• 🔔 Jones Soda Co. Reports Mixed Q2 Results
• 🇺🇸 United Sodas Is Embracing ‘Less-As-More’
• 🚚 Distribution: Nguyen heads to H-E-B
• 🏋🏼‍♂️ Momentous Pumps Up The Protein
• 🇬🇧 U.K. Watchdog Slaps Down Huel Ads
• 🥛 Three Die After Alt-Milk Listeria Outbreak

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From top to bottom, Jones Soda’s Q2 earnings, released this week, were both up and down – reflecting the company’s emphasis on innovation and the costs that come with a large portfolio spread over multiple categories. Here’s a look at the numbers:

• Revenue was $7.2 million during the quarter, a 49% increase compared to the same period last year.
• Gross margin was 35%, a 3% improvement year-over-year.
• Net loss was $1.6 million versus a loss of $1 million in Q2 2023.
• Adjusted EBITDA was -$1.1 million compared to -$729,000 in the prior year period.

🗣️ What they said: “We do expect our bottom line to continue to improve… We’re very committed to being good stewards of capital, and have intentionally ramped up our investments in the short term to accelerate growth and increase profitability over the long term.” - David Knight, president and CEO, during a call with investors 

Jones has been on a mission to scale the company from its craft soda roots into disruptive beverage industry competitor by launching into new formats, RTD cocktails, zero-calorie sodas and an entrance this year into prebiotic soft drinks and canned mixers.

BevNET Insiders can read the full earnings recap to understand what direction the beverage brand is building.

Believe it or not, not all new soda brands include gut health claims: see United Sodas (formerly United Sodas of America). The brand is using a revamped formulation and new packaging as a route to connect with retail consumers eager for a flavor-first approach.

🔀 As it transitions from a predominantly online company into a larger brick-and-mortar retail presence, the brand is aiming to reintroduce itself with a new formulation that drops much-maligned erythritol in favor of an improved blend of stevia and cane sugar, raising the total to 8 grams (35 calories) per 12 oz. can.

United Sodas’ minimalist approach offers a refreshingly straightforward proposition within a category that increasingly embraces functionality.

• No functional ingredients means consumers “don’t have to make any decisions” outside of pleasure, said Kate Reeder, United Sodas’ COO and Head of Brand. 
• There may be something to that notion: conventional CSDs are still putting up impressive growth numbers – just ask Dr Pepper.

BevNET Insiders can hear more about the brand’s new approach from Reeder and United Sodas’ head of marketing Carli Nichols.

BevNET proudly presents the 2024 Natural Beverage Guide, now available in the July/August edition of BevNET Magazine, both in print and online. This guide showcases a wide range of brands, from kombuchas to healthy sodas, along with essential suppliers and service providers. View now. 

The world’s relationship with alcohol is changing and with it comes an array of non-alc beer, wine, and spirits to meet growing consumer demand. How can food and beverage owners and operators leverage the fastest-growing category in bev-alc? Here’s what America’s #1 non-alc spirits brand recommends. Learn more

☕ Nguyen Coffee Supply notched another big win this week, announcing its packaged coffee beans will be rolling out to H-E-B stores across the state of Texas; the retailer already carries its RTD coffees and will add the brand’s Saigon, Hanoi and Loyalty Arabica and Robusta bean varieties to its set. 

🍎 Sparkling apple cider vinegar beverage brand Life Cider is launching into Central Market stores across Texas this month.  

💚 Yerba mate maker Amaz is bringing its 3-SKU line of beverages to Erewhon stores. The products are available in Original, Pineapple Passion and Orange Mint flavors. 

💪 Koia is bringing its Cold Brew Coffee and Cinnamon Horchata plant-based shake flavors to all Publix stores across the southeast this month.

⚡ Another plant-based protein shake maker, Remedy Organics, is also making moves: bringing its 2 oz. Wellness shot line to Sprouts stores nationwide. The functional shots come in Heal, Digest, Energize and Protect varieties. 

How much protein is enough? We’ve been asking that question for years as the ceiling for RTD shakes keeps going up and up, and now Andrew Huberman-backed startup Momentous is going for the top spot with an eye-watering 45 grams in its Elite Recovery product, which is already sold out.

🦾 It’s technically not fully RTD – each plastic bottle is pre-filled with powder, so you’ll still need to mix with water – but at 45 grams of protein per serving the new Momentous Elite Recovery shake moves ahead of high-performance sublimes from brands like OWYN Elite Pro (30 grams of protein), Muscle Milk Pro Advanced (32 grams) and Core Power Elite (42 grams).  

🌱 Protein is just one element of Elite Recovery, which also touts ingredients ranging from collagen to ashwagandha to 42 grams of complex carbohydrates.

U.K.-based protein and meal replacement brand Huel is under fire from an advertising watchdog across the pond for running potentially “misleading” ads starring entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. The issue arose because of claims that the brand failed to disclose Bartlett is a Huel board member.

🚫 The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Huel and Zoe, another British nutrition brand which Bartlett has invested in, did not disclose his relationships with the brands in a series of Facebook promotions. The agency has now banned the ads from being run again without editing.

🐉 Bartlett is celebrity entrepreneur in the U.K. where he has starred on Dragons’ Den – the British equivalent to Shark Tank – since 2021 and hosts the Diary of a CEO business podcast.

👁️ According to The Grocer, Huel defended itself, claiming the ads were clearly labeled as sponsored material, but the ASA pushed back, arguing that consumers have a right to be aware of Bartlett’s financial stake in the company when presented with testimonials from the star.

🎧 This isn’t the first time this partnership has run afoul of the ASA. Last year, the agency banned a Huel ad from running on Bartlett’s Diary podcast.

A third person has died in Canada from a listeria outbreak linked to plant-based milk products, as reported by The Washington Post. To date, 20 people have been sickened by the contaminated beverages.

⚠️ Canada’s Public Health Agency previously issued a recall for 18 products sold under the Silk and Great Value brands. The affected drinks include refrigerated non-dairy beverages made with almonds, coconuts, oats and cashews. 

🛒 Silk removed the recalled products from grocery stores and warehouses and halted production at its affected third-party manufacturing facility. 

💭 “We are committed to getting to the bottom of this, fixing it and ensuring it never happens again. We know we need to earn back your trust and support and we will do everything we can to do so,” wrote Silk Canada in an Instagram post. 

The podcast team takes the temperature of the CPG industry as it gears up for the impending return of next-gen convenience chain Foxtrot and non-alcoholic beverage retailer Boisson. 

🦊The group kicks off the conversation with Foxtrot and sifts through how the c-store can rebuild trust with suppliers and bring the company back to its roots where it found early success and an avid fanbase.

😠 Later, the chatter shifts to discuss what non-alc brands are saying about Boisson’s rebirth as a wholesaler and ecommerce retailer and why there are still some hard feelings within the category over unpaid bills.

🥂 The episode wraps up with a look at a another NA retailer – Sèchey – and how its new investment partner InvestBev represents a vote of confidence for the category.

Listen to the full episode on Nosh.

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