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Beverage Innovation

Tracking The Drinks Marketplace

Coca-Cola

Blue Raspberry Flavor Added To Minute Maid Fruit Drink Lineup

Coca-Cola juice business Minute Maid has launched a new 20-ounce bottled fruit drink, Blue Raspberry Minute Maid, a bright blue beverage apparently developed “after Coca-Cola learned that blue raspberry flavors have recently grown in beverages six percent year-over-year.” According to the website MyRecipes.com, the launch is part of a “broader product push” from Coca-Cola that includes the previously-unveiled Piña Colada flavor of Fanta. Blue raspberry joins other new flavors in the Minute Maid fruit drink lineup, including kiwi strawberry and orangeade.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

Coca-Cola Philippines Partners With Thailand Firm To Build High-Capacity PET Recycling Plant

Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) has partnered with Thailand-based Indorama Ventures to build a PETValue bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in the Philippines that will be able to recycle plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material. When completed and commissioned in 2021, the $19.7 million facility will be the largest recycling facility in the country, capable of processing 30,000 metric tons of plastic bottles annually, the equivalent of two billion bottles.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

Danone

Danone Waters UK To Use 100 Percent Recycled Plastic Across Evian Line

Danone Waters UK in April is rolling out 100 percent recycled PET bottles for all formats of its Evian water brand. The move will bring the use of recycled plastic content to 70 percent across the Evian range, according to the company, which said it is committed to using no virgin plastic across its Evian and Volvic bottles by 2025.[Image Credit: © Société Anonyme des Eaux Minérales d’Evian]

Nestle

Nestlé Unveils Plant-Based Version Of Milo With Less Sugar

Nestlé Australia is launching plant-based versions of some of its most popular beverage brands, including the powdered cocoa malt beverage Milo. The new Milo replaces milk powder with soy and oats, though the core ingredients – malt, barley, and cocoa – are the same as the original Milo. The product is also lower in sugar compared to original Milo and has a combination of vitamins and minerals to support effective energy release. Nestlé in Brazil has introduced oat- and pea-based Ninho Forti + last December  in a ready-to-drink carton with a paper straw. The company in January launched in the U.S. Nesquik GoodNes, based on oat and pea protein with the chocolate milk flavor of Nesquik.[Image Credit: © Nestlé]

Other Companies

N.Z.-Made Avocado/Oat Milk Beverage Recognized At U.K. Food Innovation Awards

Avo88, a New Zealand-made avocado milk, won the Best Health or Wellness Drink honor at the global food innovation awards in the U.K. The beverage was also a finalist for the Best Plant-Based Alternative food. Avo88, the brainchild of New Zealand celebrity chef Sachie Nomura, is sold in 100 stores in the U.S. The avocado milk, believed to be the first in the world, is made in Hawke's Bay from avocados and oat milk. Sales of the drink are expected to surpass $1 million within the next six months, after hitting shelves in the U.S. last November. The product is not available in New Zealand, though there are plans to launch a dairy version.[Image Credit: © Avocado Milk]

New Owners Hope To Breathe New Life Into 84-Year-Old Orangina



Fizzy, citrusy Orangina soft drink, now owned in the U.S. and Canada by Ventures Food and Beverage (VFB), has returned to its original 1936 recipe and iconic pear-shaped glass bottle with two new designs.  The brand has had a number of owners over its lifetime, including Keurig Dr Pepper, Suntory Brands, Canada Dry Motts Inc. (in Canada) and now VFB, an accelerator group under Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV), majority owned by Suntory (Orangina is not affiliated with PepsiCo). The company has a three-year plan to reinvent the drink as well as create a new category of beverages, dubbed sparkling juice. Orangina has nine distributors including Honickman, Sysco, and KeHE. By April, it is set to be available at numerous retailers, including Price Chopper Supermarkets, Fairway Market, and Key Food. Distribution is expected to expand beyond grocery and convenience stores into restaurants.[Image Credit: © Schweppes International Limited]

Danish Dairy Coop Enters Plant-Based Milk Market

Danish farmer-owned dairy cooperative Arla has entered the plant-based market with three dairy alternative products under the new brand name Jörd. Designated as Arla’s umbrella brand for plant-based products, Jörd is introducing three variants – oat, barley, and hemp – all made with “only four or five ingredients.” Though Arla is looking into launch opportunities in other countries, the new Jörd dairy alternatives will debut in Denmark, the U.K., and Sweden. The three drinks are made with organic and Nordic ingredients and contain up to 50 percent more oats than current market leaders, Arla said.[Image Credit: © Arla Foods amba]

Farmhouse Culture To Debut 2-Ounce Probiotic “Gut Shots”

California-based Farmhouse Culture (FHC), a pioneer in cold brewing and filtering functional shots, says its process offers an alternative to high-pressure pasteurization that requires lab-based probiotics. Both cold brewing and fermentation are time-tested methods for creating foods that support the gut, the company says. FHC, which has offered a 16 oz. Multiserve Gut Shot for years, is launching a 2 oz. Single Serve Gut Shot in April. Iinitial flavors are ginger beet and garlic dill. Farmhouse Culture is backed by 301 INC, the new business development and venturing unit at General Mills.[Image Credit: © Farmhouse Culture]

Spindrift Adds To Its Venture Capital Haul With New $29.8M Funding Round


Fizzy soda and sparkling water maker Spindrift (Charlestown, Mass.) has boosted its venture capital funding total to $70 million with a $29.8 million funding round, according to an SEC filing. Ten-year-old Spindrift, which competes with sparkling water brands like LaCroix and Hint, differentiates itself by emphasizing “real fruit” in its drinks. Hint has so far raised $26.5 million from The Perkins Fund and Verlinvest to produce naturally flavored fruit-essence water.  [Image Credit: © Spindrift]

Hellowater Expands Distribution Footprint, Readies Series A Funding Round



Chicago-based Hellowater, which markets a line of bottled flavored waters infused with prebiotic fibers, has partnered with Southeastern Grocers to add more than 400 grocery channel accounts ahead of a broader expansion later this year. Available now in BI-LO and Winn Dixie stores, the Southeastern deal brings its total nationwide footprint to about 6,000 locations. The Southeast region is a top performer for Hellowater, along with the Northeast and the Chicago area. Hellowater is also sold in Target and Kroger stores around the Atlanta area, in Jewel-Osco accounts in Chicago, and at Stop and Shop, Shaws, Giant, and Price Chopper stores in the Northeast. The company is seeking to raise $2.5 million in a Series A funding round. It has secured several angel investors, but wants an institutional partner to anchor the round.[Image Credit: © Hello Beverages Inc.]

Functionality Continues To Be A Major Beverages Trend

Beverages used to be about refreshment and hydration. No more: today’s consumers want their drinks to do something for them. Consumer demand for beverages offering functional benefits is driving suppliers and operators to develop innovative drinks with added health benefits. New offerings contain natural energy from coffee or tea, adaptogens (helping the body resist physical, chemical, or biological stressors), protein, and medium-chain triglyceride oils. GlobalData said it’s all part of the personalized nutrition trend, especially among Millennials and Gen Xers, that is moving toward targeted nutrition encompassing both genetic and environmental factors. Examples include kombucha, coconut water, and plant/vitamin waters; drinks containing turmeric and ginger; and drinks with new flavors such as purple tea and yerba mate. [Image Credit: © silviarita from Pixabay]

Suja Unveils Line Of Wellness-Focused Juices

Oceanside, Calif.-based cold-pressed and organic beverage company Suja announced a new line of juices, developed in collaboration with Whole Foods Market and designed to boost consumers’ wellness regimens. The Elevated Nutrients line includes seven beverages made with vitamins, minerals, and functional ingredients and offering benefits from beauty to immunity, energy and detoxification. The drinks are USDA certified organic and Non-GMO Project verified, and contain vitamin C from acerola cherry and vitamin E from annatto. Suja planned to unveil its new Elevated Nutrients line at last week’s Natural Products Expo West, but the show was postponed because of the coronavirus.[Image Credit: © Suja Life, LLC]
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