• 🥛 The Debut of Pure Culture Naturals
• 🎸 Willie Nelson, JuneShine Get ‘Social’
• 📰 Plant Press Keeps Pushing
• 📣 Alabama's Hemp Battle
• 💪 Lifeway’s Strong Q4 Earnings
• 🤝 Optia Joins NielsenIQ Network
• 🔀 Monday Moves

From cost-effective solutions for citrus flavors, to supply reliability for raw materials, to support for formulation challenges, and more, ADM has the expertise, portfolio, and technology to help you innovate grapefruit products bursting with authentic, fresh-from-the-grove flavor. Learn more

It’s official: Pepsi is the proud new owner of Poppi. 

One of the leaders of the “modern soda” movement will join the portfolio of one of traditional soda’s dominant brands. Rumors of Poppi’s sale to a large strategic have been swirling for at least a year, but last week’s Bloomberg report – which confirmed Pepsi had already bailed on its bid to relaunch Soulboost as a prebiotic soda – suggested a deal was imminent. Now it’s here.

The deal has a net cost of $1.65 billion ($1.95 billion, with $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits), with additional performance-based earn-outs included. 

Poppi has been one of the industry’s true success stories over the past decade. 

• It evolved from an apple cider vinegar based drink into its current guise as a fun, flavor-forward soda with some added benefits. 
• The brand is generating over $500 million in revenue in tracked channels. 

"Allison and the Poppi team have built a magnetic brand that's ahead of the trends, with a loyal consumer base and a demonstrated capacity for growth. We are big fans of the Poppi brand movement and believe this incredible brand paired with our commercial capabilities will drive continued growth and innovation for years to come." – Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages U.S.

Read the full story on BevNET.

Former Lifeway Foods exec Edward Smolyansky, the estranged brother of Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky, has spent his life in kefir. Now setting out on his own, we caught up with the entrepreneur at Natural Products Expo West 2025 to discuss his latest project, a new kefir brand called Pure Culture Naturals.

Smolyansky discusses his ambitions to create a better and more functional product than the competing brands, why packaging size is important in the set and why he wants to be known as the “Kefir King of America.”

Insiders can watch the full interview on BevNET.

Talk about ahead of the curve. Long before cannabis and wellness became strange bedfellows, Willie Nelson was a vocal and active advocate for THC’s various lifestyle benefits. 

That makes him a natural player in the red-hot beverage segment. Enter Willie’s Remedy+, a non-alcoholic (NA) THC-infused “social tonic” created in partnership with California-based bev-alc and kombucha maker JuneShine Brands.

• The product is now available for direct-to-consumer shipping in 35 states. The 750 mL bottles are priced at $69.99. 
• Each bottle contains about 17 servings (1.75 oz. per serving), with 5 mg of THC, 2 mg of CBD, 2 mg of CBG (a non-psychoactive cannabinoid) and 200 mg of L-Theanine per serving.

🍾 Though less expensive single-serve RTDs produce faster velocities for retailers, multi-serve ready-to-pour products – designed for mixing mocktails and dosing drinks – have been picking up steam thanks to brands like Pamos, Artet, Nowadays, Good Time, MXXN and, most recently, Brēz. But, yes, Willie’s Remedy+ does have some lightly infused seltzers also on the way. 

How did a personal connection with the country star spark the JuneShine deal? Insiders can read the full story on BevNET.

At Expo West, every exhibitor has their own story – we know, we’ve talked to almost all of ‘em. As our reporters close the book on our recaps from this year’s show, this one includes: 

🏋️‍♂️ After it scored a major win (at the expense of Celsius) with upscale fitness chain Lifetime, this female-founded “clean caffeine” brand showcased new packaging emphasizing its winning combo of “energy + hydration.” 

🔮 While kombucha can sometimes feel like a dwindling category, that wasn’t the vibe at Humm Kombucha’s booth. We got details on no less than three new innovations coming this year. 

🌽 Do you take corn milk in your corn flakes? Maizly is hoping the answer is yes. 

Insiders can read the full recap on BevNET and catch up on our complete Expo West coverage. 

Alabama is the latest battlefront in the ongoing war between statehouses and the hemp industry. 

📝 Franchise owners affiliated with the Sunmed | Your CBD Store company (Sunmed) are calling for more information and public input on an Alabama state bill that designates all psychoactive cannabinoids as a Schedule I controlled substance.

❌ Although the law is intended to make hemp-derived THC products illegal in the state, there is a discrepancy around including hemp products with trace amounts of THC – which would ban nearly all CBD products.

🗣️ "If there's new hemp legislation in the pipeline, we want to know what it is, and it better not harm our business," said Birmingham, Ala., Sunmed store owner B.J. Autry in a statement, while pointing to the “backdoor amendments” and denial of public testimony on potential legislation.

⚔️ Sunmed is an affiliate of the largest hemp retailer in the U.S. – Sunflora, Inc. – which has been fighting similar legislation in Ohio and California.

Insiders can hear how the industry is responding to California’s hemp ban readoption.

Lifeway’s drinkable kefir continues to buoy the business, notching its 21st consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth as Q4 net sales rose 13% to $46.9 million, also marking its second highest-ever quarterly net sales.

🛒 Volume growth across its drinkables business, in addition to the benefits of “incremental placements” for its Farmer Cheese and ProBugs products, contributed to “robust growth and brand recognition” in 2024, said CEO Julie Smolyansky in a statement. 

📈 Full-year net sales grew 17% to $186.8 million.

💰 Lifeway is investing more behind key product lines to continue broadening awareness as it works to complement improved production capabilities following the development of its new factory in Waukesha, Wis.

Analytics provider Optia Data has joined the NielsenIQ Partner Network to enable data integrations across both platforms to generate faster, more comprehensive insights for CPG brands.

💻 The combination is expected to simplify workflows, helping brands combine reports to “create bespoke dashboards and extract critical insights,” per the announcement. 

💭 “Whether tackling one-off challenges or recurring pain points, our team provides tailored solutions that work,” said Dom Beary, CEO of Optia Data, in a statement.  

Here’s a taste of the people and products moving around the industry to start off your week. 

THC To Total Wine and Southern Glazer’s New Execs

🚚 Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has appointed two new execs: Jeri Rippon has been promoted to SVP, General Manager of New York, and Jennifer Chaplin Tolkin is set to replace Garrett McGuiness as EVP, Managing Director, Campari, beginning April 1.

🪴 Canopy USA subsidiary Wana Brands is launching three flavors of its hemp THC canned beverages at Total Wine & More stores nationwide, all of which feature a cannabinoid blend of THC, CBD and CBG.

😎 Canned functional beverage startup Leisure Hydration expanded nationwide via a launch at Whole Foods Market stores; the natural channel retailer now carries its entire line of electrolyte drinks.

Insiders can catch up on the latest distribution moves on BevNET.