Articles by Jessica Jacobsen

In the ballad “The Sweetest Thing,” the pop rock band U2 sang about how love is the sweetest thing, but when it comes to the beverage market, the sweetest thing also is the biggest thing. Across 13 ingredient categories, sweeteners accounted for 85 percent of the 46.4 million tons of ingredients used in beverages in 2011, according to an April 2013 report by Chicago-based Euromonitor International titled “Beverage Ingredients: Trends and Influences.”

I recently returned home from my first of seven weddings this year. Although the travel might not be the most exciting part of the upcoming nuptials, hearing the individual couples explain what their new union means to them is always enjoyable. But partnerships aren’t only important in marriage. In actuality, consumer packaged goods companies are constantly forming their own partnerships in order to strengthen their brands and deliver to consumers.

Similar to how fast food restaurants added dollar or value menus in order to entice consumers, the value proposition for discount retailers has helped dollar retail chains gain market share against traditional retail formats.

Versatility can be a key component in many forms of business. For beverage manufacturers, developing products that are not only refreshing but also functional is not an uncommon practice; however, versatility doesn’t end with the finished product; it also can extend to its packaging — even its secondary packaging.

With a title like chairman of the party, Josh Deth of Revolution Brewing has a tall order to fill. The Chicago-based craft brewery went from operating solely as a brewpub to opening a brewery for its consumer packaged goods (CPG) business last spring, but the idea of Revolution Brewing began much earlier than that.

The old saying that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” might someday transition to “A supplement a day keeps the doctor away” as topics such as the U.S. obesity rate, an aging baby boomer generation, and increased energy/alertness continue to bring attention to the nutritional/dietary supplement segment, according to market research firms.

There is no shortage of new product launches within the energy drink and shot sector. According to the Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights’ database, 124 energy drink and shot products launched in the United States in 2012. Of those product launches, energy/alertness was the top health positioning.

Similar to how college basketball coaches instituted end-of-game timeouts in order to strategize a “sure-fire” inbounds play during March Madness, retailers and brand owners are calling their own plays when it comes to merchandising. Retailers and brand owners have taken a methodical approach to different merchandising tactics for brands and categories in order to engage consumers and stimulate purchase behavior, experts note.

Although I am no longer covering local Earth Day events, connecting with brand owners, suppliers and everything in between has shown me that environmental emphasis still is a part of my journalistic career.

If you were to ask Bret Williams a year ago whether he would ever sell Vermont Hard Cider Co., the answer would have been, “No.” When the president and chief executive officer of the Middlebury, Vt.-based company originally purchased the Woodchuck hard cider brand and facility in 2003, it was not about developing a big company or brand; it was about saving jobs.