Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola Amatil Makes Its Australian/N.Z. Vending Machines Bitcoin Friendly
Coca-Cola Amatil is using the digital asset platform Centrapay to enable consumers in Australia and New Zealand who have the Sylo Smart Wallet app – it combines a private messenger with a digital wallet – to use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in its 2,000+ vending machines. Customers only need to touch the vending machine once to complete a purchase, thus eliminating hygiene concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Vending machines equipped to handle the Sylo app will have QR code stickers that accept payments in digital currency with a scan of a user’s phone camera. [Image Credit: © Coca-Cola Amatil Limited]
Coke Strawberry Arrives In The U.S.
Coca-Cola’s new strawberry-flavored variant has debuted in the U.S. after its successful January introduction in Japan. Coca-Cola Strawberry is now available at FYE, an American chain of entertainment retail stores. The 16.9-ounce bottle, which comes with pink and strawberries labeling, is retailing at $5.99. [Image Credit: © COCA-COLA BOTTLERS JAPAN INC.]
Danone
U.K. Government Okays Danone Acquisition Of Harrogate Water Brands
The British government has cleared Danone’s acquisition of Harrogate Water Brands, owner of the U.K. water brand Harrogate Spring Water and the charitable brand Thirsty Planet. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would not be looking into the deal any further under the provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002. The share purchase agreement, announced in February, will see current owners, the Cain family, remaining as minority shareholders. Sales last year were about $27 million.[Image Credit: © Danone S.A.]
Danone Expands Distribution Agreement With Mineral Water Company Ferrarelle
Family-owned Italian sparkling mineral water maker Ferrarelle Group has inked a distribution deal with France’s Danone to sell, distribute, and merchandise its products in several countries abroad, as the bottled water market in Italy becomes saturated. Italians were the largest mineral water consumers in Europe in 2017, with 222 liters consumed per capita each year. In January, Danone Waters of America became the exclusive distributor of Ferrarelle in the U.S. The long-term master distribution agreement focuses on building the brand in the U.S. and includes Ferrarelle glass formats via on-premise channels.
Other Companies
Oregon Beverage Company Debuts Upcycled Barleymilk On West Coast
Portland, Ore.-based Take Two Foods is introducing its Barleymilk in four flavors into retail stores and coffee shops in the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles. The company says the drink’s flavor and functionality are comparable to dairy milk. Available in original, vanilla, chocolate and Chef’s Blend flavors, the product is made using upcycled barley left over from the beer brewing process. It contains complete protein, fiber, calcium, good fats, and has 50 percent less sugar than other flavored plant-based milks. The company says it will expand its retail and food service distribution nationwide this fall.[Image Credit: © Take Two]
Starbucks Japan To Offer Lemon Cheesecake-Flavored Chilled Cup Drink
Starbucks in Japan this summer is making available a chilled cup drink inspired by a dessert: lemon-flavored rare cheesecake with a hint of shortbread in a creamy milk base. Japan Today says “the packaging is suitably bright for the time of the year.” The drink will retail for 200 yen ($1.86) beginning on June 16 in chilled cup drink sections of Japanese convenience stores.[Image Credit: © Starbucks Coffee Company]
Amazon’s Best-Selling Coffee Brand Is Only Two Years Old
Two-year-old coffee brand Blk & Bold, whose sales surged 1400 percent in May, has become the top-selling coffee brand on Amazon. The success is due partly to increased demand for home-brewed beans since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but also to an early decision to focus on e-commerce. The brand became available at Target and then Whole Foods early in 2020, but when demand from wholesale partners slowed, it shifted its focus to Amazon, accelerating the existing strategy and driving sales. At the root of their brand’s success, however, is the market gap the founders knew they could fill: offering a more approachable specialty coffee experience for everyday consumers while still differentiating it from the sea of brands on store shelves and online.[Image Credit: © BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages]
Moonstone Nutrition’s Functional Drinks Are Formulated To Prevent Kidney Stones
Pittsburgh, Pa.-based start-up Moonstone Nutrition’s founder has partnered with a team of kidney physicians to develop functional beverages targeting consumers at risk of developing kidney stones. Entrepreneur Salim Rayes, whose background is in food and beverages and private equity, got the idea for his new company from a urologist – now board chairman – who co-developed the patent for a key ingredient. Moonstone’s RTD beverages and stick packs of powdered drink mix provide 30 mEq (milligram equivalents) per serving of citrate salts, which consist of magnesium citrate, sodium citrate and potassium citrate, that help prevent calcium-based kidney stones by lessening the ability of the mineral to bind with oxalate and form an insoluble crystal. The product is being sold direct to consumer via the company’s website, though other distribution channels are in the works. Moonstone sells its products for $2.50/serving for the RTD forms and $1.67/serving for the stick packs.[Image Credit: © Dr. Arnie’s Inc.]
Product Diversification Will Keep Energy Drinks Sector Humming Along
Increased energy drink diversification will boost the sector by a CAGR of seven percent through 2030, according to Future Markets Insights. As the COVID-19 crisis subsides, consumers will want products with increased health and wellness benefits, which signals opportunities for the energy drinks industry, including development of functional energy drinks that contain natural ingredients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Europe is likely to lead the way here because the region has an established consumer demand for healthy beverage products. FMI also notes that brands like Red Bull, Monster, Gatorade, PepsiCo, Suntory, and Rockstar are likely to form strategic alliances via acquisitions, mergers, and partnerships as they develop their geographical footprint in the energy drinks market.[Image Credit: © Herbich from Pixabay]
Dutch Dairy Company Unveils Line Of Functional Milk-Derived Ingredients
Functional and nutritional dairy milk ingredients company FrieslandCampina Ingredients (The Netherlands) is unveiling a range of health benefit solutions – for gut, sleep, immune system, and maternal health – under the Biotis brand. Ingredients in the range will help manufacturers develop attractive foods, drinks, and supplements with compelling health benefits, the company says. The first product in the portfolio to debut is Biotis Gut Health, which was designed to encourage a healthy microbiome. Its Biotis GOS ingredient provides a “superior” prebiotic effect and improves gastrointestinal health in adults, the company says. Other Biotis products will be introduced during the year.[Image Credit: © Royal FrieslandCampina]
Ingredients Firms Delivering Prebiotics, Probiotics, Postbiotics To Beverage Makers
Food ingredients companies are helping beverage makers respond to consumer demand for drinks containing prebiotics and probiotics by developing a range of new ingredients that target microbiome health. Tate & Lyle, for example, has developed a soluble fiber (Promitor) that human studies have shown could promote the growth or activity of specific bacteria. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is marketing Fibersol, a prebiotic dietary fiber that integrates into various beverage formulations. The company’s clinical studies have shown it could support healthy gut function and increase satiety hormones. ADM also says “postbiotics” – bioactive compounds produced by food-grade microorganisms during fermentation – are well-situated for growth in the beverage category. Embria has partnered with food and beverage-makers to develop a postbiotic called EpiCor, a heat- and acid-stable postbiotic 2 fermentate that offers manufacturers a three-year shelf life. ADM’s postbiotic BPL1 contains bacteria strains that are no longer living but can deliver many of the same metabolic health benefits as probiotics.[Image Credit: © Melanie Rodriguez from Pixabay]
Brazil’s Citrosuco NFC Orange Juice To Launch In China
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Brazilian orange juice supplier Citrosuco and Chinese premium juice company Zero Degree Fruit Shop are partnering to launch Citrosuco’s Mombuca in China. Mombuca is marketed as a unique variety of “not from concentrate” (NFC) juice from Brazil with a balanced taste between acidic and sweet. NFC is a small category in China, competing with fresh fruits and artisanal freshly squeezed juices (not commercially packaged). NFC is seen as a high-end drink for tier one and tier two white collar workers and mostly sold at convenience stores. Euromonitor pegs retail sales of NFC juice in China at $690 million by 2023. A smaller company than Nongfu Spring, Zero Degree is said to be more agile and bolder in experimenting with new flavor and taste.[Image Credit: © Citrosuco]
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