• 🐝 Boisson's New “Functional” Platform
• 🤝 Maguey Spirits Acquires Bozal
• 🏪 Zevia Goes Deeper at Walmart
• 🐮 Meet the Dairy Grazing Alliance
• 🥛 Dairy Drama: Lifeway Foods And Ben & Jerry’s

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If, amidst an onslaught of celebrity wellness brand launches, you’ve been wondering to yourself ‘I wonder what David Beckham is doing right now?,’ then we have your answer. 

The former soccer superstar is introducing a nutritional supplement venture called IM8 in partnership with Hong Kong-based Prenetics Global that may be poised to compete with the likes of trendy powders like Bloom and fellow initials-numeral brand AG1.

The online brand is launching in two SKUs: a powder, Daily Ultimate Essentials ($99, or $79 with a monthly subscription), and a capsule, Daily Ultimate Longevity ($89/$75 with monthly subscription). While Beckham’s celebrity may catch the attention, the company says it’s backing the products with independent third-party testing.

Beckham is following Tom Brady and LeBron James into the elevated lifestyle breach.

While Brady and James’s brands offer full suites of functional products, Beckham and his team are positioning IM8 as a simpler solution – its Essentials supplement is billed as an All-In-One, made with 92 ingredients covering nearly the full alphabet of Vitamins in addition to various electrolytes, amino acids, superfoods and more. 

Visually, the Supplement Facts looks more like a page from a college textbook than a panel.

For IM8 parent company Prenetics Global, convenience is a conscious piece of the strategy. CEO Danny Yeung told Forbes this week that it can be “quite cumbersome” for consumers to have large daily supplement routines. That sentiment helps position its “Beckham Stack” as a simplified solution with a lifestyle branding angle built-in.

Non-alc retailer Boisson has launched a new retail site – Buzz by Boisson – dedicated to functional, mood-enhancing beverages. The site mostly carries delta-9 THC drinks with a handful of other functional non-alc alternative products from brands like Pathfinder, Kin Euphorics and Little Saints.

🍹 The platform appears to be differentiating from a general NA-dedicated ecommerce play, marketing itself as a place for “consumers looking for a buzz without the alcohol.”

❌ The new platform comes as Boisson attempts to build back trust in the industry after it abruptly closed its doors in the spring.

😡 Not everyone appears to be back on board. The company is taking the heat on LinkedIn with some calling for recompensation from the former iteration of Boisson that has yet to pay back vendors.

Read about what went wrong the first time and how Boisson is plotting a path forward on BevNET.

Here’s some acquisition news from the agave world: Maguey Imports, the U.S. distribution arm of agave portfolio, Maguey Spirits, has acquired Bozal Mezcal and Pasote Tequila from 3 Badge Beverage Corporation. 

🥃 Founded by brothers Alejandro and Christian Rossbach in 2014, Maguey Spirits houses Mezcal Burrito, Señor Sotol, Señor Maguey and Mezcal Gin. The company has also helped supply juice for Bozal Mezcal which was developed by 3 Badge, an import company based in Sonoma and led by vintner August Sebastiani.

📍 With Bozal’s distribution in chains like Total Wine and Trader Joe’s, it’s possible the brand will give Maguey’s boutique collection a leg up into more markets. 

💬 The new brands also give Maguey Spirits more regional diversity, adding a Oaxacan mezcal and a tequila to complete a comprehensive "North to South" agave portfolio, said the brothers: "Bozal and Pasote's complementary nature, both in regional representation and price point segmentation, opens significant opportunities to expand our distribution reach."

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🫧 Zero-sugar soda brand Zevia has expanded its footprint in Walmart five-fold. The brand initially hit Walmart shelves two years ago and was available in over 800 stores. Now, Zevia has expanded to more than 4,300 locations as it take part in the retailer’s new “Modern Soda” set. 

🥥 Coconut water brand Once Upon a Coconut has launched at nearly 200 Whole Foods Market locations in the West and Midwest. The brand will be offering its Pure, Chocolate and Watermelon flavors.

😵‍💫 THC drink maker Wynk has partnered with Georgia-based beverage wholesaler United Distributors to bring the brand’s Black Cherry Fizz, Lime Twist, Juicy Mango and Tangerine-flavored cannabis beverages to Savannah and Atlanta.

🌇 Non-alcoholic social tonic brand hiyo announced a new partnership that will bring its Blackberry Lemon and Strawberry Guava 4-packs to the shelves at select Harris Teeter locations on the East Coast. 

As demand for pasture-raised dairy products grows, farmers and grazing operations are coming together to support growing “all parts of the value chain” under the auspices of a new organization, the Dairy Grazing Alliance, launched this week at the Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Minneapolis.

💚 The group’s origin springs from what it says is a rising appetite for dairy from cows raised on pasture, rather than in confined stalls. The idea is to fund innovation and exploration of ways dairy operators can collaborate to scale the industry, with a focus on strengthening the economic viability of managed grazing farms and boosting resources, education and technical assistance for producers. The Alliance also aims to create connections between farmers and “major CPG brands” that will inspire “innovation and action.” 

💰 It also seeks to “convene dairy grazing stakeholders to build an effective movement for the sector’s growth,” a task that will require tackling questions of financing, market development, farm profitability, production systems, research and policy making. Part of that effort? Pitching dairy grazing as a “significant tool” for helping address climate change.

🧒 The Alliance will also be charged with helping prepare the next generation of dairy farmers: the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, a paid Apprenticeship created in 2010 that is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, will be housed under the group.

On the podcast this week, the team discusses Danone’s repeated (and so far, failed) attempts to acquire kefir brand Lifeway Foods and how those efforts may connect to the company’s recent earnings reports along with an ongoing feud among its founding family members, the Smolyanskys. Then, the CPG Week hosts talk about a pending lawsuit pitting Ben & Jerry’s against its owner, Unilever. Plus, hear why Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous loves a Pizza Hut salad bar and what senior reporter Brad Avery’s favorite pizza toppings are (hint: you might disagree with his spicy-sweet combo).

Click here to listen to this week’s episode.

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