From lion's mane to cordyceps, functional mushrooms are showing up in more beverages made for active lifestyles. Bio-Botanica's alcohol-free mushroom extracts are made in the USA with globally sourced ingredients, formulated and manufactured in-house since 1972. Request a sample today

A brand bringing A-list celebrities on as investor co-founders is rarely a bad thing. Whether it’s a good thing, however, is determined by how well those celebrities can impact growth beyond just their names and social media following.

Protein soda brand PRODA is already integrating its newest celebrity co-founders, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, into the mix as it makes tweaks to its visual identity.

• What They Said: “What’s special about the Timberlakes’ inclusion is that they were evangelizers first. They really fell in love with the product before ever having a formal relationship with it.” - Joey Gonzalez, PRODA investor and board member

While Timberlake and Biel help the brand sharpen its messaging, PRODA is also charting a retail expansion as it works to establish itself as a clear competitor in the protein soda set.

Read the full story on BevNET

The convenience store channel can be a major growth opportunity for beverage brands, but succeeding in it requires a very different strategy than selling through grocery, natural, or specialty retail.

In this Nombase Education course, Andy Steele breaks down what founders need to know before entering convenience and how to build a strategy that can actually work at shelf. You’ll learn how to determine whether your brand is ready for the channel, understand the costs and economics of a launch, identify the right retailers to target, and choose a distribution model that fits your business.

Learn more.

Building a $100 million CPG brand without venture capital takes more than a great product — it takes conviction, discipline, and a willingness to play the long game. 

In this episode, Loren Castle, the founder and CEO of Sweet Loren’s, breaks down how she built a profitable business by challenging category conventions, winning over major retailers, and refusing to compromise on taste. 

Listen now

Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.