Articles by Barbara Harfmann

According to the New York-based Tea Association of the USA Inc., Americans consumed more than 84 billion servings of tea in 2019. The tea category offers a “rainbow of options,” including bagged, bottled, loose-leaf, hot, iced and cold brew.

Whether its dairy milks, ready-to-drink (RTD) hot and iced coffees, meal replacement drinks or protein powders, vanilla is one of the most universally accepted flavor profiles around the world. In fact, vanilla is so well-known that its very name means “common.”

Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Ahmed Rahim, his older sister Reem Hassani and their family fled to Cleveland when they were ages three and five, respectively, to escape the social injustice of Saddam Hussein.

How a beverage is packaged and deciding the type of packaging material — glass, aluminum or plastic — is a critical part of the equation for beverage-makers. Among the factors that should be considered is sustainability, smaller packaging sizes, and lightweighting.

Increased SKU counts, tight warehouse and in-store spaces, and delivery personnel who manage heavy cases and kegs are driving innovation of new mobile carts and hand trucks that are designed to improve ergonomics and enable warehouse workers to safely and efficiently stack, retrieve and deliver products.

Although the sports and protein drinks category isn’t necessarily hitting it out of the park, the category nevertheless is “rounding the bases” with modest growth.

The plant-based trend has evolved from niche to mainstream as plant-based ingredients from soy and almonds to newer options like pea, chickpea, oat and rice are being used in a multitude of products.

The spirits industry has plenty of reasons to celebrate as the category experienced accelerated growth for the 10th straight year, as supplier sales were up 5.3 percent, volume up 3.3. percent and retail sales totaled $90 billion in 2019, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).