• 🍄 Odyssey Closes $6M Round
• 🔵 Pepsi: Muted Gains in FY + Q4 2023 Amid “Slowdown”
• ✅ MHW: ‘Values’ Branding Drives Growth
• 📺 Super Bowl Bevs Take on TV

Consumers want more from energy drinks—hydration, focus, mood enhancement and muscle support. Manufacturers are responding with functional ingredients like ashwagandha, BCAAs, and natural caffeine to meet the growing demand for healthier options. Learn more

It’s been a rough couple of years for brands, and the last quarter of last year may have been the worst of it. Deals in the period were less than half of what they were just two years ago, and talk of down rounds and slow fundraising dominates discussion.

So what caused it?

First of all, it wasn’t just brands that were having trouble raising money. Venture Capital investors say that the pension funds and other large capital pools they rely on as limited partners have moved away from VC as they rebalanced their portfolios to account for a down stock market a couple of years ago.

Additionally, interest rate increases that are designed to battle inflation have cut into private investors’ ability to leverage the dollars they do have for deals. That slowdown has been accompanied by a willingness from many capital pools to sit back and enjoy safe, high-interest savings and fixed income investments as their chosen alternative.

As a result, brands are starting to publicly announce they’ve reached the end of the line: Ocho, Bro Dough, Rowdy Energy and Trimino all announced they’re shutting down in recent weeks, while established brands like Tessamae’s and Rhythm Superfoods each went into bankruptcy.  

Recent transactions of brands like Tessamae’s and Beanfield’s might sound encouraging at the surface, notes Dwight Funding’s Ben Brachot, but “a lot of the transactions we saw late last year were out of desperation, not out of growth or opportunity.”

Expect the market to open up as interest rates stabilize or move down, investors say, but there’s still carnage yet to come for brands that can’t find a path to sustainable margins and profitability.

“Good teams continue to attract investors,” notes Liz Myslik, Managing Director at VC firm Loft Growth Partners. “There’s still competitive bidding for those brands that really offer a highly differentiated product offering – one that is really valued to consumers at a price that is compelling, and a margin that allows them to have a sustainable business. Those elements continue to be in high demand, and innovation will always drive value, growth, and investment.”

Read the full story on BevNET

Mushroom elixir maker Odyssey has raised $6 million in a new round of funding backed by family offices and individuals, the company announced today. 

💸 The cash injection comes as the Florida-based brand has put its full weight behind its caffeinated product lines, working to swiftly hire former Bang Energy personnel and growing its presence in independent c-stores nationwide. 

⚡ As founder and CEO Scott Frohman told us in a phone interview: “We’re straight up energy now.”

⛽ With its headcount now at 44 full time employees, many of them seasoned energy salespeople, Frohman is feeling ambitious. He said the company wants to drive velocities in independent c-stores this year in order to prove its thesis before, ideally, adding more national chains in the near future.

Read the full story on BevNET.

In its Q4 2023 earnings report released this morning, PepsiCo delivered relatively flat net revenue growth amid challenges to its North American Beverages and Quaker Foods business. Profits were down in both divisions by double-digits and volumes declined across nearly the entirety of Pepsi’s portfolio both at-home and internationally. 

📊 PepsiCo’s Q4 2023 net revenue was $27.8 billion, down -0.5% year-over-year. For FY2023, net revenue was $91.4, increasing nearly 6% compared to FY2022.

🛒 Despite ​​a “slowdown” in food and beverage sales domestically, company leadership remained optimistic that by the second half of 2024 it would rebound to profitable volume growth.

📉 The company lowered its 2024 guidance, expecting 4% increase in organic net revenue and at least 8% growth in core constant currency EPS. 

Read the full recap on BevNET

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Today is Friday and you all know what that means…it’s NPG time! We’ve rounded up the hottest new products for you and packaged them together in a gallery just for you. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:

🥣Now you can have your cereal and drink it too! Victor Allen’s teams with General Mills to create its newest RTD product, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Iced Coffee. Each 8 oz. can features a blend of milk, sugar, Arabica beans and, of course, Cinnadust. 

🥤Aiming to introduce non-cannabis fans to their product lineup, High Rise Beverage launches its new THC-free beverage collection, High Rise Blackout Edition. The line will be available in two distinct variations: Balance and Lift. Balance contains ashwaganda and gotu cola to ease stress and enhance mental clarity while Lift has Vitamin B, ginseng and rhodiola to help supercharge mood.

💘Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Pressed introduces Love Shot, a 2 oz. shot that features a chocolate-forward blend of horny goat weed powder, maca wheat powder and damiana powder. According to the brand, each of these powders is known to increase blood flow and improve sexual function.

Check out the full NPG on BevNET.

The team from BevAlc importer and service provider MHW shared predictions and updates for 2024, from new state regulations to how brands are going to stand out as inflationary pressures continue:

🗣️ With saturation in areas like agave spirits and ready-to-drink reaching a high, and retailers having to think more critically about their choices, panelists agreed that sharing a brand’s story to connect with values-driven younger consumers will be even more important in 2024. 

👩🏼‍🌾 The lost loyalty with increasingly blurred categories and innovation could be earned back by championing values like sustainability or sharing a founder’s authentic story, said brand execution manager Ian Perez. 

📖 We got the download of DISCUS’s regulatory priorities for 2024 this week, but the MHW crew highlighted other state-level changes already in place including a new California labeling requirement and a new organic requirement for certain importers. 

Read the full story on BevNET

🐉 After partnering with U.K. football (AKA soccer) club Wrexham A.F.C. last year, Danone’s STōK Cold Brew drafted Oscar winner Sir Anthony Hopkins as its newest team member for its “Big Game” spot. The ad premiered online last week.

🔔 With its fan favorite Baja Blast now available beyond the confines of Taco Bell, MTN Dew has enlisted Aubrey Plaza for its “Having a Blast” spot, letting consumers know they can finally find the co-branded flavor “anytime, anywhere.”

🤖 The intelligence may be artificial, but the beverage isn’t in BodyArmor’s commercial. Its parent company Coke has been ambitious in using A.I. in recent months, and this 30 second spot plays on the surreal video creations that our new robot overlords (and BevNET CMO and A.I. art enthusiast Mike Schneider) have in store for us.

🥛 After suffering a near-lethal snow plow accident last January, Jeremy Renner said he relied on Silk’s plant-based milks in his wellness smoothies during recovery. He and his daughter Ava Renner are now promoting the dairy alternative brand in its Super Bowl ad.

🍩 One guess which actor is starring in Dunkin’s commercial this year. Too late, it’s Ben Affleck. The Boston-born star is a known fan of his hometown brand and is once again serving as its gametime spokesman.

New year, new podcast. Today, BevNET and Nosh launched a new podcast called CPG Week where our editorial team will bring you a weekly quick hit of food and beverage news. 

What did we cover in our first show? The high volume of mergers and acquisitions that may signal a possibly fruitful 2024 for companies looking to transact. The team digs into all the latest: from a new investment vehicle taking over sustainable treat maker Alter Eco to Moosehead Brands betting on Beanfields and Caveman Foods. If nothing else, take a listen to hear the soothing voice of Nosh’s new managing editor Monica Watrous breakdown what a “ham(m) sandwich” actually translates to in at least one Kansas City bar.

Tune in here to this week’s episode and subscribe to get a fresh episode every week. 

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