• Unpacking Prime Day Data
• Panera Settles Charged Lemonade Lawsuits
• FDA Approves Another Dye
• The Playbook of Two European Non-Alc Disruptors
• Justin Glaze’s RTD Love Potion
• Now Streaming: Taste Radio

MUD\WTR has taken its first step outside of the alt coffee and tea set with the launch of a powdered protein shake line that aligns with the brand’s mission to improve mental wellbeing.

The 2-SKU line (Chocolate and Vanilla) comes in 22.8 oz. pouches and includes 25 grams of plant-based protein paired with nootropics and functional mushrooms.

The brand has been an early advocate for reducing caffeine intake since it was founded in 2018, pushing consumers to replace coffee with other hot beverages using functional mushrooms and adaptogenic ingredients. After building up its ecommerce subscription business, the brand has pushed into retail in the last three years.

While ecomm is a favorite for powdered beverage brands, there is not always a clear path to shift to brick-and-mortar retail. 

• Digitally-native brands like Bloom and AG1 have made gains in that transition, but stick-packs and powdered mix pouches don’t always translate nicely to a grocery store shelf. 
• For MUD\WTR, that challenge has an even higher hurdle since the brand’s core products don’t necessarily fit snugly among its competition in the coffee and tea categories.

MUD\WTR is finding its footing in grocery with an expansion in Target to about 1,000 locations. Shifting its packaging from the cylindrical, metal canisters it uses in ecomm to pouches has helped said founder and CEO Shane Heath.

Read how MUD\WTR is readying for future retail growth with a diversified portfolio.

Work with the team behind hundreds of successful beverage launches. From formulation to production, BevSource provides the strategy, insights and execution you need to move faster, avoid costly missteps and scale with confidence. Let us turn proven know-how into first-time-right execution for you. Learn more

Amazon’s now-four-day sales bonanza known as Prime Day is over. How did CPG brands fare? We picked apart some of the early data. 

• Premier Protein’s RTD shakes did much of the heavy lifting, ranking as the top-selling item during the event, per Numerator data. 
• Though Amazon hasn’t released complete numbers, data from Adobe shows the impact of Prime Day across all U.S. online retail sales, with shoppers spending over $24 billion during the four-day period, more than double the amount they dropped online during last year’s Black Friday ($10.8 billion). 

But it wasn’t only about what people were buying – it’s how they got there: Social media influencers were credited for driving 19.9% of U.S. online retail sales during the four days, a YoY jump of 15%.

• The data indicates that influencers were 10 times more effective in converting shoppers into making purchases, per Adobe. 

Read the full story for more on Amazon’s Prime Day grocery push and how GenAI figures into all this.

Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade scandal could finally be in the rearview as the restaurant chain settled what appear to be the last three outstanding lawsuits against the company over alleged injuries and deaths caused by the hyper-caffeinated beverage.

• Panera introduced its high-caffeine Charged Lemonade in Spring 2022 but discontinued the line last year after multiple health incidents, including at least two deaths, were connected to the drink.
• The company and an attorney for the plaintiffs confirmed the cases were settled but no details were disclosed.

Insiders can read the story on BevNET for more details.

The FDA approved the use of a new natural food dye, gardenia, this week, to bring blue hues to sports drinks, flavored or enhanced non-carbonated water, fruit drinks and ades, ready-to-drink teas, hard candy and soft candy.

This marks the fourth new natural color to secure FDA approval since April when HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. encouraged the “phase out” of all previously approved petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the U.S. food system.

But with a new color in, the FDA also said it is working to push food manufacturers to remove FD&C color Red No. 3 from formulations more quickly. 

Insiders can access the full report to understand how the push to phase out synthetic dyes is playing out among leading packaged food companies.

Two prominent non-alcoholic beverage brands from across the pond – UNDONE and Thomas Henry – are aiming to shake up the adult non-alc U.S. market.

Sharing a majority shareholder, the brands launched distribution in ten states this month and plan to expand quickly, leveraging a joint salesforce and unique market positions.

• UNDONE enters the U.S. as a value player in the increasingly saturated NA spirits category, with its spirits priced significantly lower than competitors.
• Meanwhile, Thomas Henry, the number two global mixer, plans to compete by focusing on winning over on-premise accounts, especially as a competitor shifts focus to retail.

Read on for the full playbook. 

Will Justin Glaze find love on this season of Bachelor in Paradise? Only time (and reality TV producers who violate their NDAs) will tell, but we do have the scoop on Glaze’s new labor of love: a ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brand that launches today. 

The Bachelor hopeful has channeled his celebrity into an espresso martini brand called Love Potion.

Glaze is a bit late to the game: at the height of the espresso martini craze the number of prepared espresso cocktail UPCs rose by 180% at the beginning of 2023 compared to the same time the year prior. 

But other celebrities have found success lately leveraging their followings into the category leading growth for spirits, so we chatted with Glaze about his plans for the brand and how he’s planning on using his fame to generate buzz. 

Read the full story on BevNET.

How did Fernet-Branca, a 180-year-old Italian digestif, become one of America’s most beloved bar staples? 

Edoardo Branca, managing director of Branca USA and a sixth-generation member of the family behind the brand, explains how it earned its cult status in the U.S. and how he is stewarding a legacy while embracing innovation via modern, consumer-focused offerings.