If anyone can claim to know what Liquid I.V. is all about, it's Sean Lavin. As the company's first outside hire back in 2016, Lavin has done it all, from helping develop flavors to early marketing work as the brand went from burgeoning startup to its sale to Unilever in 2020. Yet even as Liquid I.V. has helped spark the still-burning hydration-powder craze, Lavin, in his current role as VP of impact, sees an opportunity for the brand to make an even bigger impact through its commitment to advancing access to water, donating product to at-risk communities and developing sustainable business practices. 

With the business growing at a healthy clip (+80.6% sales through April, per Circa data), Lavin is looking to advance Liquid I.V.'s broader goals, whether that's practical upgrades to more earth-friendly packaging, or potentially fueling the sustainability technology of tomorrow. Here's an abridged version of our conversation. 

On the $1.3 million in grants awarded by Liquid I.V. in January: 

Some of the (grants) are more focused around education, some are focused on legal, some are activists, some are literally getting their hands wet and going into those communities and finding fostering ways for those communities to get a little bit more guidance on how they can actually access water. 

We decided that we wanted to continue making this an annual project and we wanted to continue funding local, small organizations that focus on communities here in the U.S. Instead of looking for another ten and then another ten, we realized that if you really want to make impact, and these are ten amazing organizations, why don't we double up? So we've recently just agreed that we would go back to the same ten organizations and double the funds to $100,000. And that funding, by the way, is unrestricted. 

On packaging innovation: 

If you take something like our cartons -- they are recyclable, they use PCR (post-consumer recycled materials), and I'm thrilled about that. But what if we started looking elsewhere for the source material? What if we didn't look at trees as being the only source for our carbon for our paper stock? What if we looked at alternative waste materials – think about agricultural waste? What if we converted all the agricultural waste that typically gets burned? What if we collected that and then converted that to our packaging? That way we kind of close the loop. It's these types of possibilities that drives us to continuing to make improvements that could literally create more impact in the world. 

On short-term goals: 

My next big goal in 2024 is to really push on more agricultural sourcing, or finding a way to be free of deforestation in our supply chain. I think more than anything, using waste instead of forests or trees to make packaging is the next space for us all to start moving into. There is enough waste in this world.

Non-alcoholic beverage sales “remained healthy but decelerated” in the two-week period ending July 29, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

• Total dollar sales growth rose 7.6% year-over-year, down from +8.9% in the four-week period and +8.3% in the 12-weeks. 
• Volume sales declines accelerated, falling -1.9% in the two-weeks versus -0.7% from the four-week period. Average pricing growth “remained robust and broadly stable,” Goldman reported, up 9.5%, roughly in line with +9.6% in the four-week period.
• Energy remained the fastest growing major beverage category as dollar sales rose +12.8% in the two-week period, versus +13.6% in the four-week period. Volume sales rose by 3.6% (the only category to see increases in volume) and average pricing climbed 8.9%.
• After energy, CSDs (+8.6%), sports drinks (+7.9%) and still flavored water (+7.6%) reported the highest category dollar sales growth.
• On the other end of the spectrum, Coffee saw the most muted category sales growth in the two-weeks, up just 0.6%, a slowdown from +1.9% in the four-week period. Volume sales dropped by -6.3% while average pricing grew by 7.3%.

Read the full story on BevNET

Boba tea (or ‘Bubble’ or ‘Black Pearl’ tea depending on how you’ve heard of it) was once considered to be a cumbersome and impractical product for ready-to-drink formats due to its use of marble-sized tapioca pearls and oversized straw accessory. But now, sales of the Taiwanese drink in bottles and cans are bubbling up.

• Recent sales data from market research firm Circana showed that Del Monte Foods-owned Joyba, which launched in 2021, reported sales up 719.5% to over $33.5 million in the 52-week period ending June 18, making it the 10th largest brand in the shelf-stable tea category (excluding private label). 
• They’re not the only RTD boba tea brand hitting their stride. New Jersey-based startup DD&B Solutions, maker of Inotea, reported sales up 253.5% to around $4.8 million in the same period.
• The sudden surge in two RTD boba tea brands comes amid a small wave of products entering the market, including competitors like Bubluv, DaoHer Beverage and Bobba, as well as companies making at-home boba kits such as Boba Bam and TWRL.
• Inotea founder Kevin Kim told BevNET he credits strong marketing and quality ingredients with helping fuel the brand’s sudden growth. He suggested that the popularity of boba tea in on-premise stores meant there was pent up demand for an RTD version of the product.

Read the full story on BevNET.

After making its debut at Expo West earlier this year, New Jersey-based startup Smootch is tweaking its approach towards marketing its unique, regenerative oat-powered hydration drink. The change? Stop calling it a regenerative oat-powered hydration drink. 

We caught up with co-founder Matt Peterson to chat about why the brand is refining its communication and positioning, how the drink is leaning into its functional benefits (see: natural fiber) and its hopes for progress in the regenerative agriculture movement. 

Read the full story on BevNET.

The hemp beverage industry is going after the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) by filing a petition to seek an injunction on the body’s "emergency regulations" to prevent legalized hemp products from being sold throughout the state. 

The Hemp Beverage Alliance – in one of its first major oppositions to state regulations – has joined hemp-derived CBD/THC brand Cycling Frog, New York retailer One Stop Brew Shop and distributor Sarene Craft Beer, in the lawsuit against the OCM. The petition filed on Friday claims that the OCM’s emergency regulations were “not well thought out” and were “ramrodded through on an emergency basis without employing the usual rulemaking procedures, including public notice and comment, despite the lack of any true emergency.”

As we noted earlier this week, New York’s restrictive approach stands in stark contrast to Minnesota, where new regulations have given THC drinks a legal structure in which to thrive. "We encourage OCM to look to the state of Minnesota for exemplary legislation," said Christopher Lackner, the Hemp Beverage Alliance’s executive director.

Learn more about the case on BevNET later today.

Wellness-focused SoCal retailer Erewhon is a high-visibility platform in which to launch new food and beverages, but it’s also a product developer of its own. The store, which has garnered widespread popularity for its celebrity-branded smoothies, has announced the launch of its newest innovation: Origins x Erewhon Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Mushroom Juice. Made in collaboration with skincare brand Origins, the new drink marks Erewhon’s first beauty, cold-pressed juice collab.  

• Inspired by Origins’ new Mega-Mushroom Restorative Skin Concentrate, the limited edition fungi-infused green beverage contains a blend of Chaga, Reishi and Tremalla mushrooms mixed with organic fruits and vegetables including Granny Smith apple, cucumber, pineapple, kiwi, spinach, broccoli, parsley, sea moss and pearl powder. 
• Origins x Erewhon Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Mushroom Juice is now available at all nine Erewhon locations across California for $12 per bottle. 
• The 57-year-old retailer made its first foray into the co-branded products space just last year, with the launch of its Perelel x Erewhon line of vitamin packs, retailing for $59.99 each.

Florida-based Odyssey Wellness continues to expand aggressively, this time through product innovation. The mushroom-powered energy drink maker revealed two new product lines on its website and social media channels this week that tease a look at the brand's innovation strategy. 

Odyssey 222 amps up the energy, delivering 222mg of caffeine per 12 oz. can, a hefty per-ounce payload that puts it past the likes of Bang and C4, but is partially offset by the addition of ginseng and L-theanine. The four-SKU line -- Blue Raspberry, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Watermelon and Pineapple Mango -- is listed online for $41.99 per case. Elsewhere, Odyssey Revive, swapping the "Focus & Energy" callout for "Hydration & Mood," takes things in a slightly different direction, adding electrolytes, magnesium, vitamin c and zinc to offer a recovery-aiding, immunity-boosting elixir. That one comes in Yuzu Lime, Strawberry Passion Fruit and Prickly Pear, also in a 12 oz. can.  

Yet functional mushrooms remain the centerpiece of Odyssey's offering, with both lines boasting healthy servings (1500mg) of lion's mane and cordyceps.

After collecting nearly 700 spirit awards, the Elevated Spirits Company, producer of Cierto Tequila, is arming its national rollout with several industry veterans.

• New CEO Ami-Lynn Bakshi is a 21-year Diageo alumna, whose stints at the global spirit company include vice president of marketing for tequila, and vice president of innovation for North America. 
• Other appointments include Jim Ruane as chief growth officer, a former Diageo VP and Laurence Wolfe as COO, who led end-to-end supply chain operations for Heineken USA and for Pernod Ricard Americas.

After founder and venture capitalist Todd Chaffee quietly launched the brand in 2019, the company has made its availability scarce while positioning itself as a regular award winner on the spirits competition circuit. This year it embarked on a national rollout, just as high end tequila sales drive growth for the category.

Former Liquid I.V. VP of field sales Christyne Baxter has joined Chamberlain Coffee as the influencer-founded brand’s new Chief Sales Officer. Baxter announced the move on LinkedIn yesterday after stating last week that she would be leaving the powdered beverage brand where she had worked since 2021.

• Baxter is a seasoned CPG sales director, having also held roles at Dang Foods, Simply 7 Snacks, Tea Forte, VOSS and more since 2007.
• Baxter joins Chamberlain Coffee about two months after the brand announced a $7 million funding round to help grow its RTD line in retail. 

Based on Chamberlain CEO Chris Gallant’s comments to BevNET in June, it’s likely Baxter will be spending a lot of time on working to grow and maintain the brand’s canned coffee business: “I really expect the RTD SKUs to be our hero product within 12 months,” Gallant said.

It’s time to book your room for BevNET Live! The leading event for the beverage industry heads to Marina del Rey, California on December 4 + 5. Register now to stay just steps from the action and save on your stay at the Marina Del Rey Marriott Hotel. Read the story.