• 🦊 Outfox Files for Bankruptcy, But Is Founder Back In the Frame?
• 🌊 Capri Sun Disrespects The Pouch
• 💸 Jay-Z's Firm Invests In The Finnish Long Drink
• 🦅 Sunkey to Acquire Silver Eagle Beverages
• 🤖 Relocalize Secures $5.8 Million

Professional athletes spend a lot of time thinking about what they put into their bodies and that includes their morning (or midday) cup of joe.

Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes insists that he “drinks a lot of coffee” and was intrigued when former BodyArmor marketing executive Michael Fedele reached out last year with samples of a “coffee+” product formulated for athletes.

“I was able to try those out and know that I was drinking coffee which I love, but a healthy version,” Mahomes said. “I could drink it during the season and didn't have to worry about the effects of how I feel after.”

Throne Sport Coffee launched today with Mahomes as a lead investor and active participant in shaping the strategy of the new RTD canned brew. The 4-SKU, NSF Certified for Sport line – available in Black, Mocha Java, Salted Caramel and French Vanilla – comes in 11 oz. cans with 150 mg caffeine, B vitamins, electrolytes and branched-chain amino acids for recovery.

The brand will hit 3,000 stores right out of the gate including chainwide in Casey’s convenience stores and Hy-Vee locations in the Midwest and Plains.

While a coffee aimed at active-lifestyle java drinkers is not untread territory (we see you Super Coffee) it could be an opportunity to meld sports drinks category and caffeine in a format that is removed from the coffee-forward energy drink approach.

Though RTD coffee continues to be a competitive set with everything from celebrity-backed brands to craft coffee options, Fedele is confident that his over 10 years working at BodyArmor has prepared him to find a niche among fitness-focused consumers. Using that vision, he has stacked his marketing, sales and operations launch team with beverage industry professionals – many of which worked with him at BodyArmor.

“Our team is a group of competitive people. From Patrick [Mahomes] to myself to the team that's behind this brand, we play to win,” Fedele said. 

Read the full story on BevNET to get a sense of what Sport Coffee could become.

GRAASI is shelf-stable and hits the top beverage sales categories of functional, certified organic, plant-based, and gluten free. Graasi is a great, healthy alternative for hydration and recovery for everyone from weekend warriors to professional athletes to soccer moms and their families. Learn more

For the first time in its more than 50 years of existence, Capri Sun is disrespecting the pouch – moving beyond its iconic format with the launch of Capri Sun Multi-Serve, a 96 oz. bottle (the equivalent of 32 pouches) of its top-selling flavor, according to an announcement this week.

🛒 The new product is exclusively available in the club channel in a 2-pack format at BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sam’s Club and select Costco locations. 

💭 “We’re now able to delight those fans who grew up on Capri Sun with an offering that suits their needs. They’ve outgrown the serving size of the pouch, but not their love for Capri Sun,” said Jordan Mann, Capri Sun senior brand manager, in a statement. 

Even as the Foxtrot saga took a significant step towards long-term resolution with Outfox Hospitality’s filing of Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Tuesday, lingering questions over last week’s $2.2 million sale of store assets to Further Point Enterprises means the immediate future is still in flux.

• In its filing in Delaware bankruptcy court, Outfox – created after the merger of Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market – listed both assets and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million and over 5,000 creditors.

• In a snap foreclosure auction held via Microsoft Teams last week, Further Point was the only bidder for an unspecified set of assets belonging to Foxtrot, listed as “inventory, intellectual property, accounts, chattel paper, documents, furniture, fixtures & equipment, general intangibles and goods.”

Yet according to real estate pub The Real Deal, multiple Chicago landlords have already been in discussions with Further Point Enterprises about reopening shuttered store locations, with Foxtrot founder Mike LaVitola rumored to be working alongside the company’s new owners. That may raise an eyebrow for brands that got burned by Foxtrot’s sudden closure – to say nothing of the terminated employees that are taking the company to court. Needless to say, we’ll be following.

Go Deeper: Foxtrot Fallout: Brands, Distributors React As Retailer Shuts Down.

Naturally New England is hosting its first annual Pitch Slam at BevNET HQ! The event will celebrate up-and-coming brands with a community gathering and countless opportunities to connect, showcase, and grow.

Here are the details:

Date: May 21, 2024
Time: 5-8p
Location: BevNET HQ in Newton, MA

Join us!

Marcy Venture Partners, the firm co-founded by Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Jay Brown (CEO of RocNation), and Larry Marcus, has made a "significant investment" in gin-based RTD brand The Finnish Long Drink, the company announced today. Here’s what we know so far:

• The new funding will "support the Finnish Long Drink’s continued momentum within the U.S. market," according to a press release.
• Marcy Venture Partners joins other celebrity backers including Miles Teller, Kygo and Rickie Fowler.
• Since its launch in 2018, The Finnish Long Drink has become the call brand for a Finnish staple and grown to be one of the highest selling RTDs in the U.S. 

Stay tuned for more details and insight on the investment on BevNET later today. 

Florida-headquartered Sunkey Beverage Holdings will acquire Texas-based Silver Eagle Beverages, an independent Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) wholesaler. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

• The deal includes all of Silver Eagle’s business activities in a dozen counties across Southwest Texas, as well as its San Antonio corporate office and warehouse, Del Rio warehouse and Carrizo Springs depot, according to a press release. 
• Silver Eagle distributes A-B and Constellation products, along with other domestic and import brands, distributing close to 16 million cases annually, a company spokesperson said.
• Beyond beer its portfolio includes AriZona Spiked, JuneShine, Molson Coors’ 2 Hoots, Mark Anthony Brands’ Cayman Jack and more.

Insiders can read the full story which includes comments from Silver Eagle and Sunkey leadership.

Hyper-local manufacturing tech producer Relocalize announced this week it has closed an oversubscribed $5.8 million seed funding round to scale up production of its autonomous microfactories. 

🏭 The round was led by Desjardins Capital with participation from existing investors including i4 Capital, Waterpoint Lane and RGS Ice. The round is an extension of a $3.5 million seed round closed in September.

💬 “[This capital] gives our vision for a truck-free future for manufactured foods a huge boost. We’ll be moving quickly to scale up deployments of our first-to-world micro-factories with grocery retailers,” said D. Wayne McIntyre, CEO of Relocalize.

Go Deeper: Learn more about how Relocalize’s model works on BevNET.