• This Week's New Products
• NIQ: Economics, Health Concerns Moderate Bev-Alc
• Where THC Drinks Go From Here
• Dive Deep Into The RNDC Fallout
• Giant Eagle’s Sells C-Store Concept

• Now Streaming: Taste Radio

If you’re a CPG brand, the true measure of an influencer’s reach isn’t followers or views. It’s dollars. 

The question of when, how and why to tap into the increasingly abundant world of digital influencers has been a topic well covered on our pages, whether it's branding through TikTok, signing NIL deals or launching a new venture. 

The latest case study we’re tracking is unfolding in Southern California, where Rekt – the budding CPG offshoot of an NFT collection and web3 brand platform – is attempting to bring its online fans into real 7-Eleven stores. 

For Rekt’s first foray into CPG, founder Ovie Faruq said the idea was to make something “that’s universal, cheap to produce, and that we can mass produce and get to as many places as possible.” 

• The resulting product – flavored sparkling water in 12 oz. cans, lightly sweetened with organic agave nectar – launched online in 2024, but is entering stores for the first time this month.
• Previous flavor drops have set the bar high, with some selling out online in less than 20 minutes. But early signs are positive: during Rekt’s “takeovers” of the three L.A.-area 7-Elevens earlier this month, it sold through its complete stock (nearly 2,500 cans) over three days. 
• Per the brand, 7-Eleven’s Hermosa Beach location was the standout, moving 600 cans in one hour (“a new record for the store,” per publicist). 

Cryptocurrency itself has been riding a own roller-coaster in terms of public perception, with NFTs and memecoins either a sign of the future or a harbinger of the apocalypse, depending on who you ask. But the work Faruq put in back in 2022, as web3 trends were first emerging in the public eye, yielded an online community around NFTs that remains tied to the Rekt brand. 

Read the full story on BevNET for more on how Rekt is building its CPG arm through online engagement and bringing in experienced beverage operators to scale up. 

Brands are joining forces this summer. This week’s new product gallery shows off several new collaborations in the beverage world, including one galactic sized soda deal.

🇲🇽 Team Salud and Jarritos have joined forces for a new co-branded line of functional beverages including four flavors: Mandarin, Guava, Fruit Punch and Lime. 

🌶️ Juice and smoothie producer Bolthouse Farm is teaming with chili-lime seasoning brand Tajin for a limited time Mangonada Smoothie, available in 15.2 oz. bottles.

👽 Coca-Cola is promising to “Refresh Your Galaxy” with a new Star Wars collab, featuring 27 limited edition, collectible cans showcasing different characters from the extended Star Wars universe.

🆓 Check out the full new product gallery for all of the latest launches.

Consumers’ embrace of moderation when it comes to beverage-alcohol is well documented, but their reasons for doing so are varied, according to research from insights firm NIQ.

The gap between imbibers and teetotalers among the U.S. population has yoyoed in recent years, but narrowed to 58% who drink and 41% who do not in 2024, according to a Gallup survey cited by NIQ. 

While a growing number of alcohol abstainers may point to the rise of the nearly $1 billion adult non-alcoholic (ANA) segment, bev-alc consumers make up the vast majority (93%) of ANA shoppers.

Insiders can access the full story for a complete understanding of the current consumer dynamics.

The future is now for THC-infused beverages, and it’s up to the past to catch up.

At BevNET Live Summer 2025 this month, BevNET managing editor Martín Caballero sat down with CEOs from Theory Wellness and Flyers Cocktail Co., as well as the leader of cannabis law group A.Y. Strauss, to dig into the latest on hemp and cannabis regulations, the state of the market in retail and online, and how the playbook for success in infused beverages is being written by the day.

Insiders can watch the video right now on BevNET.

BevNET’s 2025 Alcohol & Alternatives Guide is your go-to resource for tracking innovation across spirits, RTDs, cannabis beverages, non-alcoholic alternatives, and more.

Inside you’ll find:

– Leading and emerging brands

– Suppliers and service providers driving growth

– Trends and market insights to inform your 2025 strategy

Download the free guide. 

With Republic National Distributing (RNDC) winding down distribution operations in California ahead of a September 1 exit and consolidation continuing among craft wholesalers, this week’s Brewbound Podcast welcomed BevNET spirits editor Ferron Salniker to explore the fallout of both in the Golden State.

Ferron joined Dave Infante, founder of the Fingers boozeletter, as well as Brewbound’s Justin Kendall and Jessica Infante to look back on how one of the top distributors in the country’s California business crumbled, the effect on smaller bev-alc producers in RNDC’s book and the trickle-down effect on craft producers. 

Listen to the full episode here.

Canadian multinational c-store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard has received the go-ahead from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to acquire Giant Eagle’s GetGo Café + Market concept. 

• Couche-Tard will operate the GetGo as a separate business led by Giant Eagle executive Mike Maraldo.
• Other than a 35-store divestiture to meet regulatory requirements, Couche-Tard will take over the GetGo's 270 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana which employs approximately 3,500 employees.
• The news comes after the U.S.-based 7-Eleven locations remain in-flux after Couche-Tard’s "unsolicited" offer to buy the franchise from Japanese Seven & i Holdings Co. last year.

In one of the strangest scandals to hit the CPG world, BetterBrand, the startup behind the high-protein, low-carb “Better Bagel,” is now facing lawsuits, unpaid debts… and a missing founder. The hosts weigh in on the chaos surrounding entrepreneur Aimee Yang and her calamitous company. They also discuss a new, seemingly BFY beverage alcohol segment and why protein donuts deserve better ingredients.

Stream the episode now. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.