• 💦 Nestlé’s Perrier Water Scandal
• ⭐ Reviews? We Got 'Em
• 🆙 Ryse on the Rise?
• 🛗 Up Next On Elevator Talk
• 🎨 Sensient Warns Of ‘Finite’ Natural Color Supply
• 💻 A Destination For Buying Black-Owned Spirits
• 🧹 Can Chobani Clean Up Daily Harvest’s Image?

Could protein soda be the next big beverage-as-fashion accessory? 

Since the beginning of the year brands like Bucked Up, Don’t Quit!, Genius Gourmet, Protein Pop and Clean Simple Eats have all entered the carbonated protein soft drink market to meet the seemingly insatiable demand for the macronutrient. 

Vy Cutting, founder and CEO of U.K.-based Feisty Soda – and a former fashion designer – believes there’s an opportunity not only to play to the high protein diet trend, but to forge a real connection with female consumers. She is bringing that viewpoint to the emerging CPG category and getting ahead of a market that has traditionally focused its energy on male consumers.

Much in the same way that Celsius and Alani Nu opened up energy drinks by zagging away from the hyper-masculine marketing of traditional energy brands, Cutting feels the bulk of protein brands have also historically leaned heavy on aggro, male-minded marketing, leaving women without a brand to connect with on a personal level.

“Back in 2022, I remember going to the health food stores here [in the U.K.] and all the protein supplements were very much still catered for the gym bros – the athletes,” she said. “I felt like the female wellness category was so underrepresented.”

Her philosophy isn’t far off from that of Michelle Cordeiro Grant, CEO of energy drink brand Gorgie. Cordeiro Grant also happens to be a fashion industry vet who has similarly sought to position her drink as both a functional tool for consumers and a female-facing fashion accessory.

While it took decades for energy drinks to embrace gender neutrality, Feisty is looking to establish the nascent protein soda set as a space for women early on, while also taking a healthy dose of inspiration from functional soda pioneer Poppi to guide the approach.

Feisty’s sodas come in three flavors – Green Apple and Lime, Sour Cherry Blackcurrant and White Peach Nectarine – with each 330mL can containing 10 grams of protein and about 2 to 3 grams of sugar. 

Cutting said she believes the U.K. protein market is about “five years behind” the U.S., but the trend is catching up. Still, five years is a long time and it’s a big part of why Feisty is moving swiftly on a stateside debut.

“I see the girls on TikTok holding a Poppi like an accessory,” she said. “I see this the same. I'm chasing that same customer.”

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Nestlé is in a bit of (filtered) hot water after a French Senate investigation found that the company colluded with members of President Emmanuel Macron’s office to treat and filter its Perrier brand – a practice that is illegal for “mineral water” brands, according to European Union bottled water labeling regulations.

💧 The accusations highlight the “common challenges,” as Nestlé called it in a statement, for bottle water brands as scarcity and safety are clashing over natural water sources.

🚰 The report is linked to struggles Perrier has had in recent years relating to well contamination and the presence of banned pesticides in some of the brand’s water sources.

🤐 The news comes as Nestlé plans to sell its bottled water portfolio which includes the San Pellegrino label as well.

Read the full story to learn how Perrier’s recent struggles represent a broader existential crisis for bottled water brands.

This week at BevNET HQ, we are entering our hybrid beverage era. We rounded up sparkling water soda MADPOP, a new booze-free cocktail from De Soi, and two hybrid hop beverage innovations from HOP WTR and Hoplark.

Then, we chronicled our thoughts with each swig, highlighting aspects of the brand, liquid and product positioning that stood out and things the company could consider for next time. 

🆓 Check out this week’s review roundup on BevNET.

Submit your beverage product to BevNET for review here. And browse past reviews in the archive here.

After a year of category consolidation, there’s plenty of speculation about which emerging brand could steal the energy spotlight now that Alani Nu and Ghost are off the proverbial chessboard. Could that brand be Ryse? 

• The fitness-rooted platform has gained traction through its 16 oz. Fuel Energy line, but it’s also teasing some innovation that expands its proposition.
• Website Stack3d claims (albeit without much attribution) that after a year in the works, Ryse is close to launching a new 12 oz. line called Ryse Energy Drink.
• The line will be differentiated from the Fuel family – but will keep branded flavors from partners like Kool Aid and Sunny D. No word on timing, though.
• There is confirmation of a new protein drink from the brand itself. The innovation process was chronicled in a video featuring the team tweaking the formula (boosting from 25 grams to 30 grams of protein) and choosing a bold color design for the 12 oz. bottles. 
• “We’re finally ready to move into production,” founder Nicholas Stella confirms at the end, with the promise of more updates to come.

Catch up on the latest energy drink data from NielsenIQ.

The latest installment of Elevator Talk features leaders from Hip Pop, Pari, Aqua Boost, Pablo’s Mate and Zenjoy.

Watch founders and CEOs introduce their brands and provide a recap of recent news and updates. This week’s special co-host is Adam Louras, a principal with Mercenary, who shared his thoughts, questions and feedback with the participants. He is joined by Ray Latif, the editor and producer of the Taste Radio podcast.

Watch the full episode now.

Interested in pitching your brand? Apply for a future episode of Elevator Talk.

Food coloring, flavoring and extract producer Sensient published a notice warning the industry that current regulatory pressure to phase out synthetic food colors could result in shortages. 

What they said: “There is a finite amount of natural food color resources. Right now, there is not enough natural supply to completely replace the synthetic color in the market.”

• The company went on to explain that supply chain transitions of this type – which require agricultural inputs and are largely dictated by growing cycles – cannot be made overnight. 
• Sensient claims “even the most prepared color manufacturer” would take up to three years to be able to produce the anticipated quantities of “botanically sourced colors.” 
• Given current production rates, the company’s analysts believe it could take six years to fulfill market demands for most naturally-sourced colors; it may take longer for others. 
• Nevertheless, costs will go up, both for CPGs having to retool formulations, and for the inputs themselves since “cost-in-use is also higher for natural color,” Sensient said, noting that most natural inputs are not as concentrated and require higher volumes. 

Go Deeper: Can FDA Really Phase Out Food Dyes?

Many of us had our quarantine hobbies – for Charles Everett, his quest to collect Black-owned spirits and share them on social media has now turned into something bigger: the first bev-alc e-commerce site entirely devoted to Black-owned products.

Urfriendcharles.com, a web address derived from Everett’s social media handles, launched last month boasting the largest collection of Black-owned spirits. 

Other directories, such as Diverse Powered Brands, provide B2B services for companies looking to connect with diverse founders. Some direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites such as ReserveBar have created filters for BIPOC and women-owned brands. But there hasn’t been a way for consumers to find and immediately buy Black-owned spirits. 

There are over 100 spirits listed on the new site, and with just one month live, Everett is working on building out new features and sales tactics. In the meantime, he’s already gathered some interesting consumer data.

Read the full story on BevNET to glean Everett’s initial insights.

This week, the podcast team dives into A Dozen Cousins’ acquisition by Valle Verde Foods and Chobani’s pickup of Daily Harvest. Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior reporter Lukas Southard discuss the impact of these new owners and how they may broaden the reach of their acquired brands. In the case of Daily Harvest, there’s also a potential to reshape negative consumer sentiment.

🥣 The team also dig into why Kettle & Fire’s new KettleWorks production facility represents steady growth of the bone broth category.

💪 Is 45 grams of protein too much for one beverage? Lukas and Monica debate why there appears to be no ceiling to protein contents.

Tune into the episode. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Like what you are listening to? Please don’t hesitate to rate our show and leave a review on your podcast platform of choice.