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It’s no secret that consumers are demanding more from their food and beverages. More and more beverage-makers are answering this call by developing new products that blur category lines. Although these hybrid drinks are fulfilling the functional and refreshment needs of consumers, research from Mintel sheds light on what might be next for these emerging beverage options.

The 2017 Women’s March, International Women’s Day and Equal Pay Day are some of the recent national events that have highlighted women’s contributions to society. These events also got me thinking about diversity and women in the beverage industry.

An overall view of the beverage arena immediately highlights the fact that beverage packaging is dominated by logistics: moving materials in some form or another from point A to point B and beyond.

I have been a fan of Pandora for years now. I have a station for driving, driving with my parents in the car, working and running. Because I use the free service, I am accustomed to the targeted advertisements. So, when Pandora For Brands released an article titled “3 Ways to Personalize and Customize an Ad Campaign,” it caught my interest.

After three days and more than 46,000 steps logged on my pedometer, it’s safe to say that I saw my fair share of natural and organic products at Natural Products Expo West (page 14), which took place last month.

I’m a big fan of movies and eagerly anticipate two events: the Academy Awards and Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) annual 31 Days of Oscar, which took place on Feb. 26, and Feb. 1 through March 3, respectively. This year, several beverage brands took center stage at Hollywood’s biggest night.

Observations, special studies and compliance evaluations have led to the conclusion that the filling machine is the kingpin of practically every beverage production/packaging line in any segment of the industry. Visits to wineries, distilleries, breweries, soft drink facilities, as well as juice, water and specialty beverage facilities, have provided substantial evidence that many portions of the supply chain are affected by the filler at the production source.