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Beverage Innovation

Tracking The Drinks Marketplace

Coca-Cola

CCEP Exits Australian Beer With A Sales To JV Partner

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia will dispose of its joint venture stake in the Australian Beer Co. by selling to Casella Family Brands, its joint venture partner, following its decision to exit the Australian beer and apple cider categories in the country. It will focus on spirits and ready-to-drink portfolios, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Casella Family Brands will take full ownership from July 2022.

Nestle

Thailand Chosen As The Market For Nestlé’s Soy Drink Debut

A new soy drink from Nestlé will be unveiled in Thailand. ''Milo Soy'' drink will enter the country’s large ready-to-drink milk market, which has seen sales drop during 2021. Soy drink sales are considerably higher in the country than chocolate malt beverages, which has led the company to make a bet on Thailand as a launch pad for the product, especially as the Milo brand has been popular with Thai children for several decade.

S.Pellegrino Partners With Stanley Tucci To Celebrate Italian Virtues

The Sparkling Natural Mineral Water brand is working with actor and author Stanley Tucci on a multi-year partnership, starting with an original digital and TV campaign, featuring Tucci and filmed at the source of S.Pellegrino, in San Pellegrino Terme. The content aims to display simple Italian virtues, encouraging people to take time to enjoy life. The two partners have also collaborated on a limited-edition “Stan Pellegrino” bottle, with Tucci’s signature engraved in the bottle, in a package containing a S.Pellegrino cutting board and a two water glasses.

Other Companies

New Energy Tonic Water From Buzzed

Buzzed, the U.K. functional drinks brand, has launched a new energy tonic water containing natural caffeine, pure blossom honey and stevia. The brand claims each can has 17kcals and more caffeine per 100ml than the country’s leading energy brand. Buzzed founder, Louise Lloyd, says that the relationship between energy drinks and spirits is well established, but there has been “no premium brand in this space offering a clean, natural solution which doesn’t compromise on flavor”. It is available in 8-packs for £5.50 from Selfridges.

Kaytea Brings Out Organic Iced Tea Inspired By Rosé Wine

UK functional beverage maker Kaytea released an organic cold brew iced tea inspired by rosé wine flavors. Sparkling Rosay has a “a subtle fizz and hints of pink guava that morph into well-balanced notes of roses”. It contains natural, vegan-friendly ingredients and 94% rose tea infusion. Ingredients also include sweet potato concentrate, radish, apple and cherry. It is caffeine- and alcohol-free and can be used as a mixer or as an alternative to an alcoholic drink. 

Scorpion Is A New Hemp-Infused Energy Drink

A 10-year worldwide licensing and distributing agreement signed by Golden Grail Technology for the new Scorpion energy drink range will pitch the new line against PepsiCo’s Rockstar Energy hemp seed-infused drink. Scorpion will complement Golden Grail’s Spider range of energy drinks. Golden Grail’s acquisition strategy has been focused on brands in energy drinks and other emerging beverage categories. 

Irresistible Foods Group Acquires Shaka Tea

IFG, the parent company of King’s Hawaiian, has purchased the Shaka Tea brand to accelerate distribution of the company’s Hawaii-based beverage products. Shaka Tea, launched in 2016, is a RTD herbal tea product that uses māmaki leaves, a plant found only on the Hawaiian Islands. It is also makes functional immunity shots. Within IFG, King’s Hawaiian and Shaka Tea will be run independently, but as partners. Shaka Tea pays farmers a premium for their māmaki crops, the planting of which helps restore the native ecosystem. Mark Taira, CEO of King’s Hawaiian, said the addition of Shaka Tea to the IFG stable, which also includes Massachusetts-based Grillo's Pickles, paves the way for more Hawaii-focused food and beverage collaborations. 

$10 Million Credit Line Aimed At Supporting Zoa Energy’s Growth

Zoa Energy has secured a $10 million line of credit to help it grow its zero sugar energy drink sales by exploiting what it sees as whitespace opportunities from more natural products. The brand’s products contain B vitamins, Branched-Chain Amino Acids, functional ingredients – including camu camu berries and acerola cherries – and caffeine from green tea and green coffee beans. The line of credit comes from Naturally Gerber Finance. Zoa Energy was founded last year by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and attracted investment from Molson Coors, which has been exploring non-alcoholic beverage opportunities. ZOA is already a top 15 energy drink brand, with sales of $3.4 million in four weeks ended October 31, 2021, according to IRI data. In 2022, Zoa launched two new zero-sugar flavors, and expects to launch a 12-ounce female-oriented product later this year. It is also targeting reaching 70,000 retail locations by the year end. 

A New Line Of Enhanced Waters Launched As Aqua Nobel Brand

World Finer Foods has launched the Aqua Nobel line of sustainable, alkaline and flavored waters. They contain vitamins and minerals. The water comes from southern Sweden, filtered by sandstone, moraine, slate and gneiss, above which sits the Aqua Nobel plant. The water has a pH value of 8.2, the highest alkaline content of boxed water in the market and is used for the unflavored variant as well as the base for alkaline the three flavored options: Lemon + Ginger, Watermelon + Raspberry, & Blood Orange + Grapefruit. 

Chobani’s Portfolio Now Includes Two New Functional Milks

The U.S. dairy brand is launching two new milk products, Ultra-Filtered Milk and Half & Half. The former is  lactose-free and has half the sugar and two-and-a-half times the protein of traditional milk, and comes in three variants: Whole, Reduced Fat 2%, Fat Free and Chocolate. The second product has Plain and Lactose-Free options and is made with farm-fresh milk and cream.

Lactalis Joins Post-Workout Recovery Drinks Category

Dairy company Lactalis has launched UP2U RECOVER protein drinks, as well as UP2U RECOVER unflavored protein powder, in the U.S. They are aimed at athletes and fitness enthusiasts, and contain "native" whey protein powder, Lactalis PRONATIV. The flavored protein drinks contain fast-absorbing protein, carbs and electrolytes, to stimulate muscle recovery. It is lactose-free and can be added to other food and beverages. They are priced at $36.99 for a 12 pack.
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