• 🏛️ SGWS To Face FTC Suit
• 🤝 The Vitamin Shoppe Bought By PE
• 🌵 Tracking Tequila Shares
• 🔀 Monday Moves
• 🧑‍🍳 Funding Favors the Few. Chefs Favor the Simple.

From the playful rise of #WaterTok to the wellness appeal of prebiotic sodas, consumers are reshaping what they expect from a simple sip. Flavored water is leading the charge, bridging fun, function, and flavor in ways brands can’t afford to ignore. See where innovation is headed next. Learn more

We know, we know – sugar is the devil. But when it comes to yerba mate, it’s maybe worth finding the details. 

Truth be told, sugar hasn’t held back yerba mate category leader Guayakí (which sells canned SKUs ranging from 2 grams to 27 grams per serving) from chalking up serious sales gains (up 23% in 52-weeks through 3/21) and becoming a powerhouse in canned tea and natural energy.

Yet as that brand recalibrates its growth strategy, Canadian upstart Mateína is seizing the moment to make moves of its own, overhauling its young RTD line to be completely sugar-free as it looks to “bring a little more excitement [and] more options to the space,” Mateína founder/CEO Nicolas Beaupre told us last week.

• That’s not completely unique to the category, but Beaupre sees it as a “big advantage” for growing his company’s 12 oz. canned brews, launched in four flavors last year. 

The decision to banish sugar altogether aligns with co-owner/spokesperson Dr. Andrew Huberman’s outlook, but it’s also just good business: Mateina’s single existing zero-sugar SKU represents around 60% of the RTD business, Beaupre said. 

There’s also a bigger picture, as Guayakí’s pivot to conventional retailers (accelerated by new distribution partner Anheuser Busch) may open new paths for expansion elsewhere: 

• Mateína’s reformulated RTDs will launch in brick-and-mortar with a major natural grocery chain as a three-month exclusive this October.
• That builds on the success Mateina has had thus far getting in front of “more niche, health conscious consumers” at influential LA stores like SunLife Organics and Erehwon. 

Read the full story for more about Mateína’s U.S. growth strategy.

The FTC discrimination lawsuit against Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits (SGWS) will continue to play out in the courts thanks to a ruling from a California federal judge last week.

📝 The judge declined to dismiss the case against the nation’s largest bev-alc distributor, concluding that the FTC has adequately alleged unfair treatment of independent retailers relative to big box retailers, and can proceed at least to summary judgment.

• The original complaint, filed in December, invokes the little-used Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, which bars larger suppliers from influencing prices in order to undercut smaller retailers. 
• Unsealed redactions of the case revealed in February the FTC’s allegations that SGWS has consistently charged mom-and-pop retailers as much as 12% to 67% more than national and regional chains for the same products. 
• SGWS maintains that the company offers different levels of discounts based on the cost they incur to sell different quantities to customers.

Catch Up: FTC Sues Southern Glazer’s Over ‘Unlawful Price Discrimination’

The Vitamin Shoppe has been acquired by Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners (PIP). The retailer will be purchased from Franchise Group in a deal that is expected to close later in the second quarter. Terms were not disclosed.

🏪 The Vitamin Shoppe operates over 675 stores in the U.S. It has become a destination for emerging brands in the nutritional supplement space as brands blur into conventional food and beverage categories.

🏋️ Last month, the retail chain said it would launch a new branded line of powdered supplements to meet elevated demand for GLP-1 companion products.

💭 The new owners intend to make “significant investments in the company’s third-party brand relationships, research and development across its owned proprietary brand portfolio,” while “upgrading stores and improving its digital platform,” said Kingswood partner Michael Niegsch and PIP partner Mark Genender in a press release statement.

Catch Up: Vitamin Shoppe Owner Files for Chapter 11

Welcome BevnetCommunity! Download your free 2025 Wellness Trends report—featuring top insights on stress, alcohol alternatives, and more. Love the data behind the report? Subscribe to our Wellness CPG platform and get 50% off with code: Bevnet50. Learn more

Tequila continues to gain share at bars and restaurants, with one style in particular on a roll. 

📈 The agave spirit is now commanding 23.5% of all on-premise spirits sales volumes, up 0.8 percentage points year-over-year after taking share from other spirits categories, according to NIQ’s on-premise marketing research arm CGA.

🥇 Aged reposado tequila has been on a roll, gaining 2 percentage points of share at the expense of blanco and gold especial. 

🚚 But there was still a drop in volume overall, meaning suppliers should not take loyalty for granted, added analysts. 

Read the full data dive on BevNET.

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

🐄 Organic Valley promoted two women within its executive team including Cheree Tauschek, now EVP of membership and Kimberly Turnmire, now EVP of people. 

• The organic farmer-owned cooperative also appointed Jerry McGeorge to the newly-created role of chief transformation officer.

🌅 Sunrise Strategic Partners co-founder and former managing partner Vincent Love joined NewRoad Capital Partners as a partner this month.

☀️ Non-alcoholic social tonic maker hiyo announced an expansion into select Target stores nationwide this month, which the brand claims is its largest retail expansion to-date. 

🫗 Electrolyte drink tablet brand PLINK!, is rolling into CVS stores this month with Pomegranate Berry and Watermelon flavors that will be available in 12-packs for $14.99.

Check out the latest distribution roundup on BevNET for more.

In a year clouded by economic uncertainty, you’d think investors would be clinging to their cash. But by the looks of things, maybe not? This episode also features an interview with acclaimed Boston-based chefs Jamie Bissonnette and Kenta Katagai as they take us behind the scenes of an unforgettable culinary collaboration.

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