Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola’s Simply Beverages Unit Unveils Bottled Smoothies Made From 100% Fruit
Coca-Cola’s chilled juice and juice drink brand Simply Beverages has launched a line of chilled RTD 100 percent fruit smoothies. Dubbed Simply smoothie, the three flavors – strawberry banana, mango pineapple, and orchard berry – are available in grocery stores nationwide. The “shake-and-sip” varieties are offered in multi-serve 32-ounce Simply carafes and single-serve 11.5-ounce bottles containing between 130 and 140 calories per 8-ounce serving. They are made with not-from-concentrate juices and purees, all-natural flavors, and no added preservatives, colors, sweeteners or artificial flavors. National advertising beginning in April will promote Simply smoothie beverages, along with in-store sampling and couponing.
Agua Fresca Start-Ups Compete With Coca-Cola In Burgeoning Market
Mexican flavored water – “agua fresca” – is generally not sold in bottles in Mexico, but by street vendors, or it is made fresh at home. But beverage companies, including a couple of U.S. start-ups and Coca-Cola Company, are trying to change that, confirming that the Mexican beverage may be gaining market momentum. Coca-Cola is trying to revive a legacy agua fresca brand acquired in 2008 to serve as the platform for building the category in foodservice outlets. In the two years since Coca-Cola’s decision to acquire 81-year-old Barrilitos, a line of fountain service aguas frescas designed exclusively for food service retail, the move has begun to pay off. Barrilitos is available in approximately 2,700 foodservice on-premise locations; year-over-year sales have grown 256 percent. The target market so far is both Latino consumers and Millennials on the U.S. West coast. Coca-Cola’s competitors include Los Angeles-based RTD brand Agua Lucha and New York-based Mex2o, both of which are taking different tactical approaches to achieve a similar goal: establish credibility with Latin consumers before taking their respective brands mainstream.
Nestle
Poland Spring Extends Bubbly Line With Six New Flavors
Nestlé Waters NA brand Poland Spring is expanding its Maine-sourced sparkling water line with six flavors: ruby red grapefruit, lemon ginger, white peach ginger, blood orange hibiscus, orange mango and vanilla flavor twist. The new flavors join lively lemon, lemon lime, zesty lime, orange, triple berry, summer strawberry, raspberry lime, black cherry, pomegranate lemonade, and simply bubbles. All are sugar-free, calorie-free and contain no sweeteners or colors. The company will roll out an online ad campaign in the upcoming weeks that will run in digital and on social channels. The new flavors will be available later in February in three bottle sizes – 20-ounce, one liter, and .5 liter (eight packs) – as well as 12-ounce cans (eight packs) at supermarkets, club, convenience and chain drug stores in the Northeast U.S.
Other Companies
Amazon Launches Private-Label Milk, Dairy Products, Coconut Water
Amazon continues to expand into private label beverages with the launch of its first non-Whole Foods private label brand milk and dairy products, as well as a new coconut water product under its Solimo brand. The new milk and dairy products were released under the Happy Belly brand, and are available only via AmazonFresh. The four milk items (1 percent low fat, 2 percent reduced fat, whole milk, and fat free milk) are all lactose-free. Solimo Coconut Water sells for $24.99 for a 24-pack of 11.2-oz cartons. Amazon recently launched Solimo drink mixes in lemonade and fruit flavors, in addition to Ensure-style Solimo nutritional shakes. The Happy Belly brand is marketed in North America, Europe, and Asia.
How 100% Juice Brands Can Overcome Adverse Trends And Other Challenges
Growing consumer concerns about wellness have depressed sales of too-sweet 100 percent juice products, perceived to contain an excessive amount of sugar, Mintel reports. The market researcher says cutting sugar levels is not a solution, because 100 percent juice is natural. So diversification and innovation are the only real solutions for companies. Millennials are looking beyond traditional juice, toward exotic and creative blends of flavors that are both nutritious and delicious. But demographic changes aren’t the only worry: stronger competition from ready-to-drink tea and coffee, coconut water, and protein-infused beverages, as well as drinks claiming to be organic and low-sugar, also provide challenging headwinds. One suggestion is that juice brands already on-trend as “plant-based” can boost their allure with beneficial ingredients such as probiotics or omega-3 “so users do not have to take a separate pill for those elements.”
La Colombe To Debut New RTD Coffee Beverages At Expo West
Philadelphia’s La Colombe RTD coffee company will debut an array of new flavors and concepts, including a line of ready-to-drink cold brew shandy, at Natural Products Expo West next month. The company’s new cold brew 42 oz. multi-serve is a cold-brewed, cold-filled, large format coffee. Also to be unveiled are Cold Brew Brazilian Medium/Dark Roast and Cold Brew Colombian Light Roast: Single origin. According to the company, multi-serve has been on the drawing boards for a while, it waited “until we could invent the technology to fill a bottle without heating up the plastic.” Cold Brew Shandy Lemonade is made with light-roasted Colombian organic coffee and lemonade. Grapefruit and cherry flavors will also be available. La Colombe says its RTD beverages lead the category with growth at 130 percent.
Natalie’s Adds Superfoods, Botanicals To Its Cold-Pressed Juice Portfolio
Following six months of development, Florida-based Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company has launched a new line of cold-pressed functional and “holistic” juices formulated with functional botanicals, traditional spices, and superfood ingredients. The new juices come in three varieties: Purify – a blend of blood orange, grapefruit, dandelion, and ginger targeting inflammation and digestion; Relax – mixing orange, pineapple, chamomile, and passion flower promoting a calm mind; and Resilient – a blend of blood orange, elderberry, turmeric, black pepper, and ginger boosting the immune system and lowering inflammation. The juices will premiere at Publix locations at the end of March, as well as Fresh Thyme in the Midwest, and Fairway in the Northeast. The company is also launching on March 1 a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site featuring home delivery.
TAJA Hopes Cold Filtration Will Set Its Coconut Water Apart From The Crowd
TAJA Coconut has created a multi-step cold filtration process that sidesteps heated pasteurization or exposing to oxygen, resulting in a coconut water that “preserves all the nutrients of the natural nut and most importantly its true taste.” According to the company, most coconut waters on the market end up turning hazy or a pink color as the liquid is exposed to oxygen during processing, affecting the taste. TAJA coconut water is crystal clear, and contains no additives or added sugar. TAJA coconut water launched into 230 Meijer stores across the Midwest. It is showcased in the chilled produce section and sold for an SRP of $3.49 to $3.99 per bottle or a case of 12 for $53.99. TAJA will be available online beginning next month where it can be shipped to any state nationwide. The company is ramping up distribution to stores nationwide this year and plans to add new products to its portfolio in January 2020.
Betta4U Brands Adds Another Wellness Beverage Brand With Acquisition Of NEO Water
Betta4U Brands Inc. has acquired high-pH alkaline bottled water company NEO Water in a cash and stock deal. NEO Water’s products are carried in 2,500 locations by small to large retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, Giant Eagle, Acme Markets and Fred Meyer stores. Betta4U said the acquisition will help it reach its target of $100 million in annual revenues from companies to be acquired over the next 24 months. The acquisition of NEO Water was comprised of primarily cash and stock with no specific details disclosed. NEO Water, one of the first high pH alkaline bottled water brands to achieve national distribution, posted more than $10 million in revenues “at the time of its acquisition.” Delaware-based Betta4U Brands is a portfolio beverage company targeting a $300 million public offering through the acquisition and organic growth of established brands.
Red Bull Introduces Coconut Berry Flavor To The Energy Beverage Market
Red Bull is giving U.K. retailers a broader selection of its beverages with the addition of a coconut berry flavor to its Editions range, the “first coconut berry flavor variant in the energy drink market”. Available in 250 ml cans in energy and sugar-free variants at $1.70 and $1.65 respectively, the brand is also available in price-marked packs. The company said the new variants build on the growing success of sugar-free sports and energy drinks, which make up 13 percent of the sports and energy category. Red Bull is growing its sugar-free range at a rate of 15 percent a year, faster than the category as a whole and adding more than $10.5 million in value last year.
New Flavors Of 5-hour Tea Shots Available
Michigan-based Living Essentials LLC has added two flavors to its growing 5-hour Tea Shots line: lemonade-tea and raspberry-tea, both available at retailers and online. 5-hour Tea shots come in the same size bottle as the 5-hour Energy shots but with a white label. The company has launched an advertising campaign that includes television, radio, digital, social media, and print advertising. The 1.93 oz. bottles do not require refrigeration. The drinks are certified kosher, provide vitamin B-6 and B-12, and are sweetened with sucralose, a zero-calorie sweetener made from sugar.
Spanish Recovery Beverage Refix Arrives In U.S.
Spanish recovery drinks company Refix has arrived on North America’s shores with the launch of an e-commerce website – latitude4t.com. Refix, a hydrating, sustainable recovery drink, is made with 20 percent Atlantic Ocean water, lemon, and stevia a recipe designed to replenish electrolytes after a workout, long work shift, a road trip, or a booze-soaked night out. The company also claims that drinking Refix before consuming alcohol prevents a hangover. The drink comes in a recyclable “shot” bottle and contains more than 80 minerals and 3.5 calories, Already established in Europe, the drink will launch soon in the Chinese market. A case of six costs $23.75 on Amazon. Distributor in New York City is Latitude 4T Inc., which has the distribution rights for Refix in the Western Hemisphere and the Caribbean.
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