As Monster Energy finalized its $362 million acquisition of Bang Energy maker Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) on July 31, there’s been a lot of buzz and speculation about how the energy leader will display its new trophy. With the company’s Q2 earnings call yesterday, we now have a better sense for what the future of Bang looks like.

Monster chairman and co-CEO Rodney Sacks confirmed that Bang will be fully integrated into the company’s infrastructure and it is set to transition into the Coca-Cola bottlers distribution network as soon as possible, likely within this current quarter. Last month Coke expressed interest in carrying the brand, which prior to its bankruptcy filing last year and subsequent issues with distribution and supply had been the number three energy drink brand in the U.S. Sacks cautioned that the move would lead to further disruptions for Bang in the interim (recall that this is now the third major distribution network overhaul for Bang in as many years), but the company appeared optimistic about its long term prospects.

Co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg said they anticipate Bang having gross margins comparable to premium Monster lines like Ultra and Reign, while also suggesting the company is likely to redesign Bang’s cans (stripped of their “Super Creatine” callout) (stripped of their “Super Creatine” callout) and might, perhaps, move it away from the performance energy subset.

“Interestingly, Bang started off life as a very much performance energy, and today, if you look at the brand and you analyze what it stands for, it really stands for a different segment, which is really ‘Lifestyle Energy,’” Schlosberg said.

A select number of former VPX employees have been hired for open positions within Monster, while the bulk of staff at its Phoenix, Arizona production plant will stay on to continue producing Bang, as well as other Monster products, Sacks said.

However, those workers have likely seen their last run of Redline and other non-Bang VPX brands. Sacks said Monster intends to rationalize Bang’s SKU count and cut entirely VPX’s other product lines, including shots. Monster will continue to sell through the remaining inventory of those products and could reintroduce them in the future, Sacks said, but for now it’s the end of the (Red)line.

Read the full earnings recap on BevNET.

According to court documents, a New York federal judge yesterday dismissed a trademark suit from canned coffee maker RISE Brewing Co. that accused PepsiCo of using a “confusingly similar” name for its MTN DEW Rise morning energy drink.

• U.S. District Judge granted a summary judgment in favor of the beverage conglomerate, finding that RISE Brewing’s mark is “inherently weak” and “commands a narrow scope of protection.” 
• The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in 2021 just months after PepsiCo released the fruit-flavored drink that is positioned as a better-for-you energy drink intended for morning consumption. In the original complaint, RISE claims it contacted PepsiCo both before and after the release of MTN DEW Energy Rise requesting the company change the product’s name.
• Later that year, Schofield blocked Pepsi from using the name MTN DEW Rise Energy while the trademark infringement battle continued. However, the 2nd U.S. Circuit of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision, stating the lower court had “erred in its evaluation of what is the most important factor – the strength of Plaintiff’s mark – as well as its finding of similarity in the appearance of the products.” 
• Despite the ruling, PepsiCo still has yet to revert its MTN DEW Energy line back to its previous name.

The Midwest is getting a lift of both social beverages this summer. Minnesota-based brand Mixly announced three varieties of its cocktail mixers are now available in HyVee stores. Not wanting to be left out of the party, Kansas City non-alcoholic marketing and events company SipSteady has partnered with a Midwest-based beverage distributor to bring more NA drink brands to Kansas and eventually Oklahoma, Nebraska and Oregon. Also, Sprouts Farmers Markets have added both Michelle Obama-backed kids drink brand PLEZi and adaptogenic iced tea and lemonade company Space Tea to its store shelves.

Read the full roundup on BevNET.

In this week’s roundup of new products, TWRL whips up a modern twist on classic black tea, Orgain gets a head start on pumpkin spice season and Aura Bora spices up its collection of sparkling waters.

See the full gallery on BevNET.

Vervet, a farm-to-can sparkling cocktail line based in Los Angeles, is shutting down, but co-founder Tuan Lee wants to share lessons learned with other entrepreneurs.

• Vervet’s trajectory illustrated to its founders that there was minimal thirst for premium canned cocktails like the company’s California-made four-packs priced at $24.99. 
• To compete more effectively against the other brands in that price-point, and the new value RTDs flooding the shelves, the company would’ve needed to make big marketing spends.  
• But the possibilities of the premium cocktail business growing to a $10 million or $20 million business were becoming too narrow for investors.
• Trends were in Vervet’s favor: premiumization has boosted the growth of spirits-based RTDs and younger drinkers are driving values-led consumerism. But consumers’ thirst to hop from one new brand to the next made it challenging to drive trial and retention.

Read the full story on BevNET

What do your shoes say about your third-wave craft coffee preferences? Probably not much, but if you’re rocking the new New Balance collab with Blue Bottle Coffee, it’s pretty clear where you stand. 

• The Blue Bottle Coffee x New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080v12 (an “everyday training shoe”) is available in both men’s and women’s sizes as of this week online for $179.99.
• Expect to see the signature Blue Bottle blue colorway and the Blue Bottle logo on the heel.
• The Boston-based shoe maker previously teamed with North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee for a limited edition sneaker back in 2017.