Heineken’s mystery partner on a hard seltzer? We teased it Fri and several BBI readers put their finger on it quickly. It’s AriZona Iced Tea marketer Arizona Bev. Deal goes well beyond US, our sibling newsletter Insights Express understands. Long in works, close to fruition, Heineken USA cmo Jonnie Cahill seemingly referred to Arizona at recent regional HUSA meeting with distribs when he said Heineken “really close on announcing a major partnership in the seltzer space” with a “killer brand” from the “the world of non-alc,” promising more within weeks (BBI, Oct 25). No one commenting officially yet, however. Alliance is interesting on several fronts: Arizona already did deal with MillerCoors on Arnold Palmer flavored malt bevs, and it seems to be getting ready to launch seltzer-like low-cal non-alc option called Santa Fe Sparkling Water (BBI, Oct 22). It’s not clear whether the hard seltzer would adopt the same or a different brand name. Once Heineken USA gets in the game, each of top 8 US beer suppliers will have seltzer entries, with just Yuengling and FIFCO USA not yet participating. With partner like AriZona, Heineken brass would have no concerns over getting grabby packaging and distinctive flavor profiles. For AriZona, of course, it offers another growth avenue at time that consumers’ sugar backlash has begun to affect its core sweetened teas and juices, even in once-unassailable inner-city markets.

Two women who’ve enjoyed decade-long marketing runs at MillerCoors have hung out their shingle in Chicago as latest to enter lower-cal sparkling bev game, with enhanced entry called Heywell that’s fortified with schisandra and L-theanine. It’s been trickling out in recent weeks into local foodie-oriented haunts like Foxtrot c-store chain (which we profiled on May 2 2018) and Goddess & Grocer along with local yoga studios, per profile in American Inno innovation blog. Founders are Britt Dougherty, who spent a decade at MillerCoors as marketing vp for insights & engagement, and Ashley Selman, whose near-decade there included range of roles capped by brand marketing vp job.

Dallas-based CBD player Right On Brands said it debuted 3 hemp-infused sparkling teas and 5 energy bars at recent sales meeting of its key distributor, Lipari Foods. The infused items now are going out under brand name Humbly Hemp, representing rebrand from former effort harnessing core ENDo brand under ENDo Water moniker. That line offered lineup of plastic-bottle entries in flavors like Watermelon and cucumber with 10 mg of hemp extract, while new item in 12-oz can contains 200 mg of hempseed extract in erythritol-sweetened flavors like Peach Mango, Raspberry Hibiscus and Watermelon, priced at $40 per 12-pack, per website. Lipari, which apparently had role in refining proposition, predicted that Humbly might prove “one of the largest brand launches in the history of Lipari’s specialty grocery division,” in words of specialty grocery vp James Lipari. Mich-based distributor services 13K retail locations operated by 6,300 customers mainly in Midwest. Right On, which trades publicly as RTON, markets range of items under ENDo Wellness trademark, too, and just opened first licensed ENDo Wellness Center in Dallas suburb of Lewisville that includes a Humbly Hemp café.

Santa Cruz, Calif-based LifeAid Beverage has made its first significant move into team-sports athlete game, enlisting local player Kevon Looney of Golden State Warriors to be face of its FitAid entry in Bay Area via forthcoming out-of-home, radio and digital campaign.  We’re hearing he’s among flock of athletes, several of them hoops players, who’ve entered mix via recent financing round, tho cofounder Aaron Hinde declined to comment in brief discussion last night.  He said campaign being developed over next month or 2 is intended in part to buttress DSD network that co has assembled in Bay Area behind portfolio led by FitAid, co’s most endemic product, which launched in CrossFit niche but has broadened out to team sports.  Warriors will have access to brand at their new training facility.  Co rep said creative effort is being undertaken by in-house team, which in past has shown adept hand in marshaling video and other content behind such athletes as CrossFit athlete Sara Sigmundsdottir, whose recovery from serious injury was extensively chronicled (BBI, Apr 6 2018).

Tho a reconfigured Golden State isn’t the slamdunk to make the finals as in past years, Aaron said defensive standout Looney had phenomenal run in playoffs last year and made FitAid part of regimen in recovering from hamstring injury during preseason.  (Unfortunately, the injury has recurred amid concern that it might reflect broader neuropathic condition.)  A week ago “super-gracious” Looney participated in 4-hr photo shoot in support of push, Hinde told us.  Too early to say what specific theme of campaign will be, he said.

With a nudge from American Beverage Assn, the Big 3 bevcos have come together for first time today to back coordinated effort to reduce plastic use and increase recycling rates.  Initiative dubbed “Every Bottle Back” will initially be funded with $100 mil from industry, tho that could grow to as much as $400 mil “through matching grants, municipal funds and private investors,” noted AP.  Fund will be distributed thru Virginia-based Recycling Partnership, and NY-based Closed Loop Partners to work with local governments as well as improve recycling facilities.  The World Wildlife Fund will monitor progress of the initiative, noted ABA.  Those outside partners are “sorely needed,” noted AP, as US recycling “is a hodge-podge, with 20,000 local governments deciding how best to provide the service.  Only 53% of US households have curbside recycling,” and still there are 6% of households that have no recycling options available at all.  “Consumers in many cases like the convenience of our plastic bottles, but they are rightfully frustrated when they see a bottle on the beach or in a trash can,” said ABA prexy/ceo Katherine Lugar.  “It’s clear that our recycling system needs big improvements, so consumers know their efforts are going to make a difference.”

“Every Bottle Back” will also seek to improve recycling rates by educating more consumers via a media campaign that reminds them bottles and caps are recyclable, and also connect with consumers and drive that message with messages printed directly on bottle labels. 

Coca-Cola is aiming to have 50% of its plastic bottles made with recycled materials by 2030, PepsiCo is looking to get to 33% by 2025 and KDP wants 30% of its pkg from recycled materials by 2025, reminded AP.  Hitting those targets “will be difficult,” as Wood Mackenzie, a consulting firm in oil & gas industry, projects recycling rates “would have to rise 38% by 2025 and 78% by 2030,” to meet those goals.  AP notes too that past efforts gained little traction.  “In the early 1990s, Pepsi promised to phase out virgin plastic in its bottles by 1994.  It never happened.  In 2007, Coke invested $60 million in a bottle recycling plant.  The plant closed in 2014.”Indeed, we’d often heard that issue was source of friction with bottled water giant Nestle Waters North America, which was bearing brunt of plastic backlash and wanted more aggressive approach but eventually left group. 

What does CBD retail look like in the Big Apple?  Interesting play called Come Back Daily (initials: CBD) has drawn considerable buzz since opening flagship on lower Broadway, 2d location in East Village and popups in Harlem and in Turnstyle subway food hall at Columbus Circle.  Dubbed “the world’s first educational CBD hub,” it offers array of tinctures, oils and RTD bevs in expansive space with “discovery bar” up front and “zen lounge area” in rear that oscillates between being coworking space and hosting guided meditation, yoga, cryotherapy and presentations from visiting doctors and other experts to get word out about ingredient.  (This evening, Ojai Energetics is hosting a product demo; tomorrow brings cacao ceremony with Lock & Key Remedies, and Wed is a “yappy hour” dog costume party.)  Founder Steve Phan is transplant from SF who missed easy access to informed cannabis purveyors in home state.  “The difference was that back there I went into a store to buy my cannabis, I could ask questions, and they would tailor their service to my needs,” as he told Civilized Life earlier this year, at time of opening.  At earlier job at Natural Xtract, Steve missed opportunity to interact with customers face to face rather than thru substitutes like live chat, so this remedies that shortcoming.

We popped into main location this morning on break from jury duty nearby.  Floorstanding cooler featured array of familiar and not-so-familiar bev brands, including Recess, Vybes and Sprig, among those more widely available in city, along with Cloud Water, The Hemp Division and newcomers like Aurora from Portland, Ore, and Brooklyn Hemp Co.  Wide range of non-bev offerings included infused oil, tinctures, bath products, Kickback ground coffee, Oleo tea extract, pet items and topicals.  Website at ComeBackDaily.co is searchable not just by category and brand but also by extraction method (broad spectrum, full spectrum and isolate) and “situation” (chill, pain, sleep, etc).  Young staffer there told us bev clientele is across the board, with some purchasing single item for immediate consumption and others buying 20 at a time.  Recess and Vybes seem most popular.  Asked about any effects of Health Dept CBD crackdown that began earlier this month, he said there’s been none, since store doesn’t identify itself as a restaurant, café or other food location.  (That crackdown doesn’t seem to have much affected brands labeled as hemp extract, but those labeled as CBD may have been in for confiscations and other enforcement activity.)  Still, staffer credited Recess brand with shrewdest branding, consigning info like hemp dosage to small print on rear of can, as opposed to rivals that display their milligram levels prominently on front panel, potentially inviting hassles.

Hint Water no longer is just hintin’ that its bottled essence waters taste like real fruit. It takes over-the-top approach via quirky ads from Funworks agency that would have you believe that the unsweetened waters taste more authentically fruity than the pies at a county fair or the fresh fruit at a farmer’s market. In one of videos directed by The Cornershop’s Peter Martin show, for instance, 2 food-splattered guys competing at pie-eating event licking the pie fillings off each other’s faces to verify that their bottles of Hint actually taste more authentic than the pie fillings, as Advertising Age reported. “You know blackberry Hint Water tastes more like blackberries than the blackberries in my pie,” as one notes. “Water, with a touch of true fruit flavor,” is tagline. Funworks agency, situated across bay from SF-based Hint in Oakland, followed usual creative process in which client’s principals – in this case founders Kara and Theo Goldin and cmo Terrence Sweeney – are brought together with improv comedians and customers “to generate concepts, strategies and content.” Among other executions is one set at farmer’s market in which city slickers want to know “How do you farmer wizards make all this fruit taste just like Hint Water?” Well, sarcastic farmer responds, “we triple-irrigate our fruit with Hint Water in the world’s largest biosphere, which modifies the DNA to taste exactly like Hint Water.” In third spot, “a jolly raincloud pours watermelon Hint Water down upon picnic-goers who splash around with tongues out to catch the sweet drops,” as AdAge summarized. No info on where and how heavily ads have been running. Ads can be viewed here. Hint cmo Sweeney, btw, came aboard in Apr after career spent in marketing roles primarily on tech side, most recently at Flint Mobile and BBVA’s New Digital Businesses unit, per LinkedIn profile.