Taste Radio

Mining trends at the recently held Natural Products Expo West 2017, Howard Telford, a senior beverages analyst with market research firm Euromonitor, said he saw the event as the embodiment of the health and wellness movement that has reshaped the beverage industry in recent years. In an interview recorded for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, Telford shared his thoughts on pertinent trends affecting new product development as viewed at Expo West and beyond. Telford, who is an expert on the global soft drink market, explained that concerns over added sugars are changing the ways companies are formulating new and existing beverages internationally as well as in the U.S. This week's podcast also includes a conversation with Michel Boissy, the CEO and co-founder of cold-pressed juice company FreshBev, the manufacturer of the Ripe brand of juices and cocktail mixers. Having completing a $4 million funding round in May 2016, FreshBev made significant upgrades to its production facility, including new filling lines for its innovative multi-serve bag-in-box and "barrel bag" pouch packages.. Meanwhile, the company expanded its sales and operations teams and recently revamped Ripe's branding. With key pieces in place, Boissy discussed why -- despite slowing sales in the cold-pressed juice category -- FreshBev is prepared for "explosive growth in the next several years." Also in this episode: a roundtable discussion with BevNET's illustrious design team and the beverages that are currently in favor with the talented quartet.

Zak Normandin is a determinedly practical entrepreneur. As a new father, he was concerned that there were few companies selling organic foods for babies and toddlers. So he created his own: Little Duck Organics, a maker of USDA organic snacks. A few years after its launch, he sold the company. Although he had been successful in the food business, he wasn't satisfied with traditional distribution models. Seeing an opportunity to sell direct-to-consumer, two years ago Normandin launched Dirty Lemon, a brand of functional drinks that are sold via a text message-based ordering platform. Thomas Perez has similar views when it comes to disruptive business concepts. The CEO of Alpha Dominche, a manufacturer of ultra high-end coffee and tea brewing machines for cafes, Perez felt that consumers would benefit from learning about how the company's equipment works and what separates it from traditional devices and brewing methods. He built Extraction Lab, a sprawling space in Brooklyn's Industry City neighborhood, to educate consumers about the company's innovative Steampunk single-cup brewing machines. Part cafe, part showroom, the store gives customers an up-close-and-personal view of how these tech-heavy brewing machines operate. Included in this edition of the BevNET Podcast are interviews with both Normandin and Perez, exploring how outside-the-box thinking shaped their respective companies. Also in this episode: a chat with BevNET's new CMO, Mike Schneider, one that includes his favorite product discoveries as an attendee of Natural Products Expo West 2017.

As the founder and CEO of Bulletproof Nutrition, Dave Asprey presides over a company dedicated to hacking human biology through nutrient-dense food and beverages. A former tech entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, Asprey first came to fame as the creator of Bulletproof coffee, a blend of hot coffee, butter from grass-fed cows and coconut oil. The recipe won acclaim for its purported benefits of weight loss and improved brain function, and Asprey has since built Bulletproof into a multi-pronged brand, anchored by a thriving website that sells ingredients, supplements and snacks direct-to-consumer. In an interview recorded at Natural Products Expo West 2017, Asprey discussed his role as an evangelist for bio-hacking foods and his vision for mainstreaming the concept. He also delved into Bulletproof's sales platform, which includes its e-commerce site, a growing chain of cafes and wholesale business, and its current funding round. Finally, Asprey shared his take on Bulletproof-style RTD beverages coming to market and what it means for the company's upcoming launch of its own RTD coffee. Also included in this podcast: a conversation with Ito En North America COO Jim Hoagland about surging consumer interest in matcha and the company's leadership position in the space.

In this edition of the BevNET Podcast, we're joined by prominent food and beverage attorney Nick Giannuzzi. The founder and managing partner of the The Giannuzzi Group, he has for over a decade provided legal representation to hundreds of small to mid-sized CPG companies and been involved in the biggest M&A deals in the space, including the sale of vitaminwater to The Coca-Cola Co., Krave Jerky to The Hershey Co. and KeVita to PepsiCo. Our conversation with Giannuzzi includes his take on how has the landscape for M&A in food and beverage has evolved in recent years, how he advises clients on being disciplined in their growth strategies and how entrepreneurs best align themselves with investors that share similar values and goals. Giannuzzi also discussed the current climate for investment (entrepreneurs would be wise to conduct a heat check, he noted) and competition for clients within the legal community. Also included in this podcast: a check-in with Honest Tea co-founder Seth Goldman on the brand recent revamp of its Honest Sport line and talking points on the Bai and KeVita deals, and a quick chat with Josh Wand, the founder of food and beverage staffing and recruiting agency Force Brands.

Kevin Klock, the president and CEO of Talking Rain, believes that while timing and some luck played a role in the remarkable success of Sparkling Ice, execution is the primary reason that it's currently a $600 million brand at retail. A focused business strategy and the development of a national DSD network and seasoned sales organization helped position Sparkling Ice for eye-popping sales growth -- 6,000 percent since 2010. But Klock, who joined Talking Rain in 2006 and took the helm four years later, isn't ready to take a victory lap; instead, he sees the brand as ready for a running mate, or two. As part of a wide-ranging interview recorded for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, Klock discussed why the company is now looking at opportunities to acquire brands and how it's evaluating potential deals in the U.S. and abroad. Talking Rain is also keen on innovating internally, he said, and bolstering branding efforts for Sparkling Ice, having recently launched a $37 million marketing campaign titled "Be Not Bland." Our conversation also included Klock's take on so-called "soda tax" initiatives, some of which affect Sparkling Ice -- despite its zero-calorie and zero-sugar formulation -- and his view that the "villainization" of artificial ingredients has slowed to a halt. Also included in this podcast: a segment on libations currently in favor with the team at BevNET's San Diego office.

In this edition of the BevNET Podcast, we're joined by Michael Schwartz, the co-founder and managing partner of Organic Food Incubator, a shared production facility and resource center for early-stage food and beverage companies. In our conversation with Schwartz, who is also the founder of BAO, a brand of fermented foods and drinks, we delved into the current landscape for start-up brands in metro New York, and discuss top-of-mind ingredient and formulations embraced by entrepreneurs in the region. Schwartz also shared his take on effective sales, retail and distribution strategies for new brand owners, including why "you're your own best salesman." Also part of this week's podcast: a discussion about the surge in protein-infused foods and beverages, including what's trending in the space and why.

Big Geyser, the largest independent beverage distributor in metro New York, has played a critical role in the development of some of the most successful entrepreneurial beverage brands in recent years, including vitaminwater, Zico and Honest Tea. Jerry Reda, the company's COO, oversees a distribution network that includes over 25,000 retail accounts -- and navigating the day-to-day challenges as Big Geyser's trucks traverse the tri-state area brings an extra level of headache to the gig. In the city that never sleeps, it's a 24/7 job, but Reda, who we recently interviewed for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, says that he wakes up every day and loves what he does. Listen to our complete interview with Reda, who joined us along with another stalwart of the New York beverage scene, BevNET Magazine publisher Barry Nathanson. The conversation included a discussion on how the New York market has evolved, Big Geyser's role in the development of vitaminwater (and why the company ultimately parted ways with the brand), current trends ("We are extremely bullish on bottled water," Reda said), how it evaluates new business opportunities, and the qualities of entrepreneurs that make it big. Also as part of this week's podcast: a discussion about the growing relevance of taprooms for craft breweries, and a recap of the recently held KombuchaKon 2017 event.

Mike Repole, the co-founder of BodyArmor, is unsatisfied. Why? Because BodyArmor, despite its impressive growth in recent years, is not the world's top-selling sports drink brand. Repole, who also co-founded vitaminwater and is a horse-racing magnate and billionaire, clearly does not lack ambition. As part of a wide-ranging interview recorded for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, Repole, who joined BodyArmor as a co-founder through an investment in the brand in 2012, said that despite Gatorade's longstanding domination of the sports drink category, he believes the giant can be knocked off its pedestal. And for BodyArmor to replace it would be the truest representation of success. "We're not here for bronze medals," Repole said. "It's gold or nothing." Listen to our full conversation with Repole, recorded at BodyArmor's offices in Queens, which included details about his roots as a beverage entrepreneur, his view on how the beverage industry has evolved since the sale of vitaminwater, and why he thinks that "in five years, there will only be two sports drink [brands], and BodyArmor will be one of them." Repole also explained why today's beverage brands need to frame added sugar as a functional attribute: "you're not going to get away with sugar for taste and refreshment," he said. Also as part of this week's podcast, we discuss beverage companies that advertised during the Super Bowl -- and how effectively they were able to get their messages out to the audience.

Last week, the podcast team visited the Boston offices of Bevi, a high-tech water cooler that customizes still and sparkling water with unsweetened, zero-calorie, or organically sweetened natural flavors. We spoke with Bevi co-founder and CEO Sean Grundy about the internet-connected machines, which are placed in corporate clients, health gyms and hotels, and provide real-time data to the company about usage and service needs. Grundy also discussed the company's mission "to make the bottled beverage supply chain more environmentally friendly" by reducing use and consumption of packaged water products. This week's podcast also includes a conversation about the 2017 Winter Fancy Food Show, including a look at how the specialty food convention has evolved in recent years and become a forum to showcase innovation, something that bodes well for the convention and industry as a whole.

In the past two years, crowd investing firm CircleUp has morphed from solely a platform for investors to fund innovative, early-stage consumer brands into one that is also an investor itself. Last week the podcast team visited CircleUp's San Francisco office to speak with Ben Lee, the managing director of CircleUp Funds, the company's investment arm. We sat down with him to discuss the ways in which CircleUp aims to support early-stage fundraising for beverage entrepreneurs. Lee, who has overseen evaluation of thousands of early-stage consumer product companies, was previously the company's director of business development. From that perspective, he talked about what trends in beverage are proving especially important to investors, and why CircleUp's purview has increased so that it no longer describes itself as a "crowdfunding" platform.