It’s a sour relationship.

Leading U.S. milk cooperative Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) which also provides co-packing services for RTD coffee drinks, has accused private label coffee and tea manufacturer Westrock Coffee and six of its own former employees of poaching talent and stealing trade secrets in a lawsuit filed in a Missouri court late last year.

It all started with a whistleblower. DFA first got word on May 6, 2024 from someone identified only as a Westrock employee working at the company’s Conway, Arkansas facility, according to the complaint. 

The anonymous tipster claimed that former DFA staff working at Westrock were actively recruiting current DFA employees to join the coffee business.

The former co-op employees had also  “secretly obtained confidential and proprietary DFA quality assurance procedures, formulas, pricing information, and food plans,” along with pictures of DFA’s manufacturing lines and private contract pricing information.

The allegations also detail a battle for an unnamed, important client. Westrock is “directly soliciting” the “extremely popular” RTD coffee and energy drink brand, which has a joint venture with DFA, according to the complaint. 

Courts move slowly – there hasn’t been major filing in the case since it was first filed on November 27. As of this month, the only development has been the addition of two individual defendants supplying answers to the complaint and denying the accusations.

While the suggestion that the coffee company deliberately sought to seize talent and secrets from DFA is only an allegation, what is beyond a shadow of a doubt is Westrock’s big ambitions to dominate the coffee set. 

The 524,000 sq. ft. Conway, Ark. facility in question only opened last year and the company promised that it would be the “largest roasting-to-RTD operation of its kind,” and hiring cream of the crop talent has been part of its stated strategy, as the company told us last year.

That those ambitions put it in direct competition with a longtime player like DFA is no surprise. Whether they overstepped is for the court to decide.

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While poppi was planning its newest Super Bowl appearance, its competitor Olipop was securing new capital to compete for the title of better-for-you soda. The Oakland, Calif.-based brand announced the closing of a $50 million Series C round at a $1.85 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg.

🏀 In comparison to Poppi, Olipop has spent fewer resources on splashy ads but has leaned into the distribution opportunity in sponsoring professional sports teams.

🛒 The brand touts a robust in-store presence of almost 50,000 doors across the U.S. in retailers like Walmart, Target, Wawa, Whole Foods Market, Kroger and Costco. 

😲 Building up a war chest might be a good strategy as strategics like Coke and Pepsi prepare to launch their own BFY sodas this year.

As President Trump reignites trade tensions with the European Union, spirits advocates are warning that the industry may face challenges on top of already declining sales. 

⬇️ Leaders of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) are honed in on keeping spirits suppliers out of a trade battle reminiscent of Trump’s first term that hurt American spirit exports. 

😵 Avoiding tariffs, and particularly a potential 50% levy on American Whiskey from the EU, is among the organization’s top priorities. American whiskey exports across the pond rebounded +60% after the 2018 tariffs were lifted, but craft exports are at a third of the level before the import taxes.

📊 As domestic sales take a dip export markets become increasingly important: spirits held its share of the total bev-alc market, but revenue was down 1.1% in 2024.

Pernod Ricard is aiming to make a gin company “Africa’s first global luxury spirit brand.”

🇿🇦 The French spirits group now has full ownership of Inverroche, a South African spirits producer. Pernod Ricard took a minority stake in the company in 2019, and acquired the remaining shares last week. 

🌍 Inverroche – which makes gin, rum and liqueurs infused with indigenous botanicals – is available in 25 markets globally along with a recent expansion to the U.S.

Flavor supplier Symrise is getting back into beverage incubation, as the company’s revived and renamed bWorks program aims to bring robust resources to drink makers of all types.

🤔 Whereas the company’s previous incubator (Califormulations) catered to startups, senior category manager Enrique Angulo said Symrise is now seeking to “mimic the large CPG companies’ innovation departments” by bringing its full power to bear for beverage brands of all sizes. That includes:

• Manufacturing capacity in Georgia capable of running quantities from 10,000 to 100,000 units by SKU, including bottles, cans and bag-in-box

• Beverage prototype development labs in Laguna Beach, Calif., and Teterboro, N.J.

Even as coffee prices soar to unprecedented levels, there’s at least some good news in the caffeine world, as Buffalo, New York-based startup Rarebird -- billing itself as “the first-ever jitterless coffee” -- announced a strategic capital raise with local accelerator 43North.

That “jitterless” claim comes from its unique process in which caffeine is extracted from coffee beans, which are then infused with Px, a stimulant that naturally occurs when the liver metabolizes caffeine.

Rarebird is available exclusively online, but relocated its corporate headquarters to Buffalo last month, the brand has future plans to launch its first-ever coffee roastery in the vicinity.

Add Continente – Portugal’s version of Walmart – to manufacturing platform Keychain’s list of investors. The European retail chain’s $5 million investment adds on to the $17.5 million Keychain accrued in the fall, bringing its total to date $38 million.

🤝 The investor list has shifted modestly from venture firms to CPG businesses like General Mills and The Hershey Company to now a major retailer.

💰 Just one year in, Keychain announced it posts $1 billion in projects monthly on the platform.

🧃 From Califia to RTD Cocktails

It’s Hump Day! Here’s a look at the new drops and activations from the first half of the week.

🌱 Plant-based dairy maker Califia Farms is tapping its green-thumb energy with The Green Album of daily affirmations designed to help plants grow. Plus, it’s narrated by Irish actor Chris O’Dowd.

🥤 Poppi has teamed up with Texas-based iced tea franchise HTeaO on an LTO line of sparkling drinks pairing the two brands in new mash-ups.

🚨 Correction 🚨

In yesterday’s edition, we misidentified Sam Wilson, co-founder of soda brand No Cap! and leader of consulting firm Betr Brands Solutions, as Steve Wilson. Our editors have approved an aggressive increase in coffee drinking in response.