The big reveal of Mas+ by Messi sports drink line has come: bottled line created in collaboration with Mark Anthony Group is positioned as "positive hydration" via use of only clean ingredients, including blend of vitamins, electrolytes and minerals. It's debuting in soccer icon's current base in South Florida in range of 4 flavors that riff on futbol themes, initially in half-liter bottles soon followed, unusually for category, by 12-unit variety pks of 12-oz sleek cans. It's sweetened with cane sugar to tune of 1 g per bottle, for just 10 calories, with a lift from stevia. Graphics are dominated by large-font 'Mas+" running down barrel of bottle with Messi endorsement smaller but still prominent. Launch partners include Publix and Walmart, tho initial point of sale will be not-yet-disclosed neighborhood store on Jun 13. Here's the cheat sheet on the flavor names: Miami Punch (he lives in Miami and plays for Miami FC), Orange d'Or (he's 8X winner of Ballon d'Or, or golden boot, celebrating best player in world), Copa Crush (berry and cherry notes riffing on his various Copa del Rey and Copa America wins with Barcelona and Argentina, respectively) and Limon Lime League (as in Champions League club competition). "Mas," of course, means "more" in Spanish. (This article first appeared in sibling pub Beverage Business INSIGHTS.)

Deal speculation for Boston Beer is getting stranger as Wall Street Journal dropped an odd wrinkle earlier today. Ben Kovler, the ceo of Green Thumb Industries, a publicly traded cannabis CPG company that did $1 bil in revs in 2023, reportedly sent a letter to Boston Beer founder Jim Koch "seeking to discuss a potential combination," WSJ wrote.

While signs point to soft Memorial Day beer sales at retail, draft beer sales performed significantly better, according to BeerBoard. Comparing the 2024 holiday weekend (May 24-27) vs 2023 (May 26-29), the number of kegs poured over the 4-day holiday period was up "12% on a per location basis compared to 2023, with sales up 32%."  That's a "promising increase" despite less-than-desirable weather across most of country for MDW 2024, reminds BeerBoard, which recall is a leading on-prem platform covering more than $1 bil in alc bev sales and 100K products.

You'd think it would be hard to demonize a clunky phrase like "price pack architecture." But NY Times this weekend gave it a whirl, tying phrase to controversy over "shrinkflation," one of tools within price pack architecture toolkit. Shop Talk feature in Sun biz section cited finding from data platform AlphaSense that big-company execs mentioned "price pack architecture" twice as often during events with investors in Q1 this year than in year-earlier period, per its dive into earnings call transcripts.

Earlier this spring we noted that Mananalu Water, the aluminum-bottle brand launched by actor/ocean activist Jason Momoa, had let go most of its team just before Expo West, where its booth remained unoccupied (BBI, Apr 9). One of our contacts now has brought to our attention that the brand last month announced it was forging an "exclusive alliance" with Boomerang Water and apparently pivoting to a DTC model that suggests an exit from retail. Short announcement dated May 8 offers no details on what the deal specifically entails and makes no mention of Momoa, leaving his continued association with brand unclear. He'd created concept in 2019 in partnership with Ball Corp, listed as a partner on Boomerang website too. "We invite the world to join us as we embark on this critical journey, setting new paradigms in sustainability and demonstrating that responsible business practices can indeed coexist with robust environmental stewardship," per statement in announcement that was attributed to "Mananalu and Boomerang leadership." Only sentence that discusses ongoing plans states that "Mananalu and Boomerang will continue to serve their existing territories together and work to bring circular sustainability (zero-waste) water systems to new, global markets." Announcement headline says "pivoting fully into a B2B model," suggesting end of retail run. It's not immediately clear what deal means for Mananalu's recently inked deal to serve as official canned water of World Surf League, announced in late Jan.

Another study has weighed in with finding that sugar taxes help keep the weight off kids. Tax on sweetened bevs that was implemented in Seattle in Jan 2018 "was correlated with a statistically significant reduction in children's" body mass index (BMI), reported News-Medical.net. This study, published in JAMA Network Open, tracked changes in BMI of ~6300 children aged 2-14 from 2014-19. These children resided in urban areas within 3 Seattle counties where the tax was raised. "Results showed that post-tax, Seattle children had a more significant reduction" in BMI compared to those living in non-taxed areas. Study notes this finding "aligns with previous research" analyzing Philly, SF, Oakland, Calif, and Mexico "which also reported reductions in children's BMI following beverage tax implementations."

Jocko Go, the energy RTD from Jocko Fuel supplement co operated by former Navy Seal Jocko Willink, is getting a new RTD sibling with Jocko Hydrate. Officially launching tomorrow, zero-sugar entry emphasizes its natural ingredients, eschewing lurid-colored dyes for clear liquid, contains "precision electrolyte blend" of magnesium, potassium, chloride and sodium, and will be offered in black-wrapped 16-oz bottle positioned as a "hydration amplifier," per slogan on shoulder. It builds on existing powdered hydration line, launching in 4 flavors: Blue Raspberry and Lemon Lime (both offered in powder format) as well as Island Orange and Fruit Punch. It expands RTD footprint of Jay, Maine-based co that includes Jocko Go energy line in 12-oz slim cans with moderate 95 g hit of caffeine along with nootropics such as theobromine and L-theanine, and Jocko Molk protein line with 30 g of grassfed dairy-based protein. The co pulled in $30 mil investment 2 years back led by Goode Partners, whose other investments have included La Colombe Coffee, Dave's Killer Bread, Strong Roots and ReadyWise. With motto of "Hard work. Clean fuel. No excuses," Jocko Fuel got rolling just ahead of pandemic (BBI, Feb 6 2020).