• 🍻 Web Weed Pt. 2: Three Tier Fears
• ⚽ PepsiCo Shakes Up Sports Marketing
• 🏃 Zevia Slips, But Momentum is There
• ⭐ Reviews? We Got 'Em
• 📊 NIQ Expands Global Product Insights
• 🫧 First Coke Ever Served
• 🔀 CPG Week: Guayaki Rebrands & Web Weed

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Is there room for more flavored sparkling water in an already packed category?

Well, yes – you didn’t really think we were going to say ‘no,’ right? Despite rife competition down from private label all the way through the premium end, the flavored seltzer category grew just under 10% year-over-year through March, outpacing both flavored still water (+8.9%) and non-flavored sparkling water (+7.6%) during that period.

Crystal Geyser is now the latest to jump in the pool, as the venerable Alpine spring water brand launches a five-SKU line in 24-packs on Amazon and in 6-packs ($3.49 SRP) of 16.9 oz. PET bottles at select retailers in the Northeast.

Similar to its core spring waters – where 40-packs and other large configurations regularly do the heavy sales lifting – Crystal Geyser Sparkling is aiming for value; the line is exclusively in multipacks aimed at grocery accounts (Pete’s Market) through wholesale distributors.

For Crystal Geyser, already doing nearly $400 million in bottled spring water, launching sparkling is a ‘natural evolution,’ said VP of sales Jordan Nelson.

But with Spindrift now slinging sodas and White Claw hawking a not-hard-seltzer, those clear lines that once gave flavored sparkling water its identity have gotten blurry, quickly. 

Amidst the brands having an impact on the space, it helps to have some focus: names like Bubbl’r (+38.7% year-over-year through March), Liquid Death (+41.8%) and Waterloo (+30.6%) have each found paths to $100 million-plus through bold flavor, branding, or added benefits like caffeine. 

For more on Crystal Geyser’s launch and the state of flavored sparkling water, read the story on BevNET.

Yesterday we looked at the hand-in-glove relationship of Hemp THC and online sales. But the category is growing and the gloves are coming off: The successes and challenges of hemp beverage distribution have brands considering growth strategies built within the three-tier alcohol distribution system. It may seem obvious to align with beer DSDs and spirits distributors as hemp drinks lobby for federal guidelines, but some stakeholders are on the fence.

😵 Many intoxicating hemp drink makers would be shutting off or drastically reducing the revenue gained by selling via ecommerce and DTC if they incorporate into the three-tier system.

⚖️ Partnering with alcohol DSDs might open the door to more retail opportunities, but it also paves the way for the hemp industry to be taken over by much larger beverage corporations.

🐟 Like it or not, the hemp beverage category is facing down an inevitability on its next big step in retail. Put simply: “It’s a big fish in a little pond right now. But competition is coming and coming in full force,”  said cannabis industry investor Emily Paxhia.

Check out the full story on BevNET.

Catch Up: THC Drinks Crush It Online – But For How Long?

Gatorade isn’t what you’d call a stranger to sports marketing, but even the GOAT has to push themselves to greater heights. Ahead of the World Cup next year, PepsiCo is reorganizing its sports and entertainment partnership teams under one department with hopes to uplift its entire portfolio.

☂️ Pepsi, Gatorade and Lay’s will now all be working under the same umbrella with a focus on marketing around specific sports and other entertainment related campaigns.

🗣️ PepsiCo Foods North America CMO Brett O’Brien is now the company’s first Chief Sports Officer, telling Bloomberg he was instructed “to lead the NFL thinking, or MLB thinking, or college sports” – not just brands. 

⚽ Soccer is top of mind right now as the FIFA World Cup in North America is scheduled for next year. We can expect to see a lot of activations from PepsiCo around the global event.

Go Deeper: Read up on more recent marketing moves on BevNET. 

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Stevia-sweetened soft drink brand Zevia met the high end of its expectations for Q1 2025 earnings – however, that result still amounted to a 2% decline to $38 million in net sales for the quarter.

↗️ Gross profit margin was up 4.4 percentage points to 50.1% and net losses improved to $6.4 million.

⏩ Momentum is growing, said president and CEO Amy Taylor, noting innovation and marketing are “yielding strong response” in the market and its recent variety pack launch is “now the best-selling Zevia SKU at Walmart.”

⚡ Zevia is planning to put its energy behind marketing and innovation going forward, Taylor added, noting a recent marketing campaign drove “record engagement.” 

Catch Up: Zevia Underperforms Q3, Projects Return to Growth in Q4

This week at BevNET we rounded up a pair of sweet lattes from Pop & Bottle and Happy (in partnership with Tate’s Bake Shop) along with a duo of booze-free cocktails from St. Argestis and ISH.

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.

To submit your beverage product to BevNET for review, click here. And to browse past reviews, check the archive here.

NIQ today expanded its NIQ Product Insights (NPI) solutions to better help global retail and CPG enterprises address and adapt to regional regulatory changes, spot early shopping trends and personalize consumer products. 

🌍 NPI will expand its catalogue of more than 27,000 product attributes to 25 additional markets within Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America throughout 2025 and 2026, per the announcement. 

💭 “Retailers [currently] have the added pressure of tariffs and inflation impacting their product choices and go-to-market decisions. NPI provides analytics and insights to help companies understand changes in global regulation, including origin labeling and food additive bans,” said Marsha McGraw, global managing director at NIQ, in a press release. 

Go Deeper: Tracking The Trickle Down Impact of Tariffs

Today’s history lesson comes to you by way of the Associated Press, which shared that 139 years ago (read: 1886), the first serving of Coca-Cola was sold at a pharmacy in Atlanta, Ga. 

On this episode of CPG Week, we run through the biggest news of the week, starting with Guayakí’s big rebrand to Yerba Madre. Senior reporters Lukas Southard and Brad Avery discuss the significance of this chance for the yerba mate category leader.

⚖️ Lukas then runs down the latest hemp-derived THC beverage category regulatory news and how it relates to a two-part feature he recently wrote on how the intoxicating category balances DTC footprint with retail distribution.

👻 Why is Mondelēz suing Ghost over its sweet treat trademarks? Brad explains the recent breakup of the confections maker and the now KDP-owned energy brand.

📊 The podcast wraps up with a brief overview of Q1 earnings from Celsius and Black Rifle Coffee before discussion turns to Free Bird founder Jay Williams’ recent kidnapping by the Hamburglar.

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

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