With annual sales of more than $1.9 billion, Wirtz Beverage Group is making strides toward its vision of becoming the leading premium total beverage alcohol wholesaler in the United States by Dec. 31, 2012. Beverage Industry’s Wholesaler of the Year is now in its third and fourth generations of leadership and has gone through a rebranding process in order to unify its divisions in Illinois, Wisconsin, Nevada, Minnesota and Iowa.
We’ve heard of blind taste tests between competitive products. Oftentimes, consumers can’t tell the difference between a national brand and its private-label equivalent. However, in recent years, retailers have taken it to a whole new level. These days, consumers might find it difficult to pick out a private label product on-shelf because of the way it’s packaged and marketed.
As a hip-hop artist and actor, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is no stranger to collaborations. However, Jackson’s latest collaboration does not involve celebrities, but Pure Growth Partners, a New York City-based company that conceives and markets consumer brands with a philanthropic component.
Who could have predicted that leggings would once again be fashionable? Or that Beanie Babies would make a comeback? Trends can be difficult to predict. But after years of closely studying the beverage industry, experts offer their findings on the newest beverage-related trends.
Around age 30, adults begin to experience changes in brain function as part of natural development, according to Chesterfield, Mo.-based Nawgan Products LLC. Some effects are mild, such as occasionally misplacing everyday items, but others can be more significant. Although Nawgan functional beverages do not claim to reverse the brain aging process, they were developed specifically to support cognitive function over time, the company says. And when it comes to formulating a functional beverage, it’s not a job just anyone can do.
Centered on an otherwise empty wall in the lobby of the Farmington Hills, Mich., headquarters of Living Essentials LLC is a homemade wooden plaque for “2010 Runner-Up Worst Ad in America.” The plaque commemorates the company’s award from The Consumerist website for 5-Hour Energy’s “2:30 Feeling” TV ad. At the bottom, the plaque concedes, “We couldn’t even win this one.”
Cardiovascular concerns propel heart health ingredients
August 15, 2011
The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that the prevalence and control of traditional risk factors of heart disease, such as hypertension, tobacco use, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, remain an issue for many Americans, according to the AHA’s Circulation journal’s article “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011 Update” published in December 2010.
Companies across the supply chain have embraced sustainability as an overarching term for better business practices. Through the years, corporate definitions have expanded beyond decreasing packaging waste and water usage to the introduction of functional products and employee wellness programs. Indeed, offering a standard definition of “sustainability,” not to mention its key issues, can be difficult.
Although energy drinks were not immune from the effects of the economy, the category has shown its ability to grow in sales. Energy drink sales increased 14 percent to more than $5.9 billion in sales for the 52 weeks ending June 12 in supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Walmart, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago. The energy shots category also posted strong numbers with a 31.6 percent increase generating $1 billion in sales during the same time period.
White Rock Beverages grows, evolves into niche markets
August 11, 2011
Around the 1900s, the White Rock brand was almost synonymous with “water,” says Larry Bodkin, president of Whitestone, N.Y.-based White Rock Beverages. It was even larger than Coca-Cola and Pepsi at the time, he claims. In fact, White Rock water was used instead of church-supplied holy water at Gloria Vanderbilt’s christening; White Rock was featured at the coronation of England’s King Edward VII; and Charles Lindbergh launched his historic flight from New York to Paris by smashing a bottle of White Rock sparkling water over his plane, the company says.