, Alaska, last month, expanding its reach to estimated 140K retailers by now, its 7th year, BYB chief Norm George told BBI yesterday.

Charlotte-based brand has signed up as primary sponsor of 25-city event, which applies color splashing antics associated with well-known Hindu fest toward health and fitness at all-family, color-blast 5K race "that is all about having fun and getting covered from top to bottom with splashes of color as you race your way to the finish line," per race promo pitch. Given vibrant colors and family orientation of Tum-E Yummies, Color Vibe seemed perfect vehicle to Norm George and his brand development dir Megan Cosgrove, Norm said. Events feature DJs working big stage for post-race dancing at conclusion of race.

Sked kicked off in Temecula, Calif, and Charlotte in recent weeks, with Tum-E Yummies typically dispensing full pallet of product (2,200 to 2,500 bottles) to attendees, tho scale will expand as race hits major metros like NY and Las Vegas before winding down in fall. Activation is via Acosta's Mosaic unit. As key part of execution, brand ties to local retailers, typically offering bounceback coupons and the like in participants' kits, backed by local radio and other media. For example, 140 local Pantry (Kangaroo) c-stores have been enlisted for event in Jacksonville, Fla, next month. The tack represents more-involving brand-building vehicle than under-label promos employed past 2 summers. "It's a great family event," George said. "The kids have a blast, the parents have a blast, it's great for our image and we can build some scale and credibility."

Brand is launching its first seasonal flavor, Strawberrylicious Lemonade, targeting core Southeast region worked by Consolidated, and will bring out sucralose-sweetened water enhancers at end of July, offering zero-calorie, vitamin-fortified alternative to Kool-Aid and Hawaiian Punch drops. Brand will roll out 6-packs this fall.

Fuel in a Bottle Shots Expands beyond Consolidated Footprint Given momentum of Tum-E Yummies, BYB is keeping portfolio tight after earlier forays into fresh iced teas (Cha Dao), canned coffees (Bean & Body) and other segments didn't pan out. Its only other play right now is Fuel in a Bottle energy shot line, which only recently ventured beyond Coke Consolidated's 9-state distribution territory, adding HT Hackney to work small retailers in Mich, Ohio, Ind, Ill, Ky and Fla. For marketing it continues fruitful tie-in with Ronnie and Amy Shirley, stars of TruTV reality show Lizard Lick Towing, whose repo-biz activities seem to resonate with male target aged 18 to 30. "We're always interested" in launching new brands, Norm said, "but right now we're focused on these 2 brands."  

Xyience Xenergy is making clearest move yet to diversify from heavy reliance on Ultimate Fighting Championship with TV campaign breaking in mid-May that posits energy brand as key resource for everyday heros like cops, pilots, firemen, military people and emergency care workers who need to be sharp on the job. "Some of us can't afford an off day: this is our energy drink," is exhortation. Separate leg of campaign focuses on folks' athletic pursuits off the job, offering a lift as they engage in biking or swimming. "Victory takes many forms. This one comes in a can," declare ads. Also in mix are radio and outdoor ads running in undisclosed # of brand's 20 focus markets for 2013, with lifestyle print mags also in the buy. There will be Spanish-language executions of some ads, and Pandora Internet radio also is in mix. Xyience prexy John Lennon declined to specify which markets are in TV buy or campaign budget for competitive reasons.

Push came out of discussion with co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, who owns UFC and Xyience with his brother Frank and wondered whether Xyience might be ready for national TV push. Lennon thought it wasn't, but had taken heart from brand's "consumer activation plans" (CAP) launched in 6 markets last year, which produced 20% sales lift during effort and 13% overall lift for year, at time rest of country was essentially flat as rivals Monster and Rockstar upgraded their own zero-calorie offerings and segment was swept by aggressive pricing. (Xyience has since resumed growth, about +6% over past 6 months, Lennon said.) Success of initial CAP push suggested intensified marketing emphasis is productive, prompting co to broaden CAPs to 20 markets this year, backed by assembling of Power to Win team of endorsers involved in non-MMA activities like rock climbing and wheelchair racing. So Lennon told Fertitta he believed brand could sustain campaign in some core markets and embarked on agency search among shops in LA, SF, Seattle and Xyience's own Vegas base. Nod went to Vegas agency BrainTrust Marketing on basis of solid proposal (BBI, Feb 12), even tho agency has focused not on consumer goods but hospitality, casino and restaurant clients that dominate that market. Ad effort does feature MMA endorsers Dan Hardy and Mark Munoz, as well as fitness model Amanda Corey. Paul Remo, technical dir for many UFC broadcasts, helped produce effort that was shot by Emmy winner Nick Vilanni.

Ad push comes as Xyience, biggest energy player besides Red Bull that's not aligned with major distribution system, has been filling in DSD gaps, often via Dr Pepper Snapple houses that don't have much to go with from core supplier besides foundering Venom line. Just this week brand added former Red Bull house Davis Beverage in central and eastern Penn and western NJ. Lennon said he was heartened to see 75% of brand's top 30 distribs hit volume and new-distribution targets required to win incentive contest concluded end of Apr. (They'll get trip to Vegas for UFC bout just ahead of Memorial Day weekend.) Note that while Power to Win effort aims to reach 2/3 of consumers who're not necessarily UFC fans, it doesn't signal diminution of ties to that platform, signaled by recent re-upping of endorsement deal with MMA star and movie presence Ronda Rousey.  

Sparkling Ice marketer Talking Rain has expanded tie to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, committing $50K to fund programs there and planning to feature charity hospitals' "miracle balloon" icon on packs sold at club stores throughout May. New deal steps up what had been local programs to national awareness level . . . Spindrift fruit-based soda brand has brought in $2 mil in additional capital via new round led by including New Ground Ventures and Warbros Venture Partners, BevNet reported . . . Hawaii-based KonaRed Corp said it's expanded distribution assignment with Splash Beverages Group to also include sales and marketing, move that had been signaled at brand's presence at Expo West recently . . . Bai Brands has added new flavor to lineup, Tanzania Lemonade Tea, that plays in half-and-half flavor segment . . . Atlanta-based DS Services of America has acquired home and office bottled water distribution biz of Love Bottling of Muskogee, Okla.  

Banker/consultant First Beverage Group has elevated former Brown-Forman coo James Bareuther, who's served on its board, to chmn's post. Bareuther had served as B-F's coo since 03, retiring in Sep 2010. He'd also headed Distilled Spirits Council for 3 terms as chmn. He'll work closely with First Beverage founder/ceo Bill Anderson. On NA side, co's involvements include likes of Purity Organic juices, Health-Ade kombucha and Project Juice coldpress juices.  

Two cold-press juice pioneers in NY area have made major moves: Juice Press has opened combo "super-store" and production facility in Long Island City nabe that will enable it to expand beyond city's boundaries, even as Organic Avenue has opened new flagship unit in heart of Midtown.

Juice Press has occupied 18K square feet of space in Falchi Bldg in LIC for use for production, new product development and retail, capping announcements earlier this year of 5 new stores in city, including first in biz districts. That brings to 21 the # of Juice Press stores that are operating or opening soon.

Organic Avenue, now with 12 stores, on Fri opened new flagship adjoining Bryant Park pedestrian hub, in midst of city's Midtown biz district, as part of more concerted push to reach consumers during their workday. Key element of new unit is new look that includes vertical wall gardens, as well as informational approach via Feed Your Brain menus that try to better explain principles of plant-based eating to office workers who may not be as steeped in subject as visitors in residential enclaves like Tribeca. Under ceo Martin Bates, former Pret a Manger chief who joined Organic Avenue last Jun, co is prepping move to offer its foods as well as juices and cleanses for home delivery later this year.  

As c-stores dial up efforts to offer fresher, healthier food/bev choices, it's lookin' like they're carving out advantaged positions vs major fast food chains and even Starbucks, per new research offered by Convenience Store News in collaboration with restaurant researcher Technomics. Among "key victories" cited by trade rag, consumers are visiting c-stores more often at expense of fast feeders, and often rate food quality and healthy options higher at c-stores. Those "winning" c-store chains are Wawa in Penn; Sheetz, also in Penn; Okla-based QuikTrip, and Susser Holdings' Stripes chain in Tex. They were pitted directly vs McDonald's, Subway, Starbucks, Wendy's and Burger King.

On purchase frequency, Marketbrief survey last Nov found 20% of consumers saying they've been purchasing c-store foodservice items more often in past month. Of those, 57% said they were visiting fast-food restaurants less as a consequence, while 41% said same thing about coffee shops like Starbucks. Fast-casual chains fared somewhat better, with only 38% of respondents saying they're visiting those less often due to c-store visits, but that's still 8% more than in prior year.

On subject of healthy offerings, Subway came out in front at 91%, but was followed by Wawa at 74%, Wendy's at 73% and Sheetz at 71%. On topic of providing value via high-quality menu items, Subway topped list again at 87%, followed by Wawa (85%), Wendy's (82%) and Sheetz (80%). Tho further down in rankings, c-store chains QuikTrip, Stripes, APlus Convenience, Kwik Trip and Casey's General Stores all fared better than McDonald's on this measure.

Report combines data from Technomic's Convenience Store Insights Group Marketbrief, which is based on overnight surveys of 500 c-store customers, and from Technomic's Convenience Store Consumer Brand Metrics, online survey panel of 4,080 c-store shoppers asked to rate experience at c-stores they visited in past 2 months, per summary posted on CSNews.com site. Donna Hood Crecca, sr dir of Adult Beverage Resource Group and Convenience Store Insights Group at Technomic, said winning c-stores all think and act like foodservice operators, with strong foodservice cultures built into their orgs.  

Tho cold-pressed juice is gettin' lots of attention, coupla other high-end refrigerated niches are making headway in getting hearing before broad swath of American consumers. Chameleon coldbrewed coffee has just cracked Target region surrounding its Texas base, even as GT's kombucha may be set to make inroads into Costco's Calif stores and Live Soda Kombucha has expanded its Kroger presence to include Ralphs chain in Southern Calif.

Coldbrew first. Austin-based Chameleon has operated at more challenging end of coldbrew scale, offering refrigerated concentrate items that carry highest educational burden with consumers, tho it just added trio of sweetened, refrigerated single-serve items at Expo West last month. Now Target's picking up concentrate line in 16-oz and 32-oz sizes for some 81 stores in Texas, Colo, Okla, Kan and La that are served out of Dallas distribution center, said cofounder Chris Campbell. Other regions may follow soon. Note that while Target has been takin' flier on up-and-coming brands and segments via new experimental sets in some stores, Chameleon will be merchandised alongside mainstream brands like Gold Peak iced tea, Starbucks Iced Coffee and International Delight creamers. Larger size, which just hit Tex stores in past coupla days, is tagged at $9.99, while smaller size likely will be tagged at $5.49-5.99 when it hits shelves shortly. Concentrate line had previously cracked some mainstream retailers, but not in their mainstream sets: Kroger's King Soopers chain in experimental Taste of Tomorrow set, and natural sets of HEB and Wegmans. So Target reps broadest move yet for ambitious coldbrew purveyor.

On kombucha front, BBI has heard from several sources that Costco is bringing in LA-based kombucha leader GT's into modest # of Calif stores, with brand possibly on-shelf by now in handful of units over past 2-3 weeks. Costco already has been testing more approachable Reed's Culture Club Kombucha for a few months in Bay Area, reportedly with modest pickup so far, and those partners reportedly will be moving to 2-flavor packs next month to try to boost velocity. GT's, the overwhelming leader in kombucha, already is in Vons stores in Golden State, so Costco presence would rep further broadening of brand that epitomizes kombucha sector but whose vinegary taste can be challenge for newcomers to category. Addition of kombucha fits Costco's tilt toward healthier and nutrient-dense plays like Mamma Chia: retailer's Web site features Aisle7 healthy-living newsletter article urging, "Kick the soda habit with kombucha," making case that it offers a way to ingest far less sugar and may also carry other health benefits.

And Live Kombucha Soda, another Austin-based co, is adding Ralphs banner in Southern Calif to its Kroger presence. This happens not after brand said at Expo West that it was entering 55 of Kroger's Fred Meyer stores in Pac NW (BBI, Mar 27). Compared to GT's and even Reed's, Live works hardest to be approachable to non-converts, packed in longneck bottles in flavors that mimic soda brands like Dr Pepper or root beer, in case of new Dreamy Orange flavor intro'd at Expo West, orange creamsicle. Reflecting mainstream ambitions, Reed's boasts 5-month shelf life and Live boasts 6-month shelf life vs just a few weeks for GT's.

Chameleon Expects Several Hundreds Stores for RTD by Jun Chameleon's Campbell noted that 3-flavor RTD line wasn't completed in time for Target negotiations, where it might have made for more approachable entry point, and in any case is still locked within 60-day exclusive window in Tex of launch retailer Central Market. But judging by retailer responses so far, RTD items should hit several hundred other stores once Central Market exclusive concludes in Jun, he said. New developments come as Chameleon has migrated much of its Green Shoots distribution in Calif and Mid-Atlantic regions to UNFI for broader reach, and engaged Presence Marketing as national broker for most accounts, with Sprouts chain in Southern Calif notched as Presence's first key win. So Chameleon is moving aggressively to garner national presence as well-heeled rivals like Stumptown rev up their own efforts.

Live Emphasizes Kombucha Identity; Way Higher Demands than Craft Beer, Says Brewer Live Kombucha Soda continues to tweak positioning after drifting a bit too far toward soda positioning at expense of its credibility as 99% raw, organic kombucha. "We're clearing up a confusing message: we're a kombucha, not a soda," founder Trevor Ross, who initially devised line to wean his dad from heavy soda habit, told BBI during recent drop-by to co's plant in southwest Austin. Marketing dir Alicia Ward said activities are being geared to position brand as "functional soda alternative." To run stepped-up production, co recently brought on Dave Heath, from Rogness craft brewery, at one time Live's Austin neighbor, and Dave emphasized to BBI that demands of kombucha are way higher than craft beer, given need to keep out vinegary taste and maintain alcohol level of less than 0.5%. "With kombucha there's nowhere to hide," he noted, adding that he lives by his pH and BRICS meters. Glimpse of production space indicated co currently is operating four 1,000-gal tanks, using same core blend of black and green teas for all flavors. Most flavors require 5 to 7 days of fermentation, before being transferred to mix tank for addition of flavors, filtered and moved to brite tanks and carbonated.