• 🫧 Spindrift Launches SODA
• 🧋 BUBLUV Acquired 
• 👤 Vita Coco Throws Vending Machine Shade
• ⚠️ Lyons Magnus Recalls Supplemental Shakes
• 🔀 Monday Moves
• 🪄 How Yaza Went National at Whole Foods Just Weeks After Its Launch

Consumers are eager for beverages with little to no added sugar… but not all sweeteners are considered equal. Cargill beverage experts offer targeted insights and solutions, including understanding consumer expectations, which sweeteners are finding favor, and Cargill's approach to sugar reduction. Learn more

Whatever business you are in, teaming up with Lionel Messi can probably help. 

Don’t worry: we’re not here to convince you to start following soccer (that’s Taste Radio), but rather to confirm that the “Messi Effect” isn’t merely confined to existing fans of the world’s biggest sport. After arriving at Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion club Inter Miami in 2023, the Argentine superstar’s popularity pushed MLS team sponsorship to a record-breaking $587 million (+15% y/o/y), spanning 23 categories last year. 

That uplift has helped boost beverage brands ranging from Powerade to Guayaki, but few have racked up a roster of beverage sponsors like Messi’s own team: 

• In the past 12 months, Inter Miami has brought on the likes of Splendor (Official Premium Water), Flow (Official Spring Water), LaCroix (Official Sparkling Water), 100 Coconuts (Official Coconut Water) and Ketel One (Official Vodka) as partners, joining a roster that already includes names like Celsius, Cafe Bustelo and Cervecería La Tropical. 

But the club’s latest deal is perhaps the biggest, and least surprising: last week, Inter Miami announced Más+ by Messi as its Official Sports Hydration partner. The brand — operating as Más+ Next Generation Beverage Co., a co-venture with Mark Anthony Brands launched in June 2023 – is now available as a concession at Chase Stadium as of last week. 

It will also host activations for Más+ during games and incorporate signage throughout the venue. The line will also be integrated in training at all levels, from the club’s Academy to Messi and his teammates.

The alignment of the Argentine superstar’s professional and business interests makes sense – but how does Más+ take on an outsized role in Inter Miami’s family of partners without stepping on toes? 

We spoke with Más+ EVP Rishi Diang about why he’s not concerned about his brand’s potential overlap with other hydration sponsors, and how the company is planning for a future beyond Messi’s playing career. 

Read the full article on BevNET.

Spindrift unveiled its first major innovation since its majority sale to Gryphon Investors last month: Spindrift SODA.

🥤 Spindrift SODA is made with 20% not-from-concentrate juice, containing up to 8 grams of sugar per 12 oz. can and running against the grain of the functional sodas currently dominating the BFY CSD set.

🍇 The line comes in five flavors: Concord Freeze, Ginger Ale, Orange Cream Float, Shirley Temple and Strawberry Shortcake.

🤝 Spindrift, which saw CPG executive Dave Burwick appointed as CEO last month, now appears to be seeking a stake in the BFY soda set.

Read the story on BevNET for the full scoop.

Home goods company Core Home is moving into beverages with the acquisition of bubble tea brand BUBLUV. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

🫧 BUBLUV is Core Home’s first foray into CPG food or beverage; its 20 brand portfolio predominantly spans home goods, personal care products and other non-consumables.

📋 The boba brand’s founder Diana Ark Chen will stay on board to lead sales and marketing.

🛒 The lower-calorie, bottled boba tea brand just landed its three varieties in four Albertsons banners with plans to launch in Target in April.

Go Deeper: RTD Boba Teas Are Popping Off in Retail

Vita Coco is the latest to cash in on Poppi’s post-Super Bowl LIX (remember those $25,000 vending machines it sent to social media influencers?). The coconut water brand lampooned the controversy with a makeshift $25 “vending machine” in New York last week.

🍓 The brand set up a shelf full of its Vita Coco Treats drinks for an outdoor sampling event in Washington Square Park on Valentine’s Day. The brand trolled Poppi in a TikTok video with its fake vending machine, asking “Did we do this right?”

🏥 Poppi upset customers over its wasteful promotions ahead of the Big Game, but later insisted the machines were always meant to be loaners and it would be placing more of the machines in accessible locations like schools and hospitals.

😈 The TikTok crowd definitely picked up on the shade. While Vita Coco didn’t name names, comments on the video delighted in mentioning Poppi’s misstep. 

Lyons Magnus LLC voluntarily recalled its 4 oz. Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial Frozen Supplemental Shakes due to potential Listeria contamination. 

😓 At least 38 illnesses, including 11 deaths, have been linked to the contaminated products, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

🚨 The recall follows a recall by Lyons Magnus’ manufacturer, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., for the products made at its Fort Wayne, Ind., facility. 

👀 The affected products were distributed to hospitals and long-term care facilities and were not available for retail sale. Of the 38 individuals sickened, 34 were living in long-term care facilities or had been hospitalized prior to getting sick.  

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

🪖 Hydration beverage brand HOIST is rolling into Harris Teeter stores across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic region this month.

🥛 Organic plant-based kids milk brand Kiki Milk will launch at all 440 Sprouts stores nationwide with its 32 oz. Original, Chocolate and Unsweetened flavors.

🏪 Electrolit has debuted a new Pink Grapefruit flavor as a 7-Eleven exclusive in 21 oz. bottles this spring.

🍐 Korean pear drink Seoul Juice is now available nationwide in QuikTrip store, marking a major extension into c-stores for the brand.

👀 Steve Feinberg has resigned as a board member at Albertsons Companies Inc. in connection with his nomination for U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, effective February 21. In his place, Frank Bruno has been nominated to the board, also effective February 21.  

How many brands can you name that secured national distribution at Whole Foods just weeks after launching? In this episode, we dive into one such success story: Yaza, a rapidly emerging brand of Lebanese-style labneh. We also test yet another "pizza wine" and chat about Hailee Steinfeld's angelic take on RTD cocktails. 

Listen to the episode now. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.