Ilex Organics, one of pioneers of fledgling yaupon tea segment via its Yaupon Bros and Yazoo Yaupon lines, has scored surprisingly mainstream win: Walmart has onboarded co's so-called ecotubes of Yaupon Bros teabags for Walmart.com platform. Cofounder Bryon White said its purchase orders totaling 25K of the canisters reps largest single retailer PO the co has ever received. Walmart had taken the canisters into some of its southern stores. The big order enabled Florida-based co to expand from single KeHe warehouse in Florida to multiple DCs across country, move that should provide a boost to brand's general retail availability. Walmart has been making big push to become more credible rival to Amazon, emphasizing American-made items and generally purchasing products for its own inventory rather than simply holding them for mfr. Yaupon, recall, is species of holly plant that's only native American plant with caffeine, sort of US version of yerba mate sourced from Amazon region of S America. Yaupon Bros' model has been to send tens of thousands of trees to outside growers to nurture, guaranteeing takeup of crop but leaving it to yield experts to manage growth. At Fancy Food, co also was unveiled Peach flavor addition to Delta Yaupon pouched subline undertaken with support from actor Morgan Freeman, joining entries like Delta Brew and Delta Chai.

Alani Nu brand, fast-growing energy brand that hasn't had benefit of a DSD presence in NY market yet, has landed Brooklyn Bottling as DSD distribution partner there. Brooklyn Bottling, marketer of Tropical Fantasy and other NA brands, is picking up both Alani Nu (the Nu stands for "nutrition"), fronted by fitness influencer Katie Hearn, and new canned hydration entry called Prime that was recently launched with fighter and social media presence Logan Paul, Brooklyn Bottling's Steve Parano confirmed today. The brands are operated by Congo Brands, which also includes 3D Energy in its bev portfolio.

In reeling public market, Flow Beverage shares skidded over 20% in trading today after reporting Q2 in which lower-than-expected volume growth, trimming of full-year growth target and continued high losses seemed to spook investors who've been clamoring for Toronto-based co to make its finances as well as its Tetra Pak'd waters sustainable. Pressed by analysts on investor call this morning, founder/ceo Nicholas Reichenbach acknowledged to questioners that gross sales "were not as we had initially contemplated in arriving at our initial guidance" but said his team was confident-enough in bounceback to maintain its 2d-half projection of 45-55% growth of core Flow brand. Given recent shortfall, tho, for full year, however, Flow brand's net revenue growth now is anticipated to come in at 25-30% rather than previously predicted 45-55%.

Many weekend binge-drinkers fall within average consumption guidelines. But those moderate avg drinkers (averaging no more than 1 drink a day for women, 2 for men) with a pattern of binge drinking (5+ drinks on same occasion) were almost 5x as likely to experience multiple "alcohol problems," and more than 2x as likely to experience alcohol problems 9 yrs later, according to new research from the University of Texas at Austin. Importantly, tracked alcohol problems skewed toward short-term varieties, like drinking more to get the same effect, emotional and psychological impacts and experiencing the effects of alcohol at work. While those findings challenge much alcohol research, which tends to focus on average weekly consumption, it strongly supports the notion that consumption patterns matter, crucially focusing on problem drinking as opposed to all drinking.

Current "labor crisis" has only "amplified" an existing delivery problem for mom-and-pop taverns, the PA Licensed Beverage and Tavern Assn wrote early this mo, raising alarm that "the flow of beer to Pennsylvania bars, taverns, and licensed restaurants is slowing." Letter sent to key legislators claims issues across the state, "from Philadelphia to Erie," but spotlights issues in York County, where Ace Beer Dist chose to limit bar, tavern and club deliveries to twice per mo. Ace is short on drivers by 20%, coo/co-founder Adam Reeder explained to PennLive. "We were looking at our capacity going into this summer and realized we need to look at how can we possibly reduce some service to cut down the amount of time drivers are [on] the road each day," he said. And Ace far from alone, of course. Recall, NBWA working on ways to aid recruitment efforts for beer distribs short on staff, including recently released, customizable "Start Your Career in Beer" videos.

While openings still far outpace 'em, more craft closures continue to pop up, including one of the oldest brewers in Indiana. Barley Island Brewery will close at the end of July after 23 yrs in biz, co announced last wk in a Facebook post. When it opened in 1999, there were only a handful of local brewers. But beers from the Noblesville, IN-based brewpub gained distribution throughout the state, including its signature brew, Barfly IPA. The building it's in sold a yr ago, tho new owners said they would've preferred to keep Barley Island in place, IndyStar reports. They now plan to renovate the building, but Barley Island owner Jeff Eaton still operates nearby Deer Creek Pub and Bistro.

Dogfish Head is increasingly becoming a total alc bev brand as founder Sam Calagione's role within total Boston Beer progresses, especially from an innovation standpoint, and Boston invests more heavily in spirits-based RTDs more broadly. Dogfish is "super bullish" on RTD prospects this summer while still lookin' for beer biz to find its footing, Sam acknowledged with CBN in recent chat. As Sam's been on the road for 4 of the last 6 wks, "major retailers" are "allocating massive space" to canned cocktails this summer, "relative to the current volume." Retailers are more open to adding space "ahead of volumetric growth," because they see the trends and the oppy to get ahead of it, he thought. And Dogfish continues to feel it has a leg up in convos with retailers, telling its story as an authentic craft distiller for 20+ yrs starting with a 120-gallon distillery that went on to win multiple awards and build its canned cocktail portfolio from there.