• 🇪🇸 Refresco’s Spanish Purchase
• ❌ PRIME v. The U.S. Olympic Committee
• 🤝 Beer Distributor Acquires Local Food Co.
• 🍺 Germans Embrace ‘Die Null’ Effect

We all love something new. If you haven’t noticed, that’s why we put together our weekly new product gallery every Friday. But beyond having something new to sip on, what else can these innovations tell us about industry trends and brand development at large? We picked out three releases from the past month that may be worth watching, whether you drink them or not. 

Jones Soda: Is it too late for craft soda OG Jones to launch a regular old cola? Not at all, according to a conversation with CEO David Knight last week. The introduction of Jones Craft Cola and Jones Craft Zero Cola this fall – both co-branded with Nitrocross Motocross via a new multiyear deal with action sports promoter Thrill One – ticks an important box. 

• Despite innovation elsewhere, cola remains an essential flavor for soda brands and perhaps the most identifiable SKU within the category. 
• Giants like Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper (now the country’s second-favorite soda) continue to invest in their flagship lines, but there’s competition in cola further down thanks to releases from OLIPOP, Poppi, United Soda, Nixie, Zevia, a revamped De La Calle and others; even Red Bull tried this once, remember?

Ironically, it’s simple moves like this – which include introducing cans rather than more glass bottles – that underscore Knight’s large ambitions for making Jones a player across segments ranging from mixers and THC-infused drinks, along with more foodservice. We’ll have more from our conversation with Knight later this week. 

Ripple launching a kids drink isn’t news in and of itself. But the introduction of Shake Ups – a new two-SKU line of protein shakes for children, packaged in 8 oz. Tetra Paks – reflects the growing importance of kid-friendly alt-milks within its complete non-dairy portfolio (Reminder: its existing line Ripple Kids, launched in 2021, has been one of the fastest-growing refrigerated plant-based milks across retail, per the brand). 

• Moreover, Ripple’s recent innovation suggests that plant-based drinks for kids are getting stickier; see releases from Oatly x Little Spoon or even some of those nostalgic flavors from Koia. 
• But Califia’s recent release may be the most indicative of an unfolding generational shift, in which millennial consumers who were guided into the plant-based space by category leaders like Califia seek out products for their own kids. Capturing that demo early will likely be an important advantage as competition within liquid milk – that includes plant-based milks and ‘animal-free’ brands like Bored Cow, along with premium dairy – gets tougher. 

Bloom: As of late, powder-based products have had a pretty solid record of making the jump to RTD: We’re thinking specifically of fitness-focused brands like C4, GHOST and Alani Nu, among others. Should we expect similar success from a superfood-packed green powder? We’ll be watching the performance of Bloom’s first RTD – a four-SKU sparkling energy (180 mg caffeine) line in 12 oz. cans, available in Target starting today – to make our assessment. 

• It’s a bold new chapter for Bloom following significant investment from C4 maker Nutrabolt in January, so it’s no big surprise to see the parent company charting a similar retail path to the one that made C4 a big-league player with KDP distribution. 
• For Nutrabolt, it’s a chance to deploy its RTD expertise on a product with greater female appeal, and if it’s successful, it could open the door for others. We’re looking at you, Athletic Greens. 

Go Deeper: Check out our latest new products roundup on BevNET.

International beverage solutions provider Refresco has announced its latest acquisition today, entering an agreement to purchase Spanish plant-based beverages producer Frías Nutrición for an undisclosed sum.

💱 Frías is being acquired from Alantra Private Equity and owns a production facility in Burgos, Spain with roughly 20 employees, according to a press release. The company manufactures private label plant-based drinks including almond, rice, hazelnut and soy milk alternatives.

👷 Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs said the deal is part of the company’s “proven Buy & Build strategy” to expand its operations via M&A.

🥫 Flashback: In 2022, New York investment firm KKR took a majority stake in Refresco. That year it also finalized an agreement to buy three Coca-Cola bottling facilities in the U.S. and last year, the company bought a canning plant in Fidenza, Italy.

PRIME has been sued by the Colorado-based organization overseeing the U.S. Olympic teams. Last week, the U.S. Olympic committee filed a federal lawsuit accusing the hydration brand of infringing on the committee's trademarks with the release of a new LTO drink that coincides with the start of the Paris summer games.

🏀 The hydration beverage is aligned with NBA star and current U.S. Olympic athlete Kevin Durant.

😡 According to the complaint, the drink uses terminology and trademarks in a "willful, deliberate, and in bad faith" manner and misrepresents PRIME as a partner of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

✉️ PRIME reportedly ignored a cease-and-desist letter in reference to the beverage and is “still actively infringing USOPC marks."

👎 The USOPC has an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company, a competitor to PRIME partial owner Congo Brands.

Pittsburgh-based beer and beverage distributor Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co. announced its acquisition of the beverage division of Alber & Leff Foods Co., makers of BL Sour Cream and other condiments. The wholesale beverage company will rename the dairy maker to Fuhrer Beverage Co. and said it intends to move further into the non-alcoholic beverage space.

🧃 Alber & Leff’s beverage sector was established by Lee Hurwitz, the fourth generation owner of the dairy company, about five years ago and reportedly represents about $10 million in annual sales.

🏭 Frank B Fuhrer Wholesale opened a new 300,000 sq. ft. beer and soda warehouse in September 2023 that employs more than 100 people and cost about $55 million to build.

If there was ever a point of validation for the NA alternative beverage space – this one may be it. A non-alcoholic biergarten has officially opened in Munich, Germany – the heartland of beer and Oktoberfest – becoming the only in the city to only serve alcohol-free drinks.

Die Null (translation: The Zero) will be open in the city’s main train station through September and serve a range of non-alcoholic cocktails and “zero-alcohol” beer.