Everyone may be talking about the new Ice Spice Munchkin drink, but on retail shelves, it’s a couple of Vietnamese RTDs that are hitting the sweet spot this week. We caught up with Sahra Nguyen of Nguyen Coffee Supply to hear about her brand’s latest retail win. 

Though busy as ever, Nguyen found a few minutes to chat on Thursday about her eponymous brand’s expansion with Whole Foods, which doubles the brand’s total store count (currently around 500) and marks the first time the natural grocery chain has taken an RTD Vietnamese coffee nationwide. The 3-SKU line of 100% Robusta cold brews have been a hit with audiences since launching off-cycle at Whole Foods (23 states and two districts in Canada) back in April, with Nguyen crediting the RTDs fast start to the four prior years spent building the packaged coffee brand online. Its bagged beans have been in the natural grocery chain since last year, but as Nguyen noted, "we never got a national rollout." 

That's no longer the case: Nguyen's 7.5 oz. cold brews are driving market penetration and reaching a larger audience, but its approach has been methodical. The RTDs live in the Whole Foods cold case, though being shelf-stable means it's been able to secure off-shelf displays and case stacks in certain situations. Promotional activity has been limited to just one per quarter, but as of Q3 the company has been ramping up both demos and paid media spend in key regions (NorCal, SoPac, Northeast) as well as digital and physical coupons. Per customer feedback, the product is winning thanks to the combination of Robusta flavor and high caffeine content (180-220mg per 7.5 oz. can); Condensed Milk Cold Brew is the top seller across retail and D2C. 

But the brand is also still working outside of Whole Foods: Mollie Stones, Nugget Markets, Gus', Lunardi's, Berkeley Bowl and Bristol Farms are all in the mix. The primary goal is "to be where our customers are," Nguyen said; long term, that likely means gradually shifting resources from D2C towards supporting retail. 

Elsewhere, another female coffee entrepreneur is celebrating her own achievement: per a LinkedIn post from founder Lan Pham, all five SKUs of SANG Vietnamese Coffee are now available at 1,400 Target stores nationwide, bringing its overall door count to more than 2,200. 

Since launching in 2021, the 8 oz. canned line (also made from 100% Vietnamese robusta beans) has gained traction online and in independents, along with pickups from Stop-and-Shop in the Northeast and indies (Citarella, Westerly Market, Fairway) on its home turf in New York City.  

Read the full story + distro news from Positive Beverage, Yesly and Four Sigmatic.

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As it seeks a buyer for its Aurora, Toronto manufacturing facility, alkaline spring water brand Flow reported record brand revenue growth to $10.5 million in its Q3 2023 earnings report this week. Yet slimming margins are still slowing momentum towards profitability. 

• Revenue for the Flow brand across the U.S. and Canada was up 21% in the quarter, besting the eight-digit milestone for the first time in the brand’s history, said CEO Nicholas Reichenbach.
• The report arrives as Flow works to divest its Aurora manufacturing site, which it values at around CAD$14.2 million, in an effort to reduce costs and simplify the business to an “asset-light” model.
• Last year’s $19.5 million sale of its Verona, Virginia facility to now-defunct BioSteel has worked well for the company, it reported, contributing to an increase in cash-on-hand even as its co-manufacturing revenue fell to CAD$3.4 million this quarter.
• Gross margin slipped in Q3 to was 21% (compared to 28% last year) impacted by what the company said was a temporary change in its sales mix favoring foodservice customers. U.S. ecommerce sales also faced disruptions in May and June, impacting the earnings.
• In the U.S., Flow said it more than doubled its store count in Publix locations to 1,137 stores in Q3, leading to a 65% velocity increase since Q2. The brand also introduced its Vitamin-Infused line to 1,100 natural and conventional channel locations.

Molson Coors Beverage Company believes it has “a right to win” in categories like energy drinks and pure-play non-alcoholic beverages, according to a recent high-level strategy Q&A covered by our sister publication Brewbound. 

• Partner Coca-Cola's future in beverage alcohol will be "built on [this] existing structure" with Molson Coors, said chief of new revenue streams Dan White, who downplayed Coke's launch of alcohol subsidiary Red Tree Beverages “as a governing and operating organization” separate from the core business. Nurturing brands will be the priority, rather than moving into distribution, he said. 
• As for the Molson-Coke collaboration thus far, CMO Sofia Colucci said the beer giant is proud of its work on partner brands Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked. “Eight out of 10 innovations don’t make it past Year Two,” she said. “The fact that we’ve had such tremendous success on the two first initial ones with Coca-Cola have been great.
• As for non-alcoholic drinks, “It’s go time” for Molson Coors, said VP of non-alcoholic Kevin Nitz. The company will complement energy drink ZOA – in which it reupped its investment and support earlier this week – with a forthcoming "pure play" offering of which it declined to share details

Read the full story on Brewbound

Vita Coco is hitting the high notes with singer/songwriter Becky G, announcing a multi-year partnership ahead of the ‘Chanel’ singer’s first U.S. tour. To kick off the collaboration, Vita Coco will serve as an official sponsor of the ‘Mi Casa, Tu Casa’ tour during Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

• The partnership will feature activations around the singer’s tour, upcoming album, Esquinas, impact programming focused on Latin communities in the U.S. and cross-platform content. 
• “Not only is [Becky G] someone who is unapologetically herself, she does so while embracing her roots and championing her community – a community that increasingly mirrors the diverse and growing family of Vita Coco drinkers,” said Mike Kirban, co-founder and executive chairman of Vita Coco, in a press release. 
• Last month, the music sensation partnered with popular health food retailer Erewhon to launch a limited edition, exclusive ‘Swirl-Chata’ smoothie at its tonic bars. The $18 premium smoothie, a playful take on traditional horchata, features ingredients such as Vita Coco Farmers Organic Coconut Water and Organic MALK Almond Milk. 
• A portion of sales from the ‘Swirl-Chata’ collaboration will be donated to two non-profits, the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation and Justice for Migrant Women. The smoothie is available at all Erewhon locations through the end of today.

Audio media giant iHeartMedia has invested in kombucha brand Health-Ade for an undisclosed amount allowing the brand “to educate consumers on the power of the gut and introduce kombucha to new audiences,” Health-Ade CMO Charlotte Mostaed told BevNET.

• iHeartMedia has joined Ryan Seacrest, United Talent Agency and The Wellness Agency as new investors in Health-Ade in a small investment round for the kombucha maker. 
• The Los Angeles-based kombucha company will capitalize on iHeartMedia’s robust portfolio of audio platforms including radio, podcasts, digital content and live events to market the kombucha brand to mainstream audiences.
• Health-Ade has already tapped its partnership with the media company at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas later this month to provide activations, sales and advertising opportunities.
• This marks Health-Ade’s second major marketing partnership this year, following its first-ever pro sports deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers announced in March.

Read the full story on BevNET

Growing in grocery is no longer the focus for Planting Hope. Its acquisition of Argo Tea in late August marked an 18-month acceleration in a planned channel strategy shift that will see it now innovating with a foodservice-first approach. 

“Food service in the [CPG] industry has been significantly discounted as a development market over the last 20 years,” said co-founder and CEO Julia Stamberger. “In other words, if you were building a business that you wanted Nestle, ConAgra or Kraft to buy, then you needed to focus on retail ACV. Well, retail is extraordinarily expensive and it's only become more so.” 

Focusing growth in the food service channel will allow for SKU reductions, higher velocities, lower innovation demand and help unlock efficiencies on key products much faster, she said. Stamberger believes the traditional CPG brand playbook – selling into major retailers, scaling up and exiting to a large strategic – is rapidly going out of code.

“That whole thing – it is dead as a doorknob.”

Read the full story on BevNET