How do you take your tea?  

After recently selling its 1 billionth beverage earlier this summer, Honest Tea took to social media to learn more about Americans’ relationships with iced tea.  The Coca-Cola Co. subsidiary examined more than 115,000 tweets that mentioned iced tea and made the following discoveries:

• Salads were the preferred meal for iced tea tweeters.

• Running was the most popular activity among various forms of exercise performed by iced tea tweeters.

• More people tweet about their dogs
and iced tea rather than their cats and iced tea.

• California had the highest percentage of people who tweeted about iced tea; North Dakota had the lowest.

• Tweeters in Texas prefer sweet tea, while tweeters in California prefer unsweetened tea.

• Honey Green, Half & Half and Peach White Tea were the most-tweeted Honest Teas.

Name that shark!  

Back by popular demand, Narragansett Beer re-released its Narragansett 1975 “Jaws” can. In conjunction with the relaunch, Narragansett Beer is supporting shark conservation efforts in the Atlantic Ocean and giving Narragansett fans a chance to name and track an adopted shark. In partnership with the R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, Narragansett Beer sponsored the adoption of a shark through the purchase of a satellite tag, allowing researchers — and Narragansett fans — to track it and learn more about shark behavior. Narragansett fans also have the chance to name the adopted shark by submitting name suggestions through Narragansett’s social media channels using the hashtag #NameTheShark through Shark Week, which starts Aug. 10.

Squeezing out the last drops of summer

Stoli Vodka kicked off its 100 Days To Squeeze campaign to help consumers squeeze the most out of the summer season. The brand of Stoli Group USA will help them do so by mixing its Stoli Ohranj, Stoli Citros, Stoli Razberi and Stoli Blueberi with lemonade and bringing these cocktails directly to the masses. The cocktails will be available in Stoli-branded lemonade trucks deemed “limo-nades,” which will tour the country offering samples and daring consumers to take part in summer challenges to win Stoli prizes. Furthermore, Stoli is bringing the campaign to retail through value-added packs that include a 750-ml bottle of Stoli Vodka with a glass mason jar and a lemon juicer, making it convenient for consumers to serve their own cocktails at summertime events.

Coffee in space

Italian astronauts have reported that they miss espresso coffee while they’re working aboard the International Space Station (ISS), according to Lavazza. To give these space pioneers a taste of home while on their missions, the Italian coffee brand partnered with Argotec and the Italian Space Agency to create ISSpresso, the first capsule-based espresso system able to work in space. ISSpresso is designed to work in space conditions, where the principles regulating the fluid dynamics of liquids and mixtures are very different from those typical on Earth, the companies say. The coffee-maker will launch Lavazza into space as part of the upcoming Futura Mission, which is scheduled for Nov. 23.

Teamwork

To keep young athletes properly hydrated this summer, PepsiCo’s Gatorade brand is partnering with the NFL, MLS, MLB and NBA for the Gatorade “Beat the Heat” educational campaign. Now in its 10th year, Gatorade “Beat the Heat” continues to raise awareness among athletes, parents and coaches about how proper hydration can help reduce heat-related illnesses during athletic activity. Research conducted by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute found that as many as 70 percent of high school football players showed up for practice inadequately hydrated, which can increase the risk of heat illness. To spread the word about proper hydration and heat safety, Gatorade is sharing its “Gatorade Heat Safety Kit.” Available for free download on the Gatorade, NFL, MLS, MLB and NBA websites, the document provides easy-to-follow tips for athletes, parents and coaches to reduce the chances of heat illness this summer.

Stock perks

Reed’s Inc. launched its “25 Years of Ginger Love” contest to celebrate 25 years of making Reed’s Ginger Brew and selling its 400 millionth bottle. However, for this contest, the grand prize is not just the usual trips or lifetime supplies of product. Instead, the company is giving winners a vested interest in the company in the form of stocks. The grand-prize winner will receive 2,500 shares of NYSE: REED; the second-prize winner will receive 1,000 shares; and the third-prize winner will receive 500 shares. Other prizes in the contest include 25th anniversary T-shirts, Moscow Mule mugs, Reed’s Ginger Brew packs, and coupons for the company’s online store. Fans can enter the contest on Reed’s Facebook page. Winners will be randomly selected in early December.

Axis for music alliances

Because music is central to the lives of legal-drinking-age millennial consumers, Coors Light is launching a new platform to give fans exclusive access to top music content and concerts. Coors Light Axis will focus on four music genres: hip-hop, Latin, country and rock. For hip-hop, the brand is partnering with Complex Media, Vevo, XXL, Pandora and artists Big Sean, Curren$y and DJ Drama to put together documentary-style videos, a Q&A video series, custom mix tapes and special performances. For the other genres, Coors Light will support Univision Radio’s Uforia concert series, Jason Aldean’s summer concerts, and Atlanta’s 16th annual Midtown Music Festival, respectively.

Refreshingly green

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is partnering with The Coca-Cola Co. to show consumers that “being green is oh-so refreshing.” The company’s SeaWorld and Busch Gardens theme parks across the country now are offering 100 percent recyclable, refillable consumer plastic cups made from The Coca-Cola Co.’s proprietary PlantBottle packaging technology. The company’s switch to PlantBottle plastic in its refillable cups is expected to remove 35 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, it says. The theme parks also are using colorful in-park murals and point-of-purchase displays promoting environmental advocacy to help inform park guests about the new product.