While the brand may be fighting to stand out in the crowded retail energy drinks set, Molson Coors has rock solid faith in ZOA. The beer giant announced today it is increasing its minority ownership stake in the Dwayne Johnson-backed energy brand, gaining a board seat and ensuring it will remain its exclusive distribution partner.

• ZOA launched in 2021 with a line of zero sugar 16 oz. canned energy drinks. Earlier this year, it unveiled a rebrand across its product line, shifting to a 12 oz. canned format and reformulating the liquid.
• ZOA is available in over 42,000 retail locations and 160,000 total points of distribution across the U.S. and Canada, as well as online. The company self-reported over $100 million in sales in 2022, up 138% year-over-year. 
• While ZOA launched to much fanfare – including a Super Bowl commercial – it has struggled to drive repeat purchases in a crowded category that includes brands like Celsius, C4, Alani Nu and the Anheuser-Busch-backed Ghost. Market data firm Circana reported ZOA’s retail dollar sales at -18% to $36.6 million in the 52-weeks ending August 13. Though that doesn’t include ecommerce, foodservice or Canada.
• But, ideally, that’s where Molson comes in. With the new investment, ZOA intends to double its marketing budget for 2024 and the company says it believes the brand is better positioned with its updated look.

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Why did vitamin K2 disappear from Western diets? And how is this absence impacting our health? Join our panel of experts as they plunge into the fascinating world of vitamin K2. At this free webinar, you’ll learn how K2 is the missing piece for bone health around the world and how you can help consumers get more of it. Learn more

Brooklyn Brewery and non-alcoholic hop tea maker Hoplark have formed “a comprehensive long-term strategic partnership” that will allow the Boulder, Colorado-based non-alcoholic hop tea maker to leverage the New York craft brewery’s infrastructure for production, warehousing, logistics, sales, and administration, the two companies announced today.

In addition to warehousing and logistics, Hoplark will work with Brooklyn’s sales team “to broaden its representation with wholesalers and retailers around the country.”

Additionally, Hoplark announced a Series A funding round that was led by Brooklyn Brewery. Whipstitch Capital served as Hoplark’s financial advisor on the transaction.

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Diddy has won the first round in his legal battle with spirits giant Diageo. Here’s the full recap:

• The music mogul filed a lawsuit against Diageo in May, alleging that his spirits brands, Cîroc Vodka and DeLeon Tequila, received worse treatment because of his race.
• Diageo responded in June by severing ties with Combs, ending the two parties’ 15-year business relationship and claiming that the allegations were false and defamatory. Diageo asked the judge to send Combs’ lawsuit to arbitration or dismiss the complaint entirely. Now, the Supreme Court of New York denied Diageo’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and its motion to force the case into arbitration.
• Combs will now be able to engage in “broad discovery” aimed at uncovering evidence that the company didn’t support his liquor brands the same way it supported its other brands. 

The global spirits group has relied heavily on celebrity-backed brands, including spirits rocketed to success by George Clooney, Ryan Renolds, and David Beckham. But as celebrity-backed spirits become the norm, will the downsides of these partnerships begin to show?

Bacardi Limited has jumped fully into the mezcal game and acquired Ilegal Mezcal, the company announced yesterday.

• As tequila drives spirits sales, other major spirit groups have brought mezcal and sotol brands into their portfolios. But Ilegal is Bacardi’s first mezcal.
• The deal signals the continued rise of agave spirits, particularly the premium and above segment. 

Ilegal joins Del Maguey, Mezcal Unión, Dos Hombres, and Montelobos as independent mezcal brands that have now been purchased by major spirit companies. While the move illustrates that mezcal continues to be an attractive category for a large spirit portfolio, it also signals higher production demands from a traditionally artisan spirit made from a precious resource.

In this week’s new products roundup, Fanta unveiled a spooky new soda guaranteed to turn your tongue black, Monster Energy teams up with Call of Duty to celebrate the game’s iconic Ghost character and Rowdy Mermaid dives into the functional soda space. Read the story.

Backed by its latest equity funding round from a group of new and existing investors, premium water brand Icelandic Glacial’s growth strategy is increasingly global.

• Icelandic Glacial CEO Reza Mirza told BevNET last week that the new financing will go towards building out its U.S. sales and marketing team and increasing capacity at its Iceland production facility.
• Mirza estimated around 75% of the brand’s sales are in the U.S. with a 60-65% ACV in conventional grocery. The biggest runways however are in convenience and foodservice, which he hopes the brand’s new canned water line will help expand.
• It’s already big in its namesake nation: In Iceland, the brand has around a 65% market share, Mirza said, with a strong presence in the U.K., Canada and the Middle East as well. The international business was up about 180% year-over-year.

Read the full story on BevNET.

When legacy brands start looking like startups, should entrepreneurs be worried? The hosts discuss. They also highlight several new and notable products, including chakra-specific shots and a cap-activated bottled cocktail. We also meet with Alan Kennedy, the master blender for rye-forward whiskey brand Redemption, who discusses the brand’s emphasis on premiumization of experience across its portfolio. Read the story.

After 24 years working with co-packers, Uncle Matt’s Organic will begin to self-manufacture its own juices, according to a recent LinkedIn post by founder and CEO Matt McLean. Details of the new manufacturing facility have not been disclosed but the juice company that has been gaining market share and building innovation within its portfolio. The move marks another landmark for McLean who has been steadily rebuilding the brand since he reacquired his former company in 2020 after Dean Foods – which acquired Uncle Matt’s in 2017 – filed for bankruptcy.