• Rémy Cointreau Invests In JNPR
• Quarter Proof Raises $1.7M
• PRIME Can’t Depose Messi
• CosMc’s Gets Second Life
• Monday Moves: Staffing Switches & Retail Rollouts

Our rights – specifically the one that lets us guzzle high fructose corn syrup by the caseload – are under attack. 

OK, that’s perhaps a bit of Monday morning melodrama rather than cool analysis of the whole Coke-Trump-Make-Coke-Mexican-Again thing from last week, but it’s a neat counterpoint to this morning’s announcement by family-owned lemonade and tea giant Milo’s that the brand is targeting $1 billion in retail sales by 2027. 

• The numbers suggest that goal is within reach: per Circana data through July 3, Milo’s has helped drive refrigerated tea sales +4.4% even while volume has been flat (-0.3%).
• At a 40-point share of the market, Milo’s increased category sales nearly 18% to north of $702 million. 
• In refrigerated tea, Milo’s bumped sales even higher (+25%) to over $94 million, with 16.4% volume growth (+7.5% avg. pricing).

But there’s also other notable figures, like $200 million – the amount the company committed to its just-opened manufacturing and distribution hub in Spartanburg, S.C., its third new facility in the last five years and fourth overall. The plant will produce 25 million cases (4x 1 gallon bottles) of tea by year’s end, and employ up to 200 people at full strength. 

How does this relate back to MAHA? We’re not saying Trump is about to find a new addiction to replace Diet Coke, but it’s indicative of how the health department’s shifting crosshairs – dyes, additives, corn syrup now too, I guess? – are changing the context in which products like Milo’s are viewed.  

The company’s adherence to tradition means only natural ingredients and cane sugar means it has escaped the crackdown on additives and coloring, and most of the the discussion about removing sugar-sweetened beverages from SNAP eligibility has been focused on soda and carbonated soft drinks; teas (especially the South’s beloved Sweet Tea), it appears, have been left alone. 

Read the full story on BevNET for more on Milo’s.

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More big players are getting in on the adult non-alc action. Rémy Cointreau, through its Corporate Ventures fund, has acquired a minority stake in JNPR, a French non-alcoholic spirits brand founded in 2020. 

• The investment aims to accelerate JNPR's growth in France and select international markets. 
• JNPR boasts a range of non-alcoholic spirits, including a sugar-free juniper-based botanical line, aperitifs, and a sugar-free Tonic RTD.

Remy Cointreau now follows the lead of other major groups putting more attention on the nearly $1 billion adult non-alc market: Diageo, Constellation Brands, Pernod Ricard, and Campari have all invested in or launched their own non-alc alternatives.

Read the full story on BevNET.

Barely-a-spirit brand Quarter Proof has closed a $1.7 million round to support distribution in North America of its 15% ABV vodka, gin and tequila. 

• The round was made up of private investments from “industry-aligned angels and consumer sector veterans,” the brand said.
• Funds will be used to accelerate expansion plans in the U.K., U.S. and other international markets.

Quarter Proof is attempting to thread the needle between the indulging and abstaining by creating a new middle-ground category for lower-ABV liquor. 

Other mid-proof spirits, such as below 30% ABV vodkas BODY, Sommaroy and Rhode Island-based KEEL, have also tried to fill that gap.

Go Deeper: ‘Spirits 3.0’: Lower ABV Spirits Brand Comes To U.S.

PRIME’s lawyers won’t get the chance to meet Messi after all. A New York judge shot down the company’s request to depose soccer star Lionel Messi in its trademark case against the Mas+ by Messi hydration brand, calling it “vexatious and improper.”

The dispute comes amid the ongoing case between PRIME and Mas+ parent Mark Anthony Brands, as the former has accused the latter of stealing its trade dress.

PRIME wanted Messi himself to appear in court, despite potential conflicts with the ongoing pro soccer season. 

• The judge has said that’s unnecessary, especially since Messi has claimed no unique knowledge about the issues relevant to the case and his business partners present in the same brand meetings have not been deposed.

PRIME could still try again to depose Messi towards the end of fact discovery, per the ruling, but the court “will not authorize” it unless they can provide “concrete showing” that it would yield relevant and unique info.

Related Reading: Prime Countersues Mark Anthony Brands Over Messi Sports Drink Claims

McDonald’s CosMc’s didn’t work out as a full scale restaurant concept, but some of the short-lived expansion’s menu is beaming down into select McDonald’s restaurants this summer as the company makes a bigger play to capitalize on Dirty Soda and indulgent coffee trends.

Several CosMc’s drinks will launch in 500 McDonald’s restaurants in Wisconsin, Colorado and the surrounding areas to test the innovative new items.

• Drinks include a variety of functional and refreshment beverages, such as Creamy Vanilla Cold Brew, Strawberry Watermelon Refresher, Popping Tropic Refresher, Sprite Lunar Splash and Toasted Vanilla Frappe.
• While it may have seemed like CosMc’s cratered early, McD’s said it’s taking a “Test and Learn” approach to upgrading its beverage menu. 
• Meanwhile, competitors like Taco Bell have taken the beverage restaurant concept and continued to run with it, showing that consumer demand for new on-premise drinks is still strong.

Here’s a taste of the people and products moving around the industry to start off your week.

🫧 Probiotic soda maker Culture Pop rolled out into Aldi stores across the U.S. last week, with shelf placement in the chain’s Aldi Finds aisle.

🍄 Mushroom and collagen packed coffee brand Everyday Dose is going nationwide with 1,500 Target stores. The roasts include L-theanine and a “balanced dose” of caffeine for jitter-free energy.

🧃 Refresco has found its new CEO, naming former Nestlé executive Steve Presley to the top spot, effective August 4. Presley will also join the company’s executive board.

🚚 Rhode Island-based specialty food distributor UNFI parted ways with Andre Persaud, the president and CEO of its retail division, per a regulatory filing. CEO Sandy Douglas will oversee the retail business during the search for a successor. 

💧 Hydrogen infused sparkling water brand oHy has named Ron Nelson as its Director of Sales (West). Nelson comes to the brand from blk. beverages where he was VP of National Accounts for the U.S. and Canada.

Catch up on more distribution news from around the industry on BevNET.