Dr Pepper Snapple Group backed off pay-cut request from striking workers at Mott’s plant in Williamson, NY, plant but won concessions on pensions and other issues in settling long-running walkout . . . Phoenix-based Revolution Tea will get 3 of 5 flavors of its Revolution 3D RTD line into Safeway stores. 3D is so-named because it contains fruit juice, multivitamins and tea.

Sheila Stanziale, vp sales & execution for PepsiCo’s restaurant biz, has been named prexy of Diageo-GuinnessUSA to run US beer biz.  She fills spot vacated 2 mos ago by Pete Carr, now running spirits, and reports to Diageo prexy Larry Schwartz.  Sheila brings 25+ yrs experience in bev/foodservice, most in PEP eatery role.  Sheila also ran sales/mkt/supply chain/finance for PEP’s Naked Juice brand.  As our sibling newsletter Insights Express reported, Sheila hops into what’s been revolving door, as at least 6th DGUSA head in past decade.  

If he’s able to meet his commitments to fans, GT’s Kombucha creator GT Dave will be back in the market with leading brand within weeks.  He’s reintro’ing kombucha tea line with same formula but as regulated alcoholic item under codename AP5 (for “above 0.5% alcohol) while prepping lighter-bodied BP5 entry that has shorter shelf life and stays below 0.5% alc content.  Looks like brand name for latter will be GT’s Enlightened Kombucha (get it?).

Dave assured Kombucha Kamp blog that only change to original line will be label.  “We want the consumer to know that there is nothing wrong with Kombucha in the original formulation,” he said.  That means gov’t-mandated warning label but little else that will be visible to consumer’s eye.  It’s not clear how far he’s traversed approval process of Treasury Dept’s Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau, nor how he’s tinkered with route to retail.  His major distributor, UNFI, “does not presently hold the necessary licenses to distribute an above-0.5% product line from any of our DCs (distribution centers),” per UNFI’s Web site.  “UNFI sales teams will be informed should we be able to carry alcoholic items in the future,” it adds.  Young entrepreneur, who launched brand as a teen, acknowledged to Kombucha Kamp that biz model inevitably will be more complicated now.  “It will take us some time to wrap our arms around the logistics” of more restrictive states such as Utah, where it would have to be sold in state-run liquor stores, he said.  Recall that some of GT’s juice-infused Synergy items are believed to have been found in market with alc levels of 3% or more, vs permissible 0.5% limit for brands labeled as non-alc.

As for Enlightenment, it will maintain authenticity of raw product but be more of an “everyday, everywhere kombucha,” with “more of a beverage personality with a lighter taste.”  Pulling it off may be challenge considering that, on GT’s Facebook page, fans frequently deride newer rivals for tasting like soft drinks. 

When co arrived on scene – back in prehistoric times when Fiji Water was flyin’ and distributors were frantically seeking alternatives – Equa Water captured uncommon interest in channel for its extreme purity, exotic Brazilian rainforest source and sleek plastic bottle.  Founder and old Brazil hand Jeff Moats recruited familiar bev execs, notably former 7-Eleven buyer Debbie Wildrick, and they pulled in investment from Tamayo family associated with Corona Extra brewing fortune in Mexico.  But brand never got out of gate and Moats ended up ousted from co and mired in litigation in Fla vs Mexicans and Debbie, with receiver appointed to sort things out.  Now comes word that suit’s about to be settled with all parties agreeing to just move on, even as $1 mil Krones production line remains uncrated in warehouse in Brazil.  Along the way, Brazilian owners apparently withdrew mineral rights to water source in Amazonas province, meaning there’s not much left to build on.

Jeff confirmed that venture is probably near its end but declined to offer details.  He was willing, tho, to outline his current venture via his Amazon Origins co, which earlier had been involved in freshwater fish and cupuacu ventures involving Brazilian foodstuffs.  This time focus is on camu-camu, vitamin-C-rich superfruit that must be hand-harvested from riverside stands of shrubs (that’s why natives sometimes call it “canoe berry”).  Naples, Fla-based entrepreneur has lined up alliance with fruit/juice processor Stiebs of Madera, Calif., to offer camu-camu as ingredient to food/bev makers and also is planning multilevel marketing platform to sell bevs based on fruit.  (Stiebs is pomegranate processor that’s broadly branched out into plant-based ingredients in recent yrs.)

You can fault some bev entrepreneurs for staying wedded to their ideas for too long but not Rob Ehrlich.  Creator of Rob’s Really Good line, which in a couple of short years has evolved from an earlier line called Jellyfish thru multiple iterations, is tinkering again.  This time, he’s simplifying look of labels on 14-oz glass-bottle line, dialing up the messages of general uplift (“Drink Positive.  Think Positive.  Be Positive.”) and further diversifying range of bevs.  Next one up: Robb Salad, “light salad drink” in a bottle, as 1st of what should be several veggie-based entries.  Why not?  Offbeat Chocolate Tea entry has already proved a sellout.  “When he came out with Veggie Booty people thought he was nuts,” noted sales exec Ann Barrett, former colleague of Ehrlich’s at Pirate’s Booty snack brand, which he created.  New label retains informal, homespun look but scraps fruit motifs in favor of vaguely mantra-ish central motif that’s cross between maze and fingerprint, with “Positively Life Changing” below.  Canned entries are due soon.  All should be on view at Natural Products Expo East in Boston in Oct.

NJ’s Peerless Joins Narrow DSD Roster   Co continues to take it slow in expanding territory, while writing own script.  It kicks off tomorrow with Peerless in NJ, augmented by broker Rob’s has brought on to crack area grocers, Ann noted.  Broker has had tite ties to retailers like Shoprite via Pirate’s Booty.  Peerless joins short roster that includes Exclusive in NY, GreatState in Boston (tho maybe not in NH market where it sells Snapple – story above), River North in Chicago, Haralambos in LA and 5 Star in San Diego.  Some DSD contracts have been renegotiated to carve out natural and specialty channels, Ann said.  In SF brand’s picked up tiny shop called HEM to work areas like Haight-Ashbury and Mission District.

Citrus- and juniper berry-flavored Venom, energy brand launched by Snapple in 01 in 8-oz cans under its Elements sub-brand, may be about to make a comeback, this time in 16-oz size, as CSAB races to expand energy portfolio.  As reported, co already has devised Coolah for Coke bottlers who distribute CSAB soft drinks like Dr Pepper and is collaborating with Hansen on newly developed Ace and gambling-themed Joker Mad Energy (originally launched at Circle K c-store chain).  Venom was hurriedly devised to fill market void created among independent distributors after Pepsi acquired SoBe, but was seen as inconsistent with Snapple brand and fared poorly.  This time, it presumably would return as stand-alone brand.