Los Angeles-based Fiji Water Co., part of the Roll Global LLC family of companies, will launch a custom, reusable straw for its bottled water in April.
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is adding some berry taste to its flavored malt beverage (FMB) lineup with the release of Bud Light Lime Straw-Ber-Rita. A follow up to the successful Lime-A-Rita, which launched last April and has sold more than 500,000 barrels, the Straw-Ber-Rita is an 8 percent alcohol by volume FMB that blends Bud Light Lime with the taste of a strawberry Margarita, the company says.
Cytosport, the Benicia, Calif.-based parent company of Muscle Milk and Muscle Milk Light, launched Muscle Milk Light Peach Mango in 14-ounce ready-to-drink bottles. Peach Mango is the first Muscle Milk Light beverage option to be naturally flavored and sweetened with stevia, monk fruit and cane sugar, the company says.
Ownership transfers designed to drive local growth, companies say
March 20, 2013
Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo and two of its independent bottlers, Raleigh, N.C.-based Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC (PBV) and the Honickman Group's Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York (PCNY), College Point, N.Y., announced their intent to transfer certain franchise ownerships in New York, North Carolina, Idaho and Vermont in order to drive local growth.
Natural Products Expo West, produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton, showcased a record number of new natural and organic product launches at its 33rd show, which took place March 7-10 in Anaheim, Calif. Of the exhibitors, beverage-makers from established and emerging categories showcased their natural offerings.
Coffee company appoints new global chief marketing officer
March 19, 2013
Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, announced plans to expand its $70 million comprehensive ethical sourcing program with a new farming research and development center in Costa Rica. These programs are part of Starbucks’ ongoing billion-dollar commitment to ethically sourcing 100 percent of its coffee by 2015, the company says.
In 2012, the total U.S. beer market grew by 1 percent; however, craft beer grew 15 percent in volume and 17 percent in dollar sales, representing a total barrel increase of nearly 1.8 million, according to preliminary data from the Brewers Association, Boulder, Colo.
White Rock Beverages, Whitestone, N.Y., acquired Jersey City, N.J.-based Fizzy Lizzy natural sparkling juices, which include its Grapefruit, Cranberry, Raspberry, Lemon, Fuji Apple, Yakima Grape and Tangerine Passion Fruit varieties. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.