The following is transcript of Beverage Digest's podcast, The Breeze, Episode 3.
Our guest today is Matt Hughes, Vice President of Incubation for New Revenue Streams at Coca-Cola. Insiders might remember this unit as Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB), of which Matt is a founding member. He has spent 30 years in the beverage industry, including as an entrepreneur. We talk to Matt about this month's Natural Products Expo West to compare notes on natural product trends, up-and-coming wellness brands, and what it takes to break through in a crowded sector defined by high failure rates and a huge potential upside...
Powdered Beverage ‘Headroom is Unlimited,’ CEO Says. Brand Represents Possible Long-Term Disruption for RTD Sector.
March 16, 2023
Liquid I.V., the powdered water enhancer acquired by Unilever in 2020, is closing in on $1 billion in net sales, according to the company. The brand will reach the milestone in the “near future,” the company said, while declining to define that timeframe. The “hydration multiplier,” which promises to hydrate as much as 2.5 times faster than water and is used by some consumers as a hangover remedy, is the largest single-serve drink mix brand on the market with a...
Beverage Digest is walking the show floor along with about 65,000 other attendees at Expo West in California this week. We'll investigate natural ingredient trends that could one day drive the growing and profitable functional packaged beverage market. We're also looking for what's new within existing ready-to-drink segments and product lines, and talking to the founders and leaders who propel the sector.
We'll share our observations in live updates here, so check back through the next couple of days.
Subscribers can email us if there is something specific you'd like to ask about. For those attending the show, feel free to send any noteworthy observations as well.