Beer Marketer's Insights - BMI Archives Entry

BMI Archives Entry

07/05/2016

PRESS CLIPS: Cold Coffee Gets Lotta Love as Sophisticated Summer Standby; CNBC Highlights Cold-Brewed Teas, Vinegar Drinks

Iced coffee seems to be having a moment, in cold-brew and myriad other forms. That's been reinforced by flurry of features highlighting lotsa variants of style, often at elevated prices. In feature titled "Iced Iced Baby," Time Out New York touts range of 9 selections that includes cold brew at local units of Australia's Bluestone Lane chain ($4), draft latte at La Colombe ($4), Vietnamese iced coffee at Lucky Beer ($5, or $11 with Mekhong rum) and Mexican iced mocha at SoHo's El Rey Coffee Bar & Luncheonette (with Abuelita hot chocolate, cinnamon bark, Aleppo pepper and condensed milk, at $3.25). Meanwhile, foodie site Gothamist highlights 17 options, from "regular old iced coffee" at city's venerable Caffe Reggio in the Village to the Kyoto-style cold brew at Birch Coffee chain (which also got a nod in TONY list), nitro cold-brew at Simon Sips, Japanese flash-brewed at Hi-Collar and Malaysian iced coffee (with the beans roasted in fat) at Kopitiam. On packaged side, Grady's Cold Brew "is still the king" despite competition from the "big 3" of Stumptown, Blue Bottle and La Colombe. For inventiveness, survey cites Everyman Espresso for "going well beyond cinnamon and vanilla and treating coffee drinks the same way mixologists look at cocktails," with addition of bitters, obscure spices, soda as with Espresso Old Fashioned (espresso, Peychaud's bitters, sugar) or Panacea (espresso, lemon, honey, ginger, bitters). Bluestone Lane garners credit for adding scoop of ice cream, Australian-style. Among coffee chains, McDonald's is dissed for offering watery coffee loaded with sugar and milk, while Starbucks' regular iced coffee is viewed as too bitter and its cold-brew as too watery, so "Dunkin' reigns supreme." Over in LA, Foursquare showcased familiar names like Stumptown, Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia and Bay Area invader Philz, but also Santa Monica's Lo/Cal Coffee & Market, which offers cold-brew flights for $7. Gothamist piece can be found here . . . Meanwhile, CNBC included among its list of "quirky drink trends for summer" a coupla cold-brewed teas under Evy and Cham brands as well as a coupla vinegar-based drinks: Pok Pok Som drinking vinegars and CideRoad switchels. Also on list were Love Beets and the 35-year-old Ginseng Up brand.

Newsletter Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/05/2016

FANCY FOOD SHOW: Reliant Recovery Water Rebranding Emphasizes 'Recovery'; Well-Funded Oxygen Water Play Pushing into Midwest and Now East Coast

It's unusual refrigerated water play backed by significant amount of resources and expertise. Seattle-based Reliant Recovery Water offers electro-kinetically produced, oxygen-intense bottled water intended to reduce physical stress and accelerate muscle recovery under slogan, "Fuel your cells." Now, as result of latest brand refresh, co has downsized "Reliant" and dramatically upsized "Recovery Water" as it moves to more firmly emphasize core benefit of superpremium, refrigerated brand, explained ceo Bill Germano at last week's Fancy Food Show in NY. (Bill noted that, with "recovery" not able to be trademarked, it's essential that Reliant remain in brand name.) Even Web site has segued from DrinkReliant.com to simply RecoveryWater.com.

As reported (BBI, Nov 14 2014 and Jun 18 2015), parent co Revalesio, funded by Seattle's wealthy Russell family, has accumulated 300 or so patents related to biotech concept that uses nanobubbles to concentrate oxygen in water for delivery to human cells, concept that's being explored in medical and agriculture realms in sibling parts of org. It's the job of Germano, a former Kemper Soda exec, to get bev side of offering established.

Brand is packed in gently curved half-liter PET bottles enclosed in white wrap, and is being offered in unflavored Original sku as well as Cucumber Mint and Fresh Peach flavors and, in coupla months, Lemongrass. Ingredient list is eminently tight: purified drinking water, oxygen, natural flavors and dose of electrolytes. Label copy explains premise concisely: "Fuel your cells. Recover faster. Feel better."

As earlier reported, brand launched in mid-2015 in natural channel in Pacific NW before adding Safeway and then Kroger system via QFC chain in region. In Aug it will add Kroger's other banners, including Ralph's, Fred Meyer, Smith's and Fry's. It's also entering Midwest chains like Heinen's Fine Foods and Hy-Vee and, as presence at Fancy Food Show reflected, is ready to head east now.

As a refrigerated bottled water, it's fighting some specific issues from shelf presentation to backstock issues. Even DSD distribution proved of only limited help on latter issue, so co now is moving away from DSD in favor of mix of broadliners and direct shipment. Germano is working to avoid having Recovery Water shelved with items like alkaline waters, preferring position next to refrigerated elixirs like HPP juices and kombuchas, often in or near produce section. Indeed, Safeway accepts Reliant directly into its produce warehouse. And while need to keep item refrigerated adds some confusion and complexity, co hasn't yet found way to move to shelf-stable process that retains full benefits.

Meanwhile, Germano has been building out his team from deep pool of talent residing in Seattle metro. Late last year he recruited as marketing dir Starbucks vet Sarah Conklin, who'd led Tazo and Teavana RTD tea brands. Another Starbucks vet, former coo Troy Alstead, serves on Reliant board; like Germano, he lives in Gig Harbor, boating town outside Seattle.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/05/2016

FANCY FOOD SHOW: NY Cold-Brew Pioneer Grady's Heads to Expanded Plant in Bronx; Debuts Big 'Pour & Store' Spouted Pouch

Tho Grady's Cold Brew rates as homegrown pioneer of cold-brewed coffee space in NY with its New Orleans-style concentrate offering, in recent months it's seemed in danger of getting swamped by out-of-state-based entries signing up major distributors and embarked on national landgrab, including likes of Stumptown, Chameleon, High Brew and Blue Bottle. But Empire State entry is ready to strike back: it just exited cramped 6K-sq-ft Greenpoint, Brooklyn, plant for newly outfitted 14K-sq-ft brewery in Hunt's Point section of South Bronx that offers dramatic expansion of capacity via proprietary brewing/bottling system. Tho cofounder Dave Sands wasn't ready to offer specific capacity figures to BBI, he said it will enable crew of 5 to make in 6 minutes what whole staff was needed to produce in an hour in Billsburg. So that's order of magnitude bigger. Co also has further extended product's refrigerated shelf life, auguring return to prominent retail presence earlier enjoyed. Expansion was funded by pair of SBA loans and internal cash flow, Dave said. Meanwhile, Bklyn location will be retained as sales and distribution hub, and also will host concerts and other activities to build brand and serve community. Tho South Bronx finally is re-emerging from long malaise with first signs of gentrification, it still doesn't boast local demand for high-end items in any way comparable to hipster enclave North Bklyn. Grady's is named after one of its 3 founders, Grady Laird.

At Fancy Food Show, inventive crew had on hand its latest innovation: a big Pour & Store spout-sporting pouch that enables users to make their cold-brew from co's familiar brew-it-yourself Bean Bag on the spot, using either cold or hot water, then dispense it from fridge over next coupla weeks. Devised internally, ingenious concept comes with 12 Bean Bags, yielding total concentrate to support 36 cups of cold-brew. It goes for $30, or less than $1 per serving, Dave noted. The Bean Bags, 2-oz pouches sold for $4 apiece, brew 3 cups' worth of concentrate over 12-hour period for blending with water or milk; they're also sold in metal canisters of 4 bags for $12.

For its glass-bottle concentrate, Grady's employs Rainforest Distribution as DSD house in NY, buttressed by city's Gourmet Guru to work Whole Foods' North Atlantic div. (Rainforest, which just expanded from NY base to larger warehouse in Bayonne, NJ, also carries cold-brews from rival Chameleon in both RTD and concentrate forms.) For foodservice Grady's moves thru Joyride Coffee, and just added that co's West Coast operation, putting it into SF and LA now.

Capacity constraints aside, by now Grady's concentrate item has moved well beyond NY with its New Orleans-style recipe that includes chicory and spices, moving thru broadliners like UNFI and KeHe to Calif, Wash, Ore, Tex, Southern Calif and Nawlins itself. Chain accounts include Whole Foods, New Seasons and Sprout's Farmers Markets. Meanwhile, Bean Bags have been embraced as far overseas as Japan, and are available in such dept store chains as UK's Marks & Spencer and Australia's David Jones.

Rarely among cold-brew marketers, Grady's doesn't play in RTD, amid avalanche of entries from companies big and small. Is move into RTD at hand now? "RTD is something we can realistically consider now that we have the new brewery opening up," acknowledged Sands, "but the existing products are flying and there are so many untouched markets for those." So - no. Instead, co will focus on penetrating new markets like Chicago and Miami, he indicated.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/01/2016

NEW PRODUCTS: Zevia Branches into Energy, Sparkling Water; Stumptown Adds Cold Shots, Cold Brew Sodas at Its Stores

Zevia is branching out from the stevia-sweetened, zero-calorie sodas on which it's staked its biz, adding energy and sparkling water lines, too. LA-based co is relying on coffee extract, to tune of 120 mg of caffeine, as sole energizing agent. Line is packed in 12-oz slim can under Zevia Energy brand, priced at $1.99. Initial flavors are Mango Ginger, Raspberry Lime and Grapefruit. Zevia Sparkling Water, to be sold in eight packs with a suggested retail price of $5.99, will include four flavors: Lime, Blackberry, Cucumber Lemon and Mandarin Orange. Both lines are Non-GMO Project Verified, zero calories and sweetened with stevia. They're both breaking in Sprouts Farmers Markets, Seattle's Puget Natural Markets and Wisconsin's Woodman's Foods as well as on Amazon.com, co execs said . . . Stumptown Coffee Roasters continues to find new avenues to ply in cold-brewed coffee, now launching the Cold Shot and Cold Brew Sodas in its 10 stores. Pitched as equivalent of "cold, creamy shot of espresso," Cold Shot is cold-brewed from co's signature Hair Bender espresso blend, given a shot of nitrogen and served in 2-oz pours straight from the tap for $3. Cold Shot also is used as base ingredient in Cold Brew Sodas, which have been crafted in collaboration with cocktail syrup makers at The Commissary. Seasonally rotating soda items start with Cold Shot and add The Commissary's custom syrups for sparkling take on cold-brewed coffee priced around $4.50. For summer, it's being offered in Endless Summer, a riff on mint juleps made with addition of mint syrup and carbonated water, and the Duane Sorenson, named for Stumptown's founder, a riff on the Arnold Palmer that melds Cold Shot with Oleo-Saccharum topped by carbonated water. Both are claimed to have performed well since debuting at Stumptown's New Orleans coffee bar in Mar. No word yet on whether co has designs on offering them as RTD items in the future.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/01/2016

Teamsters United in Anti-Soda-Tax Battle, not Just in Philly but Nationwide

Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters passed a resolution to oppose "soda taxes that hurt good jobs in the beverage industry" at its 29th Int'l Convention in Las Vegas this week. "These taxes are harmful to workers, small grocers and the city's poor. The tax that the city council passed in Philadelphia will go to fund the city's pet projects at the expense of our workers and economy," said David Grace, secretary-treasurer of Local 830 in Philly. "We are continuing the fight against this unfair, regressive tax in court. Our fight is not over." He also took direct aim at city council members: "Our city council's job isn't to raise revenue on the backs of workers; it's a disgrace." Move comes as latest sign that soda biz fears that Philly move could lend momentum to similar initiatives in other jurisdictions around US.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/01/2016

Kombrewcha Begins to Generate Momentum; Anheuser-Busch Said to Be Behind-Scenes Investor

After period of struggle a year ago, low-alc kombucha play Kombrewcha has begun to pick up momentum, both as bottled and kegged plays, even as word on the street is it's pulled in minority investment from beer power Anheuser-Busch. Brand has branched out from NY to LA and, most recently, Florida, where it's entered broadline distributor KeHe and is pitching Whole Foods, founder Ariel Glazer told BBI. Brand has gotten into Erewhon chain in LA and Fairway in NY and is recruiting sales mgr and demo coordinator to step up brand activation around NY, where Kombrewcha moves thru beer house SKI, which carries brands like Harpoon and Founders, as well as its own Ralph & Charlie's juice line.

Kombrewcha, recall, was founded by youthful entrepreneur Glazer with support from Honest Tea cofounder and Yale prof Barry Nalebuff on premise that, instead of resisting natural tendency of live raw kombucha to develop small amount of alcohol, consumers might embrace low-alc line that urges them to "get tickled, not pickled."

Kegs by now have grown to 20% of overall biz as brand cultivates on-premise accounts like Till & Sprocket (Manhattan eatery that specializes in New American cuisine and craft cocktails), Metro Grill location in Empire State Bldg and Urban Rustic restaurant and Red Lantern bike shop/cafÃ©/beer bar, both in Brooklyn. BBI encountered it just last night at beer bar of Whole Foods in Brooklyn, too.

As for funding growth, Glazer acknowledged co has "raised a bit of money." Asked whether Anheuser-Busch was investor, he chuckled, "Yes - in my dreams." Investment by A-B, if confirmed, would be intriguing for suggesting that brewer is willing to go far afield to land next trend, as it's shown with some craft deals like Ten Barrel in Bend, Ore. Keep in mind that, while Bud wholesalers in past often have struggled to get handle on more arcane bev entries, many have felt kinship with kombucha as fermented product that has similar characteristics to beer and is proving also to be solid on-premise play. Word of potential A-B investment also comes as co recently established alliance with Starbucks to launch Teavana-branded line of RTD teas. BBI hears venture arm has been kicking tires of wide range of other brands, in both alc and non-alc spaces.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/01/2016

FANCY FOOD SHOW: Fruit Drink Marketer Wild Poppy Is Latest Noncarb Player to Head into CSDs with Canned Organic Line

face="Times New Roman">Count Wild Poppy as latest noncarb bev brand to succumb to lure of bubbles. After carving out identity over past 5 years as maker of glass-bottle fruit drinks with intriguing spice notes - say, habanero-inflected Blood Orange Chili - LA-based co has entered canned soda realm with line unveiled at Fancy Food Show in NY this week. It's packed in matte-black 12-oz cans and aims to offer "real soda, real taste" via use of organic fruit juices and organic cane sugar. It's initially being offered in Orange, Grape and Lemon flavors, aiming for classic feel, said founder George Bryson. Cans sports co's new slogan, "liquid goodness." Sodas are launching in NY via DSD house Rainforest and in LA via Real Soda.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

07/01/2016

FANCY FOOD SHOW: Forager Project Adds 3d Probiotic Smoothie, Further Tilting Away from Initial Green Juice Identity

Forager Project is continuing its methodical evolution from being identified as just a cold-pressed vegetable bev biz, to point where its core line of single-serve entries now includes 3 probiotic smoothies, 3 nut milks and 3 green juices. Earlier move to take apple juice out of its smoothie subline and substitute cashews plus dose of probiotics more than paid off, as those 2 entries - Strawberry Banana and Banana Date - quickly climbed to #2 and #3 items in entire line. So now SF-based co is adding 3d cashew probiotic smoothie entry, Mango Chia, due in Sep, said chief revenue officer Matt Collins and cofounder JC Hanley, who created brand with his stepdad, Odwalla cofounder Stephen Williamson. At time rivals like Suja are going aggressively down on price, Forager team is considering its options, including smaller pack sizes. But given higher nutritional density, brand priced at $6.99 per single-serve bottle at Whole Foods will always be premium-priced, they argued. Also in mix are coupla roots items and an avocado greens item. Forager execs said retailers have also been embracing recently released chip line made from residue of ingredients used in bevs.

It's also making changes to its nutmilk line, offered in multiserve bottles. What was previously identified mainly as Cashewmilk now is being tagged Dairy Free to play in broader realm, and it's been given an opaque bottle so that brand doesn't end up paying a penalty with consumers for its gum-free formulation. Caps instruct, "Shake well."

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

06/29/2016

Coca-Cola Likely to Pull Some Brands, Packs from Vermont Stores as GMO Labeling Reg Looms

As effort proceeds in US Senate to push thru bill that would pre-empt Vermont's GMO labeling reg, Coca-Cola has warned that it will be pulling some smaller-selling sku's from stores shelves there. With implementation of new reg looming on Fri, KO rep told Bloomberg that "to avoid multiple labeling changes, some lower-volume brands and packages we offer within our broad portfolio could be temporarily unavailable in Vermont." But shoppers shouldn't worry about finding Coke, Diet Coke or Coke Zero, he indicated. As reported, that's quandary that's afflicting lotsa packaged food/bev cos, tho some, like Campbell Soup, Kellogg and Mars are going ahead and relabeling all their packs to be in compliance, in view that similar regs are likely to pop up in other states or at national level.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

06/29/2016

DISTRIBUTION: Seattle Craft Beer Shop Alpha Distributing Adding NA Brands

Seattle-based craft-beer distributorship that opened in 2011, Alpha Distributing, has been building portfolio of NA brands, most recently taking on Just Water spring water. That joins NA portfolio that already includes Hotlips Soda (fruit sodas from Portland), Proper Soda (hopped sodas from Mich) and Jones Soda's Lemoncocco (Seattle). Craft beer vets Aaron Gardner and Jeff Bert launched Alpha to service small craft brewers that were self-distributing or had not yet opened distribution, accumulating regional brands like Boneyard and Logsdon and out-of-state brands like Calif's AleSmith, Utah's Epic and NY's KelSo. Web site at AlphaBeerDistributing.com indicates that co based in Kent, outside Seattle, musters team of 7 full-time reps and sales mgr to work I-5 corridor north from Vancouver, Wash, to Everett, including King County (Seattle). Just Water is spring water packed in paper-based half-liter bottles priced at 99 cents. Just Water is based in Glens Falls, NY, and draws liquid from local watershed.

Newsletter Beverage Business INSIGHTS

Tagged under

Page 467 of 1041