• UNFI Attack Aftermath
• Lifeway Seeks New Cert, Milk Accelerator Opens
• Hold My Beer: We’ve Got Reviews
• Capri Sun Goes Long for Summer Solstice
• Greenbar Distillery Sidesteps RTDs
• LALO Shifts To Reyes
• Now Streaming: CPG Week

From the playful rise of #WaterTok to the wellness appeal of prebiotic sodas, consumers are reshaping what they expect from a simple sip. Flavored water is leading the charge, bridging fun, function, and flavor in ways brands can’t afford to ignore. See where innovation is headed next. Learn more

Caffeine remains the most widely used drug, but how people dose out their midday energy kick might be changing.

Coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks have been left defending their territory as a new generation of caffeinated products creep into mouth pouches, sprays and tubed paste formats for convenience-oriented consumers.

While the energy shot remains a fairly large category – with dollar sales over $870 million in the last 52-week period (ending May 12, per Circana MULO+C tracking) – it has been gradually contracting. Dollar sales were down 6% with volume also falling 7.3% in the period.

“When shots came on the scene it was very incremental [to convenience stores],” said Mike Sweeney, Head of Sales for caffeinated mouth pouch brand Wip. “When you start thinking about 5-Hour Energy, it’s been a billion dollar brand for a long time, but it’s been deteriorating. Retailers are trying to close that gap when people leave that product format.”

Brands like Wip and Binaca-like caffeine spray ALL DAY are targeting shots’ coveted c-store counter real estate with innovations that play to the same portability and effectiveness. Not only are these brands marketing around convenience, they also offer the benefits of easier dosage and efficient energy delivery.

“Instead of chugging down a massive cup of coffee, you’re able to self-dose to a much greater degree because the impact is felt much quicker,” said ALL DAY CEO Alex Cantwell.

Read the full story to learn how one brand is working to be the “Swiss Army Knife” of on-the-go caffeination.

UNFI appears to be back up and running after a cyberattack hobbled the distributor’s national network earlier this month, but the cleanup and aftermath are still shaking out even as systems operations are restored and customers can resume ordering.

UNFI confirmed it has resumed receiving orders and shipments this weekend, but supply disruptions could have big impacts for brands within the distributor’s network.

Luke Abbott, founder and CEO of Vdriven Consulting, took to LinkedIn Monday to advise brands to “closely scrutinize incoming POs to ensure they make sense” and warns that products may have fallen off the shelf as “supplies were depleted at the store level.”

Brands may be facing extra carrier detention charges due to the “log jams,” Abbott said. He recommended working with UNFI directly “to reimburse any of these charges, which are not your fault.”

Catch Up: UNFI Shipping On ‘Limited Basis’ Following Security Breach

🎖️ Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky wants to create a new voluntary daily certification standard that can provide more transparency on “animal welfare, responsible antibiotic use, sustainable farming practices, milk nutrition quality, and environmental stewardship.” 

• Smolyansky said she wants an industry-wide conversation to develop a new guarantee that goes beyond the binary of conventional and organic production.

"We believe there is an opportunity — and an obligation — to create a flexible, science-informed standard that empowers farmers, delivers real benefits to public health, and meets growing consumer demand for responsibly produced dairy," she said.

🏆 Out on the West Coast, the California Milk Advisory Board and VentureFuel have opened applications for the seventh Real California Milk Accelerator program, seeking brands making “value-added products using real milk.”

• First launched in 2019, the program includes mentorship, access to non-dilutive capital and “an innovation ecosystem for brand growth.”

Related Reading: A2 Dairy Is Gaining Momentum, But Can Suppliers Keep Up?

In June 2025, UNFI was hit by a cyberattack and forced to shut down its entire network. The result? Diminished store shelves and a huge hit to UNFI’s gross profit margins -- and maybe even YOURS. If the UNFI attack caught you off guard, it's time to start playing offense. Learn more

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year, and Capri Sun wants you sipping its pouches all day. The kid’s drink brand introduced a limited edition “Solstice Pouch,” which is 15-inches long and contains 20 oz. of juice, a serious size-up from the brand’s traditional, wieldier 6 oz. pack.

🦒 Seriously, just look at this thing. The extra long pouches debuted on Walmart.com and are sold in tandem with a 64 oz. jug of the brand’s Fruit Punch so consumers can refill their scarf-length containers all day.

📅 Our take: It looks to us like a fun piece of viral marketing from a legacy brand that has rarely had its high position in the kid’s drink set seriously challenged. Now, Capri Sun seems like it’s aiming for nostalgic adults and social media users with a sense of irony to make sure its name doesn’t fall out of the spotlight.

As we head into the summer months at BevNET HQ we rounded up next-gen functional beverages including a THC/CBD brew from Squier’s, mushroom infused liquid coming from High Ground and a kava concoction by Bashi. We also could help but sit on a seasonal classic – sweet tea from Halfday.

Then, we chronicled our thoughts with each swig, highlighting aspects of the brand, liquid and product positioning that stood out and things the company could consider for next time. 

🆓 Check out this week’s review roundup on BevNET.

To submit your beverage product to BevNET for review, click here. And to browse past reviews, check the archive here.

BevNET’s 2025 Natural Beverage Guide is the industry’s top resource for natural, organic, plant-based, and functional beverage brands, plus the suppliers and service providers that support them.

Your listing will be seen by 20,000+ beverage buyers, retailers, investors, and decision-makers through BevNET Magazine, BevNET.com, our daily newsletter, and social media.

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Here’s the latest intoxicating news…

Los Angeles’ first post-prohibition era distillery, Greenbar Distillery, has been trying to solve a problem for 21 years, and a new product called Staria could be the answer.

After five years of research, the new bottle is the craft distillery’s “magnum opus” – a liqueur designed to help at-home cocktail makers execute uncomplicated drinks. 

Bright, tart and citrusy with built-in foam, Staria is a 15% ABV liqueur that can be added to nearly any spirit to create a long list of cocktails, including margaritas and daiquiris. But will drinkers literally shake up their ready-to-drink routines? 

Learn more about the launch on BevNET.

Another major spirits supplier is shifting its California distribution to Reyes Beverage Group following the shuttering of Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) operations in the Golden State. 

Fast-moving tequila company, LALO Spirits is the latest to jump to the beer distributor, effective late July 2025. 

With LALO, Tito’s and Brown-Forman now joining the California portfolio, Reyes has an opportunity to slide deeper into spirits, but can it transition from stocking the cold box to servicing on-premise spirits accounts?

Get all of the answers on BevNET.

This week, the podcast team digs into the disruption caused by a cyberattack on UNFI’s computer systems and details the wholesale distributor’s recovery efforts in the days since.

🤑 L.A. Libations’ Taste Tomorrow Ventures invested in candy brand Better Sour. Hear how the startup plans to spend its new cash. 

🍯 Soccer legend David Beckham has launched a new snack venture targeting the overlooked market of youth sports. 

⚽ Speaking of soccer, Yerba Madre – the beverage brand formerly known as Guayaki – has kicked off some new sponsorship deals with football clubs and events.

Click here to listen to this week’s episode. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Like what you are listening to? Please don’t hesitate to rate our show and leave a review on your podcast platform of choice.