Florida market that’s offered limited distribution options for NA brands in recent years has suffered further

narrowing as Anheuser-Busch house Brown Distributing has sold off northern territory of statewide non-A- B

operation that it launched in 09, putting end to its plan to offer one-stop statewide coverage. It’s selling about

600K cases of craft beers to pair of buyers in territories that include Orlando and points north, including such

recent stars as Founder’s, Bell’s, Ballast Point and Oskar Blues, while retaining about 1 mil cases in Tampa and

points south, including key Miami market. In truth, impact on NAs likely will be limited, as co already appears to

have drastically cut back range, with Reed’s and Virgil’s brands only items currently listed on Web site besides

approved A-B brand Icelandic Glacier. Brown’s A-B franchise territory is centered around West Palm Beach; it

also operates A-B house in Richmond, Va. Deal expected to close in Jun.  Our sibling publication Insights

Express cited reports that Brown is getting high-single- digit multiple of gross profits, nearly $50 mil for less than

40% of biz, while eliminating unprofitable part of biz that demanded lotsa windshield time for modest volume. 

No response yet today to query to founder Jason Brown on status of NA portfolio. As often reported here, since

acquisition by DPS of Southeast Atlantic and exit of Sand Dollar, crucial south Fla market has offered limited

DSD distribution options for new NA brands.

Coupla ambitious challenger brands are going more directly after their category-dominant rivals, both of

them Pepsi brands. Insurgent sports drink Body Armor seems to be getting more overt in its attacks vs Gatorade

as junk-filled, past-generation product, even as cold-brew contender High Brew steps up comparative advertising

vs unnamed category leader that’s clearly meant to be Starbucks Frappuccino. In both cases, well-financed

brands led by experienced new-age bev vets are ditching standard playbook that urges smaller challengers not to

rouse the beast. Body Armor, of course, was co-created by Fuze and NOS vet Lance Collins and Glaceau vet

Mike Repole, while Sweet Leaf Tea cofounder David Smith has reconvened much of that team for High Brew

launch. Both brands are taking expensive DSD route to market to best penetrate impulse channels.

Body Armor Has Experience, Distribution, Money to Take on Leader, Says Repole No official word that this

reps significant new tack, but Body Armor has placed billboard near PepsiCo’s Gatorade offices in Chicago that

pairs a bottle of Body Armor with a Gatorade-looking bottle and urges viewers to “Ditch Artificial Sports Drinks,

Switch To The #1 Natural Sports Drink.” Item was reported by ESPN’s Darren Rovell, who’s often gotten early

bead on Body Armor goings-on, tho he claimed to have been alerted by reader. Given Gatorade’s long hegemony

in segment and frequent resort to margin-crushing price promos, that might seem to be like feeble Bklyn Nets

putting a press on Golden State, but Body Armor’s fresh off a new investment from its distribution partner Dr

Pepper Snapple Group and showing signs of picking up momentum. Rovell’s call to brand’s cofounder and lead

shareholder Mike Repole didn’t draw much, with Repole reiterating that brand’s all-natural attributes make it

clear upgrade over conventional brands, as expressed in its “Upgrade your sports drink” mantra. (We didn’t get

as far, with both Mike and his marketing chief Michael Fidele saying they’re in scramble now and too busy to

chat.) “Recent innovations that Gatorade has announced are just a smokescreen for what they really are,” Repole

told Rovell. “They might have been the Yankees, but there’s a rivalry now. We’re the Red Sox.” Mike added:

“It has taken this long for someone to come along that had the beverage experience, the distribution muscle and

the money to take them on.” Mike told Rovell he expected Body Armor to do about $125 at retail this year.

‘70% Less Sugar,’ Declares High Brew Shoppers in about 2K Kroger stores have begun to get reminders on

their shopping carts that canned line of High Brew cold-brewed coffee “has 70% less sugar than the leading ready

to drink coffee.” It’s part of broader initiative by Austin-based co to directly challenge Starbucks Frappuccino

while dispelling misconceptions among consumers who, while they may have heard of cold-brewed coffee by

now, think it’s nothing more than conventional hot-brewed coffee poured over ice and watered down. (Rather,

cold-brew is made by painstakingly dripping water over coffee beans, process that yield rich flavor and near

absence of bitterness.) “We’re letting them know it’s a healthier option,” said Mari Johnson, co’s Chicago-based

marketing vp. “We’ve been surprised by how much the low-acidity message is resonating with consumers.” She

added that ads are informing shoppers that “this product they’re purchasing in glass bottles is a sugar bomb.” At

bottom, the ads bang home key messages that cold-brew is cold-filtered, uses Fair Trade beans and is slow-

brewed. Broader message is that High Brew best fits active, on-the- go lifestyle.

Ads are running simultaneously to major demo push that should see 400+ events in Kroger stores, at time that

High Brew is buttressing field marketing teams in Austin, Chicago and LA with teams in NY, Boston, Seattle,

Dallas and SF. Of course, Starbucks itself, after rolling out in-store cold-brew program last year, is launching

bottled version this spring, albeit in limited markets of Denver and western Ore and Wash. Like other indie cold-

brew players, Johnson claims to welcome Starbucks initiative. “We’re looking forward to having them build

awareness in cold-brew, so we’ll take it,” she joked.

Mari, who earlier in career worked for Repole at Glaceau, said she had no trouble understanding Body Armor’s

aggressive push vs Gatorade. “Sometimes consumers just need a little nudge to see there are better options

available,” she said. That’s game plan at High Brew, too.

Brent Willis, energetic Coca-Cola and

Anheuser-Busch InBev vet whose last role in bevs was short-lived effort to shake up private-label power Cott, is

back in our biz as interim ceo and board member of new owner of Bucha kombucha brand. Based in Torrance,

Calif, Bucha has had tangled history recently, splitting with former ceo Ron Lloyd and merging nearly a year ago

with Washington State craft brewer American Brewing Co, which has since moved to shed its brewing assets to

focus on what it views as less crowded, faster-growing kombucha sector. Brewery sale, announced last Oct, is

expected to be concluded imminently, co says. Founder Neil Fallon, who’d been serving as ceo, now moves to

newly created role of executive chmn. Brent, who seems to prefer to go by Brent David Willis now, ushered in

exciting, if ultimately abortive, period as ceo at Cott in which he sought to move co into branded items (extending

even to pair of dog waters) that would shield it from vagaries of private-label biz before departure after 2 years in

2008 and tilt back by co to its core strengths in private-label. “We are extremely fortunate to have someone of

Brent’s credibility and reputation to lead our company and the expansion of the Bucha Live Kombucha brand,”

Fallon said in statement. Announcement didn’t mention what Brent’s been up to since Cott but LinkedIn page

indicates he serves as chmn/ceo of portfolio of private-equity- backed brands he’s assembled since 2010,

including XFit Brands, Liberty Ammunition, ULearning, Throwdown and Vascular Technologies, in which he

holds equity stakes. No word either on why Willis is only getting ceo job on interim basis . . . Tom Cardella, who

recently retired from role running MillerCoors’ Tenth & Blake craft arm and also serves on board of Green Bay

Packers, has stepped up from advisory board role at publicly traded Long Island Iced Tea to full board

membership. Based in Hicksville, NY, LTEA currently offers bottled iced tea but has suite of alcoholic items in

development and is on lookout for NA brand acquisitions (BBI, Feb 17). Tom, whose career has been spent on

alc side of bevs, joined advisory team last Oct; team also includes execs with deep NA experience such as former

Royal Crown chief John Carson, former wholesaler and Activate chief Dan Holland.

Refrigerated

coconut water kingpin Harmless Harvest, under fire from gov’t regulators over risks of employing HPP process

for its low-acid items, is claiming that it won’t suffer flavor, aroma or nutrition tradeoffs with move to proprietary

multistep microfiltration process and aseptic filling system. Along way it will be able to lightweight plastic bottle

by 25%, too. SF-based co said new process drawn from pharma and dairy sectors complies with FDA reqmts

without resorting to heat processing and while maintaining brand’s Fair Trade and Fair for Life commitments.

Move comes after tortuous year in which product coming in from Thailand was interdicted at several ports and

brand suffered severe out-of- stocks in key markets like NY during peak summer selling season. Harmless

Harvest is making pivot just as Vita Coco, clear leader on shelf-stable side, has moved into refrigerated space via

Coco Community entry that debuted at Natural Products Expo West, at time co is seeking relief from pricing

pressures that have been mounting on shelf-stable side (BBI, Mar 14). This battle could be interesting to watch.

How sweeping are changes that are afoot at Whole Foods? That’s been question on minds of natural foods

marketers, for whom Whole Foods, tho small compared to grocery giants, has long offered entrée to early

adopters. Specialty Foods News has teased out some directions from reports it’s gotten from packed but private

gathering of suppliers at recent Natural Expo West in Anaheim, Calif. At meeting, Don Clark, global vp of

purchasing for non-perishables, outlined changes and sought to put frayed nerves somewhat at ease. His

comments lent perspective to what we’ve heard from those pitching Whole Foods, who’ve reported exodus of key

execs, severe staffing cuts at store level (including key posts like demo coordinator) and waning of stores’ famous

autonomy. That autonomy offered access to stores at regional or local levels for innovative brands but sometimes

also bred frustration as those brands tried to scale up to broader availability. Among frequent complaints, promo

deals cut with Austin hq didn’t always ripple out to all stores; one vendor who attended meeting told SFN that

compliance level now will be expected to be in range of 95%.

Context of moves is increased competition that has flattened Whole Foods’ growth and contributed to 40%

erosion in share value over past year. Even as Trader Joe’s seems to more successfully cultivate millennials with

low prices and private-label- heavy offerings, mainstream grocers like Safeway and Kroger have upped their

game, as have mass merchandisers like Target, Walmart and Costco, making it easier for newer brands to gain

entrée, boosting selections of natural and organic foods and cutting their own exclusives for new lines and

sublines, game at which Whole Foods had long been a master.

Biggest shift is move to centralize decision-making on non-perishables side, following similar transition a few

years ago on meat and produce sides. “For the first time since co-ceo John Mackey co-founded the natural and

organic retailer in Austin in 1980, Whole Foods will move from regional to centralized buying of non-

perishables, and offer customized promotions, including digital coupons,” SFN reported. That’s starting with

phased rollout in Rocky Mountain and Northern Calif divs and anticipated to be concluded in all regions within 2

years. “Furthermore, the company is undertaking a sizeable upgrade in technology, replacing an assortment of

checkout software programs, some inherited in acquisitions, and installing a centralized replenishment program.”

 Added report: “Until this spring, buyers in the 11 Whole Foods regions were responsible for buying, setting

prices and maintaining profit margins for non-perishables. While this system fostered creativity and strong

regional and local product assortments, many producers experienced frustration at the number of contacts

involved, and a difficulty in getting things done, industry analysts report.”  Tho brands that sell in just a few

regions will continue to operate at regional level, details aren’t yet available on cutoff. Nor is optimal proportion

of local products carried in each store.

Dilemma of initiative was neatly summed up by Saffron Road Foods evp Jack Acree: “These changes will be

helpful to suppliers at Whole Foods. With the old system you had to make presentations and maintain contacts

with 11 different buyers. You could make a promotional deal in Austin, and some regions or stores would give

the deal, but you wouldn’t necessarily get the price reflected across the country. Compliance was well below

100%. Now, they’re expecting 95% compliance, which would be a huge win for manufacturers. A key challenge

they will face is continuing to champion new brands and working with smaller regional manufacturers and

distributors to make sure they stay the innovation leader.” 

First 365 Store Opens May 25 in LA Whole Foods has set opening date of its first lower-priced 365 store, in

LA’s Silverlake nabe, for May 25. So no glitches on way to meeting what it had earlier said was anticipated late-

May opening. Opening date aside, much about new stores still remains a mystery, including what bev program

will entail. Stores will be private-label heavy (365 is core private-label brand in current stores) but will add

pizzazz with guest vendors – in Silverlake, that will include vegan eatery By Chloe, coffee bar operator and tea

self-serve tea kiosk, per LA Times.

How powerful is BBI? With slip of

the pen yesterday we magically added well over $100 mil to enterprise value of Body Armor. Dr Pepper Snapple

Group’s $6 mil investment for 3.8% additional stake in sports drink marketer translates to EV of just over $150

mil, not nearly $300 mil we reported. As noted in story, investment still is not deemed material by DPS. Our

apologies for error.

Recent Natural

Products Expo West was stage for formal launch of newest member of expanding bev portfolio of former

Rockstar sales exec Randy Shefshick: Cawston Press, 6-year- old, UK-based line of all-natural sparkling fruit

drinks with culinary recipes and just 99 calories per 12-oz can. It joins Something Natural sparkling bev line and

Mocked Up packaged mocktail line.

UK brand was inspired by riches of traditional British kitchen garden, with master blender Micah Carr-Hill

deploying plants like rhubarb and elderflower in subtle culinary preparations with crisp apple base. Randy noted

that co’s founders have strong record as entrepreneurs, having sold Green & Blacks organic chocolate line to

Cadbury. Cawston Press was revived from co called Copella that was acquired by PepsiCo.

For US launch, Randy’s picked up 12-oz cans with text-heavy graphic treatment that have retro feel while being

reminiscent of some cold-pressed juice players, too. His initial flavor lineup includes brand’s UK mainstays

Cloudy Apple, Elderflower Lemonade and Ginger Beer, along with Rhubarb, Cucumber + Mint and Gooseberry.

Line is produced in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and was due to land on US shores just about now. SRP is $1.89 per

can, $6.99 per 4-pack.

He’s also bringing in kid-targeted juices packed in aseptic boxes in flavors like Sunshine Sipper and Apple &

Summer Berries, with view to bringing in adult-oriented juices down road. Info at CawstonPress.com.

The

Reyes Group is getting off to a bang this baseball season with its recently formed Great Lakes Coca-Cola

Distribution unit working with Coca-Cola to nail multiyear deal to serve range of Coke items at Chicago White

Sox games as team’s new official soft drink. That ends 15-year run at US Cellular Field by Pepsi, which ousted

Coke after 9-year run starting with park’s 1991 opening. Sister beer house Chicago Beverage Systems already

pours MillerCoors items at stadium via Miller sponsorship, so games there now will be family affair. Tho terms

weren’t disclosed, Crain’s Chicago Business said it runs longer than 5 years, and quoted sources who said key

lure was Coke’s perceived greater commitment to local marketing than Pepsi’s. “Over time, (Coke) will be more

aggressive locally in their sports partnerships, which is what we need—pushing our brand and ballpark

experience,” vp sales/marketing Brooks Boyer told paper. Tie-in gives Coke solid summer sports marketing

platform, at time when its Blackhawks and Bulls activations are idle; it lost Bears tie to Dr Pepper Snapple 4

years ago. For its part, Pepsi recently extended Cubs deal.

Coke deal extends to non-CSD items like bottled water and iced tea, too, and includes promo events like a

fireworks night and promo giveaway this season. Coke also becomes presenting sponsor of popular Family

Sundays, offering deeply discounted tix and activities like running-the- bases sprints, face painters, balloonists and

caricature artist. Partnership kicks off this Fri at home opener vs Cleveland Indians.

Reyes of course is powerful MillerCoors beer operator that 10 months ago took over as Coke franchisee for

Chicago metro, as part of accelerated Coke refranchising plan that seems to be putting emphasis on partners that

boast deep local ties, in contrast to rotating cast of often-anonymous executives who rotate thru territories

operated by Coca-Cola Refreshments, vehicle for KO’s company-owned bottlers. Andrew Reyes, gm for Great

Lakes Coca-Cola Distribution’s Chicago unit, played up role, saying, “This is a dream come true for a locally

owned and run Chicago company.”

In one interesting twist noted by Crain’s, Pepsi had held rights big ad on center field scoreboard, which was

replaced by new video board debuting this week. So Coke has done a pivot, becoming first brand to have

“takeover” ads across all 3 new outfield video boards. It’s also sponsoring “Snap a Coke” initiative inviting fans

to post photos onto the video boards.

Looking to enliven its

somewhat sleepy Ensure brand, Abbott Labs has added subline dubbed Enlive Advanced Nutrition Shake that

harnesses the amino acid metabolite HMB to replace muscles’ protein that broke down during exercise. New

item, sold in 4-packs of 8-oz plastic bottles, offers 20 g of protein (from milk, soy and whey concentrates), 26

vitamins and minerals and 3 g of fiber, supporting promise that brand is all-in- one product that supports bone

mass, heart health, digestion and immune system, per on-pack graphical disk. It comes in at “350 nutritious

calories” per bottle. Initial flavor range is Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. HMB was used earlier in decade in

Ensure Active Muscle Health item, tho it’s not clear whether line continues to contain it. Another Abbott unit,

EAS, employs HMB in several of its supplements.

NY

Times continues to worry soda tax issue, now pointing to renewed initiative to impose tax in Philadelphia with

different pitch this time: promoter Mayor Jim Kenney and advisors say little about obesity, instead pointing to

appealing things the money raised will buy, notably universal pre-K, along with park improvements, library

renovations and other projects. That’s an expensive benefit, so tax he’s proposing is a whopper: 3 cents per oz,

enough, as paper notes, to double the price of some bevs. That’s 60 cents per 20-oz bottle.

Recall that Philadelphia has tried twice before to impose soda tax, at more modest level, but was outmaneuvered

by soda marketers and their bottlers. So mayor “is taking a different political tack: Instead of the usual eat-your-

vegetables pitch of public health reformers, he is offering Philadelphians something delicious: a giant pot of

money to fund popular city projects,” to tune of anticipated $400 mil over 5 years. At a time that gov’ts are

squeezed, paper notes, “this soda tax isn’t for the nanny state; it’s for the needy state.” Times peruses evidence

that sodas taxes raised in Mexico, tho admittedly regressive, have done job of weaning lower-income consumers

from soda to a degree. Among arguments mustered by opponents of Philadelphia effort, it will be easy for

shoppers simply to buy their sodas outside city, hurting jobs.