Bai Brands has entered high-end water fray, debuting antioxidant and electrolyte-infused Antiwater. Line is out initially in 28.4-oz straight-wall clear bottle, in singles, 6-packs and 12-packs adorned with icon of A whose central void is in shape of water droplet. Tho many in recent years - from Activate to Function to Metromint - have launched Smartwater alternatives in recent years, most such efforts represented divergence from premise of core brand. In this case, tho, Bai rep at booth said, antioxidants are derived from coffee fruit, just as with core Bai-5 brand and carbonated Bai Bubbles extension. Water is claimed to be "super purified" via aseptic flash sterilization. Line is due this summer, at pricing still to be determined.  

Even in natural channel, palates seem to be gravitating toward lighter, less sweet formulations. We already flagged debut at Natural Products Expo West of tonic water line from stevia soda marketer Zevia (BBI, Mar 4), and at show in Anaheim, Calif, this past weekend Honest Tea was showing broader range of unsweetened teas, even as Izze and Guru Energy both added water-based sublines. Over in mainstream, of course, similar trend is unfolding, most dramatically with move by SodaStream to abandon its identity as purveyor of home-made soda in favor of "water made exciting." Here are some examples of trend as seen at show, which closed yesterday.

Izze Balances Heavy Juice Content of Core Line with Sparkling Waters Aside from occasional flavor extension, Izze brand under Pepsi ownership has been innovation laggard, with Expo West booths generally drawing sparse crowds. This year, was different: brand offered dramatic move to add line of Izze Sparkling Water Beverages that are lightly sweetened with cane sugar and contain only 10 calories per 12-oz bottle. Line breaks in May in Mandarin Lime, Blackberry Pear and Raspberry Watermelon, offering alternative to line that, while referred to these days by Pepsi as "Brighthearted" blend of juice and sparkling water to flag bold taste, are turnoff for some consumers or occasions because of heavier consistency and calorie count in 120-130 range. Rep said new entries are line-priced with core line.

Guru Adds Sparkling Energy Water Longtime organic energy player Guru, based in Montreal and Brooklyn, has opted to diversify line with lighter "Organic Sparkling Energy Water" that's sweetened with stevia and clocks in at zero calories. New line, priced at $2.89-3.50 per 12-oz slim can, offers 100 mg of naturally occurring caffeine sourced from green tea, in contrast to 100-calorie core line that also employs guarana and ginseng. It debuts in Lime, Pomegranate and Grapefruit flavors and is certified as 100% organic. Formula is reminiscent of lighter-bodied energy offerings of fast-growing organic rival Hiball, also in cans.

Honest Tea Boosts Unsweetened Items in Mix Over past decade and half, Honest Tea has carved out position as organic entry that's "just a tad sweet." From early years, tho, it also tried unsweetened entries, only to find them ahead of consumer preferences - Harlem Honeybush and Lori's Lemon both bombed around 02, tho Lori's bounced back once it was offered as lightly sweetened entry. Honest Tea has fared better over years with Just Green and Just Black entries, in its glass-bottle version targeting natural channel. But tide may finally be coming in for unsweetened entries. At Expo, Coca-Cola unit was pouring unsweetened Ginger Oasis, with Indian ginger, green rooibos and Egyptian lemongrass, and Cinnamon Sunrise, using Vietnamese cinnamon and S African red rooibos. Both are in glass bottle range that doesn't get to retail on Coke trucks. On plastic side destined for those red trucks, it offered up Unsweetened Lemon Tea, which has fared well in Northeast and been embraced by Target chain, offering incentive for Coke bottling system for which sku mgmt is constant challenge.  

As arcane ingredient associated mainly with toy fad, chia has amazed some with run it's had at elevated price in bevs like Mamma Chia, GT's Kombucha and Chia/Vie. Now that price is coming dramatically down, posing possibility that chia-based bevs may take further spike into awareness and retail availability. At Expo West, Mamma Chia founder Janie Hoffman disclosed that brand is heading for new retail price point of $2.99 in Whole Foods and other retailers, even as its smaller rival Chia/Vie formally intro'd brand revamp that abandons smoothie-like consistency for lighter, approachable format called Chia/Vie Infusions in 12-oz PET bottle priced at $2.49. Tho GT's wasn't at show, its kombuchas, including line-priced chia items, have been on downward incline over past coupla years, too. Details:

$2.99 Test Prompted 30%+ Spike in Mamma Chia Sales Founder Hoffman said Mamma Chia core Vitality line will be broadly available at Whole Foods for $2.99 per 10-oz glass bottle within 30 days. Refrigerated brand that ignited category has been out at retail often at $3.49 and beyond, starting in natural channel but moving aggressively into general grocery and mass. Janie noted that Whole Foods merchandising chief Errol Schweitzer was strongly supportive of move, encouraging regional execs to pass price cut along to consumers rather than pocketing difference. Decision to get more aggressive on price was bolstered by test in some stores that saw 30-50% sales lift at lower price point, Janie noted. She acknowledged that move will occasion temporary hit to gross margins, albeit from rich level, but it's increasingly shielded by declining cost of goods as brand continues brisk growth trend and attains scale economies.

Chia/Vie Segues from Smoothie to Refresher Form Bare Nutrition co launched Chia/Vie in smoothie-like formulation in 10-oz aluminum bottle, then segued to tall, slim 12-oz full-wrap PET bottle. New version dubbed Chia/Vie Infusions was unveiled at Expo West, at booth operated by incubator and part-owner LA Libations. It attempts to be "lighter, approachable to the masses, and expand occasions beyond smoothies," noted Camille Reith, who created brand with husband Mark. Item sweetened via juice and stevia gets calories down to 50 per bottle (35 of them from the chia itself), and is shelf-stable like former version. They poured Cranberry Lime, Pear Mint and Grapefruit Ginger flavors. Tho brand is moving mainly thru broadliners like UNFI and DPI, given LA Libations feet on street in brand's core LA market, DSD shop Haralambos Bev has come aboard to work it there.  

Private-equity shop Brynwood Partners, which has been in hunt for other bev acquisitions to complement Juicy Juice, has bagged another prize: 55-year-old American Beverage Corp, which had been shopped for some time by its owner Wessanan. Definitive purchase agreement by Brynwood's latest fund, Brynwood Partners VII LP, has been signed for $55 mil, with maker of Little Hug fruit drinks and Daily's alcoholic RTDs and non-alc mixers being folded into majority-owned portfolio co Harvest Hill Beverage Co, where Juicy Juice is housed. Harvest Hill had been created only last Jun as vehicle to acquire Juicy Juice from Nestle USA, under prexy/ceo Sal DePrima, a former Cadbury exec. Once based in Pittsburgh, American Bev has been based in Rye Brook, NY, not far from Brynwood's Greenwich, Conn, hq, and employs 337, many at the Pittsburgh-area plant. "This acquisition makes Harvest Hill one of the largest independently owned juice companies in the US, and we plan to build on the momentum that the Little Hug and Daily's business have in the marketplace," noted DePrima. 

Jones Soda Co finally offered its sometimes restive investors some sign of growth in Q4, reporting 15% revenue gain to $2.4 mil, even as net loss narrowed to $339K from $1.1 mil a yr ago. Rev gain resulted from 7.3% gain in case sales combined with lower promo spending. Promo spend contracted from $411K to $213K "due to tighter management of promotional programming," noted finance veep Mark Miyata on conf call. For full yr 2014, Seattle-based co's revs slipped 1% to $13.6 mil on 2% drop in case sales. Jones continued to lower operating expenses in qtr with savings coming "primarily" from admin costs, which decreased by 29%, said ceo Jennifer Cue. "Overall I am pleased with the combination of growth and reduced administrative costs" as co builds "toward a profitable business model," she added. Jennifer cited Canada along with Eastern and Midwest mkts in US as sources of sales growth. In Canada, Jones is ranked #7, trailing only CSD brands from KO, PEP and DPS. Jones hopes to "translate this success in Canada to our other key markets in the same profitable way," said Jennifer. One of key savings initiatives flagged on call was Jones HQ move out of pricy downtown area, which resulted in non-cash savings of $335K by cutting that "rent liability from our books."

Jones execs said early signs were encouraging for new fountain biz with "some great initial partners," per Jennifer. They included supermarket chain Ceylon Foods, with 140 stores in Canada, and upstart quick-serve restaurant chain called Glaze Teriyaki in US. Co said its natural Jones Stripped brand, with just 30 calories and 8 g of sugar, will be sold "mostly" in natural food stores with primary focus at start in western US. Co is also looking forward to prospects for its Jones Sparkling Water brand. Asked about sugar costs, Mark said Jones was watching mkt "like a hawk" and by holding out until a few wks ago, Jones locked up a new sugar contract for year ahead "at a savings" compared to what co had been paying. While not sharing specific #s, Mark noted, "it was a good play on our part."

Responding to one investor's concerns about Jones' claim to "uniqueness" compared to burgeoning premium soda rivals, Cue said she was "excited to see the large companies get into craft or premium soda," because it "further reinforces use of cane sugar" instead of HFCS as sweetener. "We are not trying to be Caleb's Kola," she added, referring to Pepsi artisanal-style entry, noting that Jones will continue to focus on millennials (12-24 yr age group) while PEP goes after "a larger demographic." "We are not expecting to appeal to everyone" but "we definitely connect" with millennials, she said. 

Fast-rising breed of quick-serve restaurant chains offering upscale food, often with natural spin, has to be of concern to soda giants, whose HFCS-sweetened core offerings strike sour note among bev offerings that feature indie craft sodas, cold-pressed juices and even kombucha. In sign that evolving PepsiCo strategy is proving viable, co has just landed cutting-edge Umami Burger chain as exclusive client, signing up for Pepsi-Cola Made With Real Sugar, Mountain Dew Made With Real Sugar, Sierra Mist Made With Real Sugar, Diet Pepsi and even, in unit opening Thurs in trendy Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, Pepsi's new craft-like Caleb's Kola, for which it becomes one of first foodservice customers. Those brands will be served to customers in 10- and 12-oz glass bottles, PEP noted. Recall that some of real-sugar items originally launched as limited-time "Throwback" offerings, making them good fit with Umami's Throwback Burger. "Pepsi-Cola Made With Real Sugar pairs perfectly with many of our burgers," offered Paul Clayton, former Burger King and Jamba Juice marketer who joined LA-based better-burger chain as ceo last summer. "When you have Pepsi-Cola Made With Real Sugar with our Throwback Burger, it is a unique combination of sweet and savory, vintage yet completely modern. PepsiCo is re-crafting soft drinks for today's palate. Their upcoming innovative products are exactly the types of drinks our customers crave." Briskly growing chain last year opened locations in NY, Las Vegas, Orange County, Calif, and Chicago, its 24th. On beer side, Umami has carved out identity as craft-centric haven. 

Coca-Cola's Venturing & Emerging Brands has brought in well-traveled global Coke exec to run newly IDed "craft beverages" unit, even as negotiations appear to be nearing conclusion on seeding group of non-energy execs at Monster Beverage as West Coast office for incubation unit.

New recruit at VEB effective Apr 1 is Jeremy Faa, in as svp/gm for craft bevs, reporting directly to VEB prexy Scott Uzzell, per memo Scott sent out to troops. "Jeremy and his team will be responsible for developing and executing the Company's strategy to fully capture the emerging and fast-growing opportunity in craft beverages, such as artisanal and other premium beverages," Uzzell wrote. "Upon final close of the transaction with Monster Energy Company, the Hansen beverage brands and their California-based team will report to Jeremy. This is an exciting opportunity for Coca-Cola North America to leverage the 85-year history of artisanal beverages from Hansen Beverage Unit."

Appointment was announced internally as BBI has been hearing in recent weeks that KO is close to working out deals with key Monster Beverage execs whose non-energy brands - including Hansen and Blue Sky sodas, Peace Tea and Hubert's Lemonade - are being transferred to KO ownership as part of broader transaction with MNST. Word is that earlier offer from KO had been declined by most of team, which is headed by Naked Juice vet Tom Hicks, but that soft drink marketer more recently came back with more appealing proposal, one that allows team to remain in Southern Calif as West Coast presence for VEB. In that sense, it would echo structure at rival PepsiCo, which has moved some of its non-traditional brands to oversight by Naked Juice unit in SoCal. Execs on both sides of negotiation have been mum, so this has been just grapevine chatter to this point, tho memo's mention of Calif-based team suggests deal is done or close to fruition.

Australian-born Faa joined KO in 1997 in Indonesia and has moved thru succession of strategy, operations and finance posts including cfo and dir of biz strategy of KO's Pacific Group and global dir of finance transformation, per memo. Most recent post was gm of VeneCar Franchise Unit in Latin America Group, Costa Rica-based job operating diverse array of 20+ countries in and around Caribbean. Before joining Coke, he was consultant at L/E/K Partnership.  

Coca-Cola's Venturing & Emerging Brands has brought in well-traveled global Coke exec to run newly IDed "craft beverages" unit, even as negotiations appear to be nearing conclusion on seeding group of non-energy execs at Monster Beverage as West Coast office for incubation unit.

New recruit at VEB effective Apr 1 is Jeremy Faa, in as svp/gm for craft bevs, reporting directly to VEB prexy Scott Uzzell, per memo Scott sent out to troops. "Jeremy and his team will be responsible for developing and executing the Company's strategy to fully capture the emerging and fast-growing opportunity in craft beverages, such as artisanal and other premium beverages," Uzzell wrote. "Upon final close of the transaction with Monster Energy Company, the Hansen beverage brands and their California-based team will report to Jeremy. This is an exciting opportunity for Coca-Cola North America to leverage the 85-year history of artisanal beverages from Hansen Beverage Unit."

Appointment was announced internally as BBI has been hearing in recent weeks that KO is close to working out deals with key Monster Beverage execs whose non-energy brands - including Hansen and Blue Sky sodas, Peace Tea and Hubert's Lemonade - are being transferred to KO ownership as part of broader transaction with MNST. Word is that earlier offer from KO had been declined by most of team, which is headed by Naked Juice vet Tom Hicks, but that soft drink marketer more recently came back with more appealing proposal, one that allows team to remain in Southern Calif as West Coast presence for VEB. In that sense, it would echo structure at rival PepsiCo, which has moved some of its non-traditional brands to oversight by Naked Juice unit in SoCal. Execs on both sides of negotiation have been mum, so this has been just grapevine chatter to this point, tho memo's mention of Calif-based team suggests deal is done or close to fruition.

Australian-born Faa joined KO in 1997 in Indonesia and has moved thru succession of strategy, operations and finance posts including cfo and dir of biz strategy of KO's Pacific Group and global dir of finance transformation, per memo. Most recent post was gm of VeneCar Franchise Unit in Latin America Group, Costa Rica-based job operating diverse array of 20+ countries in and around Caribbean. Before joining Coke, he was consultant at L/E/K Partnership.  

Is era of consolidation at hand for pressed-juice cos? Pair of key Calif storefront players are getting together, SoCal's Ritual Wellness and NorCal's Project Juice, in move that's reminiscent of 1990s wave of consolidation that hit earlier generation of fresh-juice plays and saw mergers between brands like Odwalla and Fresh Samantha, and Naked and Fantasia (before survivors were absorbed by Coke and Pepsi respectively). In deal announced today, merged cos will operate under Project Juice brand. Among first activities as joined co will be revamped Project Juice Web site due later this qtr, and promo offer of free shipping to customers outside Calif who've clamored for those products. (Home page of Ritual Wellness Web site this morning contained slogan "Make Juice Not War" and news of deal. "Ritual Wellness is now Project Juice," page reads.) Throughout 2015, Project Juice "will continue to expand with additional retail stores, product innovations and other undisclosed projects," potentially including other acquisitions.

Statement from Project Juice cofounder Rachel Malsin hit familiar theme from that earlier generation of juice players. "The cold-pressed juice space has become very fragmented, very quickly, and information sharing is basically non-existent," Rachel said. "Through this merger process, we've already learned so much about how to be a better company. Ritual Wellness and Project Juice customers have a lot to look forward to." While earlier players were breaking barrier simply by offering "strategically curated menu" of nutrient-rich, refrigerated items, 4-year-old Ritual and 2-year-old Project Juice participate in newer version, with cold-pressed juices, nut mylks, cleanses and plant-based foods that are certified organic and non-GMO.

Combined entity comprises just 9 stores and handful of partner retailers now; unlike rivals like Evolution Fresh and Suja, they have not pursued outside retailers as core part of strategy so far. But backed by capital and expertise from First Beverage Group, Project Juice has made no secret of its ambitions to develop national footprint. Plan is for Ritual Wellness cofounders Marra St. Clair and Lori Kenyon Farley to operate as team with Project Juice cofounders Rachel and Greg Malsin and Devon Briger. Among advantages of north-south collaboration, combined co will be able to respond to varying growing seasons up and down West Coast by dividing sourcing between farmers in NorCal and SoCal, co said.  

Emblazoned with name of co's founder, Hal Irving, there's little question Hal's New York Seltzer is priority at NY non-alc distributor Big Geyser. After audacious launch last summer as lower-priced insurgent in cluttered but briskly growing segment (BBI, July 29), brand has recruited its first brand manager, former Honest Tea and Zico Coconut Water exec Hayley Diamond, and begun to fine tune proposition starting with dramatic packaging update. Meanwhile, brand has finally cracked Whole Foods, after winning presence at such key NY-area retailers as 7-Eleven, Fairway Market and Duane Reade/Walgreens.

To rethink pkg graphics, Big Geyser went to Flood Creative's Paula Grant, who was cofounder of Fuze Beverage, which enjoyed good ride at distributor before sale to Coke. Paula has devised more upscale look, with label framed in color border keyed to flavor and more naturalistic rendering of fruit. Hal's name is upsized, and flavor designations are more prominent. Crucially, Diamond noted, it's look that works both at 7-Eleven, a key focus for 2015, and at natural or gourmet retailer like Whole Foods. Similarly, it works at suggested 99-cent price point, or at considerably higher price that some retailers have opted to charge. And it should provide a lift at another key focus: corporate accounts, which have sought more economical seltzer option but bridled at initial label's appearance. Brand has launched only in 20-oz single-serve size, eschewing multiserve bottles that dominate grocery seltzer sections. So supermarkets remain lower priority for distribution, aside from their grab-and-go coolers.

So far, Hayley said, # and selection of flavors seems to be working, with Original, Lemon and Black Cherry the 3 top sellers. Use of 24-unit rather than 12-unit case has made it harder for operators of smaller stores to bring in full flavor range, and Geyser execs are a bit disappointed that Vanilla Cream is at back of pack, in market where rival like Polar does well with seasonal flavors. That said, Diamond was encouraged last week when, visiting middle school/HS that's dropped sodas, kids responded most favorably to Vanilla Cream as most soda-like flavor. That suggests education realm may prove fertile market. Co is dialing up other field activities behind Hal's - say, as exclusive bev provided to attendees of Unscene Art Show running today thru weekend. Flavor house on brand is NJ-based Whittle & Mutch.

For now, discipline is word: no expansion of package range, nor any move outside Big Geyser's own distribution footprint. "We'll stay very focused, until we perfect it," Diamond vowed.